BU-3 Liberal Business Use Zoning District

Lot coverage is the percentage of the overall area of the site that the building occupies (building area under roof at ground level/total lot area = lot coverage percentage).

Maximum Lot Coverage

Maximum lot coverage shall be 40% of net lot area.

Minimum Lot Area, Frontage

Minimum area of land for interior lots shall not be less than 5,000 square feet, with a minimum frontage of 50 feet. For corner lots, the minimum area of land shall not be less than 7,500 square feet, with a minimum frontage of 75 feet.

Building Height, Number of Stories, Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and Open Space

The maximum height of a structure is not limited but may be restricted by parking, setbacks, FAR and landscaping requirements. FAR shall be .40 at 1 story and may be increased by .11 for each additional story up to 8 stories. Thereafter the FAR may be increased by .06 for each additional story. (FAR is the total floor area of the building or buildings, as measured from the exterior faces of the walls, on any lot divided by the net area of the lot.)

Minimum open space shall be as per Section 33-256.3 of the Miami-Dade County Code. Landscaping and trees shall be provided as per Chapter 18A of the Miami-Dade County Code.

Allowed Lot Uses

A modular building can be used as an office as it meets the requirements for setbacks, parking, landscaping, etc.

A business cannot be operated from an open lot. All permitted uses shall be conducted within completely enclosed buildings. All materials and products shall be stored within the building or within an area completely enclosed with walls which have a life expectancy of 20 years or more. Storage shall not be made above the height of the wall.

A setback is the required minimum horizontal distance between the front, sides and rear of the lot to the building.

Principal Building Setbacks

• Front: 20 feet for buildings not exceeding 35 feet in height
• Rear:
  • 20 feet from residential district boundary, except that credit shall be given for full width of dedicated alleys
  • 5 feet from BU or IU district boundary, where any openings are provided in wall of structure adjacent to rear lot line
  • 0 feet from BU or IU district boundary where no openings are proposed in wall of structure adjacent to rear lot line
• Interior side:
  • 0 feet where the adjacent property is BU or IU district and where the use of the structure is limited exclusively to business use
  • 5 feet where there are any openings provided in the walls
  • 10 feet for such portions of the structure as are devoted to residential use
  • 15 feet where the adjacent property is zoned RU or EU
• Side street: 15 feet, except where an RU or EU lot abuts a business lot, then the side street setback shall be 25 feet on any part of the commercial structure located within 25 feet of the residential district boundary.

• Chain link fence: height 8 feet
• Walls and hedges: Maximum 4 feet within the required front or side street setbacks; height 8 feet at all other points

In certain instances, the height of said wall or hedge may be limited to 2.5 feet for visibility at intersections or within 10 feet of either side of driveways.

Where the business lot abuts an AU, GU, RU or EU zoned property, a decorative masonry wall at least 5 feet in height shall be erected on the business lot along the common property line separating the two districts. See Section 33-245 of the Miami-Dade County Code for further information.

A barbed wire fence is permitted where such barbed wire is placed on an angle extension of not more than 16 inches on top of a wall or fence at least 6 feet in height. This extension shall contain no more than 3 strands of barbed wire and shall not extend over official rights-of-way or over property under different ownership.

The parking area shall be so arranged that there is no back out into adjacent private property or public right-of-way.