Miami’s Little Havana confronts housing density’s double edge

Proposed zoning changes could make Little Havana Miami’s next housing development frontier, allowing larger apartment buildings and more homes.The decade-long planning effort now unfolds under a different set of development rules, including Florida’s 2023 Live Local Act, revised for the third time this year.Debate around the proposal illustrates the tug-of-war cities and neighborhoods face, not just in Miami but across the country, as leaders seek solutions to increasingly chronic housing affordability concerns. In Miami, discussions over the coming months will address more than the number of apartments permitted. City planning staff are developing design guidelines and a neighborhood revitalization district alongside the zoning proposal. But opposition follows a similar pattern. Residents question how additional density would affect infrastructure, nearby single-family neighborhoods and Little Havana’s historic character. Discussions continue over the coming months City planning staff said at a September hearing that public outreach would continue as design guidelines and overlay tools take shape. The work includes a neighborhood revitalization district intended to incorporate pub...