No land, body of water or structure shall be used, or permitted to be used and no structure shall be hereafter erected, constructed, moved or reconstructed, structurally altered or maintained for any purpose in an RU-4A District which is designed, arranged, or intended to be used or occupied for any purpose, except for one of the following uses:

(1)

Those uses permitted in the RU-1, RU-2, RU-1M(a), RU-1M(b), RU-3, RU-TH and RU-RH Districts subject only to the requirements, limitations and restrictions applicable thereto in said districts, including, but not limited to, lot width, area, setbacks, yard areas, height and coverage.

(1.1)

Workforce housing units in compliance with the provisions of Article XIIA of this Code.

(2)

Multiple family apartment house, apartment, hotel, apartment hotel and motel containing fewer than eleven (11) units in a single building.

(3)

Hotels, motels, apartment houses, and apartment hotels containing eleven (11) or more units, subject to site plan review hereinafter provided. Where applicant fails to secure the approval of both departments the site plan reviewed shall be deemed denied. Where the site plan has been denied, the applicant may correct the same to secure the approval of both departments or appeal the denial for review by the Community Zoning Appeals Board.

(4)

Multiple family housing developments, provided they are reviewed under the provisions of site plan review hereinafter provided, and only on approval after staff review of the site plan(s) to ensure compliance with all RU-4A District requirements and the plan review criteria. Said plan shall be in compliance with the requirements hereinafter provided. Where motel developments consist of two (2) or more structures, unless each such structure is located on a site meeting all standards of this district, the area shall be restricted to one (1) ownership by covenant running with the land.

(5)

Convalescent homes, eleemosynary and philanthropic institutions, only upon approval after public hearing. Hospitals (other than animal hospitals) including accessory office buildings and accessory commercial service facilities, only upon approval by public hearing; said accessory uses shall comply with the following additional criteria:

(a)

Office buildings:

1.

Office buildings shall be located on a hospital site containing a minimum of ten (10) acres.

2.

Hospital and office buildings shall be under one (1) ownership and the property owner shall file a unity of title agreement or other similar agreement or covenant in lieu thereof in conformance with the provisions of Section 33-31.

3.

Tenants of the office buildings shall be limited to medical personnel affiliated with, and having staff privileges at, the hospital.

4.

The hospital must contain a minimum of one hundred (100) beds.

5.

The office complex shall not exceed forty (40) percent of the hospital's total square footage.

(b)

Commercial service facilities:

1.

Service facilities shall be restricted to cafeterias or restaurant, florist shop, gift shop, financial institution, pharmacy, newspaper and magazine stand, and other similar uses determined by the director to be ancillary to a hospital/office complex.

2.

Services shall be permitted and available exclusively for use by medical staff, hospital personnel, patients and visitors of the hospital.

3.

Outside advertising or signs (including wall signs) shall be prohibited.

4.

Service facilities shall not exceed three (3) percent of the hospital floor area, nor shall they exceed seven (7) percent of the office floor area.

5.

Service facilities meeting the above criteria shall not require further public hearing(s) if located within hospitals or related office buildings approved at public hearing(s) held after the effective date of Ordinance Number 88-93.

(5.1)

Medical observation dormitory as defined in Section 33-1(69.05) subject to the following conditions:

(a)

That such uses on sites of ten (10) net acres or more shall be approved only after public hearing;

(b)

That such uses shall be located on sites having frontage on a major access road, including major roadways (three (3) or more lanes) and frontage roadways serving limited access highways and expressways;

(c)

That a minimum five (5) foot high masonry wall be provided along all perimeter property lines abutting residentially zoned property penetrated only at points approved by the Directors of the Planning and Zoning Department and the Public Works Department for ingress and egress;

(d)

That the facility is located on a site consisting of at least three (3) or more net acres, that research conducted at the property shall be limited to testing of normal volunteers and of clinically stable representatives of diseased states for which the medications being tested are ultimately intended;

(e)

That protocols that require treating of mentally ill subjects, including persons with any mental or psychological disorder, such as intellectual disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities, shall not be performed at the research facility;

(f)

That such use shall be located no less than twenty-five hundred (2,500) feet from any other such establishments. For the purposes of this subsection, the distance shall be measured by following a straight line from the front door of the proposed place of business to the nearest property line of the existing place of business. For the purpose of establishing the distance between such establishments, the operator shall furnish a certified sketch of survey from a registered engineer or surveyor. Such sketch shall indicate the distance between the proposed place of business and any existing establishment within 2,500 feet. Each sketch shall indicate all such distances and routes. In case of dispute, the measurement scaled by the director shall govern;

(g)

That the operator obtains an annually renewable certificate of use and occupancy for such use on the property.

