Miami planners propose Resilience Trust Fund pilot in Edgewater to pay for flood and heat projects in exchange for density

Planning Department staff presented an ordinance establishing a Resilience Trust Fund intended to generate money from developers who seek increased density in high‑demand transects and use those funds for infrastructure that reduces flooding, storm surge or urban heat island effects. Catherine Engleton told the committee the ordinance amends Chapter 62 and Miami 21 to allow properties in qualifying transects (T4, T5, T6) and certain storm‑surge planning zones to purchase bonus units and direct contributions into the new trust.

Staff said eligible uses include pump stations, raised roadways, seawalls, bioswales, living shorelines, native shade tree plantings, green roofs, permeable pavements, rain gardens, parks and other resilience infrastructure. The pilot is limited to two fund areas (mainly Edgewater and a second area covering parts of Venetian, Watson Island and downtown) listed in Exhibit A; staff said boundaries can be revised only by ordinance if the fund expands to other neighborhoods.

Catherine Engleton said the program is designed to be flexible on per‑unit contributions and pointed to a working figure of about $45,000 per unit used during Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board discussions; she emphasized that number will be refined and that the legislation omits a fixed per‑unit amount so staff can update it administratively as costs change. The ordinance also incorporates a PZAB recommendation to remove parking minimums for bonus units and originally proposed a $500,000 city‑manager spending threshold that was reduced to $100,000 to comply with the city procurement ordinance.

Committee members pressed staff on several policy risks: whether concentrating density in a high‑flood‑risk area promotes long‑term affordability, whether contributions will be sufficient given land values in Edgewater, and whether ground‑floor design and freeboard standards should be strengthened to make new buildings adaptable. Staff said freeboard and building‑design rules for commercial ground floors would likely require separate zoning or building‑code amendments and multi‑stakeholder work with architects and developers.

On affordability, staff and members noted the ordinance does not require income‑restricted units but said it could be amended later to offer discounts or other incentives for projects that covenant deed‑restricted affordable housing; staff cited existing tools such as the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, parking/park public‑benefit options, TDR/TDD programs and state law as separate mechanisms that could be coordinated with this fund.

Because the CRC was a workshop (no quorum for formal action), a committee member moved a nonbinding straw vote expressing support for the Resilience Trust Fund concept and asking staff to revisit per‑unit pricing and to treat East‑of‑Mainland Venetian parcels individually; the committee recorded a straw vote of 3 ayes and 1 abstention.

What’s next: staff said the ordinance has been through PZAB and is being scheduled for City Commission consideration (likely later in the month or early next month). Staff also committed to updating map layers used in the presentation to include additional Office of Capital Improvements and RPW projects, and to refine per‑unit cost estimates before Commission review.