'Tall and Skinny' viewpoints
Commission strives to preserve Town Center view corridors
By Bari Auerbach

Why was Commissioner Danny Iglesias holding up a "cardboard condo" at the May 6 Sunny Isles Beach City Commission meeting? To illustrate a concept of how "tall and skinny" buildings can help optimally preserve view corridors in the city's Town Center district.

At the May 6 City Commission meeting, an ordinance was approved on second reading (with Commissioner Roslyn Brezin dissenting) relating to the creation of a Town Center district. The zoning regulations outlined in the Town Center ordinance will dictate the shape of residential and commercial development to come for the area encompassing the west side of Collins Avenue from 172nd Street to and inclusive of Sunny Isles Boulevard.

'The Right Height'
Before the Town Center ordinance passed, Iglesias proffered a "tall and skinny" amendment regarding building heights on the south side of Sunny Isles Beach Boulevard. He utilized a "cardboard condo" model to demonstrate the idea of encouraging developers to narrow the width of building towers by two feet for every one foot increase in building height (not to exceed 200 feet including mechanical equipment).
Iglesias proceeded to demonstrate how adding an additional ten feet in height to a building could result in the width of the tower being decreased by 20 feet.

"The building closest to whatever is going to be developed [by the south side of Sunny Isles Beach Boulevard] is Oceania - which is 323 feet, eight inches [high]," Iglesias noted. "[The Commission] is proposing a [maximum] height of 190 feet [for the south side of Sunny Isles Beach Boulevard] which is about 60-70 percent less.I can live with 190 feet - but I'd rather have 200 [feet] and let the building tower width be less.Then we'll have more views for people next door and a prettier building.To me, it's a lot better to 'go up' - but remove width from the building [tower]."

Mayor Norman Edelcup concurred with Iglesias, stating, "This is another demonstration of where we can get buildings to be tall and skinny so we get wider view corridors - or wider separation between towers. When you force the height to come down you get squattier buildings and you begin to get the 'wall effect' because developers are going to use the space between towers to max out the number of square feet they're able to build on a site.I firmly believe it's better to build buildings tall and skinny and create view corridors throughout the city then it is to build them lower.the minute you build them lower, you're going to make them squattier and there's no way around that."

Vice Mayor Gerry Goodman also agreed, noting, "I campaigned on 'tall and skinny.' I want view corridors. I don't want our city to look like Surfside [where there are] twelve story buildings 'lot line to lot line.'"

During the discussion, Commissioner Lewis Thaler presented a photograph of a ten-story development by the entrance to Sunny Isles Boulevard coming off the bridge that he referred to as "short and squat." Along with the majority of the Commission, Thaler agreed this was not the kind of building he would like to see emulated in the Town Center district.

Expressing a different viewpoint, Commissioner Roslyn Brezin said, "We all want [the gateway to the city] to be beautiful and we all have a different idea of what beautiful is. Perhaps we could 'cut this down' and have a height of 120 [feet] instead of 190 [feet] and have a smaller building."

At a previous Commission meeting, developer Joseph Milton observed, "Tall and skinny [buildings] create open space but 'short and fat' creates walls we can't see through. Citing an example, he said, "If you're walking by Porto Bellagio that's only eight stories tall, it's a disaster.it's a wall."
Residents speaking during the public hearing segment of the meeting urged the Commission to "build tall and narrow" to preserve view corridors.

Kathleen Kennedy of Plaza of the Americas commented, "Thank heavens for you Commissioners.you've got vision.Some of the past buildings we've had here have been wide and they look ugly. There should be a landmark entrance to Sunny Isles with beautiful, chic, slim buildings."

Referencing the Porto Bellagio development on North Bay Road, Maryann Eicke said, "We have a block back there which is just horrendous. we should definitely go with the 'tall and skinny' concept."
Henry Kay, president of the Sunny Isles Beach Citizens Coalition noted, "While driving along Collins Avenue and attempting to visualize "tall and skinny," I saw 'bricks in my face.' I happen to enjoy driving through Surfside where I can almost see the skyline over the buildings.When the word 'density' was attached to [the Sunny Isles Beach Comprehensive Plan], I don't think it meant at that time - five or six years ago - the density we're perceiving now."
Ultimately, the Town Center ordinance approved designates a "birthday cake" effect for heights within the Town Center district as follows:

On the south side of Sunny Isles Beach Boulevard, up to an additional ten feet in height (above 190 feet including mechanical equipment) may be added to the height of the building, provided the width of the tower will be decreased by up to 20 feet; for the area fronting the west side of Collins and the north side of Sunny Isles Boulevard, building height maximum is 50 feet/four stories; for the first 130 feet setback from the property line, it will be 100 feet/eight stories.and then for the next 100 feet, it will be 170 feet/15 stories.

