Dutch Bicycle Experts Come to Miami

The aim is to make Miami more bicycle friendly. According to the Miami Herald:

...their arrival signals that Miami is getting more serious about making room for cyclists.

The Royal Netherlands embassy in Washington has dispatched three of the famously bike-friendly country’s top experts on “cycling as transportation’’ to Miami, where they will spend three days figuring out how to turn the city’s car-clogged downtown into a virtual Amsterdam of safe, connected bikeways. Or as close to that as we can get.

Biking workshop:

What: ThinkBike Workshop, sponsored by the Dutch, brings experts from Holland’s Fietsberaad International cycling think-tank here to brainstorm ways to improve downtown Miami’s bikeability.

Where and when: Public introductory session 9-10:30 a.m. Monday,18th floor of Miami-Dade’s government center, 111 NW First St. Presentation of the plan 4:30-6 p.m. Tuesday at same place.

For more info: Follow ThinkBike Workshops on Facebook and Twitter, hashtag #thinkbikemiami.

Meeting Tomorrow on Do it Yourself Park in Downtown By Sonia Succar Ferre

(hit the image to enlarge it)

Former Miami Arena site to convert into a "Do It Yourself Park!" Come learn about an exciting park project that’s taking place on the former Miami Heat Arena site in downtown Miami. A coalition of volunteer professionals will employ the homeless and convert a stalled red field development into an active green field park in 30 days!

A presentation of the park project will take place followed by Q&A at the Loft 3 space in Grand Central, overlooking the park project site. 697 N. Miami Ave. Wednesday, Jan 26th from 6-8pm.

Saying Goodbye to The Miami City Club

The blog, South Florida Lawyers bids farewell to the Miami City Club atop the Wachovia Bank Building.

It was a lunchtime institution for lawyers. At one time they had 900 members in the 55th floor club.

The South Florida Lawyers blog has historical photos from the club.

Fran Bohnsack Honored Today By City of Miami

Co-President of the Urban Environment League Dr. Fran Bohnsack was honored for her service to the community this morning.

Mayor Regalado, on behalf of the City of Miami, presented Dr. Frances Bohnsack with a commendation for her many years of service to the Port of the Miami River and the community at large. Debbie Zimmerman, aid to Congresswoman Ileana Ros Lehtinen, also read a letter from the Congresswoman praising Fran for her tireless efforts on behalf of the maritime industry and the Miami River at a special meeting for the Miami City Commission Jan. 12, 2011.

The Miami Green Seminar - October 9th, 2010

We would like to invite you to attend the first City of Miami Green Seminar initiated by City of Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez.

“Tools for Living Green and Saving Green” Seminar

Please join us

October 9th, 2010

10:00AM-12:00PM

Miami-Dade InterAmerican Campus

627 SW 27th Avenue • Miami, FL. 33135

-Learn How Saving Energy can Save YOU Money.

-Learn how YOU can Improve your Energy and Water Efficiency in your Indoor and Outdoor areas!

-Receive a Recyclable Tote with Free Compact Fluorescents Light Bulbs*limited supplies

-SHOWERHEAD EXCHANGE: Bring Your Showerhead to Receive a Water Efficient Showerhead.

Please spread the word to your neighbors....

Andres Viglucci writes about Mayor Regalado Appearance at UEL Dinner

02/18/2010
Regalado to UEL: Expect no grand plans, but thy will be done – like Miami Marine Stadium restoration

First, the news: Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado told an Urban Environment League forum Wednesday evening to expect an announcement soon about $3 million in seed money for Miami Marine Stadium restoration. Details in three weeks.

Among mostly friends, Regalado was chatty and relaxed, reiterating positions that must have sounded like sweet music to the audience.

I.E,: He still doesn’t think the port tunnel is a good idea; he’s “skeptical’’ the Miami Art Museum and Miami Science Museum have the fundraising muscle to meet their financial commitments towards new homes in Museum Park; the Miami River should be preserved as a working waterway; and he intends to amend the Miami 21 zoning code, approved by the previous commission but frozen by the new administration, to incorporate a laundry list of rejected amendments that had been proposed by neighborhood activists (interesting to see how that comes out since some appeared to be unworkable).

