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At the first meeting of the Pinecrest Business
Association Government Relations Committee it was suggested that we
ask the community to help us address the issues and concerns that
exist in our Village. Therefore, we will try to raise as many issues
as we know about or that are brought to our attention and see if we
can assist you in voicing our concerns and bringing them to the proper
officials in the Village of Pinecrest.
The first two issues are home offices and open-air
cafes. We have requested the Village provide us with the law governing
these issues and the laws/ordinances are set forth below.
On home office issue, the Pinecrest does not have its
own rule, law or ordinance. Rather, the Village follows the Dade
County zoning ordinance, which is identified below. The ordinance does
not appear to be overly clear, concise or succinct. But, this is the
law as it exists and as it will be enforced.
The question is how does it affect you? Have you had
any experience, good or bad, relating to this issue? Is there
something you want to say about the existing law? Should we keep the
law as it stands? Should we consider changing the law? If so, how?
The second issue for your consideration is the one
regulating open-air cafes. Below is a copy of Pinecrest's ordinance
No. 98-3. Depending on whether you own a restaurant, have a business
located near a restaurant or patronize a local restaurant, your views
may differ on this issue.
Once again, the question is, how does this affect you?
Have you had any experiences relating to this issue? Is there
something you want to say about the law? Should we keep it as it
stands? Should we consider changing the law? If so, how?
We want your help. What do you think about these
issues and are there others that you want to address. If you have a
response to this article or any issues of concern please call me at
305-662-6178, or write me at Panter & Panter, P.A., 6950 North
Kendall Drive, Miami, Florida 33156, send a fax to 305-662-9472 or an
e-mail to mpanter@panterandpanter.com.
ARTICLE XIV. RU-1, SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL
DISTRICT
Sec. 33-199. Uses permitted.
No land, body of water and/or structure shall be used
or permitted to be used and no structure shall be hereafter erected,
constructed, moved, reconstructed, structurally altered or maintained
for any purpose in an RU-1 District which is designed, arranged or
intended to be used or occupied for any purpose other than the
following, unless otherwise specifically provided herein:
(1) Every use as a one-family residence, including
every customary use not inconsistent therewith, including a private
garage.
(2) Municipal recreation building, playgrounds, parks
or reservations owned and operated by a municipality, county, state or
the United States Government
(3) Golf courses.
(4) Business telephone will be permitted in a
residence provided no truck, heavy equipment or similar vehicle is
kept on the property and no storage or any other business activity is
carried on.
ORDINANCE NO. 98-3
AN ORDINANCE OF THE VILLAGE OF PINECREST, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE CODE
OF ORDINANCES TO PROVIDE FOR A NEW SECTION ENTITLED "OPEN-AIR
CAFE"; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF CONFLICTING PROVISIONS OF THE
COUNTY CODE, SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN THE CODE AND AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, Section 8.3 of the Village Charter of the
Village of Pinecrest has adopted the Zoning Code of Miami-Dade County,
in effect on March 16, 1996, as the regulating code of the Village;
and
WHEREAS, the Village Council finds that it is in the
public interest to amend the code to allow for open-air cafes in
conjunction with restaurants;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE
VILLAGE OF PINECREST, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 20 (Planning and Zoning) of the
Code of Ordinances of the Village of Pinecrest, Florida is hereby
amended by adding a new section, which shall read as follows:
Sec. 1 Open-Air Cafe in Conjunction with a Restaurant.
An open-air cafe in conjunction with a restaurant shall be approved by
the Village Council as an accessory use to a restaurant in a Business
District (BU-1, BU-1A, BU-2, BU-3) and shall comply with all code
requirements and shall be subject to the following additional
conditions and restrictions:
a. Each application for such use shall be filed on the
appropriate application form with the Building, Planning and Zoning
Department and submitted to the Village Council for review.
b. A site plan, drawn to scale, which shall have been
approved by the Building, Planning and Zoning Department staff shall
be submitted with the application. Such plan shall include the floor
plan of the existing restaurant, including tables, chairs and
restrooms, and the proposed open-air cafe. The plan shall also show
the existing parking, any proposed landscaping, location of refuse
containers, proposed lighting, layout of all tables, chairs, benches
and other furniture, and pedestrian ingress and egress. An open-air
cafe located on sidewalks must remain at the elevation of the existing
sidewalk.
c. The operation of such open-air cafe shall not be
conducted in such a way as to become a public nuisance and that the
operation of such business shall not interfere with the circulation of
pedestrian or vehicular traffic on the adjoining streets, alleys or
sidewalks. A minimum space of forty (40) inches shall be allowed for
pedestrian circulation. The space for such use shall not extend beyond
the interior wall which is perpendicular to the front or rear wall.
d. The service of patrons of the open-air café shall
be at tables only and no-counter service, self-service or pass through
window shall be permitted.
e. The open-air café shall not occupy an area of more
than thirty percent (30%) of the total area of the primary restaurant
operation.
f. The open-air café shall be unenclosed and shall be
open except that it may be covered with a canvas cover or structural
canopy of a building's arcade, loggia or overhang as may be permitted
by the code.
g. All kitchen equipment used to serve the open-air
café shall be located within the kitchen of the primary restaurant.
h. The open-air café shall be kept in a neat and
orderly appearance and shall be kept free from refuse and debris.
After the close of business, all tables and chairs shall be removed
from the premises unless they are properly secured.
i. No additional signage shall be permitted in the
open-air café area.
j. No outdoor speaker, stereo system, live bands, or
outdoor entertainment shall be allowed.
k. An initial application fee shall be charged in
accordance with the adopted fee schedule prescribed by code.
l. In approving an open-air café, the Village Council
may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards in conformity with
the provisions of the code. Violations of such conditions and
safeguards, when made a part of the terms under which the open-air
café is approved, shall be deemed grounds for revocation of the
accessory use and punishable as a violation of the code.
m. Each application filed seeking to obtain a
conditional use for an open-air café shall in the case of a lease or
sublease, be accompanied by a written statement from the landlord
and/or owner consenting to the use of the real property as an open-air
café.
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