a. RESIDENTIAL

This category is intended to encompass land use functions predominantly of permanent housing.

Single-Family Residence: Detached Building used as permanent residence by a single housekeeping unit. The term is general, applying to all detached house types. Also known as Principal Dwelling Unit.

Co-Living: A Building, or portion thereof, containing Co-Living Units, which are considered shared communal living space.

Community Residence: A “resident”, for the purpose of a Community Residence, may include any persons as defined in the following statutes:

• A disabled adult or frail elder as defined in section 429.65 (8) and (9), Florida Statutes
• A physically disabled or handicapped person as defined in section 760.22(7), Florida Statutes
• A developmentally disabled person as defined in section 393.063(9), Florida Statutes
• A non-dangerous mentally ill person as defined in section 394.455(18), Florida Statutes; or
• A child as defined in section 39.01(12), Florida Statutes

1. A Dwelling Unit of six or fewer residents that meet the definition in section 419.001, Florida Statutes for a “community residential home” of such size; or
2. A Dwelling Unit licensed to serve clients of the State Department of Children and Families, which provides a living environment for seven to fourteen unrelated residents who operate as the functional equivalent of family, including such supervision and care by supportive staff as may be necessary to meet the physical, emotional and social needs of the residents, as defined in section 419.001, Florida Statutes; or
3. An adult family-care home as defined in section 429.65, Florida Statutes, which provides a full-time, family-type living arrangement, in a private home, under which a person who owns or rents the home provides room, board, and personal care on a 24-hour basis, for no more than five disabled adults or frail elders who are not relatives.

See Article 6.

Ancillary Dwelling Unit (ADU): A secondary Dwelling Unit that shares ownership s with a Principal Building on the same Lot. An Ancillary Dwelling Unit includes a sleeping / living area, shower / bathroom, and kitchen that are separate from the uses of the Principal Dwelling Unit. An Ancillary Dwelling Unit (ADU) does not count towards maximum Density calculations, and conforms to the Ancillary Dwelling Unit (ADU) standards in Section 3.18. Also known as an Accessory Unit or Ancillary Unit.

Two Family-Housing: Two (2) Dwelling Units sharing a detached Building, each Dwelling Unit of which provides a residence for a single housekeeping unit. Also known as a duplex.

Multi-Family Housing: A Building or portion thereof, containing three or more Dwelling Units where each unit has direct access to the outside or to a common hall. A multifamily Structure where Dwelling Units are available for lease or rent for less than one month shall be considered Lodging.

Dormitory: A Building used principally for sleeping accommodations for students or staff related to an educational institution or place of employment.

Home Office: A space within a Dwelling Unit devoted to a non-retail business activity belonging to the resident thereof that is clearly secondary in Use to the residence, that does not alter the exterior of the property or affect the residential character of the Neighborhood, and that meets all legal requirements of the business. See Article 6.

Live-Work: A Dwelling Unit that contains a commercial or office component which is limited to a maximum fifty percent (50%) of the Dwelling Unit area. See Article 6.

Work-Live: A mixed-Use unit that contains a commercial, office or light industrial component. The work component exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the Dwelling Unit area. See Article 6.

b. LODGING

This category is intended to encompass land Use functions predominantly of sleeping accommodations occupied on a rental basis for limited periods of time. These are measured in terms of lodging units: a lodging unit is a furnished room of a minimum two hundred (200) square feet that includes sanitary facilities, and that may include limited kitchen facilities.

Bed & Breakfast: A group of lodging units not to exceed ten (10) units that may provide services for dining, meeting and recreation.

Inn: A group of lodging units not to exceed twenty-five (25) units that may provide services for dining, meeting and recreation.

Hotel: A group of lodging units exceeding twenty-five (25) units that may provide services for dining, meeting and recreation.

c. OFFICE

This category is intended to encompass land Use functions predominantly related to business, professions, service or government.

Office: A Building or portion thereof used for conducting a business, profession, service, or government. Such facilities may include, but are not limited to, offices of attorneys, engineers, architects, physicians, dentists, accountants, financial institutions, real estate companies, insurance companies, financial planners, or corporate offices, and exclude manufacturing activities.

d. COMMERCIAL

This category is intended to encompass land Use functions of retail, service, entertainment or recreational establishments and supporting office.

Amusement Ride: Any permanent motorized mechanical device, which no part thereof travels at a speed greater than fifteen (15) miles per hour and which carries or conveys customers around, over, or along a fixed or restricted route or course or within a defined, on-site area for the purpose of providing enjoyment or entertainment to customers.

Auto-Related Commercial Establishment: A place of business serving auto-related needs including, but not limited to: car rental, car wash, gas station, mechanic offering minor repairs, retail sales such as auto parts, tire store, car sales. Uses not included: major mechanical work; body work; painting; steam cleaning; welding; outdoor car sales; storage of automobiles not in operating condition; commercial parking Lot or commercial garage; or any work involving undue noise, glare, fumes or smoke, all of which are considered auto-related industrial activities. See Article 6.

Entertainment Establishment: A place of business serving the amusement and recreational needs of the community. Such facilities may include, but are not limited to: cinemas, billiard parlors, teen clubs, dance halls, and video arcades. Uses specifically not included: Entertainment Establishment, Adult and Gambling Facilities, or other facilities regulated by Chapters 550 and 551, and Section 849.086, Florida Statutes, as each may be amended from time to time.

Entertainment Establishment, Adult; Adult entertainment, in general; adult entertainment services or adult entertainment services establishment (hereinafter referred to throughout the code as “Adult entertainment”): Any establishment which sells, rents, leases, trades, barters, operates on commission or fee, purveys, displays, or offers only to or for adults, products, goods of any nature, images, reproductions, activities, opportunities for experiences or encounters, moving or still pictures, entertainment, and/or amusement, distinguished by purpose and emphasis on matters depicting, describing, or relating by any means of communication, from one (1) person to another, to “Specified Sexual Activities” or “Specified Anatomical Areas” as herein defined in Section 1.2 of this Code. Such establishment may or may not be open or available to the public generally, but shall exclude any person under eighteen (18) years of age. It is the intent of this definition that determination as to whether or not a specific establishment or activity falls within the context of regulation hereunder shall be based upon the activity therein conducted or proposed to be conducted as set out above and in these regulations. Such establishment shall not depend upon the name or title of the establishment used or proposed, and it shall be irrespective of whether or not members of the public are invited to enter such establishment. Thus, the terms “adult bookstore,” “adult massage parlor,” “adult motion picture theater,” “adult private dancing,” and “adult escort service” are encompassed within this definition of “Adult entertainment”, but the term “Adult entertainment” is not to be deemed limited by the enunciation of specific activities listed before. Adult entertainment establishments are allowed in D2 industrial, subject to the limitations set forth in Article 6, Table 13.

Adult entertainment- Legislative Intent.As intended in previous zoning ordinances, most particularly, Zoning ordinances 11000 and 9500, this ordinance intends to regulate Adult entertainment as herein defined, to minimize deleterious effects on the neighborhood. These deleterious effects have been presented as evidence and relied upon for adoption in previous adult entertainment legislation in zoning ordinances 9500 and 11000, and are also relied upon herein. Such deleterious effects may include, but not be limited to, depreciation of values of nearby and adjacent properties, deterioration in appearance of the areas in which they are located, production of a skid row type of atmosphere, discouragement of residential uses in the area, and creation of an erotically suggestive atmosphere on public ways used by minors. Moreover, in the development and enforcement of restrictions on Adult entertainment in this code, this section and in Article 6, it is acknowledged that adult entertainment have been found to have serious objectionable characteristics, and to have a deleterious effect on adjacent businesses and residential areas. In making this finding, the Commission has reasonably relied upon evidence of conditions within the City itself, evidence gathered by other localities and communities, and evidence described in judicial opinions. For the protection and welfare of the community, it is necessary, to locate Adult entertainment away from residential areas and commercial areas, and particularly away from public facilities that are used frequently by minors, such as schools, churches, parks, libraries, day care centers or nurseries, and to restrict Adult entertainment to industrial areas.

Food Service Establishment: A place of business dedicated to the preparation and sale of food and beverage for immediate consumption on or off site.

Alcohol Service Establishment: A place of business selling alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises as a principal use. Alcohol service establishments may include, but are not limited to: bars, taverns, cocktail lounges, nightclubs or supper clubs.

Gambling Facilities: Any facility that offers gambling, pari-mutuel, or other wagering activities and uses including, but not limited to, facilities regulated by Chapters 550 and 551 and Section 849.086, Florida Statutes, as each may be amended from time to time. A facility is not a “Gambling Facility” if the only gambling, pari-mutuel, or other wagering activities and uses it offers are online sports wagering, lotteries administered by the State of Florida pursuant to Chapter24, Florida Statutes, or charity bingo games pursuant to Section 849.0931, Florida Statutes

General Commercial: A place of business providing the sale and display of goods or sale of services directly to the consumer, with goods available for immediate purchase and removal from the premises by the purchaser. General commercial goods include, but are not limited to, clothing, food, furniture, pharmaceuticals, books, art objects and the like. General commercial services include, but are not limited to, barber shops; beauty salons; travel agencies; fortune tellers; retail dry cleaning; express delivery service; health spas and fitness studios; photo studios; Funeral Homes; Animal Clinics; repair service establishments, Employment Office; Public Storage Facilities, and the like. General Commercial services exclude: Auto-Related or Marine-Related Establishments; Commercial Storage Facilities, Pawn Shops, and the like.

Marine-Related Commercial Establishment: A place of business serving marine-related needs including but not limited to: boat repairs, boat storage, boat servicing, boat rentals; or a place of business provides marine-related retail including but not limited to: bait and tackle stores, boat sales, and marine supplies stores. Uses not included are all industrial vessel paint and body work; and industrial major engine work or overhaul, all of which are considered marine-related industrial activities.

Open Air Retail: A retail sales establishment operated substantially in the open air including, but not limited to: farmers market, Flea Markets, and the like. Uses not included are: car sales, equipment sales, boats sales, and home and garden supplies and equipment. See Article 6.

Place of Assembly: A commercial facility for public assembly including, but not limited to: arenas, auditoriums, conference facilities, convention centers, exhibition halls, major sports facilities, theaters and performing arts centers, and the like.

Recreational Establishment: A place of business providing group leisure activities, often requiring equipment and open to the public with or without entry or activity fees. This may include, but is not limited to: game courts, skating rinks, bowling alleys, commercial golf facility, gyms or sports rooms.

e. CIVIC

This category is intended to encompass land Use functions predominantly of community-oriented purposes or objectives including those of not-for-profit organizations dedicated to arts and culture, education, recreation, religion, government, and the like.

Community Facility: A non-commercial facility established primarily for the benefit and service of the general public of the community in which it is located. Such facilities include, but are not limited to: community centers; and cultural facilities, such as libraries and museums.

Recreational Facility: A non-commercial facility, primarily an open space, serving the recreation needs of the general public. This may include but is not limited to: golf courses, parks, camping facilities, playfields and playgrounds.

Religious Facility: A facility used for regular organized religious worship and related activities.

Regional Activity Complex: A large facility encompassing at least one Principal Building with possible Accessory Structures designed and outfitted as a venue for large assemblies, performance or events intended to serve as a regional destination. Regional Activity Complexes shall be located in parcels larger than (4) acres; shall be equipped to provide permanent seating for more than 4,000 patrons or provide more than 100,000 square feet of exhibition space and shall provide Off-Street Parking for more than 1,000 vehicles.

f. CIVIL SUPPORT

This category is intended to encompass land uses predominantly supportive of other urban Uses and functions.

Community Support Facility: A facility providing basic services, for the benefit and service of the population of the community in which it is located. Such facilities may include but are not limited to: police and Fire Stations, Extended Care Facilities, Nursing Homes, convalescent homes, Continuing Care Facility, and Assisted Living Facility or Adult Daycare Center as defined by Chapter 429, Florida Statutes. See Article 6.

Infrastructure and Utilities: A facility or Structure related to the provision of roads, water and sewer lines, electrical, telephone and cable transmission, and all other utilities and communication systems necessary to the functioning of a community. See Article 6.

