Commission amends ‘TDR ordinance’
By Bari Auerbach


At the Oct. 14 City Commission meeting, an ordinance passed on first reading amending a section of Sunny Isles Beach land development regulations relating to Transfer of Development Rights (TDR’s).

Mayor Norman Edelcup explained, “This is a follow up on a discussion that was held back in July in which we were talking about revising the TDR ordinance. We felt, first of all, that the TDR [ordinance] we had was still a ‘work in progress’ and we needed to have some amendments…And secondly, there were some major changes that may be needed to be incorporated into the ordinance.

“What we’re going to be talking about tonight are a couple of major topics…One is we’re defining the ‘sender site’ – the site that gives up the land – as a site the city will be able to use as a park or open space.

“There had been some confusion in our language before and what we’re trying to do now is to say, ‘Any land subject to having TDR’s on it, so we don’t double count in density, has to be a piece of land that will remain open as a park, open space, view corridor, plaza, etc. not encumbered with buildings…As opposed to having a site being donated to the city where let’s say a City Hall is built on that site - so there is a [structure] there that therefore creates a density. If we have the density there [on the property] then we can’t really transfer the density somewhere else because we’ve [already] used it.

“The other item that we’re changing, and admittedly we’ve changed this twice now, is that when [there is] a receiver site where something is going to [actually] be built and it’s being presented to the city for site plan approval - the sender site, if there are TDR’s involved, needs to be identified at the time the site plan is being reviewed.

“Earlier in the life of this [TDR]ordinance, we were allowing the sender site to be designated at a later date and we’ve decided that really isn’t working to our satisfaction. There seems to be an inability to get those [sender] sites defined so we think it’s probably better…when the site plan is being reviewed, that the negotiations are [already] completed for where the extra TDR’s are coming from - whether it be from the city or a private owner.”

City Attorney’s Report
Providing further clarification, City Attorney Lynn Dannheisser reported. “As the city continues to be developed and open space, parks, recreational facilities and parking for those facilities remain an immediate, pressing need of the city, this [TDR] ordinance has now been amended to further facilitate that purpose and to clarify, amend and codify issues and concerns that may have been raised over the course of time.

“The definition of a ‘sender site’ has now been amended to provide that this is a site deemed by the City Commission to be appropriate or advisable for use as open space, parks, park amenities, recreational facilities and parking for those facilities.

“We have also clarified the point that TDR’s may not be transferred from any parks that existed within the boundaries of the city on the date of the city’s incorporation. The only TDR’s transferred from city-owned sites are those which were acquired by the city subsequent to incorporation and utilized thereafter as parks. The amount of TDR’s to be sent to the bank from these city-owned properties are calculated from the underlying zoning that existed at the time of the city’s acquisition of parks.

“The fact that a site plan on a receiver site cannot be approved by the Commission with TDR’s unless a sender site has first been identified or approved; or the owner of the sender site commits to purchase either city owned TDR’s or TDR’s already located in the TDR bank from a previously approved, privately owned sender site is clarified and reinstated as a requirement.

“The sender and receiver sites have to be identified at the same time – this is to address the fact that there were no transactions occurring and we were approving receiver sites without them having to identify where they were getting the TDR’s from. [Permits won’t be] issued until it is demonstrated that the transfer has occurred.

“We’ve also clarified the fact that TDR’s can include the underlying zoning, approved bonuses and allowable TDR’s up to 130 percent and only if they can be performed. [Also] in no event can a receiver site accept transfers if the height of the improvements on that site will then exceed 550 feet.

“The approval process by the City Commission, including valuation, has further been clarified. First we have stated with great specificity that until a transfer of development rights is so approved by the Commission, TDR’s have no inherent or intrinsic value and cannot be considered as a matter of right in the valuation of any potential sender or receiver site. It is solely the final approval of the Commission, in its discretion, and based on the criteria set forth in the ordinance that gives rise to the value of TDR’s.

“Finally, after listening to a number of comments from developers, we have agreed that the ordinance in effect at the time the application was filed will be the one that’s applicable. So if [the ordinance] changes, and an application has already been filed, [the project] will go under that ordinance and not the ordinance being put into effect now or what may come thereafter.

“There may be further amendments in the future - but we believe these changes will assist the city in furthering its goals of achieving more open space and parks and encouraging more activity in the private marketplace.”

Proposed Amendment ‘Scrapped’
During the Oct. 14 City Commission meeting, Mayor Norman Edelcup noted that an amendment to the TDR ordinance previously suggested was “scrapped.” The proposed amendment was to eliminate future private-to-private TDR transactions; and designate the City as the “sole seller” of TDR’s.

TDR History
TDR’s can be defined as "the process by which development rights are transferred from one lot, parcel, or area of land in a sending district (usually where land conservation is sought) to another lot, parcel, or area of land in one or more receiving districts (where property is desired and can be serviced properly)." Pertaining to specific parcels in Sunny Isles Beach, if a property owner has no interest in building on the site he owns, he would then have the option of picking up the TDR’s on that property and selling them or transferring them over to another site in the city upon approval of the City Commission.

Main TDR receiver sites where land could potentially be donated to the City are the east side of Collins Avenue and the Town Center district on the west side of Collins Avenue from 172nd Street to and inclusive of Sunny Isles Boulevard.

‘A Living Document’
“ It may seem like we’re always amending this particular [TDR] ordinance and the reason I think we are is because it is such a unique ordinance and it is such a unique right that we’re creating,” Edelcup has noted. “It is something that doesn’t occur naturally in normal development processes throughout the world. It’s unique in many cities and we happen to be one of them – and we don’t have a lot of history from other cities as to what they did in these areas so we’re on a learning curve.”

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