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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter of IntentHolland & Knight 701 Brickell Avenue, Suite 3000 1 Miami, FL 331311 T 305.374.8500 1 F 305.789.7799 Holland & Knight LLP I www.hklaw.com d Ines Marrero-Priegues 305.789.7776 ines.marrero@hklaw.com April 7, 2010 VIA HAND DELIVERY Ms. Ana Gelabert Sanchez Planning Director City of Miami 444 S.W. 2"d Avenue Miami, Florida 33130 Re: FDG Flagler Station II, LLC / Application for Official Vacation and Closure of a Public Right of Way for portions of NW 4th Street east of NW 1" Avenue and portions of "old" NW 1St Avenue between NW 5th Street and NW 8th Street. Dear Ms. Gelabert: This firm represents FDG Flagler Station II, LLC ("FDG"), the owner of certain lands in the City of Miami and the applicant requesting the official vacation and closure of right of way for portions of NW Ott' Street east of NW 1St Avenue and portions of "old" NW 1st Avenue, between NW 5th Street and NW 8' Street. FDG is the owner of approximately 8.3 acres of land located between NW 1St Street and NW 8th Street, and between the MetroRail Rapid Transit corridor and NW 1St Avenue (the "Plat Property"). A brief history of the site will not only explain the reasons for the vacation of right of way and platting of the lands but will also serve as explanation of the public benefit of this application. In 1988, the owner of the Plat Property applied for a Major Use Special Permit for an office building and a replat of the Plat Property (the "1988 Plat"). Both the MUSP and the 1988 Plat were approved by the City Commission but the office building was, never built and, more importantly, the 1988 Plat was never recorded. The 1988 Plat was never recorded because prior to recordation, it was discovered that Miami -Dade County (the "County") owned certain rights in NW 2nd Avenue, which the 1988 Plat sought to vacate. The County's position was that the City could not vacate this right of way without the County's consent and approval. The parties were, at that time, unable to reach an agreement regarding certain pedestrian easements required by the County in consideration for its consent to the vacation of the NW 2nd Avenue. Atlanta I Bethesda I Boston I Chicago I Fort Lauderdale I Jacksonville I Lakeland I Los Angeles I Miami I New York Northern Virginia I Orlando I Portland I San Francisco I Tallahassee I Tampa I Washington, D.C. I West Palm Beach Ms. Ana Gelabert Sanchez April 7, 2010 Page 2 In the interim, without the 1988 Plat having been recorded, the City improved rights of way as if the 1988 Plat had been a legal plat, including the creation of new tracts and the vacation and relocation of streets and rights of way. In fact, the current location of NW l st Avenue exists where the 1988 Plat proposed it. It should be noted that Gran Central paid the City of Miami in excess of $650,000 to relocate the utilities to the existing location of NW 1St Street and also paid $1.4 million dollars to acquire property that was necessary for the street re- alignment. The only thing that was never accomplished was the recording of the plat. During the last twenty years, the City and the predecessors to FDG have spent innumerable hours and resources with the City and the County to determine a way in which to legally record a plat 120 days after its approval, as established in the City Code. We would be remiss not to thank past and present members of the City Attorney's office as well as past and present members of the City's Public Works Department for their support and collaboration and technical support throughout this process. We have also reached agreements with Miami -Dade County relative to the N.W. 2nd Avenue easement issues that initially caused the problem. In the end, due to innumerable technicalities and title and surveying complexities, it was determined that, while cumbersome, the most legally complete way to remedy this problem would be to file for new plat, including the closure and vacation of the rights of way requested in this application. It is with this background that we respectfully request that the right of way- for those portions of NW 1St Avenue and NW 4th Street that were originally intended to be closed and/or relocated by the 1988 Plat, be vacated and closed in connection with the new plat. On January 7, 2010, the City's Plat and Street Committee considered this request for vacation and closure of the streets and voted 7-0 in favor of the vacation and closure request. In support of their approval, the Committee considered and recognized the following public benefits from the requested street closure and vacation: 1. The previous owners paid $1.4 million dollars to the City for the relocation of NW 1st Avenue; 2. The new, relocated NW 1st Avenue provides wider widths and better roadways; 3. The relocated right of way allowed for the creation of the Metrorail corridor; 4. The re -platted parcels create better tracts for development; 5. The realignment of NW 1st Avenue has already occurred and this application merely maps on paper what has already happened on the streets; 6. The previous alignment of NW 1st Avenue does not provide any public purpose; Ms. Ana Gelabert Sanchez April 7, 2010 Page 3 7. The Fire Department, Police Department and all other service vehicles have excellent access to the sites; S. The existing alignment, roads and sidewalks provide better pedestrian and vehicular circulation. Based on the foregoing, we respectfully request your favorable review and recommendation of our request. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, I9'sarrer riegues cc: Mr. Jose Gonzalez Ms. Estrella Manso John R. Hall, P.E.