Committee puts off West Avenue sales-center rule; city says 12 seawall designs include living panels

A proposal to let a developer put a temporary sales building on a West Avenue project site was pushed back to Nov. 24 after Miami Beach’s Land Use and Sustainability Committee raised questions about it on Tuesday, Nov. 10, according to the meeting’s video and transcript.

The item would change the city’s land development rules to allow a temporary sales building in the Alton Beach Bayfront Overlay, tied to the 1250 West Avenue project. Staff said the request came from a lobbyist for the developer, and that the administration supports sending it to the Planning Board with a favorable recommendation. Its sponsor, Commissioner Joseph Magazine, was not at the meeting.

Committee members asked why the rule change hadn’t come up when the project’s development agreement was approved; staff did not have an answer. They also questioned how long the building could stay (staff described about three years of use), the use of street parking for the sales center, and whether a proposed sculpture park would benefit residents. One member said they had voted against the concept. The developer’s side agreed to work with staff on limits to the building’s size and design. No vote was taken, according to the transcript.

Living seawalls

The committee also discussed incentives for “living” seawalls, panels textured to give marine life a place to grow. City Engineer Kara Boyles said 12 city seawall projects now in design include living seawall panels, another 10 are preparing to enter design, and a pilot already exists at 60th Street in Pine Tree, according to the transcript. Staff said the added cost appears small but actual pricing isn’t in yet. At least one member was cool to a financial incentive and suggested faster permitting instead. The item stays in committee, and staff will bring back a formal proposal.

Four other items, on green space and landscaping policy, green roof incentives, park resiliency and resiliency code updates, were deferred to Nov. 24 without discussion, as was an item on storefront design guidelines. The transcript is unedited voice-to-text, and the meeting’s minutes have not been posted.