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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 2004-04-29 MinutesCity of Miami City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www. ci. miami. fl. us L�� 11j z � Iws; h rH3T€'r'r Verbatim Minutes Thursday, April 29, 2004 3:00 PM SPECIAL MEETING (Verbatim Minutes) City Hall Commission Chambers City Commission Manuel A. Diaz, Mayor Arthur E. Tee/e, Jr., Chairman Joe Sanchez, Vice Chairman Angel Gonzalez, Commissioner District One Johnny L. Winton, Commissioner District Two Tomas Regalado, Commissioner District Four Joe Arriola, City Manager Jorge L. Fernandez, City Attorney Priscilla A. Thompson, City Clerk City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 3:00 P.M. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Present: Commissioner Gonzalez, Commissioner Winton, Vice Chairman Sanchez, Commissioner Regalado and Chairman Teele On the 29th day ofApril, 2004, the City Commission of the City ofMiami, Florida, met at its regular meeting place in City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida, in Special Session. The Special Meeting was called to order at 3:46p. m. by Chairman Arthur E. Teele, Jr. A non -agenda Special Commission Workshop convened at 3:4 7 p.m. and adjourned at 4:07 p.m. The Commission recessed at 4:0 7 p.m., reconvened at 4:3 0 p.m. and adjourned at 7:09 p.m. ALSO PRESENT: JoeArriola, City Manager Alejandro Vilarello, City Attorney Priscilla A. Thompson, City Clerk Sylvia Scheider, Assistant City Clerk City ofMiami Page 2 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 SPECIAL PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM PZ.1 04-00108 ORDINANCE Second Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 11000, AS AMENDED, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, BY AMENDING ARTICLE 6, SPECIAL DISTRICTS, IN ORDER TO AMEND SEC. 609, SD -9 BISCAYNE BOULEVARD NORTH OVERLAY DISTRICT, TO MODIFY SPECIAL DISTRICT REQUIREMENTS, INCLUDING REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO HEIGHT, SETBACK AND FOOTPRINT LIMITATIONS AND TO INCORPORATE CERTAIN DESIGN STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES; CONTAINING A REPEALER PROVISION, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 04-00108 SR Fact Sheet.pdf 04-00108 PAB Reso.PDF 04-00108 SR Legislation.PDF 04-00108 Exhibit A.PDF 04-00108 - submission - memo.pdf 04-00108 - submission - overlay.pdf 04-00108 - submittal.pdf 04-00108 - submission - correspondence 1.pdf 04-00108 - submission - correspondence 2.pdf 04-00108 FR Fact Sheet.PDF 04-00108 FR Legislation DRAFT.PDF 004-00108 - final report.pdf 04-00108 - legal opinion.pdf REQUEST: To Amend Ordinance No. 11000 Text APPLICANT(S): Joe Arriola, Chief Administrator FINDINGS: PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval. PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD: Recommended approval with conditions* to City Commission on February 4, 2004 by a vote of 5-3. *See supporting documentation. PURPOSE: This will modify special district requirements along the SD -9 Biscayne Boulevard North Overlay District. Motion by Commissioner Winton, seconded by Vice Chairman Sanchez, that this matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Winton, Sanchez, Regalado and Teele City ofMiami Page 3 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 12530 Direction to the City Attorney by Chairman Teele to allow the attorneys involved in the SD -9 issue to review, through the City Attorney's Office, the full record on the SD -9 issue, after the Mayor's 10 -day veto period and within the next 30 days, in order to conduct an informal review. Chairman Teele: Ladies and gentlemen, we want to apologize to all of the people that have been down here so patient. We would ask you to understand the circumstances, and we would like to proceed, Commissioner Winton, and Madam Director, without further delay. Lourdes Slazyk (Assistant Director, Planning & Zoning): Thank you. For the record, Lourdes Slazyk, Planning and Zoning Department. PZ.1 is a second reading ordinance proposing a series of amendments to the SD -9 Biscayne Boulevard North Overlay District. This was passed on first reading by the City Commission February 261h and continued until the special meeting in order for the Planning and Zoning Department to meet with the committee selected by Commissioner Winton and then come back to you today for second reading with a better plan. The committee which was set up to assist the Planning and Zoning Department in coming back today with recommendations was made up of homeowners, property owners, attorneys, architects, builders association and staff. The City committee met about once a week throughout late March and into April. We received information at our meetings on property rights, transfer of development ordinances and other information in order to come up with this plan. We also worked with the architects on the committee and a subcommittee to more clearly understand the transfer of development rights option and its implications for the boulevard. As the Planning and Zoning Department saw it, our mission was primarily to come back with a recommendation to the Commission as to how to improve this ordinance to better protect the low density neighborhoods that are adjacent to the boulevard while not being so restrictive as to harm the economic development and viability of the boulevard. The results have been forwarded to each of the Commissioners in the form of a report and recommendations, which I'm going to go over real briefly. In a nutshell, I think what this report does and the recommendations which I'm going to go over now, what it shows is that this is not a one -size -fits -all ordinance anymore. This ordinance recognizes the differences in different property locations along the boulevard, different sizes and proximity to the R -I and 2 zoning. The first recommendation that we are going to make is that you proceed today with adoption on second reading of the new SD -9 ordinance that mandates the height limits of 85 and 95 feet, which is the seven and eight stories, as written, and make several changes right here on the floor that are considered more liberal changes, and that a series of additional, more restrictive changes be sent back to the Planning Advisory Board, which we can get on June 2nd, I believe, Planning Advisory Board back here for June --first reading at the end of June and second reading in July. The first of the more liberal changes, as I call it, is to increase the allowable height to 120 feet for the two areas on the west side of Biscayne Boulevard that were described in the reports you have. One of it is the area that we call the mega block area, which is the real long block up against the FEC (Florida East Coast). Hold on. I have an aerial. Commissioner Winton: We really do need that. Can you get someone on staff to help you with this? Andrew didn't mean for you to have to be the -- Ms. Slazyk: The mega block area is the block from -- on the west side of Biscayne Boulevard from Northeast 39th Street up to the right-of-way line at about Northeast 501h Terrace. This is an area where we already have the Ivax Building. There are already taller buildings, and it is not directly abutting R -I or R-2 neighborhoods, so this is an area the committee agreed would be able to take some additional height. The second area would be the area on the west side of Biscayne Boulevard from 79th Street north to the City limits. That's also an area that is a retail shopping center. It's a big commercial area, it's deeper blocks and it's not directly abutting R -I and R-2. The other recommendation is that along the boulevard, there are several properties -- City ofMiami Page 4 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 not many -- I think there's only two that have depths of over 150 feet. These properties, with the additional limitations that we recommended on height limits at the rear of the properties when they abut R-1 and 2, the second set of recommendations in your report is that we reduce that height from 40 feet, as proposed in the ordinance, down to 25 at the rear, which protects the single-family and duplex neighborhoods behind it. Real deep properties, if they maintain that rear height limit with an angle of 45 degree, which is in your reports that we gave you, those drawings -- I have the -- these were in your report, and what these show is that there are height limitations from the rears of these buildings that we're proposing up against the single-family and duplex neighborhoods with a 45 -degree angle, which would protect light and airflow to the neighborhood. Nothing taller than 25 feet would be up against them, and this would allow those real deep lots additional height up on the boulevard, again, not to exceed 120 feet, and then the rest of the boulevard we're proposing stay with the 85/95, but also reduce that rear height and add that 45 -degree angle. What this does -- the most important thing that this does is instead of having a 40 foot structure with a real steep angle, as our existing code allows today, it reduces it down to 40 feet with a 45 -degree angle on R-3 or more liberal properties, and 25 feet at the rear, with a 45 -degree angle against R-1 and R-2. This way, the R-1 and 2 will never have a building taller than what their own height limits are right next to them. Now, those two changes, the changes that add the 45 -degree angle to the rear, those are more restrictive changes. That's what we're proposing go to the Planning Advisory Board immediately, so we can get it back to you before the summer break for adoption on second reading. The other change -- and I told you we talked at the committee meetings quite a bit about the transfer of development rights option. I think there was -- there was a lot of information that we were trying to gather in understanding how a transfer of development right program could work on Biscayne Boulevard. What we're recommending in this report today is that you instruct the Planning and Zoning Department to continue to work on this with a consultant, and some names were even offered at the committee meetings, in order to come back to you in a period of six months with a recommendation on a voluntary transfer of development right program. The problem with the TDR (transfer of development right) in just doing it without sufficient analysis is the details; not so much that you can tell a property owner that they can transfer their development rights to another property, but how, when, where, how much. It's a bigger undertaking than something we could do from March through now, but we believe it merits further study, and that a pilot program that could then be used in other parts of the City is worth considering, so the recommendations on the changes to make on the floor tonight, I have prepared in the ordinance, which I'm going to hand out to you now. Commissioner Winton: Lourdes, could you get somebody to help you pass out stuff? There's -- more staff. Ms. Slazyk: OK. What l just handed out is the recommendations in the report that was given to you inserted into the ordinance, so what's on these -- in this yellow draft is exactly what's in your package, which is the first reading ordinance, but with the changes as recommended in this report, so this is -- what we're asking you to adopt tonight is the yellow draft in front of you, which includes in a written form everything I just said as far as recommendations. Another very, very important thing that came out of the -- out of this, which is also in this -- in the document just handed out is that for purposes of interpreting SD -9, Biscayne Boulevard will be considered the front of the property. That was a big discussion that came up with some of the committee members who understood how our zoning works. When you have apiece of property that's rectangular in shape, our Zoning Code says that the short side is considered the front. Therefore, when somebody owns a strip ofproperty on the boulevard, there was no protection for the neighborhood, because that's considered a side, and the side setbacks are usually less than rears, so one very important distinction this ordinance makes is that as far as SD -9 is concerned, the boulevard is the front and these rear setback limitations and angle limitations, which we came up with will be taken wherever they abut that lower density residential district, and I think there are a lot of people that felt very comfortable with that particular modification, because it clarifies once and for all that the back part that fronts the -- that faces the residential City ofMiami Page 5 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 is considered the rear and the boulevard is considered the front. With that, we recommend that you adopt this ordinance on second reading with the modifications that l just put into the record, which are in the drafts before you and that we proceed with the second half of this at PAB Planning Advisory Board) and the six-month option that we continue to work on the TDR ordinance. Chairman Teele: All right. Commissioner Winton: Go to the public hearing? Chairman Teele: Commissioner Winton, should we go to the public hearing now? Commissioner Winton: Yes, please. Chairman Teele: All right. So that we can help to move this along, could we hear from those persons who are in opposition first? And then we'll hear from those persons who are in support of the staff recommendation. Are there any persons in opposition? Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): Chairman Teele. Chairman Teele: All right. Before anyone comes forward, we'd ask everyone who plans to speak to please stand, raise your right hand and be sworn. The City Clerk administered required oath under City Code Section 62-1 to those persons giving testimony on zoning issues (said oath was translated into Spanish and Creole). Ms. Thompson: Thank you. Gilberto Pastoriza: Mr. Chairman, members of the Commission, Gilberto Pastoriza, 2665 South Bayshore Drive, 4th floor. Commissioner Winton: Just a minute. Excuse me. Is there a two -minute limit? Chairman Teele: Madam Clerk, there's a two -minute limit on all speakers. Mr. Pastoriza: I'll be very quick about it, and I would like to offer at least one friendly amendment for this for consideration today and a friendly amendment to be considered by the Planning Board. My first friendly amendment is for the area on the east side of the boulevard north of 83rd Street. All of -- Commissioner Winton: North of what? Mr. Pastoriza: North of 83rd Street, all of that area, the abutting district is R-3, so you have C-1 and the area immediately abutting it and for a few blocks down is all R-3. I think she has a map where it can be very well illustrated. The second friendly amendment that I have --and I think that this would be something that would have to go to the PAB -- is that there are property owners here that have bought properties that are SD -9 and have bought properties that lie immediately either east or west of the SD -9 property, so what am suggesting to staff is that when they consider the rear setbacks for this ordinance that they go to the limit of what the property owner owns and is willing to bring in as a unified development. In other words, if you apply your setbacks to -- the rear setbacks to your Biscayne Boulevard property, sometimes those Biscayne Boulevard properties are very narrow. By buying properties that are already west where they're going to be doing -- or east -- where they're going to be doing their own mitigation, I don't think that there is anything that will be lost by extending the same philosophy that this ordinance now proposes to the rear of the property line of all the property owned by City ofMiami Page 6 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 that particular developer who is bringing that entire property in as a unified development. Those are my friendly amendments to this ordinance. Thank you. Bassein Saad: My name is Bassein Saad, 801 North Venetian Drive. I'd like to speak in opposition of the proposal, because one of the things that think the proposal is missing is the -- Biscayne Boulevard is narrow in some areas, and wider in some areas, and I think the proposal did not take that into consideration as it relates to the height on the frontage of Biscayne. That is to say that Biscayne -- the frontage of the lots that are facing on the Biscayne Boulevard can be higher in areas where the Biscayne is wider -- the Biscayne Boulevard is wider -- and lower where the Biscayne Boulevard is narrower. That's one. The second point that I'd like to make is that we are now voting for a proposal that is favoring a shorter building, but bigger, fatter buildings, closer to the houses than away from the houses. I think we can say that probably, a slimmer building, taller building may not necessarily be bad for the neighborhood versus something that is wider and fatter, and yet shorter building. There are so many lots along the Biscayne Corridor that -- or the Biscayne Boulevard from north of 36th all the way up through 861h that are abutting R -I on the back side of it, but the sizes of the lots are not big enough to follow all the codes, meaning allowing for parking, allowing for retail, allowing for liner units and allowing for a mix of residential and office buildings. One of the comments that was brought at the beginning is that this is not a one -size -fits -all, and I feel that it is a one -size -fits - all proposal, and there are many lots along Biscayne Boulevard that do not really fall within the category that this kind of proposal would be beneficial for, especially from an architectural building, architectural point of view. Hs. Thompson: I'm sorry, sir. Hr. Saad: Let me just wrap up. I think this will be forcing the developers -- and I'm one of them -- to create less interesting architectural buildings, similar to whatyou see along Collins, rather than creating a more interesting architecture. Thank you. Truly Burton: Truly Burton, on behalf of the Builders Association of South Florida. The address is 15225 Northwest 771h Avenue in Miami Lakes. First of all, I want to thank Commissioner Winton for convening the group. I think it was -- and I was glad to participate --as well as the rest of the Commission that sought for --to put the task force together. I think we got some better understanding on some of the key issues. However, I do believe that while the document is good as far as it goes with the recommendation changes thatMs. Slazyk proposed, I still think it can be better. I think it needs some fine-tuning. One of the recommendations we think is particularly -- is positive relates to two areas, the mega block that would be a height limitation being established at 120 feet, along with the 791h Street area, but there's two pieces that are illogical to me. First, the mega block really does go to 541h Street, and it just doesn't seem to make sense to stop it at 50th Street. These lots are -- there's a tremendous distance between any single-family residential. There's also a buffer on the east side of commercial, as well, so it just doesn't strike me as logical where they would be -- Chairman Teele: Would you repeat that, please? Hs. Burton: From -- ifI had a map. From 50th to 541h Street, there is a limit of 85 to 95 feet. However, when you take a look on the east side, there is commercial -- thank you. Thank you, Adrienne -- there is commercial right along here that buffers it, and it just didn't seem to make sense to me why that was a limitation of 85 to 95 feet, especially when the rest of the mega block is 120 feet, so that was just an inconsistency, at least in my mind, and the second one was mentioned by Mr. Pastoriza, east of the boulevard at 83rd Street and north to the City line, to the municipal line, also, again, an area that right now has, ifI recall correctly, motels, hotels, a variety of different kinds of multi family that probably could use some renovation and 120 feet probably would also be very appropriate there, and just -- excuse me -- so those are my two recommendations for fine-tuning. Also, just to say that for years, the City had come to so many City ofMiami Page 7 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 folks. They sent a very clear message: Please come and help us fix up the Biscayne Boulevard Corridor. It's a run down street, and it could be beautiful. Get rid of the hot, cheap motels, get rid of the drug users, get rid of all that stuff, and now, we heard you. We're here, and now, we're getting what I think is a very different message that says, well, you can be here, but not quite so much here and maybe you should come back next week, so the mixed message is a concern. Hs. Thompson: I'm sorry -- Hs. Burton: Also, one other thing, just to share with you something that's going on in the building industry that have heard from my members, as well, that's a separate, broader picture issue. There are some folks that would say these buildings are going to go up very quickly. I would respectfully disagree. Folks are having serious problems with construction material. They are going up at the rate of 30 percent per year for any number of reasons. Some folks have even gone bankrupt, because they realize they cannot produce the building that they had already sold, so let's not count our buildings before they hatch, effectively, and let's also do a little bit more fine-tuning before we really say that this is done, so, again, thank you for -- I want to thank staff for all their hard work and all the citizens that worked on it. I think we can do a little bit better. Thanks. Chairman Teele: Are you representing any individual company or are you representing an association? Hs. Burton: No, Builders Association. Karen McGuire: Hi. My name is -- Chairman Teele: In opposition? Hs. McGuire: Oh, I'm sorry. Chairman Teele: How many more people are going to be in opposition? Hs. McGuire: I am. Commissioner Winton: Well, y'all that are in opposition, come stand at the microphone so that we don't have these long gaps so we could move it through. Hs. McGuire: OK Hi. My name is Karen McGuire. I reside at 736 Northeast 76th Street, and I'm here as a resident, but do work as a transportation planner for the State, and I have training as an urban planner, so this is a matter that really interests me. I really respect all the work that Planning and Zoning has done on this issue, but as far as I'm concerned, they haven't taken itfar enough. They haven't gone down low enough, and as far as like being tired of somebody --you know --saying we want the developers and now they can go, how many people say that to their own husbands, you know? It's like we want you around, but it's time to go. I've lived here for two and a half -- Commissioner Winton: That's what my wives have usually said. Hs. McGuire: I've lived here for two and a halfyears, and -- but have to applaud all the residents and my fellow neighbors that have lived here for like 25 years. They've put up with the crack addicts, with the prostitution, they put up with the crime, and now it's because of them the developers are coming in, so I think that they're the people that have created the economic viability of this neighborhood, and their wishes should be respected, and we have a really nice residential neighborhood there, and I think that seven stories is just too high along some portions of the boulevard, and that in 19 -- in May of 2003, the City had a charette. They came City ofMiami Page 8 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 to re-establish the connection they made when they created the master plan in 1999. If you read the master plan from 1999, it said that they wanted to create a nice urban village. Well, you know, that's what I'd like to live in along Biscayne where I live, and if we have like eight, nine - story buildings in thatpart of the corridor, it's justgoing to be too much, because our infrastructure, the parking can't handle it. We can't handle the parking for the residents that live there now, and as far as traffic on Biscayne, I don't have to tell you many portions of Biscayne are already failing, and unless we get that premium transit in 2014 -- it's a bit of a wait for that premium transit on the north corridor. Chairman Teele: All right. Thank you very much. Now, that little buzzing sound was the sound that the two minutes is up. Thank you. Nina West: Hi. I'm hard of hearing sometimes, so I don't hear the buzz. Just remind me. My name is Nina West. I'm a property owner at 176 Northeast 44th Street and 175 Northeast 43rd Street. I'm not against development at all and I think that --but I do believe that you are not protecting the residents on the west side of Biscayne Boulevard. You talk about the mega block and how big and how small it is. It backs up across the railroad track. Maybe the little railroad track is what makes you think so far away and it doesn't exactly abut those R -I and R-2 properties from about 40th Street north, so I'd like you to take that into consideration. Also -- Chairman Teele: Hold on just a moment. Staff, now do you all understand what she's thinking? Commissioner Winton: I know exactly what she's saying, and it -- you have -- not only do you have a deep, wide lot, then you have Federal Highway, then you have the railroad right-of-way. I mean, you've got a huge distance between R -I -- Hs. West: But I want to know how much that huge is. How many feet? Commissioner Winton: 300. Longer. 