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Home My WebLink AboutSubmittal-Edward Martos-Letter to Commissioners RE Proposed RezoningChairman Ken Russell and Members of the City Commission '? . Todd Hannon, City Clerk 1C; WEISS SEROTA HELFMAN • COLE & B I E RMA N AT THE CROSSROADS OF BUSINESS; GOVERNMENT &• THE LAW To: CC: FROM: ,'Stephen Helfman, Edward Martos, and Alex Uribe DATE: June 27, 2.019 Proposed Rezoning at 240 SE 14 Street File ID #5900 June 27, 2019 Agenda Item PZ.13 I. INTRODUCTION On June 27, 2019, the City Commission is scheduled to hear and consider an application by Babylon International (the "Owner") to rezone its property at 240 SE 14 Street (the "Property") from T6-8-R to T6-48A-O. On behalf of the Emerald at Brickell Condominium Association, Inc. (the "Association") and its approximately 300 residents, we urge you to deny the proposal.' H. HISTORICAL FACTS 1982. The Owner completed construction of the existing building on the Property and occupied it for offices as permitted under City Zoning Ordinance 6871. The Property along with other parcels south along Brickell Bay Drive was zoned R-5, High Density Multiple District. Sept. 1982. The City adopted a new zoning code, (Ordinance 9500). July 1987. The zoning atlas provided by the City Clerk for Ordinance 9500 shows the Property zoned RO-3. This permitted both residential and office uses. 1990. The City again adopted a new zoning code, (Ordinance 11000) and designated the Property "0" (Office) which also permitted multifamily residential use. 1994-1998. The owners of the parcels abutting to the west (now the Emerald) applied for rezoning of those parcels from 0 to SD-5. We and the City Clerk's office have found no record that the Owner applied to similarly rezone the Property. 1999._ The Owner converted the office building to a residential condominium with 14 units. In addition to the Emerald's residents, there are hundreds of others in opposition including the residents of Jade, Point View Association, and others. 2525 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Suite boo, Coral Gables, FL 33134 1305-854-0800 I www.wsh-law.com 590o - 5v iyAl• E&wat(1 MIow\-os- Le\-\ �v C��A A's5itA t rv,?otz,k 1v\ezo, ,�� Honorable Chair and City Commissioners June 27, 2019 Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk 2009. The City enacted yet another new zoning code, (Miami 21), and up -zoned the Property to a T6-8-R zoning classification allowing for residential uses. This is the same zoning classification applied to all properties along the curvilinear portion of Brickell Bay Drive between 14th Street and 15th Road. 2014. The Owner commenced the current request for a zoning change to T6-48A-0 allowing for a substantial increase in height (48 floors by right and up to 80 through bonus) and an increase in the number of dwelling units (up to 110 units). 2016. City's Planning and Zoning Appeals Board voted to recommend denial of proposed re -zoning. Thereafter, the Owner withdrew its application. III. OWNER'S PROPOSAL AND ARGUMENT The Owner is requesting that the City Commission up -zone the Property to T6-48A-O. The T6-48A-O is a unique classification created under Miami 21 to follow the specific historic boundaries of the Brickell Area Office Residential District (SD-5). The Owner argues that the Property's comprehensive plan designation —Restricted Commercial within the Brickell Residential Increase Area —compels up -zoning the Property. This comprehensive plan designation allows a density of up to 500 units per acre. The suggested reasoning goes that, as a matter of law, the City could not so designate the Property while keeping its zoning at a lower intensity because doing so would result in an illegal inconsistency between the comprehensive plan and the zoning code. This argument has no legal merit. The Owner also suggests that, when the City enacted Miami 21, there was a "scrivener error" by the City Administration and that the City Commission mistakenly applied the T6-8-R category to the Property. The Owner claims that the Property should have been included in the T6- 48A-O district (which was applied to properties previously zoned SD-5, not Property's previous "Office" zoning designation). The Owner's claim is unsupported by the zoning history of the area. Finally, the Owner suggests that the Property's existing zoning designation reduces its development potential over what had been permitted under Ordinance 11000. Nothing is further from the truth. The Property's former designation allows construction of fewer residential units, allows a smaller lot coverage, and allows a smaller building area. IV. OBJECTIONS A. No