AGENDA ITEM REPORT
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AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY’S CODE OF ORDINANCES, BY AMENDING CHAPTER 13, “LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE,” ARTICLE III, “ZONING REGULATIONS,” DIVISION 1, “GENERALLY,” SECTION 13-295, “DEFINITIONS,” TO PROVIDE FOR DEFINITIONS; AMENDING DIVISION 2, “ZONING CLASSIFICATIONS AND GENERAL REQUIREMENTS,” BY CREATING A NEW SECTION 13-323, “HOTELS;” AMENDING DIVISION 4, “ACCESSORY USES AND STRUCTURES,” SUBDIVISION II, “PARKING REGULATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS,” SECTION 13-400, “RESIDENTIAL USE PARKING SPACE REQUIREMENTS,” TO PROVIDE UPDATED HOTEL AND EXTENDED STAY HOTEL PARKING REQUIREMENTS AND SECTION 13-409, “OFF-STREET LOADING REQUIREMENTS,” TO PROVIDE UPDATED LOADING SPACE REQUIREMENTS; AND AMENDING DIVISION 8, “MASTER BUSINESS LIST,” SECTION 13-621, “MASTER BUSINESS LIST B-2, B-3, AND B-4,” AND SECTION 13-623, “MASTER BUSINESS LIST O-2, O-3,” TO IDENTIFY SPECIAL LAND USE REQUIREMENTS AND PROVIDE FOR EXTENDED STAY HOTELS AS SPECIAL LAND USES. (SECOND PUBLIC HEARING)
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BACKGROUND:
This item was approved on First Reading at the September 23, 2021, City Commission Meeting. At the request of staff, Second Reading of the ordinance was postponed to the October 28, 2021, City Commission Meeting.
As discussed by City staff at the First Reading Public Hearing on September 23, 2021, staff reached out to the owner of the Residence Inn by Marriott and the Hampton Inn and Suites located at the Sawgrass Expressway and State Road 7 to gain input on the proposed ordinance. City staff received and evaluated the comments from the hotel representative, Seth Feldman. Staff also received updated recommendations on how best to describe the air-conditioning design in the Site Design section of the ordinance. Below are the recommended changes to the ordinance on Second Reading:
1. Hotel Definition (page 3). Remove “daily” housekeeping to just identify housekeeping in the definition of a hotel. Many hotels have implemented COVID-19 protocols discouraging mandatory daily housekeeping services, but they are still provided if requested. Changing “daily” housekeeping to providing housekeeping in general broadens and strengthens the definition, which is helpful when evaluating new hotel proposals.
2. Air Conditioning & Site Design (page 4). The ordinance is currently written to require “central air-conditioning for the entire building” and to prohibit “through-the-wall” systems. After further consultation with our Building Official and Mechanical Inspectors, city staff learned that central air-conditioning may not be the most appropriate way to describe the desired mechanical system for hotel buildings. There is more than one way to provide air-conditioning to such a building. The main purpose of this requirement is to prohibit the design issue of multiple wall mounted systems from degrading the facades of hotel buildings. How the interior is air-conditioned is up to the hotel developer as long as they do not use the wall mounted systems.
3. Extended Stay Hotel Housekeeping Frequency (page 4). The ordinance as drafted requires housekeeping services to be provided no less than two (2) times per week for reservations that are seven (7) days or longer. The change is to require housekeeping at least one (1) time per week for reservations that are seven (7) days or longer. As with many services provided by the extended stay hotel, more frequent housekeeping may still be requested by the guest if needed. This change will not negatively impact the quality or operations of an extended stay hotel regulated under this ordinance.
The City desires to amend Chapter 13 of the City’s Land Development Code to provide regulations for hotels and extended stay hotels. The extent of the City’s current Land Development Code regulations pertaining to hotels and extended stay hotels is minimal. Hotel regulations exist in the master business list and parking codes. Hotels are currently allowed in business districts B-3 and B-4 and in office districts O-2 and O-3 as Special Land Uses. They may also be allowed in Planned Commercial Districts (PCDs) and Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) according to each of those district’s specific regulations. Hotels have parking and loading space requirements in the City’s parking code. Otherwise, there are no other minimum standards and there are especially none pertaining to extended stay hotels in any section of the City’s Land Development Code.
DISCUSSION:
To prepare this ordinance, staff reviewed Florida Statutes, surrounding city, regional, and national municipal hotel ordinances, and previous hotel and extended stay hotel development applications. To provide context, staff prepared a comparison matrix of various hotel ordinances in Broward County, which is attached as backup to this item.
The proposed ordinance provides amendments to the Land Development Code to address the following:
1. Definitions. The City’s current Land Development Code definitions in Section 13-295 do not have a definition for hotels nor extended stay hotels. The ordinance will define other important terms used in the ordinance. The proposed definitions are consistent with state statutes as well.
2. Supplemental Regulations. Section 13-323 of the Land Development Code will be amended to create supplemental regulations. This section will provide minimum requirements for hotel development, operation standards, public safety and security, site design, and additional requirements for extended stay hotels.
3. Parking Requirements. The ordinance updates the City’s parking and loading space regulations in Sections 13-400 and 13-409 for hotels and provides new requirements for extended stay hotels.
4. Master Business List. Sections 13-621 and 13-623 of the City’s Master Business List will be updated to add extended stay hotels as a Special Land Use and to provide a reference to the proposed hotel/extended stay hotel supplemental regulations in Section 13-323.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Planning and Zoning Board, at its August 11, 2021, meeting, recommended approval of this ordinance.
FISCAL IMPACT: N/A