Frequently Asked Questions

The Central City CRA is a 344-acre community redevelopment area established under Chapter 163 Florida Statutes. The Central City redevelopment goals are to remove slum and blight and provide increased opportunities in the area, including improving housing stock, streets and infrastructure, and safety. Other goals include bringing quality jobs and services to the area, and fostering the development of new businesses, and creating an environment of mixed use and transit oriented development – especially on the Sunrise Boulevard, NE 13th Street, NE 4th Avenue and Florida East Coast Railway Corridors.

The Central City CRA is generally bounded by NE 13th Street and NE 16th Street on the north, Sunrise Boulevard on the South, Powerline Road and I-95 on the West and the Florida East Coast railway on the East. It is the youngest of the City’s three community redevelopment areas. See a map of the Central City CRA(PDF, 529KB).

When the Central City CRA was established in 2012, a Community Redevelopment Plan was adopted for the area. A Community Redevelopment Plan provides a framework for projects, activities and initiatives intended to revitalize and improve conditions within the Community Redevelopment Area. As a way to revitalize the Central City Community Redevelopment Area, the Central City Community Redevelopment Plan and prior planning efforts identified redevelopment potential for more intense commercial development along Sunrise Boulevard, with NE 4th Avenue and NE 13th Street supporting lighter intensity neighborhood-oriented retail establishments as well as mixed-use building types. In addition, the plan contains several redevelopment strategies and goals to eliminate blight, including the following:

• Increase employment and business opportunities in the CRA.
• Improve street appearance and function.
• Study specific needs and issues such as: workforce housing, parking, neighborhood stabilization, and open space.
• Increase density to allow more residential development in the district.

To achieve the goals stated above, and to realize full redevelopment potential for Central City CRA, it is necessary to make some changes to the zoning regulations to accomplish the type of development that best suits the needs of the area.

Ultimately, the rezoning project will establish a stronger foundation for redevelopment and improvements in the CRA through the creation of regulations strengthen neighborhoods, retains existing neighbors and businesses, and attract new investment to the area.

New zoning regulations that allow for highly-desirable quality developments, while at the same time streamlining the development approval process, creates a conducive environment for investment and reinvestment. If the rezoning efforts and new regulations create some appeal for developers to invest in the CRA, the synergy needed to spur redevelopment will result – assuming other market forces are in alignment.

However, the very best impact of the new zoning regulations is the inclusion of elements that have a mutual appeal to both the developer and the community, such as mixed uses, neighborhood-oriented retail (grocery stores), distinct branding and design guidelines, public plazas, live-work units, or regulations requiring pedestrian friendly connections between uses. These elements provide Central City neighbors with easy access to shopping, jobs, and public transit, as well as a community oriented lifestyle. At the same time, the appeal for the developer is in the ease of bringing high-quality projects to market that result in 100% occupancy due to the demand for the quality of life resulting from the new regulations and required design elements.

From 2018-2020, the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) engaged The Mellgren Planning Group to lead the rezoning project within the Central City Community Redevelopment Area. Their responsibilities included organizing community meetings, collecting survey data, documenting neighborhood concerns, and gathering input and solutions from local residents and businesses.

In 2021, the CRA retained The Corradino Group to complete the process for the proposed new mixed-use zoning classification. Their scope included reviewing and evaluating the prior consultant's work products, identifying issues, recommending amendments, and developing a plan to move the project forward.

By 2024, City staff advanced the initiative by initiating the Planning and Zoning Board (PZB) application. Outreach efforts are currently underway to inform residents and stakeholders about the proposed zoning amendments and upcoming public meetings, including the public participation meeting, PZB hearing, and City Commission public hearings.

Zoning is the process of dividing land into zoning districts such as “commercial districts”, “residential districts”, “industrial districts”, and “mixed use districts” (which regulate how commercial and residential uses are allowed to interact with each other). Once districts are determined, zoning rules are used to establish the types of uses that are permitted or prohibited. Zoning rules are referred to as zoning regulations. See a zoning map of the Central City CRA(PDF, 26MB).

The zoning regulations specify size and dimensions of land area for each district, and also provide height and size requirements for buildings in each zoning district. Parking, landscaping, and other requirements are also addressed through zoning rules. These guidelines are set in order to provide structure, visual appeal, and predictability for a city’s growth and development.

RMM-25, RDS-15, and RD-15 are the primary residential zoning districts in the Central City CRA; however, just north of NE 13th Street, a few properties are contained within the RM-15 residential zoning district. The RDS-15 residential zoning district lies between NW 7th Avenue NW 9th Avenue, between NW 13th Street and NW 16th Street. RDS-15 is a medium density district currently considered ideal for single family homes. The RD-15 residential zoning district lies at the very core of the Central City CRA and currently considered ideal for single family duplex structures.

A brief description of the purpose of each residential zoning district found within the Central City CRA boundaries can be found in the table below.