Scrivener's Error or Mistake There is no evidence in the record or otherwise to support the Owner's claim that the City made a scrivener's error when preparing the Miami 21 zoning atlas and designating the Property T6-8-R. Indeed, the Property's zoning history shows that the City repeatedly zoned the Property to be consistent with the zoning designations to the south along Brickell Bay Drive. See series of 2 of 6 WEISS SEROTA HELFMAN COLE & BIERMAN AT Tnl CROSSROAD% OF BlISINTSS, GM/IRNMTNT & Till LAW Honorable Chair and City Commissioners June 27, 2019 Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk maps attached as Exhibit "A". Since at least 1987, the City had consistently zoned the Property — and abutting parcels —to be more consistent with the designations to the south along Brickell Bay Drive than with the Brickell Avenue corridor. The Emerald's Parcel and those further north and west (abutting the Property and from where the Owner seeks to extend the zoning) were rezoned to match Brickell Avenue only after the owners of those parcels specially applied for those changes in 1994 and 1998 as was permitted afthat time under Ordinance 11000. Notably, the Property was then owned by its current owner, and yet at no time prior to Miami 21's adoption did the Property's owner seek a similar rezoning. The Property's current zoning designation is consistent with its designation under the prior zoning code, Ordinance 11000. Moreover, the current zoning of the Property was called out in the first draft of the Miami 21 atlas dating back to 2006, carried through consistently to Miami 21's adoption in 2009, and continued under Miami 21 since that time. At no point during Miami 21's workshops and adoption process did the Owner —a sophisticated commercial property owner with long held redevelopment plans —raise this alleged "scrivener's error." Miami 21, Section 2.2.2 and restricted covenants recorded against the Property further demonstrate that the City's rezoning of the Property from 0 to T6-8-R was no mistake. Miami 21, Section 2.2.2 specifies that the City has no intention of affecting any covenants and restrictions that predate the Code's regulations. The Property was and remains subject to just such a covenant. The Declaration of Restrictions dated November 10, 1983 and recorded at Book 12000, Page 2469 of the Public Records of Miami -Dade County (the '`Covenant"), limited the maximum permitted building area permitted on the Property for the purpose of having development there match the uses and intensity found at the properties on South Bayshore Drive (a/k/a Brickell Bay Drive) between 14th and 15th Streets. Those properties are and have been T6-8-R, which this Property was always intended to mirror. The T6-8-R zoning that the City Commission gave the Property when it adopted Miami 21 was no mistake. The suggestion that the Property's comprehensive plan designation evidences a scrivener's error mistakes the relationship between comprehensive plan and zoning designations. Florida courts have consistently held that a property's zoning designations does not have to allow for the full extent of development authorized by the property's zoning designation. Bd. of County Comm 'rs of Brevard County v. Snyder, 627 So. 2d 469 (Fla. 1993) ("The present use of land may, by zoning ordinance, continue to be more limited than the future use contemplated by the comprehensive plan."); Payne v. City of Miami, 52 So.3d 707, 737 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010) (Same, citing Snyder). Florida courts have also consistently held that land use planning and zoning are "different exercises" and that "a proper analysis requires that courts consider them separately." Payne, 52 So.3d at 737 (citing Snyder, 627 So. 2d at 469). Thus, the discrepancy between Property's land use and zoning designations is of no legal relevance —the City Commission was entitled to assign the Property a land use designation that permitted high density and intensity without also zoning the Property to allow that same density and intensity. Both the Director of the Planning Department for the City of Miami at the time of Miami 21's adoption, and the chief drafter of Miami 21 have publicly stated that the Property's T6-8-R 3 of 6 WEISS SEROTA HELFMAN COLE & BIERMAN AT nor CROSSROAr, or Buumc,, Govikro fNT & rm LAW Honorable Chair and City Commissioners June 27, 2019 Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk zoning designation is not a mistake or an oversight. In a 2016 interview with the Miami Herald, Miami 21's chief drafter Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk explained that the Property's zoning was "very