Still no overarching vision and little evidence of an appetite for one, other than a promise for greater transparency and public participation in government decisions and operations – to, as he put it, “reclaim the city for the residents.’’

But what started to emerge, perhaps, was hints of a strategy, if that’s what it is: A piecemeal approach that eschews the sweeping plans and multi-generational vision of his predecessor, Manny Diaz, for building blocks that can set in place in short order. Perhaps the right thing for parlous times and, as Regalado put it, widespread “government fatigue’’ on the part of voters?

That’s what struck me when he was asked if he favored forming a trust to guide master planning and restoration of Virginia Key. Why? he responded. Instead, he said, focus on something achievable – like renovating the landmark Marine Stadium.

“I’m not going to promise the people we are going to have the greatest thing ever on Virginia Key. I don’t know that,’’ he said, in what was perhaps a dig at Diaz, who came in for his share of them during the talk.

“But I know we can do Marine Stadium. This should be our immediate goal. If we do Marine Stadium, then people will believe Virginia Key can be done.’’

Other tidbits:

* The city will drop appeals of court decisions that struck down certain condo projects on the river as incompatible with the city’s comprehensive development plan. The comp plan will be re-amended to restore protections for marine-oriented businesses.

* He and new City Commissioner Richard Dunn will “do something’’ about severe underuse at the new $20 million Little Haiti Cultural Center (see below).

* He will seek to foster economic development in the city through expansion of the city’s film industry and revitalization of industrial zones in Allapattah, Little Haiti and Wynwood.

Posted by Andres Viglucci at 01:23 PM

Wilfredo Gort Is City of Miami Commissioner in District 1.

The results of yesterday's election are in. Willy Gort in a race with 8 other candidates was able to win without a runoff. He got 55.5% of the vote. In District 5, Michelle Spence-Jones was returned to office last night, after removal by the Governor late last year. The Governor has vowed to remove her again if reelected. Rev. Richard Dunn came in second in this race.

Watson Island Developer Wants More Time

Flagstone developer Mehmet Bayraktar is asking the City of Miami for more time to finance the project on Watson Island. He offered the City $500,000 to cover back rent. It will be discussed today by the City of Miami Commission.

Years back, the Urban Environment League protested the development as it was slated for public land. A citizen referendum approved the project. After the vote, the UEL was able to get some concessions. An agreement between UEL and Flagstone was signed, sanctioned by the County Commission, to allow UEL to monitor and report on their public access commitments, based on progress during implementation.

The Miami Herald said, referring to Bayraktar's letter:

The letter does not say how much more time Bayraktar wants. It says the developer has all the permits needed to start building but still lacks construction dollars for the effort. As part of an extension deal, according to the letter, Bayraktar would open Flagstone's books to show the company spent $46 million on the project, which Miami voters approved in a November 2001 referendum.

Would it be to the advantage of the City to deny the extension and reclaim the land for public use, and get rid of the development altogether? Commissioner Sarnoff doesn't think so, according to the Herald:

Marc Sarnoff, chairman of the City Commission, said he's skeptical of giving Bayraktar a lengthy extension but wants wants Miami to consider his offer. The project owes more than $400,000 in rent, Sarnoff said, and pays about $90,000 a month -- making the lease particularly valuable given Miami's dire budget squeeze.

Passing the Buck is not helping the City of Miami.

With 4 historic openings on the City of Miami Commission (one filled with a swearing in of Carollo), the City is scrambling to fill the remaining 3 seats (one will be decided today with a run-off election).
The Miami Herald said today:
Unable to have a quorum with only two of five commissioners in place, Regalado has asked Crist to intercede and appoint a third commissioner -- which would save Miami hundreds of thousands of dollars for an off-year election.

Crist, however, isn't budging from the stance he took last week, saying there is nothing in Miami's charter that says he should step in.

Crist removed Spence -Jones, accused of stealing funds from a County Grant and Angel Gonzalez was required to resign because of a no-show job with a developer for his daughter.

Runoff in the City of Miami Tomorrow

Manolo Reyes is at top and Frances Suarez below him. Suarez was endorsed by the Miami Herald. May the best man win! The seat needs to be filled to have a quorum in the City of Miami due to the arrest and removal of Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones. Commissioner Angel Gonzalez also agreed to resign today, facing charges. The only Commissioners left on the dais are Marc Sarnoff and the recently sworn in Frank Carollo. 3 makes a quorum in the City.