Major Facility: A large facility of an institutional nature including but not limited to Hospitals, public health and social service facilities, research facilities, shelters, judicial Buildings, Jails, Detention Facilities, work camps, cemeteries, mausoleums, Ambulance Services, Pharmaceutical Laboratories, or the like.

Marina: A facility for storage, servicing, fueling, berthing, or securing of boats. The Use does not include marine-related industrial activities.

Public Parking: A parking facility available to the general public for parking motor vehicles, including parking lots or garages.

Rescue Mission: A facility providing personal assistance to individuals in need; such assistance to individuals may include temporary shelter, food services provisions, counseling, instruction, medical services, and other incidental services.

Transit Facility: A facility providing accommodations by public, private, or nonprofit entities for the conveyance of persons from one place to another by means of a transportation system, including but not limited to: bus terminal, railroad station, freight terminal, airport, helistop or seaport.

g. EDUCATIONAL

This category is intended to encompass land Use functions connected with providing education, training, or care of children and students of all ages.

Childcare: A facility where six (6) or more children are cared for on a part-time basis by day or by night including after-school care. The term does not include community based residential facilities, Family Care Homes, foster homes, group homes, rehabilitation or detention centers, orphanages, or other places operating primarily for remedial care. See Article 6.

College / University: A facility for post-secondary education that grants associate, bachelor, master or doctoral degrees, and may include research functions or professional schools.

Elementary School: A facility offering instruction at the elementary school level.

Learning Center: A facility offering to students training, tutoring or instruction in subjects such as languages, music, fine arts or dance. This may include provision of electronic testing and distance learning.

Middle / High School: A facility offering instruction at the middle or high school level.

Pre-School: A facility offering care and instruction of children who are pre-elementary school age.

Research Facility: A facility for research and development that does not involve the use of human testing, animal husbandry, incinerators, heavy equipment, mass manufacturing, fabrication, processing, or sale of products. Any facility involving human testing, animal husbandry, and the use of incinerators shall be considered a Major Facility.

Special Training / Vocational: A facility offering instruction or training in trades or occupations such as secretarial, paralegal, business, beauty, barber, bartender, acupuncture, massage, design, fine arts, music and dance or other similar vocations. This classification excludes training and education in any activity that is not otherwise permitted in the zone.

h. INDUSTRIAL

This category is intended to encompass land Use functions connected with a business or activity involving manufacturing, fabrication, assembly, distribution, disposal, warehousing or bulk storage, trucking and equipment facilities, and other business serving primarily industrial needs. Residential Uses are not permitted except for live-aboard in commercial marinas, and limited work-live Uses. Under limited circumstances, Lodging Uses may be permitted pursuant to this Code.

Auto-Related Industrial Establishment: A facility conducting activities associated with the repair or maintenance of motor vehicles, trailers, and similar large mechanical equipment; paint and body work; major overhaul of engine or engine parts; vehicle impound or wrecking yard; outdoor vehicle sales, storage or repair; and government vehicle maintenance facilities. This includes auto related Uses not otherwise allowed within the commercial auto related establishment category.

Manufacturing and Processing: A facility primarily engaged in the manufacturing, processing, repair or assembly of goods. Premises may include retail or wholesale sales.

Marine-Related Industrial Establishment: A facility conducting activities associated with the construction, repair, and operation, storage, loading and unloading of boats, and other activities the primary purpose of which is to facilitate the maritime industry. All work on vessels which exceed eight (8) feet in width; all vessel paint and body work; and major engine work or overhaul, shall all be considered marine-related industrial activity including but not limited to shipping, boatyards, marinas commercial fishing, container yards and tug boat basins.

Products and Services: A public or private facility providing industrial and other services to individuals or businesses. This includes but is not limited to Laundry / Dry Cleaning Plants; metal, machine or welding shops. This also includes special services such as Pawn Shops, Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Animal Kennels, Government Maintenance Facilities, Hiring Halls / Labor Pools, and Solid Waste Facilities. See Article 6.

Storage and Distribution: A facility providing long-term or short-term storage, selling or distribution of merchandise. This includes but is not limited to: container yards; crating, packing and shipping service; heavy equipment sales, service and storage; storage, warehousing or distribution establishments; Public Storage Facilities or Commercial Storage Facilities; outdoor storage of building materials; or Concrete Batching Plants. See Article 6.

This section provides definitions for terms in this Code that are technical in nature or that might not be otherwise reflect a common usage of the word. If a term is not defined in this Article, then the Zoning Administrator shall determine the correct definition of the term.

Abutting: To reach or touch; to touch at the end or be contiguous with; join at a border or boundary; terminate on. Abutting properties include properties across a street or alley.

Accessory Unit: See Ancillary Unit, in Section 1.1, Residential Use.

Accessory Structure: A Structure or Building incidental and subordinate to the Principal Building and located on the same Lot. Accessory Structures shall only contain non-Habitable accessory uses, such as a shed, storage, unenclosed summer kitchen, gazebo, and/or trellis.

Adaptive Use: Rehabilitation or renovation of existing Building(s) for any Use(s) other than the present Use.

Administrative Site Plan Review: Optional permit approving dimensioned site plans, floor plans, elevations, zoning data, and related diagrams for a Use, Structure, or combination thereof for one or more uses permitted By Right, as provided in section 7.1.2.10. Also known as an “ASPR.”

Adult: An adult is a person eighteen (18) years of age or older.

Adult Daycare: A facility which provides limited supervision and basic services on a part-time basis by day or evening, but not overnight, to three (3) or more adults other than the family/employee occupying the premises. The term does not include community residential homes, nursing home facilities or institutions for the aged. See Section 1.1 (Civil Support, Community Support Facility) and Article 6.

Affordable / Workforce Housing: Housing priced up to 100% of the area median income as certified by the City’s Housing and Community Development Department.

Affordable Housing: Affordable Housing shall mean a Dwelling Unit, owner-occupied and/or rental housing with a purchase cost, value, or monthly rental, as applicable, equal to or less than the amounts established by the applicable standards for those individuals whose income is at or below 60 percent of Area Median Income as published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and certified by the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Albedo: The ratio of light reflected by a surface.

Alcohol Service Establishment: A place of business selling alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises as a principal use. Alcohol service establishments may include, but are not limited to: bars, taverns, cocktail lounges, nightclubs or supper clubs.

Allée: A regularly spaced and aligned row of trees usually planted along a Thoroughfare or Pedestrian Passage.

Alley: A Thoroughfare (not officially designated as a street) designated by a recorded plat, deed, or legal instrument, to be a secondary means of vehicular access to the rear or side of properties otherwise Abutting a street; an Alley may connect to a vehicular driveway located to the rear of Lots providing access to outbuildings, service areas and parking, and containing utility Easements.

Alterations, Structural: Structural alterations are any change, removal, replacement, reinforcement or addition of beams, ceiling and floor joists, reinforced concrete floor slabs (except those on fill), load bearing partitions, columns, exterior walls, stairways, roofs, corridors or other structural materials used in a Building that support the said beams, ceiling and floor joists, load bearing partitions, columns, exterior walls, stairways, roofs, or structural materials used in the Building or Structure. The term is applicable to any Building or Structure or any part thereof, whether or not permanent or temporary shoring is used during construction and whether or not additions to or rebuilding of the major portion of an existing building are being accomplished.

Ambulance Service: A facility which provides emergency medical transportation or paramedical emergency or trauma care en route to an extended care or medical facility. See Section 1.1 (Civil Support, Major Facility).

Amusement Ride: See Section 1.1, Commercial Use.

Ancillary Building: A Building that is subordinate to the Principal Building and located on the same Lot. It is usually located towards the rear of the Principal Building. It may be attached, detached, or connected to the Principal Building by a Connecting Structure. See Article 4, Table 8, Diagram C Building Disposition. Ancillary Buildings may contain an Ancillary Dwelling Unit (ADU) and/or other ancillary Habitable uses including, but not limited to, a gym, game room, home office, or pool cabana. Ancillary Buildings may also contain non-Habitable uses such as a garage, carport or storage.

Animal Clinic: A facility which provides medical and surgical care for sick animals, including overnight boarding, and may include overnight boarding for seven (7) or less healthy animals, all within a completely enclosed building. See Section 1.1 (Commercial, General Commercial).

Animal Kennel: A facility which provides boarding services for eight (8) or more animals. See Section 1.1 (Industrial, Products and Services).

Antennas, miscellaneous: Any roof-mounted Structure intended for the transmission or reception of radar, radio, television, or telephone communications, excluding traditional single-family residential television antennas, amateur radio antennas, satellite earth stations and microwave antennas.

Arcade: A covered pedestrian way within a building or along the side of a Building at the first floor, which may provide access to shops along one (1) or more sides. See Article 4, Table 6.

Architectural Features: Prominent or significant parts or elements of a Building or Structure.

Architectural Screening: A decorative architectural or art treatment composed of one or more Architectural Screening Materials along the Façade or Elevation of a Parking Structure, and placed exterior to the structure, that visually conceals and mitigates the negative visual and ambient impacts of Parking Elements from the ground level and lateral views both during the day and night. Said screening shall be achieved through one or more the following strategies: art, multiple Architectural Screening Materials, plane changes, massing variation, and other expressions of depth and layered materiality.

Architectural Screening Material: A Durable and maintained material used for Architectural Screening with specification that meets the requirements of the Miami 21 Code. Architectural Screening Materials may include, but are not limited to, decorative metal, glass, fins, wood, or concrete. Porous materials including real vegetation, tensile mesh, or fabric mesh shall only be permitted when another Durable material is placed behind or in front. The use of faux vegetation is prohibited. The use of living vegetation requires Florida-friendly landscaping, a landscape plan and irrigation plan in accordance with Article 9 of this Code.

Architectural Style: The characteristic form and detail of Buildings from a particular historical period or school of architecture.

Atlas, Miami 21: The atlas adopted under the Miami 21 Code.

Atrium: An indoor, roofed space whose height exceeds one Story and which does not contain a Function or Use and is utilized primarily as a circulation or informal gathering space serving all occupants of the Building.

Attainable Mixed-Income Housing: Attainable Mixed-Income Housing shall mean a Development comprised of Extremely Low Income Housing, Affordable Housing, and Workforce Housing; and may be subject to Density bonuses.

Attainable Workforce Housing: Attainable Workforce Housing shall mean a Development comprised of Workforce Housing, servicing multiple income ranges between 60% of the Area Median Income and 100% of the Area Median Income, as described in Section 3.16 of this Code.

Auto-Related Commercial Establishment: See Section 1.1. Commercial Use

Auto-Related Industrial Establishment: See Section 1.1, Industrial Use

Average Sidewalk Elevation: The average of the record profile grade elevation of each of the streets Abutting a development, as determined and on file with the City of Miami Public Works Department.

Awning: A movable roof-like Structure, cantilevered or otherwise entirely supported from a Building, used to shade or screen windows or doors.

Backbuilding: A single-story Structure with a maximum width of twelve (12) feet connecting a Principal Building to an Outbuilding. See Article 4, Table 8, Diagram C.

Balcony: An unenclosed habitable Structure cantilevered from a Facade or Building Elevation.

Base Building Line: The officially mapped street lines. Lines so established may fall within the boundaries of Lots and shall be used instead of the Lot lines adjacent to the streets in determining the Layers and Setbacks.

Base Flood Elevation (BFE): The elevation of surface water resulting from a flood that has a one percent (1%) chance of equaling or exceeding that level in any given year as determined by FEMA. The BFE is shown on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).

Bed and Breakfast: See Section 1.1, Lodging Use.

Bicycle Lane: A lane dedicated for bicycle use demarcated by striping or otherwise separated from vehicle lanes.

Bicycle Rack Space: Parking space for any two wheel alternative mode of transportation including: bicycle, scooter, motorcycle, Segway®, etc.

Bicycle Route: A Thoroughfare designated for shared use of bicycles and automobiles.

