Miami Beach elected officials say they are standing strong alongside their residents as they take a stance on hotel constructions. They unanimously approved a city commission warrant process for future hotel approval at first reading last week. “While I’m always hesitant to do any type of back patting,” said Commissioner Joseph Magazine, “I think this commission collectively is completely resident focused, the most that I can ever remember. Where previous commissions have really doubled, tripled and quadrupled down on a lot of transient usages, this commission has stood solely in the corner of our residents and including, and most notably, through some land development regulations.” Hotels are allowed in various zoning districts in the city, says the ordinance, and if they aren’t “appropriately regulated,” hotel development can negatively impact the “availability of existing affordable and workforce housing, city infrastructure, and the quality of life of nearby residents.” Mr. Magazine said the city is “simply over-commercialized” and its economy is concentrated in tourism and hospitality. “While waterfront is going to be excluded from this ordinance,” he said, “what this ordinance is intended to do is create another step in the process if somebody wants to build a hotel in an infill area. We clearly want to further incentivize residential development over hotels. So, this will just add one step if somebody wants to come in with a hotel. The process does have merit. We’re not saying you can’t build it, but it’ll have to take the extra step of actually, for the first time ever, coming to the commission for approval.” Currently, says the commission memo, any new hotel development “consisting of ground up construction or additions to existing structures,” requires review and approval of the Design Review Board or Historic Preservation Board. In cases where a separate conditional use permit may be required, Planning Board approval is needed. The proposal, if passed in a second vote in February, would require an approval of a warrant from the city commission before “the review of any land use board application or the approval of any building permit for a hotel project.” However, hotel developments on oceanfront properties are exempted and would not need a commission warrant. “We’ve all quoted Miami Beach being the only city in the state of Florida to lose full-time residents census over census,” said Mr. Magazine, “and why is that? In large part, because a lot of these older, multi-family buildings that were housing some of our most vulnerable were being taken offline. People would come in and buy those, or the landowners would sit there and kick them out. Kick out residents that have been living there for 30 to 40 years to make hotels…. It’s not foolproof, right, but this will add such an incremental, additional burden on a landowner’s ability to do so, I really think they’re going to think two and three times.” Mr. Magazine found a way in which the commission can “put the right controls in place,” said Commissioner Alex Fernandez as he expressed support, “and where our city commission can help protect some of our most vulnerable residents from being pushed out by some of the wealthiest in our community…. This is a huge safeguard in our development processes, and I think it’ll help preserve the fabric of our community moving into the future.” Related Posts:Tourist mecca Miami Beach weighs a hotels moratoriumMiami Beach moves to speed construction of convention hotel60-story apartment hotel to rise across from…Faced with Sears site fallout, Miami appeals to the stateAffordable housing planned for Miami Beach school siteThe post Miami Beach erecting barriers to new non-oceanfront hotels appeared first on Miami Today.