HomeMy WebLinkAboutSubmittal-Steve HagenThese changes must be incorporated in to Miami 21, to make it acceptable.
Submitted for the record, by Steve Hagen, chair of Parks and Public Space Committee of
MNU, August 6, 2009 special meeting of Miami City Commission.
We are glad the Atlas now reflects separate designations for Civic Spaces and
Park Space. It should have not been changed from its current form.
Miami 21 must not allow 25% of our parks to be covered with buildings. The number is far
to high. Parking space, walkways and hard surfaced courts also cover substantial portions
of parks. We recommend, as we did in the Parks Master Plan, but were ignored, that no
more then 5% of total park area be covered with buildings and that no more then 15% of the
total area be covered with buildings, parking and hard surfaces.
In regard to the North Point of Virginia Key, we recommend that it be classified as Natural T
1, per the desires of the overwhelming majority of participants in the. Virginia Key Master
Plan meetings. This designation would allow for environmentally sensitive trails, parking,
restrooms and meeting points.
In 'regard to Public Space being a way for developers to earn extra floor space, we
recommend that in conjunction with this Miami 21 Plan that the addition of park land be the
goal and that proper processes be established to make certain that specific park land is
identified and purchased by either the developer or the City before a Certificate of
Occupancy is granted to the project benefiting from bonus floor space and that the park
impact fees paid by that developer be designated to improve the land purchased thru the
bonus, if indeed the new land is to be a green park and not a hard surfaced civic space.
Early on, DPZ stated that Miami 21 is to be more predictable. Some argue it is too
predictable. It should also be easily understandable and to the point. To the average
homeowner, myself included, I find the short T designations need improvement, so the
average person can know more precisely what a color on the Zoning Atlas means.
Use feet instead of floors or storys. Feet are honest. Storys are not. For example, T6-8
means eight stories, but it can go to 12 with bonuses. Why not say T6-8 (90 feet+PB) Or
better yet, do away with the T numbers and just use feet T90+PB, where PB means possible
bonus.
If you are serious about protecting,single family and duplex neighborhoods, then you must
limit the number of feet which directly abut single family homes. Currently, the building
can be no more than 25 feet next to the abuting single family home, don't make it 38 feet.
And currently the total height of the buildings 55 feet, so don't increase it to 80. The
Miami Herald as stated that we have plenty of land for high rises in our downtown area for at
least fifty years, so don't make the rest of our city a traffic nightmare.
Submitted into the public
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Priscilla A. Thompson