carefully considered" to match the zoning capacity allowed by the old code. The City's former Planning Director, Ana Gelabert-Sanchez similarly noted that "it was not a mistake...it was not a scrivener's error," and that she "went through a lot of work to really calibrate capacity." A copy of said Miami Herald article is attached as Exhibit "B." B. Owner's Request is Prohibited Under Miami 21 This application cannot be legally approved under Miami 21 because it does not meet the requirements for a rezoning. The property does not meet the minimum 40,000 square feet of area, or the 200 feet of linear frontage required by Miami 21 Section 7.1.2.8.c.1 for a rezoning. The only available rezoning for the property would be if a successional Transect Zone abutted the Property. Here, the existing Transect Zone abutting to the west is T6-48A-O. This is not successional To T6-8-R according to Miami 21 Section 7.1.2.8.a. Therefore, that Transect Zone cannot be extended to the Property. Section 2.1.2 of Miami 21 identifies successional zoning as one of its principal goals. It highlights that the evolution of neighborhoods will be guided through "succession" and that "Successional change emerges from a vision of the larger urban context and appropriate transitions across Transect Zones." Section 7.2.1.8 then expressly requires that zoning changes "shall occur successionally," and that 1a]11 changes shall maintain the goals of this Code to preserve Neighborhoods and to provide transitions in Intensity, Density, Building Height and Scale." Under successional zoning, each rezoning application can result in an increase of only one level of intensity at a time. For the Property, this means that the only zoning change that can arguably be made is to T6-8-O or T6-12, if such Transect Zone existed abutting the Property. Finally, the Property also does not meet the minimum lot requirements for Property zoned T6-48A-O. Miami 21, Illustration 5.6 Urban Core Transect Zones (T6-48) requires that all lots zoned T6-48-A-O have a minimum Lot Width of 100 feet. The Applicant's Lot is less than 100 feet wide, even at its widest point. The Owner seeks to flout the law by ignoring Miami 21's strict "successional zoning" requirements under the guise of correcting a "scrivener's error." Even if there were a "scrivener's error", there is no such exception to the successional zoning requirements. The Code allows only one exception to successional zoning requirements —an application for a Special Area Plan involving nine or more acres. The PZAB rightly acknowledged this when it recommended that the requested rezoning be denied the first time this application was heard. On May 1, 2019, the Planning Zoning and Appeals Board ("PZAB") improperly recommended that the application be approved to T6-24B-O, despite the counsel of the Assistant 4 of 6 WEISS SEROTA HELFMAN COLE & BIERMAN Ar rw CROURo!!x OF Bu,usia, GOVIRNM$NI & 1111 i,w Honorable Chair and City Commissioners June 27, 2019 Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk City Attorney who correctly advised that no exception to successional zoning changes exists in Miami 21. C. Bad Planning and Policy Proceeding with the applicant's request not only violates the clear letter and intent of Miami 21, it will have significant repercussions for the Property's neighbors and would set a legal precedent that could unravel neighborhoods throughout the City. The Owner proposes to increase intensity by five levels! This represents bad urban planning and policy making at both the neighborhood level and Citywide. At the neighborhood level, the proposed rezoning would allow a looming structure of up to 80 stories in height (48 by right and 80 through bonuses). The added density and intensity created by such a structure would overwhelm public infrastructure (e.g., roads, water and sewer, etc.) and services (e.g., schools, parks, etc.) that are already struggling to accommodate demand on Brickell. This added development would suffocate the existing pedestrian friendly baywalk2 along Brickell Bay Drive by removing the "step down" transition in height that's the Property's zoning has provided over at least three different zoning ordinances. Without such a step down, afternoon sunlight hours would be diminished for pedestrians along the baywalk and Brickell Avenue's access to views, air, and morning sunlight would be blocked. Citywide, the proposed rezoning would establish a legal precedent that could threaten many neighborhoods. An exception for perceived "scrivener's errors" would completely undermine successional zoning. If such an exception were available, a single-family neighborhood along corridors