400 feet. I mean, it's a forever distance. Anyhow, I don't want to argue the point. My -- well, her point's made and -- Hs. West: OK, well, if it's 400 -- if it's 400 feet, it's not that far. Commissioner Winton: I may not be answering the question. Hs. West: If it's 400 feet, it's not that far. I'm not too upset, butt would also like them to take into consideration -- because next is coming -- right now, we're having a lot of development on Northeast 2nd Avenue and there's no height limitation for C-1 zoning on Northeast 2nd Avenue at the moment. Chairman Teele: So what are you saying? You want -- Hs. West: Well, what I'm saying is there's been a great effort to look at planned development for Biscayne Boulevard east and west, and I'd like a planned look at development on Northeast 2nd Avenue and North Miami Avenue, the same thought in planning, so that these small neighborhoods like Buena Vista will not be walled in. Commissioner Winton: Could I respond to that? Because I think that a lot of people may be thinking about that kind of thing. If --for those of you who didn't hear in the Mayor's State of the City address that the Commission has since adopted, we are going to do a citywide master plan that will -- that -- and completely rewrite our code, which is nuts. We're going to break it, I think, into three phases. We don't know. That hasn't been adopted by the Commission yet, but I think staff is going there, and in the first phase, which we're going to try to fast track, staff is looking at all the major corridors in the City ofMiami, citywide to address development along these major corridors to answer the very question you're talking about, because the issue isn't City ofMiami Page 9 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 just Biscayne Boulevard. It's Coral Way, it's 27th Avenue, it's Douglas, it's 71h Avenue, it's a lot of major corridors, so phase one, we're going to try to fast track and create a whole new code and look for all of our major corridors that abut all these residential neighborhoods. Hs. West: The only thing is if you look at -- Commissioner Winton: I don't want to debate it. I'm giving you the facts that we're coming. Hs. West: No, I'm just saying if you look at Northeast 2nd Avenue, what happens, all of the developers already have many, many plans filed. There's nothing we can do about that, right? Commissioner Winton: Absolutely not. Hs. West: So it may all be built by the time you get there. Chairman Teele: Thank you very much. Commissioner Winton: Oh, they're not all going to be built by the time we're done. Chairman Teele: All right, sir, you're next. Gordon Willitts: OK, thank you. My name is Gordon Willitts. I'm speaking for 411 Northeast 52nd Street. One of the things that Commissioner Winton said at the last meeting was that he would take into consideration ifpeople had boughtproperty --I mean had -- Commissioner Winton: Closed on property. Hr. Willitts: -- had not closed on property and they wanted -- Commissioner Winton: Had closed. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Had closed. Hr. Willitts: -- and closed, correct. OK -- Commissioner Winton: Had closed prior. Hr. Willitts: -- but if they hadn't that you would take that into consideration. I would also respectfully ask you to look at developers who came in and bought property at bargain basement prices, and then left that property to literally rot on the boulevard. Two of them were cited as unsafe structures and tore down, down on 551h, and the one that is next to my house and the adjacent building is vacant, boarded up, water in the pool. I mean, those developers get up and say that they came in and helped to redevelop the boulevard, and they haven't, and I really don't think they should be rewarded for coming in and buying property that was at a bargain basement price, and leaving the buildings there, and now that the market has come up, get up and say that they need to buildup. Thank you. Commissioner Winton: We don't write our code, we will never write our code --it's probably not even constitutional to write a code that is geared towards a developer. We can do that. Hr. City Attorney, would you help us here? Can we look at a specific developer and say, well, because you bought your site 22 years ago and now, then we think you're the bad guy and you got a new set of rules? You can't -- can you do that? Joel Maxwell (Deputy City Attorney): No. You're correct, sir. Commissioner Winton: So the rules have to apply across the board, regardless of what -- whether we like them or dislike them, or whatever. You just can't -- it doesn't -- we're not allowed to do that.Jane Pittman: Hi. My City ofMiami Page 10 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 name is Jane Pittman, and I live two buildings down from Gordon's house, on the -- Chairman Teele: And?Ms. Pittman: I live in Morningside. This is my son, Lucas. We've been homeowners for five years in Morningside. I moved here from New York City in 1990. I was a property owner on 72nd, between Central Park and Columbus, and I saw the revitalization of the upper Westside. I moved herein 1990, lived in a hotel on Collins Avenue for a year, until I decided to move to Miami. I rented an apartment on Jefferson Avenue, three blocks from Lincoln Road. Everyone told me I was crazy. They said, why are you moving all the way over there. They said the same thing to me when I moved to Biscayne Boulevard. The reason I moved to Morningside was because I wanted abetter quality of life for my son and for myself. He was two years old when I moved to Morningside from Miami Beach. I moved to Morningside because I saw it as an established urban neighborhood where people could have a real private life in a beautiful, beautiful historic neighborhood. I moved out of New York City because I didn't want to live in that type of an environment anymore, where even if l had friends that lived in a brownstone, you'd sit there and have a barbecue, and 20, 30 floors above you, everybody's staring down at your barbecue. Now I'm faced with the same thing. I want to build a pool, eventually, in my backyard, and I'm losing all of my interest for even wanting to have a vegetable garden or a pool or anything, because I know that I'm going to have people staring into my backyard, so it's not just me. I think what I'm doing is, I'm standing here and I'm representing a much larger group of people, all the way up and down the boulevard, that moved to Miami for the same reason, because it is a beautiful place. You can live in an incredible established neighborhood. Biscayne Boulevard is established. It can be revitalized. I am not saying that don't want economic growth, and that don't want revitalization or restoration. Is that my timer?Ms. Thompson: Yes, it is.Ms. Pittman: Am I up?Ms. Thompson: Yes.Ms. Pittman: OK. Can my son say something?Commissioner Winton: Sure.Ms. Pittman: OK. This is my son, Lucas. Commissioner Winton: Hi, Lucas.Ms. Pittman: He had so much to say. He wanted to say how he felt. Chairman Teele: Well, I'll tell you what we're going to do. We're going to have Lucas to yield you 30 seconds of his time to conclude.Ms. Pittman: Does he -- does he have 30 seconds? Here. Do you want to say anything? You want to say anything?Ondina Suarez ( official Spanish interpreter): Come out here so they can see you. Go ahead. Chairman Teele: Where does he go to school? Lucas, where do you go to school?Ms. Suarez: Where do you go to school?Lucas Pittman: Phyllis Miller Elementary School. Chairman Teele: What's your teacher's name?Mr. Pittman: Ms. Perez. Chairman Teele: And what grade are you in?Mr. Pittman: Kindergarten. Chairman Teele: How are you doing in school? That answers that question.Ms. Suarez: No comment.Ms. Pittman: He wanted to say something about Morningside. What did you want to say about Morningside?Unidentified Speaker: Now's your chance. Unidentified Speaker: We have ashy one here.Mr. Pittman: Yes, I like it. Chairman Teele: Thank you so much.Ms. Suarez: End of comment. Chairman Teele: Thank you, Lucas, for being here.Ms. Pittman: OK Thank you very much. Chairman Teele: All right. I -- are you really in opposition to the plan then ?Ms. Pittman: I am not in -- let me just finish real quickly. Chairman Teele: I didn't hear the opposition. I'm still - Ms. Pittman: lam not in opposition to redevelopment. lam not in opposition --Commissioner Winton: His question is whether or not you're in op -- We're having -- we have to vote tonight.Ms. Pittman: OK. Commissioner Winton: We're going to vote on this plan or not on this plan.Ms. Pittman: I am in opposition to anything over 40 feet, on the east side of the Boulevard. I am extremely in opposition to that, yes. Chairman Teele: And does Lucas feel the same way you do?Ms. Pittman: Yes, he does. Chairman Teele: I'm sure.Ms. Pittman: He doesn't want a shadow in the backyard. That's what he told me. Chairman Teele: Is there anybody here in opposition on this side? Nobody? OK. We're going to close it out with just these four people here. Yes, ma'am. Sir, if you --Adrienne Pardo: Hello. My name is Adrienne Pardo, with law offices at 1221 Brickell Avenue. I'm here today on behalf of a property owner at 52nd, and the mega block in this area that was excluded from the 120 foot height, and it's also on the west side, and I would request that the rest of the mega block be included over here; that there's no reason to exclude it; that you have the --you have Biscayne Boulevard as a buffer to the east, and in the rear, you have the highway, as well as the railroad, and then there's an R-3 behind it. In addition to the east, you have an office district, which is also a buffer. Commissioner Winton: What mega -- show me the depth of that City ofMiami Page 11 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 INAUDIBLE) -Ms. Pardo: The rest of -- there were statements that the mega block had 120 - foot limitation, but when -- The ordinance stops it at --Commissioner Winton: I understand that. Hs. Pardo: -- 50th Street. It doesn't go the entire mega block. Commissioner Winton: I got that. Hs. Pardo: Oh, sorry. Commissioner Winton: What's the depth of the site you're talking about on the west side?Hs. Pardo: Actually, the depth is over 150 feet, so it would be allowed, per the ordinance, to go to 120 feet, except there kicks in a provision that the back would have to be limited to two stories, which doesn't make sense, because in the rear, you have R-3, which allows you to go to five stories, so it just doesn't make sense for those properties to be excluded and have to have a rear of a two-story, when there is, you know, about 300 feet between the R-3 that can go to five stories, so I just think that -- I know staff has worked very hard on this ordinance. I think they've done a great job in a very short period of time. I do think that it could use some fine-tuning in some of the areas where it states that you have a limitation of 40 feet in the rear. There are many places where these properties back up to an R-3 district, which allows five stories in height, so it just doesn't make sense why you're limiting those to four stories when the abutting districts can themselves go to five stories, and in some cases, you even have some up here, which is limited to 85/95 street -- 85/95 feet, in the 50s, on the west side. You have some of the C-1 district that abuts to an office district, so these properties are going to be limited to 85/ 95 feet, and then right next door, they're at an office district that can go higher, because that office district isn't in the SD -9, so I just think it still needs a little more fine-tuning to make sure that all of the regulations should apply to the areas involved, because you do have a very large area. You have 51 blocks here, and we're still coming in, and we're putting -- there have been some modifications made, but I think it could use a little more fine-tuning, and I would request that you include the rest of that large mega block on the west side, on the 120 feet. Thank you. Brad Knoefler: Hello. Brad Knoefler, 1521 Alton Road, Miami Beach. Just wanted to say that I've been following this issue for months. Been a member of the committee, as well. Thank you to Commissioner Winton for letting me take part in that. I very much appreciate it. One thing that surprised me, and has continued to surprise me throughout the whole process that's been going on for several months, is the lack of awareness of the consequences of what we're doing here. During all these meetings, all of these committees meetings, all these discussions, there have been very, very little discussion of if we do this, this will be the consequences. Now, of course, in the private sector, when a CEO (Chief Executive Officer) makes decisions, he needs to look at, well, ifl do this, this might be the negative impact; this might be the positive impact. I think that should be the same case with the public sector. Give you an example: City ofMiami Beach recently passed an amendment which requires economic impact studies to be done when you do such a major change, and what I'm trying to say today is, you're sitting here with a decision in front of you, a number of decisions, that could have hundreds of millions of dollars in impact, positive or negative. We don't necessarily know. This is also something that might be a model for the rest of the City, as this is sort of an experiment. I just find it hard to believe that, without some sort of analysis of the downside or the upside, or the economic consequences, that you can make an informed decision. Now, maybe there's some sort of a study that's been done that we're not aware of but, at the very least, in terms of all the information that I've seen, there's been no sort of study or evaluation of what that could be, so I'd like to make a suggestion, which is, one, we have a moratorium, which is going into effect, I think, in a couple of days, which will take -- be a 90 -day moratorium. There's still a little bit of time to basically commission some sort of a study. I don't know how it would be done, whether it be appraisers, planners, and so on, to evaluate a little bit more precisely what the economic impact of this ordinance would be. We don't want to find out in a couple of years that it was too strict, or it was too liberal. We need to look at a little bit more some of the details so, please, don't take -- don't forget the consequences of the actions when you're evaluating this issue. Thank you very much. Chairman Teele: Thank you for you comments. Ha'am.Ashley Miller: OK. Hi. My name is Ashley Miller. I'm a Morning --new Morningside resident, and I just want to say I'm the worst public speaker ever, and I'm totally shy to be up here, but I do have some points I want to make. I was looking on the Internet today and I found this City plan by Dover Kohl & Partner that came -- I don't know when, but told the City what they wanted to do with Overtown and Biscayne. It has all these wonderful pictures, and they're all, you know, mid -rise and low-rise, bringing in the main City ofMiami Page 12 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 street feel of, you know, what a city should look like, and he has a lot of good points that I think that are not being followed through with anything over 40 feet. Well, I don't know 40 feet, but it's nothing like this. Then I found this other picture here. It's Miami's first historic district, and it's about -- looks like about 20 or 30 feet, and it says -- and it has a cute thing. It says, `Alix hip with historic, " and I just think all those developers are being very cavalier about the developments they're trying to put in and push in and I think, in five years time, the developers are going to be gone, and what's going to be left is a mess, you know. My sunlight's going to be taken away. It's just -- I don't know. These massive buildings. They want to put 263 units -- well, that's not what's on the floor today, but am for height restriction. Chairman Teele: You don't think this goes far enough?Ms. Miller: Not at all. Oh, my god. It said 10 feet from the side of the road. I mean, that's not city living. That's somewhere to go and park in a garage, and runup to your condo. Chairman Teele: Thank you very much.Ms. Miller: Thank you. Chairman Teele: You did a good job.Ms. Miller: Thank you.Peter Ehrlich: Good afternoon. Peter Ehrlich, with residence at 770 Northeast 69th Street. I'll be very brief. Regardless of whether you pass this proposal or not today, I think that you should --there's some other considerations that you should look at. The proposal in front of you is sort of one -size -fit -all, and it might not be appropriate, given the complexities of Biscayne Boulevard. Some other things that could be considered, if not now, with this proposal, but maybe in the future, if there's going to be some changes made to it. I believe that the east side should probably have a lower height limit than the west side. Buildings on the west side could see over the buildings on the east side, and most of the R -I and the more dense residential areas are east of Biscayne. In addition, the crosstown streets, I think, should be treated differently than just the normal blocks in the avenue. The crosstown streets are 54th Street, 59, 61, 62, 71 and 79, and those might have different height limits than the streets in between them, and I think there also should be considered exceptions allowed for a developer who might want to build a building that's maybe 20 or 30 percent higher than the allowed limits, if he promises to devote 20 or 30 percent of his lot size to, say, public open space. Your developer who hires an incredibly expensive architect to do a beautiful, narrow, thin design would be precluded from doing that under this design, and the other -- my last suggestion would be the City to consider buying two or three sites to build multilevel parking, maybe several two or three level parking garages to serve, you know, the businesses on Biscayne, and that would alleviate the parking problems for the condos, and create more traffic to the retail stores that we'll have on Biscayne. I think that was your recommendation from the HOK consultant study that you paid last year -- paid for last year. Thank you very much for your time.JeffMorr: Good afternoon. Chairman Teele: All right. Are these the last two people in opposition? Thank you.Mr. Morr: JeffMorr, future resident and property owner, 7101 Northeast 10th Avenue. Chairman Teele: Where are you now?Mr. Morr: Venetian Causeway, 801 North Venetian, Penthouse F-2. I've been buying buildings and improving buildings on Biscayne Boulevard for about five years now. I own four properties on Biscayne Boulevard. You don't see the houses from Biscayne Boulevard when you're driving up and down the Boulevard. You seethe buildings that people like myself renovated and put quality tenants in. If this ordinance passes today, it's going to be a very sad day for the Upper Eastside, and contrary to the belief of the -- some residents, this will only help prolong the presence of prostitutes and drug dealers. This will put a stop to numerous quality shopping and dining establishments that would have been opened on the boulevard. If anybody's even crazy enough to build on the boulevard today, this is the worst part of Biscayne Boulevard, and instead of fostering quality development with quality architecture by allowing another 10, 20, 30 feet, we're creating big, fat ugly boxes for anybody crazy enough to develop, lower end buildings, and at the same time, we're allowing 1, 000, 1500 -unit buildings to go up on Biscayne Boulevard in lower part of the City. This is not a good thing for Miami. It's a sad day for Miami. Thank you very much. Chairman Teele: Thank you. Nadine Reed: Hi. I'm also very nervous. My name is Nadine Reed. I'm a Morningside resident. It's my first time at the City Hall. I'm very impressed. It was very exciting to be here for the Midtown thing, and I've been patiently waiting and excited for this moment, and I'm going to have to rush home to my son