The Planning & Zoning Board of the City of Opa-locka split 2–2 on a staff-recommended comprehensive plan amendment to change a 7.58-acre vacant, contaminated parcel at 1700 Service Road from residential to commercial, sending the item to the City Commission without a favorable recommendation. Later in the meeting, the board approved a rezoning to B-3 (commercial intensive), a final site plan for two commercial buildings, and a development agreement that includes job-fair and reporting commitments.

The applicant's land-use counsel, Hope Calhoun, told the board the developer had withdrawn an earlier industrial proposal after hearing neighborhood opposition and held a community meeting. "We heard the community," Calhoun said, and the revised plan moves a furniture showroom to the rear of the site and places smaller commercial suites facing State Road 9 so local entrepreneurs could lease space.

Planning staff described the property as a major brownfield that already has had remediation work and monitoring wells in place. Gerald Lee, Planning & Community Development, said cleanup requirements vary by use and "for commercial use the remediation is less extensive than would be required for residential." He outlined required engineered stormwater controls and the need for encapsulation and impervious conveyances to protect groundwater and nearby waterbodies.

Residents urged full removal and remediation rather than capping. A number of speakers said the parcel has stood as an eyesore for many years and questioned whether promised local hiring on earlier projects had materialized. "They're gonna sugarcoat it instead of doing it the right way," a resident said during public comment, arguing for complete soil removal rather than encapsulation.

Board discussion focused on whether a comprehensive plan amendment was the proper first step. One member said she favored commercial development with future stipulations but noted those stipulations are not appropriate to attach at the comp-plan stage. The motion to recommend approval of the comprehensive plan amendment failed on a 2–2 roll call split; the board clerk recorded that the recommendation will proceed to the City Commission with the split vote and the concerns heard at the hearing.

On the rezoning item, the board approved changing zoning from RTH (residential/townhouse) to B-3 (commercial intensive). Roll-call votes were recorded as Aldo Mata yes, Dawn Mangum yes, Audrey Dominguez no and Claudine Hibbert yes (3–1). Staff had recommended approval, noting FDOT had granted access approval from State Road 9 and that the rezoning is compatible with nearby commercial uses.

The final site plan for two commercial buildings was approved with a design stipulation to better reflect local architectural character; the applicant agreed to work with architects on a Marsh/Moorish-inspired treatment and to install an eight-foot wall and landscaping to buffer the residential side. The board's roll-call on the site plan matched the rezoning split (majority yes; Audrey Dominguez recorded no).

The board approved the companion development agreement, which staff said contains requirements for outreach and job-fair coordination and monitoring/reporting of obligations. That vote also carried on a majority roll call, with one member recorded as dissenting.

Actions at a glance

- Comprehensive plan amendment (1700 Service Road): Motion to recommend approval failed on board roll call; vote split 2–2; item forwarded to City Commission with comments and concerns recorded.
- Rezoning (RTH to B-3): Approved (roll call recorded: Aldo Mata yes; Dawn Mangum yes; Audrey Dominguez no; Claudine Hibbert yes). Outcome: approved.
- Final site plan (two commercial buildings): Approved with stipulation to reflect local architectural character and a required buffer/wall (majority vote; one no recorded). Outcome: approved.
- Development agreement (1700 Service Road): Approved (majority vote; one no recorded). Outcome: approved.

Why it matters

The parcel has been vacant and overgrown for more than a decade and is identified as a brownfield with documented contamination. The board and residents sharply disagreed on approach: some urged full soil removal and residential reuse, while staff and the applicant said residential development is financially and technically infeasible due to contamination and that commercial development with engineered encapsulation and monitoring is a standard, permitted remediation approach under Miami-Dade County/DERM oversight. The rezoning and subsequent approvals position the project to proceed through permitting and County review but preserve community concerns for the City Commission and later permitting steps.

What happens next

The comprehensive plan amendment will go to the City Commission with the Planning & Zoning Board's split recommendation and the public comments on the record. The rezoning, site-plan and development agreement approvals will move forward in the city process and will be subject to County permitting and the technical conditions spelled out in staff review and the development agreement.