By Coral Gables Gazette staff

The Coral Gables Planning and Zoning Board unanimously voted to recommend that the city move forward with amendments to its Comprehensive Plan in a last-ditch effort to regain control over a controversial development proposed across U.S. 1 from the University of Miami Metrorail Station.

The recommendation supports an ordinance creating changes to the University Station Rapid Transit District Overlay after developers bypassed the city’s permitting and approval process in favor of Miami-Dade County’s recently instituted Rapid Transit Zone (RTZ), which allows for denser development and fewer local controls near transit hubs.

Planning and Zoning Director Jennifer Garcia told the board Dec. 10 that after meetings between Mayor Vince Lago, City Manager Peter Iglesias and the developer, city staff crafted proposed amendments intended to address conditions that might persuade the applicant to return to the city’s review process.

Bid to bring the project back under city review

Garcia said the city met with the county applicant “once or twice” following an October commission meeting, during which potential compromises were discussed.

“There were some requests for, I guess, compromises,” Garcia said in response to a question from board member Alex Bucelo. “Two of those are the mix of uses to simplify that as well as a 3.5 FAR, and that’s why we’re looking at those.”

Asked whether there was any indication the developer would come back to the city if the amendments are approved, Garcia said, “It seemed that way.” She cautioned, however, that there is no certainty.

What the proposed amendments would do

Garcia walked board members through three specific Comprehensive Plan text amendments that would be sent to the City Commission in January.

The first would set a maximum floor area ratio (FAR) of 3.5 for projects developed pursuant to the University Rapid Transit District overlay. The second would simplify the city’s rules on mixed-use development. Currently, the Comprehensive Plan dictates minimum and maximum percentages for various uses within a mixed-use building.

“To be consistent with the county’s mix of uses, this is being simplified so that you are required to have two uses in a single mixed-use building,” Garcia said. “You can have more than just two uses, but you have to have at least two.”

Under the proposal, there would be no minimum or maximum square footage percentages assigned to each use.

The third amendment would add policy language describing the intent and purpose of the overlay district, emphasizing mixed-use development and housing near the Metrorail station to encourage transit ridership, consistent with the county’s Smart Plan.

Concerns about future development beyond the overlay

Several board members raised concerns about what the overlay would and would not cover. Acting Chairperson Robert Behar questioned whether nearby properties, particularly those closer to the Gables Waterway, could still pursue development directly through the county.

Garcia confirmed that the overlay boundaries extend north to the Caballero Avenue but do not include the Gables Waterway property. “They could today,” Garcia said when asked whether those properties could go straight to the county. “They could do whatever the county will allow them to do, which is my concern,” Behar replied.

City control versus county jurisdiction

Special Counsel Craig Coller underscored that developers already have the ability to proceed under county jurisdiction and, in fact, have done so. Because the county has asserted jurisdiction based on transit proximity, Coral Gables would have only limited influence.

“Their proposal is a little bit more aggressive than what Coral Gables would want,” the attorney said. “The city is hoping that there is an option that may not completely be what the county has, but would be an offer to them that they will choose to develop in accordance with the city.”

Without the amendments, he added, developers would not even have the option to return to the city.

Timeline disputes and board tensions

Board member Felix Pardo addressed criticism that the city or board should have anticipated the RTZ process earlier.

“When I look at the timeline… at no point did staff ever say that this was an option or even a threat,” Pardo said, noting that only the Live Local Act had been mentioned previously. I don’t think staff was aware that the that and neither were the board members. I have been brought. up by name by several people saying specifically that that this was an option and we should have known better. So I take exception to that.

Discussion later grew tense when board member Gonzalo Sanabria attempted to raise broader concerns not listed on the agenda. He was advised by staff and fellow board members that additional items must be noticed in advance and placed on a future agenda, effectively shutting down further debate.

Background: City’s ‘Hail Mary’ to regain control near University Station

The Planning and Zoning Board’s recommendation follows a 4–1 vote by the commission on Oct. 28 granting initial approval to create the University Station Rapid Transit District Overlay Zone — a move city leaders described as a last-ditch effort to regain control over major developments planned along U.S. 1 near the University of Miami Metrorail Station. The action was prompted by The Mark, a proposed mixed-use project that shifted its application to Miami-Dade County’s more permissive RTZ after its original eight-story proposal was rejected by the Planning and Zoning Board, effectively preempting city authority.

City officials warned that once a project proceeds under the county’s RTZ framework, Coral Gables loses control over height, setbacks, architectural review and millions of dollars in impact and permit fees. “This is our Hail Mary,” Lago said, noting the city is negotiating “from a position of complete and total weakness.”