Miami Beach Architectural- 18%
4 FT TOPOGRAPHIC INTERSECT CHOROPLETH, NR HISTORIC DISTRICTS, 2017
4.3. MUNICIPAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION PLANNING, 2000 - 2016
The start of 21st century history began with two significant events. The first advancement was the shift in responsibility of the City’s Historic Preservation Board (HPB) from a collective responsibility between the HPB and the Design Review Board (DRB) for jurisdiction over new and additional construction in historic districts, to becoming the sole decision-maker. This provided more power for preservation-based experts and professionals to determine
outcomes of historic resources.10 The second was the dedication of a commemorative plaque affixed to the Cardozo Hotel honoring Barbara Baer Capitman as an inductee of the State’s
“Great Floridians” program.11 The next year, in January 2001, prolific Streamline Moderne architects Henry Hohauser and L. Murray Dixon were also honored as “Great Floridians” by the State. The success of South Beach’s revitalization and appreciation for Art Deco
architecture continued to achieve critical praise.
Figure 4.10: Miami Beach Architectural District and Art Deco Welcome Center, 2017
The economic and tourism successes of preservation had warranted the inclusion of additional buildings through the tool of listing local historic districts and landmarks. On January 31, 2001, Ordinance No. 2001-3292 designated the Collins Waterfront a Historic Preservation District.12 Later that year on June 6, 2001, Ordinance No. 2001-3310
10 By-laws of the Historic Preservation Board governed by terms of Chapter 118, Article II, Division 4 and Chapter 118, Article X of the Land Development Regulations of the Code of the City of Miami Beach,
http://www.miamibeachfl.gov/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=27564. Accessed March 15, 2017.
11 This initiative is managed by the state’s Division of Historical Resources under Section 267.0731 to “recognize the outstanding achievements of men and women who have made significant contributions to the progress and welfare of the state. A full list of the 89 inductees since 1981 can be found online, http://dos.myflorida.com/historical/preservation/great-floridians-program/. Accessed February 19, 2017.
12 Collins Waterfront Designation Report, City of Miami Beach, Ordinance No. 2001-3292, January 31, 2001, http://www.miamibeachfl.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=43816. Accessed March 15, 2017.
designated Pine Tree Drive as a Historic Roadway.13 Finally, at the close of the year in October, a permanent home for the MDPL’s Visitor Interpretive Center, Art Deco Museum, and Barbara Capitman Archives were established at 1001 Ocean Drive.14 This provided a home base for MDPL staff, exhibitions, advocacy events, and archival research.
Still, Miami Beach was pro-development in its policies outside of the fiscal successes of historic districts. After months of lobbying efforts in November 2002, Miami Beach
commissioners voted to reduce building heights on the southernmost tip of Ocean Drive from 100 to 75 feet, though this was still a compromise from the originally envisioned maximum height of 35 feet for buildings south of Fifth Street.15 However, 75 feet would still impose over modest Art Deco buildings on Miami Beach’s southern tip.
The issue of “demolition by neglect” remained a loophole for developers and
property owners to prioritize public safety concerns over aesthetic ones. Beginning in March 2004, the City of Miami Beach Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee presented its initial report on targeted solutions for incidences of purposeful neglect in order to bypass historic preservation regulations.16 By 2005, Miami Beach City Commission passed the “Demolition by Neglect”
Ordinance, which provided stricter definitions of what constituted neglect with potential fines up to $5,000 per day for non-compliance.17 In July 2004, advocacy efforts to save the Smith House, a vernacular oolitic limestone structure built in 1916 from demolition began.18 An expansion in appreciation of architectural styles beyond Art Deco and Mediterranean Revival began to garner support for municipal protection.
In April 2005, the Commission approved the Flamingo Waterway District as a local historic district, and a month later passed additional protections to limit building heights from
13 Pinetree Drive Historic Roadway, City of Miami Beach, Ordinance No. 2001-3310 , June 6, 2001,
http://web.miamibeachfl.gov/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=63506&libID=66483. Accessed March 15, 2017.
14 “A Brief History of MDPL,” Miami Design Preservation League, http://www.mdpl.org/about-us/about-miami-design-preservation-league/a-brief-history/. Accessed March 15, 2017.
