HomeMy WebLinkAboutcover memoCITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA
INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM
f
00710
TO:
FROM:
Honorable Mayo _Members of the
City\Commissi
(_..q
Joe Aglaia
2ity anager
RATE : FILE
July 6, 2004
SUBJECT:
Variance Fee Waiver Ordinance
REFERENCES:
ENCLOSURES:
RECOMMENDATION:
It is respectfully recommended that the City Commission adopt the attached ordinance allowing for the
wavier of variance fees at the discretion of the director the Department of Planning & Zoning in those
instances when the city may request from a property owner the dedication of a portion of the owner's
property for right-of-way purposes. This ordinance provides for a retroactive effective date of January 1,
2004.
BACI{GROUND:
The proposed ordinance provides the administration, specifically the director of the Department of Planning
& Zoning, with the discretion to waive variance fees in a limited instance. Specifically, the proposed
legislation allows for granting of waiver in those instances where, pursuant to a written request from the city,
an owner has agreed to dedicate a portion of his property for right-of-way purposes. The grant of a waiver
for variance fees is further limited to only those instances where said request creates a hardship by triggering
the need for the owner to secure a variance for the adjustment of a structure previously approved pursuant to
a special permit.
In late 2003, the city's Planning & Zoning Department approached the MDM Group ("MDM"), developers
of the Metropolitan Miami Project (the "Metropolitan"), regarding the dedication of the northern portion of
Tract B for right-of-way purposes. The dedication was requested by the city to help accommodate the
realignment and redirection of traffic on SE 3.1 Street proposed in the Dupont Area Traffic Plan. In order to
honor the city's request for the dedication, MDM needed to shift the location of the Metropolitan southward
approximately eight (8) feet.
The request results in a building footprint that infringes upon the required setback from the south property
line triggering a need for a variance and a substantial amendment to the previously approved Major Use
Special Permit (MUSP). For such changes, a variance fee of $0.10 per square foot of floor area of the
building is assessed pursuant to Sec. 62--156(a)(3) of the Code. In this specific case, the developer was
required to submit $54,261 for variance fees stemming from the city's request. MDM remitted the fees under
protest noting in their January 2004 letter to the Office of Hearing Boards that the financial hardship was a
result of the city's request.
The proposed ordinance before you for consideration will provide the administration the necessary discretion
to grant a waiver of the variance fees imposed in the Section 62 in order to relieve an owner of the hardship
created by the city. The existing language in Section 62 only allows for the waiver of fees for entities and
agencies of the City of Miarni. The proposed language roughly mirrors a previous amendment to the Code
used to allow the developers of the Buena Vista yards to recoup inequitable fees assessed in conjunction with
the vacation of right-of-way and the dedication of private property for public use.
We respectfully request the City Commission's favorable consideration of this proposed ordinance.
JA/ACdf
Cc. J ` Alicia Cuervo-Schreiber, Chief of Operations
Ana Gelabert-Sanchez, Director of Planning & Zoning
Mary Conway, Director of Transportation & Capital Improvements
Javier Carbonell, Acting Zoning Administrator