like Coral Way or 27th Avenue could be easily rezoned to T5 or T6. The result would be the unraveling of Miami 21's stated purpose of protecting neighborhoods against over development and speculation. and a return to the problems under the previous code that Miami 21 was crafted to correct. V. PROPERTY RIGHTS The Owner has suggested that the up -zoning of the Property from "Office" to "T6-8- somehow has impacted its development rights. This is a meritless argument. Florida's Bert J. Harris Act gives property owners a legal right to compensation for "actual loss to the fair market value of the[ir] real property" whenever a "governmental entity has inordinately burdened an existing use of real property or a vested right." See Section 70.001(2), Fla. Stat. (emphasis added). In this case, there is no "actual loss" or "inordinate burden to a property right." In fact, Miami 21's adoption increased the floor area allowed for the Property.3 Any suit by the owner pursuant to the Unlike most of Miami, the bay along this stretch of Brickell Bay Drive is directly accessible to the public and includes a popular public bay walk. No doubt, the City Administration and the City Commission consistently retained a lower -intensity zoning along Brickell Bay Drive to help preserve this unique amenity. 3 Prior to the adoption of Miami 21, the Babylon Property was zoned "0 — Office." This designation allowed a maximum floor area of 33,516 square feet,' up to 179 dwelling units, and a maximum height of 120 feet for a 5 of 6 Ire-1WEISS SEROTA HELFMAN COLE &BIERMAN AT,,, &'+Y Honorable Chair and City Commissioners June 27, 2019 Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk Bert J. Harris Act would therefore amount to a complaint that the City's increase of development rights did not go far enough. The Bert J. Harris Act (and the takings clauses of the Florida and U.S. Constitutions) simply does not support such a legal claim. The proposed up -zoning of the Property will more likely impinge upon the property rights of the owners of neighboring condominium units. Many of those neighboring units owners relied upon the Miami 21 atlas and Miami 21's successional zoning requirements when they paid hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not millions) to purchase their units with a view. Such unit owners read Miami 21 to mean that any future development of the Property must comply with T6- 8 zoning requirements and that any increase in the zoning designation would be a gradual one. The proposed up -zoning of the Property would betray said unit owners' trust in the City and the Code, and deprive them of their investment backed expectations. VI. CONCLUSION There was no scrivener's error. The City Commission's decision in 2009 to zone the Property to be consistent with its neighbors along Brickell Bay Drive rather than those to the west and north was a rational policy decision, not a scrivener's error. It was entirely within the City Commission's prerogative to limit the intensity of development at the Property when it adopted Miami 21's zoning atlas. That said, the City Commission opted to effectively up -zone the Property by designating it T6-8-R. The Owner raises the suggestion that a scrivener's error occurred only now, more than ten years after Miami 21 was first proposed, because the Owner wants more development rights. Granting such the request would violate Miami 21, would jeopardize the neighborhood, and would have lasting precedential effects throughout the City. On behalf of the Emerald at Brickell's Association and its approximately 300 residents, and in the interest of the countless citizens that live in the neighborhood, we respectfully request that you deny the requested rezoning. Since at least 1987, the City's zoning map has protected the neighborhood around Brickell Bay Drive's baywalk. Such planning has allowed the neighborhood to become a cherished oasis in the heart of Brickell. Now, under a new zoning code designed to protect the quality of life in Miami's neighborhoods against speculative overdevelopment, the Property's Owner is proposing to completely do away with those protections. We urge you to resist such effort by upholding Miami 21's strict rezoning rules and requirements. residential building. Through the adoption of Miami 21, the Babylon's property changed to T6-8-R. This new designation allows a maximum floor area (after bonuses) of 99,912 square feet, up to 179 units and a maximum height of 12 stories, up to 168 feet, with bonuses . 