Live Local Act

Revised on 12/4/2025 

This page provides the City of Miami’s preliminary guidelines for implementing the “Live Local Act” (“Act”), as established by SB 102 (2023) and updated through SB 328 (2024) and SB 1730 (2025). These guidelines are subject to revision as the City processes initial applications. Where capitalized terms are used, they generally reference defined terms within the Miami 21 Zoning Code. 

Project Eligibility 

A development project qualifies under the Live Local Act if it meets the following conditions: 

• Location: The project is located in an area zoned for commercial, industrial, or mixed use, including portions of Special Area Plans (SAPs) with such zoning, as defined in SB 1730. Uses must be permitted by right in Article 4, Table 3 of Miami 21. 
• Affordable Housing Requirement: At least 40% of residential units must be affordable, as defined under State law, for households earning up to 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Affordability must be preserved for a minimum of 30 years, and all units must remain rental during this period. 
• Residential Component: At least 65% of the project’s square footage must be residential if developed as mixed use. 
• Exclusions: The property cannot be defined as recreational and commercial working waterfront (CWW) in any area zoned as industrial under the Miami Comprehensive Neighborhood Plan (MCNP). 
• The project cannot be located “within one-quarter of a mile laterally from the runway edge and within an area that is the width of one-quarter of a mile extending at right angles from the end of the runway for a distance of 10,000 feet of any existing airport runway or planned airport runway identified in the local government’s airport master plan.”. 

Entitlements Granted by the Act 

Qualifying projects are granted the following entitlements administratively: 

• Maximum density of 1,000 dwelling units per acre. 
• Maximum height permitted within one mile of the site, based on comparator properties zoned for commercial or residential use (see “Height” section). 
• Multifamily residential use by right in eligible Transect Zones, except in T3, CS, or CI zones. 
• Floor Lot Ratio (“FLR’) of 36. 
• Lot coverage of 150% of the allowable coverage for the Transect Zone (subject to other Miami 21 requirements such as setbacks and open space). 

Eligible Transect Zones 

• Eligible: The following Miami 21 Transect Zones that allow commercial, industrial, or mixed use by Right qualify under the Act (unless designated as CWW in the MCNP): 

T4-L, T4-O, T5-L, T5-O, T6-L, T6-O, CI-HD, D1, D2, D3. 

• Not Eligible: T3 zones, T4-R, T5-R, T6-R, CS, CI. 

Height Regulations 

• Comparator Rule: A project may use the maximum height of a comparator property within one mile, provided that property allows commercial or residential use. 
• Building Height Definition: Miami 21 defines height as the “vertical extent of a building measured in Stories.” Regulations tied to building massing (e.g., setbacks, tower separation, floorplate size) continue to apply. 
• Exclusions from Comparator Height: SB 1730 clarifies that “highest currently allowed height does not include the height of any building that met the requirements of this subsection or the height of any building that has received any bonus, variance, or other special exception for height provided in the municipality’s land development regulations as an incentive for development”. Therefore, a qualifying project shall be limited to the maximum height allowed By Right on the comparator site, excluding any bonus height obtained through Public Benefit. Bonus Height is only available through the project’s own Transect Zone public benefit provisions if no comparator site is available within one mile.* 
• SAP Sites: Projects may not import SAP overlay height regulations. Only the underlying zoning applies. 
• T3 Adjacencies: If adjacent on two or more sides to a T3 Transect Zone with at least 25 single-family homes, height is limited to: 150% of the adjacent property’s height, or 
• Height allowed by the underlying Transect Zone, or 
• Three stories, whichever is greater, not to exceed 10 stories. 
• Airport Restrictions: Height is subject to Miami-Dade County Code Chapter 33 (airspace protections). Runway protection zones prohibit development within designated extensions of MIA runways 12-30 and 9-27 unless a survey confirms compliance. 

Examples of Height calculations are provided at the end of this document. 

*Public Benefit bonus Height previously permitted as specified in the City’s Live Local Act guidelines under SB 102 and SB 328. 

Multifamily Use in Non-Multifamily Zones 

If a qualifying project is located in a Transect Zone where multifamily is not permitted, the project must still comply with all T6 design standards (access, parking, setbacks, etc.) as the Act requires that the City apply its multifamily regulations to these zones. These projects are considered conforming under the Act, and the use is not subject to amortization provisions of Section 7.2.6(a) even after expiration of its affordability period. 

Floor Lot Ratio (“FLR”) / Intensity 

• Qualifying projects are entitled to an FLR of 36, as Miami 21’s highest-intensity zone (T6-80) permits an FLR of 24 by right, and 150% of 24 = 36. 
• SB 1730 clarifies that floor area ratio includes both Floor Lot Ratio and Lot Coverage. Thus, projects must also receive 150% of allowable Lot Coverage, while continuing to comply with open space and setback requirements. 
• In applicable T4 zones, allowable Commercial use remains limited to three times the net lot area, consistent with the MCNP and as regulated in Article 4, Table 4 of Miami 21. 

Parking 

• Parking requirements are reduced by 15% for projects: Located within the Transit Corridor Area, 
• Located within one-half mile of a “Major Transportation Hub” that is accessible from the proposed development by safe, pedestrian-friendly means, such as sidewalks, crosswalks, elevated pedestrian or bike paths, or other multimodal design features. “Major Transportation Hub” shall be defined as any facility that qualifies as a station or stop within a designated Transit Oriented Development (TOD) or Transit Corridor area, as recognized by the City of Miami. 
• Additionally, Off-site parking may be provided for these projects within 600 feet of the project site through covenant. (Miami 21 allows up to 1,000 feet, but the Act limits to 600 feet). 
• Parking requirements are eliminated for mixed-use projects in designated Transit Oriented Development (TOD) areas. 

Administrative Review 

• Waivers: Developers may apply for waivers under Miami 21, but the project will no longer proceed strictly by right. 
• Warrants: Conditional uses (e.g., outdoor dining in mixed-use projects) remain subject to the Warrant process. 
• Exceptions: Exceptions, such as maximum lot size limits, continue to apply. 
• Design Review: Projects otherwise subject to UDRB or WDRC are exempt if deemed compliant with Article 4, Table 12 of Miami 21. 

• HEPB: Projects subject to the Historic and Environmental Board process, whether at the board or staff level, must contact the Historic Preservation Division of the Planning Department: Historic Preservation - Miami 

Required Submittals for Qualifying Projects

Projects qualifying under the Live Local Act must provide the following: 

1. Recorded covenant with HCD certification verifying affordability, rental-only restriction, and a release provision that the covenant is in place for 30 years from TCO or CO and may only be released earlier by bringing the project into full compliance with Miami 21 or a successor zoning ordinance. 
2. A specific purpose survey demonstrating the 1-mile distance (unless the comparator site is so obviously close to render this unnecessary) with a brief analysis of the comparator. 
3. Zoning legend with clear notes indicating Live Local Act deviations (density, height, FLR, parking, etc.). 
4. Diagram/table showing compliance with the 65%+ residential requirement. 
5. TOD confirmation if seeking parking exemptions. 
6. Verification that the property is not designated CWW. 
7. If located within 10,000 feet of the end of runways 12-30 or 9-27 (or other areas in the path of any MIA runway if annexed into the City in the future), a survey showing all portions of the site are outside the prohibited zone. 
8. Verification of proximity to a qualifying transit stop (if seeking the 15% parking reduction). 
9. Recoded off-site parking covenant (if applicable). 

It is expected that all other processes generally for multifamily or mixed-use buildings apply, except as to the deviations described here for projects permitted pursuant to the Act. 

Height Examples (Informational Only)