TO: Planning and Zoning Board
FROM: Christopher M. Gratz, AICP
THROUGH: Elizabeth Taschereau, Director of Development Services
DATE: June 6, 2023
Title
TRANSIT ORIENTED CORRIDOR (TOC) CODE AMENDMENT
BACKGROUND:
Staff is bringing forward an amendment to the Transit Oriented Corridor (TOC) Districts separately from the on-going Code update to expedite these changes. This amendment addresses two (2) issues:
A. Multi-family Development
1. Residential development fronting directly on State Road 7
2. Multiple-family dwellings as a permitted use
B. Development Standards
1. Residential Building Heights and Setbacks in TOC-Gateway (TOC-G) District
2. Setback from Major Roads and Massing
3. Mixed-Use
The TOC Districts allow greater density and intensity in order to encourage more compact and more intense redevelopment. Residential uses in all of the TOC Districts are allowable with the approval of a Special Exception. However, the Code does not allow them to front directly on State Road 7, and the development standards for the TOC-Corridor (TOC-C) and TOC-G Districts are not feasible for redevelopment.
A. Residential development fronting directly on State Road 7
1. Allowing residential uses to front directly on State Road 7 is a policy decision. From a planning standpoint, the use can be compatible.
• It is not common to find one-family detached dwellings and two-family dwellings along major roads in areas targeted for redevelopment; and
• It is common to find multi-family developments along major roads in areas targeted for redevelopment.
Staff recommends:
• Allowing multi-family developments fronting directly on State Road 7.
2. Multiple-family dwellings as a permitted use
The TOC Districts allow residential uses, including one-family detached dwellings, two-family dwellings, or multiple-family dwellings only with the approval of a Special Exception.
The Special Exception requirement hinders redevelopment because it provides:
• Uncertainty, since these are discretionary approvals by the City Commission; and
• Increases costs associated with hearings and the approximate three (3) months it requires to go through the process to seek approval.
Staff recommends:
• Not allowing new one-family detached dwellings and two-family dwellings in the TOC-G and TOC-C Districts; and
• Allowing multi-family developments to be a permitted use.
B. Development Standards
1. Residential Building Heights and Setbacks in TOC-C & TOC-G Districts
a. Heights
The current regulations for the TOC-C District allows non-residential buildings to be four (4) floors, 66 feet in height and limit residential buildings to four (4) floors, 50 feet in height.
The current regulations for the TOC-G District allows non-residential buildings to be six (6) floors, 94 feet in height and limit residential buildings to four (4) floors, 50 feet in height.
b. Setbacks
The TOC-C and TOC-G Districts require applying the Planned Residential Community (PRC) District standards to develop residential uses (including one-family detached dwellings, two-family dwellings, or multiple-family dwellings including horizontal mixed use).
Then the PRC District refers to the standards in the Multiple Dwelling R-3 District when developing multiple family dwellings. Below are the standards:
ARTICLE XVI. - MULTIPLE DWELLING R-3 DISTRICT
Section 16.5. - Building height limits.
(B) Buildings for all other permitted uses shall not exceed four (4) stories or fifty (50) feet in height.
Section 16.6. - Yards and setbacks.
(C) Multiple Dwellings:
(1) Street setback. No building or structure shall be located less than 25 feet from a street right-of-way that is less than 80 feet in width. No building or structure shall be located less than 35 feet from a street right-of-way that is 80 feet in width or wider, with the exception of Holiday Springs Boulevard.
(2) Front yard. Every plot shall have a front yard of not less than 25 feet in depth or a depth equal to the height of the building, whichever is greater.
(3) Side yards. Every plot shall have side yards of at least 15 feet or one-half the height of the building, whichever is greater.
(4) Rear yard. Every plot shall have a rear yard of not less than 20 feet in depth plus one additional foot for each two feet in building height, or portion thereof, over 25 feet.
These are standards for suburban developments on large tracts of vacant land. When applying them to parcels in the TOC-C and TOC-G Districts the result produces small buildable areas making it not physically possible and / or financially feasible to construct new buildings.
Staff recommends:
• Allowing the already allowed height for nonresidential uses to be the same for residential uses; and
• Allowing the required yards and setbacks already in the Code to be applicable to all development in the TOC-C and TOC-G Districts, shown below.
Section 9.7. - Specific design standards.
(C) Setbacks along street frontages. The primary frontage setback shall maintain a minimum of eighteen (18) feet, measured from the curb along roads classified as an arterial roadway by the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization's Federal Functional Classification Map; and sixteen (16) feet for all other roadways.
(E) Side yard setback. For the purposes of this article side yard setback is defined as the required minimum distance from the side property line to the primary building. There is no minimum side yard setback between buildings or minimum space between buildings.
(F) Rear setback. Rear setback is defined as the required minimum distance from the rear property line to the nearest building. The creation and maintenance of a new and interconnected rear alleyway system is a major goal of this section. Rear setbacks must be maintained to accommodate rear alleyway creation and provide separation between nonresidential uses in the TOC and residential uses outside of the TOC. The minimum rear setback shall be thirty-eight (38) feet when new development abuts a residential district or use.
(G) Alleyway setback. Alleyway setback is defined as the required minimum distance from the alleyway edge of pavement to any building. The minimum alleyway setback shall be twelve (12) feet. The minimum paved width of a one-way alley in the TOC shall be ten (10) feet, the minimum width of a two-way alley in the TOC shall be eighteen (18) feet. Portions of an alley which serve parking spaces shall meet minimum dimensions provided in Article XXXIII of this Code.
2. Setback from Major Roads and Massing
Currently, the regulations require the following setback in the TOC-G:
• To be setback a minimum of 75 feet from major roads when they exceed four (4) stories or 66 feet in height; and
Currently, the regulations require the following massing limitations in the TOC-G:
• When a building exceeds 150 feet of roadway frontage, no more than 75 percent of it may be taller than four (4) stories.
These restrictions reduce the feasibility of any redevelopment project in the TOC-G due to the lost developable area. The Code has these restrictions in both Section 9.7. - Specific design standards and in Section 9.11. - The Regulating Plan.
Staff recommends:
• Revising the Code so the restrictions are only in Section 9.7. - Specific design standards;
• Eliminating the front setback from major roads of 75 feet for buildings over four (4) floors and have the setback already in the Code of 18 feet from the curb be the applicable requirement; and
• Leaving the massing limitation for buildings with a roadway frontage exceeding 150 feet in place.
3. Mixed Use
Currently, the TOC-G and TOC-C regulations only allow horizontal mixed use with the approval of a Special Exception. This means residential and nonresidential uses can only be next to one another in the same building or property.
The TOC-City Center (TOC-CC) District only allows vertical mixed use with the approval of a Special Exception in a building that is at least four (4) stories. This means residential and nonresidential uses are allowable within the same building.
• Vertical mixed-use is a typical design component within redevelopment areas; and
• Vertical mixed-use is typical in buildings that are a minimum of three (3) stories.
Staff recommends:
• Allowing horizontal and vertical mixed-use in buildings that are a minimum of three (3) stories in all TOC Districts with approval of a Special Exception.
RECOMMENDATION: Recommend approval of the changes to the Code as recommended by staff.
FISCAL IMPACT: N/A
CONTACT PERSON: Elizabeth Taschereau, Director of Development Services