Swearing in of City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado.

Former City of Miami District 4 Commissioner Tomas Regalado will be sworn in as Mayor of Miami during a ceremony on Wednesday, November 11th, at 12 noon, at Miami City Hall.

Miami Monthly: Virginia Key Under Threat.

Virginia Key Under Threat, by Joe Wilkins
Miami Monthly, September 2009
 
Huck Finn had the Mississippi River. Jim Hawkins had Treasure Island. I had Sewer Beach, and never felt cheated at all. Sewer Beach, better known as the ocean side of Virginia Key, and the other areas surrounding the Sewage Treatment Plant, were where I spent some of the best parts of my misspent youth. It was the perfect place for a kid to explore, escape and make mischief. Today, like many of our natural treasures, it is under a serious threat.
 
A while back, the City of Miami spent a million dollars of your money to hire the international design firm EDSA to devise a plan for the future of this area. They held several well attended community meetings, allegedly to gather public input. When the plan was unveiled early this year, it stunk worse than the input to the treatment plant.
 
I was at one of the meetings, and have talked to folks who were at the others. The community’s consensus was that VK should be restored and preserved for passive nature appreciation and education. This consensus was ignored. The plan called for multiple unneeded buildings, numerous paved parking lots, and many other intrusive facilities.
 
Among other things, the plan recommends putting athletic playing fields on top of a toxic dump. We definitely need more recreation facilities for our children, but these should be in the neighborhoods where the kids actually live.  DERM is studying how to best clean up the site, but I explored the landfill when it was still in operation and have my doubts. I know what is there, and would not recommend a parent to let their children play there unless they favor having three-headed grandchildren.
 
The EDSA plan also calls for buildings that would block the view from the road of the Miami Marine Stadium, a criminally neglected architectural and historic landmark. A proposed marina would destroy the unique world class rowing course used for many years by the Miami Rowing Club for training and competition. The plan’s parking lots would create a very car oriented facility; completely ignoring the need for “green” public transportation, and adding to the existing traffic nightmares on Rickenbacker Causeway.
 
The plan immediately drew outrage from just about every environmental and community group in town, including the Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Urban Environment League, Dade Heritage Trust, Miami Neighborhoods United, Friends of Virginia Key, etc.  It was unanimously rejected by the city’s Waterfront Advisory and Planning Advisory boards. It was supposed to go before the city commission in July, but Mayor Diaz wisely took it off the table; hopefully giving us time to come up with an alternative community plan that really reflects the wishes and needs of the community.
 
There are other problems with the plan, too numerous to mention here. When the mayor’s term ends in November, hopefully so will his “no green space left behind” policies. With any luck, the next administration will understand that we don’t need any more buildings and parking lots in our parks. What we need are places for kids of all ages to enjoy our unique natural environment.
 
You can view the most current plan here. To share your opinions with our elected officials hit here. If you want to help in future efforts to protect VK, contact me at jwilkins6@earthlink.net. 

An Open Letter to the City of Miami. By Greg Bush

August 28, 2009
To: Mr. Larry Spring
Chief Financial Officer, City of Miami

It has come to my attention from multiple sources that you and other city administrators have visited individual members of the Board Trustees of the Virginia Key Park Trust and suggested that they propose the development of “overnight accommodation” or hotel facilities on or near the historically black beach. A meeting between several stakeholders with the City Manager on August 24 confirmed that such an arrangement is being given serious consideration, using the pretext that there were cabins there before – that have long since vanished. 

What an abuse of the notion of historic preservation! Using the Sunshine Law to thwart a public process, even if the board agreed to such an arrangement, is a problem when the intent is clearly to subvert the public purposes of the park.  It appears to me that the City Administration is quietly threatening the Trust that County Bond money could not be accessed to help build their Civil Rights Museum unless revenue from a hotel is factored into the equation. Further, it promotes the notion that this proposal should appear to come from members of the Trust rather than from the administration. I would ask you to cease and desist your role in altering the public purpose of the beach that has long been fought for by many members of the community – black and white. 

