County Parks will Suffer with Budget Cuts.

Just when the County Parks are being used the most, their budgets have been cut. Yesterday we took pictures of picnics in Miami Dade County's Greynolds Park (from a distance so privacy was respected). Even though the day was muggy and stifling hot, every pavilion was full, hosting a party and the park was active with people everywhere. Children were gleefully jumping out of cars to join the picnics in process. There were people speaking German, Spanish and we even saw an extended family sporting Middle Eastern dress enjoying the park (second photo). People cannot afford expensive vacations so they are using the parks more. As you can see in the photos, these were not pictures of rented pavilions but just of family groups at tables.

As Barbara Falsey said in a previous post:

What everyone may not understand is that the proposed cuts to the Park and Recreation Budget will affect services in the short term and the sustainability of parks and recreation into the future.

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

UEL Presents the Virginia Key Public Design Workshop

Click on the image for more info!

There is no stopping committed citizens!

This is a news report from the St. Pete Times of two women who persevered and used the system to their advantage. It shows that citizens in Florida can make a difference! Their efforts stopped an 800 home development in Marion County and yesterday Governor Crist and the Florida Cabinet agreed with the women: There was no need for the development in Marion County.

Virginia Key Master Plan: We can do better!

We, at the UEL, looked at the City of Miami’s Master Plan for Virginia Key — with a half dozen parking garages and we said to ourselves: WE CAN DO BETTER!! But we need your help!

 URBAN ENVIRONMENT LEAGUE

Presents

VIRGINIA KEY CHARETTE

Public Input to Redesign the Master Plan for Virginia Key 

Come help us help the city create a first class plan and show how citizen input can make a positive difference in South Florida. 

Saturday -  September 26, 2009

At the Rusty Pelican

3201 Rickenbacker Causeway

9:00AM to 1:00PM

Please let your friends know about this event so that we have a large turnout. For further information, contact the UEL at uelinfo@bellsouth.net
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED, to volunteer for this event please contact j-garcia18@hotmail.com

Miami Beach Residents will get Public Access to Baywalk

In a stunning victory for public access, the Flamingo Condominium has agreed to provide access to its baywalk. Miami Herald reporter Andres Viglucci said:

What does it take to open a two-block stretch of public baywalk in Miami Beach? Apparently a battalion of attorneys, a convoluted and costly court case that alleges fibbing by a well-known architect and a prominent lawyer, and a peeved federal judge.

Twelve years after the developers of the Flamingo South Beach residential complex on Biscayne Bay seemingly promised Beach residents a public baywalk in exchange for permits to build a massive tower, they have finally agreed to open it.

But it took more than a year of litigation, with at least seven lawyers on each side, after the developers balked at opening the baywalk, contending they thought the city wanted a private promenade. The Flamingo then failed to produce the documents that would have cleared up the question in court, claiming they were missing.

Only some of the records weren't really lost, prompting U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga to call the developers and their attorneys ``obstructionist and careless'' in a strongly worded order.

The case put Flamingo architect Bernard Zyscovich and lawyer Lucia Dougherty under the microscope. The city found e-mails between Zyscovich and Dougherty that its attorneys contend show the two concocting a scheme to avoid acknowledging they knew the baywalk was to be public.

We at the Urban Environment League thank the City of Miami Beach for pursuing this on behalf of the public.

Chance to Hear City of Miami Candidates

Monday September 14, 7-9PM, Mayoral Candidate Forum
Friday October 9, 7-9PM, Commission District 3 and District 4 Candidate Forum
All events will take place at Shenandoah Park Clubhouse 1800 SW 21st Ave.

Miami Shenandoah Neighborhood Association is sponsoring the event. They say:

Come to hear our prospective new leaders’ plans to enhance the quality of life in our City and in OUR neighborhood. You can ask the candidates questions relevant to what is most important to you…your home and your community.

Budget: The City of Miami uses the County Playbook.

Just as Miami Dade County did, the City of Miami voted to keep the tax rate flat. The Miami Herald said about the budget meeting:

Taxpayers flooded Miami City Hall Thursday for the first of two budget hearings -- a meeting so volatile a screaming match broke out between a commissioner and the mayor.

The City of Miami has a $118 million budget gap - not even close to the County's half a billion gap. The vote for the flat tax was unanimous at the City because Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones, who wanted a delay, left the dais and did not vote.

If the Commissioners go with Mayor Diaz's proposed budget, the gap will be more manageable, only $28 million.

66 Annual State Convention of NAACP.

Benjamin T. Jealous, President and CEO of NAACP is the Keynote Speaker. To register/get tickets, call 305 685-9436.

Invitation to Revive Public Input to Redesign the Master Plan for Virginia Key. By Gregory Bush

Public input meeting to redesign the master plan for Virginia Key will be held: Saturday September 26, 2009 at the Rusty Pelican, 9am- 1pm
 
Virginia Key is a 1,000 acre island off the coast of Miami that has long been a hodge podge of land uses.  It is an island without a plan. No one lives there. Our Virginia Key Planning Coalition needs help in helping the city design a viable plan to make this island into a place we can all look to with pride in the coming years. It could be a thoughtful, well conceived and environmentally sensitive island that serves the needs of all residents and is a viable attraction for tourists as well.
           