(6)

Private clubs, lodges, fraternities and sororities, only upon approval after public hearing.

(7)

Public art galleries, public libraries and public museums.

(8)

Bungalow villa arrangements (each structure limited to not more than two-family occupancy). See definition in this chapter.

Before a permit shall be granted to place buildings on a lot under the bungalow villa provision, plans shall be filed covering the size and spacing of all buildings intended in the villa and the total area of lot is to be included; not less than ten (10) dwelling units shall be permitted under the provisions of the bungalow villa regulations and, further, the entire area shall be restricted to one (1) ownership by covenant running with the land. Permits shall be obtained for the required ten (10) units at one (1) time and work on all structures shall proceed concurrently.

(9)

Housing projects, whether in single or multiple buildings, and as defined in Chapter 421 of the Florida Statutes, built for or by the Miami-Dade County Department of Housing and Urban Development.

(10)

Rooming house, only in accordance with the rooming house requirements set forth in Section 33-203, except that the total number of residents in a rooming house that is the only residential building on the lot may exceed 14 if approved after public hearing.

(11)

Group residential facility, in accordance with the group residential facility requirements of Section 33-208.

Provisions of Ord. No. 82-6 shall not apply to those buildings for which a building permit has been issued and is in effect and where multiple family housing development or project site plan has been approved prior to February 2, 1982, by resolution of the Zoning Appeals Board or Board of County Commissioners, or prior to February 2, 1982, an agreement, letter of intent, or performance standards encompassing all of the basic items constituting a site plan has been recorded or adopted by resolution of the Zoning Appeals Board or the Board of County Commissioners.

(Ord. No. 72-92, § 1, 12-5-72; Ord. No. 75-90, § 5, 10-15-75; Ord. No. 82-6, § 1, 2-2-82; Ord. No. 83-20, § 2, 4-19-83; Ord. No. 88-93, § 1, 10-4-88; Ord. No. 91-51, § 4, 5-7-91; Ord. No. 91-81, § 1, 7-23-91; Ord. No. 95-135, § 16, 7-25-95; Ord. No. 95-215, § 1, 12-5-95; Ord. No. 98-125, § 21, 9-3-98; Ord. No. 01-131, § 2, 9-13-01; Ord. No. 06-96, § 8, 6-20-06; Ord. No. 07-05, § 11, 1-25-07; Ord. No. 08-51, § 1, 5-6-08; Ord. No. 13-83, § 7, 9-17-13; Ord. No. 19-50, § 10, 6-4-19; Ord. No. 20-110, § 6, 10-6-20)

All development shall be reviewed in accordance with Section 33-310.4.

(Ord. No. 19-51, § 19, 6-4-19)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 19-51, § 19, adopted June 4, 2019, repealed the former § 33-217.1, and enacted a new § 33-217.1 as set out herein. The former § 33-217.1 pertained to site plan review—generally and derived from Ord. No. 82-6, § 1, adopted Feb. 2, 1982; Ord. No. 95-215, § 1, adopted Dec. 5, 1995; Ord. No. 95-223, § 1, adopted Dec. 5, 1995; Ord. No. 96-127, § 10, adopted Sept. 4, 1996; and Ord. No. 18-134, § 9, adopted Nov. 8, 2018.

Editor's note— Ord. No. 19-51, § 20, adopted June 4, 2019, repealed § 33-217.2, which pertained to site plan review—criteria and derived from Ord. No. 82-6, § 1, adopted Feb. 2, 1982; Ord. No. 95-19, § 6, adopted Feb 7, 1995; Ord. No. 99-38, § 7, adopted April 27, 1999.

The minimum lot width shall be one hundred (100) feet and the minimum lot area shall be ten thousand (10,000) square feet.

(Ord. No. 72-92, § 1, 12-5-72)

The total lot coverage permitted for all buildings on the site shall not exceed forty (40) percent of the total lot area.

(Ord. No. 72-92, § 1, 12-5-72)

The setbacks shall be as follows:

(1)

Front setback. For structures not exceeding thirty-five (35) feet in height, the minimum setback shall be twenty-five (25) feet; for structures over thirty-five (35) feet in height the setbacks shall be increased by forty (40) percent of the additional height; provided, however, that the required front setback shall not exceed fifty (50) feet.

(2)

Rear setback. For structures not exceeding thirty-five (35) feet in height, the minimum setback shall be twenty-five (25) feet; for structures over thirty-five (35) feet in height the setbacks shall be increased by forty (40) percent of the additional height.