Bicycle Shed: An area, approximately circular, that is centered on a common destination, reachable by bicycle. A Bicycle Shed for purposes of connecting to transit and mapping a Transit Oriented Development (“TOD”) is a five (5) minute ride at a leisurely pace. The area of the Bicycle Shed is dependent on the type and connectedness of barrier-free bicycle routes available. Five-minutes of travel is equivalent to one-half (1/2) mile when no dedicated space for bicycles are available; three-quarter (3/4) mile when improvements like bicycle lanes or shared-use paths are available; and one (1) mile when premium facilities like linear parks, the Riverwalk, Baywalk, or separated lanes are available for travel. The City’s Bicycle Master Plan further identifies types of bicycle facilities. The outline of the Bicycle Shed must be refined according to actual site conditions and is subject to change as additional bicycle facilities are added. (Sometimes referred to as “Bikeshed”).

Block: The aggregate of private Lots, passages, rear lanes and Alleys, the perimeter of which abuts Thoroughfares.

Block Face: The aggregate of all the Building Facades on one side of a block. The Block Face provides the context for establishing architectural harmony.

Botanical Garden: A garden of collected growing plants established for the benefit of the Public to serve as an educational, recreational or scientific center.

Bonus Capacity: The additional Building Capacity awarded for participation in the Public Benefits Program, as defined in Article 3, Section 3.14.

Brownfield: An area having been used primarily as an industrial or commercial site with perceived or actual presence of environmentally hazardous substance.

Buffer: An area of land, including landscaping, berms, walls, Fences, and Building Setbacks, which is located between land Uses of different characters and is intended to mitigate negative impacts of the one intense Use on a residential or vacant parcel.

Buildable Area: The portion of a Lot remaining after required Setbacks have been provided. Buildings may be placed in any part of the Buildable area, but limitations on percent of the Lot which may be covered by Buildings may require Open Space within the buildable area.

Building: Any Structure having a solid roof intended for shelter or enclosing of persons, animals, chattels, property, equipment or a process of any kind or nature, excluding freestanding tents, freestanding awnings, and cabanas and screened enclosures.

Building Capacity: See Floor Area.

Building Code: The State of Florida Building Code.

Building Configuration: The form of a Building, based on its massing, Private Frontage, and Height.

Building Disposition: The placement of a Building on its Lot.

Building Function: The Uses accommodated by a Building and its Lot. Functions are categorized as Restricted, Limited, or Open, according to the Intensity of the Use.

Building Permit: The permit required for new construction and additions pursuant to the City Code.

Build-to Zone: A zone along all Principal Frontages in the T5 and T6 Transect Zones beginning at the front Setback line and extending ten (10) feet into the Second Layer where Building Façade(s) shall be placed, as depicted in Article 4, Table 8, Illustration d.

By Right: A Use or Structure allowed pursuant to zoning review and approval of a Building Permit or issuance of a Certificate of Use under Article 7, Section 7.1.2.1., titled “Permitted Uses,” and without approval by Waiver, Warrant, Exception, Variance, or other required City Commission, Historic and Environmental Preservation Board, or Planning, Zoning, and Appeals Board approval.

Canopy: A fixed-roofed Structure which provides shade or protection and is in whole or in part self-supporting with open sides.

Capacity: See Floor Area.

Car Shelter: A Structure made of canvas, aluminum, or similar materials, or any combination thereof, on movable framing for the shade and shelter of one (1) or two (2) private passenger vehicles.

Carport: A portion of a Principal residential Building or a Building accessory to a residential Use designed to be used for shelter of motor vehicles, unenclosed at the vehicular entry side and for an area at least equal to twenty percent (20%) of the area of the outer surface of walls, which might otherwise be constructed along its entire remaining perimeter. Where enclosure exceeds this amount, the shelter shall be construed to be a garage.

Certificate of Occupancy: As defined by the Florida Building Code.

Certificate of Use: An official City document verifying that a particular Use is in compliance with applicable sections of this Miami 21 Code pursuant to the requirements of Article IV, Section 2-207 of the City Code and Section 7.1.2.1 of this Code.

City: The City of Miami, Florida.

City Code: The Code of Ordinances of the City of Miami.

City Commission: The City Commission of the City of Miami.

Civic: Uses held in private or public ownership but functioning for community purposes such as religious, cultural, environmental, or educational uses. See Section 1.1.

Civic Building: A Building designed specifically for a Civic Function.

Civic Institution (CI): A zone with uses primarily dedicated to Functioning for community purposes such as, cultural, educational, environmental, governmental, public transit, public parking and religious facilities. See Section 1.1.

Civic Space (CS): A zone with mainly outdoor area dedicated for functioning for community purposes.

Civic Space Types: Open Space defined by the combination of certain physical constants including the relationship between their intended Use, their size, their landscaping and their enfronting Buildings. See Article 4, Table 7.

Civic Zone: See Article 4, Table 1

Civil Support Uses: See Section 1.1

Code: The Miami 21 Code. May also be referred to herein as this Code.

Co-Living Unit: Communal living quarters consisting of Co-Living Rooms each with a private bathroom and shared unit space including full kitchen facilities with direct access to the outside or a common hall. A Co-Living Unit that is available for lease or rent for less than one (1) month shall be considered Lodging.

Co-Living Room: A single bedroom within a Co-Living Unit. Each bedroom shall have a private bathroom and may have limited kitchen facilities.

College / University: See Section 1.1, Education Use

Commercial Storage Facility: A facility providing for the storage of office furnishings, archive records and general personal property of businesses, agencies and professionals. Such personal property is limited to furniture and other household goods and retail merchandise to be sold at nearby establishments. Storage of heavy equipment or any property that may be deemed hazardous, such as property which is inflammable, combustible, explosive or dangerous is prohibited. See Section 1.1 (Commercial, Storage and Distribution).

Commercial Vehicle: A Commercial Vehicle is any vehicle designed, intended or used for transportation of people, goods, or things, not including private passenger vehicles and trailers for private nonprofit transport of goods or boats.

Common Lawn: See Article 4, Table 7.

Community Facility: See Section 1.1, Civic Use.

Community Garden: A grouping of garden plots available for small-scale cultivation, generally to residents of apartments and other dwelling types without private gardens. Community gardens should accommodate individual storage sheds.

Community Residence: See Section 1.1, Residential Use.

Community Support Facility: See Section 1.1, Civil Support Use.

Comprehensive Plan:The Miami Comprehensive Neighborhood Plan.

Configuration: The form of a building based on its massing, Private Frontage and Height.

Connecting Structure: A single-story Structure or Building with a maximum width of twelve (12) feet connecting a Principal Building to an Ancillary Building. See Article 4, Table 8, Diagram C Building Disposition.

Construction, Actual: The placing of construction materials in a permanent position and fastened in a permanent manner; except that, where demolition, excavation, or removal of an existing Structure has been substantially begun preparatory to new construction, such excavation, demolition, or removal shall be deemed to be actual construction, provided that work shall be Continuously carried on without interruption, except for just cause, until the completion of the new construction involved.

Content, Adult: see Adult Entertainment; Specified Anatomical Areas; Specified Sexual Activities; see Section 1.1 Commercial Use.

Context: Surroundings made up of the particular combination of elements that create specific character in the area.

Continuously: As defined with reference to Actual Construction defined herein, continuously shall mean that work is underway for at least fifty percent (50%) of the working days (Monday through Friday, national holidays excluded) since construction began. See also Construction, Actual.

Cool Roof: A roof that reflects the sun’s heat and emits absorbed radiation back into the atmosphere.

Corridor: A lineal geographic system incorporating transportation or Greenways.

Courtyard: Open Space, partially defined by walls or Buildings as regulated by this Code. See Article 4, Table 7.

CPTED: Crime Prevention through Environmental Design.

Crew Quarters: Accommodations designed and outfitted to accommodate on a non-permanent basis the crew of vessels being serviced or temporarily stored at established Marinas or Marine Related Industrial Establishments allowed, in an incidental capacity, on the same property where the primary use which they support is established. Crew Quarters’ facilities shall be commensurate to the facilities they serve. See Article 6.

Curb: The edge of the vehicular pavement detailed as a raised concrete or stone element, or flush with a swale.

Cycle Track: A protected bike lane along a Thoroughfare. Facilities may be one (1) or two (2) directional and can be raised to sidewalk level or placed at street level.

Density: The number of Dwelling Units within a standard measure of land area, usually given as units per acre.

Design Speed: The velocity at which a Thoroughfare is designed for vehicular use.

Development: Development shall have the meaning given it in section 380.04, Florida Statutes.

Development Capacity: see Floor Area.

Director: Unless otherwise specified, the term “Director” shall mean the Director of the Department of Planning for the City.

Disposition: The placement of a Building on its Lot. See Article 4, Table 8.

District (D): A zone intended to accommodate Uses which because of their specialized performance, Scale or impact should not be incorporated into the Neighborhood structure.

Dock: See Pier.

Dormitory: See Section 1.1, Residential Use.

Drive-through / Drive-in Facility: A place of business including drive-through banks or teller windows, drive-through eating and drinking establishments, drive-through windows at liquor or other stores, or at laundry and dry cleaning agencies, car washes, and similar facilities, but excludes automotive service stations. See Article 6.

Driveway: A vehicular lane within a Lot, usually leading to a garage or carport. A Driveway in the First Layer may be used for parking if it is less than the width allowed in the applicable transect, above which dimension it becomes subject to the constraints of a parking lot.

Dwelling Unit: Residence of a single housekeeping unit. See Article 6.

Easement: A legal instrument, in a form approved by the City Attorney and recorded in the county records, that allows access through real property of the conveyor.

Educational Use: See Section 1.1.

Electric Vehicle Capable (EV Capable): A parking space that is equipped with infrastructure to support installation of 40 Amp, 208 or 240-Volt, electric vehicle charging equipment. Spaces must be within one hundred (100) feet from a supporting electrical panel location. Infrastructure may include but is not limited to raceways or conduit from parking locations to electrical panels, space for additional electrical panels, space for overprotection devices, conduit connecting electrical panels to distribution equipment, and space for additional distribution equipment.

Elementary School: See Section 1.1, Educational Use.

Elevation, Building: An exterior wall of a Building not along a Frontage Line (See Facade).

Elevation, Floor: Height of floor level.

Eligible Historic Resource: Archeological sites, individual historic resources, contributing Buildings within a historic district, as qualified under Chapter 23 of the City Code.

Employment Office: A place of business, other than a hiring hall or labor pool, offering individual job recruitment by specification of job qualifications and conduct of individual interviews by placement specialists onsite to meet those job specifications. See Section 1.1 (Commercial, General Commercial).

Encroachment: Building element permissible within required Setback.

Enfront: To place an element along a Frontage Line, as in “Porches enfront the street.”

Entertainment Establishment: See Section 1.1, Commercial Use.

Entertainment Establishment, Adult: See Section 1.1, Commercial Use.

Entrance, Principal: The main point of access of pedestrians into a Building.

Established Setback Area: A defined area wherein the Setbacks provided by the Transect designation are superseded by those originally adopted for a special district under Ordinance 11000, and which continue and are listed in Article 3, Section 3.3.6 of this Miami 21 Code. The boundaries of Established Setback Areas are illustrated on Article 4, Diagram 10.

Exception: Permit approved pursuant to the requirements of Article 7.

Extended Care Facility or Nursing Home: An institution which is licensed by the State of Florida to provide health care or medical supervision for twenty-four (24) or more consecutive hours for three (3) or more persons not related to the governing authority by blood, marriage or adoption. See Section 1.1 (Civil Support, Community Support Facility) and Article 6.

Extremely Low Income Housing: Extremely Low Income Housing shall mean a Dwelling Unit, owner-occupied and/or rental housing with a purchase cost, value, or monthly rental, as applicable, equal to or less than the amounts established by the applicable standards for those individuals whose income is at or below 30 percent of Area Median Income as published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and certified by the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Facade: The exterior wall of a Building that is set along a Frontage Line. (See Elevation, Building).

Family Care Home: A family care home is an occupied residence, registered and licensed by the State of Florida, where five (5) or fewer preschool children from more than one (1) unrelated family receive care on a regular part-time basis by day or by night and which receives a payment, fee, or grant for any of the children receiving care, whether or not operated for profit. See Section 1.1 (Residential, Community Residence) and Article 6.