after I speak, but --and I'm coming very late to this. It's very confusing to me, as just a regular resident, and that's kind of whatI wanted to express to you all. I know you have complex decisions to make, and as residents, it is City ofMiami Page 13 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 a special area. We also understand the economic needs that we have to meet, and I guess I just want to express my fear that the long-term impacts of -- and the result of development. I'm not against -- by the way, I'm not necessarily against or for this particular proposal because, I guess, it's confusing and I guess I'm worried that all the strategic moves, you know, between the developers and the, you know, the government, and the residents, to compromise and -- that's over my head. That's your job. I want you to hear me, and I know there are other people like me who get lost in those details, but we have to live with it, and it's a beautiful area and, yes, it is a blighted -- there are many blighted parts of Biscayne, itself, that need to be fixed but, please, you know, think of the whole package and the long -- you know, not just that corridor, and I think a lot of developers, I'm hearing today, may be very excited about that, you know, the idea of being able to make a lot of money on that narrow strip. I think they can -- what I'm trying to say is, it's complicated and don't forget all of us who live there, and thank you and good luck. Chairman Teele: Where do you live again? Tell me.Ms. Reed: Morningside. Chairman Teele: Yeah, but what part of -Ms. Reed: I live on 571h, a block and a half from the bay, 641 Northeast 57th. My house was built in 1935. Chairman Teele: So do you -- where do you -- what -Ms. Reed: I've lived there for five years. Chairman Teele: Where do you enter Morningside from?Ms. Reed: Usually -- it depends which direction I'm coming from. IfI come from the south, I come in on 50 th. IfI come from the north, I come in on 58th. Chairman Teele: All right.Ms. Reed: And I got a little bit blanked, but I had heard a few people comment, you know, that -- I think in past meetings, some of you have felt some sympathy for the developers who've invested some money and want some return, and I understand that, but I also know that every investor is faced with risk. There's no guaranteed return to any investor and, you know, it's a big -- don't forget us, the little guys. I feel like we're David versus Goliath here, so --Chairman Teele: Well, I think Commissioner Winton has been extraordinarily devoted to the residents, and we're going to hear now from some of the homeowners' associations, and I think you'll feel a lot better after some of them speak.Ms. Reed: Thank you. Chairman Teele: How long have you been -Ms. Reed: I look forward to it. Chairman Teele: How long have you been in the City now?Ms. Reed: I've been in Miami seven years, renting on the Beach, and then we bought our house five years ago. Chairman Teele: How long?Ms. Reed: Five years in Morningside, as owners. Chairman Teele: Thank you very much.Ms. Reed: Thank you. Chairman Teele: OK. Actually, you weren't speaking in opposition. You were speaking for clarification. Good. Ms. Reed: Just information (INA UDIBLE)Chairman Teele: Are there any other persons in opposition? If not, Bob, why don't we start with you and any person that would like to -- Can we see the hands of those people who want to speak in support of the ordinance that has been proposed?Commissioner Winton: I think there's another opposition right there. Chairman Teele: Are you in opposition, sir? Just come to the mike and --Ken Whiting: Ken Whiting, 742 Northeast 68th Street. I'm not in opposition to development. My concern is the wisdom of taking and putting, say, a 10 -story building in an area that's primarily one, two, or maybe 3 -story building. Chairman Teele: All right.Mr. Whiting. That's wondering the wisdom of the proportions. Chairman Teele: OKMr. Whiting: You get a bunch of low-rise buildings, two or three stories, and all of a sudden, there's one isolated building in the middle of it all. That was my concern. Chairman Teele: Your concern. All right. Thank you very much. Commissioner Winton, it looks like the opposition is coming from the top and the bottom. There are those who are opposed to the height and those who --Commissioner Winton: (INAUDIBLE) in my district. In District 2, I have yet to be in an area anywhere where there wasn't opposition from both sides, going this way, going that way, and that's, I guess, why I'm elected to make the final decision.Judy Clark: So Solomonic. Commissioner Winton: Sometimes so. Chairman Teele: All right.Ms. Clark: My name's Judy Clark. I live at 5930 North Bayshore Drive. Hi, Bob. Robert Flanders: Hi, Judy.Ms. Clark: I'm not going to oppose the ordinance that's before you today. I have some serious doubts about the recommendations that are made, the new recommendations that are made, that most of us just saw, I guess, maybe yesterday, so I had some concerns about those. I think I would not go with those. Perhaps, put those to the PAB (Planning Advisory Board), but even though you may end up passing 85 and 95 feet, I'm very much opposed to that near single-family homes. I think, perhaps, you have not heard from one percent of the number of single family homeowners in the northeast that oppose any type of high-rises. They oppose even 40 feet, many of them. There are City ofMiami Page 14 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 many, many people living in the northeast that you have not heard from. You heard from Nadine tonight, who just has become aware of how dramatic a change this might be. I think there's a tremendous amount more information that should be given to the residents that live in the area. I believe most of the residents, given a choice between a high-rise -- or as Rick Walsh mentioned one night -- a bicycle path, they would all choose a bicycle path, so when you're talking in terms of 85 and 95 feet, I think you've mostly completely lost most of the people that live on the ground, single-family homes, so I really think you need to reconsider the whole thing. You may start with this, 85 and 95 feet, and you may start with changing the area so that they go in different directions, so that high-rises go in different pockets, I should say, so that the higher rises go in different areas, but I do believe that if the rest of the homeowners figure out what is actually going on, they'll all be down here. There's], 000 people in the Silver Bluff Homeowners' Association that would love to come here and protest any kind of high-rise in their area, and you have the same thing in the northeast, or in the Upper Eastside, so thanks.Robert Flanders: I'm Robert Flanders. I live at 720 Palm Bay Lane, for the last 22 years. I'm here today as Vice President of the Upper Eastside Miami Council. On behalf of all Upper Eastside restaurant -- residents -- There are a lot of restaurants, too. -- residents, let me be -- let us be the first to congratulate you each, gentlemen, for the vision and the foresight that you have had to create a stable government, which we're not up here fighting you; we're up here supporting you, and I think that you're beginning to see the fruits of your labor; everything from a ball stadium, to the revitalization of the neighborhoods that border the FEC (Florida East Coast) track. I hope you have a party slated because you deserve it. You really do. Congratulations. We endorse the spirit of the SD -9 changes that are being considered today, and support the Commission's positive action to support this -- to adopt the smart development code. It started in 1996, at a design charrette for Biscayne Boulevard, which was cosponsored by the City ofMiami's Community Development, Jack Luft; Ana Gelabert was there, and FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) was there. We gave a vision of what we thought would be good for the boulevard then. We have comedown a logical path. I'm not going to talk about what Patrick is, but believe me, a lot of due diligence, a lot of due process, a lot of town hall meetings has gotten us here, and as Woody Allen said, "80 percent of life is just showing up, " and we have consistently shown up. We -- I mean, you know who we are. We're familiar. We're friends. In any case, the -- this Code will work with density. It is working with development. It is not anti - development, but it sends a caution light to the wrong kind of development. We feel that it's the right path. We feel that it's --that you're creating a plan for the vision of the future look of the boulevard, and it's another building block, and what you gentlemen are up there creating, and it's a new, improved Miami. Thank you. David Wallack: David Wallack. I'm a resident of Morningside, 5725 North Bayshore Drive. I've heard -- I'm one of the developers of South Beach and, as you know, that is a historic community. Chairman Teele: Where is that?Mr. Wallack: Where is that? Mango's Tropical Cafe. Morningside is also a historic community, and the main word that comes to me when I hear 10 -story and 100, 120 feet is scale. Has a study -- I'd like to ask the Commission, has a study been done as to the hours of the day and the sun, and how many homes would be put into the shade at what hours of the afternoon, what that would do to the character of that neighborhood? How would it change its foliage? What could survive and what would not? What privacy is lost by how many homes, when you have how tall a building looking right down upon how many homes into their backyards? Scale, in a historical community, is one of the most important aspects to design review and in Miami, the city has not, as a rule, I believe, gone into as extensive design review as the Beach has. I realize thatyou have a serious problem on your hands. Number one, you have this property on Biscayne Boulevard that has to be economically viable for a developer to put his money into to redevelop, and there has to be a profit motive for him to do that. I realize that. At the same time, that must be balanced with scale. Miami Beach has shown that when it is done in scale, you can do it a little more exclusively, with a little better design, and still come out financially to the good of a developer's dream. I would respectfully request that you seriously consider absolutely looking at the scale, and four to five stories is very high in this particular Morningside neighborhood. Thankyou.PatrickMcCoy: Ally name is Patrick McCoy. Chairman Teele: Are you the last speaker in support? How many more speakers are in support? Sir, go right ahead.Mr. McCoy: City ofMiami Page 15 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 OK. My name is Patrick McCoy, and I live at 679 Northeast 58th Street, in the City ofMiami. This process began, in terms of the residents' involvement, in November of 2002, actually, and over time, the Commissioner determined that we needed a charrette to look at the whole issue, and I was fortunate to be the co-chair of that particular committee that oversaw the charrette process, and during thatperiod, we had talked with, dealt with, met with hundreds upon hundreds of people. In fact, the charrette alone had about 300 participants. What this ordinance provides us is predictability. As neighbors, as developers, as landowners, I don't think we've had that in the past. We've had a lot of false expectations. This ordinance provides us an opportunity to know what we can expect, as residents and the other vested -- interested people -- parties. I would encourage you, because of the amount of work that's been involved -- This is not perfect. It doesn't satisfy everybody's needs --but I would encourage you tonight to pass this ordinance, and give us an opportunity to move forward and provide for some of those tweaks that have been discussed already this evening. Thank you. Chairman Teele: Ma'am.Kay Hancock Aptel: My name is Kay Hancock Aptel. I reside at 550 Sabal Palm Road, in Bay Point . I've had the property since 1967. I'd like to speak on -- in behalf of this passing tonight, and I also want to compliment Johnny and all of the committee members, and all of the neighbors, and everyone else that's worked diligently on this process. It's not a perfect process, but that's life, and it has been democracy. I also want to speak -- in the neighborhood I live in, which is Bay Point, we're the mega block across the street from us. We have looked atIVAX. I park -- pull out into Sabal Palm Road, I see it. I see it from my kitchen window. No, it has not put a shadow on my life, or on any of my neighbors' lives. I think good development is really the responsibility of all of us, and I also get concerned when I hear architects who say -- or developers who say you can't design something if it's a block, or if it's square. Please, if you can't go to cities in Europe that have been recently rebuilt, like east Berlin, of those size buildings, 95 feet, and see some of the finest architecture in the world, then, please, go and get a book and look at them. Thankyou. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Thankyou, ma'am. Sir.Elvis Cruz: Commissioner, I have a PowerPoint if you -- if the technician in the back could put me on line. I can wait -- yeah -- I can wait for another speaker while he does that. Vice Chairman Sanchez: All right. We'll get back to you. Sir.Andrew Dickman: Mr. Vice Chair, Commissioners, Andrew Dickman, law offices of 9111 Park Drive, in Miami Shores, Florida. I'm here representing several homeowners in the Upper Eastside area, Palm Grove, and Morningside area. As you know, their position, through me, has been that they want an ordinance that's more consistent with what the charrette originally broughtforward. The prior ordinance -- we had a long discussion. A committee was formed. I served on that committee, and I have to say that staff did a fine job. Mr. Winton's staff did a fine job because there were some extreme differences of opinions on what should and shouldn't happen on the boulevard. I can tell you that probably the area that l felt had the most consensus was definitely the area that people were referring to as the mega block, and the Biscayne Plaza area. Those areas have the potential for higher development because they will not adversely affect existing neighborhoods. The question tonight, obviously, is where is that northerly line for the mega block? I would submit to you that it's around 48th Street, simply because that's where the boulevard tapers in, the median goes away, and below that, the buildings and properties are further away from the residential areas. We are here tonight-- or I am here tonight in support, with a small "s, " not with a big "S, " because I look at this as a good first step. The residents on the boulevard need some assurances and securities, and I think that this initial interim ordinance does that. It gives a lot of security to a lot of people who have put a lot of work into this. I would also ask that the recommendations that staff have put forward to be included, except for that portion that calls for 120 feet on lots that are 150 feet or more. The reason being is thatl think that that would accomplish only a little for one or two lots, and I think that that looks a lot like an uniform zoning code, and secondarily, I think that it opens the door for land assembly, so if you had a 100 foot lot, let's go buy a 50 foot lot behind it and get in the door, so I just think that that piece of it, while the intention and the spirit of it is probably right, I think it still needs to be vetted a little bit more through the process, so I would ask you to go ahead and not approve that part of the recommendation. Go ahead forward with the ordinance that's before you tonight, because it's going to give a lot of people a lot of security. Thank you. Vice Chairman Sanchez: All right. Sir, are you ready with your PowerPoint City ofMiami Page 16 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 presentation?Hr. Cruz: Yes, sir. Thank you, Commissioner. Vice Chairman Sanchez: All right. Hr. Cruz: Elvis Cruz, 631 Northeast 57th Street. Gentlemen, I'm here tonight in favor of height limits because they're good urban design. I quote Commissioner Johnny Winton, "The plan will establish standards that emphasize a human scaled pedestrian friendly boulevard that promotes compatible development and responds to the context of a boulevard and its immediate surrounding neighborhoods. " Thank you, Commissioner. We agree completely, and here is the context of the boulevard. Here is every building on Biscayne, from 48th to 87th Street, that's three stories or more. How many are there? From 481h to 87th Street, is a distance of 2.48 miles, where 95 percent of the properties are two stories or less, and here's the other five percent . There are only 14 of them, eight of which are only three stories tall; the tallest being the INS ( Immigration and Naturalization Services) building, at 11 stories. This is the context and scale of Biscayne Boulevard. This ordinance is a wonderful opportunity. The opposition to itis mostly from property owners along Biscayne, but if you ask those property owners if they'd like to own property on Ocean Drive, they'd probably say yes. Here is the opportunity to create another Ocean Drive style streetscape, and history is already repeating itself, because in the early 70's, the property owners on Ocean Drive originally fought height limits, because they wanted to build high-rise condos. Today, Ocean Drive is a precious gem, in large part, precisely because it is low-rise. Some property owners sometimes fixate on a narrow view and short-term profits, but this Commission exists to set the best possible public policy, and this height limit may very well bring much greater long-term profit. Gentlemen, the planning process that has led to today's meeting began over eight years ago, on March 28, 1996 That process eventually recommended height limits of 30 feet. This is at least a step in the right direction. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Sir, how long --how much longer do you need?Hr. Cruz: Ten seconds. Vice Chairman Sanchez: OK. Hr. Cruz: Today marks the 10th time that neighbors from the Upper Eastside have come to City Hall to fight high-rises on Biscayne. I now ask all those here in favor of height limits to please stand and be recognized. Gentlemen, these people stand as witness that today we ask you to seize this wonderful opportunity to leave Miami your lasting legacy. Please enact these height limits. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Thank you.Hr. Cruz: Thank you. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Sir, we have a mike for you. Please state your name for the record. Scott M. Crawford: Yes. Hi. ScottM. Crawford, 430 Northeast 52nd Street, in Morningside. I want to applaud and express gratitude to the Commission for taking such careful consideration of this issue. I know that you and your staff, Zoning staff, worked really hard on this ordinance. I would like to make one quick point. There is a substantial difference between the mega block north of 501h Terrace, and the mega block south of 501h Terrace. As Mr. Dickman pointed out, the boulevard is almost at least twice as wide south of 481h Street, so there's a significant buffer zone below 481h Street that needs to betaken into consideration. That's why I feel it's appropriate for 120 feet at that area, but not north of 50th Terrace, because the boulevard is not even half as wide. Thank you. Vice Chairman Sanchez: That makes sense.Allyson Warren: Allyson Warren, 650 Northeast 82nd Terrace, for ShorecrestHomeowners'Association. We support the height restrictions, absolutely . We request that you, as part of the process, approve the study for a voluntary TDR program, because it allows for the developers, who might not have the ability to put that height on the boulevard, to put it into a CRA neighborhood, or some other neighborhoods in the City that you can specifically designate that do have a need to be able to develop at a different rate than they can right now. In spite of the threats, overt or otherwise, from some of the developers that they're going to be forced to put short, ugly buildings in our neighborhoods, in spite of the suggestion that the developers should simply be allowed into, specifically, my neighborhood, which is the 83rd through 86th Street, from the boulevard to Dixie Highway, and then there's almost exclusively R-3 -- I will promise you that if that were to happen, I would get every single homeowner personally, of the 2, 000 homes in the Shorecrest neighborhood, and we would come out to discuss it, because I do not think that that sort of a threat is appropriate. I don't think that opening up the heart of my neighborhood to high development, where only R-3 exists right now, is appropriate, but we do believe that height restrictions are critical. We have two projects that appear to be coming in at 95 feet right now; one is the bank project, at 81st and 82nd, and the other one is at the 871h Street intersection with the boulevard, which appears also to be coming City ofMiami Page 17 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 in at 95 feet, and we have no objection to that. As long as, along the way, the R -I's that directly abut the back of the property don't allow -- are not allowed to be rezoned to allow further encroachment into the residential neighborhoods, and as long as all of the other restrictions are kept in place -- the neighborhood just north of the shopping center at 791h Street only has a few short blocks before it hits County and then El Portal, and some of the properties in there are already in the process of being redeveloped by other agencies, so please, height restrictions and, potentially, the voluntary TDR program, if possible. Thank you.Maureen Joseph: Gentlemen, my name is Maureen Joseph. I live at 665 Buttonwood Lane, in Bay Point. I've lived in the City ofMiami for almost 49 years, so I guess that makes me the dinosaur of all the Upper Eastside neighbors. I was privileged to serve on the steering committee of the charrette, and unfortunately, I had to decline an invitation to serve on the SD -9 Overlay Committee, due to family commitments. I'm here today with my neighbors from the Upper Eastside to urge you to pass this very important ordinance. I want to make two quick points that no one else has mentioned. First of all, reference has been made to the wider section of the boulevard, which I assume you mean in front of Bay Point. This will be changed. In the plan of the re -- makeover of the boulevard, FDOT is eliminating one lane, that extra lane coming up from 38th Street, in front of Bay Point. It will be two through lanes, just like