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South Miami directs staff to draft single-family code fixes, including measuring height from finished floor
Summary
After hearing from builders and staff, the commission directed changes to single-family rules — measure height from finished floor (or increase envelope to 30 feet), measure gross floor area from the interior face of exterior walls, add guidance on privacy screening walls and consider lot-coverage measurement from interior faces — and asked staff to return with ordinance language and tree-preservation incentives.
The commission directed staff Oct. 21 to prepare legislative amendments to several single-family zoning standards, following staff presentations and a public exchange with builders and residents.
City Attorney and planning staff outlined multiple technical changes: measure building height from finished floor to top tie beam (the approach used in some neighboring jurisdictions) — or alternatively raise the current 25-foot measured-from-grade threshold to 30 feet to accommodate flood-proofing and finished-floor elevation increases; change gross-floor-area measurement to the interior face of exterior walls instead of wall centerline; adopt maximums for privacy screen walls (for example 6 feet for single-story screens and 8 feet for two-story elements); and revise lot-coverage calculations to measure from the interior face of exterior walls to better harmonize with the floor-area change.
Builder Gus Gill and other stakeholders said measuring from finished floor avoids penalizing homeowners who must elevate finished floors for flood compliance, and suggested a 30-foot envelope would resolve most conflicts. Commissioners generally supported 30 feet as a workable direction and asked staff to prepare legislative language. The commission also debated tree-preservation appeals and directed staff to explore administrative incentives and design alternatives so that tree retention is encouraged without creating unworkable delays for homeowners who must proceed with permitted projects.
Staff will return with specific ordinance language, possible numeric limits on screening elements, and proposed incentives to preserve canopy on private lots.
