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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 2008-06-26 MinutesCity of Miami City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com IRATE 11e [ ,, IV Meeting Minutes Thursday, June 26, 2008 9:00 AM PLANNING & ZONING City Hall Commission Chambers City Commission Manuel A. Diaz, Mayor Joe Sanchez, Chair Michelle Spence -Jones, Vice -Chair Angel Gonzalez, Commissioner District One Marc David Sarnoff, Commissioner District Two Tomas Regalado, Commissioner District Four Pedro G. Hernandez, City Manager Julie 0 Bru, City Attorney Priscilla A. Thompson, City Clerk City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 CONTENTS PR - PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS MV - MAYORAL VETOES AM - APPROVING MINUTES CA - CONSENT AGENDA PA - PERSONAL APPEARANCE PH - PUBLIC HEARINGS RE - RESOLUTIONS DI - DISCUSSION ITEMS PART B PZ - PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S) M - MAYOR'S ITEMS D1 - DISTRICT 1 ITEMS D2 - DISTRICT 2 ITEMS D3 - DISTRICT 3 ITEMS D4 - DISTRICT 4 ITEMS D5 - DISTRICT 5 ITEMS Minutes are transcribed verbatim. Periodically, agenda items are revisited during a meeting. "[Later...]" refers to discussions that were interrupted and later continued. City ofMiami Page 2 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 9:00 A.M. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Present: Commissioner Gonzalez, Commissioner Sarnoff, Chair Sanchez, Commissioner Regalado and Vice Chair Spence -Jones On the 26th day ofJune 2008, the City Commission of the City ofMiami, Florida, met at its regular meeting place in City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida, in regular session. The meeting was called to order by Chair Joe Sanchez at 9:23 a.m., recessed at 11:37: a.m., reconvened at 2:05 p.m., recessed at 2:59 p.m., reconvened at 3: 07 p.m., and adjourned at 7: 34 p.m. Note for the Record: Commissioner Gonzalez entered the Commission chambers at 2: 07 p.m. Note for the Record: Vice Chair Spence -Jones entered the Commission chambers at 3:11 p.m. Note for the Record: Commissioner Gonzalez entered the Commission chambers at 3:14 p.m. ALSO PRESENT: Julie O. Bru, City Attorney Pedro G. Hernandez, City Manager Priscilla A. Thompson, City Clerk Pamela E. Burns, Assistant City Clerk Chair Sanchez: So at this time what I'd like to do is go on with the invocation and pledge of allegiance. If you could please rise as we pray. I'll do the invocation and we'll have the pledge of allegiance by the Vice Chair, Michelle Spence -Jones. Prayer delivered. Commissioner Gonzalez: Mr. Chairman, if you allow me, I would also like to include Reverend (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in our prayers. I don't know if you are aware that he's been very sick. He's in intensive care in the hospital, so we should all be praying for him, too. Chair Sanchez: Our prayers are with him and his family and his church. Amen. Pledge ofAllegiance delivered. PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS PR.1 08-00770 CEREMONIAL ITEM 9:00 AM Honoree Presenter Protocol Item Officer Michael Shapiro Commissioner Sarnoff Certificate of Appreciation PRESENTED Commissioner Sarnoff paid tribute to Michael Shapiro for his 87th birthday, wishing him health, happiness, and love during this very special occasion; further acknowledging Michael Shapiro's long-standing service to the City ofMiami (17 years), his outstanding performance with the City ofMiami Police Department, and his dedicated service in the U.S. Military during World War II; and thereby proclaiming Sunday, the 29th ofJune 2008, as Michael Shapiro Day in the City of Miami. City ofMiami Page 3 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: All right. We do have -- I think we do have one presentation. Commissioner Marc Sarnoff you're recognized for the record. Presentation made. MAYORAL VETOES NO MAYORAL VETOES Chair Sanchez: All right. For the record, there are no mayoral vetoes. APPROVING THE MINUTES OF THE FOLLOWING MEETING: Motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, seconded by Commissioner Sarnoff, to APPROVED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones Chair Sanchez: And we need to approve a couple of minutes. We need to approve the Planning and Zoning meeting ofMay 22, 208 [sic]. I believe that's -- well, that is the only minutes that we need to approve. So we need a motion. Commissioner Gonzalez: Move it. Chair Sanchez: There is a motion by Commissioner Gonzalez. Need a second. Commissioner Sarnoff I'll do it. Second. Chair Sanchez: Second by Commissioner Sarnoff. No further discussion on the PZ (Planning & Zoning) meeting ofMay 22, 208 [sic], and what we're doing here is we're approving the minutes. No discussion on the item. All in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay." Motion carries. City ofMiami Page 4 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Order of the Day Chair Sanchez: All right. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Good morning. Welcome to the City ofMiami Commission meeting being held here at our historic City Hall. This meeting has been properly advertised for Thursday, June 26, 208 [sic]. It is being called to order. The elected officials and staff that will be participating in this meeting are the Mayor, Joe Sanchez, myself as the Chair, Michelle Spence -Jones, Vice Chair, Angel Gonzalez, Commissioner of Disfrict 1, Marc David Sarnoff, Commissioner of Disfrict 2, Tomas Regalado, Commissioner of Disfrict 4, Pedro H. [sic] Hernandez, the City Manager, and Julie O. Bru, City Attorney, as well as our City Clerk, Priscilla A. Thompson. It is a Planning and Zoning meeting. Those have been properly advertised for a time certain to begin. "[Later...]" Chair Sanchez: All right. That concludes the presentations. Before we go on to the next item, couldl have the City Attorney read the procedures into the record to be followed during these meetings? Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the Commission and Madam Clerk. Any person who is a lobbyist must register with the City Clerk before appearing in front of the City Commission. A copy of the Code section about lobbyists is available in the City Clerk's office. You should also know that the material in connection with each item appearing on the agenda is available for inspection during business hours at the City Clerk's office and online atwww.miamigov.com, and there you will also find a more detailed explanation of the rules of procedures applicable to this Commission and the appellate rights that you would have as to any item appearing before the Commission. There is absolutely no cell phones, beepers or other audible sound or ringing devices permitted in the Commission chambers. Please silence those now. Any person with a disability requiring auxiliary aids and services for this meeting may notify the City Clerk. We also -- we have a Planning and Zoning meeting today that will begin after 10. For that meeting the procedures will be as follows: Before the Planning and Zoning agenda is heard, all those wishing to speak will be sworn in by the City Clerk. The staff will briefly describe the request, whether an appeal, special exception, vacation, a text amendment, a zoning change, a land use change or a Major Use Special Permit and make its recommendation. The appellant or petitioner will then present the request. The appellee, if applicable, will present its position. Members of the public will be permitted to speak on certain petitions. Petitioner may ask questions of staff. Appellant or petitioner will be permitted to make final comments. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. "[Later...]" Chair Sanchez: Listen, I don't think we're going to be able to take up Kubik. You want to do it after lunch because we have an event at 12:30. So why don't we just take all the PZ (Planning & Zoning) items at 2 o'clock. That way you don't -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Chair Sanchez: -- there's a -- we have an event, a ribbon -cutting ceremony at 12:30. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Yes. Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): Yes, we do, for the -- Chair Sanchez: All right. City ofMiami Page 5 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Mr. Hernandez: -- community center -- Chair Sanchez: So -- Mr. Hernandez: -- at Grapeland. Chair Sanchez: -- this'll be the last item, we'll break. That way it'll give us time -- and then we'll be back at 2 o'clock. First item at 2 o'clock will be -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Kubik. Chair Sanchez: -- PZ.1, Kubik. "[Later...]" Chair Sanchez: All right. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. The City ofMiami Commission is back in order. Remaining of the afternoon are the PZ (Planning & Zoning) items. We're to be taking up the first PZ item. Before we do that, Madam Attorney, read the process of the PZ, and then we'll have the Clerk swear in all those that'll be here testifying on any of the Planning & Zoning issues. So Madam Attorney. Maria J. Chiaro (Assistant City Attorney): On the PZ items that -- which -- the items will be presented by staff. The applicant or appellant or petitioner will then present its position. The opponents will then present their position. Public hearing -- public input will then be taken on items that are designated to receive public hearing, and then the members of the City Commission will discuss the item. The applicant and petitioner will be permitted to make final statements and question pursuant to the rules of quasi judicial proceedings. Chair Sanchez: All right. We also ask that if you're a lobbyist representing anybody, that you be registered with the City. We ask you that, during the process, you refrain from clapping, cheering, being slanderous in any way. All right. Madam Attorney [sic], would you like to swear them in? Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): The Clerk. Chair Sanchez: I'm sorry. Madam Clerk, could you swear them in? Ms. Thompson: Yes. If you are here to testify on any PZ item, I need you to please stand and raise your right hand so that I can swear you in. And we need to make sure that you've also signed in, please. Please stand and raise your right hand. The City Clerk administered oath required under City Code Section 62-1 to those persons giving testimony on zoning issues. Ms. Thompson: Chair, if my -- I might ask. Can we find out if we need -- if we have anyone that needs a Creole interpreter for this afternoon or Spanish? Chair Sanchez: Would anybody need a Creole or a Spanish interpreter this afternoon in this -- in any of these proceedings? Okay, Madam Clerk, apparently not. Ms. Thompson: Thank you. City ofMiami Page 6 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 CONSENT AGENDA CA.1 08-00688 RESOLUTION Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING A Police CONTRIBUTION TO THE GEORGIA INTERNATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT EXCHANGE ("GILEE") TO SUPPORT THE 2008 GILEE PROGRAMS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT EXECUTIVES AND OFFICIALS, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $5,000; ALLOCATING FUNDS THEREFORE, FROM THE LAW ENFORCEMENT TRUST FUND, AWARD NO. 1169, PROJECT NUMBER 19-690001, AND ACCOUNT CODE NO. 12500.191602.883000.0000, SUCH EXPENDITURES HAVING BEEN CERTIFIED BY THE CHIEF OF POLICE AS COMPLYING WITH SECTION 932.7055, FLORIDA STATUTES, AS AMENDED. 08-00688 Legislation.pdf 08-00688 Summary Form.pdf 08-00688 Affidavit.pdf 08-00688 Text File Report.pdf 08-00688 Letter.pdf 08-00688 Donation Page.pdf 08-00688 Highlights.pdf 08-00688 Letter2.pdf 08-00688 Certification.pdf 08-00688-Summary Fact Sheet.pdf This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones R-08-0360 CA.2 08-00689 RESOLUTION Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Police ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ("MOU"), IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, WITH THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIONS AND OTHER PARTICIPATING LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, ON BEHALF OF THE MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT AS A PARTICIPATING AGENCY; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO DESIGNATE THE CHIEF OF POLICE TO EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS TO IMPLEMENT SAID MOU; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE DEPARTMENT OF POLICE TO EXPEND MONIES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS MOU, ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS, SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND THE APPROVAL OF THE CITY MANAGER. 08-00689 Legislation.pdf 08-00689 Exhibit.pdf 08-00689 Summary Form.pdf 08-00689-Summary Fact Sheet.pdf City ofMiami Page 7 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Sarnoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones R-08-0361 CA.3 08-00690 RESOLUTION Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ACCEPTING THE BID Police RECEIVED JULY 30, 2007, PURSUANT TO INVITATION FOR BIDS NO. 34014, FROM SRT SUPPLY INC., FOR THE PURCHASE OF TACTICAL WEAPONS AND SNIPER RIFLES, ON AN AS- NEEDED CONTRACTUAL BASIS, FOR AN INITIAL PERIOD OF ONE (1) YEAR, WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR ONE (1) ADDITIONAL ONE-YEAR PERIOD; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE VARIOUS SOURCES OF FUNDS FROM THE USER DEPARTMENT, SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF NEED. 08-00690 Legislation.pdf 08-00690 Summary Form.pdf 08-00690 Award Recommendation.pdf 08-00690 Tabulation of Bids.pdf 08-00690 Sourcing.pdf 08-00690 Sourcing2.pdf 08-00690 IFB.pdf 08-00690-Summary Fact Sheet.pdf Motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, seconded by Commissioner Sarnoff, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Sarnoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones R-08-0364 Chair Sanchez: And we pull CA.3 for discussion. CA.3's being pulled for discussion or amendments. Who wants to be recognized for CA.3? Commissioner Gonzalez: Yes. I have a few questions, and I would like to call Chief Timoney to the podium. Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Gonzalez: And also, Glenn Marcos. Glenn, my first question is going to be how many rifles are we buying? Glenn Marcos (Director, Purchasing): The estimated annual amount of -- Chair Sanchez: Name, name. Mr. Marcos: I'm sorry. Glenn Marcos, Purchasing director. The estimated quantity here is there's two different types of rifles that is being purchased. You have ten of the Rock River AR-15 that's being purchased, and then you have another one, that's the AE sniper rifle, three of those will be purchased. And I'm sure that the chief will end up indicating that that's going to replace existing rifles for the SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team. City ofMiami Page 8 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Gonzalez: So we're buying a total of 13 rifles? Mr. Marcos: The estimated annual amount is 13. Commissioner Gonzalez: I assume these rifles are going to be for the SWAT team -- Mr. Marcos: Yes, sir. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- not for the regular police officers? Mr. Marcos: That's correct. That's my understanding. Commissioner Gonzalez: All right. May I -- Chief will you please? ChiefJohn F. Timoney (Police): Good morning. ChiefJohn Timoney. Commissioner Gonzalez: I'm sure that my concern is the concern of this entire Commission. And my concern is when are our officers going to be equipped with rifles. I do have a serious concern of our officers facing these elements on the streets using AK-47s and machine guns and all kind of automatic weapons and we have our officers exposed just working with handguns. I remember years ago when our police officers had a rifle in their car, you know, with a bracket -- Chief Timoney: Correct. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- which, by the way, that is a deterrent because any of these elements that see that our officers have a rifle in their car exposed that they can see it, they will think twice, in many cases, before using their weapons. It's not only for -- and I'm very concerned about the safety of our officers. Also, I understand that some of our officers, they have their own rifles. Chief Timoney: That's correct. Commissioner Gonzalez: And this is also a concern. I understand that when an officer use their own rifle, their rifle is taken into the -- as evidence of the case and sometimes it takes up to -- it takes years before they can get their rifle back. Is there any way that the process can be expedited that they can get the rifle back or maybe, Mr. Manager, the solution is us buying the rifles so whenever there is an incident or whenever there is a shooting, the officer won't be the one losing his rifle sometimes and it's not the fault of the chief or it's not the fault -- it's the fault of the system -- Chief Timoney: Exactly. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- but we may need to change the system or work -- start working at changing the system because sometimes it goes, you know -- two years pass by, three years pass by before this officer can get his rifle back. And then, you know -- he bought this rifle, he paid a thousand, fifteen hundred, eighteen hundred dollars for a rifle. He loses it because he used it during the performance of his duty, and then he end up without a rifle for three years, all right, and he doesn't have his own rifle; we don't provide him a rifle, and he will have to go out and spend another 1,500 or $2, 000 to get another rifle. I think we have a problem in the system and we need to correct it. Things are not getting better; things are getting worse. I mean, you know, violent crimes are -- it's outrageous. I had two shootings in Allapattah very recently. People are being held up at gunpoint, and our officers are limited in their capacity to -- you know, to -- even to defend themselves. Chief. City ofMiami Page 9 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): Commissioner, that's an excellent point. I think there's got to be a way -- and I'll work with the chief in trying to ensure that when the rifle is taken away for the judicial system process that we're able to provide a replacement so we'll -- Commissioner Gonzalez: And I understand, Chief that these officers had to be qualified, and I know -- Chief Timoney: Exactly. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- you know, you -- Chief Timoney: Three-day qualification. Commissioner Gonzalez: Exactly -- you're doing that. And you know, I -- it makes sense, you know. You don't want a guy with a rifle out there that doesn't know how to shoot with a rifle, but I think that we need to expedite the process and try to get as many of our officers as possible trained so they can qualify with the rifle and be able to, you know, carry a rifle. Chief Timoney: Yeah. The process is well on the way, but the glitch, if you will, is kind of a nationwide glitch, where there's a shortage of ammunition -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Okay. Chief Timoney: -- not for day-to-day use because you don't need that much, but for training purposes. So every police department is facing the same thing for rifle ammunition. There's a huge shortage as a result of the war in Iraq. I just spoke to Chief Burden on that. We think we're on the way now, but there was every police department in America that was going to AR-15s and other such weapons to defend themselves ran into this for training purposes 'cause you expend a lot of ammunition at the range. Commissioner Gonzalez: Range. Chief Timoney: There's a huge shortage nationwide as a result of the Iraq war. We think we're finally picking up that end, and that's what it is. On the other stuff that's -- we -- if for example, a police officer uses his regular revolver and there was a serious shooting and the gun was taken for evidentiary purposes, he or she would be furnished with a replacement gun, and so your point is well taken. Commissioner Gonzalez: Okay. All right. Those were my questions. Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Gonzalez: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chair Sanchez: Any further questions on CA.3? If not, we need a motion to approve. Commissioner Gonzalez: I'll move it. Commissioner Sarnoff Second. Chair Sanchez: Motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, second by Commissioner Sarnoff. We are voting on CA.3. No further discussion. All in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. City ofMiami Page 10 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 CA.4 08-00693 District 4- Commissioner Tomas Regalado Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay." CA.3 has been approved, 5/0. RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION DECLARING NO OBJECTION AND SUPPORTING THE CODESIGNATION BY THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE, PURSUANT TO SENATE BILL 1604, DESIGNATING 8TH STREET FROM SOUTHWEST 42ND AVENUE TO SOUTHWEST 47TH AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS "MARTHA FLORES WAY;" FURTHER DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO INSTRUCT THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, DISTRICT SIX, FOR SIGN INSTALLATION WITHIN THE NEWLY DESIGNATED ROADWAY. 08-00693 Legislation.pdf This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Sarnoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones CA.5 08-00640 Department of Public Works R-08-0362 RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION DECLARING NO OBJECTION TO THE CODESIGNATION BY THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE, PURSUANT TO SENATE BILL 1604, DESIGNATING SOUTHEAST 2ND AVENUE FROM THE MIAMI RIVER NORTH TO SOUTHEAST 2ND STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS "AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS;" FURTHER DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO INSTRUCT THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, DISTRICT SIX, FOR SIGN INSTALLATION WITHIN THE NEWLY DESIGNATED ROADWAY. 08-00640 Legislation.pdf 08-00640 Summary Form.pdf 08-00640 Legislature.pdf This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Sarnoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones CA.6 08-00712 District 1 - Commissioner Angel Gonzalez R-08-0363 RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF FUNDS, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $2,000, TO THE CENTRO DE DERECHOS HUMANOS Y DEMOCRACIA BRIGADA 2506, INC., FOR THEIR ACTIVITIES; ALLOCATING SAID FUNDS FROM THE DISTRICT 1 ROLLOVER ACCOUNT PROJECT: 11-110001, TASK: 01, AWARD NO: 1345, EXPENDITURE: AID TO PRIVATE ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATION: 882000, ACCOUNT NO. 115000.114000.882000.0000.00000. 08-00712-Legislation-SUB.pdf City ofMiami Page 11 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, seconded by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, that this matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Sarnoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones R-08-0365 Chair Sanchez: CA. 6 is just for a language change correction. Mr. City Manager, you want to put the correction on the record on CA. 6. Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): The correction is that rather than 1506, it's Brigada 2506. Chair Sanchez: All right. Is there a motion? Motion -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Move it. Chair Sanchez: -- is made by Commissioner Gonzalez -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sanchez: -- second by Vice Chair Spence -Jones. No discussion on CA.6. We are voting on CA.6. All in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay" Motion carries. Adopted the Consent Agenda Motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, seconded by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, including all the preceding items marked as having been adopted on the Consent Agenda. The motion carried by the following vote: Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Sarnoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones END OF CONSENT AGENDA Chair Sanchez: And we go to the consent agenda. Is there any items that the Commission would like to pull from the consent agenda for discussion or -- Commissioner Gonzalez: CA (Consent Agenda) -- Chair Sanchez: -- amendments? Commissioner Gonzalez: -- 3. Chair Sanchez: CA.2 is being pulled -- Commissioner Gonzalez: No, 3. Chair Sanchez: I'm sorry. CA.3 is being pulled for discussion or possibly a substitution or amendments. Mr. City Manager, is there anything from the consent agenda that you will like to pull for discussion? Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): No, Mr. Chair. Only that on item 6, I think there was a correction, a scrivener's error -- City ofMiami Page 12 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: All right. Mr. Hernandez: -- that it's Brigada 2506 rather than 1506. Chair Sanchez: Wow. All right. Let's go ahead and pull that one for correction, so both items that are being pulled are CA.3 and CA.6. The remaining consent agenda, need a motion to approve. Commissioner Gonzalez: Move it. Commissioner Sarnoff Second. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sanchez: There's a motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, second by Vice Chair Spence -Jones. No further discussion on the item. All in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay" Motion carries. City ofMiami Page 13 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 PA.1 08-00703 District 4- Commissioner Tomas Regalado PERSONAL APPEARANCE DISCUSSION ITEM REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HISPANIC TRUST INITIATIVE TO DISCUSS A FORECLOSURE PREVENTION PROGRAM. 08-00703 Memo.pdf DISCUSSED Chair Sanchez: And we move on to the next item on the agenda, which is the personal appearance. We have PA.1, and that's the Hispanic Trust Initiative. Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, this is a presentation by the Hispanic Coalition. They do have an initiative by the Hispanic Trust that deals with foreclosure prevention program. I met yesterday with Rosa (UNINTELLIGIBLE), with Katherine Vicioso-Cuesta and Danielle Cuesta from the organization. George Mensah, our Community Development director, was there, also Larry Spring, and we heard about the program they have underway right now throughout the County, and they wanted to be able to present to the City. Katherine Vicioso-Cuesta. Katherine Vicioso-Cuesta: Yes. I have some materials, ifI can have the liberty of giving them out. Commissioner Regalado: Mr. Chairman, ifI may, before she -- Chair Sanchez: You're recognized. Commissioner Regalado: I just want to thank Hispanic Coalition. Three weeks ago, we did a foreclosure seminar in Our Lady of Lebanon, and we advertised that for people with foreclosure problems, and Hispanic Coalition was there, as well as attorneys and people from HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) and FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), and there were 52 people with foreclosure papers in that seminar. Out of those -- we survey the people; two from Hialeah, but the rest from the City ofMiami, all of the districts of the City of Miami. And in -- before the day's end, 'bout [sic] ten people were able to come out with legal advice to stop foreclosure. As we speak today, in the City ofMiami we have 14, 000 foreclosures in the City, which is a huge -- per capita is after California the second -highest foreclosure city or place in the United States. So out of that seminar, Rosa and Hispanic Coalition were able to organize this program, and I think that we should thank them because what they are doing is trying to substitute what the federal government is not doing. You know, yesterday the Congress did not vote on the foreclosure measure and the White House is threatening to veto as it is now, so since there is no help from the federal government, local government should step up. And to have -- I mean, other than the 14, 000 properties in foreclosure in the City ofMiami, we have 3,000 auction properties in the City ofMiami at this moment as of yesterday, so I just want to thank Hispanic Coalition for all the good work. Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Thank you. Commissioner Regalado: Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Thank you again. I wanted to -- My name is Katherine Vicioso. I'm with the Hispanic Coalition's Hispanic Trust Initiative. We focus our energy on financial literacy. Our efforts right now, because of the mortgage crisis, has been primarily focused on assisting City ofMiami Page 14 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 people with the possibility of preserving their homes. Foreclosure, as we know, devastates the families. It results in abandoned, vacant properties, higher crime rates, and lower property values. I think, as Commissioners, you're very familiar with what this does to the City. Lenders usually have fried to project that the reason we are in this crisis is due to a lot of investment properties, but we are a grassroot [sic] organization; we're out there; in one week we will see easily anywhere between 500 to 1, 000 people between the different events that we have. And the situation is that a lot of the mortgage crisis is due to job loss. The reason that people are losing their homes is because of employment. It is not that they have overinvested. If you're looking at some of the materials that I have enclosed, what I have done is I have given you a company overview, foreclosure statistics by your individual ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan) Codes, samples of flyers and programs of the seminars that we have participated and the different areas that we have been presently involved with; an article on the effects of the City because of the foreclosed homes. Since the startup of the program, the Initiative has already served the community by performing the functions of outreach to the communities between seminars, workshops and clinics. We do one-on-one counseling. We do the crisis budget preparation and analysis to assist the homebuyers, getting them ready to discuss the situation with their lender, try to get a realistic picture of what their financial situation looks like in order for them to properly present this to their lender. We assist them with the loan workouts to actually do the negotiation with their lender. As you know, if you're already in this crisis, you're emotionally attached to the situation and it's kind of difficult for you to actually do these negotiations with the lenders. And if you've dealt with lenders at all, you know that it's not always a win -win situation because they have their collection hats on all the time. Foreclose -- we do also, which is a very important part of our program -- once we've done the workout with the lender, we emphasize a lot the fact that they have to do post foreclosure counseling. What this does is that it maximizes the amount of time that the person is actually going to follow through with their new loan workout. And also we like to stimulate the bank participation because obviously the person who has the last say-so as to whether these workouts or the person can actually keep their home is the lender. Now, the crisis is projected to continue for several years, and the reality is that no one knows how long the crisis will last, just as no one could have predicted the times we are currently going through, no matter the level of expertise in the real estate industry. Something needs to be done to stem the tide. The worst thing we can do is do nothing. We've been actively in this program since November or October of last year, and we have been able to save many homes. It will take a collaborative effort to do this. We will commit to having a dedicated trained personnel who is familiar with the problem to continue assisting the public with the above alternatives. We have already met with the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and the Economic Development director, along with your chief administrator, and we look forward to assisting them in this project. Nevertheless, in order for this effort to be put forth at full speed, the funding of the Hispanic Coalition's Hispanic Trust Initiative is a crucial component to the success of the program and the ability for -- to keep these people in their homes. We are requesting a partnership with the City in the effort to collaborate in the success of the home preservation project. We look forward to continued discussions with you. We know that this is something that's beneficial to the City, to the families. It's definitely a win -win situation, and the worst thing that we can do is do nothing. I think we've proven -- you will see in the materials you have with you that we've been doing this for quite some time, and we know that we can get this done if we get your support. Chair Sanchez: Thank you for the presentation. Any questions? Commissioner Sarnoff I do. Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Sanchez. Commissioner Sarnoff Is it -- are you -- is it your analysis that most of the foreclosures are as a result of job loss? Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Yes. I have plenty of material. As a result of every single workshop we've City ofMiami Page 15 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 held, the clinic, we're very thorough in what we put together because, as part of the funding, we like to show that we've been able to accomplish it, obviously, the goals. So we see -- we put our questionnaires -- we asked for the reason or -- for default, and reason number one is job loss. Commissioner Sarnoff And you -- I think you indicated 30 -- where are my statistics? -- 36 percent of -- Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Yes. Commissioner Sarnoff -- of Dade County foreclosures are in the City ofMiami. Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Exactly. Commissioner Sarnoff What percentage of the people are losing their jobs? Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: I would say a good 40 percent. Commissioner Sarnoff So, 40 percent of the 36 percent of foreclosures are as a result of job loss? Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Yes, sir. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: There are a lot of times where the interest has adjusted, and that you've heard plenty in the media, but there's been very little discussed regarding the fact that it's due to job loss. Yes, a lot of people did overextend themselves, but the lenders allowed the 55, the 65 DTI (Debt -to -Income) ratios out there so now adjusting the people's budget to try to get them to remain in their homes is crucial, in addition to assisting them with locating new jobs. Commissioner Sarnoff Well, if it's in fact a job loss, then it's going to be even more critical or more difficult for you to do a workout with a lender when a person no longer has any revenue source or income coming in. Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: The lenders -- I've been able to discuss with very particular lenders and what they would allow are forbearances, allowing the person enough time to locate a job. I've been able to do some negotiations with that success. Commissioner Sarnoff Have you done any analysis to see if there is any net job gains in the City ofMiami? Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: No. I have not gone that far. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. When -- and when you say you want to partner with us, what does that mean? Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Partner with you to different areas. Partner with you in the sense of -- to fund the program; that would be one; and secondly, to provide the different locations so that we can hold the different workshops and seminars. We like to go out to the people and obviously offer them the program. Commissioner Sarnoff What's the financial implication to the City ofMiami? Other -- and I'm not talking about holding meetings, but what -- are you looking for subsidizing of some kind -- subsidies? City ofMiami Page 16 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Yes. Commissioner Sarnoff How much are you looking for? Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: That I would have to -- I have a budget. I didn't include that as part of the presentation because it requires additional conversations with the different departments. I'm familiar you have a budget, so I know we'd have to work within some of those guidelines. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. Let me ask you this question because this is something that will be more -- I don't know if it's more germane to my area, but the banks, when they take back many of the condominiums -- or I'll restrict this to condos for right now -- do not pay the maintenance fees on any kind of monthly, biannual, annual basis, and what -- this is -- what is happening is as a result of no laws in place, which I suspect it would have to be a state law, not even a county, and certainly, probably not a City ordinance, what's happening is people that live in these new condominiums that are less than ten percent -- sometimes only six or seven people in a condo are being forced to pay the maintenance fees for what should have been a hundred -- two hundred -unit condominiums. Have you thought ofgoing to the Legislature -- and this Commission should think of passing a resolution -- asking them to pass a law that requires banks to act as responsible owners of the property because, essentially, once they foreclosure, they are the owner of the property. Equally, when they give the loan and they don't foreclose, they are the de facto owner of the property. That they should have to pay the maintenance to make sure that the building doesn't go into disrepair. Now, it may or may not be the City ofMiami's business what goes on inside the building, but inevitably it will become a health, safety, and welfare issue. It will become and is the City ofMiami's business when these properties start looking dilapidated on the exterior, and thus, a building right next door that may have an 85 percent or 100 percent occupancy rate, suddenly its values start to decline as a result of a new building going in there. The reason I ask you this is I'm trying to colloquially drum up support for Tallahassee to take this issue up; to take the financial institutions to task and force them to pay the maintenance fees as they accrue versus waiting for a judge's order, which may come in a year, and it may not come in a year, and we have all this brand-new -- these brand-new condominiums in the City ofMiami that look great right now, but in two or three years, could become a problem. So my question to you is, have you thought about any issues like that? Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: We have thought -- when we see a lot of the people that are losing their homes, primarily we focus on single-family residences, okay. The condominiums and residences that have associations, we're very familiar with that problem and there is a limited amount of assistance being offered. Basically none, okay. So I know, as an organization, the president of the organization has already explored the possibility ofgoing out and having certain discussions with some of the people that make or push some of these very effective or decision -making processes because we are familiar that that is an area that is not right now being taken care of. One of the things I discussed with the CFO and the Economic Development director is that we would like your assistance -- this is part of the partnership -- where when you call a lender and you -- I call them, it's very different than an elected official being involved and calling them to the table and say, hey, I really need you to take care of some of these problems. So what we are also wanting to do as part of this project is getting your involvement, getting your support so that we can bring some of these lenders and the people that actually make the decisions to not only streamline the process for these modifications and for these loan workouts, but also for you to actually make some demands and tell them, hey, we need your assistance; it is not enough what you are presently doing to assist. It's great; it's a beginning, but that's all it is, a beginning. We know with your support, not just financially, but with your support as an elected official, as an authority, I know that you can bring these people to the table and actually twist their arm a little bit so that they can actually become more active in what we're trying to achieve. Commissioner Sarnoff Thank you. City ofMiami Page 17 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Regalado. Commissioner Regalado: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, again. And I think that one of the things that should be said, Katherine -- and I know that Rosa and I have discussed that -- is that there are people who are willing now to buy a single-family home -- Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Yes. Commissioner Regalado: -- and what you are frying to do also is find the two ends, a person with a foreclosure on its hand and a person that is willing to buy but it doesn't have like all the money, so I know that you have been successful in getting these two sides together. That way you have saved a family because the family that is selling at least doesn't go out the door just with the clothes on it. Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Exactly. Commissioner Regalado: And is it -- can we help on that? I mean, is it something that you are doing that you think it could save little -by -little several people? Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Yes. We are working currently -- a portion of the project is that -- we realize that there are some people that will not have the ability or financial ability to actually save their home. What this does is that this still puts another property out in the market. So what we're doing is we're partnering with the lenders and different institutions, HUD, so that some of the events that we're holding not only are they foreclosure events, but the people -- once you do the analysis and they cannot keep the property, we have the lenders there. We have a very special presentation to try to marry somebody trying to purchase a property with somebody possibly losing the property. It is an emotional situation, but the fact is that if they cannot keep the property, the whole idea is to try to find someone that can actually take that property over. That takes care of the family in distress; that takes care of the City, and that also puts somebody in a new home. So as far as the City is concerned, I know there are programs; I know you work with lenders currently, and if they can assist with that portion of the program, I think that'll just create more success in what we are already doing. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Vice Chair Spence -Jones and then we'll close this public appearance. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Sure. I just want to, first of all, publicly commend Commissioner Regalado for his vision and foresight on this issue. We know that it's definitely an issue and problem, and so I wanted to at least publicly acknowledge you for at least bringing it up as an issue, okay. The second part of this, I wanted to find out from CD (Community Development) -- 'cause I'm assuming CD would be the department that would take an active role in participating or that you would be partnering really with -- I want to ask our CD director is there currently a foreclosure -based program that we have or a partnership that we already have in place, just so that I have a clear understanding, or are you guys already working together? George Mensah: George Mensah, director of Department of Community Development. No. The first time we met was yesterday. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Oh, okay. Mr. Mensah: We -- the City is currently -- has been trying to set up a program which rely on nonprofits to be able to put this together. I've already trained one of my staff -- taken them for training so they can understand the dynamics of the foreclosure issue as it's occurring throughout the country. And what we did is that we're also frying to set up a partnership with Enterprise Foundation, who are doing some projects throughout the country, and in that City ofMiami Page 18 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 partnership we intend to bring on board some nonprofits that will be able to help us in reaching the affected residents. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. It seems as though that they have an active program and project that they're currently doing, so Enterprise -- definitely want to make sure that they remain at the table. I just want to see that there's a true partnership happening with all the different agencies in order to accomplish the goal. So I just wanted to ask that question. And then my other question real fast, I have this actual form that was in my package and it says Commissioner Sarnoff. I don't know if Commissioner Sarnoff created this or you created it, but in it it said a total of 9,315 foreclosures in the City ofMiami. Did you create this document? Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: I created that after sitting with CD and the CFO. I know that they had certain reservations on some of the numbers that we were using. However, I did take the time to compare them -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Yes. Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: -- with the City -- with actually Dade County -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: -- with the City, and the numbers from two other sources of information. So whatl did was I gave you an array of information and let you guys make the decision because I know you have the statistics here locally. I gave you an array for that -- for you to be able to make that decision. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay, because whatl would like -- and I don't know if the City has our own numbers and you have your own numbers -- I would just be curious, especially in my district -- Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Yes. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- I would like to know how many foreclosures are actually happening within my area because, for me, any frainings that we would take -- that would take place in our areas, I think it should be focused on the communities of the neighborhoods that are having the most issues. I guess the CFO is coming to the mike. Go ahead. Larry Spring: Just very quickly. Larry Spring, chief financial officer. Commissioner, we met with them, and one of my reservations was -- I just did a presentation in front of the U.S. Conference ofMayors. I know that there are 16,000 lis pendens filed through April of this year, so, you know, I wanted to be sure and certain -- this is countywide, number is countywide, I wanted to make sure -- Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Just the City? Mr. Spring: No, no. This is countywide. Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Okay. Commissioner Sarnoff Right. Mr. Spring: That number's countywide. Commissioner Sarnoff You can only get those numbers -- right. City ofMiami Page 19 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Mr. Spring: So I wanted to make sure that -- what our number was before we actually got a hard number to you, so we will be doing that research -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. I would love to have -- Mr. Spring: -- to get back to you. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- and I'm sure the other Commissioners would like to know how many foreclosures you have happening in your district. And then, just in closing, I support totally, you know, this partnership, and hopefully, there's a way to bring all the organizations together so that it makes sense. I know that we're going to have issues financially when we start talking about budgets this year as to what we can and cannot fund, butl think that it's really important for us to consider what's happening to our residents. So, hopefully, not only City dollars, we could also look at other alternatives to assist - Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Exactly. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- in helping you secure additional dollars to provide - Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Exactly. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- the support. I am doing a big housing summit in September in my disfrict, and one of the issues is going to be foreclosures, so I would like to at least -- Community Development is already working along with me on that, butt would like to have, since you've already done presentations and Commissioner Regalado has participated in it, I'd love to have you participate in the one that we're doing in September. Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Thank you. And just to let you know, in Dade County, if you look up the figures -- just yesterday, I was looking up -- last night so these figures can be as accurate as they possibly can -- between January and the number of days we are into the month of July, the foreclosures so far in Dade County are at 25,595, and that is in the Miami -Dade County system. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Commissioner Gonzalez: Mr. Chairman. Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: And just to interject, when I sat down with the both -- both individuals, I can tell you that out of the City and out of all of the meetings that we've held and the presentations, your crew happens to be probably one of the more knowledgeable individuals. Commissioner Gonzalez: The problem of foreclosure is like Commissioner Sarnoff says, he was talking about dilapidated buildings and -- Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Yes. Commissioner Gonzalez: Well, let me tell you. We already having this problem, and Mr. Manager, I -- we forward you -- I think it was ten properties in my disfrict that have been empty for probably over a year, and we have Code Enforcement cases on it. They are unsecured properties, and I got these photos from the police department because these places have become center for prostitution, drug -dealing, anything that you can imagine, even people living in those properties. If we have -- if someone dies in one of those properties, the City of Miami's going to be blamed because we didn't have the police there, because we didn't clean up the houses, because -- you know. So we need to start moving in that respect. Commissioner Sarnoff, in answering your question, I'm a community association manager licensed by the State. In fact, when the bank repossess these properties, they are obligated by Florida Statute to pay the City ofMiami Page 20 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 maintenance fee for the units that they repossess. Now, if there is a condo, like the story that we saw in Channel -- I think it was Channel 7 -- what happen is, if the owners -- if the developer sells all the units and 75 percent of the owners of the development decide not to pay maintenance fee, the other 25 is forced to pay for the 75 that don't pay. Of course, the condominium association also, you know, always have the opportunity to lien those condos and -- but -- you know, but in a situation like this one, there isn't much that you're going to get by liening these properties because people will abandon them. One of -- I believe that part of the foreclosure problem is due to jobs, but let me tell you. We can't kid ourselves. We have to be honest, and I always like to speak clear, okay. Many of the foreclosures that we have is due to - Chair Sanchez: Yep. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- a lot of dealing and wheeling between - Chair Sanchez: Speculation. Commissioner Sarnoff Speculation. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- the banks and the mortgage companies and the people. I know people that bought homes, $500, 000 home, making $9 an hour. You tell me how can you qualify for a $500, 000 mortgage making $9 an hour, okay? So those are the people -- and those were people that, you know, they saw the opportunity of buying a $500, 000 home without having the income, without having the secure job, without having a credit history, but there was an opportunity to flip the home in six months for 675 and make it, you know, an easy 175, 000. I know people that mortgage their homestead to buy a unit to flip it and make 200, 000. Well, you know, it's -- you gambling. When you gamble, you can win or you can lose, and many people -- the people that went into the gambling game at the beginning of the boom, they made it. The ones that got into it at the end, they lost it, but, you know. Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Gonzalez: I'm not saying that there is -- there has been a loss of jobs, because with the recession and the construction, we have lost many jobs, but you know -- butl don't think that the problem of the foreclosures is entirely, you know -- and there are other -- you know, people that work in construction that were used to making $15 an hour, $20 an hour, $22 an hour. There are jobs out there, okay, at $6 an hour or 6.25, or $7. What happened is these people that were making 20, they don't want to make 7. But let me tell you, when you need a job, you work for whatever it is that we were talking the other night. You know, you -- when you need to work, you work. Commissioner Sarnoff Commissioner -- and let me suggest something to you. I believe it happens to be District 2 that most of that speculation went on. I don't know that there's been a significant reduction in jobs for District 2. I wholeheartedly agree with what you're saying. I was unaware -- and thanks for enlightening me because I didn't know for sure, because I've been told different things, that once a bank forecloses that they're obligated to pay that maintenance. And if that's frue, that's great. My question then is -- let me ask you this question: If they simply start the foreclosure process but don't actually foreclose, so they get their lis pendens -- and I think what they're doing is -- I call it gap financing. What they're making -- I think what they're doing, Commissioner, is they're not actually foreclosing, so they're not paying -- they're not stepping up to the plate and they're not paying their maintenance fees because they're not going through the foreclosure process. And maybe you could tell me, once they fore -- once they file suit to foreclose, do they have to pay the maintenance? Commissioner Gonzalez: No. City ofMiami Page 21 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Sarnoff And that's what suspect -- Commissioner Gonzalez: They only have to pay when they actually foreclose. When they take possession of the unit, then they're responsible for that unit. Commissioner Sarnoff And I would -- I'd ask you to do this research, if you could, because I think you'll find many of these banks are starting the lawsuit and they're just leaving it -- which is Larry's point when he used the word lis pendens, I think. Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Exactly. Commissioner Sarnoff All he's doing is saying -- is, look, you file your lawsuit, then you file a notice of lis pendens, and then you don't -- you let it sit. Why? There's really no reason to own - - to have the ownership obligations imposed upon you. What you're doing is you're giving notice to everybody, no more liens on this building 'cause now it's in foreclosure. Commissioner Gonzalez: Exactly. Commissioner Sarnoff That's the business model legal problem that we have that we need to, I think, maybe get Tallahassee to correct. Commissioner Gonzalez: What they are doing -- and you know better than me legal terms -- they're establishing their first position on the unit in case the unit is lost. Commissioner Sarnoff Exactly. Commissioner Gonzalez: That's what they're doing. Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Butl could tell you -- sorry to interrupt -- so that we could, you know -- I don't mean to prolong it any further, but if -- when you're talking about these properties, it is a combination, but again, we sit down and we speak to these people; and it's not to say that there aren't 500, $600, 000 properties, those are not the properties. That we are assisting; not that we're turning them away, but the numbers of the people that we're actually assisting are properties that are well beneath $400, 000. Okay, so -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Yeah, butt know what you're trying -- Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: So it's a little bit -- there's a little bit of everything. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- to say. But know that there were many, many cases -- Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Definitely. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- of many people that couldn't even qualify for $175, 000 mortgage and they were qualified by the mortgage companies and they were qualified by the bankers, okay? And there was a lot of fraud. They created jobs for people -- Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Yes, they did. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- they created credit reports for people; they created -- you kmow, we are out there. We are on the streets. We talk to people. We hear cases. Last night, I was talking to a friend of mine that knows someone that guess what the guy did? He convinced his mother and his father, 70 years old, 70-some years old, to allow him to mortgage the property so he could buy a couple of units. Guess what? He bought the units; now he can't pay for the units, and now the mother and the father are losing the home. City ofMiami Page 22 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Sarnoff Yeah. Commissioner Gonzalez: Okay, so all -- Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Well - Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- kind of wheeling -- Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: No, there's a little bit of everything. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- and dealing went on the mortgage issues, you know. Commissioner Regalado: Commissioner, just for your information, Miami is the only district of any judicial district of the Department of Justice in the United States that has a task force on fraud. Commissioner Gonzalez: Yeah. Commissioner Regalado: As a matter offact, the U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta has uncovered, since September of last year to last week, $131 million in mortgage fraud, and as of now, 87 persons have been arrested -- Commissioner Gonzalez: I know. Commissioner Regalado: -- because they falsified the records. They willingly said that the people were making more than they were actually making in order for the banks to qualify, and these people have been arrested, but the reality is that everyone is losing their homes -- Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Everybody is losing -- Commissioner Regalado: -- you know. Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Gonzalez: And the problem now -- Ms. Vicioso-Cuesta: Very good point. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- is that there is some -- Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- people now that can qualify, but the problem is that the banks have become more strict. You know, now they ask you for income tax -- now they ask you -- you know, they ask you for -- now it's not a matter of saying I make $150, 000 a year; you have to prove it. It's not a matter of saying, you know, I have "X" and "X" and `X" credit; you have to prove that you have credit. So now it's become more difficult for some people to buy homes. Commissioner Sarnoff Well -- and just -- Commissioner, someone in my office was actually trying to get a foreclosure in the Sonesta. So think about this. She's about to walk to work, and they own the mortgage. She's going to do the Down Payer [sic] Assistance Program with the City ofMiami, which is a great program, and guess what? They won't hold their own paper. City ofMiami Page 23 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 They won't hold their own paper and she can't get anyone else to give any mortgage on a condominium. It's just ironic. Chair Sanchez: Well, that's why -- Mr. Hernandez: Mr. Chairman, ifI may, we'll continue to -- Chair Sanchez: -- we're in a crisis. Mr. Hernandez: -- work with Hispanic Coalition and other organizations that provide similar services to develop the best possible program that we can endorse, and in all probability, we'll be coming back to you with an action item for the use of maybe CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds to support a program. Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Sarnoff Great opportunity -- I'm sorry -- Mr. Manager, for scattered -site housing, and it's a great opportunity for us to turn around and create housing opportunities that never existed before because there's going to be plenty of condominiums and I suspect even enough houses to supply a great many people who are in the market. And I just -- again, I suggest to you the scattered -site housing approach. Don't concentrate the poor in one neighborhood; scatter them. It's good for everyone. Chair Sanchez: All right. Mr. Hernandez: We'll look into it. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. That was the personal appearance. City ofMiami Page 24 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 PUBLIC HEARING PH.1 08-00581 RESOLUTION Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Parks and ATTACHMENT(S), BY A FOUR -FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, Recreation AFTER AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING, RATIFYING, APPROVING AND CONFIRMING THE CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION AND FINDING THAT COMPETITIVE NEGOTIATIONS METHODS ARE NOT PRACTICABLE OR ADVANTAGEOUS PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-85 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR SAID PROCEDURES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF MELREESE GOLF COURSE; APPROVING THE RECOMMENDATION AND FINDING OF THE CITY OF MIAMI'S DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION THAT IT IS MORE ADVANTAGEOUS FOR THE CITY TO AMEND ITS EXISTING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT ("PSA") WITH CHARLIE DELUCCA, TO AMONG OTHER THINGS EXTEND THE EXPIRATION DATE TO SEPTEMBER 30, 2011 AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AMENDMENT TO THE PSA, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, FOR THESE PURPOSES. 08-00581 Legislation.pdf 08-00581 Exhibit.pdf 08-00581 Summary Form.pdf 08-00581 Memo.pdf 08-00581 Notice of Public Hearing.pdf 08-00581 Master Report.pdf 08-00581 First Amendment.pdf Motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, seconded by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones R-08-0366 Chair Sanchez: Any other item we could get out of the way? All right. If not, we return back to the regular agenda. First item on the agenda is PH.1. It is a public hearing, requiring a four fifth vote. Ernest Burkeen: Morning. Ernest Burkeen, director of Parks & Recreation. This is a resolution amending the professional services agreement with Charlie Delucca for the management of the Melreese Golf Course, extending the operation from September 30, 2008 to September 30, 2011. Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Gonzalez: I'll move PH.1. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sanchez: The item has been moved by Commissioner Gonzalez, second by the Vice Chair. Before we open it up for discussion, it requires a public hearing. Anyone from the public wishing to address this item, please step forward and be recognized. We are on PH.1, which is a resolution requiring a public hearing. Seeing no one from the public, the public hearing is closed, coming back to the Commission. Any discussion on this item? Commissioner Sarnoff City ofMiami Page 25 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 you're recognized for the record. Commissioner Sarnoff Burkeen, I read -- I've fried reading the contract, and I couldn't tell -- I mean, I understand he's going to get compensated from the City ofMiami through a compensation agreement, but for the revenues, the clothes, the food that's sold there, who gets that revenue? Mr. Burkeen: The City; all goes into the general fund. Commissioner Sarnoff And you think your contract says that? Mr. Burkeen: That's how we've operated. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. You might want to check your confract terms 'cause I got to tell you, I read it and I could not find that. Mr. Burkeen: He's not allowed to take any more money home except for what we pay him -- Commissioner Sarnoff I got you. Ms. Bru: -- in a paycheck. Commissioner Sarnoff I got you. But would tell you -- and think knew the answer to the question, butl think you might want to revisit your confract a little bit. Chair Sanchez: All right. Any discussion on the item? If not, it's a four fifth resolution, all in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay" Motion carry -- resolution passes, 5/0. Congratulations. Keep up the good work. City ofMiami Page 26 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 RESOLUTIONS RE.1 08-00678 RESOLUTION City Manager's A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE Office PLACEMENT OF BILLBOARDS WITHIN PARK LIMITS AT FERN ISLE PARK, JOSE MARTI PARK, ROBERT KING HIGH PARK AND GRAPELAND PARK; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A LICENSE AGREEMENT, AND ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY. 08-00678 Legislation.pdf 08-00678 Summary Form.pdf 08-00678 PreLegislation.pdf 08-00678 Agreement.pdf 08-00678 Exhibits.pdf DEFERRED A motion was made by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Sarnoff, and was passed unanimously, to defer item RE.1 to the Commission meeting currently scheduled for July 10, 2008. Chair Sanchez: We'll go to the public hearing. First item -- before we do that, is there any items that we want to pull? Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes. I would like to defer RE.1, defer to July 10 -- Chair Sanchez: Okay. Need a -- Mr. Hernandez: -- agenda. Chair Sanchez: -- motion. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: So moved. Commissioner Sarnoff So -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sanchez: There's a motion by the Vice Chair, second by Commissioner Sarnoff. No discussion on the item. All in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay" That item has been deferred to -- Mr. Hernandez: July 10. Chair Sanchez: -- July 10. RE.2 08-00694 RESOLUTION City ofMiami Page 27 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Purchasing ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE CITY MANAGER APPROVING THE FINDINGS OF THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE, PURSUANT TO REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL 23019, THAT THE FIRM(S) MOST QUALIFIED TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY DEBRIS CONTRACT MONITORING SERVICES ARE SOLID RESOURCES, INC., THE TOP -RANKED FIRM, AS THE PRIMARY CONTRACTOR, AND BECK DISASTER RECOVERY, INC., THE SECOND -HIGHEST RANKED FIRM, AS THE SECONDARY CONTRACTOR, ONLY TO BE UTILIZED IN THE EVENT THE PRIMARY CONTRACTOR IS UNABLE TO PERFORM SAID SERVICES, FOR A ONE (1) YEAR PERIOD, WITH AN OPTION TO RENEW FOR THREE (3) ADDITIONAL ONE(1) YEAR PERIODS; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE VARIOUS SOURCES OF FUNDS, SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF NEED; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT(S), IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM(S), FOR SAID PURPOSE. 08-00694 Legislation.pdf 08-00694 Exhibit.pdf 08-00694 Exhibit2.pdf 08-00694 Exhibit3.pdf 08-00694 Exhibit4.pdf 08-00694 Exhibit5.pdf 08-00694 Exhibit6.pdf 08-00694 Exhibit7.pdf 08-00694 Summary Form.pdf 08-00694 Memo.pdf 08-00694 Tabulation Results.pdf Motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, seconded by Commissioner Regalado, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones R-08-0367 Chair Sanchez: All right. Next item on the agenda is -- RE.1 was -- Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): It was deferred to July 10. Chair Sanchez: Okay. RE. 1 was deferred. We go to RE.2. Commissioner Gonzalez: I'll move RE.2. Chair Sanchez: Okay. RE.2, it's a resolution. The resolution has been moved by Commissioner Gonzalez. Could you put something on the record, Mr. Director, as to what we're voting on? Is there a second for the record? Ladies and gentlemen, that's the -- provide emergency debris contract monitoring service in case of a hurricane, as we must be prepared and we must be in accordance with all -- having all the proper documentation to get reimbursed by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). Is there a second? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Second. Commissioner Regalado: Second. Chair Sanchez: Okay. There's a second by Commissioner Gonzalez -- I mean, motion's made by City ofMiami Page 28 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Gonzalez, second by Commissioner Regalado. Go ahead and just put something on the record. I had -- Glenn Marcos: Thank you, Commissioner. Glenn Marcos, Purchasing director. The item before you is an item that we're respectfully recommending for the City Commission to approve. The debris contract monitoring RFP (Request for Proposals) and recommendation by the City Manager to the City Commission to make the award to Solid Resources, Inc. as a top -ranked firm and the primary contractor, and Beck Disaster Recovery as the second -highest firm and the secondary contractor. This contract is for one year with options to renew for three additional one-year periods. Chair Sanchez: Okay. It's a public hearing. Anyone from the public wishing to address this item? This is RE.2. RE.2 is a resolution. Anyone wishing to address this item, please step forward. Seeing no one, the public hearing is closed, coming back to the Commission on this resolution. Any discussion? No further discussion on the resolution. All in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay." Motion carries. Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): Mr. Chairman, just for the record, I want to advise the Commissioners that we already have in place the emergency debris clearing contracts in the event that they're needed. I hope not, but those contracts are in place, and the item that you just approved will provide us with the monitoring of those contracts in order to comply with FEMA regulations. Chair Sanchez: All right. Since we're on this issue, and I -- not that it's irrelevant -- how much money does FEMA still owe the City from the previous hurricanes? Mr. Hernandez: Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, approximately $12 million. Chair Sanchez: All right. And that is why this is so important that we have the right procedure in place because when we're faced with an emergency, the federal government, under FEA/IA, reimburses, but we must have the proper documentation or else they don't. Even Andrew -- Andrew was in 1992 -- ten years after, FEMA still had not paid, and it was not long ago when this city went through, not one, not two, but three hurricanes, and we had to deal with those hurricanes, and still that money is not paid. Now, you know, once again we will be faced with some tough budgetary decisions in the City, and the federal government has $12 million, which I think we're entitled of [sic] -- as long as we have the proper documentation that we can receive and use for our city. So that's why it's so important that we have the proper documentation to implement all the forms to get our money back. So when do you foresee us being reimbursed? Is it going to take ten years again? Mr. Marcos: Commissioner, Glenn Marcos, Purchasing director. It's my understanding that Fire -Rescue and the Solid Waste Department are working diligently with FEMA to recover those funds. It is a slow process. Every -- I think in every audit, they ask for more information, and the key is is that we're able to provide that, but as far as an estimation, I would have to end up deferring to Chief Kemp because of the fact that it is a slow process. As you indicated under Andrew, it was a ten-year recovery process, and hopefully, within this process, it won't be another ten years before we see the $12 million. Chair Sanchez: Well, I hope not. Assistant [sic] Chief always a pleasure to see you, sir. Deputy ChiefMaurice Kemp: Maurice Kemp, deputy Fire chief. We don't anticipate ten years, but each hurricane has a different schedule, so with the documentation, we're following the City ofMiami Page 29 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 processes and it'll be coming in, you know, intermittingly. Chair Sanchez: Any other questions on that? If not, we move on. Thank you. Mr. Hernandez: Mr. Chairman, I wanted to correct that it's not only FEMA. It's -- the 12 million are due from FEIvIA and FHWA (Federal Highway Administration, just for the record. Chair Sanchez: All right. RE.3 07-01410 RESOLUTION Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Capital ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE CITY OF MIAMI'S ("CITY'S") 2007-2008 Improvements MULTI -YEAR CAPITAL PLAN ("PLAN"), ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, Program AS REQUIRED BY SECTION 163.3177, FLORIDA STATUTES (2007) AND PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 18/ ARTICLE IX/DIVISIONS 1 AND 2 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "FINANCE/FINANCIAL POLICIES/ANTI-DEFICIENCY ACT/FINANCIAL INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES," TO SET FORTH THE CITY'S FISCAL NEEDS FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, SUBJECT TO AN ANNUAL PLAN REVIEW, TO DETERMINE PROJECT PRIORITIES AND TO MODIFY FUNDING ALLOCATIONS AS NECESSARY. 