Proposed Lincoln Road North overlay would trade extra floor area for a pedestrian lane

Commercial properties on the small block between Lincoln Road and 17th Street, from Meridian Avenue to Meridian Court, could build up to 5,000 square feet beyond what zoning now allows if they pay for pedestrian improvements to city streets or city property, under a proposed overlay district on the Planning Board’s Dec. 8 agenda.

The draft ordinance would create a “Lincoln Road North Overlay District” for CD-3 zoned properties on that block. The bonus is capped at 5,000 square feet per property and is available only to projects that provide “a substantial public benefit” in the form of pedestrian improvements, the draft says. A companion change to the city’s comprehensive plan is also on the agenda.

The referral memo in the file asked for the item to go on the City Commission’s Sept. 10 agenda so the legislation could be sent to the Planning Board. According to a supporting letter in the file, Commissioner Joe Magazine proposed the overlay.

The project behind it

The letter, filed Sept. 17 by attorney Graham Penn, represents MAC 723 LL LLC, owner of 723 Lincoln Road/1669 Meridian Ave. It says the owner has been working with the city on “Via NoLi,” an effort to turn North Lincoln Lane, the service alley behind the Lincoln Road storefronts, into a pedestrian corridor.

The owner’s plans described in the letter include pedestrianizing the lane next to its property for outdoor seating, landscaping and walking; new storefront openings onto the lane; splitting part of the existing tenant space into smaller boutique shops; and planters, a green roof on the existing canopy and a lighted, landscaped trellis. The letter says the project keeps the building’s existing footprint and development intensity, and that the overlay would cover fewer than seven platted lots.

The draft does not spell out what counts as a substantial public benefit or who decides. The Planning Board makes a recommendation; the City Commission has the final vote on both changes, on two readings.

The Planning Board meets at 9 a.m. Dec. 8 at City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive. Files are on the city’s meeting portal.