Alex Dambach, AICP

Planning Supervisor

Peter Schwarz, AICP

Director of Community and Economic Development

Case #CD20-15DMUD “Central Park – Reserve Units”

A Public Hearing to consider the application by Smith Storage LLC, requesting the assignment of twelve (12) reserve units to the property located at 3301 North Dixie Highway.

Issue Statement:  The applicant, Smith Storage LLC, represented by Richard Becker, requests the allocation of twelve (12) reserve housing units in accordance with Section 24-72 of the Land Development Code, related to construction of a 5-story mixed use building at the northwest corner of North Dixie Highway and NE 33 Street. 

Recommended Action: The Planning and Zoning Board consider a recommendation to the City Commission to allocate 12 reserve housing units to the the property located at 3301 North Dixie Highway.  

Additional Agenda Items related to this application:

1.  The applicant requests an ordinance to amend to the text of the Land Development Code to eliminate a requirement to acquire an entire city block to develop a project using the Additional Building Height Program.

2.  The applicant requests Development Review to construct a 5-story mixed use building at 3301 North Dixie Highway in the Downtown Mixed Use District.

3.  The applicant requests use of the Additional Building Height Program to construct a five story building where the base permitted height is 3 stories. An increase in density of 3 units is also requested.

The  Neighborhood Participation  Meeting  was  held 10/17/19.  Per  Section 24-163(E)(5)  of  the  Oakland  Park  Code  of  Ordinances,  an  additional Neighborhood  Participation  Meeting  will  be  required prior  to  placement  on  the  City  Commission  agenda.

 Description:  

The site is a 26,290 square foot parcel with frontage on Dixie Highway, NE 33 Street, and NE 11 Avenue. The site's front portion is vacant, and the rear includes a non-conforming contractor yard and storage building that would be removed. The subject site is located in the Dixie Mixed Use subarea of the Downtown Mixed Use District.

Assignment of Reserve Units: Section 24-72 of the City’s Land Development Code provides for the allocation of flexibility and reserve housing units from the City's inventory to provide residential density for mixed-use projects and to provide appropriate density for downtown projects.

The applicant requests allocation of twelve (12) reserve housing units to permit a total of 43 dwelling  units in the mixed use project. Based on the subject site's lot size, 28 units are permitted by-right in the current Downtown Mixed Use District - Dixie Mixed Use subarea. Three (3) additional units would be provided as bonus density units through the Additional Building Height Program. Flexibility and reserve housing units are available in the city to permit additional density appropriate for downtown projects.

The applicant proposes to construct a 93,097 square foot, 5-story building that would contain the commercial portion of a live-work unit on the first floor along with residential lobby area, utility and amenity areas, and garage parking for 35 cars plus 5 tandem parking spaces. The upper floors would contain 43 dwelling units, including the residential portion of the live-work unit. There will also be a gym and clubhouse, as well as a rooftop deck on the top floor. The average gross unit size will be 1,240 square feet.

The proposed exterior would have a modern façade with architectural banding and walls of glass. The parking garage is to be laid out with its main access from NE 11 Avenue and with four spaces accessed from a circular driveway along NE 33rd Street. Along NE 33 Street and Dixie Highway, the project will have 12’ deep setbacks creating space for a water feature, entrance plazas, public art, and landscaped areas. The applicant will also build public parking spaces along NE 33 Street for guests and members of the public.

This property is designated Local Activity Center by the Comprehensive Plan's Future Land Use Map, and this project complies with this designation.

Zoning District Regulations in the Dixie Mixed Use Subarea of the Downtown Mixed Use District:

The permitted height is 3 stories and 36 feet without participation in the Additional Building Height Program and 6 stories and 90 feet with participation. The applicant requests approval to participate and proposes a complying height of 5 stories and 68 feet height.

Unit Sizes:

Required – Minimum gross floor area of 900 sf per unit, Average gross floor area of 1,100 sf per unit.

Proposed –Smallest unit would have 1,004 gross square feet, and the average size would be 1,240 gross square feet.

The maximum by-right density for this site is 28 units, with 43 units proposed. Three (3) units can be provided through bonus density available through the Additional Building Height Program, and 12 units are requested by this agenda item from the pool of flexibility and reserve housing units.  

Findings:

Proposed is a new mixed-use building on a vacant lot, where no new construction has yet occurred in the Downtown. The addition of multi-family residential units is considered a best-practice in downtown area planning.

The Development Review Committee reviewed this project and found that it meets zoning regulations provided that: 1). an amendment to Section 24-269 is made regarding requirements to acquire additional properties, 2). Reserve Housing Units are allocated, and 3). The proposed amenities of the Additional Building Height Program are accepted by the City Commission.

