City of Miami Waterfront Advisory Board Voted for the Virginia Key Revised Master Plan

Miami Waterfront Advisory Board recommends changes to revised Virginia Key Master Plan; moves it forward to the Miami City Commission for their consideration

Despite pleas from the public to delve into the details of the revised plan and delay voting on the approval, the Miami Waterfront Advisory Board unanimously approved on Oct. 5 forwarding the Virginia Key Master Plan with suggested amendments to the Miami City Commission.

The amendments (made by board member Jose Fuentes) include:
*Construction of a Virginia Key "Welcome Center,"
Restoration of the Marine Stadium,
No hotels,
Creation of an "implementation committee,"
Design a comprehensive island transportation plan,
Restoration of the the mountain bike and BMX courses in the North Point area
One or two boat ramps ( either in the North Point or Marine Stadium Basin),
Cleaning up the landfill first (explore leaching of contaminants into the bay),
Increase native tree buffer areas for playing field site on landfill, and continue restoration of Virginia Key Beach areas..

The Virginia Key Master Plan is scheduled to be heard by the Miami City Commission, Thurs., Oct. 8, Miami City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami. There is no time certain set at the moment.


Enrique Nunez, of the City of Miami’s planning staff presented the “revised” Virginia Key Master Plan, which he said was scaled back in response to community input. The previous (May 2009) version was unanimously rejected by two city advisory boards and dozens of civic, environmental and preservation groups.

The October 2009 version removes some buildings and parking garages throughout the island and opens land in front of the historic Miami Marine Stadium but retains a large dry dock storage facility and two large parking garages in the Marine Stadium basin as well as a retail shopping center now dubbed the “Marine Stadium Village.”

Nunez told the board the Marine Stadium Village will “provide access to the waterfront area.” No specific uses were identified for this “Village” though the the square footage had been reduced to 32,000 square feet, “about the size of a Publix” but interspersed among various buildings. The attached parking garage would be five stories tall.

The plan does not provide for a public boat ramp, though it presents two possible locations: next to the environmentally sensitive North Point area and in the Marine Stadium basin, where the boat ramp (now closed) has always been. The planners said reopening the existing boat ramp in the basin would interfere with the operations of the large private dry dock storage facility planned for the area.

See the "Revised" city of Miami Virginia Key Master Plan posted.
http://www.miamigov.com/planning/pages/master_plans/VKey.asp

A significant number of speakers called for more details on the size, mass and use of the buildings and requested a delay in approval of the revised plan in order to build greater public consensus about the island’s future and further refine the plan with public input. They also asked for a commitment to the restoration of the historic Miami Marine Stadium and clean up of the contaminated landfill site.

Fran Bohnsack, president of the Urban Environment League, said a very successful public charette held Sept. 26 had drawn more than 100 participants who developed ideas that had not yet been incorporated by the city’s planners into the Virginia Key Master Plan. She also said the city’s Planning Advisory Board had not had the opportunity to review the revised plan.

Grace Solares, president Miami Neighborhoods United, a coalition of City of neighborhood civic associations, called for “pause and then a rewind.” She pointed out that the City of Miami budget had effectively defunded the historic Virginia Key Beach Park and if there is a dissolution of the governing trust “there will be no one to provide oversight.”

Judy Sandoval, community activist, warned: “Be very careful about voting for a plan ‘in principle’ and without details.”

Wendy Kamilar, chair of the board, called for a vote up or down on the plan.

“You can’t get funding without some sort of plan. We have to have a conceptual plan going forward,” she said.

With that, the Board voted unanimously to recommend that the plan go forward to the Miami City Commission Oct. 8 with recommended amendments.

VIRGINIA KEY MASTER PLAN WATERFRONT BOARD MEETING IS TONIGHT!

The announcement in the Miami Herald was incorrect.

Miami Herald on Virginia Key Master Plan to be reviewed tonight. By Fran Bohnsack

I usually think Andreas Viggluci writes clearly and well, but today's piece on Virginia Key in The Miami Herald is not up to his usual standard of analysis. I think the EDSA revision is improved, but still top heavy, and I am concerned that simply changing the name of something proposed in the original plan doesn't necessarily indicate what is intimately going to be built.

There is still concern about a hotel sneaking in, for example, either at the Virginia Key Beach Trust, or at the North Point. Also, under Miami 21 - the zoning atlas actually zones the Marine Stadium basin edge as T-6-8, which is defined as urban core, one of the highest and most dense uses in the city. This would pave the way for intensive commercial development around the basin. There are still no answers about EDSA's original proposed system of governance for the island (read developers and realtors). UEL will attempt to find answers to these questions and others, and will post them here. Stay tuned.

The Miami Herald says:

 Gone are the proposed mountain-bike and BMX trails, along with the spa building, the corporate retreat center, the aquatic center and most -- though not all -- of the hulking parking garages that gave critics of the Virginia Key master plan fits.

A significantly pared-down blueprint for the battered but ecologically rich island's makeover is now set for review Monday by the city's waterfront advisory board, before a Thursday vote at the city commission.

The Miami Herald said about our Planning Meeting:

But critics of the plan -- who held an alternative planning session last week in Virginia Key, with 100 people in attendance -- said that the revised version, while greener, still raises numerous concerns.

"I think we've come a long way. They listened, because they had to,'' said parks activist Greg Bush. "But it's still a hodgepodge. It needs to be pulled together better.''

Waterfront Advisory Board Meeting. By Fran Bohnsack

Well, well, well! What an interesting meeting at the City of Miami Waterfront Advisory Board last night. The subject matter? The noxious Virginia Key Master Plan and its loads of concrete being pushed by EDSA and the City's leadership. In what was expected to be a greased acceptance by Waterfront Board members, a surprising turnabout came through in the form of a large public turnout and an epiphany from board Member Jose Fuentes who commented that the plan was overly "aggressive" in its scope. I'll say! Eleven parking garages, an overblown "promenade," a conference center, dozens of sports fields forming a major complex, dormitories, a camp ground, bike trails, an aquatic center, zero transportation but lots of room for cars, cars, cars!

Person after person stood up to decry the plan that despoils the island, arguing for clemency for the marine stadium and hands off for just about everything else. Of course, the Urban Environment League was there, as were dozens of other environmental groups who sang the same tune. In the end, the very observer who noted the aggressiveness of the plan made a motion to approve. When the vote was taken, it was unanimous against the plan -- even with the motion maker!

But we must remain vigilant. Virginia Key is still not safe. The plan is slated to go to the Planning Advisory Board on June 17th, where it's likely to meet the same fate, but observers of these boards know that the City Commission does not generally listen to their own advisory boards. So the real battle will be fought on June 25th at the Commission meeting, unless the enormity of the plan's defeat at the Waterfront Board is too embarrassing to keep the plan on track.

And there's a problem. How will what happened last night be couched by City officials? Will it be said that the Plan failed for lack of a single supportive vote (doubtful)? Or will it be implied that because no motion was passed, the plan proceeds with out a strike against it. Anyone taking bets out there?

Waterfront Board Meeting Last Night

Congratulations to the residents of Miami Dade and the City of Miami for defeating the EDSA Master Plan at the Waterfront Board last night. The UEL especially wants to thank attorney Blanca Mesa for her hard work in rallying people against this foolish plan. The forthcoming meeting at the PLanning Advisory Board on June 17 is equalling important as is the process of lobbying City COmmissioners against the plan. They vote on June 25. We need to push the need for more public meetings in order to keep the island from stupid commercial development. Overall, this could be another example of a good public planning process similar to that of Virginia Key Park Trust. Maybe its a new day. Maybe. Greg Bush