Miami has a long and sad history of ignoring deed restrictions in the public interest and of using a variety of tactics to denigrate or erode public land and transfer it to private interests.  In 2009, in the era of Barack Obama, instead of creating an open public process and finding creative solutions within an overall Master Plan to promote public use of public land, this City Administration is using sleight of hand and backroom pressure tactics to do the bidding of private developers. The city has also long sought to use African-American spokesmen to deliver the message that development was necessary, indeed inevitable for this beach. You should be aware that your actions are thus part of a longstanding cynical pattern to erode the purpose and use of public land in the city of Miami.

Some historical background is instructive:

-In 1945, Lawson Thomas and others instituted the first significant civil rights demonstration in postwar America, protesting the fact that African-Americans had no place to legally swim in Biscayne Bay. Their actions stimulated the County Commission to create Virginia Key Beach, a segregated space that became the major gathering place, a place of great pride and powerful memories for African-Americans for years – until desegregation opened up all beaches in the 1960s.

-As you may know, there are very specific deed restrictions that were created for the park. In 1982, when the County transferred the park to the City of Miami, language in the deed was created that said that the park should be used “for public park purposes only” or it was supposed to revert back to the County.

-Sadly, the park was promptly shut down after the transfer and neither the city nor the county followed up to provide any oversight of their own clearly stated deed restrictions- FOR SEVENTEEN YEARS.(Other deed restrictions related to the Marine Stadium have also been ignored and set that structure up for failure since Hurricane Andrew.) Again, there is a pattern to the erosion of public space that has become quite obvious to many of us who have studied these issues over the years.

-In January 1999, development interests allegedly connected to the Seaquarium tried to railroad the city’s Ad Hoc Task Force on Virginia Key to allow them to proceed with building an upscale Eco-Resort in the abandoned park, an action that would effectively snuff out the public from using the park. That proposed development and the lack of any alternatives considered - was the basic impetus goading many of us into creating the idea of the Civil Rights Museum in the first place, an effort led by many leading citizens including M. Athalie Range, Enid Pinkney, Eugenia Thomas, Dinizulu Gene Tinnie and others.  

-In May, 1999, Commissioner Arthur Teele met with Ms. Range, Mr. Tinnie, me and several others in assessing the future course of the growing movement to define the future use of that park.  I well recall that he specifically warned us that hotel interests were lined up to try to take over parts of Virginia Key for extensive commercial development. Every developer knows its cheaper to get public land for their hotels - you only need to secure three votes from the commission. He decried that condition. The late Commissioner Teele as well as Trust Chair Ms. Range would have been appalled at the altered public purpose of the commercial development of Virginia Key Park.

As you may know, the Beach has been a historically designated and sacred place in the modern history of the African-American community. Religious ceremonies and baptisms have taken place there. Martin Luther King frequently visited the park during his visits to Miami in the 1960s. Miami has a weak enough sense of history and place identity without this beach and the structures in it being overshadowed by inappropriate commercial development. 

 Miami’s pattern of bowing to developers rather than respecting and enhancing the value of its historic public spaces is also part of a national pattern: similar incidents are taking place around the nation as civil war battlefields and other locations are being threatened by shopping malls and other forms of commercial development, permanently altering the character of historically significant locations. The public has been aroused against such unwarranted development time and again and will do so in relation to Virginia Key Park if further attempt to promote such development take place. 

It is clear that the fiscal crisis of the city is being used as an excuse and battering ram to change the purpose of Virginia Key Beach Park by initiating a rush to development behind closed doors. Why should public parkland be the victim for the poor financial management of the city administration? Miami has a long tradition of allowing one limited commercial interest to gets its nose under the tent of public land and then turning around to find the entire character of the place permanently altered. Look at Watson Island.  Look at Miami’s downtown waterfront. There is barely any parkland left. The state Internal Improvement Fund and the County have conveyed public land to the city on numerous occasions over the years with the clear intent that it be used only for public purposes. The city has consistently undermined such precise language about the public interest while oversight of the State and County has been inadequate over the years. That condition should cease.

Our civil rights to public space are clearly under attack in contemporary Miami, a city repeatedly shown to have among the least amount of public park space of any major city in the nation. The city’s disregard for an open public planning process (witness the fervent opposition to the current EDSA Plan) and the relentless actions on behalf of development interests should give you great pause. Solar panels placed on a large array of foolish parking garages envisioned for the island that has no plan for mass transit connections make a mockery of the green visions of city leaders.