Building Pedestals
An amendment to the Town Center ordinance approved at the May 6 Commission meeting states that on the south side of Sunny Isles Beach Boulevard, maximum building pedestal height will be five stories.

Another amendment to the Town Center ordinance regarding side setbacks on the south side of Sunny Isles Boulevard designates "zero side setbacks" allowing for a separation of 50 feet in between towers in order to avoid a "wall effect." Tower setbacks subsequently increased from 20 to 25 feet (to allow for the 50 feet in between towers). The majority of the Commission also endorsed "zero side setbacks" with the goal to eliminate alleyways in between buildings and promote pedestrian friendly, safe walkways.

At the May 6 meeting, Commissioner Roslyn Brezin brought up a discussion about building bases (comprised of elements such as retail establishments and parking garages) noting, "What you have to remember if you're talking about a 'tall and skinny' [tower] is you [still] have a [five story building] base - lot to lot - without side setbacks on either side.that's not 'tall and skinny.'

In response, Edelcup explained, "The [building] base we have to deal with happens to be the retail we're trying to put in [the Town Center] as well as parking for stores and buildings.So by the time you [dedicate space] for retail shops, parking for retail and people who live in the building, you've [got] a base of five or so stories.If we intend to have retail in Town Center, you're committing, in effect, to have the wider base."

Edelcup also noted, "We must remember that every building that comes before us has to meet site plan approval, fire code approval, traffic and fire department approvals.If we don't want retail you can certainly cut the base down - but the idea for Town Center was to create an open plaza to bring people to an area where they have something to do - whether it's shopping or going to a restaurant - all those things have to be provided if you want to have a Town Center which our Comprehensive Plan mandates.

"For developers to come to us, we have to create guidelines broad enough so they can be creative.We can still reject the idea if we don't like it - but the minute you start narrowing the guidelines, you're going to narrow creativity.I would rather deal with a project where we give some creativity to the developer and his architect and then we can sit back and decide if it's proper for [a specific] location."

Density
The dwelling unit density [in the Town Center ordinance] is defined as a maximum of 60 units per acre for all properties except for the south side of Sunny Isles Boulevard that can have a maximum density not to exceed 75 units per acre for lots of 400 feet or more (the density is tied into the lot widths).

Following a majority vote of the Commission, the Town Center ordinance now includes a "sliding scale" created for density and floor area ratio (FAR) as follows: For parcels from 100 to 149 feet, there is a density of 25 units per acre and base FAR of 1.5; for parcels from 150 to 299 feet, there is a density of 50 units per acre and base FAR of 2.0; for parcels from 300 to 399 feet, there is a density of 70 units per acre and base FAR of 2.5; and for parcels of 400 feet and above, there is a density of 75 units per acre and a base FAR of 3.5.

One of the amendments made to the Town Center ordinance at the May 6 City Commission meeting, specifically pertained to the south side of Sunny Isles Beach Boulevard. The majority of commissioners compromised and agreed maximum density for lots of 400 feet or more should be decreased from 80 to 75 units per acre. The amendment came about after Commissioner Lewis Thaler initiated a "density debate."

"I keep bringing up the density issue because I really believe that [a maximum of 80 units per acre] is too much," Thaler said. "I see the traffic out there and I think we should make every effort to keep [the density] as low as we can."

In response, Edelcup noted, "We're arguing about ten units on two or three properties, dealing with about forty units in total for the entire area."

Speaking on the issue of "density," Greenberg Traurig attorney Cliff Schulman, who represents developers in Sunny Isles Beach, noted, "When you tell a developer on a one or two acre site that he can't have 20 more units - that could make the difference between the life or death of a project with very little difference to [affecting the city's] quality of life.I live in a condo and the bottom line is there are160 units in my building of which 50 of us are full time residents - that's not something atypical of the buildings being built now.The 80 units per acre was singled out for only one area of the entire Town Center to allow that particular density.you should allow it because I think the [city's Comprehensive Plan] does dictate it."

Schulman also advised the Commission that existing properties in the Town Center area could be adversely legally impacted [by passage of the Town Center ordinance]. "There are parcels in the city that are [zoned] RMF2, and today, they can built to 190 feet.After you pass this ordinance, they can't.I've suggested potential legal consequences to that.When someone used to have a 19 story building and instead [based on passage of the Town Center ordinance] now has an 8 or 10 story building - there may be a significant difference in value between what the [property owner] has today and what he'll have tomorrow.

"Under the Burt J. Harris Act, legislation says if you inordinately burden that person's property rights for the benefit of the public - the public should pay the difference. Before you act, I think you should know what the potential price would be of properties that you're adversely impacting."

