Monday, November 2, 2026

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Articles tagged with "Planning"

City Tells Southgate Towers Owner Its West Avenue Site Doesn't Qualify for Live Local
Development

City Tells Southgate Towers Owner Its West Avenue Site Doesn't Qualify for Live Local

In a letter dated Oct. 30, Planning Director Deborah Tackett told the applicant's attorney that 910 West Ave., where two 38-story towers are proposed, is not zoned for commercial, industrial or mixed use, and so is not eligible for the Live Local Act's zoning benefits. The letter does not reach the height, phasing or density questions.

Journal Staff Oct 30, 2026
Alton Road's Proposed 506-Foot Tower Draws on Development Rights From the Falwell Hostel Next Door — Now the Subject of a Lawsuit
Development

Alton Road's Proposed 506-Foot Tower Draws on Development Rights From the Falwell Hostel Next Door — Now the Subject of a Lawsuit

A 40-level tower proposed at 824 Alton Road would rise 506 feet where zoning allows about 60, using development rights from the Falwell-controlled hostel next door. A June agreement attached to a lawsuit shows how the rights moved to a company whose managers include developer Russell Galbut, and why a minority owner of the hostel wants the deal cancelled.

Journal Staff Oct 29, 2026
Two New Live Local Towers Are Filed for West Avenue: 38 Stories to Replace the Southgate Towers, and a 308-Foot Wellness Tower on the Office Depot Lot
Development

Two New Live Local Towers Are Filed for West Avenue: 38 Stories to Replace the Southgate Towers, and a 308-Foot Wellness Tower on the Office Depot Lot

The first notice came in a City Manager's letter on Oct. 19, under a rule the Commission adopted days earlier requiring word of Live Local filings at the start, not only at approval. The Journal pulled both pre-application plan sets and built them to scale: two 454-foot towers on the 1958 Southgate Towers site at 910 West Ave., and a Foster + Partners tower at 1771 West Ave. where zoning allows 50 feet. Both sit at the law's 40 percent workforce minimum.

Journal Staff Oct 23, 2026
Commission Seeks Outside Opinion on Five Park's 519 Feet, Moves to Challenge Live Local and Safe Structures Act
Government

Commission Seeks Outside Opinion on Five Park's 519 Feet, Moves to Challenge Live Local and Safe Structures Act

On Oct. 14, commissioners told the City Attorney to get an outside opinion on whether Five Park's 519 feet sets the Live Local height benchmark, to explore challenges to Live Local and the Safe Structures Act, and agreed to a special meeting on the law. Two reports on sewer capacity and evacuation passed 7–0, and five other Live Local consent items passed too. No date is set for the meeting.

Journal Staff Oct 23, 2026
What the Safe Structures Act Does, and Why Miami Beach Voted to Explore Challenging It
Government

What the Safe Structures Act Does, and Why Miami Beach Voted to Explore Challenging It

The Commission voted Oct. 14, with no one opposed, to add a possible challenge to Florida's 2024 Resiliency and Safe Structures Act to its Live Local legal review. Commissioner Alex Fernandez called the Live Local tower the "secondary issue" and the Act the way a developer clears a historic site. Here is what the law says, where it has been used, and what is still unproven.

Journal Staff Oct 23, 2026
Commission Kills Raleigh Hotel FAR Increase, Then Revives It Hours Later
Development

Commission Kills Raleigh Hotel FAR Increase, Then Revives It Hours Later

The ordinance needed six of seven votes and failed 4–3 after Commissioner David Suarez took about five minutes to cast the deciding no. After the lunch recess, backers used the Sutnick forum to ask for a do-over, and the Mayor and Commissioner Monica Matteo-Salinas switched. It passed 6–1.

Journal Staff Oct 15, 2026
Ten Live Local Items Reach the Commission Wednesday: A Repeal Push, a Possible Lawsuit and a Fight Over What 519 Feet Means
Government

Ten Live Local Items Reach the Commission Wednesday: A Repeal Push, a Possible Lawsuit and a Fight Over What 519 Feet Means

Miami Beach commissioners have ten Live Local Act items on the Oct. 14 agenda: urging Tallahassee to repeal the law, studying a challenge alongside Miami, asking outside counsel whether Five Park's 519 feet sets the height ceiling, endorsing the city's stop on 1575 Alton Road, and asking for a special meeting, a community meeting and utility-capacity reports.

Journal Staff Oct 12, 2026