FEC Corridor Greenway (Flagler Trail): A linear pedestrian and bicycle pathway along the Florida East Coast Rail line corridor.

Fence: A permeable metal or wooden wall, independent of a Building, located along a Frontage line. See Article 4, Table 6.

FEMA:Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Fire Station: A Building housing fire equipment and firefighters. See Section 1.1 (Civil Support, Community Support Facility).

Flea Market: An Open Area or Building used for occasional or periodic sale of goods by individual sellers for limited periods of time. See Section 1.1 (Commercial, Open Air Retail).

Floating Structure: A floating barge-like entity, with or without accommodations built thereon, which is not primarily used as a means of transportation on water, but serves purposes or provides services typically associated with a Structure or other improvement to real property. The term “Floating Structure” includes, but is not limited to, each entity used as a residence, place of business, office, hotel or motel, restaurant or lounge, clubhouse, meeting facility, storage or parking facility, mining platform, dredge, dragline, or similar facility or entity represented as such. Floating Structures, as defined herein, are expressly excluded from the definition of the term “vessel” provided in section 327.02(27), Florida Statutes (1989), and is also excluded from the definition of “private pleasure craft.” Incidental movement upon water shall not, in and of itself, preclude an entity from classification as a Floating Structure. A Floating Structure is expressly included as a type of tangible personal property (from section 192.001 (17), Florida Statutes (1989). See illustration included with Ordinance No. 10932, adopted October 24, 1991.

Floorplate: The total indoor Floor Area of any given Story of a Building, measured to the exterior of the wall.

Floor Area: The floor area within the inside perimeter of the outside walls of the Building including hallways, stairs, closets, thickness of walls, columns and other features, and parking and loading areas, and excluding only interior Atria and open air spaces such as exterior corridors, Porches, balconies and roof areas. Also means Building or Development Capacity.

Floor Lot Ratio (FLR): The multiplier applied to the Lot Area that determines the maximum Floor Area allowed above grade in a given Transect Zone.

Food Service Establishment: See Section 1.1, Commercial Use.

Forecourt: See Article 4, Table 6.

Frontage: The area between a Building Facade and the vehicular lanes of a Thoroughfare, Mean High waterline of a Waterfront, or Frontage Line of a Civic Space Type.

Frontage, Principal: That Frontage facing the public space such as a Thoroughfare of higher pedestrian importance (i.e., traffic volume, number of lanes, etc.).

Frontage, Private: The Layer between the Frontage Line and the Principal Building Facade. The Structures and landscaping within the Private Frontage may be held to specific standards regarding the depth of the setback and the combination of architectural elements such as Fences, Stoops, Porches and Galleries.

Frontage, Public: The area between the curb of the vehicular lanes and the Frontage Line. Elements of the Public Frontage include the curb, Sidewalk, planter, street tree, streetlight, street furniture, etc.

Frontage, Secondary: That Frontage facing the public space such as a Thoroughfare that is of lesser pedestrian importance (i.e., traffic volume, number of lanes, etc.).

Frontage Line: Property Line or Base Building Line Abutting a public space, such as a Plaza or Thoroughfare, whether at the front, rear, or side of a Lot. Facades parallel to Frontage Lines define the public realm and are therefore more regulated than the Elevations that coincide with other Lot Lines.

Freeboard: The additional height above the Base Flood Elevation at which the lowest finished floor is built.

Function: The land Use allowed on property according to this Code.

Funeral Home: A facility licensed by the state and containing suitable storage room for the dead including embalming facilities, and may also provide rooms for the display of the dead or ceremonies connected with burial or cremation. See Section 1.1 (General Commercial).

Gallery: A covered pedestrian area adjoining the side of a Building on any floor, which may provide access along one or more sides. See Article 4, Table 7.

Game Court: a spatially defined surface, paved or unpaved, used for playing basketball, tennis, paddleball, volleyball, or other similar recreational activities.

Garden: See Article 4, Table 7.

General Commercial: See Section 1.1, Commercial Use.

General Urban Zone: See Article 4, Table 1.

Government Maintenance Facilities: Building, land, or Structure designed and intended to be used in the routine upkeep and repair of government owned or leased equipment. See Section 1.1 (Civil Support, Products and Services).

Green: See Article 4, Table 7.

Green Corridor: See Greenway.

Green Roof, Extensive: An area atop a roof surface of a Building surfaced with soil and Florida Friendly Landscaping that are appropriate for South Florida green roof systems, including ground cover, grasses, herbs, and flowering herbaceous plants, which require little or no maintenance and no permanent irrigation system. This area retains stormwater runoff and to mitigates the Heat Island Effect. The depth of the growing medium shall be a minimum of two (2) inches and a maximum of six (6) inches. All green-roofing products located within a High-Velocity Hurricane Zone shall be approved under the Florida Product Approval or Miami Dade Notice of Acceptance and shall comply with the structural requirements of the Florida Building Code.

Green Roof, Intensive: A building roofing system that is an assembly of interacting components designed to waterproof and insulate a building’s top surface that includes, by design, a variety of Florida Friendly Landscaping that are appropriate for South Florida green roof systems — including herbaceous plants and shrubs, and small trees, which require professional maintenance and an advanced green roof irrigation system — and related landscape elements to form parks and gardens, including urban agriculture. This area retains stormwater runoff and mitigate the Heat Island Effect. The depth of the growing medium shall be a minimum of eight (8) inches. Urban agriculture on roofs— farms, urban roof farms or vegetable farms — are considered Intensive Green Roofs, requiring higher nutrient applications and focused maintenance. Rooftop farming areas of an Intensive Green Roof shall be planted with appropriate plan material during non-farming periods. All green-roofing products located within a High-Velocity Hurricane Zone shall be approved under the Florida Product Approval or Miami Dade Notice of Acceptance and shall comply with the structural requirements of the Florida Building Code.

Green Roof, Semi-Intensive: A building roofing system consisting of some components of both Extensive and Intensive Green Roofs. This area is often used as a garden, retains stormwater runoff, and mitigates the Heat Island Effect. The depth of the growing medium shall be a minimum of six (6) inches. All green-roofing products located within a High-Velocity Hurricane Zone shall be approved under the Florida Product Approval or Miami Dade Notice of Acceptance and shall comply with the structural requirements of the Florida Building Code.

Green Space: An Open Space outdoors, at grade, unroofed, landscaped and free of impervious surfaces. See Article 4, Table 7.

Greenway: An Open Space Corridor in largely natural condition which may include paths for bicycles and pedestrians. See Article 4, Table 7.

Habitable Rooms: Rooms designed and used for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, or working or combinations thereof. Bathrooms, toilet compartments, closets, halls, storage rooms, laundry and utility spaces, basement recreation rooms, and similar areas are not considered Habitable Rooms.

Habitable Space: Building space which Use involves human presence with direct view of the enfronting streets or public or private Open Space, excluding Parking Garages, self-service storage facilities, warehouses, and display windows separated from retail activity.

Hardscape: The nonliving portions of a building’s landscaping, such as roads, sidewalks, courtyards and parking lots.

Heat Island Effect: An elevated temperature in an urban area when compared to rural areas, typically caused by the increased presence of dark, heat absorbing materials, such as asphalt and dark roofs, in urban areas.

Height: See Building Height.

Height, Building: The vertical extent of a Building measured in Stories.

Height, Structure: The vertical extent of a Structure measured in feet.

Hiring Hall / Labor Pool: A place of business providing employment services for laborers. Such services generally involve short term hiring of unskilled manual help, with little or no qualifications required, or the need of individual interviews by placement specialists. See Section 1.1 (Industrial, Products and Services).

Historic Preservation Ordinance: An Ordinance codified in Chapter 23 of the City Code dedicated to the preservation of the City of Miami’s Historic Property and historic resources as a significant goal in the City’s overall vision for its future.

Historic Property: See Eligible Historic Resource.

Home Occupation: See Home Office.

Home Office: See Section 1.1, Residential Use.

Hospital: An institution having an appropriate license or certificate of need issued by the State of Florida and providing primary health, medical, or surgical care to persons suffering from illness, disease, injury, deformity or abnormal mental conditions; and may include related accessory facilities such as laboratories, outpatient or training facilities. See Section 1.1 (Civil Support, Major Facilities).

Hotel: See Section 1.1, Lodging Use.

House Barge / Houseboat: A Floating Structure used as a residence. A vessel, a private pleasure craft, consisting of a hull and superstructure supported in the water by integral flotation devices, not suitable for rough water, and designed and manufactured to be self-propelled. See Article 6.

Housing for the Elderly: Housing development for residents aged fifty-five (55) and over.

Industrial Use: See Section 1.1.

Infill: A development project within existing urban fabric, on a vacant site within a built-up area.

Infrastructure and Utilities: See Section 1.1, Civil Support.

Inn: See Section 1.1, Lodging Use.

Inside Turning Radius: The curved edge of a Thoroughfare at an intersection, measured at the inside edge of the vehicular tracking. The smaller the Turning Radius, the smaller the pedestrian crossing distance and the more slowly the vehicle is forced to make the turn.

Intensity: The magnitude of development measured by Floor Lot Ratio permitted in the Restricted, Limited and Open categories of a Transect Zone.

Intermediate Level: a level contained within the overall Height of a Story. The Floor Area of the Intermediate Level shall not exceed thirty-three percent (33%) of the Floor Area of the level below (or fifty percent [50%] in the D1 Transect Zone). Intermediate Levels above the first Story shall have direct access, in the form of stairs or elevators, from the Habitable Space below that is interior and independent of the building core or other common areas.

Jail / Detention Facilities: A Building designated by law or regularly used for the confinement of persons held in lawful custody. See Section 1.1 (Civil Support, Major Facility).

Large Scale Commercial: A commercial business occupying more than 55,000 square feet of Floor Area with a regional market area, including but not limited to retail or wholesale sales, membership warehouse clubs, discount stores and department stores. See Article 6.

Laundry / Dry Cleaning Plant: An establishment providing washing, dry cleaning, dyeing, pressing, or special similar services, not open to or for the direct use of the general public. See Section 1.1 (Industrial, Products and Services).

Layer: A range of depth of a Lot within which certain elements are permitted as regulated in this Code. See Article 4, Table 8, Diagram D.

Layer, First: The area of a Lot comprised of the distance between the Base Building Line and the required Front Setback.

Layer, Second: The area of a Lot directly behind the First Layer and extending fifteen (15) feet into the lot, as depicted in Article 4, Table 8, Illustration g. The Second Layer is intended for Habitable Spaces which directly enfront Thoroughfares; however, the Second Layer may contain elements required by the Florida Building Code and other public utilities where no other location is feasible.

Layer, Third: That portion of the Lot that is not within the First and Second Layer and is least visible from the Thoroughfare.

Learning Center: See Section 1.1, Educational Use.

LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Legacy Structure: An existing Structure within an NRD area which is maintained or re-purposed by the property owner that contributes to the character of the District. The Structure must maintain its physical integrity so that it sufficiently conveys its original character, possess integrity of design, setting, material, workmanship, feeling and association, and meets specific criteria of the District.

Light Court: See Article 4, Table 6.

Liner: A Building or part of a Building with Habitable Space specifically designed to enfront a public space, masking a function without capacity to monitor public space, such as a parking lot, Parking Garage or storage facility. A Liner shall have a minimum depth of fifteen feet (15 ft).

Live-Work: See Section 1.1, Residential Uses

Loading Space: An area in which goods and products are moved on and off a vehicle, including the stall or berth and the apron or maneuvering room incidental thereto.

Lodging Use: See Section 1.1

Lodging Unit: Attached or semidetached living quarters comprised of furnished room(s) of approximately two hundred (200) gross square feet or more in area, including sanitary facilities but with only limited kitchen facilities, if any; not qualifying as a Dwelling Unit or efficiency apartment; occupied by transients on a rental or lease basis for limited periods of time.

Lot: A Lot is any individual Lot, tract or parcel of land, intended as a single Building site or unit, having an assigned number or numbers, letter or letters, or other name through which it may be identified for development purposes. A Lot may also be any combination of Lots, tracts, parcels or other areas of land established by acceptable legal joinder, delineated by a closed boundary and assigned a number, letter or other name through which it may be identified, intended as a single unit for development purposes.