the rest of the boulevard, so we are no longer looking at a wide boulevard at that section. Please keep that in mind. Secondly, I wish to point out to you, that you well know, higher density means greater population. This brings to our minds some very important environmental concerns. Air quality. Fumes from cars are going to get trapped on the boulevard by any high-rise buildings. Secondly, not if we have another drought, but when we have another serious drought, where is our fresh water going to come from? Third, what about garbage and trash disposal with all these added people? Fourth, we had beach closings already because of tainted, unfit ocean water and last, I would like to bring to you to think about hurricanes. Where are these people going to go when we have to evacuate? Biscayne Boulevard is in the evacuation area. People in high-rises have mandatory evacuation, no matter where they live. At least, that's the way it is now, so these are all issues that have not heard expressed by other residents, and I think we should all be thinking about them. I'm happy to hear Mr. Winton -- Commissioner Winton say that you're going to be looking at the overall City plan for development. We need guided, sane, wise development, and I thank you. Chairman Teele: Thank you for your thoughtful comments. All right. Are these the last two persons speaking, please? All right.Abbie Cueller: I'll be very brief. My name is Abbie Cueller, and I live at 553 Northeast 751h Street, in the Palm Grove area. I'd like to -- I'm here because I'd like to urge you to approve this ordinance. I think this is a great first start to having smart growth and smart development on Biscayne Boulevard, and it gives us an opportunity to continue working with the PAB, butt would suggest that you look -- that you also look at -- in which this committee did not do, is look at areas where it would be important -- where it would be more appropriate for lower heights than 85 to 95, along Palm Grove and Morningside, and I also would strongly urge you not to approve the recommended exception for those lots that are a hundred -- that are deeper than 150 feet. I, in particular, would be impacted horribly by that particular exception, and I believe that there are only two lots in the Palm Grove area that are actually -- and those two lots directly impact me, so I would strongly urge you not to include that, and I urge you to approve this. Thank you. Chairman Teele: Thank you.Jeffrey Bass: Mr. Chairman, members of the board, Jeffrey Bass is my name, 46 Southwest I st Street, in the City of Miami, is my address. I'm here representing Morningside Civic Association, and I have really some points for the record. Number one, I'd like to ensure that the record of this proceeding incorporates the record of all the prior proceedings leading up to this is made a part of this proceeding so that the record is abundantly clear. On that point, I would like the record of this proceeding to clearly reflect that the adoption of the 85/95 is not a rejection of anything lower. That possibility needs to be open. As we lawyers who practice the rules of statutory construction always argue, the best evidence that the Commission didn't want anything lower was that they adopted something higher. Because there are further proceedings contemplated, I would encourage the record of this to make -- the record of this proceeding to make abundantly clear that this is a work in progress, and by adopting this, you are not ruling out the possibility of subsequent, more aggressive height restrictions in other areas of the boulevard, where such City ofMiami Page 18 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 protections are necessary. Chairman Teele: All right.Hr. Bass: I would urge the Commission -- Chairman Teele: All right. Counsel, on that point, we're going to ask the -- all of the lawyers and interested parties to review the record for a period of 30 days after the Mayor has taken a final action on this ordinance, and everyone will be in a position to review the record through the City Attorney's office, and the record will be held for thatperiod of time to conduct an informal review, through the City Attorney's office. Your comments have been duly noted, and I'll defer to Commissioner Winton to see if he would like to make that apart of his process.Hr. Bass: To adopt and stress some of the points made earlier, the 150 foot lot depth component of the recent amendment must not be adopted this evening. We would urge you not to adopt it this evening. It's an opportunity for mischief. It's not clearly and precisely drafted as -is. If you're contemplating it, it needs to go to the Planning Board, but there's plenty of opportunity for unintended consequences, and it needs to be pulled. Chairman Teele: All right. Hold on a minute now. Hold on. Is that in the ordinance, Mr. Attorney?Commissioner Winton: Yes, it is. Chairman Teele: Well, I thought -Mr. Maxwell: I understand that it's in the draft, sir. Commissioner Winton: For two sites. Chairman Teele: I thoughtyou were speaking in support of the ordinance.Hr. Bass: I am, but there was an amendment on the floor to amend the ordinance. I'm speaking against that amendment to the ordinance that I'm otherwise --Chairman Teele: You're speaking against the amendment.Hr. Bass: Correct. Chairman Teele: And for the ordinance as it's written.Hr. Bass: For the ordinance, as written, and against that component of the amendment. I'm not speaking against the mega block component. I'm speaking against the 150 foot lot depth component offered by staff as an amendment. Commissioner Winton: So -- I'm totally confused, so I guess I need to understand. You're suggesting that the two blocks that were offered in the ordinance, the draft ordinance here, that there are two sites where the depths of those sites is equal to or greater than 150 feet, and staff said that we should adopt a higher height limit on those two sites, and you're saying --your recommendation is that we not accept that staff recommendation on those, or that we do accept it?Hr. Bass: That you do not. Commissioner Winton: OK. Now I'm clear.Hr. Bass: That is reflected on page 8 of the yellow handout --Commissioner Winton: I got it.Hr. Bass: -- that's before you. Commissioner Winton: I'm clear.Hr. Bass: And then, lastly, I'd like to -- so that neither accuses me of playing favorites, I'd like you to reject the amendments offered by Mr. Pastoriza and Ms. Pardo. You should reject those amendments. People who live in R-3 are entitled to protection, as well, and you could quite easily live in a single-family house that is zoned R-3, and there's no reason why you should be living up against a high-rise under that circumstance. I'm not clear whether or not the moratorium is going to be heard tonight on second reading. If it is, I'll reserve my comments on that for that time. If there's no need for lengthy debate, I would urge you to adopt the moratorium tonight on second reading, to give yourselves the protections and the opportunity to be able to protect those portions that might need subsequent protection. As we all know, this ordinance is going to go back to the Planning & Zoning Board, and you should have protections during that period of time. At least some of the modifications by staff have to go back because they're more aggressive than those that have already been noticed, and with that, I would urge you to adopt the ordinance tonight, and I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Chairman Teele: All right. Are there any other persons -- Ma'am, are you in support of it?Lucia Dougherty: I'm in support of the ordinance, as written, and as recommended by the staff. I would not be in support of the amendment thatMr. Dickman and Mr. Bass has just suggested, in taking out the two larger sites. I'm here on behalf of the Hamuds. My name is Lucia Dougherty. Chairman Teele: Lucia, let me -- Hs. Dougherty: Yes. Chairman Teele: -- let me -- I thought the amendment was the amendment offered by staff. Hs. Dougherty: I am in support of the amendment offered by staff, but if you are going to consider -- I wasn't going to speak, at all -- but if you are going to consider taking out that amendment, I would like to speak on it, so I'd just like to -- City ofMiami Page 19 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Commissioner Winton: Well, just so you know, I'm going to consider taking up the amendment, so I guess you ought to speak. Hs. Dougherty: So I would like to speak in favor of this amendment, and let me just show you the map, and the reason for that is because there are much greater protections for the single- family home, or a smaller residence, adjacent to 150 foot lot depth because you can just see here, on this staff proposal that you've made, if you have 150 foot depth, you can actually do what they're suggesting, not let the building adjacent to the smaller house be more than 25 feet, so I'm just going to show this to Commissioner Winton. Commissioner Winton: I've got it right in front of me. Hs. Dougherty: So, as it relates to the lower scale residences to the west -- and, by the way, that is zoned R-2, not single-family -- it is a much greater protection because it actually starts at 25 feet, and then goes up. Then, again, on the other side of Biscayne Boulevard, it is not zoned -- first it's zoned C-1, and then it's R-3, so I cross Biscayne Boulevard. There's a buffer of not only C-1, but R-3 before you get to the single-family. Commissioner Winton: Where is that? Hr. Maxwell: On the record, please, Ms. Dougherty. Ms. Dougherty. Ms. Dougherty, your comments must be on mike. Hs. Dougherty: Thank you. All right. So there's -- across Biscayne Boulevard --from the two sites that you're suggesting that are 150 foot depth, and they're the only two sites on Biscayne Boulevard with this kind of depth -- there is C-1, and then there's a whole R-3, before you get to a single-family on the other side of Biscayne Boulevard, so it's a very different kind of situation than all the rest ofBiscayne Boulevard thatfolks are concerned about, because there is an R-3 buffer in between the C-1 before you get to the R-1. That, in addition to the fact that you have much greater protection for those that are abutting it -- because the building has to start at 25 feet, as opposed to 40 feet adjacent to the building, and it goes up to Biscayne Boulevard, so we would be in support of the amendment that the staff has recommended. Hr. Bass: On a point of procedure, if l may? Chairman Teele: Hold on a minute. Hr. Bass: OK. Chairman Teele: Sir, did you want to be recognized? Imad Hamud: Good evening, gentlemen. My name is Imad Hamud. I own the property on 7500 Biscayne Boulevard. It's over 300 feet deep. We have met with the community. We gave them what they want, and it's just you cannot please everybody. Now, with the -- we thank the staff. They've done a wonderful job. They've been very patient. They came up with this recommendation. We agreed with it. They got a lot of sun, lots of air. What else they want? I don't understand. Chairman Teele: You're speaking in support of the staff -- Hr. Hamud: Yes, sir, in support, without changing the limits or the amendment of the 150feet; to give us 120 feet high. Chairman Teele: All right. City ofMiami Page 20 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Hr. Hamud: So -- yes, sir. This is the vision they want and we giving them. What else they want? I don't understand. This is it. Chairman Teele: Thank you for your comment. Now, look, let's don't reopen this. Sir, you've not spoken before, sir? Robert Stebbins: Not this evening. Chairman Teele: Thank you very much for coming. Hr. Stebbins: Robert Stebbins, 410 Northeast 52nd Terrace. I'm for the approval of the TDRs, approval of the moratorium, to give staff -- I like the recommendations. I am a little concerned with the five foot setback from residential homes on R -I's because I do live one house in from the edge of Biscayne, and I've lived in Miami 28 years, and been in Morningside for almost 10, and that's a pretty big building to be directly next to my house. By this proposal, the parking garage is going to be in the back, and I can just imagine all those cars driving in and out, car alarms, noise, and all that being right in my backyard. Thanks. Jacki Tako: I'm for support. Can I speak? Chairman Teele: All right. Commissioner Winton: Come to the microphone. Hs. Tako: I (INAUDIBLE) Chairman Teele: Well, you've got to come into the (INAUDIBLE) so the (INAUDIBLE) -- Hs. Tako: My name is Jacki Taco. I live in 12455 Keystone Point. I'm supporting for what the committee did a lot of job, and I was in every meeting. I have to mention something to the committee. Morningside, as well as my property, is from 50 to 62. Every couple of blocks, we have a closed gated area, about 50 feet. This 50 feet (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the City, nothing can be built in there. We cannot put any --this is the interest to any committee. There is no building will be there. They have all the sun and all the air, so in 16 blocks, they have about a couple of entrance to Morningside that you cannot put any building there, and all the air and all the sun can be there, so I don't know why we cannot put our seven or eight floors, or eight or nine floors where they can have so many of areas that cannot build in Biscayne because of the gated area with the green. This green area, nobody can open or can build on it. They have about every 15 -- 50 feet, they have a gated area with green that nobody can pass through, and all this area and nobody can build it. Chairman Teele: All right. Hs. Tako: So they do have the air and the sun. Chairman Teele: Thank you very -- Hs. Tako: In my block, there is two gated area in every corner. I have 254 feet in Biscayne, and they have 200 feet in gated areas that nobody can build -- Chairman Teele: All right. Thank you very -- Hs. Tako: -- on each side of my building. City ofMiami Page 21 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Chairman Teele: Thank you very much. All right. We're going to bring this to a close. You're the last speaker, sir, and then the public hearing is closed. Steven Caterbone: Yes. Hello. My name is Steve Caterbone, at 432 Northeast 65th Street. Distinguished Commissioners, thank you for your time. Along this boulevard of broken dreams, a man named Mr. Soyka -- and I apologize. Last weekl said I wouldn't come back. I extend -- I ask for an apology. Vice Chairman Sanchez: I just said that. I thought you weren't coming back. Hr. Caterbone: Yes. My tiny temper gets the best of me. I apologize for last week. Vice Chairman Sanchez: We acceptyour apology. Hr. Caterbone: Thank you. But along this boulevard of broken dreams, a man named Mr. Soyka, he turned on the light switch of this renaissance. As a resident of the City ofMiami, a city which I truly love, I urge you to support this proposal with no conditions and no changes. Thank you very much. Chairman Teele: The public hearing is closed now. Madam Director, Mr. -- Commissioner Winton, how would you all like to proceed? Let's get a motion and let's focus -- Commissioner Winton: Ah, man. Chairman Teele: -- let's focus on a motion. Commissioner Winton: I don't chew gum, so it ain't mine. What we're dealing with here is a result of a City years ago that created a Zoning Code that I think had -- must have been created by -- Well, I'll back up, because I'm not going to blame anybody in the past, but we have a Zoning Code in this City that no longer works, in terms of where our city seems to be going, and there isn't a person in this room that could have foreseen the massive wave of development that has washed across our entire city, from one end to the other, over the course of the last four years. Unfortunately, what that -- and there's good and bad in that. The good is that the City's financial condition is in the best shape it's been in probably 30 years. We're able to spend money on parks like we've never been able to do before. We're building sidewalks. We're doing a lot of things in our city that we've never been able to do before. That's the good news. The bad news is that we have found all the warts, in all their awful glory, in our Zoning Code. When Elvis Cruz did his presentation at our last meeting, and showed us the Biscayne Boulevard that he envisioned, which really dealt with a 40 foot height limit, I saw the vision that he was talking about, and just as a person who, in the real estate world, who likes to look at neighborhoods, that vision would be fabulous, but in the state of Florida, we also have something called the Burt HarrisAct, which absolutely protects property rights, and we have the job of trying to balance neighborhood preservation with existing property rights, and that's where we are right now. Judy called it Solomonic, and that probably is what it is, and we are, unfortunately, forced to do that kind of thing all the time. It would have been nice had we all figured out some of these warts five years ago, or ten years ago, when we could have probably done things to cure the warts, and individual property owners -- because no one had any hope of developing anything -- probably wouldn't have cared, but because there is an expectation that we're going -- I'm going to develop my piece of property the way your Code allows me to build my piece of property, we create -- we have now the tug of war that we're in the middle of. I think that the -- and I want to thank all of you from the neighborhoods who have worked tirelessly to try to create something that we could -- at least the first step that we could begin to move on, and someone asked -- I guess Jeff asked that we -- that, in some fashion or another, we get on the public record that this ordinance -- that I'm going to support, and probably with some modification -- is, in fact, a work in progress, and that work is going to continue vigorously during our master planning process City ofMiami Page 22 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 because, as I've said earlier, the first phase of the master planning process is all about every single major commercial corridor in the City ofMiami where we have all of these residential neighborhoods right behind it because it is a huge issue, and how we work through this issue, balancing state constitutional property rights against neighborhood quality of life issues, is going to be maybe the challenge of this city's century but, you know, we're going to figure out something that likely won't please everyone -- I don't think we've figured out anything that pleases anyone yet anyhow -- but that is going to be, I hope, well thought out, and put our city in a position where we can move forward, and someone said -- I think Bob -- where we all have clear cut expectations, so with that, I'm going to -- and we might have a little discussion about this. I want to move the recommendation of staff, but I -- Chairman Teele: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Commissioner Winton: -- OK -- but I'm also very concerned about the piece where we've put in any site that has 150 foot of depth or more can go to the -- maybe I have the numbers wrong. Is it a hundred --120? Ms. Slazyk: A 120 height, yeah. Commissioner Winton: Because Jeff made the point, absolutely 100 percent correct, and that is, that if we approve this as an ordinance that any site, then, that has that depth can go to 120 feet, absolutely, there will be assemblages put together, and they're all going to come before us, and we're going to have to deal with every single one of them, and it goes without saying. We've seen it. We see it all over the City. It happens all the time, and we're going to have to deal with it, so I don't want -- in these two individual instances, the property owner's rationale isn't bad in those two instances, but when you apply this across-the-board, the law of unintended consequences is going to come smash us in the face, so what want some help here with is how we can make this issue work where the existing sites shouldn't necessarily be penalized, but where we don't codify something that is simply going to create a new problem for us going down the road. Ms. Slazyk: I was just asking the -- Joel if we could put existing, as of this date, because what's going to happen is for any of these other properties to try to assemble by buying more properties to the rear, in order for this to apply, they'd have to change the zoning of those properties to SD - 9, and this Commission can deny those requests, you know, based on the individual case-by-case review, butt guess whatyou're saying is, then you have to come and deal with them one by one, and what I'm asking -- I guess, the CityAttorney is -- can we say for properties with over 150 feet in depth, as of the adoption date of this ordinance, and put a date in here? Commissioner Winton: Grandfather these two sites in. Ms. Slazyk: Yeah. Because they're already SD -9 at the time of passage of this ordinance. Mr. Maxwell: Well, you're not talking about just these. This would be a general application. It just so happens that there are two properties that fall into that category. Ms. Slazyk: And they happen to be in a location of the boulevard where, across the street, it's not R -I and 2, so -- Mr. Maxwell: General application, I think you --that's the point you made earlier today, Commissioner. As long as this is a general application -- it just so happens that, at this particular time, there are only two, and I think the answer to that question is yes. Commissioner Winton: So make the -- would you -- Ms. Slazyk: We could make that amendment, yeah. City ofMiami Page 23 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Commissioner Winton: Yes, please, and I think the other -- any of the recommendations that anybody made, in terms of modifications to this ordinance, as far as I'm concerned, all of those recommendations can get melded into and dealt with during the master planning process, where we're going to look at all the corridors in the City ofMiami, so if something more rational comes out of that, then hallelujah. It may be that, in the master planning process, we come up with yet - Ms. Slazyk: A better --yeah. Commissioner Winton: -- an additional modification of this plan, which could come back before this Commission, which probably a lot of people would be interested in, so that said, my motion is to support the staff recommendation with the change that we just made. Lourdes. Ms. Slazyk: This would be on Page 8 of the ordinance that would say, `for properties with over 150 feet in depth at the time of passage of this ordinance, " and the Law Department will add whatever that date -- or the ordinance number, and then rest would read the same. Commissioner Winton: OK. That's my -- Chairman Teele: Is there a second? Commissioner Winton: That's my motion. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Second. Chairman Teele: All right. Now, Commissioner Winton, let me just make sure -- we're taking the professional staff recommendation. Now, this controversial amendment, is that in your recommendation? Commissioner Winton: It just got modified. Ms. Slazyk: It's going to be in, as modified by Commissioner Winton, which will just say only those properties that have that as of today. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Right. Ms. Slazyk: No future SD -9 changes would apply to that. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Which are two, right? Ms. Slazyk: Yeah. It's up at the 75th -- it's on the west side of the boulevard -- Chairman Teele: Commissioner -- Ms. Slazyk: -- and across the way, they have other zoning. Chairman Teele: -- let me tell you. I think that's a very Solomonic approach, I think. There may be some people who want more, I mean, but you know, the fact of the matter is, everybody wants more, and I am particularly concerned about those businesses that are on Biscayne Boulevard that have come to this Commission with uses that we have turned down in the past, and said we're going to work something out dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, and it seems that everybody's accommodated, especially those historical uses. I'm not talking about people who are going to come in and buy tomorrow or today, and by having this sort of as a -- what's the right term, Madam -- Mr. Attorney? It's sort of a grandfather, or some type of savings clause in there. They City ofMiami Page 24 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 have to be there as of today, is that right? Commissioner Winton: Yeah, they can't -- that's exactly right. Ms. Slazyk: Yeah. Commissioner Winton: That's the point. Chairman Teele: So -- Ms. Slazyk: That -- yeah. That was the amendment we just made. Chairman Teele: All right. Is there further need to discuss this or debate it, Commissioners? The Latin Grammy's is tonight. Going to be starting in the next five minutes, or started four minutes ago. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Billboard. Chairman Teele: Huh? Vice Chairman Sanchez: Billboard. Chairman Teele: Latin Billboard. Latin Billboard. Commissioner Winton: Oh. Chairman Teele: I stand corrected. Commissioner Winton: I didn't know that. Chairman Teele: Latin Billboard, at the old arena. Commissioner Regalado: Mr. Chairman, if you allow me, after the vote, I need to ask something Chairman Teele: All right. All in favor, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Ms. Thompson: It's -- Ms. Slazyk: It's an ordinance. Commissioner Regalado: It's an ordinance. Chairman Teele: I'm sorry. Commissioner Winton: Oh. Ms. Slazyk: It's an ordinance. Mr. Maxwell: It's an ordinance, as amended. The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the Deputy City Attorney. City ofMiami Page 25 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Ms. Thompson: Roll call. A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above. Ms. Thompson: The ordinance has been passed on second reading, 5/0. City ofMiami Page 26 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 SPECIAL MEETING DISTRICT 3 VICE CHAIRMAN JOE SANCHEZ SPA 04-00455 RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S ), AUTHORIZING THE BAYFRONT PARK MANAGEMENT TRUST ("TRUST") TO ACCEPT THE TRANSFER AND ASSIGNMENT OF THE AGREEMENTS WITH THE TRUST FROM CONCORDE CRUISES, INC. ("CONCORDE") TO SOUTHEAST CRUISE HOLDINGS, LLC; AUTHORIZING THE TRUST'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO EXECUTE AN AMENDMENT AND RESTATEMENT TO THE USE AGREEMENT EXECUTED JUNE 25, 1997, AND AN AMENDMENT AND RESTATEMENT TO THE VALET PARKING CONCESSION AGREEMENT DATED DECEMBER 8, 1998, WITH SOUTHEAST CRUISE HOLDINGS, INC., IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM; AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER AND THE TRUST'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO EXECUTE ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY TO RELEASE CONCORDE'S GUARANTY UPON THE OCCURRENCE OF CONDITIONS PRECEDENT, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY. 04-00455- cover memo.pdf 04-00455 - handout - 2.pdf 04-00455.exh ibit.Ag reement. pdf Motion by Vice Chairman Sanchez, seconded by Commissioner Gonzalez, that this matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Winton, Sanchez, Regalado and Teele R-04-0287 A motion was made by Vice Chairman Sanchez, seconded by Commissioner Gonzalez, and was passed unanimously, to adopt -Item SP. 1. A motion was made by Vice Chairman Sanchez, seconded by Commissioner Winton, and was passed unanimously, to reconsider previous vote on Item SP. 1. Item SP.1 was sub se qu en tly AD OP TED WITH MODIFICATIONS. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Mr. Chairman, if you may. Can we -- we have one item that's really not controversial, at all. We could just -- Chairman Teele: Motion by Commissioner -- Vice Chairman Sanchez: -- get it over with. Chairman Teele: -- Vice Chairman Sanchez, SP. 1 ? Vice Chairman Sanchez: Yes, sir. City ofMiami Page 27 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Chairman Teele: Is there a second? Commissioner Gonzalez: Second. Commissioner Regalado: Second. Chairman Teele: Is there objection? All those in favor, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chairman Teele: All opposed say (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Thank you very much. (This item was later reconsidered. See below) Chairman Teele: Vice Chairman Sanchez, you're recognized. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. SP. 1. I need to make a motion to reconsider basically a cleanup item on the -- Chairman Teele: Motion to reconsider Item SP. Number 1. Commissioner Winton: Second. Chairman Teele: Moved by the Vice Chairman. Commissioner Winton: Second. Chairman Teele: Second by Commissioner Winton. Is there objection? All those in favor, say " aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chairman Teele: Those opposed have the same right. SP.1 is reconsidered. Vice Chairman Sanchez: All right. If we could have the Executive Director and -- ofBayfront Park. Chairman Teele: Executive Director of the Bayfront Trust is recognized. Erica Wright (Assistant CityAttorney): He's stuck outside. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Stuck outside. Mr. Chairman, this cleanup item is an item pertaining to the letter of credit, and all we need to do is just have something corrected on the record. Chairman Teele: The Executive Director of the Bayfront Trust is recognized, sir, for the third time. You were caught up in the masses. Tim Schmand (Executive Director, Bayfront Trust): Yes, I was. Chairman Teele: All right. You're recognized. Hr. Schmand: Tim Schmand, Executive Director of Bayfront Park. The previous resolution that you approved this afternoon has been changed slightly to authorize not only myself, but the City Manager to release the Casino Princesa from the guarantee that's in the current contract. City ofMiami Page 28 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Vice Chairman Sanchez: That's what he needed to state. Madam Attorney? Ms. Wright: Yes. You have before you an amended resolution in which -- in addition to what you passed earlier would authorize the City Manager and the Trust's Executive Director to execute a release of the Concor guarantee. Pursuant to the previous terms of the agreement, the Concor Cruises had to provide a guarantee to the City and the Trust with the provision of the new entity, Southeast Cruise Holdings. They will provide a letter of credit in lieu of that, so in order for us to execute the release of the guarantee, we need the City Commission's authority. Vice Chairman Sanchez: All right. Chairman Teele: All right. Do we have a motion as amended? Vice Chairman Sanchez: So move, as amended. Commissioner Regalado: Second. Chairman Teele: Is there objection? All in favor, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chairman Teele: All opposed have the same right. The item is adopted. City ofMiami Page 29 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 DISTRICT 5 CHAIRMAN ARTHUR E. TEELE, JR SP.2 04-00456 RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION PROVIDING SUPPORT RELATED TO THE CELEBRATION AND DEDICATION OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF BROWN V. THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, HOSTED BY THE "MIAMI-DADE BRANCH OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE ("NAACP") YOUTH POWER SUMMIT," WHICH PROVIDES EDUCATIONAL EMPOWERMENT TO YOUTH, TO BE HELD ON FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2004 THROUGH SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2004, AT THE COCONUT GROVE EXPO CENTER, 2700 SOUTH BAYSHORE DRIVE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $30,000; ALLOCATING FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $15,000, FROM THE DISTRICT 5 SPECIAL EVENTS ACCOUNT NO. 001000.921054.6.289, AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $5,000, FROM THE DISTRICT 1 ROLLOVER ACCOUNT NO. 001000.920921. 6.930, AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $5,000, FROM THE DISTRICT 2 ROLLOVER ACCOUNT NO. 001000.920920.6.930, AND AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $5,000, FROM THE DISTRICT 4 ROLLOVER ACCOUNT NO. 001000.920919.6.930; FURTHER DIRECTING THAT THIS ALLOCATION BE MADE TO THE COCONUT GROVE EXPO CENTER TO ASSIST WITH COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID EVENT INCLUDING THE FACILITY, POLICE, FIRE, GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, AND OTHER RELATED DEPARTMENTS AND ANY ADDITIONAL ITEMS FROM THIS ACCOUNT. 04-00456 - submittal - 1.pdf Motion by Commissioner Regalado, seconded by Commissioner Gonzalez, that this matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Winton, Sanchez, Regalado and Teele R-04-0286 Chairman Teele: I would like to impose a time limitation of 30 seconds on SP.2. Mr. Brown, are you here? You have 30 seconds, sir. I apologize, but this is -- Commissioner Winton: On which item? Chairman Teele: On SP.2, the 501h anniversary of Brown versus the Board of Education. Commissioner Winton: Oh. Bradford Brown: Thank you. My name is Brad Brown. I'm President of the Miami -Dade ( INA UDIBLE) the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). We want to first thank the City ofMiami for their support and help in hosting our event at the Coconut Grove Convention Center, which honors the 50th anniversary of Brown versus Board of Education, and does so by both informing the attendants and providing our young people with the skills and efforts to move forward, educationally and career wise, to meet the unfilled City ofMiami Page 30 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 promises that Brown held out 50 years ago for education, so I want to thank you. I will distribute to each one ofyou material -- Chairman Teele: OK, you have to just talk on the mike. OK. How many people do we expect to come to this event, Mr. Brown? Hr. Brown: We expect we'll have about 3, 000 students, mostly from Dade County, some from Broward and outside. Chairman Teele: How many? Hr. Brown: About 3, 000 we've got lined up at this point. Chairman Teele: All right. Your major sponsor fell through. Hr. Brown: Yes, it did. Chairman Teele: You all had a forty or fifty thousand dollars commitment that fell through, and I'm passing out Substitute Item Number 2, which takes fifteen thousand dollars from the Special Events account of District 5 to assist you. If you will move that, Commissioner Regalado, that's SP. 2. Commissioner Regalado: I will move SP.2 with --we don't know the amount yet -- Chairman Teele: Yeah, we have the amount. It's Substitute Item 2, it's fifteen thousand dollars from the District 5 Special Events account. Commissioner Winton: Second. Commissioner Gonzalez: Second. Commissioner Regalado: Mr. Chairman, I would amend that with five thousand dollars on rollover account of District 4. Chairman Teele: Does the maker --you made the motion -- Commissioner Regalado: I made the motion. Chairman Teele: Commissioner Gonzalez, do you accept the -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Second, as amended. Chairman Teele: All right. OK, so we're about forty thousand dollars short. Is there objection to the motion, as amended? Ma'am, did you want to be heard on this? Rosa Green: I sure did. Chairman Teele: You have some money you're going to offer to this? Hs. Green: I sure don't, and I don't think that we should. NAACP --first of all, I think, if they want to -- Chairman Teele: Your name and address for the record. Hs. Green: Rosa Green, 415 Northwest 6th Street, and especially taking the money from District City ofMiami Page 31 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 5, which is the most blightest, unforgotten area in Dade County, and first of all, I think even though NAACP has been around a long time, I am a living witness that when I call them, they weren't therefor me, but think, ifyou want the students to learn about the N-- board --I mean Brown versus the Board of Education, it should be added to the Dade County School curriculum, because I read the article in the paper today stating that it was better, and I have to disagree wholeheartedly when you have thousands and thousands of third graders that can't read, and seniors that can't even enter into college because of the miseducation of mostly black folk. Chairman Teele: Thank you, Ms. Green. Ms. Green: And I think that you -- all of you should think before you start giving money to the NAACP, of whom it's --you have to pay each year for membership. Chairman Teele: One hundred percent of the money that's -- thank you. Ms. Green: I don't think it should come from a poor district. Chairman Teele: All right. Ms. Green: I think he should come in the Overtown area and see where the money needs to be spent. Chairman Teele: Thank you. Just so that the record is correct, one hundred percent of the monies that are being spent are going to the City ofMiami Convention facility to pay for the use of the venue the chairs, and the equipment that will be used. There's still about forty thousand dollars that's needed, and if anybody from the public wants to help, there's Mr. Brown. See him after this meeting. Commissioner Winton. Commissioner Winton: It's a circular movement of money within the City. Chairman Teele: It's a circular movement of money -- Commissioner Winton: It started in; it moved around, it came back in Chairman Teele: It's not --the NAACP will not get a check. One hundred percent of the money goes to the management of the Convention Center to provide the venue so that children not only from all over the City will have an opportunity, but all over the state. It's a great worthwhile thing, and just so the record is clear, Brown versus the Board of Education is a landmark case that reversed one hundred years of separate but equal -- it reversed the Dread Scott decision in many cases, and it was the preamble to the changes that we all see today, and I think that people need to understand that, and I think the NAACP is doing a wonderful job by letting people know what the history of this country is. Commissioner Gonzalez. Commissioner Gonzalez: If the maker of the motion accepts an amendment, I would also like to proffer five thousand dollars from my Special Event account. Commissioner Regalado: Yes, sir, accepted. Chairman Teele: All right. Thank you so much, Commissioner Gonzalez. Is there further discussion? If not, on the -- Commissioner Regalado: Mr. Chairman. Chairman Teele: Commissioner Regalado. City ofMiami Page 32 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Commissioner Regalado: Just a point to the administration. The fact that they're short of money should not impede this event to go on, because the Coconut Grove Convention Center has welcomed some distinguished groups, non -for-profit, like NAACP, and they owe money -- still they owe money too for rent to the Convention Center, so if some money needs to be owed to the Convention Center, the event should go on. I just want to make sure, Mr. Chairman, because then, come May 6th, we're going to have to rush and do something, because there are entities we're allowed to owe money to the Convention Center. Chairman Teele: We appreciate your remarks very much. Commissioner Winton. Commissioner Winton: I was checking with staff to see what our budget was, because I didn't know what it was, and we do have surplus, and I'll be glad to do an equal chip in. Chairman Teele: That would be -- not equal to fifteen, equal to five. All right. So, does the maker of the motion -- Commissioner Regalado: Second. Chairman Teele: -- accept the amendment? Commissioner Regalado: Yes, sir. Chairman Teele: And the seconder, so that adds an additional fifteen. Is there further discussion? All those in favor -- Mr. Manager. Larry Spring (Chief of Strategic Planning, Budgeting & Performance): I'm just trying to keep the count in my head. Maria Chiaro (Assistance City Attorney): The total amount of the resolution is thirty thousand dollars. Chairman Teele: Yeah, at this point. Yes. Thank you. All those in favor, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chairman Teele: All opposed have the same right. Thank you very much. Nothing's easy in the City ofMiami. Mr. Brown: Thank you very much. Chairman Teele: Thank you very much. City ofMiami Page 33 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 SP.3 04-00438 RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE EXPENDITURE OF $2,000,000 FROM THE HOMELAND DEFENSE AND NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT 5 QUALITY OF LIFE BOND FOR A FOOTBALL/SOCCER MINI -STADIUM WITH A SEATING CAPACITY OF APPROXIMATELY 5,000 TO 6,000 TO BE LOCATED IN THE DISTRICT 5 AREA; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE EXPENDITURE OF $1,000,000 FROM THE HOMELAND DEFENSE AND NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT RANGE PARK BOND ALLOCATION, FOR TOTAL PROJECT COSTS NOT TO EXCEED $3,000,000. DEFERRED A motion was made by Commissioner Winton, seconded by Commissioner Regalado, and was passed unanimously, with Vice Chairman Sanchez absent, to DEFER item SP.3 to the Commission Meeting currently scheduled for May 6, 2004. Chairman Teele: First and foremost, the special Commission meeting of Thursday, April 291h is called to order. We have a PZ.1 item, which is a special district requirement along Biscayne Boulevard. That's PZ. Then we have SP.1 and SP.2, 3, 4, 5, and then --what is this, PZ.1 ? What I would like to do is entertain a motion to defer Item SP.3 and SP. 4 to the May 6th meeting, the next meeting. Commissioner Winton: So moved. Commissioner Regalado: Second. Chairman Teele: Is there objection to deferring SP.3 and 4? If not, all those in favor, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chairman Teele: All opposed? SP.4 04-00442 RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ESTABLISHING A NEW SPECIAL REVENUE FUND ("FUND") ENTITLED "DISTRICT 5 MINI - STADIUM FUND," AND APPROPRIATING SAID FUND WITH PROCEEDS GENERATED FROM THE FIRST FOUR YEARS OF OPERATION OF THE MINI -STADIUM (FOOTBALL/SOCCER) TO BE LOCATED IN THE DISTRICT 5 AREA, SAID PROCEEDS FROM THIS FUND WILL BE USED TO REPAY, TO THE EXTENT IT IS FINANCIALLY FEASIBLE, THE HOMELAND DEFENSE AND NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT 5 QUALITY OF LIFE BOND. DEFERRED A motion was made by Commissioner Winton, seconded by Commissioner Regalado, and was passed unanimously, with Vice Chairman Sanchez absent, to DEFER item SP.4 to the Commission Meeting currently scheduled for May 6, 2004. (See minutes ofAgenda Item SP.4 under Agenda Item SP. 3) City ofMiami Page 34 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 SP.5 04-00384 RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN INTER -LOCAL AGREEMENT ("AGREEMENT"), IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM IDENTIFIED AS "EXHIBIT A," WITH MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, ("COUNTY") A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, AND THE MIDTOWN MIAMI COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT ("DISTRICT"), A LOCAL UNIT OF SPECIAL PURPOSE GOVERNMENT, BOUNDARIES OF WHICH ARE IDENTIFIED IN "EXHIBIT B," ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO PREPARE A "FINDING OF NECESSITY STUDY" FOR THE DISTRICT, PURSUANT TO REQUIREMENTS OF CHAPTER 163, FLORIDA STATUTES FOR THE CREATION OF A COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY. 04-00384 - memo - 1.pdf 04-00384 - funds - 2.pdf 04-00384 -Exhibit- agreement - 3.pdf Motion by Commissioner Winton, seconded by Commissioner Regalado, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Winton, Sanchez, Regalado and Teele R-04-0288 Note for the Record: Vice Chairman Sanchez requested that the Administration consider committing some of the revenues from this project for long-term capital improvements, including parks, throughout the entire City ofMiami. Chairman Teele: All right. Commissioner Winton, this is your program today. We want to defer to you, as the district Commissioner. We have two items. I would respectfully recommend, since we have so many people here that appear to be from Midtown taking up seats -- and that are a lot of people that I've been advised from the Biscayne Boulevard project, they have not been able to get in; they're outside locked out -- that we would do a serious time limitation on the Midtown. (Consideration ofltem SP.5 interrupted for another item. Discussion continued below.) Chairman Teele: When I looked to see, you weren't on the dais. I apologize. Commissioner Winton -- Commissioner Winton: I'm -- Chairman Teele: The order of the day's up to you, sir. Commissioner Winton: If we could move very, very quickly through Midtown so that we could reshuffle the deck and get people in, then that would work for me, and I don't --you know, I feel bad because of a lot of people on the Biscayne Boulevard Corridor -- because that was the first - - suppose to be the first agenda item, but there are many people that got stuck outside, so it's a terrible shuffle and I think that there are a lot more people here from the -- on the Midtown thing then otherwise -- and I think we did move through that very, very, very quickly. City ofMiami Page 35 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Chairman Teele: Commissioner Winton, with your permission, the Chair is going to impose a 15 -minute time limit on this item, and then we'll see. What we would have to do, just so everybody's clear, we'll have to