Fort Lauderdale Beach Redevelopment Information
Beach Streetscape Master Plan and Beach Overlay Districts
Beach Streetscape Master Plan -- Background and Overview
 The
City of Fort Lauderdale made a commitment in 1984 to be
the “Best
City of Its Size” by 1994. Since
that time, one area of the City that has undergone a dramatic
change has been the Central Beach Area. The area, which spans
from South Beach/Bahia Mar north to Sunrise Boulevard, has
experienced an ongoing influx of renovation and new construction
that began in the late 1980s after the Fort Lauderdale City
Commission adopted a comprehensive re-write of the Central
Beach Zoning Code and established the Beach Community Redevelopment
Area. These two measures created incentives which helped
attract private development and commitments for further public
investment and redevelopment partnerships.
Several capital improvements began to redefine the Central
Beach Area in the late 1980s and early 1990s including: the
realignment of State Road A1A, relocation of beach on-street
parking to medians on adjacent streets, and construction
of the award-winning beach wave wall and promenade. All of
these initiatives helped improve the image and aesthetics
of the Central Beach Area, reposition Fort Lauderdale as
a family-oriented destination for residents and visitors,
and stimulate additional private sector response.
In 1998, the City again reviewed its development codes and
also examined its infrastructure plans for transportation
and parking in the Central Beach Area. This review process
resulted in recommendations for additional changes and more
detailed studies. The Beach
Redevelopment Advisory Board (BRAB) capitalized on this opportunity to expand proposed
landscaping and aesthetic improvements to all streets within
the Central Beach Area, as well as the arterials and collector
streets to the south and north of the area that comprise
the primary entranceways into Fort Lauderdale Beach. The
consulting firm of Keith and Schnars completed a Preliminary
Design and Engineering Study for the beach transportation
system in 2001. The City Commission then authorized the preparation
of detailed design and construction documents for the transportation
improvements recommended in the study.
 In 2001, the City Commission also authorized the team of
Keith and Schnars and EDSA to complete a Beach Streetscape
Master Plan. The Master Plan was designed to address aesthetic
issues within the rights-of-way of streets in the study area
that included the Central Beach Area and A1A from the South
Beach parking lot north to Mayan Drive. The Master Plan included
four main tasks: collection of base information, site inventory
and analysis, preliminary and final master planning.
The Final Beach Streetscape Master Plan was presented and
accepted by the BRAB and City Commission in the fall of 2002.
Both the BRAB and City Commission recommended that the next
steps of implementation of the Plan be initiated. The steps
included preparation of schematic and detailed design plans
of the improvements and development of a schedule for funding,
design and implementation.
The preliminary Schematic Design Plan was presented to the
BRAB at their June 19, 2004 meeting. The Schematic Plan was
approved by the City Commission on September 21, 2004. The
City is now moving forward with detailed designs, cost estimates
and an implementation schedule.
The following documents are available for your review:
NBRA and SLA Proposed Beach Overlay Districts
One of the major work items of the City of Fort Lauderdale’s
Redevelopment Services and Marine Facilities Division for
fiscal year 2004, involves development of a zoning tool or “overlay
district” that would assist and encourage the improvement,
redevelopment and preservation of the North Beach Residential
(NBRA) and Sunrise Lane (SLA) zoned areas of Fort Lauderdale’s
Central Beach.
An “overlay” district is a special zoning district
that is adopted by the City Commission to identify a special
resource or development area. It is implemented by adopting
new zoning provisions that apply in that area. These regulations
are in addition to the existing provisions of the zoning
ordinance. An overlay district can facilitate a wide array
of development options and goals, including watershed protection,
traditional neighborhood development, transit-oriented development,
cluster development and historic preservation, to name just
a few. The general purpose of an overlay district is to either
conserve natural resources or realize development objectives
without unduly disturbing the expectations created by the
existing zoning ordinance and conventional districts.
City staff completed its initial research on overlay districts
and presented its finding and recommendations to the Beach
Redevelopment Advisory Board (BRAB) at its June 19, 2004
meeting. The recommendations included moving forward with
drafting an overlay district for the NBRA and SLA that would
address the following issues: relaxing yard, signage, landscaping
and parking requirements; reexamining the nonconforming building/use
requirements; increasing the allowable uses in the districts;
and attempting to make the present approval processes more
expeditious and user-friendly.
The documents below provide a comprehensive overview of
City staff’s research and findings on the NBRA/SLA
overlay districts as well as additional details about historic
and conservation districts, building code provisions, identified
impediments, and recommendations concerning next steps.
Learn more about Fort Lauderdale
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