Central City CRA: Residential Zoning District Information

There are also eight non-residential zoning districts (CB, B-1, B-2, B-3, P, CF, CF-H, U) within the Central City CRA. The B-1 commercial zoning district is a business related zoning district that allows commercial and retail uses. The Sunrise Boulevard corridor has many parcels within the B-1 zoning district. Along the eastern boundary of the study area, B-3 is the primary non-residential zoning district. B-3 allows heavy commercial and light industrial type businesses.

A brief description of the purpose of each non-residential zoning district found within the Central City CRA boundaries can be found in the tables below:

Central City CRA: Non-Residential Business Zoning District Information

Central City CRA: Non-Residential Public Purpose Zoning District Information

The intent of the rezoning project is to provide additional opportunities for property and business owners in the area. This can be accomplished with mixed use options and other creative zoning alternatives, which will be explored throughout the planning process to determine the best regulations to support the community-wide vision.

Residential development is important since it will bring new consumers to the area that will help, along with the existing residents, to support new retail and new employment. In addition new residential development does not impact traffic as significantly as other uses such as retail and office. Increased residential development also produces more people to support a walkable, transit-supportive neighborhood that provides residents with transportation choices.

Many cities attempt to use mixed use zoning to encourage retail such as grocery stores, bookstores, restaurants, art galleries, live music, apparel, antiques, home accessories, and many other retail choices to serve the local residents. Much of the retail may be tucked into mixed-use buildings that allow non-intrusive retail to exist in close proximity to the neighborhood’s residents. The development of quality retail depends upon the ability to encourage people of all ages to live in the area, and the rezoning is designed to attract additional residential development.

The Fort Lauderdale City Commission adopted Ordinance No. C-17-36 on October 3, 2017, to allow for a simplified parking reduction process for non-residential properties located in the Central City CRA. The ordinance also allows on-street parking that abuts non-residential properties in the Central City CRA to count toward the abutting property’s parking requirements.

Additional changes regarding parking requirements are yet to be determined by the input received from Central City neighbors and business owners.

This project is divided into 3 phases: Phase 1 Rezoning of the Central City Northwest Quadrant, Phase 2 Central City Mixed-Use Proposal, and Phase 3 Land Use Plan Amendment.

Phase 1 proposal to rezone the Northwest Quadrant from RDs-15 to RM-15 was approved by City Commission First Reading on May 16, 2023, and Second Reading on June 6, 2023.

Phase 2 Mixed-Use proposal is in progress. The mixed-use district amendments are currently under review by the City Attorney's Office to finalize the proposed zoning code amendments.

In anticipation of the review's completion, the amendments are tentatively scheduled to be presented to the Planning and Zoning Board (PZB) on October 15, 2025.

As part of the public outreach process, a Public Participation Meeting for the mixed-use district proposal is scheduled for Tuesday, September 2, 2025, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Holiday Park Social Center, located at 1150 G. Harold Martin Drive. The purpose of this meeting is to present the proposed mixed-use district proposal, as recommended by the Central City Redevelopment Advisory Board (CCRAB) during its meetings in January and February 2025.

Meeting and hearing dates are subject to changes. Please monitoring the Public Meeting Summary page.

Phase 3 Land Use Plan Amendment will commence once phases 1 and 2 are complete.

The City of Fort Lauderdale and the CRA encourages all of its citizens to participate in this unique process. Additional public hearings will occur during the planning process. More information regarding the rezoning project and community meetings can be found at Central City CRA Rezoning Project page. These meetings include approvals of the rezoning by various boards of the City including the Planning and Zoning Board.

The mailing list for community workshops includes the property owners within the CRA. Anyone that is renting a residence or leasing business space within the CRA will also receive a notice about the community workshops.

If you are interested in receiving information about the project, but do not live in or own property in the area, please contact us at centralcityrezoning@fortlauderdale.gov and the CRA can update the mailing list to include your name to the list for any further mailings.

The City, CRA, and the consultant will ask a series of questions to gather your opinions and preferences. Some information will be collected using comments from group discussions too. Information about the process for the rezoning project will also be discussed.

The City of Fort Lauderdale and the Community Redevelopment Agency welcomes your thoughts and ideas throughout the planning process and encourage you to contact us at centralcityrezoning@fortlauderdale.gov to submit your questions. The Corradino Group and the CRA staff are readily available to respond.

The City of Fort Lauderdale and the Community Redevelopment Agency welcomes your thoughts and ideas throughout the planning process and encourage you to contact us at centralcityrezoning@fortlauderdale.gov to submit your notes, comments, and concerns. The Corradino Group and the CRA staff are readily available to respond.

After each Community Meeting and Public Hearing, the project web site will be updated with a meeting summary. The survey has been officially closed on June 29, 2018.

If you need additional information about the project, please contact us at centralcityrezoning@fortlauderdale.gov to submit your questions. You may also call us at 954-828-6130.