Wynwood Design Review Committee Meeting - October 13, 2026

The Wynwood Design Review Committee (WDRC) met on October 13, 2026, to review four signage applications and to hold a working discussion of the draft Wynwood Vision Plan and Design Guidelines. All four signage applications were approved, with no opposition noted. The committee also approved an absent waiver and the September 2026 meeting minutes. Only the raw transcript was provided; no agenda or minutes were available to cross-reference.

Consent Calendar

• A quorum was present, including Chair Dunlap.
• An absent waiver for Miguel Omar was moved, seconded, and approved unanimously.
• The September 2026 meeting minutes were moved, seconded, and approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No online public comments were pending as of 8:10 a.m., and the chair closed the public comment period.
• No members of the public spoke during the designated public comment portion of the meeting.

Signage Approvals

• The Doris, 153 NW 25th Street (Item 1): The presenter, speaking for the tenant, described a proposed non-illuminated wall sign using individual channel letters. The client chose not to illuminate the sign to avoid adding a raceway and electrical elements behind the letters. The Doris is a co-working building used mainly during daytime hours, so nighttime identification was not considered necessary. Board members responded positively to the sign. The approval motion passed.
• SMACT, 170 NW 24th Street (Item 2): Jason Boone of Southeast Sign Company proposed a flush-mounted illuminated channel-letter sign with faux neon and halo backlighting. The sign was proposed at 23.8 square feet against the 24-square-foot maximum. Boone described SMACT as a fast-growing chain and said the design used cues from nearby signs including Temple Craft Beer and Burgers and Throw Social. The approval motion passed.
• Wynwood Works, 2035 North Miami Avenue (Item 3): The presenter described Wynwood Works as a 120-unit affordable housing project developed with the Miami CRA, the Dade County Housing Finance Authority, the Wynwood BID, and a housing venture partner, with set-asides for people transitioning out of homelessness and for artists. The proposed sign was the project's original logo, reflecting Wynwood's working and warehouse history. The project had been a finalist for ULI's Vision Awards for Project of the Year. The building has been fully occupied since receiving its certificate of occupancy. Board members strongly praised the logo and the project's values. The approval motion passed.
• Biocube, 53 NW 26th Street (Item 4): A representative of Soul Signs, a Miami sign company with 45 years of experience, proposed a reverse channel-letter illuminated sign with backlit LED at a 3,000K color temperature for the wellness center. Board members had no comments or questions. The approval motion passed.

Discussion Items: Wynwood Vision Plan

• City planner Andrea reviewed the WDRC's role: reviewing design, architectural treatments, pedestrian access, the Wynwood Streetscape Master Plan, and signage, with the ability to recommend amendments to Appendix J (NRD-1). The finalized Vision Plan would become the support for project reviews and would replace the existing design regulations on the city website, while text amendments to the zoning code would require a City Commission ordinance with two readings.
• Staff mentioned SB 180, a state law that may restrict new zoning restrictions because of hurricane proximity to Miami-Dade within roughly 100 miles over the past three years. Existing NRD-1 public-benefit incentives include bonus floor area or height for parks, civic spaces, and cross-block connectivity; an open-to-sky cross-block connection earns five times the floor-area bonus of a roofed connection, up to the bonus height, but few developers use these programs.
• Andrea reported that the CMU Special Area Plan amendment, formerly known as Mana Wynwood, was submitted to the city that morning. It was preliminary and had not gone through the first review cycle. A board member requested a copy of the five-page submission, and staff agreed to send it. Community outreach is required for a new SAP designation but not for an SAP amendment, though outreach can be encouraged.
• Gensler's Moriel summarized work completed since June, including interviews with developers and community leaders, stakeholder workshops, an artist round table with about ten artists, neighborhood walks in Wynwood and the Design District, and review of existing codes. The team found that Wynwood is at an inflection point, the creative ecosystem is under pressure, pedestrian experience is the top concern, and projects need to think beyond their property boundaries. The draft guidelines are organized around built form, street life interface, public realm, and creative identity and activation. Gensler clarified that the document is primarily design guidelines, not a full neighborhood plan.
• Board members said the WDRC should focus on design rather than code compliance and asked to hear from architects rather than lawyers. Several described Wynwood as a walkable outdoor museum and said buildings themselves should be works of art.
• Several board members stressed connecting Wynwood to adjacent neighborhoods, including Wynwood Norte, the Design District, North Miami Avenue, and Fifth Avenue, and argued that art, streetscape, and pedestrian experience should not stop at district borders. Ideas included sculptural landmarks or a grid of follies for wayfinding, linear parks, and using underpasses as galleries or community spaces.
• Board members discussed preserving the organic, artist-driven character of Wynwood and ensuring art is at pedestrian scale. They suggested a Wynwood-specific public art or mural program, curated artist resources, and measures to ensure promised art is actually implemented rather than left as a placeholder.
• David Lerner of the Wynwood BID, speaking personally, said the final document should produce a realistic list of enforceable requirements. He suggested increasing the required front-facade art from 20 percent to 25 percent, bringing art down to ground level, and reducing first-floor glazing to a 70 percent maximum. A separate board member floated reducing the glazing limit on the lower 10 feet from 70 percent to 50 percent, while another cautioned that such limits could hurt small retail and restaurant sites that need transparent storefronts. One board member warned that forced art can produce bad art and urged art in public infrastructure such as bus stops, benches, crosswalks, and street signs.
• Multiple board members recommended an earlier conceptual design or pre-application step so the committee could discuss design before full code review and legal presentations. One proposal was a condition-precedent pre-application review similar to the county RTZ process. Staff responded that current rules usually require an active building permit or entitlement application and a city review cycle before a project is referred to the WDRC.
• Staff noted that expedited review is difficult because affordable housing and Live Local projects are citywide priorities, and the urban design review division has only two or three reviewers. Citywide, there were about 98 Live Local applications but only five building permits had been issued.

Key Outcomes

• All four signage applications were approved: The Doris, SMACT, Wynwood Works, and Biocube.
• The absent waiver for Miguel Omar and the September 2026 meeting minutes were approved unanimously.
• Gensler will continue accepting feedback on the draft Vision Plan. The finalized plan is expected to be used by planning staff and to replace existing design guidance online; any code-text changes will need City Commission approval through two readings.
• Staff agreed to send the CMU SAP submission to board members. The committee will continue discussing possible pre-application review, public-art programs, and NRD-1 incentive changes.