There needs to be a broader public planning effort in the coming months to finalize the vision for this island. Towards that end the Urban Environment League, the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium, and many other organizations are planning to have a public design workshop on Saturday September 26 at the Rusty Pelican. We want to help the city with this final phase of planning after the questionable efforts of the ERSA plan that was pushed forward at an unreasonable rate in May and June of this year.

I trust you will reconsider the parameters of your meetings with Trust members and think deeply about your role in the larger picture of the public’s interest.

            Sincerely,

            Gregory Bush,            

Vice President, Urban Environment League

Miami 21 Passes 3 to 1 at City of Miami

Although it has to go for a second vote, the zoning overhaul in the City of Miami, called Miami 21 passed. Commissioner Tomas Regalado was the only NO vote. The next big vote will be the Virginia Key Master Plan. There will be an important meeting September 26th so save the date.

Miami 21 will Be heard again today at the City of Miami

It seems Community Activist, Elvis Cruz, was right when he said on August 7th:

I seriously doubt we have heard the last of Miami 21.

The hearing begins at 10 a.m.

The Urban Environment League Board is divided on support for the zoning overhaul. Some members are in favor of it and some are not, thus, we did not take an official position.

Decisions on Virginia Key Should Be Postponed

The UEL, Friends of Miami Marine Stadium, MNU and numerous other groups are organizing a public design workshop that is scheduled to be held at the Rusty Pelican on September 26. The idea is to create a positive event, building on the work of EDSA and gathering additional public input in helping to plan the future land uses of the island. We expect at least several hundred people to attend.

Towards that end we request that any action on the EDSA plan or its offspring be deferred by the city commission until at least October if not later. We assume that any revised plans would also have to go before the Waterfront and Planning Advisory Boards again.

In addition, we would like some preliminary discussion about how the fate of this island relates to the financial state of the city. All to often in the past, parks and other public spaces have been set up to alleviate fiscal distress in the city. Beyond the deed restrictions that have seldom been acknowledged by EDSA there are not clear guidelines or principles about the value of public space in Miami. In such a void, it frequently becomes an easy target and then can never be redesigned as a natural or even a public area. We need to continue to have positive public dialogue and think creatively about this island but not waste the public's attention with mixed messages about unwarranted commercial development.


Gregory Bush
Vice President, Urban Environment League

Regarding Virginia Key and Miami 21

Dear Mayor Diaz:

I am writing regarding the Miami 21 zoning atlas as it relates to proposed zoning for Virginia Key.

Specifically, I am concerned that the environmentally significant North Point area of Virginia Key has been zoned T-6 under Miami 21, (Urban Core), one of the highest and most dense uses in the city. In addition, other environmentally significant and fragile areas are zoned CS, which may allow for considerable commercial development, including all the Marine Stadium Basin lands, which are adjacent to the Bill Sadowski Critical Wildlife Area, and the Virginia Key Park Trust lands, which include restored hammocks, dunes and beaches that are sea-turtle nesting areas.

In light of the extraordinary environmental resources of Virginia Key, I would urge you to consider amending the Miami 21 zoning atlas to a T-1 zone for environmental conservation for Virginia Key, including a majority of uplands, restored dunes and hammocks and land capable of being restored to natural states, as well as the North Point and City Landfill, , and all submerged lands, as well as beaches.

Miami 21 defines T-1 as follows:

“A Natural Transect (T1) Zone is a zone for environmental conservation.

a. A T1 Zone is to be left in an essentially natural state. Modification of the natural conditions shall be according to Local, State and Federal guidelines. Public access to T1 areas may be limited if it presents a threat to wildlife and plant life within the areas.

b. In a T1 Zone, improvements shall serve solely to protect natural elements. Any paved, graveled, mulched, boardwalk or otherwise improved surface or any habitable, enclosed or air conditioned space shall be kept to the minimum scale necessary to fulfill its purpose..... Only activities and improvements which reinforce the natural character shall be allowed and upon a finding that there is no negative effect to the environment based on a study of potential environmental impacts to be provided by the applicant.”

