Tuesday, April 15, 2014

McMansion ban in McMansion part of county? Oh no! … by gimleteye

It must be end of times! Pinecrest discusses McMansion ban! Does anyone have a sense of deja vu?

Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner gets a grand pat on the back for suggesting that Pinecrest limit McMansions, but golly, the train left the station a long, long time ago.

Actually it was during the last boom-before--bust cycle that McMansions sprouted faster than kudzu in South Miami and Pinecrest.

It is dreadful to see that the last building bust didn't kill off the urge to splurge on square footage in acreage once filled with mango, citrus and avocado groves. We wrote about it in 2007.

Oh well … according to the Miami Herald, in Pinecrest "several contractors spoke out against the proposed changes". We guess the most recent squadron of bankrupt bilkers, builders, and bankerz did not stand up to be counted. The ones that survived are biding their time not just in Pinecrest but at the UDB. (see Sofer collection, below)


PINECREST
Pinecrest may limit ‘McMansions’

BY MADISON FANTOZZI
MFANTOZZI@MIAMIHERALD.COM

Pinecrest council members want to study possible new rules aimed at limiting property owners ability to build large homes on relatively small lots.

The council decided Tuesday not to immediately approve a set of such rules, instead opting to get more input from contractors and village residents. Several contractors spoke against the proposed changes, but Mayor Cindy Lerner said the council needs to act to preserve the village’s character.


“My family moved here in 1960, when our homes were small ranches on big lots,” Lerner said. “That’s the character of Pinecrest. We value green space. With these larger homes, we’ve lost a lot of green space and now we’re realizing the adverse impact of these buildings on the environment.”

Although the average size of homes constructed in the village in the past several months is 8,500 square feet, there are homes that have been constructed in recent years that are as large as 16,000 and 20,000 square feet, according to village Planning Director Stephen Olmsted.

Among the rule changes on Tuesday’s agenda was an increase in the “setback,” or minimum distance between a home and a side lot line from 25 to 30 feet for a single-story house. Olmstead said this would reduce the scale of buildings and address associated impacts like runoff of storm water onto neighboring properties.

The council also considered reducing the overall height of structures in single-family residential districts from 35 feet to 32 feet, and increasing front-yard setbacks from 50 feet to 55 feet for a one-story structure, or 60 feet for the second story of a structure.

Olmsted said the proposed amendments would align the code with the village’s Master Plan, which promotes environmental sustainability and conservation.

“We’ve heard from a lot of people in suits with greedy ideas,” said Karen Ross, council member Bob Ross’ wife. “McMansions are ruining the village’s character. There’s no need for more large homes — we’re not crying for the tax dollars.”

Also on Tuesday, the council postponed discussion of a possible restaurant at Pinecrest Gardens. When a Gardens neighbor wanted to discuss the proposal, Lerner gaveled down the resident and adjourned the meeting.

The mayor said the topic “needs a breather.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/04/11/4053903/pinecrest-may-limit-mcmansions.html#storylink=cpy

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do what the crooks in Miami Beach do. Ask for a zoning exception. Works every time.

Anonymous said...

Yeah let's see the crooks ask for a zoning exception to sea level rise.

Anonymous said...


....changing height from 35 to 32.

What the hell is going on here? This is why I hate government.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone remember that one of the issues that led to the incorporation of Pinecrest was Parrot Jungle's request to build an event space? Neighbors were up in arms at the thought of music (gasp!) in the gardens and streams of outsiders driving in the area to attend events. Hmmm - and interesting world we live in.