Background:

For the past few years, the city has tried to design a Master Plan for the entire island.  It hired the planning firm of EDSA to oversee the process but their plan, presented this past May, ran into unanimous opposition from the City’s Planning Advisory Board and the Waterfront Boards.  It desperately needs the publics help.
           
Major concerns have been expressed about the need to retain the Miami Marine Stadium, an historically significant structure, and make it a viable venue again.  Others strongly dislike plans for a huge sports complex in the old land-fill area in the center of the island.  The plan has not addressed mass transit concerns, nor has the historically black beach been adequately integrated into the overall plans. Most observers are not opposed to all commercial development nor all aspects of the EDSA Plan but believe that allowing high rise hotels and a theme park atmosphere would seriously damage the fragile –though disturbed- eco system that exists on the island.  This is a unique tropical island that should not be overbuilt like Watson Island.
           
Recently, the Urban Environment League, the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium, Miami Neighborhoods United, the Sierra Club, Tropical Audubon and numerous other organizations, have agreed to work with the city in trying to forge a new consensus behind a Master Plan for the island.
           
WE have been able to secure a large room with a great view at the Rusty Pelican for September 26, 2009 as a venue for a public design workshop to come up with a set of drawings to put into consideration to the City Commission in the coming months. No experience necessary. Give us your visions. We expect to have several break-out sessions where the public will be invited to address (1) the marine Stadium basin (2) the landfill area (3) natural areas such as at the Northpoint/Jimbos area and (4) island wide transportation and thematic integration between the Virginia Key Beach Trust, educational and commercial interests, (5) South Va Key spaces such as Rosenstield School, Hobie Beach and the Seaquarium. 
           
The public is ensourgaed to attend this design workshop. Speak out.  City and County residents are welcome because many of the parcels on the island are owned by both entities.
We are looking for architects and planners, students and everyday folks to volunteer their Saturday to help put Miami on the map as a city in which democratic planning can help create a better place. If you have professional standing as an architect or planner, and like credit for your work, please contact Jorge Hernandez at jhernandez@miami.edu
           
For further information, contact the UEL at uelinfo@bellsouth.net
Phone: 786-472-0011.


Help us help the city create a first class plan and show how citizen input can make a positive difference in South Florida. Please let your friends know about this event so that we have a large turnout and can send a signal that people care about this place. Please distribute this flyer to get as many people out as possible.

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.

Florida Power and Light's Proposed Power Lines

Dawn Shirreffs, Florida Program Coordinator for Clean Water Action and Clean Water Fund gives testimony at a South Florida Regional Planning Council sponsored meeting on power lines for the expansion of the nuclear facility at Turkey Point.

The Urban Environment League submitted our resolution on the power lines, recommending they be placed underground. As we said in a letter to Carolyn Dekle of the SFRPC:

The Urban Environment League’s Board is composed of knowledgeable people who have dedicated years of activism to our shared community. We have spent considerable time deliberating FPL’s plans. For reasons that are clear in the “WHEREAS” clauses, our resolution suggests that the proposed power lines be placed underground with a cost absorbed by all users (not just Miami-Dade residents), and that the county build its own underground transmission system to lease it back to FPL for a fee to cover capital and operational costs.

The SFRPC, at a previous meeting of their board, did NOT approve the power lines for FP&L saying more information was needed from the Corporation.

The UEL joined with others last night, including South Miami and Pinecrest, asking that the high tension lines be placed underground. The spokeswoman for FP&L, during her powerpoint, said the company would not do underground wiring. There was no responses from FP&L after the initial presentation.

Tropical Audubon Society is holding a meeting about the expansion at the Pinecrest Library, 5835 SW 111 Street, on September 24th at 6PM. If you have questions call TAS at (305) 667-7337.

The Evaluation and Appraisal Reports for Miami Dade County. By Fran Bohnsack

The Comprehensive Plan updates that the State of Florida must approve for Miami Dade County are coming due. They are called the (EAR) Evaluation and Appraisal Report.

I attended Monday night's EAR workshop and spoke about these issues: maintaining the UDB, development in the urban core, the watershed study, future plans for FPL and protecting the Miami River as a working river. Many others underscored these issues as well.

The planning staff was pretty up front about focusing on the unincorporated area at this time, but suggested they would move to urban areas later in the process.

UEL Member Has Book Release: "Sunshine, Stone Crabs and Cheesecake"

The History Press (www.historypress.net) of Charleston announced that it’s newest book, SUNSHINE, STONE CRABS AND CHEESECAKE:  THE STORY OF MIAMI BEACH, written by noted Miami-area author and historian Seth H. Bramson, will be available for purchase beginning August 31st, 2009. With a full color cover, 160 pages and 199 photographs, SUNSHINE, STONE CRABS AND CHEESECAKE is only the fourth Miami Beach book ever written by somebody who grew up on, lived on, went to school on and worked on Miami Beach and is Bramson’s second dealing with his hometown. Unlike most books on the famous resort city, more than 90%of the photographs in SUNSHINE, STONE CRABS AND CHEESECAKE have never before been published and the information that Bramson brings forth for the first time on various individuals, events and places on Miami Beach will prove to be revelations to the serious local or American resort historian.