Lot Area: Lot area shall be the area within the Lot Property Lines, excluding any portions of street rights-of-way or other required dedications.

Lot, Conforming: A parcel of land meeting the requirements of this Code as to dimensions (width, depth, or area) and access.

Lot, Corner: A Lot or parcel of land Abutting two (2) or more Thoroughfares at their intersection, or two (2) parts of the same Thoroughfare forming an interior angle of less than one hundred thirty-five (135) degrees.

Lot Coverage: The area of the Lot occupied by all Buildings, excluding roof overhangs, balconies, shade eyebrows, canopies, and other unenclosed cantilevered elements that do not extend more seven (7) feet from a wall, and Structures such as decks, pools, and trellises. In the T5, T6, and CI-HD Transect Zones ground floor cantilevered Awnings and cantilevered entry canopies within the First Layer shall not be counted towards Lot Coverage.

Lot, Interior: A Lot Abutting only one (1) Thoroughfare.

Lot, Nonconforming: A parcel of land with dimensions or access not meeting minimum requirements of this Code. See Article 7, Section 7.2.1.

Lot, Through: A Lot other than a Corner Lot, and with Frontage on more than one (1) Thoroughfare; Alleys shall not be considered for purposes of this definition.

Lot Line: The boundary that legally and geometrically demarcates a Lot.

Lot Width: The length of the narrowest dimension Frontage Line of a Lot.

Low Income Housing: As established by the City’s Community Development Department.

Major Facility: See Section 1.1, Civil Support Use.

Major Recreational Equipment: Vehicles including travel trailers, pickup campers, converted trucks or buses, motorized homes, tent campers, tents, or other short-term housing or shelter arrangements and devices, boats and boat trailers, combinations thereof, and other similar equipment, and trailers, cases, and boxes for transporting recreational equipment, whether occupied by such equipment or not.

Manufacturing and Processing: See Section 1.1, Industrial Use.

Marina: See Section 1.1, Civil Support Use.

Marine-related Industrial Facility: See Section 1.1, Industrial Use.

Marine-related Commercial Establishment: See Section 1.1, Commercial Use.

Market Rate Housing: As established by the City’s Community Development Department.

Microbrewery: An establishment that is primarily a manufacturing facility, where beer is produced for wider distribution and consumption on premises, with a maximum production of 15,000 barrels of beer per year. The establishment shall include retail sales, a tasting room, and/or a restaurant where beer manufactured onsite is served. See Article 6.

Micro Dwelling Unit: An small Multi-Family Residential Dwelling Unit type that shall include sanitary facilities and kitchen facilities. See Article 6. Table 13.

Middle / High-School: See Section 1.1, Educational Use.

Minor Accessories: An optional part fitted to perform an additional function or enhance performance. For Recreational Watercraft these include masts, antennae vent stacks and windshields.

Mitigation: Measures taken to eliminate, minimize, or compensate for damages from development activity.

Multi-Family Housing: See Section 1.1, Residential Use.

Natural Features: Physical characteristics of a property that are not man made.

Natural Zone or T1 Zone: See Article 4, Table 1.

Navigable Waterway: The navigable part of a waterway, centrally located with respect to the theoretical axis of the waterway (or the axis of the improved channel of the Miami River) which provides a throughway or access aisle for manned vessels.

Neighborhood: An urbanized area that is primarily Residential. A Neighborhood shall be based upon a partial or entire Standard Pedestrian Shed. The physical center of the Neighborhood should be located at an important traffic intersection associated with a Civic or Commercial use.

Neighborhood Conservation District (NCD): A zoning overlay district. See Section 3.12.

Neighborhood Revitalization District (NRD): An overlay zoning district. See Article 3, Section 3.12.3.

Nonconforming Lot: See Article 7, Section 7.2.1.

Nonconforming Site Improvements: See Article 7, Section 7.2.1.

Nonconforming Structure: See Article 7, Section 7.2.1.

Nonconforming Use: See Article 7, Section 7.2.1.

Nursing Home or Extended Care Facility: An institution which is licensed by the State of Florida to provide health care or medical supervision for twenty-four (24) or more consecutive hours for three (3) or more persons not related to the governing authority by blood, marriage or adoption. See Section 1.1 (Civil Support, Community Support Facility) and Article 6.

Office: See Section 1.1, Office Use.

Office Use: See Section 1.1.

Open Air Retail: See Section 1.1, Commercial Use.

Open Space: Any parcel or area of land or water essentially unimproved by permanent Buildings and open to the sky, excluding open parking areas; such space shall be reserved for public or private Use. Open Spaces may include Parks, Greens, Squares, Courtyards, Gardens, Playgrounds, Paseos (when designed predominantly for pedestrians), and pedestrian paths or associated landscaped areas.

Outbuilding: A Building, usually located towards the rear of the same Lot as a Principal Building. It is sometimes connected to the Principal Building by a Backbuilding.

Park: A tract of land designated and used by the public for active and passive recreation. See Article 4, Table 7. Also known as Public Park.

Parking Area: Any area designed and used for parking motor vehicles including parking lots and garages, driveways, garages serving residential Uses, and Thoroughfares.

Parking Elements: Exposed structural elements and equipment associated with a Parking Structure and its usage including, but not limited to, Spandrels, pipes, fans, ducts, ramping, sloping floors, slab edges, vehicles, vehicular lighting, garage lighting, and appurtenant mechanical equipment.

Parking Garage or Parking Structure: A Structure containing vehicular parking, including mechanical parking systems.

Parking, Off-site: Spaces provided for vehicles and located outside of the boundaries of the Lots to be served.

Parking, Off-street: Any land area designed and used for parking motor vehicles including parking lots and garages, driveways and garages serving residential uses, but excluding areas of Thoroughfares. See Articles 3 and 4.

Parking, Tandem: The placement of up to two (2) vehicles either one (1) behind the other or one (1) above the other as opposed to side by side.

Parking, Underground: Parking in which the ceiling or roof of the top level does not rise above any adjoining public Sidewalk.

Paseo: An access way limited to pedestrian use connecting streets, plazas, alleys, garages and other existing and future public spaces abutting a property. A Paseo shall have a clear path of a miminum of ten (10) feet in width that is restricted to pedestrian use and lined with active uses having frequent doors and windows. A Paseo may be roofed above the first floor for (100%) of its length, but any roof portion of Paseo shall not be counted as Open Space.

Pawnshop: Establishments which provide loans upon delivery of personal goods or other chattel as security and sell those same items as a secondhand retail service. See Section 1.1 (Industrial, Products and Services).

Pedestal: See Podium.

Pedestrian Entrance/Entry: The route by which a pedestrian accesses the second or third layer of a Lot or a Building. Emergency exits, utility doors, and doors to non-habitable spaces shall not be considered a Pedestrian Entrance.

Pedestrian Orientation: The characteristics of an area where the location and access to Buildings, types of Uses permitted on the street level, and storefront design relate to the needs of persons traveling on foot.

Pedestrian Passage: An Open Space connecting other public spaces, that is restricted to pedestrian use and limited vehicular access that connects Thoroughfares, Plazas, Alleys, Garages and other public use spaces, Pedestrian Passage shall have frequent doors and windows.

Pedestrian Shed: An area, approximately circular, that is centered on a common destination. A Pe­destrian Shed is applied to determine the approximate size of a Neighborhood. A Standard Pedestrian Shed is a barrier-free area interconnected by sidewalks and crosswalks with a one-quarter (1/4) mile travel distance from the common destination. This is about the distance of a five-minute walk at a leisurely pace. A Linear Pedestrian Shed is elongated to follow a commercial corridor, measuring one-quarter (¼) mile out from the center line of the corridor. It has been shown that provided with a pedestrian environment, most people will walk this distance rather than drive. The outline of the shed must be refined according to actual site conditions, particularly along Thoroughfares. The common destination should have the present or future capacity to accommodate Transect Zones successional in Density to its surroundings. (Sometimes called a “walkshed” or “walkable catchment”).

Personal Wireless Service Facility (PWSF): A facility for the provision of personal wireless services, as defined by the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996. A PWSF is any facility for the transmission or reception of personal wireless services, which may consist of an antenna array, transmission cables, equipment shelter or Building, access road, mount, and a guy system. Such facilities may include “monopole” or “lattice tower (tower)” Structures. See Section 1.1, (Civil Support, Infrastructure and Utilities), and Article 6.

Pervious Pavement System: A porous surface system with a stabilized base that allows water from precipitation and other sources to pass directly through, thereby reducing the runoff from a site, allowing groundwater recharge, and naturally cooling the surface through evaporation of water from pavement voids or from beneath.

Pharmaceutical Laboratories: Pharmaceutical laboratories are facilities equipped and intended for the testing of pharmaceutical products, particularly their effects on the human body. Such research primarily entails the evaluation of the absorption, elimination, bioavailability and pharmacodynamics of medications administered to research participants. Due to the standard protocols associated with such research, test subjects must remain on-site for prolonged periods including overnight stays. See Section 1.1 (Industrial, Products and Services).

Pier: A platform extending from shore over water used to secure and protect vessels or allow pedestrian access to extend over water. See Article 6.

Place of Assembly: See Section 1.1, Commercial Use.

Planter: The element of the public streetscape which accommodates street trees. Planters may be continuous or individual and separated.

Playground: See Article 4, Table 7.

Play Street: See Article 4, Table 7.

Plaza: See Article 4, Table 7.

Podium: That portion of a Building up to 125 feet in Height. Also known as Pedestal.

Porch: An open air room appended to a Building, with floor and roof but no walls on the sides facing Frontages.

Portico: An open-air structure consisting of a roof supported by columns or piers, that forms the entrance to a building.

Porte-cochére: See Carport.

Pre-School: See Section 1.1, Educational Use.

Primary-Secondary Grid: Thoroughfare designations appearing on a plan adopted under this Code or a Special Area Plan. See Article 3, Section 3.9.

Principal Building: A Structure used to enclose or house the primary Use(s) located on a Lot; or the main Building on a Lot, usually located toward the front.

Principal Dwelling Unit: See Single-Family Residence.

Product and Services: See Section 1.1, Industrial Uses.

Property Line: Demarcation of private property ownership.

Public: Facilities or land owned or operated by a governmental organization.

Public Benefits Program: See Article 3, Section 3.14.

Public Parking: See Section 1.1, Civil Support Use.

Public Storage Facilities: An establishment containing separate, secured self-storage areas or lockers used for the temporary storage of household items and seasonal or recreational vehicles, small boats, trailers etc. These facilities cater primarily to the needs of nearby residents. See Section 1.1 (Commercial, General Commercial) and Article 6.

Recreational Establishment: See Section 1.1, Commercial Use.

Recreational Facility: See Section 1.1, Civic Use.

Recreational Watercraft: A vessel or craft designed and licensed to move across or through water, designed and outfitted exclusively for recreational use.

Religious Facility: See Section 1.1, Civic Use.

Research Facility: See Section 1.1, Educational Use.

Rescue Mission: See Section 1.1, Civil Support Use.

Residential Use: See Section 1.1.

Retail Frontage Line: Frontage Lines designated on a Special Area Plan that require the ground level to be available for retail Use.

Right-of-Way, Public: That land held in trust by the City between the base building lines, including the Sidewalk, swale and parkway area, and the roadway, street and highway, including a limited-access expressway.

Roof Terrace: An outdoor space accessible to Building occupants that is designed to provide elevated views of the surrounding area. The terrace shall be located beyond the second story of a Building with a minimum size of eight hundred (800) square feet, consisting primarily of Florida Friendly Landscaping and high-albedo pavement, and may include container gardens and rooftop farming. Extensive, Intensive or a combination of Extensive and Intensive Green Roof systems may also be provided as additional landscape.

Rowhouse: A Dwelling Unit that shares a party wall with another Dwelling Unit of the same type.

Rural Zone or T2 Zone: See Article 4, Table 1.

Scale: The spatial relationship among Structures along a street or block front, including height, bulk and yard relationships. Scale also refers to the proportional relationship of the size of parts to one another and to the human figure.

