By Coral Gables Gazette staff

Development has long dominated public concern in Coral Gables, where residents and elected leaders have worked to preserve the City Beautiful’s character while allowing for responsible growth. But two powerful new laws—one from Miami-Dade County, the other from the State of Florida—are now reshaping that conversation in ways local officials say they may be powerless to stop.

On Tuesday evening, the Gables Good Government Committee hosted a public forum at the Coral Gables Museum to address the rising alarm. The topic: how the county’s Rapid Transit Zone (RTZ) and the state’s Live Local Act strip municipalities of zoning authority and permit developers to override city code under broad conditions.

A panel of experts led the discussion: Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson, Assistant Planning and Zoning Director Jennifer Garcia, City of Miami Building Director Ed Santamaria, and developer Venny Torre, president of Torre Companies. Each speaker emphasized how dramatically the legal landscape has shifted—and how much Coral Gables must now rely on adaptation, not enforcement, to shape its development future.

A bypass around local zoning

Garcia opened the session with a detailed overview of the new mandates. Both laws allow projects to exceed traditional zoning limits if they meet transit or affordability benchmarks—granting increased height and density, reduced parking minimums, smaller setbacks, and streamlined approvals without city commission votes or neighborhood input.

The impact is geographically targeted but far-reaching. RTZ applies within a half-mile of Metrorail stations and along major corridors like South Dixie Highway, SW 8th Street, and downtown South Miami. Live Local applies to commercially or mixed-use zoned properties, provided at least 40% of residential units are designated affordable.

Garcia presented zoning maps and building models to visualize the changes. When she noted that new construction near the University of Miami Metrorail station could now rise as high as 190 feet, audible gasps swept through the room.

Cities on defense

Santamaria, a Coral Gables resident and Miami’s building director, described how both laws caught local governments off guard. “Some folks say the city doesn’t fight. We do fight,” he said. “But this is statewide preemption. They don’t need our approval anymore.”

He recalled learning that Brightline could expand in downtown Miami without municipal oversight—a moment that made the scale of the legal shift clear. Miami is now suing the county over RTZ implementation. Coral Gables, he noted, has been pushing back against key provisions since 2022.

To preserve some authority, the city is developing an overlay zoning district that mirrors county regulations within RTZ areas. The goal: to entice developers to use the city’s permitting process voluntarily—retaining impact fees, design review, and limited local control.

A developer’s perspective

Torre explained that both laws were crafted to incentivize affordable housing near transit hubs. But he warned that the RTZ’s lack of parking requirements could encourage dense construction without adequate infrastructure, especially in areas like Coral Gables.

“You can’t stop these laws, but you can shape the outcome,” he said. “We need a comprehensive master plan for affected areas—one that focuses on affordability and long-term sustainability.”

Limited leverage

Vice Mayor Anderson emphasized the city’s constrained legal position. “It’s like we’re a lower court,” she said. “Whatever the Supreme Court [of the state and county] says goes.”

She cautioned against outright resistance. Delaying approvals or taking a hardline stance, she argued, could invite worse outcomes. “The longer we take to move forward, the more costly it is for developers. We have to be careful how much you protest, because we may end up with something you don’t want,” she said, referencing the controversial Mark project near the UM station—widely criticized as an overbuilt misstep.

Community reaction and the path forward

During a Q&A session, several residents asked why the city hadn’t done more to fight the laws. Anderson defended the city’s strategy. “Sometimes the more you fight, the more you lose,” she said.

Still, concern over the city’s ability to steer its future was evident. With RTZ and Live Local now codified, panelists agreed that repeal is unlikely. Instead, Coral Gables must respond with urgency, transparency, and strategic planning.

The takeaway from Tuesday’s forum was clear: the city faces a critical inflection point. Whether it can mold these state- and county-imposed mandates to reflect local values will depend on unity, foresight, and a new playbook for home rule in an age of preemption.