In the Dixie Mixed Use subarea, the maximum residential density permitted is 45 dwelling units per acre. Given the site’s size, it has a maximum density of 28 units. Proposed is a total of 43 units including a live-work unit. This project would need to be granted a Density Bonus from City Commission for 3 units and be allocated 12 additional units from the City’s flexibility and reserve housing unit pool in order to go over the pre-set density limit. This allocation would also need to be approved by City Commission. If the property's zoning gets updated, units may be returned to the City’s pool if a higher density gets permitted at this site. Through the OP3D project, the City is reconsidering density limits for this area to provide more Downtown-appropriate standards. Currently, there are 360 flexibility and reserve housing units available, and should this allocation be approved, 348 would remain. Flexibility and reserve housing units are now treated as one general pool under the regulating Broward County Land Use Plan, BrowardNext. Additional density in downtown is appropriate in order to create pedestrian activity and for viable local service and retail businesses.

Applicable Codes:

Sec. 24-72. - Flexibility, reserve and affordable housing unit procedure.

(A) Purpose. Flexibility, reserve and affordable housing unit procedures are hereby established so that the number of dwelling units permitted on a lot or parcel of land may be increased above the normal authorized densities in certain specific situations as hereinafter provided.

(B) Conditions for granting flexibility, reserve and affordable housing units.

(1) Reserve units may be granted as an incentive for the dedication of land for public purposes. In exchange for land dedication for public purposes of any portion of a parcel of property, the city commission may grant a transfer of up to two hundred (200) percent of the maximum number of dwelling units designated on the Oakland Park Future Land Use Map for the dedication area to other parcels of land within the same flexibility zone. Reserve units may be granted only for land dedications or monetary contributions in lieu of land dedications in excess of city and/or county requirements, as otherwise provided, but shall not be granted for county park dedication purposes.

(2) Flexibility, reserve and affordable housing units may be granted to a parcel of land which is designated for commercial use on the City of Oakland Park Future Land Use Map and zoned for business in order to permit residential uses. In addition, affordable housing units may be permitted in accordance with Article 8 of the Broward County Planning Council's Administrative Rules Document in the following areas:

(a) Prospect Road from Dixie Highway to I-95.

(b) Andrews Avenue from Oakland Park Boulevard to Prospect Road.

(c) Orange Grove Manors subdivision (South of Cambridge Park PUD).

(3) For other than those in (1) and (2) above, reserve units may be granted in the following manner:

(a) The total number of reserve units assigned to any undeveloped parcel of land in excess of ten (10) acres in size, which was at the time of adoption of the 1989 Oakland Park Future Land Use Element under one (1) ownership, regardless of future division or sale, cannot exceed ten (10) percent of the residential density designated for the parcel on the Oakland Park Future Land Use Map.

(b) Except as specified in (a) above, the total number of reserve units assigned to any developed parcel of land or any undeveloped parcel of land less than ten (10) acres in size may not exceed twenty-five (25) percent of the residential density designated for the parcel on the Oakland Park Future Land Use Map 1 or one (1) additional dwelling unit per lot, whichever is greater.

(C) Application for flexibility, reserve and affordable housing units. The owner of a tract of land may make an application to the city for flexibility, reserve and affordable housing units in accordance with the conditions for granting flexibility, reserve and affordable housing units outlined in (B) above.

(1) For a residential lot which is zoned R-1 and on which the property owner wishes to construct a two-family dwelling, an application for a reserve unit must be accompanied by a request for a rezoning of the property to R-2.

(2) For all parcels of land, other than as provided in subsection (1) above, an application for flexibility, reserve and affordable housing units must adhere to the following procedures and requirements:

(a) The application must be accompanied by a conceptual site plan which depicts the number and layout of the dwelling units and complies with article XII.

(b) A filing fee in accordance with the land development fee schedule.

(D) Review of application for flexibility, reserve and affordable housing units. The application for flexibility, reserve and affordable housing units and the accompanying site plan shall be reviewed by the development review committee for compliance with this section and all other applicable regulations. A report of the committee's review and recommendation shall be submitted to the city commission.

(E) Action of the city commission.

(1) The city commission shall review the application for flexibility, reserve and affordable housing units and the accompanying conceptual site plan for adherence to all existing city requirements and as to whether the development as presented will enhance the quality of life in the City of Oakland Park and promote the health, safety and welfare of its citizens.

(2) After the public hearings, the city commission may take action to grant the application for flexibility, reserve and affordable housing units, in whole or in part, only as provided in (B) above.

(3) Upon granting flexibility, reserve and affordable housing units, the number of available flexibility, reserve and affordable housing units in the flexibility zone shall be reduced by the number of flexibility, reserve and affordable housing units granted.

(Ord. No. O-90-21, § 10, 10-17-90; Ord. No. O-2006-009, § 3, 5-3-06; Ord. No. O-2007-010, § 3, 5-2-07)

The Planning and Zoning Board consider a recommendation to the City Commission to allocate 12 reserve housing units to the property located at 3301 North Dixie Highway.