Update 9/14/17 – Margate officials have decided to make the city’s ban on self-storage indefinite. Though city staff suggested Margate could confine future storage development within its industrial zone, commission members instead decided to restrict the number of facilities to the city’s current supply. "We have nine in nine square miles," Schwartz said during the meeting. "I think we have enough."

Though the decision bans new development, it isn’t clear from the report if the move extends to any future expansion of existing facilities.

The city had also recently placed a moratorium on massage parlors, but the commission lifted the ban during the same meeting. The moratorium was initially imposed due to complaints of illegal activity. New development of such establishments will require a special-exception application, with the commission having final voting authority. The commission also recently asked staff to make it illegal for massage parlors to black out their windows, the source reported.

6/12/17 – City officials in Margate, Fla., have extended an existing moratorium on self-storage development by six months. The temporary ban was introduced in November to give city staff time to write a permanent change to the zoning code, which is expected to limit where new facilities can be built, according to the source. Several officials last week expressed disdain for the number of storage facilities already in the market.

"In my mind, this nine-square-mile city has more storage facilities that we ever need to see for the rest of our lives," vice mayor Arlene Schwartz said during the meeting.

"I don't want people [to] move into Coral Springs and Parkland and dump their stuff in Margate," added commissioner Anthony Caggiano. "We should be a place where people and business move in, not a storage place for other cities. I don't ever want to see another of these things in our city; I want to end it. We have too many of them right now."

Officials also indicated they want the city commission to be the deciding authority on special-exception applications for self-storage.

Ben Ziskal, the city’s economic development director, told officials the city had received several self-storage applications. "We did have quite a number of special exceptions applications for storage facilities to the point of reaching saturation," Ziskal said. "We feel that revising our zoning codes to limit the locations where a new facility can locate will be in the best interests of the city."

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