Schools: Any public, parochial, private, charitable or non-profit school, college or university, other than trade or business schools, which may include instructional and recreational uses, living quarters, dining rooms, restaurants, heating plants and other incidental facilities for students, teachers and employees, including the Educational Uses such as: pre-school, elementary school, middle school, high school, college and university.

Screening: Visually shielding or obscuring one Structure or Use from another by a Liner Building, fencing, wall, or densely planted vegetation.

Secondary Grid: See Primary-Secondary Grid.

Setback: The distance from the Base Building Line to the point where a Building may be constructed. This area must be maintained clear of permanent Structures with the exception of encroachments described in each Transect Zone.

Shared Amenity Space: An indoor or outdoor space that provides an amenity or benefit to its users, separate from common circulation areas, corridors, mailrooms, and vestibules. The space shall include furniture and fixtures that accommodate active or passive activities. Access to these spaces shall be at no additional cost to residents of the unified development.

Shared Parking Standards: An accounting for parking spaces that are available to more than one function.

Shopfront: See Article 4, Table 6.

Sidewalk: The paved layer of the Public Frontage dedicated exclusively to pedestrian activity.

Single-Family Residence: See Section 1.1, Residential Use.

Solar Equipment: A device or structural design feature, the predominant purpose of which is to provide daylight for interior lighting or provide for the collection, storage, and distribution of solar energy for space heating or cooling, electricity generation, or water heating.

Solar Reflectance: The fraction of solar energy reflected by a material.

Solid Waste Facility: Facility for the disposition of unwanted or discarded material including garbage with insufficient liquid content to be free flowing. See Section 1.1 (Industrial, Products and Services).

Spandrel: In a Parking Structure or Podium, a beam that stretches horizontally from one column to another column usually carrying an exterior wall load.

Special Area Plan: See Article 3, Section 3.9.

Special Flood Hazard Area: The land area, as determined by FEMA and shown on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), covered by the floodwaters of the base flood.

Special Training Facility / Vocational: See Section 1.1, Educational Use.

Specified Anatomical Areas: Those areas of the human body, less than completely and opaquely covered, which consist of: (a) male and female genitals or pubic region; (b) male or female buttocks, anus, anal cleft, or cleavage; (c) female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola; or (d) human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state. See Section 1.1 (Commercial, Entertainment Establishment, Adult).

Specified Sexual Activities: Those activities which, when described, displayed, exhibited, simulated, or depicted by whatsoever medium in an adult entertainment service establishment: (a) show the human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation, or being aroused to a state of sexual stimulation, (b) show acts of human masturbation, human sexual intercourse, or sodomy; or sexual acts between humans and animals; (c) show one (1) human being fondling or touching erotically the genitals, pubic area, buttock, anus, or female breast of another human being. See Section 1.1 (Commercial Entertainment Establishment, Adult).

Square: See Article 4, Table 7.

Stall / Berth: The space where vehicles are placed for parking or loading or unloading operations.

Stationing: The placing or positioning of a given movable item on a given parcel of land for period of time exceeding 12 hours.

Stoop: A small stair, landing or ramp connecting a Building entrance to the Sidewalk. Also See Article 4, Table 6.

Storage and Distribution: See Section 1.1, Industrial Use.

Story: A level within a Building by which Height is measured.

Streetscape: The urban element that establishes the major part of the public realm. The streetscape is composed of Thoroughfares (travel lanes for vehicles and bicycles, parking lanes for cars, and Sidewalks or paths for pedestrians) as well as the amenities of the Public Frontages (street trees and plantings, benches, streetlights, paving, street furniture, etc.), and the visible Private Frontages (Building Facades and Building Elevations, Porches, yards, Fences, etc.).

Streetscape Master Plan: See Article 3, Section 3.12.

Streetscreen: A freestanding wall required in certain Transect Zones built along the Frontage Line, or coplanar with the Facade, often for the purpose of masking a parking lot from the Thoroughfare. See Article 4, Table 8.

Structure: A Structure is anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires fixed location on the ground or attachment to something having fixed location on the ground or on or below the surface of the ground or water.

Sub-Urban Zone or T3 Zone: See Article 4, Table 1.

Terminated Vista: A location at the axial conclusion of a Thoroughfare. A Building located at a Terminated Vista designated on a Special Area Plan is required to be designed in response to the axis.

Terrace: See Article 4, Table 6.

Thoroughfare: A vehicular way incorporating moving lanes and parking lanes within a right-of-way as part of an interconnected network for vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle mobility.

Tower: In T6 Zones that portion of a Building that extends above the Pedestal.

Towing Service: Establishment which provides for the removal and temporary storage of vehicles but does not include disposal, permanent disassembly, salvage or accessory storage of inoperable vehicles.

Townhouse: See Rowhouse.

Transect: A system of ordering human habitats in a range from the most natural to the most urban. Transect Zones describe the physical character of place at any Scale, according to the Density and Intensity of land use and urbanism.

Transect Zone (T-Zone): The identification of areas of varying Density whose character is determined by the requirements for Use, Height, Setback and the form of Building and the form of the enfronting public streetscape. The elements are determined by their location on the Transect scale. The T-Zones are: T1 Natural, T2 Rural, T3 Sub-Urban, T4 Urban General, T5 Urban Center, and T6 Urban Core, CS Civic Space, CI Civic Institutional, CI-HD Civic Institution – Health District, D1 Work Place, D2 Industrial and D3 Waterfront Industrial. Within T3 through T6 Zones are additional categories, Restricted (R), Limited (L) and Open (O), and each category shall also be considered a T-Zone.

Transit Corridor: A designation established by the City involving an area not exceeding a one-quarter (1/4) mile radius from a non-limited access thoroughfare that included designated transit stop locations and is served by one or more mass transit route(s) with designated transit vehicle(s) operating at an average of ten (10) minute or less headway Monday thru Friday between the hours of 7am thru 7pm. Multiple transit routes or types of transit vehicles may be added cumulatively under this definition for the purpose of parking reductions.

Transit Facility: See Section 1.1, Civil Support Use.

Transit Oriented Development (TOD): A designation established by the City within the Pedestrian Shed or Bicycle Shed area of a convergence of modes of transit, or a train station.

Transition Line: A horizontal line spanning the full width of a Facade, expressed by a material change or by a continuous horizontal articulation such as a cornice or a balcony.

Transmission Towers: Freestanding Structures intended for the support of antennas used in the reception and relay of radar, radio, cellular, television or telephone communications.

Travel Trailer / Recreational Vehicle: A vehicular, portable Structure built on a chassis, designed to be used as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational, or vacation purposes. This includes pickup campers, converted trucks, converted buses, converted automobiles, tent or pop-out campers, tents, or other short-term housing or shelter arrangements.

Two-Family Residence: See Section 1.1, Residential Use.

Type: A category determined by Function, disposition, and configuration, including size or extent, such as Thoroughfare types, Civic Space Types, etc.

Unity of Title: A written agreement executed by and between a property owner and the City whereby the property owner for a specified consideration by the City agrees that the Lots and or parcels of land constituting the Building site shall not be conveyed, mortgaged and or leased separate and apart from each other and that they shall be held together as one (1) tract. Such Unity of Title shall be recorded in the Public Records of Dade County, Florida and shall run with the land and shall be binding upon the property owner(s), their successors and assigns. See Article 7, Section 7.1.7. A covenant in lieu of Unity of Title is acceptable in situations where a unified lot is required by this Code, but a Unity of Title is not practical due to different ownership. Such covenant must conform to all of the requirements of Article 7, Section 7.1.7.5 of this Code. The terms Unity of Title and covenant in lieu of Unity of Title shall be interchangeable for purposes of this Code.

Urban Center Zone or T5 Zone: See Article 4, Table 1.

Urban Core Zone or T6 Zone: See Article 4, Table 1.

Urban Central Business District: An Urban Central Business District (UCBD) identifies the single urban core area within the City of Miami. The UCBD boundary is defined within the Comprehensive Plan, and shall contain high intensity, high density multi-use development to include: retail; professional and governmental office uses; cultural, recreational and entertainment facilities; high density residential; hotels and motels; and appropriate industrial activities.

Urban Design: Form, in terms of both beauty and function, of urban areas. Urban design is concerned with the location, mass, and design of various urban components and combines elements of urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture, and traffic engineering.

Urban Development Review Board or UDRB: The board governed by Chapter 62, Article IX of the City Code, as may be amended from time to time.

Urban Form: The spatial arrangement of a particular environment, as defined by the connectivity of built mass and form, the natural environment, and the movement of persons, goods and information within.

Use: The purpose or activity for which land, water or Buildings are designed, arranged, or intended, or for which land or Buildings are occupied or maintained.

USGBC: United States Green Building Council.

Variance: Permit approved pursuant to the requirements of Article 7.

Vehicle Rental Facility: An establishment where motor vehicles are kept and maintained for lease, where such vehicles are dropped off or picked up and where customers complete all transactions necessary for the short term lease of such vehicles. See Article 6.

Vehicular Entrance/Entry: The route by which vehicles access Lots or Buildings from the Right-of-Way. Vehicular Entries facilitate ingress and egress for parking, loading, service, drop-off, valet, or similar functions.

Verge: The space between the Sidewalk and the Curb.

Vessel: Any watercraft, power-driven or not, mobile or stationary, surface, subsurface or hydrofoil, including but not limited to ships, boats, houseboats, air boats, and sea planes, but excluding Floating Structures.

Vessel, Commercial: A vessel built, altered, or used for the principal purpose of engaging in water-related commercial activity, including but not limited to charter boats, fishing boats, cruise ships, and freighters.

Vessel, Private Pleasure Craft: A vessel which is privately owned or leased primarily for recreational purposes. Private pleasure craft do not include commercial, official, or scientific vessels. For regulatory purposes, private pleasure craft are divided into two (2) classes: Minor: Under sixteen (16) feet in length; Major: Sixteen (16) feet and over in length. Private pleasure craft may or may not contain facilities qualifying them Residential Use. Where they do contain such facilities, Use within the City limits shall be governed as provided in this Code and other applicable regulations.

View Corridor: An axial view terminating on a natural or historical feature.

Visibility, Material impediment to: Any material obstruction to visibility that would result in concealment of a child more than two and one-half (2 1/2) feet in height approaching an intersection, or would conceal an approaching automotive vehicle or cyclist from such a child. In determining whether a material Impediment exists to visibility, the speed, direction, and duration of movement to point of potential collision or contact shall be considered.

Visibility Triangle: See Article 4, Table 8.

Waiver: Permit approved pursuant to the requirements of Article 7.

Warrant: Permit approved pursuant to the requirements of Article 7.

Waterbody: Any body of water separated by a salinity dam from Biscayne Bay including, but not limited to, Comfort Canal, Little River, Blue Lagoon, and the like. Properties along a Waterbody have been depicted in Article 3, Diagram 1, titled “Waterways & Waterbodies with Waterfront Properties”.

Waterfront: The area of a property that fronts a Waterway or Waterbody and is improved to preserve the City’s natural shoreline and to guarantee Open Space along the water’s edge. The definition is for the limited purposes of the Miami 21 Code only.

Waterway: Biscayne Bay and any body of water navigable to Biscayne Bay; Miami River and its tributaries from Biscayne Bay to salinity dams or termini, whichever comes first; and the Little River from Biscayne Bay to the salinity dam. Properties along a Waterway have been depicted in Article 3, Diagram 1, titled “Waterways & Waterbodies with Waterfront Properties”.

Workforce Housing: See Article 3, Section 3.14.

Workforce Housing: Workforce housing shall mean a Dwelling Unit, owner-occupied and/or rental housing with a purchase cost, value, or monthly rental, as applicable, equal to or less than the amounts established by the applicable standards for those individuals whose income is above 60 percent and at or below 100 percent of Area Median Income as published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and certified by the Department of Housing and Community Development.

Work-Live: See Section 1.1, Residential Use

Woonerf: See Article 4, Table 7.

Notwithstanding definitions in this Code referring to Lot Frontage, for the purpose of regulating the number of Signs, the term “fronting on a street,” “street frontage,” or “frontage” shall be construed as adjacent to a street, whether at the front, rear, or side of a Lot.