(3)

Interior side setbacks and side street setbacks. Minimum setbacks for all structures shall be determined by a sixty-three-degree line projected from the interior side property line(s) or side street property line(s) upward towards the center of the site; provided, however, that no structure shall be permitted to be closer than twenty-five (25) feet to the interior side property line(s) or side street property line(s) (see the following sketch) and further provided that the passageway areas to Biscayne Bay or the Atlantic Ocean are adhered to as provided in this article.

Cross Section of Interior Side Setback Requirements

(4)

Minimum setback between buildings shall be twenty (20) feet, except where doors, windows or other openings in the building wall of a living unit face a wall of the same building and/or a wall of another building on the same site. In that case there shall be provided a minimum clear distance of not less than thirty (30) feet, said distance to be measured on a line projected at right angles from the opening to the opposite wall. Cantilevers and open porches may project from the building wall into the required open space (court only) not more than six (6) feet and stairways may project from the building wall into the required open space (court only) not more than ten (10) feet. Stairways, when located in the required open space (court), shall be supported by the necessary columns only; support by a wall is strictly prohibited.

(5)

Bungalow villas shall be setback as follows:

(a)

Twenty-five (25) feet from the front property line.

(b)

Twenty (20) feet from a side property line abutting a highway right-of-way, except where the rear of the lot abuts a key lot; in which event, the setback for the key lot shall govern.

(c)

Ten (10) feet from an interior side lot line.

(d)

Ten (10) feet from the rear property line.

(e)

The minimum clear distance between units of a bungalow villa shall be twenty (20) feet. Ingress and egress to all units shall be provided by a common and continuous clear space with a thirty (30) foot minimum width.

(Ord. No. 72-92, § 1, 12-5-72; Ord. No. 82-6, § 1, 2-2-82; Ord. No. 83-20, § 2, 4-19-83)

There shall be a visual passageway area for sites abutting the bay or ocean, said area to extend from the bay or ocean to the street most nearly parallel to the mean high water line. Twenty (20) percent of the total frontage dimension of said sites shall be unencumbered with any structure or off-street parking, with the area(s) running the full length of the property from the street most nearly parallel to the mean high water line, to the bay or ocean. The maximum required view corridor for any one (1) development shall be one hundred (100) feet in width.

Properties donated or dedicated to Miami-Dade County and accepted by the Board of County Commissioners, or encumbered with a public or semipublic easement that lies within the interior setback areas shall be credited toward this requirement. The purpose of said dedications/easements is to encourage views of the bay or ocean and features such as walkways, public parking areas, fishing piers, gazebos, art objects and other similar amenities. A floor area ratio bonus shall be given for developments abutting the bay or ocean where said dedications/easements are granted pursuant to the provisions of Section 33-222.

(Ord. No. 82-6, § 1, 2-2-82)

On sites which abut dedicated rights-of-way of one hundred (100) feet or more, each proposed building or structure which exceeds one hundred (100) feet in height shall be designed and situated such that the shadow created by the sun at 12:00 noon on December 21 (a sun angle of forty-one (41) degrees) will not fall on any adjacent property except for public road rights-of-way. Shadow studies shall be provided to the Department. Buildings or structures may be proposed to any height except as controlled by this shadow provision and other provisions in the Code, such as floor area ratio, setbacks, airport regulations, etc. For all other sites, no building or structure or part thereof shall be of a height greater than the width of the widest street upon which such building abuts, unless approved for additional height as a result of public hearing. (See following sketch.)

Cross Section of Sun Shadow Requirements

(Ord. No. 72-92, § 1, 12-5-72; Ord. No. 82-6, § 1, 2-2-82; Ord. No. 95-215, § 1, 12-5-95)

The floor area ratio shall not exceed the following; provided, however, that covered structure parking shall not count as a part of the floor area, but shall be counted in computing building height:

A floor area ratio bonus shall be given for developments abutting the bay or ocean where improved easements are dedicated or granted to Miami-Dade County and accepted by the Board of County Commissioners for features such as landscape, walkways, public parking areas, fishing piers, gazebos, restrooms, art objects and other similar amenities. Said areas are to extend the full length of the property from the street most nearly parallel to the mean high water line, to the bay or ocean. Such areas are to be included in density, open space and setback calculations.

The bonus shall be an additional two (2) square feet of floor area for each one (1) square foot of area devoted for improved public access.

(Ord. No. 72-92, § 1, 12-5-72; Ord. No. 82-6, § 1, 2-2-82; Ord. No. 83-20, § 2, 4-19-83)

The maximum number of dwelling units in a multiple family housing development, apartment, or housing project shall not exceed a density of fifty (50) dwelling units per acre, or eight hundred seventy-one and two-tenths (871.2) square feet of lot area per dwelling unit. Hotels, motels and apartment hotels developed for transient residential usage shall not exceed a density of seventy-five (75) dwelling units per net acre or five hundred eighty and eight-tenths (580.8) square feet of lot area per dwelling unit.

