Homestead, FL Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)

Homestead folded a downtown design guide directly into its Rapid Transit Development Overlay District (Division 27, Chapter 30, added by Ordinance No. 2024-06-20) rather than publishing it as a separate manual. 582 requires every project in the overlay's four subzones, plus the Downtown District's Metropolitan Urban Center transit station, to follow the design standards of Article IV Divisions 9 and 10 (mixed-use, nonresidential and multi-family development standards) while also matching the architecture and form set out in the city's Downtown Visioning Plan and the Visioning Charrette regulations referenced for building scale.

Multi-story parking garages and surface lots must be screened with liner buildings, glazing, planted walls, berms or similar features, and any surface lot must sit at least 15 feet back from the right-of-way with a landscaped, hardscaped setback matching the existing sidewalk. Street-facing facades must be at least 40 percent glazed. Balconies, awnings and similar cantilevered features may project into the right-of-way but must keep at least six inches of clearance from the curb face, and up to 100 percent of a street may be covered above the first floor by connecting structures such as transit platforms or pedestrian bridges.

581 pairs these design rules with a 15 percent minimum open space requirement and encourages Florida Green Building Coalition certification. Historic properties within the corridor must still obtain a certificate of appropriateness before any renovation or new construction, and the standards do not apply to land zoned exclusively for single-family residences.