By Coral Gables Gazette staff
The Coral Gables Planning and Zoning Board will consider a series of land-use changes that would expand allowable density and height around the University Station corridor, advancing the city’s long-running effort to concentrate growth near transit infrastructure rather than within lower-density neighborhoods.
At the center of the agenda for its meeting on Wednesday, February 11, at 6 p.m. in the City Hall Commission Chambers are coordinated amendments to the city’s comprehensive plan and zoning code tied to the University Station Rapid Transit District Overlay. The proposals would redesignate multiple parcels for higher-intensity mixed-use and multi-family development and adjust the boundaries of the University Station overlay. Companion zoning changes would revise development standards and expand transfer-of-development-rights receiving areas to make that added density buildable.
A coordinated set of changes around University Station
Two related agenda items form the backbone of the meeting. One proposes small-scale amendments to the city’s comprehensive plan, while the second translates those policy shifts into enforceable zoning rules.
The comprehensive plan changes would allow increased residential density and height on multiple parcels within and adjacent to the University Station overlay, including properties along Caballero Boulevard and within the Riviera Waterways and Singer Subdivision areas. The amendments reflect a continued policy choice by the city to direct growth toward areas served by transit and major corridors.
The companion zoning amendments would operationalize those changes. Among other provisions, the proposal expands eligible receiving sites for transfer of development rights, refines development standards for multi-family projects within the overlay, and aligns zoning classifications with the updated land-use map.
Together, the items represent a meaningful step in implementing transit-oriented development policy rather than a standalone adjustment to individual parcels.
A permanent change to public right-of-way
Another agenda item seeks approval to vacate a public alley near South Dixie Highway as part of a proposed project within the University Station corridor. Alley vacations are technical in appearance but permanent in effect, removing public right-of-way from city control and transferring it to private ownership.
In this case, the request is directly connected to redevelopment activity in the transit district, underscoring how changes to public infrastructure and land-use policy are advancing in tandem within the University Station area.
Neighborhood-scale implications beyond the overlay
The board will also consider a proposed zoning code amendment that would remove the one-story height limitation for bungalow-style duplexes, allowing height consistent with the underlying zoning district.
While more limited in scope than the University Station items, the proposal carries broader implications for established neighborhoods. Bungalow duplexes have historically provided modest-scale housing within residential areas. Allowing additional height introduces new flexibility for property owners, while also raising questions about cumulative impacts on neighborhood character if similar adjustments follow.
Reinforcing design oversight citywide
Rounding out the agenda is a proposed amendment to the city’s architectural standards addressing roof design. The changes would clarify the city’s intent regarding pitched and flat roofs, require full Board of Architects review for fully flat roof designs, and update outdated flood-zone language.
As Coral Gables accommodates development pressure in targeted areas, the item reflects a parallel emphasis on maintaining architectural review as a defining element of the city’s planning framework.
A meeting about direction
Taken together, the February 11 agenda places the Planning and Zoning Board at the center of decisions that will shape where growth occurs, how intense it may be, and how it is regulated. The meeting reflects a broader recalibration underway in Coral Gables, as long-term planning goals tied to transit and infrastructure are translated into concrete regulatory choices.
The board’s recommendations will help determine how those choices move forward—balancing density, neighborhood scale, and design oversight as the city adapts to evolving development pressures.
This Post Has 3 Comments
I have never seen such blind and deaf people as the ones working in Coral Gables. Do you hear us say no more construction. No More density? How can we ever handle this with no increase in infrastructure anywhere. Metrorail? It goes where we do not. It does not go to West Miami, Miami Beach, or any side areas. If you expect us to take a Metrorail and then a bus to get somewhere you are dreaming. What is wrong with you people in Coral Gables? You are literally destroying our City and our ability to transport around US1 and the City. Neighborhood and side street traffic has increased 2-fold with people avoiding the congestion and traffic. On any Sunday at 3pm the streets is still full and congested. Do you think this will add to the tax base so you can waste more money on mobility hubs and million dollar art work? You all need to be fired. We have lost our quality of life by your land grab and overbuilding !!! Listen to the people you work for.
Too much congestion in that area already. Builder are so interested into turning this city into Manhattan and bluging their pockets.
What about thinking of public transportation. Metrorail cannot handle their customers now. Packed trains during rush hour.
Let talk about the parking lot known as US1. It is alway congested no matter the time of day. Politicans and builders have destroyed this tropical getaway.
Blame Raquel Regalado. She initiated the ordinance placing the property into the transit zone, which would potentially give the developer the legal ability to build Brickell Avenue type development with no City of Coral Gables oversight. The City is trying to get the property back under its control. Of course, the developer needs the public easement to move forward with its proposed development, so the City has some leverage.