Doral, FL Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)

Article XVII of Chapter 74 creates the Workforce Housing Density Bonus (WHDB) to address what Sec. 74-886 calls a shortage of workforce housing that forces Doral's own workers to live elsewhere in Miami-Dade County and commute in. Sec. 74-887 defines an eligible workforce household as one earning between 65 and 140 percent of the area median income published annually by HUD for the Miami-Dade metro area, and caps the density bonus itself at up to 30 percent above the maximum units otherwise allowed in the applicable comprehensive-plan land use category, provided two-thirds of the bonus units go to workforce households.

Sec. 74-888 requires those workforce units' rents to be spread evenly across three income tiers: one-third affordable to households at 65 to 90 percent of AMI, one-third at 91 to 115 percent, and one-third at 116 to 140 percent, with the maximum rents published annually by the city. Before any workforce unit is first rented, the owner must record a WHDB Agreement in the unit's chain of title at no cost to the city and reference it in the lease. Sec. 74-889 requires a WHDB zoning application approved by the city council, which scores each request using factors worth up to 6 percent apiece toward the 30 percent cap, including proximity to high-frequency transit, nearby employment centers, safe walking routes to schools and parks, compatibility with surrounding development, and whether roads, parks, schools and other infrastructure can absorb the added density.

Sec. 74-890 requires the workforce units to be dispersed throughout the project rather than clustered, proportional in bedroom count to the market-rate units, built concurrently with them, and similar in exterior and interior finish quality, and Sec. 74-891 requires the recorded WHDB Agreement to bind the applicant to income-qualification and other compliance obligations for the life of the program.