clear the chambers from the people that are here on Midtown, if we go over this, and let the people coming in on Biscayne Boulevard come in, because they were advertised as first, and they have been very patient. We appreciate the Biscayne Boulevard people being patient. Madam Manager. Linda Haskins: Hello. My name is Linda Haskins, Chief Financial Officer of the City ofMiami. We went through a large presentation last week; don't want to go into a lot. The Midtown Miami project is a -- what is considered a flagship public/private partnership project for the City of Miami to turn one of the most economically deprived areas of the City ofMiami into a revitalized area. The project delivers one point two billion dollars in construction costs to one of the most economically deprived areas of the City, and with those construction costs delivers incremental tax revenues to the City. Those revenues would not occur, were it not for the project. We're proposing, as a public/private partnership, to use a portion of those incremental revenues to fund certain infrastructure costs to ensure the success of the development. That development is - - results in 600, 000 square feet of retail; eight condominium towers; 150, 000 square foot office building; a hotel, and other ancillary services in the area. The permanent construction job -- the full-time construction jobs during the construction period are 700 jobs. We -- the builders and the CDD (Community Development District) have committed to reaching out and ensuring that City residents are given the first chance for jobs in this area. On the retail side, there is an estimate of 2 700full-time jobs upon completion of the retail components. That does not include any of the additional jobs that would be created in that area by revitalizing it. In the end result, what is being asked for is in return for the project that can deliver, if fully completed, in excess of seven hundred million dollars in additional tax revenues to the County and to the City, that there be funding -- there be a portion of that used to fund infrastructure costs and interest on the debt related to that infrastructure cost of a hundred and seventy million. To the City, that means additional revenues only derived from the project being built of in excess of four hundred million, of which more than three hundred million is returned to the City. With that, I'd like to -- we have the representatives from the two main developers here today. We have Dan Pfeffer, from Biscayne Partners, and we -- from Midtown Realty, and Ralph Conti from Developers Diversified, and they will introduce the rest of their group. Daniel Pfeffer: First of all, I'd like to thank all the members of the Commission -- Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): I'm sorry, sir. We need your name. Hr. Pfeffer: I'm sorry. Daniel Pfeffer, Biscayne Development Partners, P -F -E -F -F -E -R. It's 3110 Northeast 2nd. First of all, I'd like to thank all the Commissioners for the opportunity to present for you today. Before I say just a few words --because I know you are pressed for time - - I just want to recognize quite a few people that are here, I believe, supporting our project today, and if you just stand up and be recognized or wave, if you are standing and ready, I'd appreciate it. (APPLA USE) Hr. Pfeffer: What you see here today is really just the beginning of what we plan to do with the Midtown Miami project. If you notice, it's quite a few gentlemen in uniform back -- standing in the back, as well as quite a few other folks that are seated, also in uniform. Today I'm proud to say, before the project is even begun, we have created over 30 full-time jobs, all of which are providing benefits today, including health insurance, sick days, vacation days, and we intend to add quite a few -- and I think you've heard a couple of the statistics -- quite a few more people to this number, so, again, thank you for coming, and I appreciate the support you've shown us all along. Again, I'll be brief. What would like to say is we have done and we have completed quite a few projects throughout our careers. Michael Samuel, my partner in this development, City ofMiami Page 36 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 and us have really been overwhelmed by the amount of support that we've received from both the City and the County to date, and I can honestly say that what we've created today really is the definition of a true public/private partnership. For this project -- and I hate to use a cliche. It's really a win-win for everybody --for us, it allows us to complete what really has become a dream, which is really creating a new Midtown development for the City ofMiami, and for the City, it creates what is really becoming or will become a huge windfall for the City, and you've already heard that it will create over three hundred million dollars of incremental revenue just for the City ofMiami alone, so we're very proud to be a part of that, and I want to introduce -- can you hear me? -- Dan Herman from Developers Diversified. Dan Herman: Thank you, Dan, and thank you, City administration, City Commissioners, everybody shown up today in support of this project. On behalf of Developers Diversified, I really appreciate the opportunity to work with the City ofMiami and Biscayne Partners. We think it's an outstanding opportunity to redevelop and revitalize the Wynwood neighborhood, and hopefully spill out into other parts -- Commissioner Winton: You need to put your name and address on the record, also. Hr. Herman: I'm sorry. Dan Herman, Developers Diversified, 3300 Enterprise Parkway, Beachwood, Ohio. We think it's a phenomenal opportunity to help revitalize, rejuvenate the Wynwood neighborhood, and also use this development as a catalyst for further development within the Midtown Miami area, and look forward to continuing a working relationship with the City ofMiami and the residents of the City ofMiami, as well. Thank you very much for hearing us this afternoon, and hopefully to a successful project for all of us. Chairman Teele: All right. Commissioner Winton: Mr. Chairman, you asked us to try to -- we had a fairly lengthy presentation and discussion on this last time, so you asked that we try to reduce this to a very short time frame. We have a lot of people that --in the audience who would like to speak to the value of this project for many of our neighborhoods, so I think what I would like to do -- and they only want to speak because they want to impress upon this Commission how important this project is to their neighborhoods, to their families and to our City. They really want us to vote " yes. " Well, we don't know what the answer's going to be yet, so, under normal circumstances at this point, I would be -- because this is my project -- I would be making for a motion, looking for a second, then we would have Commission discussion. I would like to modify the procedure this go round, and find out if there's any real lengthy discussion we need to have from a Commission standpoint. If there is lengthy discussion from a Commission standpoint and we have some -- and we had some concerns, very legitimate concern at the last Commission meeting, because Commissioners didn't have all their questions answered, and they must be answered before Commissioners can make an informed decision, but if that doubt still kind of sits out there, then what would want to do is table this discussion, bring the SD -9 issue to the forefront, and ask all these people to forgive us for a little while, and let us go to the issue that was first and then go into a full presentation, with public input, on Buena Vista Yards, so I guess I would like to find out if there's any real significant discussion we need to have from a Commission standpoint. If there isn't, then we can make a motion to move, but if there isn't, then I want to move this whole thing and do a full presentation that will take us considerably longer. Chairman Teele: Commissioner, I think we can work through that. For the record, I am much more concerned about any persons who are speaking in opposition -- Vice Chairman Sanchez: Opposition. Chairman Teele: -- than I am about any persons speaking in support of, because I think the worst -- the only damage that we can do is not protect the record to ensure that everyone who City ofMiami Page 37 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 wanted to be heard in opposition was not heard (sic). The people who are going to be in for it, we cut their rights off, they're not going to sue us because they didn't get to say they were for it so, with your permission, I would like to see, are there any persons here in opposition to this item that would like to be heard? If so, please come forward. You'll be entitled to two minutes, as we afford everyone to speak. Are there any other persons in opposition? (Comments translated by Odina Suarez, Official Spanish Interpreter) Odina Suarez (Official Interpreter): Apparently not. Chairman Teele: All right. Apparently, we have one American, greatAmerican. Thank you very much for being here. Peter Kohn: Thank you. My name is Peter Kohn, 1918 Brickell Avenue, Miami, Florida. From the start of this project, I've questioned it and I wonder if, in fact, the money that's going to this project will come back to the City in any way, given the fact that there are three thousand, thirty -- or thirty -- approximately 3500 units that are planned for this project, and there are thousands planned for downtown Miami, and throughout Miami itself, I wonder if, given the fact that inflation and the fact that interest rates are going up soon, so many projects are planned, that these units will actually be sold and tax -- property tax revenue will actually be generated for this City to pay for this. There are other ways this property could be used to create jobs for those who are out there, who may be out there in the audience in support of this. I invite those Commissioners who are considering passing this item to reconsider and think about the consequences of their action. To support this item would be fiscally irresponsible. The attempt to justify this by saying, as some City officials have, that ifMidtown Miami project fails, the grant -- the subsidy will not be paid is disingenuous. This Project can fail, and the subsidy still be paid by the City without the City receiving any revenue in return. Passage of this item will allow the developers to get financing and build this project. Once it is built, they'll get money, regardless of whether their units sell or not. If you pass this item, you're giving this money away to the developer with no strings attached and with no guarantee that you'll be able to recoup this money. It's purely speculative. You're doing this in spite of the fact that you'll not receive revenue from the parking you'll be financing; in spite of the fact that thousands of housing units are being developed throughout the City, particularly downtown; in spite of the fact that interest rates are about to rise, making purchases more expensive; in spite of the fact that property tax assessments are going to go down, reducing tax revenues. Why do the citizens ofMiami not know about this -- Ms. Thompson: I'm sorry. Mr. Kohn: -- why they're not aware of this item? Why has this item been slipped under the rug? Chairman Teele: All right, sir, your time has expired. Would you like to take 30 seconds and conclude? Mr. Kohn: This money would be better spent serving the needs ofMiami residents, for instance, education, rather than toward a vacant piece ofproperty, which you could have purchased in the first place, and where there's no actual current citizen ofMiami living. Those who are here for SP.1 should be aware that this development is just down the street from them, and given the fact that they're approximately 1, 000 parking spaces planned for this, their growth problem will not - - will be offset by any building -- will not be offset by the building moratorium that will be passed today. Chairman Teele: All right. Thank you very much. Did the staff want to clarify any of the points that were made? I think he said a thousand parking spaces. My recollection is it's 2500 or 2900 City ofMiami Page 38 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Commissioner Winton: 2900. Chairman Teele: 2900. What was the other point that he made? Commissioner Winton: Well, one point was that we could take the money and spend it on schools or something. Well, there isn't any money that's coming from anywhere except from money that's generated if they build real estate buildings on the property, so the only source of revenue that can go anywhere will come only if the buildings on that site are built. There is no money coming from anywhere else in the City. There's no money coming from our parking surcharge. There's no money coming from our ad valorem taxes. There's no money coming from any fee, or tax, or service that we have ongoing in the City ofMiami. The only revenue that gets generated to service the bonds, or maintain the project, to guarantee the bonds, to pay for anything that's going on in that project, that money gets generated by two sources: the developer's equity in debt and the ad valorem taxes that get generated if a building gets built on the site, so what does that mean again in answer to the question about taking this City money and spending it on schools? Well, if they don't build any buildings, there isn't any money to spend on schools, because we're not taking current City money, revenue stream of any kind and including it in this project, so if the developers walk out the door today, we don't have anything else to talk about. There won't be any development done. There won't be any new taxes created. The land will sit there that currently pays virtually no taxes, and it will continue to pay virtually no taxes, and there will be no opportunity to generate a tax stream. There will be no opportunity -- you guys can take your uniforms off and go back home, because you're not going to have a job, and the other 2500 people that could be employed in the retail component of this project that will be high paying, very good paying full-time jobs, y'all can go away, too, because those jobs won't be there. (APPLA USE) Chairman Teele: All right. Now, ladies and gentlemen -- Commissioner Winton: May I? There is another point that Dan Pfeffer wants to make that I think is another appropriate point to the point about money for schools. Hr. Pfeffer: Right. I think that Linda would probably be better apt to give us the exact amount, but think in a recent calculation, the City calculated the amount of inventive payments and fees that will wind up going directly to the school board as a result of our development, and it's many millions of dollars. Chairman Teele: Impact fees. Hr. Pfeffer: Impact fees. Sorry. Chairman Teele: All right. Hold on just one minute. We got a couple of things we've got to clear up. We're required and mandated by law that anyone who comes before us must be registered, and it's my understanding that somebody refuses to register or something. I don't know what all that's about. You all need to clean that up. You don't have an option. You have to register as a representative, and we can work through that. I mean, that's not a big deal to me, but we can work through that. Number two, Commissioner Winton, look, with all due respect to the gentleman and your remarks, the Florida Constitution is very clear. The City doesn't have money to give to the school board, and the school board doesn't have money to give to the City. Those are separate constitutional bodies, just like we don't take Broward County money and send it -- and so all this reference to education, the school is a good point, but it does not apply in the State of Florida, because Florida, under Florida law, the cities have their own taxing rights up to ten mills. The school board within --under the direction of the Florida legislature, so I think we ought to move on and deal with any other opposition that we may have City ofMiami Page 39 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 that is thoughtfully placed. There appears to be no one else in opposition. Commissioner Winton, did you want to make a motion for discussion? Commissioner Winton: Yes, I do. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Second for the purpose of discussion. Chairman Teele: We have a motion to approve the recommendations of the Manager that are before us in the form of the interlocal agreement and the various attachments. Commissioner Regalado: Second. Vice Chairman Sanchez: I seconded it for the purpose of discussion. Commissioner Regalado: Oh. Chairman Teele: Mr. Manager, did you want to -- huh? Commissioner Winton: The Chairman doesn't want to do -- he wants to move this fast track. He doesn't want to do the video. He doesn't want to do a big presentation, so -- and I'm -- Chairman Teele: I don't have an objection to the video. What I'm saying, though -- Commissioner Winton: But it is about 15 minutes. Chairman Teele: -- is if we do the video, we're going to have to put it after the Biscayne Boulevard. Commissioner Winton: Exactly. I'm agreeing with you, Commissioner. Chairman Teele: And I have no objection to putting the video on for May 61h as an informational item at the Commission meeting. Discussion. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Discussions. Chairman Teele: Commissioners, Vice Chairman Sanchez, Commissioner Gonzalez. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As you know, at the last meeting, this was a bit of a surprise to me and I asked that the administration sit with me and my staff, and brief us on all -- because there was some concerns being that it was brought forth, and there was some information that didn't have. I had the opportunity to sit down with the staff and my staff and review all the concerns that had. One of the things that we need to make very clear on the record here since we're moving it so quickly is that the safeguards that were in place that we wanted to make sure thatprotects the City's interests, one of them was if the developer doesn't go forward, the City didn't have to apply any dollar -- economic incentive payments into the project, and another issue that I had a great concern was, what happens if it defaults? I mean, we've seen in the past that some projects have defaulted, and then the responsibility falls or the burden falls on the local government. Well, in that case, you know, if the bonds default, the City has zero liability, so that was something that was very impressed with. Another issue was that no general fund money would be spent on the debt service payment to the developer. We need to take that into consideration, too, and that the CRA created for midtown, and narrow -- define so that the only function is to make TIF (Tax Increment Fund) payments to the developing district and revenues are there to make those payments. One of the things that I had talked to the administration was that if the TIF generated more money than it needed to pay the debt service, those funds would go into the general fund to be used equitably to all the needs of the City. In City ofMiami Page 40 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 other words, we wanted to make sure that this is -- we realize that this is a long-term investment, and that's something that wanted to make very clear. For the first time, the City is committing dollars, but in the long term, it's generating a lot of money back, and that's something this City has not done in years. We have not really committed our dollars to work with the private sector to have money come back into our general funds. Now, what wanted to getfrom the administration was that wanted a commitment from the administration that we would work and find revitalization opportunities in other impoverished corners of our City. Let me tell you, I'm glad to see this project go where it's going, because Wynwood for many years has not been focused on a revitalization plan. If everything goes as planned --and I'm very optimistic about it -- as Commissioner Winton stated, a lot of people are going to have jobs. You know, it's going to bring energy back to that community. People could be proud --although they're very proud to live in that community, they're going to be even prouder now to have such a first class development that's going to attract a lot of employment to the area. I, on the other hand, looking at the numbers, am very impressed with the numbers that'll be coming in, not at the beginning of the investment, because you're looking at the first year about seven hundred and something thousand dollars, but we're looking in the long-term revenue source of millions of dollars coming into the City. What would ask the administration to basically --in a requestform --is that it commit some of those funds that later on --you know, I'm not going to be around. Neither of us here are going to be around when that money comes in, but, you know, I think this City has not done that in the past, and that's why today we're paying for it. 50 some years of not putting any capital improvements in our community, you know, it shows. Streets look in poor condition, no sidewalks, but we're doing that. For the first time, we're really putting capital improvements in our community and really improving on the quality of life and everybody is very happy about that. I would ask that somehow, the City in the long term -- and I may not be here -- but that somehow, they entertain the thought of putting an endowment fund for parks, maintaining of parks, which continues to be a big concern tome. We're building great parks, but 171 tell you what, we don't have the focus to put the monies into maintaining these parks, and knowing that ten years down the road, they're going to be in good conditions and we won't be having to put money into them to fix them up, so, you know, I just want to be able to look into the future and have that mentality that this City has not had for many, many years, and we're talking about millions of dollars that'll be coming into this community. At the end of the day, you know, some of us may be around, some of us may not be around, but we need to think that way. One thing that I want to bring out was the employment. At one time, it stated that it was going to benefit the surrounding communities. Well, I can live with that if it's based on a priority base for those people that are affecting that community, but once again, when we focus on these investments through the entire community, they should be citywide, because we do have a lot of people in our community who don't have a job, and just because they're building a big project anywhere, just as if they build the Orange Bowl, which there's a possibility -- there's a possibility of building a stadium in the Orange Bowl -- it should be citywide. We should focus our resources on applying jobs to our residents, so that's one of the things that wanted the developer to state on the record; that they would commit to doing that, and I'm sorry about my voice. I wasn't able to talk much tonight. Hr. Herman: Well on behalf of Biscayne Development Partners, I know -- (APPLA USE) Hr. Herman: --and I know at this point, I'm speaking for Developers Diversified as well -- Chairman Teele: Sir, excuse me. We let it happen the first time, and then it goes on. Look, folks, this is a governmental -- this is not the Marlins game. We want you to go to the Marlins game and the Heat game. When do the Heat play? Friday? Hr. Arriola: Friday, and I'll be there. City ofMiami Page 41 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Chairman Teele: We want you to go to the Heat game, cheer all you want to, but, please -- Hr. Arriola: I'm the 13th player on the team, you know. Chairman Teele: You're -- oh, that's right. Hr. Arriola: Yes. Chairman Teele: Please cheer and boo our Manager if he gets -- but in all seriousness, we would appreciate if you would not applaud, or jeer, or boo. This is a governmental process, and we would like for you to maintain the decorum that we're trying to establish. Thank you very much. Hr. Herman: Commissioner, on behalf of Biscayne Development Partners --and I know I'm speaking on behalf of Developers Diversified at this point, I can tell you that we have already made a significant commitment to the entire City ofMiami by beginning the process of conducting job outreach programs, and we're going to continue that. And we have told the City, as well as the County that our priority is the City ofMiami first, and that really includes the entire City ofMiami. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Thank you. Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, let me just state that want to commend the City Administrator, the staff and everyone who worked so hard to make this happen. Let me just state that the interlocal agreement by far is one of the best interlocal agreements that have read in the City, truly protecting the City's interest in many -- in many cases, so having said that, I'm prepared to support this, because at the last Commission meeting, I didn't want to leave a sour taste in anybody's mouth. It's just always been my policy that ifI'm not well informed of the issue, I couldn't support it, so based on all the information that's been provided to me by the staff, the City staff, I'm prepared to support this resolution. Thank you. Chairman Teele: Vice Chairman. Commissioner Gonzalez. Commissioner Gonzalez: Yes, Mr. Chairman. As my colleague, Commissioner Sanchez, I had a lot of concerns from the prior meeting, but the administration has met with me and have taken me through the document and explained to me the entire deal, and I have also gotten assurances that the City will not be responsible for any amount of money; that no money will come out of the general fund and that we will not be guaranteeing any loans or any part of this transaction, and after looking and after meeting with the administration and with the developers, I have to congratulate my colleague, Commissioner Winton, and the Manager, and the Mayor, and the staff, and Linda and the staff for a great deal. I think this is going to be great not only for the Wynwood area, but think it's going to be great for the entire City ofMiami. It's going to produce an incredible amount of new revenues to the City, and one thing that we have to understand is that would love to see this project going in my district. Unfortunately, it's not going, and that is something that share with my colleague, Commissioner Sanchez, that the City administration needs to be more involved with redevelopment of other areas of the City ofMiami . Other areas of the City ofMiami also deserve to see development, to see better parks, to see better roads and to see, you know, we -- the commitment of this body and this government has been to change the image of the entire City ofMiami, and, you know, we're here, very unified, to make that possible, and I have all confidence in the Mayor, and the Manager and the staff that they're going to be focusing on bringing this same type of -- maybe not this same -- this same size of development, but, you know, bringing new developments and new businesses to our districts, but, you know, in all, I have to commend you, Johnny. I congratulate you. I think this is going to be great. It's going to be great, not only for your district, but think we will all share on the advancement of this project, and I'm also ready to support the item. Chairman Teele: Commissioner Regalado. City ofMiami Page 42 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Commissioner Regalado: I have a question. Those ladies and gentlemen with the security guard badge, is that the security of the project? Hr. Herman: It's the security company that we set up that services all of our projects here in Miami, and because they've been doing such a great job, they've actually been retained by other projects, so what once started as a small company has already begun to grow very quickly, as you can see. Commissioner Regalado: I was going to congratulate you on the diversity of the members of the security force. I've seen women, Hispanics, Afro-American, and I think it's important that a project that is going to be protected by a security force during construction and then during operations is a mirror of what the City ofMiami is. Hopefully, the construction workers, hopefully, the people working in the stores and restaurants and the packings will also be a mirror of the City ofMiami, because, you know, what we are doing here is something important for the next two generations of the City ofMiami. We'll -- the five of us will probably will not share the wealth of all those taxes, but it is important to have a legacy, but for you, your companies and the people that will follow in your steps in your companies, it's more important, because this could be a model for the rest of the United States by being inclusive of all the communities, and by making a self-contained City within a City, and especially by devoting a lot of space and time to arts and culture, because the spaces that you are presenting in this are the ideal ones for free concerts, public participation in the arts, the galleries, and it could be -- it could be something that will be shown throughout the United States, and that's why we support this project. Thank you. Hr. Herman: Thank you. Chairman Teele: Commissioner, may I go next and you close? Commissioner Winton: Yes, yes. Chairman Teele: Thank you very much. Let me first of all commend Commissioner Winton, my colleague, for working with the team and the management in helping to expedite bringing this very, very excellent project to the forefront. I also would like to commend both the County staff, and particularly Linda Haskins of the City, and the Manager and their team in helping to explain -- and I've spent more hours with the City Manager on this than I care to think about, and I really appreciate the time, Mr. Manager, that you've personally given -- you and the Mayor have personally given to this project. Let me just say two or three points for the record. First, although it has not been stated, Linda --and I really think you should state this very clear. The excess revenues that will flow into the general fund for this project is estimated around three hundred million dollars? Hs. Haskins: Yes, sir. Chairman Teele: So I think it's really important for the public to understand that over and above the payment of the bonds or repayment of the bonds, the general fund of the City, over a 30 year period of time stands to receive approximately three hundred million dollars from this project. Commissioner Winton: In ad valorem taxes alone. Chairman Teele: In ad valorem taxes alone, not including parking surcharge or -- Commissioner Winton: Fire fees and -- Chairman Teele: -- fire fees, etcetera. City ofMiami Page 43 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Commissioner Winton: -- supplemental waste fee and all that. Chairman Teele: So I think -- but I also think one word needs to be put for the -- putting this in context for my colleagues and future colleagues. This deal that the developer has put forth is sort of, candidly, a Henry Flagler deal. In fact, it's probably, to my knowledge, around the last deal in Dade County that Henry Flagler put together, and the reason is this: The property that is in discussion, the 58 acres was under the Florida Constitution as railroad property, which means it paid virtually no taxes, less than a hundred thousand dollars a year, believe it or not, under the constitution, so the tax increment that everybody's looking -- how can I get one in my district? -- unless you can find some abandoned railroad property, or unless you can find some dairy land, you're not going to see this TIF, this spread, because what is happening is we're -- the developer is taking advantage of the fact that it's railroad property, and the benefit is accruing to the City and the developer, and the fact that the developer is getting a hundred million dollars or whatever the number adjusts out to be in incentives, the fact of the matter is the City is getting three times that, and I think it really needs to be very, very clear, and I think in that way, it's a win/win for the City. The other two or three points are I -- I want to -- where is Hr. Lopez? Yeah. I want to commend the team, and Mr. Lopez, in particular, for the extraordinary efforts that they are doing. As Commissioner Regalado has correctly pointed out, the diversity that is represented here -- a picture is worth a thousand words, and the people's are worth a million, so I want to commend you, sir, for your efforts in developing and reaching out into the community, especially in the Wynwood, andAllapattah, and Little Haiti, and Overtown communities in putting together a workforce, and I would hope that this creative thought process will extend itself to the development phases, particularly in the commercial, where there will be a significant number of jobs, and finally, it is my hope that the development team will come into the community having this tremendous opportunity, and be a really good corporate neighbor. We have several organizations -- the Rafael Hernandez CDC (Community Development Corporation), which is adjacent to this, they've been working under very difficult conditions over the years. I know that the County -- the 108 loan agreement makes specific reference to a line of credit of a million dollars to them, and I commend the governmental bodies in keeping thatprogram alive for affordable housing, andl would encourage the teams to really be a great neighbor. I know that the design district has challenges that you all can work together on. Little Haiti has challenges, Wynwood, and I would encourage the development team to continue whatMr. Lopez and others are initiating as a real true corporate citizenship program. A corporate citizenship program is so very much needed, and finally, to the Manager, I want to singularly express my appreciation to Mr. Samuels and the development team, because for the first time, I am looking, Johnny, at a commitment to affordable housing. Now, the interesting thing about this commitment is that this is railroad property that doesn't really bear the kinds of stories and burdens that a lot of the other properties in our redevelopment area such as Overtown have, where you took land from people, and people's families lost their land, and then we said we're going to do this and do that. This development team has made a commitment for some 80 units to be affordable, and is putting their money where their mouth is, where the developer is bringing 97 percent financing -- 97 percent financing to assist in affordability. This is largely going to benefit the Wynwood -- I hope it will be targeted in the Wynwood, Puerto Rican, Little Haiti, Overtown, Allapattah areas. He is also committing, Johnny, to pay up to five thousand dollars in closing costs, and if you want to violate the Chairman's rule of not applauding, it would be a nice time to violate the rule because he deserves -- (APPLA USE) Chairman Teele: And so I just want to be on record, Johnny, to you, and to the Manager and to the public that this is the kind of development we need. Their price points are clearly below the median of the market price points right now. Their strategy is to try to get people, and they have been overrun -- I don't mind saying it, as I understand it -- with City ofMiami employees and other governmental employees who are seeking to be there, so, you know, you can have it both. City ofMiami Page 44 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 You can have development, and you can have compassion, and I think this stands on the threshold of being one of the greatest developments since Mr. Henry Flagler. You're going to do Hr. Flagler proud, and I'm very pleased to join in voting with my colleagues in supporting this project, Commissioner Winton, and I yield to you for the final comments. Commissioner Winton: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I know -- I don't want this to sound like the mutual admiration society, but I do, however, want to point out that it was this Commission, in its wisdom and commitment to trying to target an area that was in desperate need that came up with the money and the demands of staff that we do a national planning process for that whole FEC Corridor, and you put your money behind your mouth, and interestingly -- and I get this criticism so many times, and you just want to sometimes whack people, because -- you know, and I don't blame them in some ways, but you get complaints all the time from people. I don't want to see another master plan. You got enough master plans. What do we need another master plan for?" when, in fact, we don't have enough master plans. We haven't done a good job of master planning, but the other fact is that over the course of the last 20 years, the few that we did, did end up on a shelf, and so there were a lot of skeptics out there, but we've been saying among ourselves, we're not doing any master -planning, it's staying on a shelf. The master plan that was only finished --what was that? 18 months ago? The FEC Corridor master plan that this Commission adopted with all the resolutions, and put money behind each action step tied to that resolution pointed out that this particular site was the lynchpin for the redevelopment of that whole FEC Corridor, number one; and number two, the Commission said in the adoption of the plan that this needed to be a mixed use development, not just a big box retail center, but a neighborhood that had a street grid that had green space that you could walk that would connect to the neighborhoods going to the north, and to the south, and to the east, and to the west, and we dreamed that that would be the case, and those were only pretty pictures 18 months ago, pretty pictures that we dreamed and hoped would someday be a reality. We're only 18 months later, which in government time is zero. I mean, 18 months in government time, give me a break. 18 months later, we have the developer here who will break ground on May the 6th, which is next week, which in government time is a blink of the eye. They will break ground on their development, and the development is exactly as we drew the pretty pictures in the master plan. Another point about the development team, and I think we did get a most unique developer, but the things that have happened in that community have not been by chance. The things, and the outreach and the commitments have also been strongly encouraged by the Manager, and the Mayor and myself in that outreach to all of our neighborhoods, because we, as colleagues, know -- and I think you have all watched me in terms of how I have voted for major initiatives in each of your neighborhoods -- that I'm as interested in rebuilding your neighborhoods as I am my own. Why is that? Because we end up with a greater pie. We all win if all of our neighborhoods prosper. This project, unlike anything else we will have an opportunity to do will impact each and every neighborhood in the City ofMiami. We will never have another opportunity like that, and simply because we don't have a site like this. It's only because the luck of the location of the site, which is close to a lot of our neighborhoods, and the size of that site that it can actually impact every single -- granted, a little more difficult to impact far west City ofMiami, but this will be the only affordable national retail opportunity that exists for residents within a large radius, including every single resident in the City ofMiami, because to get to this, we have to go to Dadeland, Hialeah or Aventura. Those are our only choices, so we have created in one fell swoop an opportunityfor jobs for our residents all over the City. We've created an opportunity to buy national brand quality affordable products at a retail site that is within real distance of our residents, so that they can save money, and at the same time, have created a development that will have a huge impact, both on the social aspects of our City as well as long-term economic impact, so to my colleagues who have been so supportive of this entire effort, I thank you all. To the Mayor, the Manager, Linda Haskins, Keith, your entire team, you don't -- no one in the public knows the literal thousands of hours, thousands of hours that have been spent trying to put this deal together, which started over a year ago, and one last point, just so you can all put this in perspective. When this development team came to Miami, I sat with the early development team. The Mayor City ofMiami Page 45 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 came to the table with a team, and you know what their question was? We kind of like the looks of this, but we don't believe what we're hearing that City government in the City ofMiami might be stable finally. We have a huge risk at closing on a site that has no entitlements. We're going to plop down thirty-four or thirty-six million dollars on a piece of land that has no entitlements, and spend another billion dollars later with a government that the rest of the country has said for 20 years stinks, but they were hearing there's a stable government here now. The Commission's really damn good, the Mayor's good, the Manager's good, but we want to look you guys in the eyes and see if we believe it. The end result, here it is, one point two billion dollars in development that's at the construction cost side, rejuvenating neighbors. To all of you, to the Upper Eastside folks, my apologies for keeping you here so long, but this is a major deal. To my colleagues, thank you. Mayor, everybody else, and developers, thank you. May 6th, ground breaking. Noon, May 6th, where? Directly on the site, and then there's another event that evening, May 6th, where? Microphone, please. Commissioner Regalado: But that is Commission meeting. Chairman Teele: Noon. Commissioner Winton: Well, we're going to have make sure that -- well, noon, it's at the noon break, so some of us will rush over there, but the after thing means that we're not going to stay here till midnight, right? Ralph Conti: Thank you, Commissioner. Ralph Conti, with Developers Diversified. We have a ground breaking set for 12:30 May 6th, the Developers Diversified ground breaking, and you're all invited. Chairman Teele: Thank you very much. All right. Mr. Mayor, did you want to -- Mr. Samuels, developer, did you want to say anything before we vote? Michael Samuel: Just quickly, the last thing I just want to say -- Chairman Teele: Just your name and -- Mr. Samuel: Michael Samuel. I just want to say just really one point. The opening of the sales center will be 7p. in. on May 61h at 3110 Northeast 2ndAvenue, and that will be the grand opening of the sales center, which is Midtown Miami, the residential site, and thank you. Chairman Teele: All right. If there is no other discussion by the Commission, Madam Clerk, would you call the roll. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): Roll call. A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above. Chairman Teele: The vote is unanimous, 5/0. The item passes. Thank you very much. Congratulations. (APPLA USE) City ofMiami Page 46 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 PART B PZ.1 04-00082a ORDINANCE Second Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ESTABLISHING A 90 -DAY TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FOR NEW BUILDINGS IN EXCESS OF 40 FEET IN HEIGHT FOR THAT AREA LOCATED IN AND REGULATED UNDER THE SD -9 BISCAYNE BOULEVARD NORTH OVERLAY DISTRICT OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE AND ZONING ATLAS OF THE CITY OF MIAMI; PROVIDING FOR A TERM; PROVIDING FOR PENDING APPLICATIONS; PROVIDING FOR ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW; CONTAINING A REPEALER PROVISION, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 04-00082a SR Fact Sheet.pdf 04-00082a Legislation.pdf 04-00082a FR Fact Sheet.PDF REQUEST: To Amend Ordinance No. 11000 Text APPLICANT(S): Joe Arriola, Chief Administrator FINDINGS: PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval. This is related to File ID 04-00082. PURPOSE: This will establish a 90 -day temporary moratorium on the acceptance of applications for new buildings over a certain height along the SD -9 Biscayne Boulevard North Overlay District. DENIED A motion was made by Commissioner Winton, seconded by Commissioner Gonzalez, and was passed unanimously, with Vice Chairman Sanchez absent, to DENYItem PZ.1 Chairman Teele: Madam Clerk, are there any other matters on this agenda? Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): No, sir. Chairman Teele: If not -- Commissioner Winton: Yes, there is. There's the 90 -day moratorium on 40 feet, and I told everyone that if we passed -- if we got agreement on this SD -9 overlay ordinance, I was not going to move the 40 foot height limit moratorium forward, so -- Chairman Teele: You want to -- Commissioner Winton: --I'm not going to move itforward. City ofMiami Page 47 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Chairman Teele: You want to move to withdraw that item. Commissioner Winton: Move to withdraw -- Joel Maxwell (Deputy City Attorney): Move to deny it, sir. Itpassed on -- Commissioner Winton: -- PZ -- Mr. Maxwell: --first reading, so move to deny -- Chairman Teele: Move to deny. Commissioner Winton: What did he say? OK, move to deny. Thank you all. Chairman Teele: Is there a second? Commissioner Gonzalez: Second. Chairman Teele: Does that require a roll call? Ms. Thompson: No. Mr. Maxwell: No. Chairman Teele: All those in favor, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chairman Teele: All opposed, "no. " There are no other matters on this agenda. This meeting stands adjourned. City ofMiami Page 48 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 NON -AGENDA ITEMS NA.1 04-00483 DISCUSSION ITEM SPECIAL WORKSHOP A Special Workshop was scheduled for 3:30 p.m. to receive a report from the City Manager regarding the status of discussions with the Florida Marlins concerning proposed ballpark stadium at the Orange Bowl site. 04-00483 - memo - 1.pdf 04-00483 - County memo - 2.pdf DISCUSSED Miami -Dade County Manager George Burgess addressed the City Commission stating that the plan for the new proposed ballpark stadium for the Florida Marlins would be to have it developed at the Orange Bowl site. Note for the Record: Vice Chairman Sanchez stated that he would like the stadium study to be expanded to include further development in the area surrounding the Orange Bowl. This issue is to come back at the May 6, 2004 Commission meeting. Chairman Teele: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to City Hall, City ofMiami Commission proceedings. Would you please join us in a silent prayer, followed by the pledge of allegiance to the flag, and I would note specifically the circumstances in Iraq today that have caused the death of 10 American soldiers. Thank you very much for your participation. Ladies and gentlemen, members of the Commission, my colleagues, Mr. Mayor, we do have a change in the order of the day. At the request of the City Attorney, we're notifying the public of a special City Commission workshop to take place today at 3:30, where no City Commission action will be taken. The purpose of the workshop is to receive a report from the City Manager relating to the status and a discussion regarding the Miami --excuse me. That was a fraudulent slip --regarding the Florida Marlins. Please specifically take note that no formal City Commission action will be taken. Following this workshop, we will immediately go into the special Commission meeting, which was called for today, and only those items contained on the special Commission meeting can be taken up, pursuant to our Charter; is that correct, Mr. Attorney? Alejandro Vilarello (City Attorney): (INAUDIBLE) with the City Manager. Chairman Teele: I -- Hr. Vilarello: I'm advised that your statement is correct Chairman Teele: Mr. Manager, thank you very much, and you're recognized. The City Commission is now formed as a workshop to hear your report and to discuss any aspect of your report regarding the Florida Marlins that you would like to present. Joe Arriola (City Manager): Miami Marlins? Chairman Teele: The Miami Marlins, yes. Hr. Arriola: Thank you, sir. As you know, I've worked -- this has been the labor of love. We've worked really hard with the County and the team, and if you permit me -- being that my partner, George Burgess is here, ifyou allow me, I would like for George to make the presentation, being City ofMiami Page 49 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 that he's been here every day, every second, and if we work real hard, and he should take a little of the credit. I don't want to take the credit for this, so if you allow me, I would like George to make the presentation. Chairman Teele: We welcome Mr. Burgess here at any time, and we're delighted that he's taken the time to come by and, Madam Clerk, we're waiving any fees that he may or may not have posted. George Burgess: Well, it's a pleasure to be here, and I think I'd like to start by just saying that, as significant as anything about this -- the reason I'm here, I think is what's at the top of this letterhead, and it's actually the seal of both Miami -Dade County and the City ofMiami together on a report that we jointly present to both of our commissions. Commissioner Winton: Is that a first in the history of the two entities, George? Hr. Burgess: I worked for the County for 22 years and I've never seen this ever, and I think it speaks volume to the working relationship that the County and the City have today. It's the best one I've ever seen, and that's a compliment to your City Manager, whom I find an absolute pleasure to work with. He gives us anything we ask for, and we couldn't be more appreciative. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Anything? Commissioner Winton: Boy, did you just get in trouble, Joe. Hr. Burgess: We really are excited to advise both of our boards, and we start with you, and I know thatyou're going to consider this officially on May 61h. Subject to the approval of our County Commission chair, we hope to consider this as early as May 11 th. David Samson, the president of the Marlins, is here, so all three legs of the stool are here to tell you that by that Hay I st deadline that the team had set as a target, we do believe we have a financing plan that is workable, and we believe we have it at the right site. We're recommending locating the now Florida Marlins at the Orange Bowl site. We have a funding mix that includes participation from both the team, the County and the City. I can walk you through that at a very high level, if you would like. There are more things for us to do. We're not going to suggest to you that this is a done deal, but would certainly reflect commitment on all three parties to getting a deal done. We really do believe that. We are working in Tallahassee, as we speak, for a thirty million dollar contribution from the state. That's two million a year for six --for thirty years. That is a present value of thirty million dollars. That may or may not happen this session, but we resolute in continuing to work that issue until we succeed at the state level. This deal includes contributions from the City. They're outlined in this memo. I'll start with the City, in the way of a bonding of a portion of your tourist development tax. It includes the bonding of convention development tax from the County to the tune of roughly a hundred and twenty million dollars in round numbers. It includes contributions from the team in various forms, including twenty million of equity, and I believe about a hundred and thirty-seven million dollars in rental payments that would be made to the County in a very guaranteed manner, and we would issue the debt on the team's behalf with that rent stream from the team. To make a long story short, we have the ability to fund the stadium at the cost of three hundred twenty-five million dollars, with the team guaranteeing any costs in excess of that amount. There's a plan for this team and the City working together to erect a parking garage on site for 2500 spaces, with 2100 service spaces, and there's a sharing arrangement on those revenues that will be discussed by, I'm sure, your City Manager with you on May 6th. I think the key point right now is that we have a plan that works, subject to certain things reaching fruition. We do assume a successful sale of the old Miami Arena. That's spelled out in this document, as well. I could go on. I think the key thing is, is we're working together and, really, beyond this Marlins issue -- and I am a little out of line, butt really mean it -- the City and the County can accomplish much together when we work together; when we understand that we all have the same agenda. If we have differences, let's City ofMiami Page 50 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 discuss them privately, but the fact of the matter is, we can accomplish much together. Commissioner Winton: All right, I promise, George. Hr. Burgess: And I just couldn't be happier to be here today. I appreciate Joe -- the invitation from Joe, and I don't know, David, if you want to say anything, but I'm ready to field questions. If not, I'm more than happy to come back on May 6th, and I'm certainly going to extend that same invitation to Joe to join me on May 11th or whenever the Commission chooses to discuss this item. Thank you. Commissioner Gonzalez: Thank you. David Samson: Thank you. Mayor Diaz, members of the Commission, I'm appreciative to have the opportunity to speak for a minute or two about what's taken place in the past 26 months since we came on board and entered this fine community. In my experience -- Chairman Teele: Dave Samson, Florida Marlins. Hr. Samson: Sorry. SA -M -S -O -N, Florida Marlins. In my experience, it's been tremendous working with the County and the City. I think that -- Chairman Teele: Was that Florida Marlins? Vice Chairman Sanchez: Miami Marlins, right? Hr. Samson: Right. As far as I'm concerned, Chairman Teele, whatever makes you happy, works for me, but -- see, it only took 26 months and I know what to say. Vice Chairman Sanchez: We're making progress here. Mr. Samson: How am I doing, Joe, good? Hr. Arriola: George wants Miami -Dade Marlins. That's not going to go. Hr. Samson: As I was saying, the relationship's never been better between the County and the City, and our goal was very simple from day one, and that was to make sure the Marlins stayed in South Florida forever, despite all the protestations of what had taken place before Jeffrey Lawry (phonetic) came in. I was confident that we'd be able to get to this point, and the pride that we'll all feel when we're in the new ballpark in April of '07, you can measure it. You can speak to people on the street, but it really is a collective feeling in a community when you realize that you're a major league community both on and off the field, and we can't guarantee World Series victories every year, but what we can guarantee is that we'll be a team that acts, both on and off the field, in away that will bring the proper attention to Miami, the City, and the County, and make all the citizens proud that the Marlins are here. There's obviously a lot of questions I can answer, and I'd be happy to answer them, whether it's now at the workshop or whether it's on May 6th, whatever is your pleasure, but suffice to say that the team's commitment to this stadium is a tremendous commitment that really came together, once we realized the City and the County's commitment to the Orange Bowl area. It's an exciting area. It is a place that when we look at the next 40 years, it's going to undergo tremendous changes, and really become what all cities would love to have, which is an exciting, widening, broadening downtown revitalized area that will just change the way we all look atMiami, not just here in Florida but around the country, so our commitment to that project is not just to the stadium, but to the entire area, and the entire community, and that's something we're going to stick by longer than all of us are here in this room, so I'm appreciative again, and on behalf ofJeffrey, and the Marlins, and all the players, including Mike Lowell, who's playing in about seven minutes, starting at third base -- City ofMiami Page 51 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 we're happy about this, and we know there's a lot of work left to be done, but we're very confident it will all happen. Thank you. Chairman Teele: Commissioner. Commissioner Regalado: I just wanted to say that this is one of these feel good days for the community. What the County Manager, the City Manager, and you have said, and what the Mayor and all this Commission has worked for, what the County Commission has worked for, the County Mayor, it all underlines something, that we do love the Marlins, and remember -- I was remembering that phrase, 7 love you, Miami, " but back in '97 -- and it is important -- and it was -- it is very good that you're here today with us because, you know, I kept telling the City Manager, look, I am part of the media. The media would rather trust what the Marlins said than what government are saying, so it is important that we join forces, and that we are finally going to have a stadium. It's --for us here at the City Commission, it's a dream that is coming true. Thank you very much. Hr. Burgess: Thank you. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Well, I certainly didn't want to miss this meeting, and I'm down with a cold, so please excuse me, but consider it a historical meeting in the City ofMiami, first of all, because of the City and the County agreeing on so many things pertaining to this, but let me just say that this is a step in the right direction, and I have read this term sheet, conditions that had been presented to us and, so far, what I see here is that a lot of things that you have agreed on, there's a lot of things that, you know, we still may have to answer but, so far, I think that we're heading in the right direction. Let me just state that I think we have to look outside of the box on this issue pertaining on one issue that we -- it's very important, not only the construction of the stadium --focusing on the area of Little Havana, which I represent, and I could tell you that they're very excited about this. It is going to bring revitalization to that area that -- you know, it's been waiting for it for a longtime. Let me just state that one of the things that I think we need to also look into this, that I have not seen, is that the focus on people transportation plan bond dollars to increase the mass transit around the stadium, because we're going to see that the people coming to the area -- if this is all worked out, which I'm very optimistic about it, that's something that we really need to focus on, because that's one of the concerns that we have -- Commissioner Winton: George. Vice Chairman Sanchez: -- to not only build a stadium and improve the area in itself, revitalization, but also for the quality of life for the people that are going to be affected by these two stadiums, one next to each other. The other issue that wanted to focus on is taking that I'm the Commissioner of the area is to focus on the economic development; to also put together a study to identify the best practice for spin-off development around the stadium. We all know that a lot of businesses are going to come to the area, if we all could agree to build a stadium there, so I just think that we need to look at other factors besides just saying that we're going to build a stadium, which I think, if it all works out and we're able to all obtain the fundings that we need and come to an agreement, I think that the baseball park there will be incredible for the community, incredible for the Marlins, and incredible for the City ofMiami, so I'm very optimistic about it. Hr. Samson: Thank you. We know that there's more going on in that area than just 90 nights of events, and we're very hopeful -- we agree with you -- that it becomes a year-round attraction in that area. Vice Chairman Sanchez: And also, let me state something else for the record. Reviewing the term sheet agreement, there's one clause that at the beginning was discussed and I'm glad that it's on it, and that is one of major concern to all of us, and that is there was always a question of City ofMiami Page 52 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 the future of the Marlins in our town. Of course, now we're champions and, hopefully, we'll be around for the longest time. On the other terms of the agreement here, there's one clause that I'm very optimistic about, and that is upon the sale or transfer of controlling interest in the Marlins, the Marlins will share with the County and the City the enhanced value of franchise, based upon -- to be determined on a basic formula, so I'm glad that that is on this agreement, and I have read the agreement. There's a lot of things in the agreement that have clearly answered the questions that have. Hr. Samson: Good. Vice Chairman Sanchez: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Commissioner Winton: Mr. Chairman, I'd like to make one very brief remark, and it's in response to what Commissioner Regalado said, and that is about a feel good day. I just wish the media would be here for the rest of the day, because I think that this day is packed full of huge, huge solutions to Miami issues, starting with this fabulous plan to keep the -- not only keep the Florida Marlins, but to bring them into the City ofMiami and to bring them into a very important historic neighborhood, which is East Little Havana, that think is absolutely fabulous for a whole lot of reasons, but we're also about to solve, I think -- I feel confident, a major issue relative to neighborhoods along the Biscayne Boulevard Corridor, and we're going to announce, I hope, and get approval for a very, very significant development in the Wynwood area that will forever change the lives and improve many neighborhoods, many of our poorest neighborhoods around the City ofMiami, and all of that in one little special Commission meeting. We don't do much around here. That's a pretty good feel good day if -- be nice if the media stayed and heard all of this because this is, as far as I'm concerned, very -- is absolutely a monumental day, but it's only one of many that I think that we're headed towards in the future. David, thank you. Good luck. Hr. Samson: Thank you. Chairman Teele: All right. I, too, want to join particularly to George Burgess, the County Manager, and Joe Arriola, the City Manager, in commending the working relationship, and Dave Samson, maybe -- we need to hire you as a consultant because these guys have never gotten along so well. Maybe you're the missing link to get the glue working. If you'll take that job, would you see if you can figure out how to get us our payment in lieu of taxes for our public housing units that has gone on -- Vice Chairman Sanchez: Ring the bell. Commissioner Winton: Who does George have in the back back there? The gong Vice Chairman Sanchez: Hey, George, you really thought that you could come here and not walkaway with a couple of cheap shots? You really thought you could come here and walk away without a couple of cheap shots? Hr. Burgess: You know, I just can't remember what his position was about -- what was it, 10 years ago? I can't remember. Chairman Teele: But in all seriousness, I do think that we have a real opportunity to work together. We've got a difficult road ahead, particularly with the Florida legislature, and even though they've not adjourned yet, it's not too soon to begin that process for the next session, but please know that I'm going to be working again to -- cooperatively to see how we can make this work. I think this is a win-win for Miami; it's a win-win for the Marlins, and it's a win-win for the entire baseball -- national league baseball, so -- major league baseball -- so we really look forward to working closely with you, and we would urge seriously, Joe and George, if we could City ofMiami Page 53 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 continue to really work on some of the other issues that we do have, because we do have a lot of issues, and I have said publicly, and I want to say again, that I really want to support the GO General Operation) bond issue. I think it will be a great thing, and I think the City and the County should work together on that, so thank you all, and are there any other comments? Is there anyone from the public who felt the need to be heard? If not -- Commissioner Regalado: Mr. Chairman. Chairman Teele: Commissioner Regalado. Commissioner Regalado: I think that part of this success is also whatMayor Manny Diaz has done in terms of the Chairman ofMSEA (Miami Sports & Exhibition Authority) and his role with the County on the TD money, so I would ask thatManny, would you give us your take on this moment? Are you happy also today? Mayor Manuel Diaz: I was trying not to. Actually, I just think we ought to just keep picking on George while he's here. I -- no, I really want to thank these two gentlemen because, as all of you know, I'm involved in a lot of meetings that take place between the two of them, whether it's regarding a Marlins stadium, whether it's regarding a Midtown deal, which, by the way, was approved by the County Commission last week. Those are the kinds ofpartnerships that think we've longed for, for a very longtime, as you pointed out, Mr. Chair, and these two gentlemen are doing miracles for all of us as a community, because we're showing day after day, MTV awards -- I mean, you know, we can go through a whole list of things that the City and the County are working together for the benefit of the entire community and obviously, Miami, being the hub and the signature City for the area, benefits from everything that we can do together, so I just want to say thank you for all your help, and with regard to the deal, I -- you know, like you said, there's still some contingencies that we still need -- hope to sell the Miami Arena. We still need to go to Tallahassee. There's a few things that are left, but think this is the framework that we all know what the game plan right now, and all of us need to collectively work together to make it happen. Thank you. Chairman Teele: Thank you all very much. The workshop stands adjourned. The meeting -- the special meeting -- Commissioner Regalado: Five minute recess. Chairman Teele: Why don't we do this: I think there's some documents -- there's one gentleman who -- Mr. Manager, who's been looking for -- was it Document Number 5? ExhibitA of number 5. (INA UDIBLE COMMENTS) Chairman Teele: All right. All right. What we'll do is, we'll stand in a recess for five minutes. I'm going to ask, Mr. Manager, if you would have some of your staff to meet with the fine gentleman and see if we could workout his issues. Thank you. We stand in recess for five minutes. NA.2 04-00488 DISCUSSION ITEM Direction to the City Attorney by Commissioner Regalado to meet with the members of the Commission to explain current situation regarding the advertisement of the moratorium on building permits along the Southwest 27th Avenue Corridor and criticism from some residents of Silver Bluff. DISCUSSED Chairman Teele: All right. Commissioner Regalado, you're recognized. City ofMiami Page 54 Printed on 12/16/2004 City Commission Verbatim Minutes April 29, 2004 Commissioner Regalado: I think -- and this relates to the moratorium, but on 271h Avenue, there is a legal opinion here that is very troubling. Chairman Teele: Unfortunately -- unfortunately -- Commissioner Regalado: We cannot discuss that. I am requesting that the City Attorney meet with the members of the Commission to explain this situation, because I'm telling you something. I am not going to take the brunt of the criticism of the community in the Silver Bluff area for this situation, and hopefully, we will resolve it. Thank you very much. City ofMiami Page 55 Printed on 12/16/2004