Each dwelling unit of a bungalow villa shall provide at least two thousand (2,000) square feet of lot area.

(Ord. No. 72-92, § 1, 12-5-72; Ord. No. 96-81, § 3, 6-4-96)

(a)

Definitions.

(1)

For the purposes of this section the term "subdivision of a hotel or motel" shall mean the sale, conveyance, or long-term lease or sublease (for more than six (6) months) of five (5) percent or more, cumulatively, of the units in a hotel or motel by the same seller, lessor or sublessor. This definition is not applicable to the transfer of an entire hotel or motel to the same transferee.

(2)

For purposes of this section the term "subdivided property" shall mean all hotel or motel units and all other components of any subdivided hotel or motel.

(b)

Any person or entity who subdivides a hotel or motel shall deliver written notice of said subdivision to the Director on or before the earlier of either offering to enter into or entering into any sale, conveyance, lease, or sublease which would result in a subdivision.

(c)

If there shall be a subdivision of any hotel or motel no permit, certificate of use and occupancy or any other governmental approval shall be issued or granted except in emergencies for any subdivided property, unless and until the owner shall demonstrate to the Director that the subdivided property shall continue to comply with all the provisions and regulations of this chapter and any resolutions adopted pursuant hereto. The procedure for demonstrating such compliance shall be established by submission of documentation pursuant to regulations to be promulgated by the Director and approved by the Board of County Commissioners.

(d)  (1)
It shall be presumed that the subdivision of a hotel or motel results in a change of use to nonhotel or nonmotel use. This presumption may be rebutted administratively at a public hearing. An application to rebut shall be filed for public hearing before the appropriate Community Zoning Appeals Board. The presumption shall be rebutted whenever such an applicant shall establish at public hearing that the property will continue to be utilized as a hotel or motel. In civil proceedings the presumption of change of use shall shift the burden of proof on this issue to the party against whom it operates; and in criminal proceedings the presumption shall constitute prima facie evidence of a change in use.

(2)

The presumption established by this subsection shall not go into effect for a hotel or motel if: 1) prior to June 6, 1984, units in the hotel or motel have been offered to the public for sale, conveyance, lease, or sublease which would result in a subdivision; 2) an application to rebut is filed pursuant to this subsection within sixty (60) days after June 15, 1984; and 3) said application is approved. For a hotel or motel which may qualify pursuant to this paragraph, no presumption shall go into effect until the later of the expiration of said sixty-day period without the filing of an application to rebut, or a final determination that the applicant has failed to rebut the presumption.

(e)

This section shall not apply to any units or other components of a subdivided property which were sold, conveyed, leased, or subleased to the public in bona fide transactions by the subdivider prior to June 15, 1984 nor to any units or components so transferred after June 15, 1984 pursuant to a bona fide contract with the transferee entered into before June 15, 1984. The term "bona fide" shall mean for a valid business purpose other than avoiding the applicability of this section. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein all provisions of this section shall be applicable to all hotel or motel property undergoing subdivision after June 15, 1984 regardless of whether there was any prior subdivision thereof. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the Director from taking any and all enforcement actions authorized by the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, independent of this section.

(Ord. No. 84-46, § 2, 6-5-84; Ord. No. 96-127, § 11, 9-4-96)

Where a parking garage is not more than four (4) feet above grade, it shall not be considered as a structure for zoning purposes in the RU-4 District except as it applies to the special setback provisions in Section 33-43; the same setbacks shall apply as with surface parking. The garage will not be calculated as a part of lot coverage requirements and will not be allowed in the twenty (20) percent unencumbered area, as enumerated in Section 33-220.1.

If a garage is to be used for parking on the top deck, it must be landscaped according to the provisions of Chapter 18A of the Code of Miami-Dade County; if it is not to be used for parking on the top deck, it shall be developed with landscaping, recreational facilities, etc., with those portions devoted to landscaping being counted as open space pursuant to the provisions of Section 33-222.3.

(Ord. No. 72-92, § 1, 12-5-72; Ord. No. 82-6, § 1, 2-2-82; Ord. No. 83-20, § 2, 4-19-83; Ord. No. 91-36, § 5, 3-19-91)

On each lot there shall be provided an open space equal to a minimum of forty (40) percent of the total lot area. Said open space shall be unencumbered with any structure or off-street parking, and shall be landscaped and well maintained with grass, trees, and shrubbery, excepting only areas used as pedestrian walks and ingress and egress drives provided that such drives shall not exceed the minimum width required to serve the parking area.