The Miami 21 T-1 natural areas zoning appears to be the "true" Public Parks zoning and consistent with your commitment to protect the natural resources of our community and restore the environmental values of Virginia Key while enhancing public access.

Sincerely,

Blanca Mesa
Friends of Virginia Key

Miami 21 Doesn't make the Cut.

The Miami Herald reported today that after almost 7 hours of public testimony, the City of Miami had a tie vote on Miami 21. Commissioners Spence Jones and Sarnoff voted for it and Commissioners Regalado and Sanchez voted against it. Angel Gonzales was absent. The defeat of this massive zoning reform was a setback to Mayor Manny Diaz's legacy. It was hinted at in the article that it might come back for a vote.

An Open Letter on Miami 21. By Ernie Martin

I wrote this to my friends concerned about Miami 21:

Thanks for your focus on our neighborhood and on the many shortcomings of Miami 21. I had a long conversation with Arva Parks yesterday, and we both have numerous concerns about Miami 21. It was an ambitious undertaking and the City took many erratic turns, and, although the City (utilizing our tax dollars) spent a huge amount of resources on what many of us think, or at least thought at the time of the launch many years ago, was a quite noble goal. Everyone, of every political stripe, from greedy developers, to historic preservationists, to neighborhood groups trying to preserve a quality of life, agreed an overhaul was necessary. Cynicism is justified for those that believe no effective overhaul of a city’s zoning can possibly succeed without a moratorium first. The City launched the effort, a noble adventure, but then gave it no urgency by allowing business-as-usual during the deliberations, while the City ran amok in inappropriate overdevelopment. No wonder that no one got serious until the City, under the current inept system, drove itself into financial collapse, making itself a caricature of urban financial idiocy unmatched in the country, except perhaps Las Vegas.

Arva and I agreed that perhaps the best analogy to our current dilemma is the current debate over health care reform. Everyone agrees that the current system is dysfunctional and harmful to all of the stakeholders, except the profiteers. It sucks. Everyone agrees that change is needed. But almost every stakeholder has a little gripe about something or other, and a clamor emerges to do nothing, leaving the current ineptitude in place. Who knows when another opportunity will arise for a better system? In health care’s last attempt at reform, it took 30 years for another stab at the problem.

In the case of Miami 21, almost everyone agrees that it has good elements of neighborhood livability, energy sustainability, low-income mixed use housing opportunities, walk ability and pedestrian/bicycle friendly streetscape, and a myriad of other improvements. Reporter Andres Viglucci reported today on the principles of Miami 21 and their potential for great benefit, similar to what is exhibited on Biscayne Boulevard in Edgewater.

Sitting through dozens of hours in public hearings, Arva and I came to the conclusion that many people (the majority that spoke) wanted to keep the current system because it allows them to make more money; that an articulate minority of actual residents represented by many groups and most effectively by Miami Neighborhoods United, made eloquent arguments that the plan does not go far enough in protecting stable single family neighborhoods such as our own. The Commission will have a tough time choosing between these competing interests: the neighborhood groups are strong because they tend to vote for our elected officials that will protect our neighborhoods, but the developers are also strong because they give the vast bulk of campaign funds to elected officials which assure their development agenda.

The majority of the pressure comes from developers, but neighborhood individuals and groups, although a minority of political influence, will lose a great opportunity to make meaningful change if they don’t support Miami 21. It will take years, probably decades, for it to come back. If it passes, it contains many provisions to fight individual shortcomings in individual neighborhoods for specific projects. If it fails, we will go back to the status quo that everyone hates—but developers are excellent at manipulating. If we fight for individual changes under the current system, we will continue to lose; if we fight for individual changes under Miami 21, we will, at least, be fighting from a platform that supports our policies of neighborhood preservation. All passionate urbanites and neighborhood preservationists abhor compromise—we know what is right, and feel inferior if we don’t go to the wall—but sometimes are goals are easier to achieve from a supportive policy base, although not perfect, than to revert to a failed status quo.

I urge my neighbors to support Miami 21, and then use its improved platform to choose our battles strategically.

Chaotic City of Miami Commission Meeting

During a meeting discussing the EAR (Update of the City's Comprehensive Plan) the City Clerk couldn't figure out what was going on.