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South Miami planning board recommends clarification to TDR, bonus-allocation rules
Summary
The Planning Board recommended approval of an ordinance clarifying three paths for development bonuses in the Transit Supported Development District, extending pay-in-lieu timing from 90 to 120 days, and requiring recording of transfer-of-development-rights certificates to protect chain-of-title.
The Planning Board on May 12 voted to recommend approval of an ordinance that clarifies how developers may earn bonus floors in the Transit Supported Development District and tightens recordkeeping for transfers of development rights.
The amendment to section 8.8 clarifies that applicants may obtain a development bonus by (1) providing an on-site public benefit such as open space or affordable/workforce housing, (2) paying a fee in lieu based on bonus-floor area, or (3) participating in the transfer-of-development-rights (TDR) program by accepting floor area from an eligible donor site. Mark Alvarez of the South Miami Planning and Zoning Department described the change as a clarification of existing options rather than a substantive policy shift and said the proposal also extends the current 90-day pay-in-lieu period to 120 days. "This clarifies those three options — you can do one of the three — and adds a little additional time to cure timing issues," Alvarez said.
The ordinance also adds explicit language about recording transfers to preserve the chain of title: a certificate of transfer for TDRs would be recorded through the Dade County court to show what was transferred and what remains eligible on the donor (sunset buffer) site. In public comment, attorney Nick Noto, representing the applicant in a comment treated as public comment, said the recordation provision reflects what would have happened in practice and that a new subsection creates a cure period if a TDR agreement falls through. "The intent of this is just to provide a cure period" so an applicant can seek another sending site rather than immediately defaulting to pay-in-lieu, Noto said.
Board members asked whether a project could be approved before TDRs were secured. Noto said the amendment allows the special-exception approval to occur and permits a property owner to negotiate purchases of TDRs after approval so long as transfers occur before a building permit is issued, a timing tweak staff said reflects implementation experience under the new code.
A board member moved to approve the recommendation; another member seconded. The board voted to recommend the ordinance to the City Commission; the chair announced the vote was unanimous. Alvarez said staff and the applicant will coordinate with the city attorney before first reading at the commission.
The measure now moves to the City Commission for further consideration.
