Miami Beach voters have some quality-of-life issues on their ballots | Editorial

Miami Beach voters will find six referendum items on their ballot on Aug. 23. They can feel confident in approving all of them.

No. 1

Naming Alton Road Park ‘Canopy Park’

A three-acre park, between Alton Road and West Avenue and Sixth and Eighth streets is part of a development agreement with the adjacent Five Park condo tower. City commissioners first proposed to name it Sunset Park, but changed their support to Canopy Park, which voters must approve. YES

No. 2

Architect on the Board of Adjustment

This board oversees applications for variances to the land development rules and appeals of administrative decisions. Members can represent these professional areas: law, architecture, accounting, financial consultation and general business. Given the board’s duties, adding an architect makes sense. YES

No. 3

Proof of residency to run for office

Even though political candidates in Miami Beach are already required to have lived in the city for at least a year before qualifying to run in an election, this item adds an extra requirement that candidates submit physical proof of their residency, such as a voter registration card or property tax receipt. Couldn’t hurt. YES

No. 4

Converting apartment hotels to residential buildings

This ballot item would give owners of apartment hotels south of Fifth Street (SoFi) an incentive to convert their buildings into full-time residential projects in exchange for the ability to develop their buildings to include more square footage and units. Apartment hotels, which feature a mix of apartment units and hotel rooms, now are banned in SoFi. However, seven apartment hotels were approved before the ban was enacted. Residents in the neighborhood have complained that apartment hotels attract crime and noisy tourists. City administrators told the Editorial Board that the extra height for buildings currently under construction would not put them out of scale with the rest of the area. YES

No. 5

Density increase for health-center land swap

This item would allow developers to build a mixed-use structure at 710-720 Alton Rd., the site of a rundown community health center operated by the county. If voters approve this referendum, developers will build a shiny new community health center across the street at 663 Alton Rd., while being allowed to get a floor-area ratio (FAR) increase for a building between Fifth and Eighth streets from Alton Road to West Avenue.

In addition, County Commissioner Eileen Higgins has proposed a library be added on the second floor of the new health center. On Miami Beach, increasing density along already high-traffic corridors and accommodating developers can be a contentious endeavor, something over which Beach Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez has been a watchdog. However, she has a different view of this project. “Most of the time I vote against FAR increases,” Rosen Gonzalez told the Editorial Board. “But because this project includes a public benefit, I am not opposed to it.”

We agree that the public benefit gives this project the edge. YES

No. 6

Voter approval to vacate streets for increased density

This would require a voter referendum before the city could “vacate” streets — in other words, turn over control of a public roadway — to let developers increase the density of their projects. Beach voters get to approve most increases in floor-area ratio. This ballot item would close what Rosen Gonzalez calls a “loophole,” given that developers can include a roadway’s area in density calculations and increase the size of their buildings. This would give residents more oversight over public property. YES

This story was originally published August 21, 2022 at 4:46 PM.