6 of 6 WE1SS SEROTA HELFMAN COLE & BIERMAN AT MI CPOSSPOAM o Rnuniac, Govi PNu, ni & nut LAW I Submitted into the public record for items) FZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk Exhibit A Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk Babylon Towers: Site of Proposed Rezoning From T6-8-R to T6-48-0 AERIAL PHOTO OF THE SUBJECT NEIGHBORHOOD TODAY, PER GOOGLE EARTH Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk ZONING FOR THE SUBJECT NEIGHBORHOOD UNDER ORDINANCE 9500 CIRCA JULY 1987 Co 7 Ciihmittari intn tha niihlir record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk 0, "Office" (Allows residential if designed per R-4 standards, i.e., consistent with zoning along Brickell Bay Drive) ZONING FOR THE SUBJECT NEIGHBORHOOD UNDER ORDINANCE 11000 CIRCA OCT. 1994 Before Ordinance 11202 i Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk 0, "Office" (Allows residential if designed per R-4 standards, i.e., consistent with zoning along Brickell Bay Drive) ZONING FOR THE SUBJECT NEIGHBORHOOD UNDER ORDINANCE 11000 CIRCA 1997 After Ordinance 11202, Before Ordinance 11668 Suhmittedl intn tha nuhlir record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2.019 , City Clerk 0, "Office" (Allows residential if designed per R-4 standards, i.e., consistent with zoning along Brickell Bay Drive) ZONING FOR THE SUBJECT NEIGHBORHOOD UNDER ORDINANCE 11000 CIRCA 1999 After Ordinance 11668 Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk Oh 21}Elb fltsgt, bOlt 4fl co Bait uci d NOTE: THIS MAP WAS DEVELOPED BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED -BY -THE CITY OF MIAMI. Elegem Revision Date: 11.27.06 NOVEMBER 27 DRAFT OF THE MIAMI 21 ZONING ATLAS Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk pw Q'n�Q3 secohd � �1BraraB IL zon tht It NOTE: THIS MAP WAS DEVELOPED BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF MIAMI, MPA12I Revision Date: 02.20.07 FEBRUARY 20 DRAFT OF THE MIAMI 21 ZONING ATLAS Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk UJ Alt thlrd iaLU@3 d ak Ai& t3cke UU NOTE: THIS MAP WAS DEVELOPED BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF MIAMI. EVE' g 4PC20r21 Revision Date: 03.16.07 MARCH 16 DRAFT OF THE MIAMI 21 ZONING ATLAS Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk Ow emt fouph.�mpp8¢ At RAW 22. Alh NOTE: THIS MAP WAS DEVELOPED BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF MIAMI. PtitR41 2 I Revision Date: 04.04.07 APRIL 4 DRAFT OF THE MIAMI 21 ZONING ATLAS M HIM LA C I 111Ji • NOTE: THIS MAP WAS DEVELOPED BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF MIAMI, Revision Date: June, 2007 47 Submitted into the public record f;,- ite:n(s) • PZ.13 on 0_ 27/2019 , City Clerk ElI. l um 1I= irllu 1111 NMI PENN "'MIN Ilu: ur i JUNE 2007 DRAFT OF THE MIAMI 21 ZONING ATLAS oh may ttlysti fjoublit d� mhcfm 22, Atlas Iht 'octet Ath 00 NOTE: THIS MAP WAS DEVELOPED BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF MIAMI, _ MO In A ^,rnl _ T f I Lin HMI I Tri I ni rr 11111111111111 llllt� „irrlLV irrrr� Ira. nun- u Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk If 1Fg ur Oft 111111 a 444 imilwa* Sas IV igwg al ftr►',... 4111 iti ifs Elliti ill E/,0 tritir t8R ...„- - Iva ,.fi ,,,„..... 5,,,,,,,„„,,,,, Revision Date: March 041 2008 MARCH 2008 DRAFT OF THE MIAMI 21 ZONING ATLAS se Gi,-pdb0l¢ d�3 hotiemati AtIas, 2GQ. zon3n,� �g ve ve Submitted into the public record for item(s)per_ on IlyizapiL,City Clerk at.-4! II=r Ilil wlcfi ri .Ill�� .. Iil 11111.1111m7,•z I r,, nil .W/1R 15th Road DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A DRAFT MAP OF THE ZONING TRANSLATION FOR DISCUSSION AND COMMUNITY FEEDBACK. NOTE: THIS MAP WAS DEVELOPED BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF MIAMI. • Flagler 8th Stet Revision Date: September 09, 2008 A P guar even' •' ' o n SEPTEMBER 9. 2008 DRAFT OF THE MIAMI 21 ZONING ATLAS thlt vtivhth spubitit chtift Imm3 2a Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ, 13 on _06/27/2012City Clerk A ICI' '!�� .. c�Iliy�)� • fi III 4 ;r1 { ■Itlfiru•x wr- 11,101.. ,-1,—:� 4 IIMMI •l• ailti.t..,:: Inl. ■�M 11111F/ Ilil'16SE_ga'i:�. MIIIIHN I I ;i� Mir LIAkiii,:::L.1„a, BYlli JI: � ,_fi�r.�' .tal...w l�idmll_ F •� MI 'I.I_.,_lil� trllliTaria IMF 01111E i. 1 11/ 1111■ „ r, ti,1�II__ ,w ritffh_i it 4M %it* 15th Road DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A DRAFT MAP OF THE ZONING TRANSLATION FOR DISCUSSION AND COMMUNITY FEEDBACK. NOTE THIS AMP WAS DEVELOPED BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF MIAMI. Flagler 8th Strec Revision Date: September 30, 2008 SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 DRAFT OF THE MIAMI 21 ZONING ATLAS Oh may rctoktiah �a 2a Ath C 00 olreilit oft gak ," ,'Ifll- l�4:11!:, '41.,;(:zral -tttlij 4i i ' J-.: . a�,,,.-. 