Miami board recommends vacating 20-foot alley east of Lejeune Road, requires public access easement

The Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board voted unanimously to recommend the City Commission approve a resolution to close, vacate and abandon a 20-foot public alley running along the eastern boundary of a property east of Lejeune Road between Northwest 11th and Northwest 9th Streets, provided the applicant records a perpetual public ingress/egress and public utility easement on the final plat and reimburses the city for a prior sanitary sewer project.

Carla Diaz, Planner II with the City of Miami planning department, told the board the request was filed pursuant to chapter 55, section 55-15 of the City of Miami Code of Ordinances and was evaluated against the Miami 21 code. Diaz said staff recommended approval with conditions after finding the proposal met the applicable criteria. “We recommend approval with conditions,” she said.

Marissa Neufeld, speaking for the applicant, said the owner will grant a recorded perpetual ingress/egress easement and a public utility easement in the same location as the existing alley, so “there will be no change from a public utilities perspective, no change from an ingress egress perspective.” Neufeld said the applicant accepts staff’s proposed conditions and will reimburse the city for costs associated with a sanitary sewer project completed within the alley before the item is scheduled for City Commission consideration.

Neighbors raised concerns that vacating the alley would privatize access. Angel Vento, who said he owns property at 4100 Northwest Ninth Street across the alley, asked the board to evaluate other nearby alleys and expressed concern about limiting property owners’ access. A written comment read into the record said the closure “will limit all the property owners access to their properties” and listed three addresses that the writer said would be affected.

Staff and the applicant responded that the alley would continue to operate as it does today: the proposed plat would include a recorded public ingress/egress and public utility easement that keeps the alley open to the public, prohibits building on the alley, and prevents vertical encroachments. The applicant noted the alley was originally created by deed in 1948 and that reversionary rights mean the full 20 feet reverts to the applicant’s parcel rather than splitting between adjacent owners; for that reason, the city’s typical requirement that all abutting owners join the application did not apply. City staff explained that any future attempt to remove the easement would require a replat and the same public processes used for vacations.

Board members asked whether changing the alley’s legal status would affect setbacks and potential future development. Staff said Miami 21’s rules require enhanced setbacks where Transect T6-8 urban core areas abut lower-intensity T3 areas, and that future development would be reviewed during site-plan approval to ensure compliance with Miami 21 and protections for neighboring single-family lots. The board was told the alley will act as the required separation and “we can’t build on it. We can’t cantilever over it,” in the applicant’s words.

After discussion a board member moved to approve the resolution with the condition that a perpetual ingress/egress and public utility easement be recorded on the final plat; a second was called and the motion passed by voice vote with all members present voting in favor and no recorded opposition. The minutes reflect the motion carried unanimously among members present; one member had previously requested an excused absence.

Next steps: the board’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Miami City Commission. City staff and the applicant said the reimbursement for the sanitary sewer project will be completed before the case is scheduled for commission action and that the easement language will appear on the final plat; removal of that easement in the future would require a replat and another public review process.

Details extracted from the meeting record: the alley width is 20 feet; the property is in Miami 21 Transect T6-8 (Urban Core Transit), with abutting properties designated in the transcript as primarily single-family (T3) and some commercial, hotel and institutional uses nearby; the applicant’s office address was stated as 333 Southeast Second Avenue. No ordinance or resolution number was specified in the hearing record.