98-20 ORDINANCE NO. 98-20
AN ORDINAN CE OF THE CITY OF AVENTURA, FLORIDA
(THE "CI~ "'), PROVIDING FOR A BUILDING
MORATORlU 14 ON ISSUANCE OF DEVELOPMENT
ORDERS AND DEVELOPMENT PERMITS WITHIN THE
CITY CONCE ~,NING ANY BUILDINGS PROPOSED TO BE
CONSTRUC'rED TO A HEIGHT IN EXCESS OF A
CERTAIN NUMBER OF STORIES DESIGNATED BY THE
CITY COB MISSION (THE '*SPECIFIC HEIGHT
THRESHOLD') AND CONCERNING ANY BUILDINGS
WHICH ARE PROPOSED TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN
EXCESS OF A HEIGHT WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY
AUTHORIZEI~ BY DEVELOPMENT ORDER OR
DEVELOPMI~NT PERMIT OR IN EXCESS OF A HEIGHT
WHICH WA~ PERMITTED AS OF RIGHT UNDER
EXISTING L/~ND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS, EVEN
IF NOT PRpPOSED TO BE IN EXCESS OF THE
SPECIFIC ~EIGHT THRESHOLD; PROVIDING FOR
SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPLACEMENT OF
MORATORIA PROVISIONS OF SECTION 33-319, ET.
SEQ. OF THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY CODE FOR THE
SPECIFIC M~TTERS ADDRESSED HEREIN; PROVIDING
FOR EFFECl IVE DATE.
WHEREAS, pursuar to Section 8.03 of the Charter of the City of Aventura (the
"City"), and City Code Sect ~n 34-92, there is presently in effect within the City the land
development regulations of Miami-Dade County (the "County Regulations"); and
WHEREAS, the tit Commission is presently working through its consultants
and staff on the preparatio of a comprehensive set of Land Development Regulations
for the City in accordance with Section 163.3202, Fla. Stat. (the "City Regulations")
which, upon implementati¢ n, shall serve to control land use and development, so that
the public health, welfare ~nd safety is protected and the aesthetic and visual qualities
of the City are further enh~ nced and are protected from impairment; and
WHEREAS, a key 3omponent of the City's Regulations shall be provisions to
control the height of buildir gs; and
Ordinance No. 98-20
Page 2
WHEREAS, the Cit Commission desires to insure that during the pendency of
the necessary study ,'tivity, presently underway, for the formulation and
implementation of the :y's Regulations, that additional development orders and
development permits are not issued in the City for buildings in excess of a certain
number of stories in height as designated by the City Commission (the "Specific Height
Threshold"), or for buildin in excess of a height permitted as of right under existing
County Regulations or ~xcess of a height previously authorized or approved by
development order or pelmit, so that once the City Regulations are prepared and
implemented such Regul.~tions will be fully effective in accomplishing the City's
purposes; and
WHEREAS, in acc( rdance with Section 34-1 of the City Code of the City, the
City Commission has be,;n designated as the local planning agency for the City
pursuant to Section 163.3174, Fla. Stat.; and
WHEREAS, the Cit Commission has reviewed the moratorium regulations set
forth in this Ordinance and nas determined that such regulations are consistent with the
applicable provisions of ~e Comprehensive Plan of Miami-Dade County, as made
applicable to the City.
NOW THEREFOR , BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF AVENTURA, FLi )RIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Morat,~rium Imposed. During the time that this Ordinance is in
effect as specified in Secti, )n 7 below, there shall be a moratorium upon the issuance of
Ordinance No. 98-20
Page 3
Development Orders and )evelopment Permits, as those terms are defined in Section
163.3164, Fla. Stat. (collec vely "Development Orders"):
1. concerning d~ ;velopment within the City of buildings of a height in excess
of 40 stories )r 400', whichever is less, (the "Specific Height Threshold");
and
2. concerning de ~velopment of buildings within the City of a height which is in
excess of a t Dight previously authorized by Development Orders or which
is in excess of a height which is permitted as of right under existing
County Regu ations, even if not proposed to be in excess of the Specific
Height Thresl ~old.
Notwithstanding an~ thing to the contrary above, this moratorium shall not apply
to any office buildings to bE~ constructed within a Commercial Zoning District, so long as
such office building does ~ot exceed a height of 20 stories or 200 feet, whichever is
less.