'According to Plan'
Before agreeing to compromise with the 75 units per acre density allotment for parcels of 400 feet or more on the south side of Sunny Isles Beach Boulevard, Iglesias said, "I believe [bringing the density down from a maximum of 80 units per acre] goes completely against the Comprehensive Plan.[the Town Center area] is supposed to be intensely developed.There are only one or two lots where developers can build a maximum of 80 units per acre."
"The city's Comprehensive Plan [dictates] we have to have 'intense development' [in the Town Center district]," Iglesias pointed out. "[In regards to] the density we have on Sunny Isles Boulevard, taking each individual parcel on both the north and south sides - in summary, the south side as 11.1 acres which is 633 units.with the Mayor's proposed sliding scale - that comes out to an average of 57 units per acre. The north side has 9.73 acres, and with the Mayor's proposed sliding scale that gives you 249 units which is 30 units per acre.The total Sunny Isles Boulevard acreage in this area is 20.83 acres -looking at the maximum you can build there, the bottom line is it's an average [density] of 44 units per acre."

While referring to specific sections of the city's Comprehensive Plan, Iglesias attempted to justify the contention that the Town Center district should be "intensely developed."

"We can't please everyone - but by trying to do so, we've cut back so much in the Town Center we're 'borderline' as to whether we meet the intent of the Comprehensive Plan," Iglesias said. "Page three of the Comprehensive Plan specifically says that the Town Center strategy combines large scale changes in the city's development pattern - a mixed use, seeking to combine businesses and housing in a vertically integrated mix.

"Page 22 of the Comprehensive Plan states the Town Center is encouraged to become the hub for future urban development intensification - and on page 23 it says the Town Center should be intensely developed.Furthermore, on page 18, it says the city shall develop and implement regulations to encourage the redevelopment of Sunny Isles Boulevard and the city shall adopt development incentives that will foster and encourage redevelopment of Sunny Isles Boulevard."

Traffic Impacts
Iglesias, who is an engineer with the Florida Department of Transportation, also focused on traffic impacts. Commenting on statistics showing there would be an approximate seven percent increase in traffic based on sticking with the 80 units per acre maximum density allotment for parcels of 400 feet or more on the south side of Sunny Isles Beach Boulevard, he said, "That's basically 'nothing' in a corridor that [already] has over 44,000 cars a day.

"Winston Towers has 2,800 apartments and there are no major traffic jams on those [interior neighborhood] lanes - but you do have a traffic jam on Collins because it's a major corridor.If you live in North Miami Beach, Aventura, Golden Beach, Hallandale, Hollywood or Fort Lauderdale and you want to go to South Beach you come down Collins.And of course we're going to have construction for the next couple of years so traffic is an issue we're going to have to face on Collins.Traffic is an issue we have to face in [all of] South Florida."

Vice Mayor Goodman noted, "People who live in Sunny Isles Beach are not causing the traffic - it's coming from [motorists] who don't live here that want to go north and south on Collins Avenue.On the west side of Collins, coming south from Golden Beach, there are 125 curb cuts [causing] cars to slow down and turn."

Retail Requirements
During the May 6 Commission meeting, Thaler stated, "I think the whole [Town Center] area should have retail stores.I believe we should put it into rules and regulations we're establishing now that they must have retail on the first level. [Developers] now have an option to put in a lobby if they want.I believe, initially, every one of the buildings should have a retail store or restaurant so we can have the walkways we're talking about and people coming [to the Town Center].

Subsequently, the Commission voted in favor of an amendment to the Town Center ordinance stating that on the south side of Sunny Isles Beach Boulevard, retail uses shall be required.At least 70% of the first floor area shall be retail uses and said retail shall not be counted towards FAR (floor area ratio).
'Around Town'

Other elements of the Town Center ordinance outline zoning guidelines including prohibited uses; floor area ratio (FAR) bonus amendments for developers proffering open space and desirable amenities such as enclosed parking, public plazas, site assembly and public land enhancements; and architectural guidelines intended to be approved in conjunction with site plan approval to ensure there is a consistent pedestrian friendly concept throughout the Town Center.

'Vision for the Future'
In conjunction with city staff and planning consultants from Calvin Giordano & Associates, the City Commission considered input from citizens, developers and other interested parties with the goal to create a Town Center zoning ordinance paving the way for continued revitalization and economic prosperity.

After the Town Center ordinance was passed on second reading at the May 6 Commission meeting, Mayor Norman Edelcup said, "It took us over one year to get here and we hope everyone is satisfied with the compromises reached.We've worked hard and diligently to try to create a better city and hope what we're passing today becomes the vision we want to see for the future."
 

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