4tl.....; 0 imirtilar ,i:ul: ''.1 ii'.. u,- ....ii, .nnir.?a1 . •nur n•iT..'.uui _ .. r Ti §91:/mires Ti Ii. lit Zia Niat 'td_ai:Avg Milt• Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk r,.,..„:0, ....„.„„t„,„,, iss,T„u,i num■ ..7,71,,,„„,„„, Ici. ■.r, ilnuj i fyi tilii ?IINI��I%i-,L. �r •.' ;� � � 1111119 15th Road DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A DRAFT MAP OF THE ZONING TRANSLATION FOR DISCUSSION AND COMMUNITY FEEDBACK, NOTE: THIS AMP WAS DEVELOPED BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OITY OF MIAMI, Flagler 8th Ste( „n�i3�e�21 Revision Date: November 5, 2008 NOVEMBER S, 2008 DRAFT OF THE MIAMI 21 ZONING ATLAS cta fpabOlst drA holuta 211 Atd,asD Q(n�- peg It [61 Tia FINAL DRAFT ATLAS TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE CITY COMMISSION NOTE: THIS MAP WAS DEVELOPED BAD ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF MIAMI. Submitted into the public record for item(s) pZ. 13 on 06 27 / City Clerk !,IL! Au alti mi t, r:IIII ,11190 :IIIll,* r • :rn1 17rr !! k..� tll;;^i ■ /III!/!!",11111 .r lint; ii11.111/7, va: :ten ■i•= al- �tom i11n11ir, lid 1.I11N:. 11=� lAtllN •' t ` ^_l111Pieii7' sea a r, NIIIII� 15th Road Flagler S SE 8th S ivi ..„....,,..s2 Posted: January 30, 2009 JANUARY 30, 2009 DRAFT OF THE MIAMI 21 ZONING ATLAS Themes . • a .; a ■ ,v a v &Tel Way BMP Racer 271 = cr, .NTH `_:T submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk Exhibit B 5/1/2019 Miami's landmark Babylon Apartments, first Arquitectonica building, faces demolition I Miami Herald 3fliami 3E1crala id$699 AVERAGE SAVINGS e for drivers who switch and save el MIAMI-DADE COUNTY • Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk Miami's landmark Babylon Apartments, first Arquitectonica building, faces demolition By Andres Viglucci aviglucci@miamiherald.com MARCH 05, 2016 02:00 AM, UPDATED MARCH 05, 2016 08:00 AM By continuing to use this site, you give your consent to our use of cookies for analytics, personalizatXn a https://www.miamiherald.com/newsllocal/community/miami-dade/article64124462.html 1/13 5/1/2019 Miami's landmark Babylon Apartments, first Arquitectonica building, faces demolition i Miami Herald Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk The red ziggurat facade of Arquitectonica's Babylon Apartments in the building's prime. ARQU/TECTON/cA Nearly 4o years ago, the young architects in a new, untested Miami firm got their first chance to prove their commercial mettle with a devilishly tricky commission: To design an apartment building on a Brickell lot so long and skinny it's like a sliver of pie cut by a dessert lover on a diet. The clever solution they devised — an elongated ziggurat with a red front and ship -like balconies which they named the Babylon Apartments — was so startling that it set a new bar for urban architectural pizzazz in Miami, promptly won a major prize and set the unknown Arquitectonica on a path to becoming a global design force. Now the writing may be on the wall for the Babylon: The city of Miami and the building owner are working to have the landmark building erased. By continuing to use this site, you give your consent to our use of cookies for analytics, personalizatin a https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article64124462.html 2/13 landmark Babylon Apartments, first Arquitectonica building, faces demolition 1 Miami Herald Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk SW 8 St. .0\0e/ a ••' •*' t\�, 24-story zoning -* Source: City of Miami w a E. FIagfer st. Downtown a Q CO m Babylon Brouhaha Brickell Key A developer wants to demolish the first building by Miami's powerhouse Arquitectonica, the Babylon Apartments, and replace it with a condo tower. 48-story zoning 44* 8-story zoning Brickell �.:::.��' .,• 1 Brickell Bay Dr. 1/2 mile MARCO RUIZ mruiz@miamiherald.com The city administration has condemned the building, claiming it's unsafe. In an unusual move, city planners are also backing a request for a substantial increase in zoning from owner Francisco "Paco" Martinez Celeiro that might allow him to replace the five -story Babylon with a 48-story tower. The rationale for the upzoning cited by city planning director Francisco Garcia and Martinez's attorney: That the existing zoning designation, which limits construction on the property to eight stories, is the result of a "scrivener's error" during the drafting of the city's Miami 21 code several years ago, and should have been capped at a much higher 48 stories. But there's a problem with that assertion. Both the city planning director at the time of the drafting, as well as the chief Miami 21 consultant —by chance, one of the founding Arquitectonica