HomeMy WebLinkAboutIDRC Comments (5.30.06)C I T Y o F M I A M I
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
PRE -APPLICATION DESIGN REVIEW COMMENTS
MAJOR USE SPECIAL PERMIT
2222 BISCAYNE BOULEVARD
2222 BISCAYNE BOULEVARD
NET DISTRICT: WYNWOOD
05-30-06
City of Miami Vision Statement: 'To Be an International CO, which Embodies Diversity, Economic
Opportunity, Effective Customer Service and a Highly Rated Quality of Life"
COMMENTS:
The following comments represent the unified vision of the Pre -Application Design Review
Committee, which consists of all staff members in the Urban Design and Land
Development Divisions.
Submittal:
• The application package is missing critical items, marked in bold below. The
applicant may not proceed to the UDRB until these items are addressed and
submitted to the Pre -Application Design Review Committee. All other comments
may be addressed in future submittals to the Design Review Committee, or as
conditions of the Major Use Special Permit.
Site Information
• The Zoning Data sheet does not provide the required general information for
the project. Please specify all "required" and "provided" statistics for this
project.
• Provide a survey of the site.
Context
• The proposed 29-story building is more than twice the height of any of the
surrounding buildings and is inappropriate. Reconfigure the building so that it is
more in keeping with the scale of the area and creates a better transition to the
adjacent properties.
• Provide a clear description of all existing and proposed buildings on the
project site, including elevation photographs.
• The project shall comply with the FDOT improvements on Biscayne Boulevard.
Contact the FDOT District VI office for more details.
• Please coordinate with the Street Car Trolley Plan and provide additional details of
the proposed "waiting area."
• Provide a site line diagram indicating how much of the exposed parking garage will
be visible from all streets, particularly Biscayne Boulevard and NE 2nd Avenue.
It is our intention with these comments to aid in expediting Special Permit applications with your
voluntary efforts in making the necessary changes; thereby, avoiding any preventable delays
particularly prior to a project's submission to the Large Scale Development Committee or the
Urban Development Review Board.
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Architecture
• Provide more details on the art walls shown on the four facades. Please
include a clear indication of what type of materials are being proposed for all
four elevations of the building, including windows, balconies, and garage
screening materials. This information can be submitted as a labeled color
rendering. Material samples and precedent photographs are encouraged.
• The height of the structure (to the highest point including any architectural
treatments) shall be indicated in both NGVD and in above grade formats.
Pedestrian Realm
• Please provide more details and include the dimensions of all curb cuts,
pedestrian entrances, open space, sidewalks and vehicular lanes.
• Provide elevation drawing details, showing all of the building's elevations at
the street level, at a scale no less than 1/8"=1', in order for the committee to
review the building's impact on the pedestrian realm.
• Articulate the pedestrian sidewalk to give dominance to the pedestrian realm over the
vehicular areas. Achieve this by providing a sidewalk with a consistent pattern and
height that continues across vehicular areas. Vehicles shall rise to the sidewalk level
with ramping beginning at the outer edge of the curb, with the ramp slope being the
maximum allowed by Public Works. As part of your details and materials sheet in
the final submittal, please include a detail of this vehicular ramping.
• The project shows four curb cuts. This condition creates vehicle/pedestrian conflicts
and interrupts the desired continuity for a retail street. The number of curb cuts shall
be reduced.
Vehicular access and Parking
• The proposed 16-story untreated garage portion of the building is taller than any
building in the vicinity and will have a negative visual impact on the area.
Accordingly, the applicant shall reduce the size of this garage, (consider underground
parking or reducing the number of parking spaces), and look at more sensitive
methods of treating the exposed facades of the garage.
• Although the garage facrade treatment is shown as a series of "art walls", the
proportion seems excessively big related to the whole building and its environment.
Consider a garage treatment that continues the pattern of the windows of the
building. This may be used in conjunction with smaller scale art treatment panels.
Refer to Figure 1 for an example of appropriate garage treatment.
• The proposed 1,160 parking spaces exceeds the number required by Code. Consider
reducing the number of parking spaces to the minimum required.
• Internalize the loading spaces so that they are accessed from within the garage and
loading vehicles do not have to maneuver in the public right of way.
Landscape
• Given this project's scale, it is important to engage a landscape architect early in the
design planning process in order to gain their contribution in developing the
project's landscape and hardscape design.
• Submit a landscape plan that specifies the species and proposed locations of
all plant materials.
It is our intention with these comments to aid in expediting Special Permit applications with your
voluntary efforts in making the necessary changes; thereby, avoiding any preventable delays
particularly prior to a project's submission to the Large Scale Development Committee or the
Urban Development Review Board.
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• Provide a complete tree survey of existing conditions including species,
diameter and spread including all trees in the right-of-way. Please refer to the
City of Miami tree protection ordinance passed in January 2005 and indicate
how tree mitigation will be achieved. Please note that the City calculates tree
replacement by the "sum of inches" of tree trunk at breast height, while the
county uses square footage of tree canopy.
Figure 1: Parking garage treatment that acknowledges the scale and detail of
usable windows.
4 AI
It is our intention with these comments to aid in expediting Special Permit applications with your
voluntary efforts in making the necessary changes; thereby, avoiding any preventable delays
particularly prior to a project's submission to the Large Scale Development Committee or the
Urban Development Review Board.
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