Miami 21: New Zoning Code for the City
Miami 21 is a formbased zoning code that replaced Miami’s FAR and land-use based regulations. Using the Transect and the SmartCode as its basis, the new code focuses on the control of building to assure pedestrianoriented public space, and provide physical predictability for developers and residents alike. As a response to Miami’s rapid growth, the City’s Planning Department commissioned DPZ to completely overhaul the zoning code and create a plan for the next century of development. Taking on a holistic approach to urban policy and land use planning, the study, dubbed Miami 21, assumed a scope broader than that of a traditional master plan, ultimately providing the city with the largest-known application of a form-based code. Miami 21 will transform the way the City of Miami manages zoning, economic development, transportation, historic preservation, parks and open space.
The work began with analysis of existing regulations and all neighborhood plans; it required input from studies on economic development, transportation, arts and culture, historic preservation, and green building, as well as coordination with a Parks and Open Space Master Plan, and a Bicycle Master Plan. A series of public workshops, and an outreach campaign that included a website, a hotline, and advertising, were used to elicit public participation.
The cornerstone of the Miami 21 project is the transformation of Miami’s existing land-use-based zoning code into a form-based code. Upon completion, the new code will offer a more efficient, predictable, and comprehensive approach to urban development. In particular, the predictability of the new code will greatly diminish the need for zoning amendments that achieve short term solutions, but not long term goals. The efficiency of the new code will also speed up the permitting process and encourage continued investment and revitalization throughout the City of Miami.
A new form-based zoning code
Miami 21 is a new form-based zoning code for a growing coastal city at the heart of a metropolitan region. The purpose of the effort was to direct the city toward transit-oriented, pedestrian-friendly growth, and away from disjointed, car-centered development.
From the beginning, the new code had overarching goals: conservation and development. These were to respond to the seemingly conflicting agendas of residents concerned about high-density development encroaching on lowdensity neighborhoods, and city administrators eager to encourage renewed investment in languishing commercial districts. Using the Transect and the Smart Code as its organizing framework, the new code focuses on regulating building to create pedestrian-friendly public space and to ensure physical predictability for developers and residents.
The code includes incentives to minimize areas devoted to parking, and it encourages green building, historic preservation, the redevelopment of brownfield sites, and the development of additional public open space. A form-based code is a land development regulation that fosters predictable built results and a high-quality public realm by using physical form (rather than separation of uses) as the organizing principle for the code. A form-based code is a regulation, not a mere guideline, adopted into city, town, or county law. A form-based code offers a powerful alternative to conventional zoning regulation.
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Materials provided by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. LLC