15 City of Miami Beach Municipal Code, Division 5: Height Regulations, Sec. 142-1161,
https://www.municode.com/library/fl/miami_beach/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=SPBLADERE_CH142ZODIRE_ARTIVSUDIRE_DIV5HERE _S142-1161HEREEX. Accessed March 15, 2017.
16 Commission Meeting, City of Miami Beach, July 7, 2004, http://www.miamibeachfl.gov/docs/agendas/aa070704.pdf. Accessed March 16, 2017.
17 City of Miami Beach Code, Sec. 118-532. “Proceedings before the historic preservation board: “Required minimum maintenance standards. It is the intent of this article to preserve from deliberate or inadvertent neglect, the interior, exterior, structural stability and historic and architectural integrity of any building, structure, improvement, landscape feature, public interior or site individually designated in accordance with sections 118-591, 118-592 and118-593, or located within an historic district, whether vacant or inhabited,” City of Miami Beach municipal code.
18 The house at 900 Collins Avenue (also known as the “Coral Rock House”), was the home of early Miami Beach settler Avery Smith, who ran a casino (bathing pavilion) and ferry service on Miami Beach beginning in 1909.
four to three stories.19 With the establishment of a permanent home and additional funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the MDPL co-sponsored a weeklong teacher training program entitled “Using Buildings To Tell Stories.”20 The continued educational initiatives of the MDPL remain a pillar for sustained community advocacy and municipal historic preservation policy encouragement.
Figure 4.11: Avery Smith House, 1925 Figure 4.12: After demolition, 2011 Figure 4.13: Reconstruction, 2016 In July 2006, the Commission passed an ordinance to require property owners seeking to use more than 30% of their lot space to renovate or build new structures to go before the DRB panel for approval.21 The ordinance was intended to provide more firm regulatory feedback on the trend towards contemporary “McMansions” on undersized lots, rather than the preservation of existing, historic single-family homes. This remains an ongoing conflict to balance historic preservation concerns with realistic expectation of multi-million dollar property values in Miami Beach.22 Continued support of historic districts broadened with the westward expansion of the Flamingo Park Historic District in January 2008.23 By October 2009, the Morris Lapidus / Mid 20th Century Historic District was added as a local historic district.24 This one-mile oceanfront stretch of land spans from 44th Street to the 5300 block of Collins Avenue, and focused primarily on the hotels and
19 Flamingo Waterway District, City of Miami Beach, April 2005,
http://www.miamibeachfl.gov/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=43802. Accessed March 15, 2017.
20 On their website, the MDPL features upcoming events and advocacy projects clearly stating, “Educating the community we serve through free exhibits, lectures, panel discussions, and special events is made possible with the generous support of our individual members, business sponsors, and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council and the City of Miami Beach Mayor and Commission.” http://www.mdpl.org/events/special-events/. Accessed February 17, 2017.
21 City of Miami Beach, Ordinance Amendment, File No. 2298, http://docmgmt.miamibeachfl.gov/weblink/2/edoc/4777/PB%202298%20-SF%20Regulations%2011-24-15%20Ord.pdf. Accessed April 16, 2017.
22 Ongoing advocacy by the MDPL for protect historic single family homes can be found on their website, http://www.mdpl.org/advocacy-2/historic-designation-for-single-family-homes/. Accessed February 17, 2017.
23 Flamingo Park Historic District Westward Expansion, Designation Report, City of Miami Beach, January 16, 2008, http://www.miamibeachfl.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=43822. Accessed March 16, 2017.
24 Morris Lapidus Mid-20th Century Historic District, City of Miami Beach, October 2009,
http://web.miamibeachfl.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=71504. Accessed March 16, 2017.
condominiums designed by the architect Morris Lapidus. Just as the Miami Beach Architectural District pioneered the appreciation of vernacular Art Deco structures, the designation of MiMo architecture demonstrated the evolving recognition for Miami Beach’s tropical variation on accepted architectural movements.25
With new threats to absorb, such as sea level rise caused by climate change, skillful tactics must be adopted to communicate the implicit connection between heritage, economics, and environmental concerns. Currently, the National Register listed Normandy Isle Historic District and the Tatum Waterway Historic District in North Beach are being debated for designation as either local historic districts and neighborhood conservation districts.26 These instances intersected economic development and resiliency concerns in their community outreach processes and will be discussed as a case study.27