members who worked on the Babylon — emphatically say there was no error. In fact, the consultant — architect and planner Elizabeth Plater Zyberk — said the Miami 21 zoning designation for the property, which sits at the northeastern edge of the semicircular Brickell Bay Drive, was "very carefully considered" to match the zoning capacity allowed by the old code they ,were replacing., By continuing to use this site, you give your consent to our use of cookies for analytics, personalizatin a https://www.miamiherald.com/newsflocal/community/miami-dade/artic1e64124462.html 3/13 5/1/2019 Miami's landmark Babylon Apartments, first Arquitectonica building, faces demolition I Miami Herald which is less than that in the surrounding blocks of supertall Brickell towers, to avoid giving property owners a gift of extra development capacity over and above what they could build under the old code. "It was not a mistake," said the former planning director, Ana Gelabert Sanchez, adding that she specifically recalls the discussion over that block because it was among the first in the city to be mapped under Miami 21. "It was not a scrivener's error. We went through a lot of work to really calibrate capacity." Building owner Martinez, a longtime Miami real-estate investor who under the name George Martin starred in European "spaghetti western" movies in the 196os, did not respond to two messages left at his office requesting an interview. His attorney, Vicky Garcia -Toledo, cancelled a scheduled interview on Friday, citing a legal emergency. The assistant planning director, Luciana Gonzalez, said in an email that planners deduced the Babylon zoning was a mistake for largely technical reasons — that there's a mismatch with the underlying land -use designation, which allows a much higher density . But Gelabert-Sanchez said the two separate designations don't have to, and often don't, match. Gonzalez said planners did not check with Gelabert-Sanchez or Plater-Zyberk because the inconsistency "was clear to us" and "merits correction." The city and developer may have walked into a lion's den of controversy. The requested upzoning and the possible demolition of the Babylon have set off an uproar among architectural experts who say it's among the most important Miami buildings of the 198os — because of its role in resetting the evolution of Brickell and in the establishment of Arquitectonica, which has since designed scores of buildings across Miami and the world. "I think it's a beautiful building," said Miami architecture critic Beth Dunlop, author of two books on Arquitectonica's work. "It shows how, even when their work is really avant-garde, it's really steeped in architectural history. "It's such a shame,' she said of the building's possible destruction. "It's not how you create a memorable city." Residents of surrounding buildings, meanwhile, have hired lawyers to contest the upzoning and launched a Change.org petition addressed at the new district commissioner, Ken Russell, that cites concerns over lost views and increased population density and traffic in an area already nearing capacity. Some say they bought units overlooking Brickell Bay Drive in the belief the relatively low zoning would protect their views long term. Y en • O. � U O. v sNo, o E c D • 4 E-0o 1 v g(.1) By continuing to use this site, you give your consent to our use of cookies for analytics, personalizatXn a https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article64124462.html 4/13 5/1/2019 Miami's landmark Babylon Apartments, first Arquitectonica building, faces demolition 1 Miami Herald tpz March 24 without a hearing amid the brouhaha. The city's planning and zoning board in January voted 7-4 against the rezoning. "We felt it was out of scale and did not respect the heritage of the site," said veteran planning board member Ernest Martin, who voted against the rezoning, in an interview after the vote. Opponents of the upzoning contend the city and developer have engaged in a subterfuge to justify the higher zoning and question how a building that's less than 35 years old could be in a state so dire it has to be demolished. Some have accused Martinez of deliberately failing to maintain the building. "They have nothing to show there was ever an error. No document, no map, nothing," said Stephen Helfman, an attorney representing the condo association at the Jade, a newer and much taller tower that sits catty -corner to the Babylon. "They made it all up. "And there is nothing — no hurricane, no fire — that caused this building to be in the condition it's in. These people have intentionally allowed this building to go into disrepair. They just want more. The