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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcover memoe! J t4 00,3 r CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM TO : The Honorable Mayor and DATE : Members of the City Commission FROM Joe Arriola Chief Administrator/City Manager SUBJECT: JUN - 4 2004 FILE : Brownfields Area Designation for the proposed Aguaclara Affordable Housing Development, Located at 1960 —1970 NW 27th Avenue, in Miami, Florida. REFERENCES Resolution, Brownfields Area Designation ENCLOSURES: RECOMMENDATION The Administration recommends that the City Commission adopt the attached Resolution, which provides Brownfields Area designation for the proposed Aguaclara mixed -use, multifamily housing development (the "Development"), located at 1960 — 1970 NW 27th Avenue, Miami, Florida, (the "Property"), as more particularly described in Exhibit "A" attached and made a part hereof. This designation recommendation is in accordance with Chapter 376.80, Florida Statutes (Brownfield Program Administration Process), which will allow the Aguaclara, Ltd., a Florida Limited Partnership (the "Developer") to take advantage of valuable regulatory and economic incentives in connection with the redevelopment of a contaminated property. Additionally, the resolution will authorize the City Manager to notify the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the Miami -Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) of the City's decision to designate the Property as a Brownfields Area. Furthermore, the resolution also will authorize the City Manager to execute a First Source Hiring Agreement, in substantially the attached form, with the Developer. BACKGROUND The City of Miami's Department of Economic Development (the "Department") was approached by the Developer, in correspondence dated May 11 2004 (attached), with a request to initiate the Brownfields designation process for the Development. The Developer cited evidence of soil and groundwater contamination left behind from the historic pesticide storage and distribution facility that had previously operated on the Property for over 20 years. Brownfields Sites are defined as abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by actual or perceived environmental contamination. The State of Florida has provided in Chapter 376.77 — 376.84, Florida Statutes (The Brownfields Redevelopment Act), for the designation, by resolution, of contiguous areas consisting of one or more Brownfields Sites to be known as Brownfields Areas, and for the provision of environmental assessment, remediation, rehabilitation and economic development of such areas. The Miami City Commission previously designated certain areas within the City of Miami to be Brownfields Areas, which were determined to have redevelopment potential that might be limited by actual or perceived environmental issues, pursuant to Resolution 98-242, adopted March 10, 1998, and Resolution 99-197, adopted March 23, 1999. However, these areas do not comprehensively cover all potential Brownfields Sites within the City of Miami. The Department has determined that, while the Property is outside the previously designated Brownfields Areas, it is still eligible for designation as a Brownfields Area, in accordance with Chapter 376.80(2)(b), Florida Statutes (Brownfield Program Administration Process), due to the following provisions: (1) a person who owns or controls a potential Brownfields Site is requesting the designation and has agreed to rehabilitate and redevelop the Brownfields Site; (2) an agreement exists between the person responsible for site rehabilitation and the local government with jurisdiction (City of Miami), which contains terms for the redevelopment of the Brownfield Area; (3) the redevelopment of the proposed Brownfield Area is consistent with the local comprehensive plan and is a permittable use under the applicable local land development regulations; (4) notice of the proposed rehabilitation of the Brownfield Area has been provided to neighbors and nearby residents of the proposed area to be designated, and the person proposing the area for designation has afforded to those receiving notice the opportunity for comments and suggestions about rehabilitation; and (5) the person proposing the area for designation has provided reasonable assurance that he or she has sufficient financial resources to implement and complete the rehabilitation agreement and redevelopment plan; and, As part of the agreement requirement cited in the above -referenced item #2, the City of Miami and the Developer have agreed to execute a First Source Hiring Agreement, as provided in Exhibit A, which will obligate the Developer to use local minority labor during the construction of the proposed development. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Ther is no financial impact to the General Fund of the City. JA! M CC Aguaclara Brownfields Designation.doc