Except as otherwise provided, any Sign bearing advertising matter shall be considered an Advertising Sign for the purposes of this Code.

For purposes of this Code, and notwithstanding the definition of Structure generally applicable in this Code, any trailer or other vehicle, and any other device which is readily movable and designed or used primarily for the display of Signs shall be construed to be a Sign Structure, and any Signs thereon shall be limited in area, number, location, and other characteristics in accordance with general regulations and regulations applying in the Transect in which displayed.

Address Sign: Signs limited in subject matter to the street number or postal address of the property, the names of occupants or the name of the property.

Aggregate Area: The total area allowed for all Sign types to be placed along a Building Frontage.

Awning or Canopy Sign: A Sign painted, stamped, perforated, stitched or otherwise applied on the valance of an awning or other fabric protrusion above or around a window, door or other opening on a Facade.

Animated Sign: A Sign which has any visible moving parts, flashing or oscillating lights, visible mechanical movement of any description, or other apparent visible movement achieved by any means that moves, changes, flashes, oscillates or visibly alters in appearance.

Banner Sign: A Sign made from flexible material suspended from a pole or poles, or with one (1) or both ends attached to a Structure or Structures. Where Signs are composed of strings of banners, they shall be construed to be Pennant or Streamer Signs.

Billboard: See City Code Chapter 62

Building Identification Sign: Any Sign containing the name of the Building, institution, person, or the activity carried on in the Building.

Business Identification Sign: Any Sign used to identify an establishment within a Structure or its premises limited to the name, activity or hours of operation.

Changeable Copy Sign: A Sign or portion thereof on which the copy or symbols change or rearrange, electronically or otherwise, without altering the face or surface of the sign, or manually through placement of letters or symbols on a panel mounted in or on a track system.

Class A (temporary Signs): Any Sign(s) erected on a temporary basis, such as Signs advertising the sale or rental of the premises on which located; Signs advertising a subdivision of property; Signs advertising construction actually being done on the premises on which the Sign is located; Signs advertising future construction to be done on the premises on which located; and Signs advertising special events, such as carnivals, concerts, public meetings, sporting events, political campaigns or events of a similar nature.

Class B (point of sale Signs): Any sign advertising, identifying or designating the use, occupant of the premises, merchandise, or entertainment event and products sold on the premises, shall be deemed to be a point of sale sign (Class B) and shall be located on the same premises whereon such is situated or the products sold.

Class C (commercial advertising Signs): Any Sign which is used for any purpose other than that of advertising to the public the legal or exact firm name of business or other activity carried on at the premises, or for advertising any service or product or products actually and actively being offered for sale on the premises, or which is designed and displayed solely to offer for sale or rent the premises, or to advertise construction being done, or proposed to be done, on the premises, or to advertise special events, shall constitute a class C sign.

Directional, Notice, or Warning Sign: A Sign which guides or directs the public and contains no advertising. Signs limited to providing notice concerning posting of property against trespassing, directing deliveries or indicating location of entrances, exits or parking on public or private property; indicating location of buried utilities, warning against hazardous conditions; prohibiting salesman, peddlers, or agents, and the like.

Display Surface: The surface upon, against or through which a Sign copy is displayed or illustrated, not including structural supports, Architectural Features of a Building or Sign Structure, nonstructural thematic or decorative trim, or any areas that are separated from the background surface upon which the Sign copy is displayed by a distinct delineation, such as reveal or border.

Freestanding Sign: Any Sign not attached to or painted on a Building, but which is mounted on one (1) or more columns, poles, or braces permanently attached to the ground. Permanently attached as used herein shall mean that the supporting Structure of the Sign is attached to the ground by a concrete foundation.

Hanging Sign: A projecting Sign suspended vertically from and supported by the underside of a canopy, marquee, awning or from a bracket or other device extending from a Structure.

Historic Sign: See Chapter 23, Section 23.6.4 of City Code.

Home Office Sign: A Sign containing only the name and occupation of a permitted Home Office.

Illuminated Sign: A Sign illuminated in any manner by an artificial light source. Where artificial lighting that makes the Sign visible is incidental to general illumination of the premises, the Sign shall not be construed to be an Illuminated Sign.

Indirectly Illuminated Sign: A Sign illuminated primarily by light directed toward or across it or by backlighting from a source not within it. Sources of illumination for such Signs may be in the form of gooseneck lamps, spotlights, or luminous tubing. Reflectorized signs depending on automobile headlights for an image in periods of darkness shall be construed to be Indirectly Illuminated Signs.

Internally (or Directly) Illuminated Sign: A Sign containing its own source of artificial light internally, and dependent primarily upon such source for visibility during periods of darkness.

Kiosk: A small stand-alone structure used to provide information and services.

Media Tower: A Structure that may serve as a viewing tower and a kinetic illuminated media display system, utilizing signage, video and all other forms of animated illuminated visual message media as per Chapter 62 of the City Code.

Menu Board Sign: A Changeable Copy Sign for the purpose of displaying a menu selection or pricing board for food service drive-up windows.

Monument Sign: Any Sign not attached to or painted on a Building, but which is mounted on a wall or Structure and permanently attached to the ground. Permanently attached as used herein shall mean that the supporting Structure of the Sign is attached to the ground by a concrete foundation. Monument Sign Structure shall bear no visible freestanding poles.

Mural: See City Code Chapter 62.

Number Of Signs: Signs shall be comprised of individual letters, figures or elements on a wall or similar surface of the Building or Structure. The area and dimensions of the Sign shall encompass a regular geometric shape, or a combination of regular geometric shapes, which form, or approximate, the perimeter of all elements in the Display Surface, the frame, and any applied background that is not part of the architecture of the building. When separate elements are organized to form a single Sign, and are separated by open space, the Sign Area and dimensions shall be calculated by determining the geometric form, or combination of forms, which comprises all of the Sign Area, including the space between different elements.

Pennant or Streamer Sign: Signs made up of strings of pennants, or composed of ribbons or streamers, and suspended over open premises or attached to Buildings.

Portable Sign: Signs not permanently affixed to a Building, Structure or the ground (A-frame, inverted T-frame, wheeled, and the like) and can be removed without tools.

Projecting Sign: Any Sign which has an independent Structure, which is attached to the Building wall, and has a Sign display surface in a plane parallel or perpendicular to or approximately parallel or perpendicular to the Building wall.

Revolving or Rotating Sign: See Animated Sign.

Roof Sign: A Sign affixed in any manner to the roof of a Building, or a Sign mounted in whole or in part on the wall of the Building and extending above the eave line of a pitched roof or the roof line (or parapet line, if a parapet exists) of a flat roof.

Sign: Any identification, description, illustration, or device, illuminated or non-illuminated, that is visible from a public right-of-way or is located on private property and visible to the public and which directs attention to a product, place, activity, person, institution, business, message or solicitation, including any permanently installed or situated merchandise, with the exception of window displays, and any letter, numeral, character, figure, emblem, painting, banner, pennant, placard, or temporary Sign designed to advertise, identify or convey information. Signs located within the interior of a Building that are visible from the public right-of-way shall be subject to Sign regulations.

The following are specifically excluded from this definition of “Sign:”

• Governmental Signs and legal notices.
• Signs not visible beyond the boundaries of the Lot or parcel upon which they are located, or from any public right-of-way.
• Signs displayed within the interior of a Building which are not visible from the exterior of the Building.
• National flags and flags of political subdivisions.
• Weather flags.
• Address numbers, provided they do not exceed two square feet in area.
• Signs located in the public right-of-way which shall be governed by Chapter 54 of the City Code.

Sign Area: Signs shall be comprised of individual letters, figures or elements on a wall or similar surface of the Building or Structure. The area and dimensions of the Sign shall encompass a regular geometric shape, or a combination of regular geometric shapes, which form, or approximate, the perimeter of all elements in the Display Surface, the frame, and any applied background that is not part of the architecture of the building. When separate elements are organized to form a single Sign, and are separated by open space, the Sign Area and dimensions shall be calculated by determining the geometric form, or combination of forms, which comprises all of the Sign Area, including the space between different elements.

Sign Structure: A Structure for the display or support of Signs.

Special Sign Package: See Article 10, Section 10.3.6.

Vehicle Sign: A trailer, automobile, truck, or other vehicle used primarily for the display of Signs (rather than a Sign display incidental to use of the vehicle for transportation).

Wall Sign: Any Sign attached, painted or projected on the wall of a Building or Structure, and erected parallel to the face of a Building, and supported throughout its length by such Building and which displays only one (1) advertising surface.

Window Sign: A Sign painted, attached or affixed in any manner to the interior or exterior of a window which is visible, wholly or in part, from the public right-of-way.

The definitions contained in Section 1.2 of this Code shall apply except as otherwise changed herein:

Automatic Irrigation System: An irrigation system with programmable controller or timing mechanism.

Bioswale: A stormwater planter along the public ROW that captures and filters stormwater run- off, allowing water to percolate and recharge naturally into the ground, reducing stress on the greater stormwater drainage network.

Buffer, perimeter landscape: An area of land which is set aside along the perimeter of a parcel of land in which landscaping is required to provide an aesthetic transition between different land uses and to eliminate or reduce the adverse environmental impact, and incompatible land use impacts.

Caliper: For trees under four (4) inches in diameter, the trunk diameter measured at a height of six (6) inches above natural grade. For trees four (4) inches and greater in diameter, the trunk diameter measured at twelve (12) inches above natural grade.

Clearance pruning: Pruning required to avoid damage or danger related to structures, power distribution and property, as defined in the current ANSI A300 Standards.

Clustering: A tree placement method along a roadway segment that allows for flexible planting distribution affording opportunities to open views to art and architecture in a district known for its significant facades. Clustering trees shall provide the necessary tree canopy to create shady zones of respite and encourages root systems to intertwine, building a hurricane resilient streetscape.

Controlled plant species: Those plant species listed in the Landscape Manual which tend to become nuisances because of their ability to invade proximal native plant communities or native habitats, but which, if located and cultivated properly may be useful or functional as elements of landscape design.

Diameter at breast height (DBH): Diameter of a tree’s trunk measured at a height four and one-half (4.5) feet above natural grade. In the case of multiple-trunk trees, the DBH shall mean the sum of each trunk’s diameter measured at a height of four and one-half (4.5) feet above natural grade.

Differential operation schedule: A method of scheduling an irrigation system to apply different quantities of water, and/or apply water at different frequencies as appropriate, for different hydrozones.

Dissimilar land uses: Proximate or directly associated land uses which are contradictory, incongruous, or discordant such as higher intensity residential, commercial or industrial uses located adjacent to lower intensity uses.

Drip Line: An imaginary vertical line extending from the outermost horizontal circumference of a tree’s branches to the ground.

Emitters: Devices which are used to control the discharge of irrigation water from lateral pipes.

Energy conservation zone: A zone located no more than twenty-two (22) feet from a structure in a one hundred eighty (180) degree band from due east of the northeast point of the structure, to due south, to due west of the northwest point of the structure.

Environmentally Endangered Lands: Lands that contain natural forest, wetland or native plant communities, rare and endangered plants and animals, endemic species, outstanding geologic or other natural features, or land which functions as an integral and sustaining component of an existing ecosystem.

Existing development: Existing development shall mean a site with structures that were legally approved through the issuance of a certificate of use or certificate of occupancy as of the effective date of this chapter.

Facultative: Plants with a similar likelihood of occurring in both wetlands and uplands, which are not recognized indicators of either wetland or upland conditions.

Florida Friendly Landscaping: Describes best practices, materials or actions developed by the Florida Yards & Neighborhood Program that help to preserve Florida’s natural resources and protect the environment.

Florida Yards & Neighborhood Program: Is a partnership of the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Florida’s water management districts, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the National Estuary Program, the Florida Sea Grant College Program and other agencies, managed locally by the Miami-Dade Cooperative Extension Division of the Consumer Services Department.

Forbs: Herbaceous plants other than grasses.

Geologic feature: A natural rock or mineral formation.

Graywater: That portion of domestic sewage emanating from residential showers, residential bathroom washbasins, or residential clothes washing machines.