(Ord. No. 72-92, § 1, 12-5-72)

Landscaping and trees shall be provided in accordance with Chapter 18A of this Code.

(Ord. No. 82-6, § 1, 2-2-82; Ord. No. 95-223, § 1, 12-5-95)

(1)

Business or commercial establishments of the BU-1 type, bars and cabarets shall be permitted in hotels, motels and apartment hotels provided they are located within the principal building, which contains at least one hundred (100) units, and provided the exterior of any such principal building shall not have store fronts or give the appearance of commercial or mercantile activity as viewed from the highway: in the event the use contains windows which may be seen from the street or highway, said windows shall be of fixed, obscure glass. Such business or commercial establishments and bars in this district shall be entered only through the lobby and no additional entrances shall be permitted, except when the same opens into a courtyard or patio (away from the street side) which is enclosed and which is not visible from the street and, except that a fire door or emergency exit shall be permitted. Hotels, motels, and apartment-hotels which extend from a street to the ocean or bay, and which have the required number of guest rooms or apartment units may have the permitted business or commercial establishment on the extreme end of the structure on the waterway side with a direct opening, provided that the opening is from the waterway side and cannot be viewed from the street or highway.

These restrictions shall not apply when the site is in a commercial district and these commercial uses are a permitted use in said district and conform to all of the requirements of said district.

(2)

Apartment developments having a minimum of three hundred (300) residential units may have BU-1 type convenience uses not exceeding one thousand (1,000) square feet as an accessory use to apartment developments, provided that:

(a)

Such services relate to the needs of the inhabitants of the proposed complex;

(b)

Such services are not provided direct access from public roads;

(c)

Such services are not visible from public roads;

(d)

Detached signs and signs visible from public roads are not used;

(e)

Such services are designed as an integral part of the total design as determined by site plan review; and

(f)

Said facility is located in the principal structure or in a community service center structure.

An additional one (1) square foot of retail area shall be permitted for each apartment unit above three hundred (300) units provided, however, that the maximum square footage for such facilities shall not exceed three thousand (3,000) square feet.

(3)

Hotels and motels with one hundred fifty (150) or more guest rooms may contain liquor package use on the premises for the accommodation and use of their guests only, provided the establishment housing such use is entered only through the lobby within the building and does not have the appearance of commercial or mercantile activity as viewed from the highway. No advertisement of the use will be permitted which can be seen from the outside of the building. These restrictions shall not apply when the hotel or motel site is in a commercial district and the package store is a permitted use and conforms to all of the requirements of said district.

(4)

Hotels and motels with two hundred (200) or more guest rooms or apartment units under one (1) roof may contain a night club on the premises, provided the exterior of any such building shall not have store fronts or give the appearance of commercial or mercantile activity as viewed from the highway. In the event the use contains windows which may be seen from the highway, said windows shall be of fixed obscure glass. Such night club shall be entered only through the lobby, and no additional entrance shall be permitted, except when the same opens into a courtyard or patio (away from street side) which is enclosed and which is not visible from the street and, except that a fire door or exit shall be permitted.

(5)

Coffee shop and dining room may be permitted in bungalow villa arrangements having fifty (50) or more guest rooms or fifty (50) or more units designed as one-family dwellings, provided that the exterior or any such building shall not contain store fronts and shall not have the appearance of commercial or mercantile activity as viewed from the public highway, nor be identified by any type of sign. Strip lighting by neon or other type of electric lighting to outline a building shall not be permitted.

The total square foot area of coffee shop or dining room, including kitchen facilities, etc., shall not total more than fifteen (15) square feet, multiplied by each living unit erected on the project.

(6)

Cabanas, provided they are strictly incidental to apartment house, apartment hotel, motel or hotel.

Cabanas shall not be used for overnight sleeping quarters nor rented or leased to any person other than a guest of the apartment house, apartment hotel, motel or hotel.

(Ord. No. 72-92, § 1, 12-5-72; Ord. No. 82-6, § 1, 2-2-82)

No hospital, convalescent home, eleemosynary or philanthropic institution shall be located within one hundred (100) feet of any EU, RU-1 or RU-2 Zone or within fifty (50) feet of any property under different ownership.

(Ord. No. 72-92, § 1, 12-5-72)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 82-6, § 1, adopted Feb. 2, 1982, deleted § 33-222.6, concerning site plan review, as derived from Ord. No. 72-92, § 1, adopted Dec. 5, 1972.

All requests requiring approval by public hearing may be consolidated into one (1) hearing application.

(Ord. No. 72-92, § 1, 12-5-72)