At Monday’s Miami Springs City Council Meeting, the Council moved to defer a zoning change for the Gateway Overlay District. The proposed change would allow local businesses that are not considered restaurant and retail to move into the new Springs Town Center building.
The meeting was full of local business owners seeking the ability to move into the Springs Town Center.
However, Mayor Maria Mitchell jumped in and asked to have a bigger review of the Gateway Overlay District instead of just “Nip and Tuck” at certain elements. So instead of approving the 2nd reading, the city council unanimously deferred the action to a future council meeting following a workshop meeting on the matter.
The second reading would have allowed the following uses within the Gateway Overlay District:
Office Use, including medical and dental, along any street frontage except Curtiss Parkway and South and North Royal Poinciana Boulevards. (So basically just Canal Street, Hook Square, and Nahkoda Drive.) – We find it interesting that they didn’t want to add offices on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building in favor of residential units, but now see the need to add office uses to the first floor.
Medical: For purposes of this Section, a Medical or Dental Office Use shall mean a small scale office with a maximum floor area of 2,000 square feet providing medical or dental treatment where patients are offered medical services, examinations, and treatments, but are not permitted to occupy the premises overnight. This does not include medical or clinical laboratories, urgent care centers, hospitals, emergency rooms, or other similar medium to large-scale medical office uses, which are specifically prohibited.
Personal Services (e.g., barbershops, beauty parlors, physical therapy clinics, massage parlors), with hours of business between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00p.m., along Hook Square frontage only. – I don’t know how this isn’t considered spot zoning?
Veterinarian Use (which may provide short-term boarding for medical purposes only, for no more than 48 hours), along Hook Square or Canal Street frontage only, provided that no Veterinarian Use may be located within 0.25 0.30 airline miles of the front door of an existing Veterinarian Use within the Gateway District. The distance shall be measured from the front door of the proposed Veterinarian Use to the front door of the existing Veterinarian Use.
During the first reading, this ordinance passed by a 4-1 vote in favor.
- Jorge Santin – Yes
- Jacky Bravo – No
- Walter Fajet – Yes
- Victor Vazquez – Yes
- Maria Mitchell – Yes
On a related matter, Mayor Mitchell asked the City Attorney to come to a “settlement” with the veterinarian that was attempting to move into the Springs Town Center. The veterinarian had previously been approved erroneously by former City Planner Chris Heid to open at the Springs Town Center. That type of business was not allowed based on the current Gateway Overlay District code. That ultimately led to the firing of Chris Heid. Nevertheless, that put the veterinarian in a difficult spot. Due to the error from the City administration at the time, it’s the right thing to do to allow this veterinarian to open his business at the Springs Town Center.
