Developers planning to build above the city’s current height limit will have to go back to the drawing board.
Miami Beach residents voted to stop the development of two high-rise towers in three different referendums last week, reports Deborah Acosta for the Wall Street Journal.
The project, slated for construction on the site of the now-shuttered Deauville Hotel at a height of 375 feet, would have required voter approval to be exempted from current zoning regulations, which limit building height to 200 feet. “Daniel Ciraldo, executive director of Miami Design Preservation League, said the voters signaled they aren’t ready to approve projects that could significantly change the character of Miami Beach, which is famous for its art deco architecture and lower-rise buildings.”
According to Acosta, “Even though the project is on hold, the hotel, which had been run into disrepair by the family who bought it in 2004 for $4 million, was imploded on Sunday. The nearly 4-acre site will now sit empty until new plans for the site are approved.”
Acosta points out that other developers have had more success in getting projects approved in Miami Beach. “New York developer Michael Shvo, for example, secured approval last week from the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board for one of his office developments,” with three total projects in the works in the city.
FULL STORY: Major Miami Beach Real-Estate Projects Nixed by Voters
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
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California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Opinion: Criminalizing Homelessness Is ‘Expensive and Shortsighted’
Policies that punish and fine unhoused people for sheltering outdoors, even when other shelter is not available, are the most visible but least efficient ways to reduce homelessness.
Texas Law Could Limit Local Control Over Zoning
If upheld, a Texas law would likely prevent cities from enacting zoning reform that would increase density or eliminate single-family-only zoning.
PeopleForBikes Urges Action on Highway Safety Rule Changes
The bike advocacy group says recently proposed changes to federal road safety regulations would help reduce traffic deaths and improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users.
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