Section 2. Waiver The City Commission, after a public hearing, may grant a
waiver to the moratorium ~vided above and authorize the issuance of Development
Orders for a specific bull ling, where the City Commission determines, based upon
substantial competent evid ~nce, that the specific use or activity requested by the waiver
application will not detrimEntally affect the preparation and implementation of the City
Regulations, will be corr atible with surrounding land uses, and will not impair the
public health, safety or w( ~are.
Ordinance No. 98-20
Page 4
Section 3. Vested F ~i,qhts.
(A) Nothing in thi ordinance shall be construed or applied to abrogate the
vested right of a property wrier to complete development where the property owner
can demonstrate each of ti' ,~ following:
(1) A gove-nmental act of development approval was obtained prior to
the effective date of this Or( linance; and
(2) Upon whi ;h the property owner has detrimentally relied, in good faith,
by making substantial expe ~ditures; and
(3) That it wo~ ~ld be highly inequitable to deny the property owner the right
to complete the developme lt.
(B) Any property owner claiming to have vested rights under this Section 3
must file an application w th the City Commission for a vested rights determination
within 90 days after the ffective date of this Ordinance. The application shall be
accompanied by a fee of $ 500.00 and contain a sworn statement as to the basis upon
which the vested rights ar( asserted, together with documentation required by the City
and other documentary ev ence supporting the claim. The City Commission shall hold
a public hearing on the ap ication pursuant to City Code Section 34-32 and City Code
Section 34-91, and based ~on the evidence submitted shall make a determination as
to whether the property ow ~er has established vested rights.
Section 4. Appei~ls. Appeals from final decisions by the Commission under
Section 2 or Section 3 of t ~is Ordinance shall be by the filing of a Petition for Certiorari
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Ordinance No. 98-20
Page 5
in the Circuit Court of t~e Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Dade County in
accordance with the Florid~ Rules of Appellate Procedure for the review of the quasi-
judicial rulings of municipal igencies.
Section 5. Exhau ,tion of Administrative Remedies. No property owner
claiming that this Ordinanc as applied constitutes or would constitute a temporary or
permanent taking of private >roperty or an abrogation of vested rights may pursue such
claim in court unless he or ~he has first exhausted the administrative remedies provided
in this Ordinance.
Section 6. Replac;,ment of County Code Moratoria Provisions for Specific
Matter. Pursuant to Cit) Charter Section 8.03, this Ordinance shall replace the
provisions of Section 33-:H9 et seq. of the Miami-Dade County Code concerning
building and zoning moratcria, solely as related to the specific matter of this Ordinance
pertaining to the height of I: uildings as described herein.
Section 7. Term. 'he moratorium imposed by this Ordinance is temporary and
shall be effective for a peri ~d of 180 days from adoption hereof, unless dissolved earlier
by the City Commission. urther, the moratorium shall automatically dissolve upon the
adoption of the City Re ulations, the formulation and adoption of which shall be
expeditiously pursued. Th~ moratorium may be reasonably extended, if necessary.
Section 8. Effecti~; Date. This Ordinance shall be effective immediately upon
adoption on second readin
Ordinance No. 98-20
Page 6
The foregoing Ordin~ ncc was offered by Councilmember Beskin, who moved its
adoption on first reading. '1 he motion was seconded by Councilmember Rogers-Libert,
and upon being put to a vot~ the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Arthur BergE absent
Commissioner Jay R. Beski yes
Commissioner Harry Holzb~ yes
Commissioner Jeffrey M. P~ ~rlow yes
Commissioner Patricia Ro~ ,~rs-Libert yes
Vice-Mayor Ken Cohen yes
Mayor Arthur I. Snyder yes
The foregoing Ore lance was offered by Commissioner Rogers-Libert, who
moved its adoption on second reading. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Holzberg, and upon being I: ut to a vote, the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Arthur BergE yes
Commissioner Jay R. Besk yes
Commissioner Harry Holzb, 'g yes
Commissioner Jeffrey M. P ,~dow yes
Commissioner Patricia Ro 9rs-Libert yes
Vice-Mayor Ken Cohen yes
Mayor Arthur I. Snyder yes
PASSED AND AD( ~TED on first reading this 4th day of August, 1998.
PASSED AND ADO
~TED on second reading this 1st d_a~f S/~ember, 1998.
ARTHUR . SNYDER/MAYOR
TERESA M. SMITH, CMC
CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORI~ AND
LEGAL SUFFICIENCY:
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