Ground cover: A dense, extensive growth of low-growing plants, other than turfgrass, normally reaching an average maximum height of not more than twenty-four (24) inches at maturity.

Hatrack: The reduction of tree size using inter-nodal cuts without regard to tree health or structural integrity.

Hazard pruning: The removal of dead, diseased, decayed, or obviously weak branches two (2) inches in diameter or greater.

Head: A sprinkler head that provides above ground or overhead irrigation.

Heat island: An unnaturally high temperature microclimate resulting from radiation from unshaded impervious surfaces.

Hedge: A landscape barrier consisting of a continuous, dense planting of shrubs, not necessarily of the same species.

Herbaceous plant: A plant having little or no woody tissue.

Hydromulch: A sprayed application of seed, mulch and water.

Hydrozone: A zone in which plant material with similar water needs are grouped together.

Included bark: Bark that is pushed inside a developing crotch, causing a weakened structure.

Irrigation detail: A graphic representation depicting the materials to be used and dimensions to be met in the installation of the irrigation system.

Irrigation plan: A plan drawn at the same scale as the landscape plan, indicating location and specification of irrigation system components and other relevant information as required by this chapter.

Irrigation system: A system of pipes or other conduits designed to transport and distribute water to keep plants in a healthy and vigorous condition.

Landscape feature: Trellis, arbor, fountain, pond, garden sculpture, garden lighting, decking, patio, decorative paving, gazebo and other similar elements.

Landscape Manual: An illustrative interpretation of the standards provided in this code and suggested guides for landscaping in accordance with these standards. Includes native and non-native plant lists. The manual is developed by the Miami-Dade County Department of Planning and Zoning and adopted by resolution of the Board of County Commissioners.

Landscape material: Plants such as grass, ground cover, forbs, shrubs, vines, hedges, trees and non-living material such as rocks, pebbles, sand, mulch, or pervious decorative paving materials.

Landscape plan: A plan indicating all landscape areas, stormwater retention/detention areas, areas which qualify to be excluded from maximum permitted lawn area, existing vegetation to be retained, proposed plant material, landscape legend, landscape features, planting specifications, and details, and all other relevant information in compliance with this article.

Lawn area: An area planted with lawn grasses.

Manual irrigation system: An irrigation system in which control valves and switches are manually operated rather than operated by automatic controls.

Moisture and rain sensor switches: Devices which have the ability to switch off an automatic irrigation controller after receiving a predetermined amount of rainfall or moisture content in the soil.

Mulch: Materials customarily used in landscape design to retard erosion, weed infestation, and retain moisture and for use in planting areas.

Native habitat: An area enhanced or landscaped with an appropriate mix of native tree, shrub and groundcover species that resembles a native plant community or Natural Forest Community in structure and composition or is naturally occurring.

Natural Forest Community: All assemblages of vegetation designated as Natural Forest Communities on the Miami-Dade County Natural Forest Community Maps and approved by the Board of County Commissioners, pursuant to Resolution No. R-1764-84 and further defined in Section 24-5 of the Miami-Dade County Code.

Native plant community: A natural association of plants dominated by one (1) or more prominent native plant species, or a characteristic physical attribute.

Native plant species: Plant species with a geographic distribution indigenous to all or part of Miami-Dade County. Plants which are described as being native to Miami-Dade County in botanical manuals such as, but not limited to, “A Flora of Tropical Florida” by Long and Lakela, are native plant species within the meaning of this definition. Plant species which have been introduced into Miami-Dade County by man are not native plant species.

Planting detail: A graphic representation of the plant installation depicting the materials to be used and dimensions to be met in the placement of plants and other landscape materials.

Prohibited plant species: Those plant species listed in the Miami-Dade County Landscape Manual which are demonstrably detrimental to native plants, native wildlife, ecosystems, or human health, safety, and welfare.

Shrub: A self-supporting woody perennial plant normally growing to a height of twenty-four (24) inches or greater, characterized by multiple stems and branches continuous from the base.

Site plan: A comprehensive plan drawn to scale indicating appropriate site elevations, roadways, and location of all relevant site improvements including structures, parking, other paved areas, ingress and egress drives, landscaped open space and signage.

Specimen tree: A tree with any individual trunk or a multiple trunk tree, the sum of the diameter trunks having a diameter at breast height (DBH) of eighteen (18) inches or greater. This excludes the following:

1. Non-native fruit trees that are cultivated or grown for the specific purpose of producing edible fruit, including, but not limited to, mangos, avocados, or species of citrus;
2. Non-native species of the genus Ficus; and
3. All trees in the palm family.

Spray head: An irrigation device which applies water to the soil or plant surface by fixed spray or mist nozzles. Sprinkler Head: A sprinkler head that provides above ground or overhead irrigation.

Sprinkler Head: A sprinkler head that provides above ground or overhead irrigation.

Stabilized lawn area: An area of ground underlain with structural support in the form of grass pavers or stabilized soil prepared to withstand the load of intended vehicular use, such as automobiles, fire trucks and garbage trucks.

Stormwater retention/detention area: An area designed, built and used for temporary storage of stormwater. For purposes of this chapter, these areas are intended to be permanently exempt from wetland regulations.

Street Tree Master Plan: A guiding document that implements a cohesive and meaningful vision for a neighborhood roadway street tree program to restore and enhance the City’s tree canopy into a thriving urban forest that provides multiple aesthetic and environmental benefits. A plan shall identify the interconnectedness of natural resources and greening projects as well as sustainable and green infrastructure features.

Tree abuse: Tree abuse shall include: Damage inflicted upon any part of a tree, including the root system, by machinery, construction equipment, cambium layer penetration, storage of materials, soil compaction, excavation, chemical application or spillage, or change to the natural grade; Hatracking; Girdling or bark removal of more than one-third (1/3) of the tree diameter; Tears and splitting of limb ends or peeling and stripping of bark resulting from improper pruning techniques not in accordance with the current ANSI A300 Standards and/or excessive root cutting.

Tree canopy: The aerial extent of the branches and foliage of a tree as defined by the drip line.

Temporary irrigation systems: A system including surface distribution elements (hose, pipe, etc.) which may be easily removed when landscape is established.

Understory: The complex of woody, fibrous, herbaceous, and graminoid plant species that are typically associated with a Natural Forest Community, native plant community, or native habitat.

Vegetation required to be preserved by law: Portions of a site, including but not limited to specimen trees, Natural Forest Communities and native vegetation which are clearly delineated on site plans, plats, or recorded restrictions, or in some other legally binding manner that are to be protected from any tree or understory removal or effective destruction and maintained without any development. Vegetation survey: A drawing provided at the same scale as the landscape plan which includes relevant information as required by this chapter.

Vehicular use area: A hard surface area designed or used for off-street parking and/or an area used for loading, circulation, access, storage, including fire trucks, garbage trucks, or display of motor vehicles.

Vine: A plant with a flexible stem which normally requires support to reach mature form.

Xeriscape: A landscaping method that employs drought tolerant plants in an effort to conserve resources, especially water.

For the purposes on this Code, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

Art: Tangible creations by Artists which include all forms of the visual Arts conceived in any medium material, or combination thereof, including, but not limited to, paintings; sculptures; engravings; carvings; frescos; stained glass; mosaics; mobiles; tapestries; murals; photographs; video projections; digital images; bas-relief; high relief; fountains; kinetics; collages; drawings; monuments erected to commemorate a person or an event; functional furnishings, such as Artist designed seating and pavers; Artist designed architectural elements; and Artist designed landforms or landscape elements. The following shall not be considered as Art for the intents and purposes of this Code:

• Reproductions or unlimited copies of original pieces of Art;
• Directional elements such as Signage;
• Objects which are mass-produced; or
• Works that are decorative, ornamental, or functional elements of the architecture or landscape design, except when commissioned from an Artist as an integral design aspect of a Structure or site.

Art in Public Places Board (“AIPPB”): The entity appointed by the City Commission to aid in the administration of the Public Art Program. The AIPPB shall have the power to make decisions regarding dedications, donations, and acquisitions of Art to fulfill the requirements as prescribed in Article 11 of this Code and Chapter 62 of the City Code. Reference to approval by the AIPPB of this Code shall mean approval at a duly noticed public meeting.

Artist: A practitioner exhibiting the highest quality of skill and aesthetic principles in the visual Arts, generally recognized by critics and peers as a professional of serious intent and ability. Indications of a person’s status as an Artist include, but are not limited to, income realized through the sole commission of Art, frequent or consistent Art exhibitions, placement of Art in public institutions or museums, receipt of honors, and awards or training in the Arts.

Construction Cost: The total value of the construction of, or reconstruction work on, Structures as determined by the City’s Building Official in issuance of a Building permit for construction, reconstruction, or remodeling. Costs such as that of land acquisition, architectural design, consultants, and engineering fees are not Construction Costs.

Developer: The property owner, including the property owner’s successors and assigns, of the subject development project.

Durable: Lasting, enduring and highly resistant to deterioration due to weather or the passage of time.

Government Development Project: Any Development initiated by a government agency, as defined in Article 1 of this Code and Section 2-11.15 of the Miami-Dade County Code, as amended, including remodeling, construction, or redevelopment, which requires a Building permit or permits as described on the precise plan submitted for approval to the City. For purposes of this Article, Government Development Projects shall also include:

• Private Sector Capital Development on land own by the government or on private land with the Structure owned by the government.
• Development projects done through agreements with a private entity, including but not limited to leases or development agreements (i.e. the government contracts with another party to develop a Structure that the government will own now or in the future).
• All development projects funded or partially funded by General Obligation Bond (“GOB”) dollars.

Historic Resource: A property or resource that has been designated historic pursuant to Chapter 23 of the City Code or is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Life Cycle: The natural deterioration time period for a piece of Art. Art created under this Section is meant to be Durable and shall have a Life Cycle of at least twenty-five (25) years when properly designed or created by the Artist and maintained, conserved, and repaired. Art reaches the end of its Life Cycle when the Artist, Artist’s estate, or a qualified Art conservator verifies that the Art has deteriorated such that the Art cannot reasonably be maintained, conserved, or repaired.

Project Cost: The total of specialty consulting fees; Construction Cost, including all systems and features that make the facility functional; site work; and contingency allowances and allowance accounts (e.g. permitting, surveying, inspections) for the Government Development Project. Project Cost shall not include the cost of land acquisition or subsequent cost changes to the construction or architectural contract(s) for the Government Development Project, including phased projects and all elements of an approved Government Development Agreement. The total Project Cost shall be calculated as of the date the contract for the construction is executed. The Developer shall provide Project Cost information and in the absence of such information or if a dispute arises regarding the submission of such information, the Project Cost shall be based upon the value of the Structure as computed using the latest Structure valuation data as set forth by the International Conference of Building Officials (“ICBO”) together with estimated design services fees.

Public Art Fee: See Sections 11.4(b) and 11.6(a).

Public Art Fund (“Fund”): A separate, interest bearing account set up by the City with the sole purpose of receiving monies designated for the Public Art Program or to fulfill the requirements set forth in Article 11 of this Code and Chapter 62 of the City Code.

Public Art Master Plan: A plan adopted by the City Commission, pursuant to a recommendation by the AIPPB, which shall identify Public Place locations for Art and establish a priority order to the City Commission, and which shall be amended, as needed, to ensure that the Public Art Master Plan and the Public Art Program as a whole remain coherent and consistent with the intents and purposes for which Article 11 of the Code was adopted.

Public Art Program Guidelines: A set of standards, criteria, policies, and procedures related to the submission, donation, dedication, consideration, and acceptance of Art, which shall be adopted by the City Commission, and amended as necessary, to ensure that the Public Art Program Guidelines and the Public Art Program as a whole remain coherent and consistent with the intent and purposes for which Article 11 of this Code was adopted.

Public Place: Any exterior area on Public property, and shall also mean any private property within the City limits, which is easily accessible or clearly visible to the general public from adjacent Public property including, but not limited to, a street, Public Thoroughfare ,Sidewalk, cross Block vehicular or pedestrian Passage, or Pedestrian Paseo.

Remodeling: Any change to the facade of a Structure, any change to the interior of a Structure, any increase or decrease in the Floor Area of a Structure, or any change to exterior improvements.