Miami changes ways density transfers can up-size housing

Written by Genevieve Bowen on April 15, 2026

Miami’s expanding housing density transfer program is enabling certain projects to increase in scale in exchange for affordable housing provisions, while adding protections for neighborhood conservation and historic districts following residents’ concerns about development pressure.

The Miami City Commission unanimously approved the ordinance April 9, adopting amendments to the Miami 21 zoning code that modify the Attainable Mixed-Income Housing Transfer of Development Density Program and establish new eligibility pathways for participating projects.

The changes expand where and how density transfers can be used and adjust the unit thresholds required for developments to qualify for the program, while carving out Neighborhood Conservation Districts (NCDs) from participation.

The city’s Attainable Mixed-Income Housing Transfer of Development Density Program is a zoning tool designed to incentivize the construction of affordable and mixed-income housing by allowing developers to sell unused building capacity from qualifying projects to other sites. In exchange, those sending-site developments must include a required number of income-restricted units, typically priced for households earning about 50% to 80% of the area median income.

Under the updated framework, projects that meet those affordability requirements can generate “density credits” based on how much unused building capacity remains under their zoning limits. Those credits can then be sold to other approved sites, where developers are allowed to build larger projects than normally permitted under base zoning. Receiving sites can increase their density by up to 50% above what the zoning code would otherwise allow.

To qualify as a sending site, developments must now meet updated minimums tied to location. Projects must include at least 200 attainable or mixed-income units in Community Redevelopment Areas, or at least 70 units in Opportunity Zones or the newly added Neighborhood Development Zones.

The ordinance also expands where those density credits can be used. It adds Neighborhood Development Zones to the list of eligible sending areas and allows receiving projects in higher-intensity zoning categories, including T5, T6 and CI-HD transect zones within transit-oriented development areas or transit corridors.

Those receiving projects are not required to include additional affordable or workforce housing beyond existing requirements.

Residents at the meeting argued the policy builds on an already extensive set of density incentives across the city and warned that continued upzoning could outpace existing infrastructure.

One speaker said Miami was already zoned for “eight times more housing units than the 2010 census,” citing concerns about limits in water, sewer, traffic capacity and hurricane evacuation, and urging exclusions for historic districts and NCDs.

Other speakers said the city lacks a clear, long-term planning framework guiding development decisions, with one resident saying, “we don’t know what we’re building towards,” and describing the process as a “disjointed, unclear future” that makes it difficult for residents to anticipate or support zoning changes.

Several residents who opposed the measure argued it could intensify development pressure near residential areas. One cited a prior transit-oriented approval that expanded from a five-story proposal into a 123-foot structure described as a “concrete behemoth,” saying the amendment could function as a “back door for hyper-density” by allowing developers to increase scale without adding on-site affordability requirements.

Another speaker said NCDs are already under strain from ongoing development, adding that “what works in one neighborhood is not automatically a good fit for another,” and arguing that additional density without infrastructure improvements would “only magnify” existing problems.

After hearing public concerns, commissioners approved the ordinance with an amendment excluding developments in NCDs from eligibility. The ordinance now advances to a second reading before it can be formally adopted into the city code.