upsetting thing is, why has the city participated in that? There is no justification for it." It's unclear why the city declared the building an unsafe structure, giving Martinez 30o days to repair or demolish it. The city failed to provide a copy of a report on the building's condition, a public record, by deadline Friday. The Herald requested the report Feb. 26 and reiterated the request twice subsequently. The underside of the building's exterior eaves, which appear to have crumbled in places, show evidence of patching as well as unrepaired damage. The building, which has around 14 apartments, is at least partially occupied. Deeds show Martinez has owned the building since 1989, Helfman said. Although the Babylon was designed in the late 197os, when it won the vaunted national Progressive Architecture award, records indicate it was completed in 1982. Either way, it's too recent to qualify for protection as a city historic or architectural landmark under the standard 50- year threshhold, though that can be waived for buildings of unusual merit. The Babylon was Arquitectonica's first building and only its second design, after the famed Pink House designed for co-founder Laurinda Spear's parents in Miami Shores. Spear was primarily responsible for the Babylon, whose name was inspired by its ziggurat shape — itself a response to the narrow site and the need to set the building back from adjoining houses that have long since vanished, some of the founding Arquitectonica members recall. Spear also did a set of romantically surreal pencil drawings of the building that drew wide attention among architects and designers. M a▪ ) ' u IV a) 2 ▪ • Ersa a ,o c o cc) • 1- o By continuing to use this site, you give your consent to our use of cookies for analytics, personalizat in a https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article64124462.html 5/13 5/1/2019 Miami's landmark Babylon Apartments, first Arquitectonica building, faces demolition 1 Miami Herald 4e DLuysm4ptu +dm yututg Arcli tirLLS 1. x re utuigti t 1tt1naLc iur E u 111 0t SUL Scs4tun tr 1drg Brickell condos credited with helping revive Miami's image and propel its urban revival, including the Atlantis — the famous tower with a square hole and a palm tree in the middle that was featured in the opening titles of Miami Vice. Arquitectonica co -principal Bernardo Fort -Brescia, who is married to Spear, declined to comment on the Babylon's fate. Spear and Fort -Brescia took the firm's helm in the 198os after the three other co-founders split off. Plater-Zyberk, who says she drew the construction documents for the Babylon, said she's ambivalent about saving modern buildings because the criteria for doing so have not been fully developed. But her blunt -spoken husband, architect and planner Andres Duany, also an Arquitectonica co-founder and with Plater-Zyberk a founder of the influential New Urbanism movement, did not mince words. "Arquitectonica is the most important firm in Miami, probably in the Caribbean, possibly in the southeastern United States, in the last So years — since Morris Lapidus," Duany said. "If they were to demolish this building, it would be an act of cultural barbarism. Completely beneath the artistic reputation that Miami thinks it has. And it would betray that we are nothing but a bunch of swamp - dwelling barbarians. Still." Critics of the rezoning raise further issues. They note the Miami 21 code allows zoning increases only from one category up to the next, a rule that seems to bar Martinez's rezoning request, which would leapfrog several levels. Beyond that, given the narrowness and reduced dimensions of the lot, which is barely a third of an acre, opponents say it doesn't seem possible for a 48-story tower to fit on it because there would scant room for required setbacks and parking. The Babylon, surrounded by houses when built, is now hemmed in by newer, taller condos on either side. That's a circumstance that Architect magazine, which sponsors the Progressive Architecture awards, lamented in a look back at the Babylon and the Atlantis, which also won the same prize. Wrote Thomas Fisher, architecture dean at the University of Minnesota: "The bloated development along Biscayne Bay gives new meaning to the term `Miami vice,' making you yearn for a time when these sensual Arquitectonica buildings evoked a city still in command of its senses." 0 COMMENTS Submitted into the public record for item(s) PZ. 13 . on 06/27/2019 , City Clerk By continuing to use this site, you give your consent to our use of cookies for analytics, personalizatXn a https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/artic1e64124462.html 6/13