Residents along the Drexel Avenue and Washington Avenue corridor between 16th Street and Lincoln Road have a final chance to weigh in before the city sends a proposed density increase to the Commission for a vote.

Miami Beach is hosting its second and final virtual community meeting on the Urban Core Residential Incentives proposal Thursday, Aug. 6, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. via Zoom, according to the city's event page. The plan would raise the maximum allowable floor area ratio for properties in the corridor, creating a new "Urban Core Residential Incentive Area" within the CD-3 high-intensity commercial zoning district to encourage non-transient residential development.

What the proposal would change

Two ordinances, first placed on the City Commission agenda June 24, would amend both the Land Development Regulations and the city's Year 2040 Comprehensive Plan. Specifically, the amendments would:

• Increase FAR incentives for non-transient residential uses on Washington Avenue from 16th Street to Lincoln Road.
• Create a new residential incentive area bounded by Drexel Avenue and Washington Avenue in that same stretch.
• Modify parking requirements under Parking Tier 2 for the affected properties.

The city has not published the specific FAR numbers — current versus proposed — in its public notices for the meeting.

How this differs from the Washington Avenue Residential Plan

The Urban Core Residential Incentives proposal is separate from Commissioner David Suarez's broader Washington Avenue Residential Plan, which covers a one-mile stretch of Washington Avenue from 5th Street to 17th Street and would increase height limits to encourage apartment construction. That plan was scheduled for a Commission vote July 22 but was not reached before the meeting adjourned. It is now set for Sept. 10, according to Miami Herald reporting.

The Urban Core plan targets a smaller, overlapping section — the two blocks between Drexel and Washington from 16th to Lincoln Road — and focuses specifically on FAR increases rather than height changes.

Both proposals respond to the same pressure. Miami Beach's population has dropped from a peak of 92,000 in 1990 to under 82,000, a decline officials have tied to high rents and a lack of new non-luxury housing.

"The status quo on Washington undeniably is a downward trajectory … It's an opportunity to reimagine Washington Avenue as one of greatest places in Miami Beach for residents, not just visitors," Suarez said at the July 22 Commission meeting, as reported by the Miami Herald, in reference to the broader Washington Avenue plan.

How to participate

The Aug. 6 meeting is open to all residents via Zoom. The Webinar ID is 814 3000 3770, and the direct link is us06web.zoom.us/j/81430003770.

Residents who cannot attend can email questions or comments to Neighborhood Affairs Coordinator Nicholas Levy at [email protected].

The Commission vote date for the Urban Core Residential Incentives ordinances has not been confirmed. The next regular Commission meeting after the August recess is Sept. 10, when the separate Washington Avenue Residential Plan is also scheduled for a vote.