Miami Adds New TOD Incentive

Miami just approved a new zoning program that encourages transit-oriented development. 

According to an article by Andres Viglucci, Tess Riski and Carl David Goette-Luciap in the Miami Herald, the Transit Station Neighborhood Development program allows for denser development within a mile radius of Metrorail and other train stations within the city. “Within those zones, developers can apply to build high-rise residential and commercial projects with considerably more units and height than the old local rules allowed, a strategy intended to sharply increase housing supply and affordability while boosting transit use.”

According to the article, the change may not yield very quick results and could be limited to developers with more resources. “The approval process sets out a complicated procedure that first requires a land-use change under the city’s comprehensive plan, which guides where, how much and what kind of development is allowed.” A developer must then submit a general or enhanced Transit Station Neighborhood Development plan that specifies what type of projects can be built. “The extensive requirements mean that only a relatively short list of ambitious and well-financed developers with the capacity to plan and build an entire urban neighborhood are likely to apply for the most intensive ‘enhanced’ category.”