07-01410 Legislation.pdf 07-01410 Exhibit.pdf 07-01410 Exhibit2.pdf 07-01410 Exhibit3.pdf 07-01410 Exhibit4.pdf 07-01410 Exhibit5.pdf 07-01410 Exhibit6.pdf 07-01410 Exhibit7.pdf 07-01410 Summary Form.pdf Motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, seconded by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones R-08-0368 Chair Sanchez: Okay. RE.3. RE.3, that's the City ofMiami 207 [sic]/208 [sic] multiyear capital plan. Ola Aluko: Good morning. Ola Aluko, director of Capital Improvements, City ofMiami. This resolution is to approve the City ofMiami 2007/2008 multiyear capital improvements plan, as required by the financial integrity ordinance. Chair Sanchez: Okay. Is there a motion? Commissioner Gonzalez: I make a motion to approve it. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Mo -- second. I do have a question, though. Chair Sanchez: All right. There is a motion by Commissioner Gonzalez. The item has been seconded by the Vice Chair for the purpose of discussion. Before we open it up for discussion, it is a public hearing; it is a resolution. Anyone wishing to address this item, please step forward and be recognized. Seeing no one, the public hearing is closed, coming back to the Commission City ofMiami Page 30 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 for discussion. Vice Chair Spence -Jones and then Commissioner Regalado. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. First of all, I want to say to Ola, I fruly appreciate being able to actually read a plan that we all can understand. It's very clear. I think, in the three years of being here, I mean I clearly understand what's happening within my district, so I want to acknowledge you for at least making that clear. Mr. Aluko: We thank you. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: The only thing that I want to have clarity on, though, is as I looked through the list, and I see all my parks, I see all my sfreets, and I'm very happy with that being there, my concerns arise around, like I mentioned to you, when I see Building Departments and me being responsible for almost a million dollars out of my budget to cover an expense to remodel the Building Department, especially when I can take that close to a million dollars and put it in parks or in sfreets in my neighborhood. So I just want you to put on the record -- because I understand that this list actually -- and I would like to have maybe a more detailed list from the standpoint of understanding what the pockets of monies these things is coming from general fund;; it is coming from a sunshine loan; where is it coming from? And then that would make me feel more comfortable, but I just want to be very clear. I mean, I just don't feel that my allocation should be utilized to rehab any City buildings, especially when my residents need those resources. Mr. Aluko: To clarify that, Commissioner, that particular project you mentioned and several other projects that you may see from the MRC (Miami Riverside Center) building existed within your district mainly because the MRC building is within your district. In terms of funding, it comes out of the general fund. It's listed in a different category as listed in our capital plan, but you are correct. And as we mentioned to other Commissioners, this document is dynamic. We will produce another spreadsheet, which will list not only the funding source, but also other pertinent items that has been requested by the other different Commissioners, but we'll make sure we have that clarified for you. But, no, you are not -- your budget is not being fund -- is not funding the Building Department renovations. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Mr. Aluko: That's coming out of the general fund. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. I just wanted to make sure you actually officially put that on the record. And then the other part of it, Ola, is there is maybe one or two projects -- and we can discuss them later -- that are projects that, for the first time I'm actually seeing on the list that are actually community- or neighborhood -based projects that I never knew about. So I just want to have another sidebar conversation with you to make sure because there's other needs that are much greater, you know, than some of the ones I see, and there's only like two or three of them. Mr. Aluko: My department will work with you in terms of prioritization and as so with the other Commissioners. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: All right. Thank you, Ola. Mr. Aluko: You're welcome. Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Regalado. Commissioner Regalado: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Some of the questions have been answered already, but just wanted to make sure, on these plans, in terms of general budget, have you City ofMiami Page 31 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 included the loan that we took from the State in order to supplement CIP (Capital Improvements Program) bond money? Mr. Aluko: The only loans that have been included are only the loans that have been approved; the 6.6 and I believe the 13 million. The more recent $27 million loan has not been appropriated yet, so that has not been included in this document. However, once we update this document, after the July -- or the second meeting in July, we will include that $27 million loan, as required. Commissioner Regalado: Okay, thank you. Chair Sanchez: Any other questions? On the item, let me just take this opportunity to praise the Adminisfration. I think it's important that we have a long-range plan and we put it all down; whether it's funded or not, I think it's important that we -- we need to have a vision on that. But I'll tell you this much, I want it to be seen as a book of examples that not every item that's on that is written in stone. I think each Commissioner should have the authority or at least the power to look at and go through it and see what -- it can be funded or it can be built, and if not, then he should have, you know -- to sit down -- or he should have the opportunity to sit down with the Adminisfration and change some things around. One thing that I -- when we had our meeting, one of the things that I was concerned with is that, you know, the City has really done a lot of master plans to really focus on where this City needs to be in the next 10 to 20 years as we look forward to the next generation that's going to live in the City. And we've had a lot of great plans; one of them is the Coconut Grove water plan -- Commissioner Sarnoff Sasaki. Chair Sanchez: -- the Sasaki plan. I've seen it; I'm fascinated with it. It's just going to turn this Grove around completely, but then I don't see any money in here for that, and that is going to be a project that's going to take more than $100 million to get done. I know it's going to be -- have to be done in phases; I know it's not in my district, but you know, I tend to look overall in the entire city. And to get this thing done, it's going to have to be done in phases, and I don't see any money going towards -- perhaps, you know, on the first phase, maybe about $20 million or something like that to get things going as to the drawings and the plans and stuff. I did not see that there. And there's other big issues that are going on in the City that we don't -- you know, as new ideas come up, they're not there. And the great concern is, how are we going to handle that? Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): Mr. Chairman, obviously, with the master plan, I think it's a question of doing all this work in phases, and obviously, we would like to be able to kick it off with phase one. Phase one, I think, entails the demolition of the expo center and be able to then refurbish that area. Chair Sanchez: But -- Mr. Hernandez: We would like to be able to do walkways. Chair Sanchez: I understand. Mr. Hernandez: That portion, I believe that we can manage. Chair Sanchez: We can manage -- Mr. Hernandez: Yes. Chair Sanchez: -- but there is -- we could manage. We could manage a lot of things, but there isn't -- there hasn't been -- or at least I'm not aware, or I don't know if the district Commissioner City ofMiami Page 32 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 is aware of any funding that have been allocated towards that already. Mr. Hernandez: Well, I think there was phase one -- I don't know if you have it specifically listed there, but it's a project that is doable, I would say, in '09, as far as the demolition, as far as the refurbishing of the park, the walkways. Then the garage is something that we can work with Off -Street Parking to do it as a different project. So there are things that we can do to advance that phase one and then work on a financial plan for the rest of it. But we can make a very significant statement and change in this community by being able to go forward with the elements that I mentioned; the demolition of the expo center, the development of that area into a full-fledged green area with the proper walkways and amenities and so forth, and the garage, independently, and then we'll continue to develop the financial plan for the other phases. Commissioner Sarnoff I think -- you know, Commissioner, we've spent a long time getting the actual plan that -- and to Pete's -- to the City Manager's credit, I've never seen a better publicly attended and stake holder -oriented plan than this in the City ofMiami. Getting to that stage, I think we only got there on Tuesday of last -- of this week, and I think there's buy -in from all the stakeholders now -- at least I hope there is -- and I've been working with Larry Spring in terms of coming up with a financial package as to how he could and could not fund this. Some of it can be offset with some commercial -- some tasteful commercial application, certainly the garage, and then others may have to be a bond project, but I think we have to be pretty frank and honest with the electorate this time, the citizens, and instead of naming something the Homeland Security Bond project, we name it exactly what it is: The Master Plan Parks Implementation Bond, where it is -- goes to exactly what they think it goes to. And hopefully, they'll want to buy in, and I know we'll have to do other districts as well, but I think it's time the City ofMiami step up and say this is exactly where this money's going, and we don't have the authority to deviate from any of this money going anywhere but parks. Chair Sanchez: Well, but this -- it identifies roughly about $1.4 billion in capital needs -- Mr. Aluko: That's correct, sir. Chair Sanchez: -- but funding -- it funds about half of the items that are there, so I mean -- Mr. Aluko: That's correct, 719 million. Chair Sanchez: All right. Any other questions on the item? If not, we've opened it up to the public. The public's had an opportunity to participate. We are on RE.3. It is a resolution presented to us by the Department of Capital Improvement Projects -- Program. All right. We have to vote. We have a motion and a second. All in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay." Motion carries. Mr. Aluko: Thank you. RE.4 08-00616 RESOLUTION Department of Solid A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Waste ATTACHMENT(S), RELATING TO THE PROVISION OF SOLID WASTE SERVICES, FACILITIES AND PROGRAMS IN THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA; DESCRIBING THE METHOD OF ASSESSING SOLID WASTE COSTS AGAINST PROPERTY LOCATED WITHIN THE CITY OF MIAMI; DIRECTING THE PREPARATION OF AN ASSESSMENT ROLL; AUTHORIZING A PUBLIC HEARING FOR SEPTEMBER 11, 2008; AND DIRECTING THE PROVISION OF NOTICE THEREOF; AND PROVIDING FOR City ofMiami Page 33 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 08-00616 Legislation.pdf 08-00616 Exhibit.pdf 08-00616 Exhibit2.pdf 08-00616 Exhibit3.pdf 08-00616 Exhibit4.pdf 08-00616 Exhibit5.pdf 08-00616 Summary Form.pdf Motion by Commissioner Regalado, seconded by Chair Sanchez, that this matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS FAILED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 2 - Commissioner Sanchez and Regalado Noes: 3 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Sarnoff and Spence -Jones R-08-0369 Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, that this matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Sarnoff and Spence -Jones Noes: 2 - Commissioner Sanchez and Regalado Chair Sanchez: RE.4. RE.4 is a resolution that is being presented to us by the Department of Solid Waste. Mario Soldevilla: Good morning, Commissioners. Mario Soldevilla, director of the Department of Solid Waste. This is the yearly solid waste assessment fee for the solid waste services, and this year we're proposing to keep it flat, as we have in the last six years, at $325 per year. Chair Sanchez: So you want to keep it -- Commissioner Gonzalez: I have a motion, but I also have a -- want a discussion on the item. Chair Sanchez: All right. You want to keep -- Commissioner Sarnoff Second. Chair Sanchez: -- it at 325 -- Mr. Soldevilla: That's correct. Chair Sanchez: -- where it always has been -- no? Larry doesn't want to, but that's what we're going to keep it at, okay, so this is -- all it does is just puts a cap on it. So there's a motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, second by Commissioner -- Commissioner Regalado: Second. Chair Sanchez: -- Sarnoff. The item is under discussion. It is a public hearing. Anyone from the public wishing to address this item, please step forward and be recognized. All right. Joe -- Mr. Simmons. Joe Simmons: Joe Simmons, Jr., president of sanitation workers union. I had a question about that cap because I know back in -- several years ago, the Commission agreed to freeze that rate at 325 a year, and I know times are tight now. In the back of my mind, I'm concerned about what impact would that have on the level of service and the employees that are mostly City City ofMiami Page 34 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 residents in the City ofMiami. Chair Sanchez: All right. That's a good question. Who wants to answer that? Mr. Soldevilla: The $325 cap obviously puts a strain on the -- on our equipment purchases. The -- what we are proposing to do in terms of services are -- you know, we're looking at different plans; one is to go towards modifying our trash collection, going from once a week to once a month. That will give us a significant savings in terms of the disposal fees that we are -- you know, that we would have to dispose of the material. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Mr. Chairman. Chair Sanchez: Yes. Vice Chair, you're recognized for the record. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I would like to hear from my CFO (Chief Financial Officer). He was the one that was shaking his head saying -- I mean, I would definitely -- I mean, Mr. Simmons, I appreciate you bringing this up as an issue, and that's why I was a little slow to vote on the issue. Mr. CF -- Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): Before my CFO gets there to the podium, I have to advise you all that from a budgetary standpoint, yes, the Administration would like to see an increase, no question. As a matter of fact -- Commissioner Sarnoff Well, you're -- isn't it true, Pete, that -- sorry, Mr. City Manager -- isn't it frue that it truly costs the City ofMiami $429 a year of everybody's garbage pickup? Mr. Hernandez: It is, Commissioner. Commissioner Sarnoff So then that means we must invade the general fund $104 a year? Mr. Hernandez: Yes. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: But, look, I need -- Commissioner Sarnoff Correct? Chair Sanchez: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- can I -- I -- it was actually my turn, so -- I'm sorry, Commissioner Sarnoff. I just want to -- I need my question answered. I'm glad you chiming in on it, butt really would like to hear from my CFO real fast on this. And I know, Mr. Manager, you don't -- apparently, you don't want him to say nothing? Mr. Hernandez: Well, I -- no, no, no. Of course, I -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Oh. Mr. Hernandez: -- do, butt want to pipe in also and provide my two cents' worth. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: And Larry is going to be straight up honest, so -- and not to say that you wouldn't. Mr. Hernandez: When we started looking at this, our proposal was basically to increase it $40 and bring it up to 365, okay. However -- and then the reason is that we maintain the commitment of the City to maintain it flat for five years. This is the fifth year. City ofMiami Page 35 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: But, Mr. Manager, we already have an issue of not having enough trucks, and the trucks that we have already have issues, some of those. We already don't have enough people working to even collect the trash. You know, we see that -- I know I see that sometimes on Saturday -- late Saturday nights, frash being picked up in my neighborhoods. You know, for you now to tell me, you know, now we may go to once a month? Chair Sanchez: That'll be approved by us. That's a policy issue. Commissioner Gonzalez: Well -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Yeah, but still, I mean -- Mr. Hernandez: Well, obviously, Commissioner, that is something that we're not discussing here today. It's something that -- Commissioner Gonzalez: If I'm allowed to -- Mr. Hernandez: -- we'll be presenting information through the budget hearing process. I think in this economic times -- I wish that we could have an increase, but in this economic times, the way the situation is, we're recommending to maintain the same fee that we've had for the last five years. However, we have to make accommodations, and I think the best way to do it is to cut back on our trash collection; rather than do it once a week, to do it once a month. I don't -- I believe that, in essence, that will provide even a cleaner city because it will be easier to enforce, and you'll only see the frash in the streets certain days of the month, not the way that we have it today. Today I believe that in the City ofMiami, we have an excellent service. We, in essence, require the enforcement, but also require (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of our people to abide by the service that we have and make the streets look cleaner. I think that in a month -- once a month clean-up, we can achieve that, and at the same time, save on fuel costs, save on the wear and tear of our fleet and save dollars also. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I just -- I find it very difficult for us to go from once a week to once a month. I can see ifyou said, okay, we're going to cut back and go maybe once -- twice a month - Commissioner Gonzalez: Well -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- but I can only imagine -- I'm just telling you, already I have a difficult time in my district, Liberty City, Little Haiti, Overtown, these areas -- trash only being picked up once a month in those areas. Commissioner Gonzalez: It -- nothing will happen. Just go to the City of Hialeah, and Hialeah has done it, you know, and nothing happened. People get used -- you know what is happening? No matter if you picked up frash three times a week, you're going to see piles of trash three times a week. And you know what is happening? Let me tell you what is happening. A lot of people from the County, from Hialeah, from different cities where they don't have a pickup, they're coming to the City ofMiami at night and they're dumping in the City ofMiami because they know that we are out there every single week picking up trash. So the City has become a dumping ground for many areas that don't have the pickup that we have. And let me tell you, we need to be serious about this. We cannot keep continuing to provide a Rolls-Royce at the price of a Volkswagen, you know. Because we -- we're going to have to cut the budget, and we -- and I hear figures about $50 million, $35 million, you know. You can't have it both ways. Either you pay more taxes to have services, or you have less services and pay less taxes. But, come on, those -- you know -- City ofMiami Page 36 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: As a citizen of the City ofMiami -- Commissioner Gonzalez: I mean, politically, it sounds beautiful. I know people want to hear what they want to hear and people like us to tell them what they want to hear, but let me tell you, people appreciate when you tell them the fruth and that is the fruth. If you pick up trash three times a week, you will have piles of trash three times a week. Not only -- not because of our residents; for people that are coming from outside the City. People that do gardening, they take their bags -- I have caught them myself and I have called the police on them -- coming from the County. I have called them at night. I have intercepted them dumping in my disfrict at night, and I have called the police myself okay, so I know what I'm telling you. I know what I'm talking about. Mr. Soldevilla: Commissioner, can I --? Chair Sanchez: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let me get something straight here. When a Commissioner is speaking, the Commissioner has the floor. If the Commissioner yields to another Commissioner, the other Commissioner can speak. All right. Let's have professionalism. Once the Commissioner has spoken, then, as the Chair, you're -- the next Commissioner will be recognized to speak, okay? Vice Chair Spence -Jones had the floor; she gets the floor back. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Thank you. Not disagreeing with anything that you have to say, Commissioner, at all, because, quite frankly, you've been here a lot longer. I'm sure you've seen the pattern and all of that. Not disagreeing at all. I just know -- notice that, at least in my disfrict over the last three years -- and when I look at my district now, it is a much cleaner disfrict, much cleaner disfrict, so I can -- and it took time to get to it being a much cleaner disfrict. Now I do acknowledge that people do dump from other areas, and probably our areas, our communities that we represent, are probably the areas that are affected the most. Commissioner Gonzalez: Are the biggest dumping grounds. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Right, so I'm not disagreeing with -- I just have a serious concern. And as a taxpayer, ifI had to make a choice to pay a couple of dollars exfra to know that the trash is going to be picked up four times a month, once a week, I don't have a -- I would do it because, at the end of the day, I would rather have a cleaner neighborhood or a cleaner community. I'm just -- ifI have a solid waste professional, somebody that's been doing this for how many years, Joe? Mr. Simmons: Seventeen. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Seventeen years, you know, bringing up a very -- I think it's a very valid point. I think that we need to consider it, and I understand what my City Manager is saying over there, and I respect that, but I also see that my CFO also has some issues and concerns with it, too. So all -- I mean, if we vote on this item -- and I think we already have a motion and a second on this item -- I just would want the Administration to come back to at least give us some comparisons. I understand the City of Hialeah, you know, and they -- how they reduced the amount of routes and the pickups and all of that, you know, but again, you know, it wasn't just stop picking up trash. There was a serious enforcement, you know, campaign that went along with that. And I think that one of the things we need to focus some of our attention on is enforcing the people who continuously come into our neighborhoods to dump outside. I think that that's where the energy needs to be placed, but I don't think the residents should have to -- that's just my opinion for the folks that I represent. So I'm listening to my solid waste professional, and I am agreeing with him that we do need to consider this before we make a decision, and that's my only point on it. Chair Sanchez: All right. Next Commissioner. Commissioner -- City ofMiami Page 37 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Gonzalez: I -- may I? Chair Sanchez: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Commissioner Regalado had the -- has the floor. Commissioner Regalado: Thank you very much. I'll just be brief. One question. Where does the money that the commercial haulers pay the City in fees goes [sic], to the general fund or to the budget of the Solid Waste Department? Mr. Soldevilla: To the general fund. Commissioner Regalado: To the general fund. So it's not like we are losing money picking up the residents [sic] because trash is trash and garbage is garbage. So if we were to apply the fees -- and every two weeks, I see big book from Victor Igwe, audit of Solid Waste, this and that. They owe $10, 000; they pay it back. They going to do this, they going to do that. How much are we getting from the commercial haulers in the City ofMiami, the fees that they're paying the City, without us and these guys not doing anything? Mr. Soldevilla: Approximately $11 million. Commissioner Regalado: Eleven million dollars. Eleven million dollars that go to the general fund. So it's related to a cleaner city, right? It's about solid waste. It's about garbage. Mr. Soldevilla: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) pick up the commercial accounts and they pick up the -- Commissioner Regalado: They pick up the commercial. They help -- Mr. Soldevilla: -- multifamily. Commissioner Regalado: Multifamily, condominiums building, so this is about subsidizing what this [sic] companies income by the City should do is subsidize the Solid Waste Department because you know what? You may say, well, in Coral Gables you pay $569 for garbage and trash pickup. Oh, well, that's horrible. But their millage is smaller than the City ofMiami in Coral Gables. In the County, you pay a lot and you get horrible service; once a year trash pickup, and you have to call Team Metro in order to get approved, once a year. There is no pickup of trash in Unincorporated Miami -Dade ever, only when a County Commissioner calls and they do a special pickup. Trash and recycling is pick up and they pay more than they pay us, but the millage is smaller, and so is it in the City of Hialeah, so everything is a balance. We have the best garbage and trash service ever, but it's frue. What Commissioner Gonzalez says is true. You know, you hire somebody in Coral Gables with a pickup to get some debris and they dump it -- actually, Mayor (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was here a few minutes ago, and he knows about three trucks, three full trucks of construction debris been dumped on an empty site on 37th Avenue and 23rd Street, District 4. The neighbor took a video. They took the license plates of the truck. They follow the (ruck. It's a Doral company that pick up the debris somewhere in Doral and drop it there for us to pick up just on the curb and in the Swale area. So, you know, we need to think this through. You know, you cannot blame the Solid Waste Department for having a deficit because we're making a lot of money with the solid waste pickup by the commercial haulers that goes to the general fund and should go to subsidize and to buy equipment from the Solid Waste Department. And the other question that I been meaning to ask for many, many months, what is happening with the legal case with the trucks that caught fire? 'Cause we were supposed to win that case. Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Commissioner, that's a very complicated products liability case, and it involves quite a bit of discovery. It is in litigation. City ofMiami Page 38 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Regalado: Well, it is in litigation, but other cities have won cases to that company 'cause -- I mean, (rucks don't just ignite by self -combustion, you know. They have a problem, and some of these people have been hurt by those fires. So I'm just saying, there are several issues regarding garbage and trash that need to be put on the table because, you know, it's like you're giving or frying to give us like a guilt trip that, you know, we, the residents of Miami, are been blessed because we have to -- we pay less for garbage pickup. We have many issues around that and, you know, the amount of money that we get from solid waste commercial haulers are sufficient to supervise or to subsidize the Solid Waste Department. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Sarnoff -- Commissioner Sarnoff Mr. City Mana -- Chair Sanchez: -- Commissioner Gonzalez, and then Vice Chair, and I'll -- Commissioner Sarnoff Mr. City Manager, if we were to go to -- let me just say this. I happen to agree with Commissioner Gonzalez. I really believe that if we go to once a month, people will react to once a month, then they'll put the garbage out once a month. Butl would like to bring some transparency to our fee process. If it truly is going to cost us -- let's say it's 400 a month for you to do once -a -month trash pickup and for you to get your garbage -- I don't know what that number is and that's my question. If it's fruly 400 a month, why don't we be transparent with the City ofMiami citizens, the taxpayers, and say this is what you're going to get; it costs $400 a month; we're not subsidizing it from the general fund. And, you know, Commissioner Regalado makes a good point. Whether you pay the fee and it's 400 a month, but then you to have subsidize at 25, it comes out of your millage fee -- I -- you know, for transparency's sake, why don't we just 'fess up and say we won the Cleanest City by Forbes magazine. We did that as a result of volume of trash pickup -- credit to you guys because you picked up more frash per person than any other city. I don't know if we should be proud of that, but in its own way, it just goes to show maybe we're a little Pavlovian. You know, maybe we're used to putting out our garbage every -- you know, once a week and we -- we're getting so much picked up per person, but why don't we be transparent. Find out -- Mr. Manager, you know what that -- what would the fee be if we went to once -a -month pickup, as you'd like to, and would it be 400 a month -- would it be 400 a year, would it be 429 a year? What would it be? Mr. Hernandez: Obviously, it would be less than the 429. I don't know -- Mario, or if you have a better idea if we went to just the once a month, how much would that bring down the total cost? Mr. Soldevilla: I can give you an estimate, Commissioner. I can't give you a fixed figure because I'm just doing it off of the top of my head, but yes, it'll be a little bit lower, and I want to say that it'd be approximately 419 versus the 429. Commissioner Sarnoff Well, you know, we're being asked, Mario, to create a cap, your highest cap -- Mr. Soldevilla: Correct. Commissioner Sarnoff -- and then we can come down from there. And, obviously, during the budget fin -- your budget analysis, you'll come back with a number, but we're here to set the highest number possible. I'm just suggesting to our Commission that we just be honest with the people and we say this is truly what your garbage costs, and we'll debate whether we think we should do maybe twice a month, maybe once -- you know, maybe once a month. You know, maybe certain districts -- you know, it's kind of ironic if you think about this. City ofMiami, which is more of an urban core, so theoretically, it has a lot less refuse from all the palm fronds City ofMiami Page 39 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 and, you know, clippings, et cetera, gets picked up once a week, and the County, which is more rural -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Once a year. Commissioner Sarnoff -- yeah, once a year. Are we doing something wrong here? Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Gonzalez, then Vice Chair Spence -Jones. Commissioner Gonzalez: Yeah. I'm just going to go back to the --I own property in Hialeah, okay, so that's why I know how Hialeah functions. And I can -- I'll be glad to invite all of you -- we'll just go to Hialeah right now. Let's get on a bus and go to Hialeah, and let's take a tour of Hialeah. You won't see a pile of garbage anywhere, not even in the industrial areas of Hialeah. You know why? Well, first of all, because people have been educated that they have the pickup once a month, the first Monday of every month. Second, that if you dare to put garbage outside or trash outside the day that does not correspond, you get a $250 fine ticket, okay? Because I got it. One of my tenants -- I lost the tenant that I had and I got a new tenant, and it was my fault because I didn't explain the tenant you can only put out trash the first Monday of every month. Well, they put it out, you know, any day. Half an hour later, the inspector was there; write them a ticket. They called me and said, you know what? Shame on me. This time I'll pay for the ticket, but now you know. Next time, you pay for the ticket, all right. So they have Code enforcement. That is something that we need to do in the City ofMiami. We need to have more enforcement. I have -- my staff in my office are on the street every single day reporting garbage, and they call you, Mariano [sic], and they call Solid Waste, and they constantly report, you know, why don't we have -- why should I have my staff doing that? Let's say that I have -- I decide to have my staff do something else on the street instead of following up on the frash that people dump. Well, it will be a mess, but that's how we keep it clean. You know, they go out every morning and they have their marching orders. The first thing that they're going to do in the morning is go out, go around the different neighborhoods, report garbage, and then they go out there and do some other things that I don't -- you know, report crime, report other activities, but garbage is the priority. And let me tell you, whomever knew Allapattah ten years ago and see Allapattah now, I hear the comments from many, many, many people, what a difference, okay. And it has been education, enforcement, and the work of Solid Waste, which they do a great job. We have to recognize that they do a great job, but we also have to consider that their equipment is old, that their equipment needs to be replaced, and like I say, you cannot have a Rolls-Royce at the price of a Volkswagen. You want to ride a Volkswagen, it's going to cost you cheaper. You want a Rolls-Royce, it's going to cost you more, you know, so you get what you pay for. I don't have a problem in increasing the fee because, like you say, Commissioner Sarnoff, if it's costing us, it's costing us. I mean, we're not putting anything in our pockets or the City's pockets. It's the actual cost that we have to pay, even that we have to pay the County to dispose of this garbage, and people have to understand that. But in the other -- but if also we can save some money and use that savings to buy these guys new equipment, hey, you know, let's do that. I mean, we need to become more efficient on how we utilize our money and how we utilize our time. Thank you very much. Chair Sanchez: All right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. First of all, let me -- you know, I agree with everybody. All the statements are true statements, and the last thing that rings really frue with me is Commissioner Gonzalez's statement around enforcement and education. And I can honestly say in D-5, District 5, that has been like a major push for me to make sure that, one, we have the enforcement happening with Mariano and his crew and making sure that we have educational campaigns, which is like the HotSpots [sic] and other things that we've created to keep the areas clean. Mr. Soldevilla: That's right. City ofMiami Page 40 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I'm sure you know that, so I do believe those two things go hand -in -hand. I just -- and I don't know, maybe we -- maybe just in my house we just have a lot of trash, but I could just only imagine like by the time the week goes by, I have a garbage full of trash ready to be dumped every week, and maybe y'all don't have a lot of trash to be dumped, but I could just only imagine having to hold on to this trash for once a month. Commissioner Sarnoff We're not talking about the green receptacles. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Huh? Commissioner Sarnoff We're not talking about the green receptacles. Chair Sanchez: No, we're not. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: No. I'm not -- Mr. Hernandez: No. Commissioner Sarnoff Right, okay. Mr. Hernandez: Bulk -- bulky. Chair Sanchez: Bulky. Commissioner Sarnoff Bulk, right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Chair Sanchez: Trees -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Chair Sanchez: -- mattresses. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: That's what I wanted to have clarity on because -- Commissioner Sarnoff Yeah, yeah. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- my -- and I think you need to be clear with the audience and the people watching it. Commissioner Sarnoff Right. You're right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Because I'm looking at Elvis and Elvis is like shaking his head like -- Commissioner Gonzalez: No. You're talking -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- Michelle, please, whatever you do -- the audience is not clear on that. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- about garbage. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Please -- but make sure the and -- Elvis, am I the only one in this room that --? City ofMiami Page 41 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Elvis Cruz: May I speak? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: No, no. Mr. Hernandez: No. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: No, no, you can't speak. But my point is, I think that it's really important that the folks watching it truly understand that because they don't get it. Okay, so -- Mr. Hernandez: IfI may -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- my ques -- Let me just finish. My question for Larry -- Larry -- Can my CFO come to the mike, please? Originally, your recommendation was 365, is that correct? Larry Spring (Chief Financial Officer): Well, actually, I didn't want to even get into that part of the debate. Chair Sanchez: No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Mr. Spring: My issue was simply that this is a cap -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Right. Mr. Spring: -- and that the Commission should set a higher cap and allow for the full budget process to come through and you have this full debate with all of the information that you need -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Right. Mr. Spring: -- to make the final decision. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: But, Larry, can I ask you a question. What was your recommended cap? Mr. Spring: The recommendation I know we had was 365 -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay -- Mr. Spring: -- before. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- it was 365. Mr. Spring: Right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Which right now what's being recommended is -- put it on the -- Mr. Spring: Three twenty-five. Commissioner Sarnoff Current level. Mr. Spring: Three -- current level. Chair Sanchez: That's the issue. Mr. Spring: So that's the issue, and you know, if Commissioner Sarnoff -- maybe we should do it City ofMiami Page 42 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 at 400. Chair Sanchez: No, no. Commissioner Sarnoff I think it should be 419. I'm not -- and that's -- and I'm going to withdraw my second, and I'm going to actually move for 419. I think we should be honest with the electorate. Chair Sanchez: All right, but hold on. All right. Michelle, are you done? I mean, Vice Chair Spence -Jones, are you done? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: The other only question I had for this -- and again, I'm on the Solid Waste Committee, so that's why I'm always going to make sure that I look out for their position. Will we have any jobs lost behind this issue? I guess that's really a question that -- because if you're talking about now going from -- you know, earlier we were going on and on about jobs and not having a job and foreclosure this and foreclosure that. How many jobs will we be looking at losing -- Soldevilla: No. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- City employees will be losing? Mr. Soldevilla: In terms of general fund positions, permanent positions, you know, we're -- it won't affect -- actually, there's two positions that are an A-71 that will be affected only because the restructuring -- what we're doing is restructuring. It is -- the program involves picking up trash and going from once a week to once a month, but we're also going to enhance other services. You know, we're going to go into a sfreet -- a daytime sfreet sweeping program, which we really don't have now. We really have one daytime street sweeper, and we would want to go to five sfreet sweepers. What would happen is that we are also going to be taking a lot of the vegetation to our Dinner Key facility, where we're going to be composting and mulching the -- that information. So some crews will be reassigned to do different jobs. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: But let me just say this -- Do you have a comment on this? Mr. Simmons: Well, my comment was internally there are some efficiencies that can be looked at, and we're willing to sit down with the Administration to address that because aside from approving the budget process from October 1 to September 30, there's all these little details internally. And from our standpoint, ifI see certain things, I don't think that it takes a rocket scientist to figure it out. And ifI say, okay, we have an overtime budget of `X" amount of dollars, why is it then we are just giving out overtime --? It's just a matter of how you manage it. I think it's all about management, and there are -- you know, I'm open to the conversation, you know, separately from this public forum, where we can discuss efficiencies internally because there are things can be done internally from a management standpoint that they could do and enforce, but you know, that would be a different process aside from this. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: And just in closing, my only statement on this whole issue -- I do believe we'll probably end up losing more than two jobs, especially if you're saying we're going from once to -- from four times a month to once a month, I do believe eventually that will equate to losing jobs. I personally feel like this item is really not -- we're not really ready to address this item. I think the Administration should take a -- Commissioner Sarnoff They have to. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- to relook at this item before we vote on it and have you guys come back. That's just my -- that would be my viewpoint. I would not support this right now 'cause I City ofMiami Page 43 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 don't believe that -- Chair Sanchez: All right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- we're ready for it. Chair Sanchez: Hold on. Commissioner Regalado -- Commissioner Gonzalez: As a matter -- Chair Sanchez: -- you're going to be very brief. Hold -- whoa, whoa -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Mr. Chairman. Chair Sanchez: -- whoa, whoa. Hold on, guys, please. Commissioner Gonzalez: As a matter of record, I need to clarify -- Chair Sanchez: Okay. You're recognized for clarification. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- that before discussing with Mr. Soldevilla the issue of one pickup a month, my first question was was that going to affect any jobs. Wasn't that my question? Mr. Soldevilla: I believe so, yes. Commissioner Gonzalez: And you told me no, right? Mr. Soldevilla: It's going to affect -- you know, it's -- like I said, there's going to be two positions, which are actually vacant that would be affected. Commissioner Gonzalez: All right. Mr. Soldevilla: I want to respond to Joe's comment. We have a $3 75,000 budget for overtime; of that, $100, 000 are for special events. And of course, one of the things that we are actually looking at is to reducing that budget to create some efficiencies in what we have, so it's not that we just look at one thing. We look at the entire departmental operations and see where efficiencies can be derived. Commissioner Sarnoff You know, and just real brief -- we're talking about taking away diesel fuel at $5 a gallon and being more efficient. I mean, there are schools in the United States that are debating whether they're going to bus people or whether they're going to withdraw teachers. And as gas goes up and as diesel, which you all know is much more expensive than gas right now, this is really a no-brainer. I mean, this is just good government. This is a way of stopping, you know, greenhouse gases, bringing them down and saving us money and acting like school boards have to act. Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Regalado. Commissioner Regalado: Very briefly. I just want to say that the plan that the Administration has is a good plan. It's a great plan because it substitute some of the pickups for other services using the same City -- Commissioner Sarnoff People. Commissioner Regalado: -- employees, the same people. And you know, after half an hour, 45 minutes with Mario the day before yesterday, I understand how the department works, and I City ofMiami Page 44 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 understand every detail of this plan. Mind you, the deficit isn't part of the tipping fees, not of what they make. Mr. Soldevilla: Correct. Commissioner Regalado: The more frash we pick up, the more tipping fees that we have to pay. So it's not about hiring -- Chair Sanchez: He's right. Commissioner Regalado: -- more people. Mr. Soldevilla: Absolutely. Commissioner Regalado: It's about the tipping fees. Mr. Soldevilla: Yeah, absolutely. Commissioner Regalado: So I don't think that we even have to consider -- because Mario and the Manager have come up with a perfect plan, I think, with this amount of money. Of course, Larry always wants more money, but that's something that we can expect, but I fully support you guys on this plan. I think it's going to work. I think it's going to bring more clean residential streets to the City ofMiami. Chair Sanchez: Mr. City Manager. Mr. Hernandez: Mr. Chairman, thank you. Chair Sanchez: And then we'll open it up to the public. It is a public hearing. Anyone wishing to address this item, get ready. Mr. Hernandez: I wanted to put on the record that we do need a vote today. Chair Sanchez: To the cap. Mr. Hernandez: On this item. Chair Sanchez: On this item, which is just the cap. Mr. Hernandez: Exactly. Chair Sanchez: All right. Mr. Hernandez: Okay. We have to submit this to the County before July 7, so this is the last Commission meeting that we have. And as you said, Mr. Chairman, we're dealing with setting the cap that you can always bring it down; what you cannot do is go higher. And I think it's important that I put on the record what the services are that we're talking about. We, in the City ofMiami, do pick up the garbage, the domestic waste from the kitchen, twice a week, and we will continue to do so. There is no impact to that whatsoever. What we were talking about is trash, bulky waste pickup that we now do once a week, and the idea would be to do it once a month. And I wanted to put that on the record so residents watching would have no concerns over garbage. Commissioner Gonzalez: And also, Mr. Manager, I believe that if we decide -- City ofMiami Page 45 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Gonzalez, you're recognized for the record. Commissioner Gonzalez: If this Commission decides to go with the once -a -month pickup or whatever changes, we need to have a real, real campaign, informational campaign throughout every single radio station that give us the public service announcement, through any TV (Television) channel that gives us public service announcement, through Channel 77, through mailers, through hand deliver by the NET (Neighborhood Enhancement Team) offices. We need to inform the people that also in between trash pickups, if they have any garbage, if they have any stoves, they have any refrigerators, they have any trees, they have anything that they want to dump, they can always take it to the dumper -- to the dump -- mini dump in Allapattah, and it's free of charge for City residents. But we need to inform the people. People informed, they will accept it and they will work with us, but they need to know. They need to be informed, so we need to start working on a, you know, plan. Mr. Soldevilla: And that will be -- that's provided in the budget also and anticipated -- Commissioner Gonzalez: All right. Mr. Soldevilla: -- that a campaign for education will have to be compliant -- and this is not going to be like from one day to the next. This will be over a period of time that it would be implemented. Commissioner Regalado: Very good. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chair Sanchez: Vice Chair Spence -Jones. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. First of all, let me just say I think that it was extremely important, Mr. Manager, that you were clear not only for the people that are sitting in the audience, but for the folks that are watching. I can tell you from my briefing -- and I had two briefings on this issue -- never was that clear. You see me sitting over here saying -- I'm freaking out 'cause I can just only imagine trash being picked up once a month in any neighborhood that I represent, including the one I live in, but I'm glad that you were very clear with that. So the reduction is really the bulk that would be cut? Bulk -- bulky items. Mr. Hernandez: Just the bulky waste. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: And I do want to make sure that I mention this because I don't -- you know, I don't know how other districts are, butt know, especially in my district where I have a lot of rental properties, like in Liberty City, in the Overtown area, these are people that are transient people that are moving all the time, which means every time they move, they, nine times -- a lot of times leave a lot of that furniture and those items out there in front of those buildings, so -- and they don't go to the locations for dumping, you know, like other people do, so -- they just move to another area. So my concern would still be maybe not going to once a month, maybe going to twice a month only because I know in certain areas where I have more renters, that would become a huge, big issue because they would just put it out and move it to somewhere else. So I would just really want us to consider that. I happen to agree with Commissioner Sarnoff on the issue of the cap. I think the cap would need to be a -- I think that it should -- we should start at a higher cap and at least have the opportunity to go lower than to start so low and not have the option to go higher, if needed. That would be my recommendation and I support that 100 percent. Commissioner Gonzalez: All right. Chair Sanchez: All right. Let me tell you what bothers me, all right. And I've been patient here, and my colleagues have all spoken. The Administration -- and the only reason why this item is in City ofMiami Page 46 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 front of us is because the Adminisfration wanted this Commission to cap it at 365. That's your responsibility. You're the Administration. If was in your shoes, I'd be doing the same thing, but I think it's important that we, and you above all, educate the people of what it is that it's costing us here at the City, which is $429. Commissioner Sarnoff Right. Chair Sanchez: Okay. And we're paying 325. That's the best service -- which I consider we have the best Solid Waste Department, great employees, our streets are cleaner, and today we are recognized throughout the United States as the cleanest city in America, right behind Seattle. Okay. But let me just say why I'm a little concerned. You want to put it at 365 -- and I think you have to make an argument, from an administrative point of view, that we subsidize solid waste $8 million every year. Your argument -- not to come up here and say I don't have the three votes; we'll settle for 325, okay. You should be fighting for 429. Then us [sic], the policymakers, will decide what it is, okay. Because right now from the -- let's do math, which is very simple here. If you take the 365 cap, that's going to generate, what, 2.8, 2.5? Mr. Soldevilla: Two point eight million more -- Chair Sanchez: All right. Ballpark. Mr. Soldevilla: -- than we generate right now. Chair Sanchez: I was never good in math -- Mr. Soldevilla: Twenty -- Chair Sanchez: -- but got it right, 2.8. Mr. Soldevilla: -- five million. Chair Sanchez: We still have to subsidize the City about 6 million more to be able to pay for the level of service that they're getting. But here's my concern. These are not the times for us to be raising any fees. I could support reducing the pickups to once a month or twice a month, and I'll tell you why. I hardly ever use it, at least do. I hardly ever put out -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Me neither. Chair Sanchez: I don't put a refrigerator out in my front yard. I don't put a sofa. My yard is cut, and that's the only thing that goes out, and my yard is cut maybe twice a month, or when it doesn't rain that much, once a month. But let me tell you why I think that we need to be very careful now. We capped it at 325 because we promised the taxpayers ofMiami that we were going to keep it like that for five years. Commissioner Gonzalez: Five years. Chair Sanchez: Why? For a variety of reasons. There were three Commissioners here that agreed to that. One is that the burden was always put on the taxpayers that had to bail this City -- because, you know, people have a short memory. Ten years ago, this City was bankrupt. Jump on status, an oversight board placed by the governor, unemployment at the highest rate, and the burden was passed on the taxpayers. Then we went out and said, well, if you support the bond issuance, we'll keep it for five years, so we kept it for five years. Government did keep its promise for five years. Now this is the sixth year. The Adminisfration is coming out -- but let me tell you. I think it's important we understand the plight of the working families in this horrible economy, all right. You all know that people are at the cliff and certainly government is not City ofMiami Page 47 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 going to push them off that cliff. Gas prices are at its highest; foreclosures, crisis -- heck, milk has gone -- doubled the price in two -- in a year, and I know that because I have kids; I buy a lot of milk. Sixty percent increase by Florida Power & Light. Our unemployment has gone up to 5.5 and continues to rise with this economy. And we're going to go ahead back and stick it to the residents and the voters ofMiami or the people that live in Miami? I think it's horribly wrong. This is not the time. This is not the time. We need to face reality. People are hurting out there. Now if you want to reduce the service -- and I always says [sic], everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die -- let's talk about that. This item should have never been discussed here. If the Administration would have come and said we'll cap it at 325 and that's it - - this is just a cap, but it brings out the fear of what's going to be happening, whether it's going to be changes, increasing the cap, cutting of services, and that's where today we've created a meeting that with all the discussion, we put a lot of doubt in the people that live in Miami, and that's what I'm concerned with. This is not the time, folks. You want to cap it at a cap, I could support a cap. I think we should be now focused on reducing the pickup, at least twice a month or once a month. Commissioner Sarnoff I agree. Chair Sanchez: That saves us in the tipping fee, which is the most expensive thing we pay besides the equipment. The tipping fee -- if we're able to reduce that, we save on the tipping fee, we save on gas, we help our environment, and that's the only issue right now. I am very concerned with us putting out this and passing the burden on to the tax [sic] of raising the garbage fee. It is not the time. You heard about 14, 000 foreclosures in our City. You continue to hear the nightmare and this is an incentive that we have, 325 -- I'm not saying that in the future, we could explore raising it, but 325 is something that we could be able to attract people to come to the City, and I tend to agree with some of the statements that have been made here. If you reduce it to once a month or twice a month, the City is not going to get much dirtier. It's a matter of educating people. I mean, right -- you know why people dump illegally in our City? Because they know we pick it up. They know we pick it up. I've been chasing the guy for almost three years who dumps illegal tires in different corners, and I think we caught him once or twice, but it's just -- it's worth it for them to do that. They dump the tires in our city because, you know what? The Commissioner's going to call the NET office; the NET office is going to get in a truck; he's going to go pick up the tires. There isn't any reason why this City should be either picking up refrigerators. People should dispose of that themselves. There isn't any reason why people should be disposing tires or any other chemicals in our public right-of-way. It's bad for the environment, it's bad for our City, and they should have the courtesy to put it on a truck and take it to a dumpsite. Now should we be exploring creating more dumpsites in the City? Absolutely. Why does it work in the County? Because I guarantee you people get in their car and they don't have to drive 30, 40 miles to a dumpsite. All they have to go there and show, here's my driver's license; I live in the County; have a good one, dump it, and that's it. So we need to explore all these things. The option now is not to say let's raise our garbage fee when we have promised the people for "X" amount of years, we haven't done it, should have done it back then, and now is not the time to do it. All right. Public meeting is open. Anyone from the public wishing to come up and address the Commission, please step forward. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I think Commissioner Sarnoff had -- Commissioner Sarnoff That's all right. I'm -- I'll say it as soon as the public hearing is closed. Judith Sandoval: Judy Sandoval, 2536 -- Chair Sanchez: Two minutes. Ms. Sandoval: -- Southwest 25th Terrace. I'm speaking today as a public citizen, and I'm pretty mad at all you guys because I -- you don't know what you're doing with this once -a -month City ofMiami Page 48 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 pickup for frash. Marc, you live in Coconut Grove. We have palm trees in Miami. I'm a good citizen. I have a lot of trees. I don't need air conditioning, so I use less electricity. Do you know what happens to frash if you have to store it on your lawn for a month? It gets moldy, it gets slimy. Every week for my palm fronds falling down and the just normal clipping of bushes, which I do myself I put out three times the size of this monstrous building in frash -- Chair Sanchez: You do? Ms. Sandoval: -- in green stuff and I am typical. Chair Sanchez: Then you should be fined. Ms. Sandoval: No. It's just normal stuff. Now, in Hialeah, I don't think they have so many frees. Mr. Gonzalez, maybe they're putting their trash in Miami. Maybe that's why they don't have it. I don't think you can educate citizens to be so inconvenienced. Now Michelle and I are housewives. We know where trash comes from, we know who makes it, we know how much we have. Now, the second thing is I don't want to pay any more money either because I pay two fees, 'cause I have a legal cottage in my backyard, and I only have one garbage can. By the way, can I have another garbage man [sic] for that exfra 325 I pay? Maybe I can put my palm fronds in that. I think I'm allowed. So think of the citizens. I believe that my yard, my house, and my neighborhood are very typical over much ofMiami, and I think you're going to cause a lot of trouble if you pick up frash once a month. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Thank you, Judy. Ms. Sandoval: Thank you. Commissioner Gonzalez: Thank you. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Elvis. Elvis Cruz: Thank you. Elvis Cruz, 631 Northeast 57th Street. I did not come down here to speak on this issue, but hearing about it, I feel compelled to say something very short and very sweet. Homeowners love weekly frash pickup. It's one of their favorite services that the City offers. Be very careful. Thank you. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Any more comments from the audience? I have another audience -- person from the audience. Jack Cooper: Good morning. Yes. My name is Jack Cooper. I live in Coconut Grove, 3360 Florida Avenue. And about the frash pickup, you have to be very careful -- and I hate when Commissioners sit up and they're saying what works in this county and what works in that county, like he was saying about Hialeah. You can't compare Hialeah to the City ofMiami nor the County because the way the County operates their frash pickup -- true, you have one free pickup per year, but now you can clip as much as you want, pile it up out there, then you make a phone call. You might have to pay extra for it, but they come out and pick it up. And I think the Commissioners need to get out in the areas that they represent, drive around through them and look at -- and see what it looks like because, like Mr. Sarnoff, this is the first time I've ever seen him to be able to recognize him, and I live right here in Coconut Grove over there on Florida Avenue. So for them to say upping the price for this, that, or the other -- City ofMiami is the cleanest, and I'd like to see it stay the cleanest, but when you start upping the finance, people can't afford it. It just isn't there. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Anyone else? If not, the public hearing is closed, and it comes back to the Commission. City ofMiami Page 49 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Sarnoff I'd like to speak. Chair Sanchez: Marc -- Commissioner Sarnoff, you're recognized for the record. Commissioner Sarnoff I'm going to withdraw my second, and the reason I'm withdrawing my second is -- I disagree with you, Commissioner Sanchez, on one thing. If this is going to cost us $419, or if this is going to cost us $429, then the rest of it is going to be subsidized by the general operations budget. I think we need transparency. I think people need to really see what the true cost of their garbage pickup is, whether it's going to be once a month, twice a month, or we maintain the four -times -a -month pickup. I really happen to agree with Commissioner Gonzalez. Commissioner Gonzalez: I will -- Commissioner Sarnoff People react and will put garbage out as we pick it up. Responsible people will. Irresponsible people -- you know what, that's what we need to create are responsible citizens. But to turn around and suggest let's keep it at 325, somehow the $104 will magically disappear, it doesn't. You're going to pay it in your millage nonetheless. I think the citizens ofMiami deserve to know your trash pickup, if it's four times a month, is $429 dollars. Should we compromise, two times a month, it's $420. Should we say, you know what, let's try once a month, it's $419. If we get more efficient and as a result of saving of diesel fuel at $5 a gallon, it's 400 a month. We're here to set the cap today. We're not here to set exactly what it's going to cost. I think it's irresponsible government to do -- with one hand say to people, hey, I'm with you, 325, but on the other hand, turn around and put it behind your back and say, but I have $104I got to put in my general operations budget. So I withdraw my second. Commissioner Gonzalez: I withdraw my motion, then. Chair Sanchez: Okay. Any motion? Commissioner Gonzalez: You want to make a motion? Commissioner Sarnoff I'll make a motion. I'll make a -- Commissioner Regalado: I -- Commissioner Sarnoff Go ahead. Commissioner Regalado: -- will make a motion to accept the Administration plan for three hundred and -- Chair Sanchez: No, this is just a cap. This is a cap. There's no plan here. Commissioner Regalado: Yeah. Well -- Chair Sanchez: Just a cap. Commissioner Regalado: -- the Administration proposal of a cap of -- Chair Sanchez: Three sixty-five. Commissioner Regalado: No, 325. And let me tell you why. It is -- it's all about losing money or making money. Governments are not in the business of making money. Governments are in the business of servicing the people. There are some areas of governments that do make money. Again, we go back to the commercial haulers that brings $11 million to the general fund, or City ofMiami Page 50 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 maybe Code Enforcement that brings -- or solid waste. How much the fines in solid waste -- because, as you know -- and we talk to you all the time -- solid waste inspector are issuing $500 fines, and when people ask for hearings, it gets reduced to 300; the minimum, 250. Could you tell us, Mario, how much money are we getting on solid waste fines? Mr. Soldevilla: From the ones that we do -- I can't talk for the ones that Code Enforcement does. Commissioner Regalado: No, no, Solid Waste. Mr. Soldevilla: For the ones that we do, it's about $75, 000 a year. Commissioner Regalado: Seventy-five thousand dollars? Chair Sanchez: A year. Commissioner Regalado: A year, and that's only Solid Waste? Mr. Soldevilla: That's my -- the portion that my -- Commissioner Regalado: I understand, your Solid -- Mr. Soldevilla: -- inspector -- Commissioner Regalado: -- Waste inspector. Mr. Soldevilla: -- well, that my inspectors do, but -- Commissioner Regalado: But Code Enforcement is out there -- Mr. Soldevilla: With also -- Commissioner Regalado: -- doing -- Mr. Soldevilla: The same thing. Commissioner Regalado: -- garbage and trash citations. Mr. Soldevilla: Correct. Commissioner Regalado: So it is a service. Yes, Mr. Manager. Mr. Hernandez: Commissioner, ifI may, the -- Mariano [sic] just advised me that the Code Enforcement figure for illegal dumping it's -- of all the garbage violations or frash violations, is 400, 000. Commissioner Regalado: Four hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Hernandez: Approximately. Commissioner Regalado: So, plus 75,000, it's -- you know, a half a million dollars, plus the $11 million of the solid waste haulers. So it is a service that the City does. If we were to tell the residents, well, you know, it costs us this much to pick up the trash, the next thing that we have to do is to say, well, you know what? It cost us this much to send a rescue to your home and transport you to the hospital. Do you know that the City of Santa Fe, New Mexico, just added a City ofMiami Page 51 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 $15 surcharge in every rescue call because of the price of gas? If you are going to be transported to the hospital, besides what you pay, Medicare or you pay the City of Santa Fe, you have to pay a $15 surcharge for gas. So if we were to tell the people ofMiami, well, you know, to send a cop to your home, it costs a hell of a lot of money, so we going to have to start charging a cop surcharge. So government is in the business of servicing the people, and we do have departments that make money and we do have departments that need to subsidize. That has been history forever in every government. So I am -- I will not support raising the cap for one single reason. The plan that the Administration has now -- we're not voting on the plan, but the first thing that I asked, do you have a plan? And the plan that the Administration has now makes sense. It's a good plan. It could work. So I'm just -- I'm moving -- Chair Sanchez: What plan? What plan do you have? I'm not aware of the plan you have. I mean, is he the only one that knows the plan? Mr. Hernandez: No. I believe that -- Commissioner Regalado: Well, I asked. I asked -- if you have asked, he would have tell you, but Chair Sanchez: I asked him. They didn't have a plan. They just said it was the cap. Commissioner Regalado: No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Listen, listen, listen, listen. Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Sarnoff, are you aware of a plan? Mr. Soldevilla: What we just discussed. Chair Sanchez: Are you aware of a plan? Commissioner Regalado: Listen, listen. Mr. Soldevilla: What we just -- Commissioner Regalado: Listen, when Mario Soldevilla came to my office -- Chair Sanchez: Right. Commissioner Regalado: -- to explain the cap, what we were voting on, I asked him, well, is there a plan? And he detailed the plan, the same plan that has been here thrown back and forth. Well, we may do this once a month, and we may sweep the streets; he just said it. I mean, you just need to pay attention. He just said it a few minutes ago. We're going to sweep the street; there's not going to be any employees fired, only two positions. The same thing that he has said here and the Manager has said here, he told me, and this is why I am supporting the Administration proposal of 325. That's all that there is to it. That's my position, and of course, this is a democracy, butt just want to say that I would move to adopt the resolution, as presented, with the cap of 325. Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Sarnoff Motion. Is there a second? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. I just want to add on to -- Commissioner Regalado: We need to know if there is a second. City ofMiami Page 52 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I know, but I just -- okay, I'll wait 'til your -- Chair Sanchez: Is there a second for the 325? Well, I would second the 325. Commissioner Sarnoff Call the question. Chair Sanchez: Call the question. Well, we should wait for Commissioner Gonzalez 'cause this, I think, is going to be a tie vote, 2/2. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: All in favor? Chair Sanchez: You should do a roll call. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Roll call. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not doing your job, Madam Clerk. Commissioner Regalado: But the Chairman said that we need to wait for Commissioner -- Commissioner Sarnoff It's going to be a tie vote. Commissioner Regalado: Huh? Commissioner Sarnoff It's going to be a tie vote. We need Gonzalez out here. Commissioner Regalado: Why? Commissioner Sarnoff I think you're going to get a tie vote, I suspect. Commissioner Regalado: But it's -- they need this today. Commissioner Sarnoff Well, we need to get Gonzalez out here -- Chair Sanchez: Yeah. Commissioner Sarnoff -- so that he'll either break or -- Commissioner Regalado: Okay. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: All right. Commissioner Gonzalez, ifyou're anywhere, please come out so that we can take this vote. Commissioner Regalado: They're going to get him. Chair Sanchez: We messed up his smoke break. "[Later...]" Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. I just -- while he's on his way back, I have to say this before he sits down. Commissioner Gonzalez: I'm here. Chair Sanchez: All right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I never saw a plan. City ofMiami Page 53 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Gonzalez: Let's vote. Chair Sanchez: I don't know what plan he's talking about -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: And -- Chair Sanchez: -- but he's got a plan. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- with all due respect, Commissioner Regalado, this is the first time - - him just mentioning things, just mentioning them, is not presenting our offices with a plan. For me the biggest issue is jobs; that's one of the big issues. I never saw any -- this is the first time I heard about two jobs being lost. So, Mariano [sic], do you have a written plan or written anything that was submitted? Mr. Soldevilla: We have -- what we just discussed today. The proposals are -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Yeah, but -- Mr. Soldevilla: -- it's to be -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- no, but not what you discussed today. Did you put something in writing as far as a plan is concerned that was submitted to all of the Commissioners? Mr. Hernandez: Commissioners, there is no formal plan that was submitted in any way. We're dealing today with establishing the cap. Now Mario has today on the record, and possibly in briefings, talked about all the ideas that he has if we have to adjust service. Commissioner Sarnoff Come on. Let's just call the question. Call the question. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. And -- well, who -- I'm chairing the meeting. Commissioner Sarnoff I'm just making recommendations. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Well, let me chair it. Before we do make the vote on it, I just -- as the Chair, I want to make this statement. I really want us to consider this 325. I mean, to -- we're not actually setting the amount today, correct? Commissioner Sarnoff You're setting a cap. Mr. Hernandez: Correct. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I mean, we still have to vote as a body, correct -- Mr. Soldevilla: You're setting the -- Commissioner Sarnoff You're setting the ceiling. Mr. Hernandez: Correct. Mr. Soldevilla: -- setting a cap. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- on whether or not --? Right. We're setting the cap, so -- Commissioner Sarnoff The ceiling. City ofMiami Page 54 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- I'm not understanding why we cannot vote for a higher cap only for us to come back as a board to agree on what would be reasonable for the citizens. Mr. Soldevilla: You can. You can set a higher cap and then later reduce it. What happens is is that if we want -- the County requires us to have a cap set -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: And it does -- Mr. Soldevilla: -- so that we can put it in the frim bill, and then you can -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Mr. Soldevilla: -- later reduce it. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: But it does not go into effect until this body votes on it, correct? Mr. Soldevilla: Of course. It won't go into -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: So why can't -- Mr. Soldevilla: -- effect until after -- Commissioner Sarnoff Come on. Call the question. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Chair Sanchez: For 325, the cap. Madam -- roll -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Call the question for the 325. Ms. Thompson: Roll call. Commissioner Gonzalez? Commissioner Gonzalez: No. Ms. Thompson: Commissioner Sarnoff? Commissioner Sarnoff No. Ms. Thompson: Commissioner Regalado? Commissioner Regalado: Yes. Ms. Thompson: Chair Sanchez? Chair Sanchez: Yes. Ms. Thompson: Vice Chair Spence -Jones? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: No. Ms. Thompson: Then that motion -- Chair Sanchez: All right. Ms. Thompson: -- fails, 2/3. City ofMiami Page 55 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Sarnoff I'd like to make a motion -- Chair Sanchez: I just want to -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Wait a minute. Chair Sanchez: -- get the gavel, Commissioner. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. I got you. Chair Sanchez: With all due respect, hold on, okay. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Chair Sanchez: Let's fry to get some order here, all right. Okay. I got the gavel back. You're recognized for a motion -- Commissioner Sarnoff Thank you -- Chair Sanchez: -- Commissioner -- Commissioner Sarnoff -- Mr. Chair. I apologize. Chair Sanchez: -- Spence -Jones -- I mean, Marc Sarnoff. Commissioner Sarnoff I'd like to make a motion that the cap be set at $419, which I -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sanchez: Okay. There's -- Commissioner Sarnoff Fair enough. Chair Sanchez: -- a motion for 419. The motion has been made by Commissioner Sarnoff, second by the Chair [sic]. No further discussion. Roll call. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Vice Chair. Ms. Thompson: Roll call. Commissioner Gonzalez? Commissioner Gonzalez: I'm going to vote yes because we need to be fiscally responsible. We -- I mean, playing politics is beautiful, telling the people what the people want to hear is beautiful, but then at the end, we'll -- they're going to have to face reality, and we are going to have to face reality, so my vote is yes. Ms. Thompson: Continuing with the roll call. Commissioner Regalado? Commissioner Regalado: No. And the reason I vote no is because it seems to me that it is a contradiction of sorts. Most of us has agreed that service could be decreased without eliminating the quality of the service, and now we say that we need to raise more than $100, if possible, just to cover the same services. So my vote is no. Ms. Thompson: Vice Chair Spence -Jones? City ofMiami Page 56 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: My vote is yes. And again, for me, my biggest concern is the number of jobs that would possibly lost, and again, this is not the final vote today, so I'm voting yes today. Ms. Thompson: Commissioner Sarnoff? Commissioner Sarnoff My vote is yes because I'm not a Washington politician, and I think we need to be honest and just say this is what it costs versus saying, let's take a gas tax holiday; it'll do something. It really won't. This citizenry is going to pay approximately $419. Whether they pay it in the fee, or whether they get it subsidized in their millage rate, they're going to pay it, one way or another. And I do also recommend that we cut down the number of services so that we can get that number lower. Ms. Thompson: And Chair Sanchez? Chair Sanchez: For the 419? Ms. Thompson: Yes. Chair Sanchez: No. Ms. Thompson: Okay. Then that is approved, 3/2. Chair Sanchez: And I kept my comments not to insult anybody. All right. The meeting is in recess for lunch. We will be back at 2 o'clock. City ofMiami Page 57 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 PART B PZ.1 03-0415 RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENTS, APPROVING WITH CONDITIONS, A MAJOR USE SPECIAL PERMIT PURSUANT TO ARTICLES 5, 13, AND 17 OF ZONING ORDINANCE NO. 11000, FOR THE KUBIK AT MORNINGSIDE PROJECT, TO BE LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 5600-5780 BISCAYNE BOULEVARD, MIAMI, FLORIDA, TO BE PROPOSED AS TWO 14-STORY BUILDINGS WITH TWO DESIGN OPTIONS WITH THE "ALTERNATIVE A" OPTION COMPRISED OF 293 MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL UNITS, 41,745 SQUARE FEET OF RETAIL/RESTAURANT SPACE, AND APPROXIMATELY 422 TOTAL PARKING SPACES; OR THE "ALTERNATIVE B" OPTION WHICH IS COMPRISED OF 293 MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL UNITS, 33,046 SQUARE FEET OF RETAIL/RESTAURANT SPACE, AND APPROXIMATELY 362 TOTAL PARKING SPACES; MAKING FINDINGS OF FACT AND STATING CONCLUSIONS OF LAW; PROVIDING FOR BINDING EFFECT; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 03-0415 MUSP Analysis.PDF 03-0415 Zoning Map.pdf 03-0415 Aerial Map.pdf 03-0415 PAB Resos.PDF 03-0415 Letters of Intent and MUSP Application.PDF 03-0415 Sp Exception Analysis.PDF 03-0415 ZB Reso.PDF 03-0415 Sp Exception Application & Supp Docs.PDF 03-0415 Plans.PDF 03-0415 June 10, 2004 CC Resolution.pdf 03-0415 Special Exception Fact Sheet.pdf 03-0415 Eleventh Circuit Court Decision.pdf 03-0415 Third District Court of Appeal Decision.pdf 03-0415 CC R-06-0344.pdf 03-0415 CC Legislation (Version 4).pdf 03-0415 Exhibit A (Alternative A).pdf 03-0415 Exhibit A (Alternative B).pdf 03-0415 Exhibit B (Alternative A).pdf 03-0415 Exhibit B (Alternative B).pdf 03-0415 CC 05-22-08 Fact Sheet.pdf 03-0415-Submittal-Excerpt Section 1305.2-Commissioner Sarnoff.pdf 03-0415-Submittal-Memo Law -Bert J. Harris Issue -Commissioner Sarnoff.pdf 03-0415-Submittal-Urban Design Manual -Commissioner Sarnoff.pdf 03-0415-Submittal-Upper Eastside Master Plan-Commisisoner Sarnoff.pdf LOCATION: Approximately 5600-5780 Biscayne Boulevard [Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff - District 2] APPLICANT(S): Lucia A. Dougherty, Esquire, on behalf of Kubik, LLC; Biscayne Premier Investments, Inc and Mark's Classics Corp City ofMiami Page 58 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval with conditions*. PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD: Recommended denial to City Commission on December 17, 2003 by a vote of 4-2. Recommended approval with conditions* of the substantial modification to City Commission on April 7, 2004 by a vote of 5-4. ZONING BOARD: Recommended approval of special exceptions to City Commission on December 15, 2004 by a vote of 9-0. *See supporting documentation. PURPOSE: This will allow the development of the Kubik on Morningside project. NOTE(S): On March 22, 2006, the Circuit Court remanded this item to the City Commission for further proceedings. Once again, on February 22, 2008, the Circuit Court remanded this item to the City Commission for further proceedings. Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Regalado, that this matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS FAILED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 2 - Commissioner Sarnoff and Regalado Noes: 3 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Sanchez and Spence -Jones Votes: R-08-0370 Motion by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Gonzalez, that this matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Ayes: 3 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Sanchez and Spence -Jones Noes: 2 - Commissioner Sarnoff and Regalado Chair Sanchez: The first item that we'll be taking up is an item, PZ.1. This item is in front of us for deliberation. The City -- at the last City Commission -- at the last meeting, we opened up the hearing; both sides had ample opportunity to present their testimony and their new evidence, as well as the public, to participate. It was -- went through the entire process. When we closed it, it was brought back to the Commission, and the Commission, therefore, today will be making a deliberation on that. The Commission can also ask any questions pertaining to the staff reference this, and basically, the bottom line is that we'll entertain a motion as to whether approve the project or not approve the project. So having said that, Commissioner Sarnoff, you're recognized for the record. Commissioner Sarnoff Yes, Mr. Chair. Thank you. I'd like to -- Elvis Cruz: I have an objection. Chair Sanchez: Sir, this is only deliberation. The public hearing was opened and closed, and therefore, there is no more participation. Thank you. Mr. Cruz: That is exactly my point, Commissioner. There is a model, evidence that has been introduced that has been sitting in front of the City Commission all morning. This Commission specifically said no new evidence or argument. There's a model -- an architectural model that has been placed in front of you all morning, in violation of that. City ofMiami Page 59 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: Madam Attorney? Maria J. Chiaro (Assistant City Attorney): The model that was presented to you has -- that was sitting in the Commission chambers has not been identified. It's not part of the evidence on the record. Chair Sanchez: Correct. Mr. Cruz: The Commission has been looking at it for several hours. I brought a model that is more accurate that does not -- Chair Sanchez: Elvis, you've made your point. Thank you. All right. Commissioner Sarnoff Well, if you -- put your model up there, if you want. Mr. Cruz: May I? Commissioner Sarnoff Yeah. It's called the good for the goose is good for the gander argument. It's a technical legal term. Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Sarnoff Mr. Chair. Chair Sanchez: Yes, sir. You're recognized for the record. Commissioner Sarnoff As you all know, this particular project is in the confluence of three historic neighborhoods; Palm Grove, which consists of 548 homes, approximately of which 353 are designated as historic consequence and should be designated as historic in the next -coming months here in the City of Miami by the HEP (Historic and Environmental Preservation) Board; Morningside, directly across the street is a historic neighborhood; and of course, MiMo (Miami Modern), the most recent historic -designated commercial place in Miami. Under 1305, this particular project, which appears to be six or seven stories, but is, in fact, 150 feet, does not respond to the physical contextual environment, taking into consideration the urban form and natural features, and just so you understand what the context of the neighborhood is, using the applicant's own presentation to us, you'll see -- and I'll hand these down -- surrounding this particular project are one-story buildings, are R-1 buildings. The highest one that you have to go down the block to look for is 60 feet, and then if you travel across the sfreet, and a little bit further east, you have a 110 foot illegal unit that was declared legal, only once they purchased a number of other properties adjacent to it, but when it was built, it was illegal, so there's nothing in the context of 150 feet whatsoever in this particular neighborhood. Now, some things were referenced; the Upper Eastside master plan, and I'd just like to read to you what it says. I have a copy for the record, Madam Clerk, I'll put it into the record. It essentially says, "Adaptive reuse of hotels are encouraged on the Boulevard. There are numerous older, yet significant, hotels and motels along the boulevard that could be converted from their present use into commercial uses, which promote a positive community and a pedestrian friendly environment." Equally, as you'll see, this particular study calls for a maximum height of 30 feet east of the Boulevard and 50 feet west of the Boulevard. Further, it discusses Palm Grove -- and this particular Upper Eastside master plan, which, by the way, it's the final draft, February of 1999, it talks about Palm Grove, its architectural significance; the houses not only east of the Boulevard, and it's talking aboutMorningside and the designation of it being declared historic. And unfortunately, the City has not moved with this batch to get Palm Grove properly before the HEP Board, but will do so in the very near future. Secondarily, there's the Urban Design Manual by the city -- by Miami -Dade County Department of Planning and Zoning, which is dated June of 2000. In this manual, it describes the urban design and human scale of people moving about on the sfreet. City ofMiami Page 60 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Specifically, on page 4, it talks about human scale is the relationship of space and objects to the proportionate and capability of the human body. For a public space to feel comfortable, the individual must experience a positive relationship to this base. Human scale is the basis of urban design as it pertains to dimensions of objects, spaces, including block sizes, street widths, walking distances, building heights, and architectural details. It goes on, at page 14, to describe human scale -- and it's talking about the most preferred method -- is achieved by a tight section, including landscape and three-story buildings. And again, we all know Biscayne Boulevard is 80 feet as described in this particular venue. It is based upon this type of analysis and this type of neighborhood context that you have a building such as this, which is just adjacent to the property. These are all Palm Grove homes. I'll provide these to the Commission. I'll leave them for the record. But these are R-1 houses, contextually, just to the north and a little bit to the west. Chair Sanchez: Commissioner, could I interrupt you? I have the Upper Eastside master plan too. What page are you referring to with the 30 -- with the 35 --? Commissioner Sarnoff Page 61. Chair Sanchez: Sixty-one? What paragraph? Commissioner Sarnoff Looks like the third paragraph or fourth paragraph. Further, if you just review the applicant's own drawings or, I should say, their slideshow presentation, once again, you'll see the context of the neighborhood. It is based upon the context of this neighborhood that I make a motion that we approve this particular building on this particular applicant, subject to a 35-foot height limit. Chair Sanchez: Okay. There is a motion made by the district Commissioner. Is there a second? Commissioner Regalado: Second. Chair Sanchez: Okay. There is a second. Any discussion on the item? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Yes. Chair Sanchez: Vice Chair Spence Jones, you're recognized on the item. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. I have actually a couple questions before, you know, I make my overall, I guess, decision on this item. As you know, I was not in the hearing the last time, butt have had the opportunity to go through all of the documents, the transcripts, everything that was submitted by both parties, and I just have a few questions that I need clarity on regarding the issue. So if you don't mind, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to go through some of them really fast? Chair Sanchez: You're recognized. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: And I guess I will direct this to the City Attorney -- Madam City Attorney. In my briefings with you yesterday regarding this issue, the Bert Harris taking case came up. My question for you is: Will the City be subject to this case? Ms. Chiaro: Well, as I explained to you in what the case -- in what the Bert J. Harris Act is, is a Florida Statute which allows for a property owner to sue a city if the reasonable back -- reasonably based investment back expectation -- that is, if the return on the property that the person owns is diminished because of some governmental action. So we have had a Bert J. Harris claim filed against the City ofMiami based on an approval that lowered the development to 35 feet. So, simply put, the answer is yes. Even if this procedure is upheld, the City may be City ofMiami Page 61 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 subject to a Bert J. Harris claim because of the diminution in value because of the reduction to 35 feet. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: So I just want to be clear. So basically -- and this is all a part of my briefing, so that's why I want to be clear, not only the folks sitting up here, but the folks that are watching. So you're saying that voting for a 35-foot limitation, could subject the City to liability. That's basically what you're saying? Ms. Chiaro: Yes, could subject the -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: And you're also saying -- Ms. Chiaro: -- City to liability for the diminished property value. Commissioner Sarnoff Does that mean you're receding from your --? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Wait, wait, wait. Commissioner Sarnoff Wait, wait, wait. Does that mean you're receding from your March 12 memorandum? Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Sarnoff, you're out of order. Commissioner Spence -Jones still has the floor. Afterwards, you could rebuttal or ask questions pertaining to what she's answered. So Vice Chair, you still have the floor. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And you can ask your questions afterwards. This is my opportunity to do that. So, just so that I'm really clear, not only is this cre -- may create a potential problem, but there's also a current lawsuit that's pending now with the City regarding this issue? Ms. Chiaro: Yes. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Do you have a sense -- 'cause I asked for this yesterday, and I still haven't gotten it today -- of what the liability, the dollars -- the potential liability could be? I had not gotten that answer as of yet. Ms. Chiaro: I -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Not regarding this particular issue that -- if we vote on today, but the current one that we have -- issue. Ms. Chiaro: The difference in value -- and that which the City is being asked to reimburse, in that Bert J. Harris claim, is $6, 380, 000. Chair Sanchez: How much? Ms. Chiaro: Six million, three hundred and eighty thousand dollars. Chair Sanchez: Wow. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. So I wanted to ask the question because, you know, we're always -- when we sit up here and we vote on items, and especially, I know when there are certain items, at least in my district, we start talking about potential liability and everybody starts backing up from the table. We all, as a body, normally, you know, are sensitive to that issue, especially when we start talking about budget crunches and the City doesn't have the City ofMiami Page 62 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 money to do the things that it used to do, and all of that. In my briefings yesterday, I wanted to have clarity. Now, again, I do recognize that that is not this case. It is -- meaning the case that we're discussing now, if it even reaches to that point, but the possibility exists, right, Madam City Attorney? Ms. Chiaro: Yes. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. All right. What wanted to really digest in all of this -- and I've had -- like I said, I've had a chance to look at Elvis' stuff I've had a chance to look at the Kubik folks' stuff and go through all of these items. And one of the things that really stood out to me -- or two of the things that really stood out to me regarding all of this is that on the last couple of votes regarding this issue, I supported the project. As a matter of fact, I believe all of us sitting up on the dais supported the project. The only one that didn't support the project, which I understand 'cause he wasn't here, is the Commissioner -- or the sitting Commissioner that's here now. I'm not really sure why Commissioner Regalado is not supporting it now, but I'm just assuming that maybe he's not supporting it because of the issue of the court ruling, which is probably the main reason why he's not supporting it, and probably because of the district Commissioner that is not supporting the project. I just -- so in looking at all of the background data on it and really making a decision and really wanting to make sure I did the right thing, the first thing that stuck out to me before is, okay, Commissioner, if you supported it for the last two times, why would you not support it now? That's the first thing that actually came to my mind. So I've asked or I asked the City Attorney to at least make sure that truly understood the issues surrounding the court ruling or the panel ruling regarding the issue, and I believe there was three major things -- and I just want to make sure that I'm clear -- and one was, we must apply the new 1305 instead of the old one. Correct, Ms. City Attorney? Ms. Chiaro: That's correct. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: We must have a open hearing to take new evidence of the 13 -- new 1305, correct? Ms. Chiaro: To apply to the new -- to the project the new 1305 to be applied. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: And we -- right -- must apply the evidence under the new 1305 to determine if the project meets its requirement, correct? Ms. Chiaro: Correct. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. So in all of that -- is Lourdes around? Okay. 'Cause, Lourdes, you were very helpful for me too, just drilling me to make sure I understood both sides, because I really wanted to make sure that made a decision that made the best sense. One of the things I asked you, Lourdes, was around this whole issue of the new 1305, did we meet or are we meeting those requirements from the rulings that came from it? Lourdes Slazyk: For the record, Lourdes Slazyk, Zoning Administrator. The Planning Department's review concluded that the 1305 criteria continues to be met even with the new 1305. And the main difference, which was what we explained, I guess, at the last hearing and I'll explain now, is that the old 1305 -- all of the design review components of the old 1305 were pretty much in one sentence. Control of potentially adverse effects, generally. It didn't detail out all the specific design criteria, which the Planning Department had already been using for a couple of years to review the major projects. The new 1305 was a codification of the design review criteria, which had already been used to analyze the Kubik project. That's why Planning didn't produce a new analysis because the analysis was still valid for the new 1305 because the same criteria had pretty much been used. The new 1305 was an elaboration and a codification of what was once just potential adverse effects, which was a little vague. City ofMiami Page 63 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: So just from your perspective in our discussion yesterday and even what you're putting on the record today, you know, the original or the old 1305, compared to the new 1305, the only difference was, now, in the new 1305, you're really spelling out everything. Ms. Slazyk: It's an expanded version of what the design review criteria is, yes. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. I just wanted to be clear on that. I just want to make sure I get all my questions out. Okay. Now, Lourdes, regarding the issue -- Lourdes. I'm sorry. Okay. Now that understand that we're operating under the new 1305, Kubik is grandfathered under the old zoning requirements of C-1. Is that correct? That's what you briefed me on. Ms. Slazyk: Yes. Their zoning is C-1 and 0, with the SD-9 overlay, which is the SD-9 prior to the new height limits that were put in place. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Now Kubik is asking for 151 feet, correct? Ms. Slazyk: Correct. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Which, in your mind, is -- I want to hear from your perspective. I mean, I know that that's the biggest issue for them is that they want to be at that 151, correct? Ms. Slazyk: Correct. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. In your opinion -- and do understand Commissioner Sarnoffs and Commissioner Regalado's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on this motion and them supporting the 35 feet. I mean, I understand what at least the district Commissioner is trying to accomplish on the Biscayne Boulevard -- and I even understand what Elvis is trying to accomplish in that area so that there is no overgrowth happening. I do understand that. I just -- with -- once I got briefed fully on this whole thing, when the City Attorney told me that there's a possibility of a lawsuit, when then you turn around and gave me a briefing and explained that the reality is that now we're meeting all of those things that the court has or the panel has ruled on, it kind of weakened my argument on either -- on one particular side because we're meeting all of those necessary requirements, and also, we're avoiding a possible lawsuit. Is that your understanding or your thought on this whole issue, too? Ms. Slazyk: Yeah. I would rather not opine on the legal stuff but that was my understanding from the briefing. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: That we had. Ms. Slazyk: Yeah. I don't have an opinion on that, yeah. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. I wanted to ask you, in that overall area, I know Commissioner Sarnoff mentioned 80 feet in the surrounding areas, or at least on Biscayne Boulevard at certain sect -- by that section. In my briefing -- with me, you mentioned to me that the new Zoning Code actually -- it's actually currently zoned at 120 feet. Is that correct? Ms. Slazyk: That's correct. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Ms. Slazyk: The west side of the Boulevard for lots of this size would allow 120 feet as a height limit. City ofMiami Page 64 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: On that-- on -- the same side of Kubik, correct? Ms. Slazyk: Yes, the west side of the Boulevard. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: But everything that's on the east side is what Commissioner Sarnoff was speaking of which was 80, correct? Ms. Slazyk: Eighty-five and ninety-five, depending on which uses. We went to a higher height limit for residential projects because they have smaller floor plates; commercial projects were limited to 85 feet because their floor plates were allowed to be bigger. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. All right. Thank you. So that was my -- based upon my briefing and understanding of this whole matter. Now this is where I agree with Elvis on. I got a chance to go through Elvis' stuff again just to make sure that I fully understood it, and this is -- this one page really stuck out the most with me, and that was this page. FAR (floor area ratio) and height are maximum and not an entitlement. And I have to say that truly, fruly agree with the group regarding this issue. I do believe and I do really feel as though that it is not an entitlement, and I think that 151 feet is entirely too much to actually be putting on that little parcel that's there, so I do agree with you from that perspective, Elvis. What can't really agree on, and I'm hoping that we can, as a group, decide what makes the most sense, is the 35 feet. I mean, I just think that if we have a building that's 110 feet, that's like not even -- like right -- diagonally across from this building -- I know, for a fact, my district actually abuts this particular project. I'm actually on the opposite side of Kubik, and I know right on the railroad track area -- and I know Elvis had come out to speak against that affordable housing project that I had in my district, which, thank God, I have it 'cause I still need so many more units in the area. I believe that's what, 10 or 11 stories, or 10 stories, something like that. That's not too far also within that radius. So on one note, I'm definitely agreeing with Elvis, and I think that we need to come down. I think 151 is entirely too much, butl think 35 feet is entirely too less. And I -- and from the standpoint of not opening ourself [sic] up to a lawsuit -- so just based upon where I sit and everything that I've had to digest regarding this overall issue, I can live with the staffs recommendation of a height of 120 feet, since that is already what is zoned on that side of the street anyway, which is something that think that can deal with or at least live with. I cannot live with 151 feet at all. And if it has to be that, you can count on not having my support regarding it. And that's really my position after really taking in all of this information, looking at tapes, and reading and going back and forth on all of this -- these issues. So, Mr. Chairman, that is my position. I know that we have a motion and a second on something else, but thought it was important for at least the folks that are watching and the folks that came out to really understand why I'm making the decision to do what I'm doing or what I'm supporting. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Commissioner Sarnoff. Commissioner Sarnoff Lourdes, you want to come back up? Lourdes, ifI understood you correctly, Planning analysis did not produce a new analysis, so you're still traveling under your old analysis, correct? Ms. Slazyk: That was my understanding from the last meeting. Commissioner Sarnoff And that would mean that, according to our own Planning Department, the subject proposal should be modified with respect to the height in order to produce a product that is more in context with the character of Biscayne Boulevard as it relates to height. So even you don't agree with this height? Ms. Slazyk: I believe in the -- I was actually looking at some of the old transcripts myself, and I think in the -- in 2004, when that was produced, on the record, we put 120 feet was the City ofMiami Page 65 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 recommendation. I think there was -- I think I presented it at that time, and I think I presented 120 feet. Commissioner Sarnoff But the point is that, as a result of their PUD (Planned Unit Development) approval and their bonuses, even the Planning Department doesn't agree with this particular project. Ms. Slazyk: That's correct. Commissioner Sarnoff So the context of this project, you would have to concede to me, as presented, is not within the contextual integrity of this neighborhood. Ms. Slazyk: That's why the condition was that they reduce the height. In order to meet 1305, the height should come down to at least the 120 feet, which is what was recommended in 2004. Commissioner Sarnoff And would you be surprised if you actually recommended 100 feet? Ms. Slazyk: I don't recall right now. I looked at the transcript of '04, and I saw my testimony. I put 120 at that time. But if somebody said 100 since then, I don't recall. Commissioner Sarnoff No, before then. Ms. Slazyk: Before that? I don't recall. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. And Madam City Attorney, are you now receding from your March 12, 2008 memorandum? Ms. Chiaro: No, sir. Commissioner Sarnoff So in your March 12, 2008 memorandum to all Commissioners, you said that the Commission has discretion to reduce height of a project ftom the maximum height permitted by the Zoning Code. The petitioner is not entitled, as a matter of right, to a maximum height. The Fourth DCA (District Court ofAppeals) has held it is appropriate to restrict the height of a project to make it compatible with the existing adjacent neighborhood. And for that, you cited, Las Olas Tower versus City of Fort Lauderdale at 742 So. 2d 308, Florida Fourth DCA 1999. You also cited Battaglia versus Florida Land and Water Adjudicatory Commission 629 So. 2d 161, Florida Fifth DCA 1993, recognizing that a 35-foot height limit is appropriate for development in a primary residential neighborhood. Ms. Chiaro: Yes, on a different project. Commissioner Sarnoff So are you telling this Commission that in all probability, there is a Bert Harris taking here? Ms. Chiaro: I didn't -- I don't think I said that there's a probability. Commissioner Sarnoff I'm asking you if you're saying that. Ms. Chiaro: No, I am not. Commissioner Sarnoff You're saying -- Ms. Chiaro: I'm -- Commissioner Sarnoff -- there's a mere possibility? City ofMiami Page 66 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Chiaro: Yes. Commissioner Sarnoff Is it possible tomorrow that the war in Iraq might end? Ms. Chiaro: I'm sorry. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Oh, come on. Commissioner Sarnoff Is it possible tomorrow the way in Iraq might end? Ms. Chiaro: I still didn't understand what you said. Commissioner Sarnoff It's a pos -- everything in life is a possibility. Ms. Chiaro: Yes. Actually, what I was explaining is that we had received a Bert J. Harris claim on a project where this Commission reduced the height to 35 feet. Commissioner Sarnoff How many Bert Harris claims does [sic] this City received? 'Cause since I've been Commissioner, I've received at least 30. Ms. Chiaro: I am only aware of one claim. Commissioner Sarnoff Right, one claim. Ms. Chiaro: One claim. Commissioner Sarnoff How many times have you seen Bert Harris taking letters go out from lawyers that are trolling for work? Ms. Chiaro: I've seen none. Commissioner Sarnoff None? You want to come to my office later and I'll show you a stack? Ms. Chiaro: Perhaps they come to you. They haven't come to us. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. Chair Sanchez: All right. Any discussion -- any further discussion? Commissioner, you're recognized -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Thank you. Chair Sanchez: -- and then Commissioner -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Yes. Chair Sanchez: -- Gonzalez. Well -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I'll yield to Commissioner Gonzalez because he -- Chair Sanchez: All right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- hasn't had an opportunity to speak. City ofMiami Page 67 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: Vice Chair has yield -- Commissioner Gonzalez: No. You want to speak, you -- Chair Sanchez: -- to Commissioner Gonzalez. Commissioner Gonzalez: Go ahead. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I just wanted to -- and again, I -- the only -- Commissioner Sarnoff, I want to be very clear -- reason why the Bert Harris issue came up was it was a part of my briefing, and -- Commissioner Sarnoff Oh, I -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- part of my briefing was for me to understand everything surrounding the project, and that's the reason why it was brought up as an issue today. But do want -- from my City Attorney -- because, again, we rely on our CityAttorney's Office to give us their legal opinions or their opinions regarding these issues. Mar -- now I'm calling you Maria. Commissioner Sarnoff And -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Madam -- Commissioner Sarnoff -- just in response, I just want you to know, all I do is go by what the City Attorney writes to me in memorandum format. 'Cause I tend to forget things because I'm sure you're as busy as I am. So I like to know hard and fast, in a memorandum form, what I'm facing. I didn't go do any independent research, other than what the City Attorney provided to me. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. No problem. So in your opinion, Madam City Attorney, just by looking at this particular case itself I mean, again, or this situation itself do you feel in your own -- from your own perspective, that this could open us up to this Bert Harris? Ms. Chiaro: I think that this property is located in the same neighborhood that caused the other BertJ. Harris claim to be filed. So I think that there are many parallels, and there could be a Bert J. Harris claim. And just to clarify, again, we don't recede from our position as stated in this memo. Even if all the procedures and -- are met properly today, and even if this City Commission applies 1305 criteria, and even if the appellate court upholds the procedures and the decision of the City Commission, there is still the possibility that a Bert J. Harris claim comes to the City because it is a separate statutory cause of action. So that's what we try to convey in this memorandum. Commissioner Sarnoff Well, could you read to the Commission -- or let me -- I -- Commissioner Gonzalez, can I -- can you yield to me for a moment? It says, "In conclusion, the Bert Harris Act has little or no practical applicability for property owners. As of yet, no awards have been sustained under any action brought under this statute. However, if the property owner were to initiate a claim, it is unlikely any court would find in their favor." Do you recede from that? Ms. Chiaro: No, sir. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. Ms. Chiaro: But the act still exists and this -- the cite that gave you before, the situation that stated was the claim that the City has received. We are currently defending that claim. There has been no appellate decisions under this statutory law, which was recently enacted -- well, City ofMiami Page 68 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 1996, so it's a ponderous procedure. It is, nevertheless, in existence. Chair Sanchez: Could I -- since we're on this issue, could I just speak on this issue? Commissioner, you had the floor. Would you just yield to -- on this issue as to the letter? I also had a copy of the letter. I inquired about the same concerns that we had. And my understanding was that Harris Act has its own standards. We, as Commissioners, can reduce the height of a project. We could do that. But then based on their standards, you know -- and the courts will probably sustain it. My concern is well, here -- and some of the Commissioners is -- that the taxpayers may end up paying for this in a lawsuit. Ms. Chiaro: That's what the statute provides for. So, yes. Chair Sanchez: Okay. Ms. Chiaro: If a Bert J. Harris claim is sustained, notwithstanding the fact that there are no reported cases ever awarding money, there could be liability on the part of the City. Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner, anything else? Commissioner Gonzalez. Commissioner Gonzalez: Lourdes, what was the original height of this project? Ms. Slazyk: I know that the maximum allowed under the Code at the time was somewhere in the 240 range. At one point, they came in, I think it was in the 160 range. It was reduced to the 140 --151 that's there now, but it was originally a little bit taller than that. The maximum allowed under the Code at the time they filed was in the 240 range. Commissioner Gonzalez: All right, so actually it was -- Ms. Slazyk: I just don't remember their -- Commissioner Gonzalez: -- 240, then it was reduced to 140 -- Ms. Slazyk: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Commissioner Gonzalez: -- then the staff recommend 120, and the Commissioner of the district is requesting 35. Madam City Attorney. Ms. Chiaro: I'm sorry, Commissioner. Commissioner Gonzalez: If the party suing the City prevail in their claim, where does the money to pay the claim come from? Ms. Chiaro: The general fund. Commissioner Gonzalez: I know it's a stupid question, butt want the people that are watching on TV (Television) to know what, you know -- let's say that the parties that -- the action that has been filed against the City, not on this project, on the other project, that you estimate it's going to cost about $6 million -- or they are asking for $6 million, let's put it that way. If they prevail and the City has to pay, where would that money come from? Ms. Chiaro: That money would be allocated from the general fund. Commissioner Gonzalez: From the general fund. And the money from the general funds [sic] come from a citywide tax base, correct? City ofMiami Page 69 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Chiaro: Correct. Commissioner Gonzalez: Okay. Ms. Chiaro: That's the extent of my financial knowledge on the budgeting, though. Commissioner Gonzalez: It -- common sense tells me that if the other party file action against the City because of the same issue, common sense tells me -- we're talking about the same general area, the same type of project, more or less, same condition, same mechanism, these people are going to do the same thing. They're going to file action against the City. So I don't know if it's going to be for 6 million, 10 million, 12 million, or whatever amount of million of dollars. And I know that we are sue everyday, and we know the line of people waiting to sue us is incredible, but believe that we need to -- you know, I agree that -- to have 240 feet is extremely large and is outrageous, but we need to find a reasonable height for this project. I mean, going down to 35 feet -- my opinion is that 35 feet is a two-story duplex. Now, if we want to build two-story duplexes all over Biscayne Boulevard, that's fantastic, as long as it doesn't cost any money to the taxpayers of the City ofMiami. But if -- you know, if we're going to have to start paying claims out of the general -- you know, we're all worried and we're all talking about increasing the solid waste fee. We are talking about reducing expenses because we have to save $50 million or $35 million this year, and we're talking about saving and saving and saving and saving, but on the other hand, we don't care about throwing money out of the window, you know, and we take actions to throw money out of the windows. I mean, you know, let's throw all the money out of the window, and let's take the City to a bankrupt condition. Let's have the same thing that we had here in '97 that wasn't here, butt participated in many of the meetings. And let the government impose a new board on us, and let some people -- some other people run the City, you know. There are people sitting in here now that they would love to run the City. Maybe the Governor will appoint them, once we are removed from the City, and then they will run the City. I don't know where the City is going to end up, but you know, it might be good. I cannot support 35 feet. I can support something that is -- that makes sense. I mean, you know, something that can I accept. I cannot accept going down from 120 feet to 35 feet,; 35 feet is a duplex. It's a two-story duplex. That's what it is. You know, I can't support it. I'm sorry. Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Regalado, and then -- Commissioner Regalado: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm curious about the potential liability. Madam City Attorney, in the past 12 months, has the City been taken to court because of zoning votes? Ms. Chiaro: Yes. Commissioner Regalado: Right. Chair Sanchez: Pick a number. Commissioner Regalado: More or less, how many times? Ms. Chiaro: Twelve. Commissioner Regalado: Twelve. And of course, it was defended -- the cases were defended by the City Attorney, not outside counsel at all? Ms. Chiaro: That's correct. Commissioner Regalado: Okay. On the fire fee settlement, we have outside counsel. City ofMiami Page 70 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Chiaro: Yes. Commissioner Regalado: And we don't know yet the tab for the outside counsel? Ms. Chiaro: That's correct. Commissioner Regalado: But it could be maybe 3 million or more. Ms. Chiaro: For outside counsel? Commissioner Regalado: Well, in all. In all, the class attorneys plus the outside counsel. Chair Sanchez: That'll be determined by the judge, correct? Commissioner Regalado: That will be determined by the judge, but it's estimated -- Ms. Chiaro: Our outside counsel fees -- Commissioner Regalado: Right. Ms. Chiaro: -- are almost a million dollars. Commissioner Regalado: Almost a million dollars. So that was paid by the taxpayers, too. I am -- I'm curious about the case law on this claim. The claim is based -- in other projects, not on this project -- but the claim is based on the money that the developer would have already have spend or the money that the developer would have lost in two or three or four years? Because I mean, this is important because remember the boom years and remember today, so I just want to understand the case law as to how you determine a loss. Ms. Chiaro: It -- first, it's an act. It's a statute -- Commissioner Regalado: Right. Ms. Chiaro: -- that states how the loss is determined. And the statute bases the loss on the governmental action and it's the loss in fair market value to the property. Commissioner Regalado: Fair market value when? Ms. Chiaro: By -- the fair market value caused by the government's action. Commissioner Regalado: Yeah, but which -- at what time? At today's time or five years ago? Ms. Chiaro: It's based on -- Chair Sanchez: Current. Ms. Chiaro: -- the case -- the case that's completely different, it's based on the -- I hate to give you legalese, but it is based on what the expectation of the property owner had for the fair market value of the property. Commissioner Sarnoff As of today. As of the date -- Ms. Chiaro: As of today. Commissioner Sarnoff -- of this action. City ofMiami Page 71 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Regalado: As of today? Ms. Chiaro: Yes. Commissioner Regalado: Not as of -- Commissioner Sarnoff Right. Commissioner Regalado: -- five years ago, which is -- Ms. Chiaro: Or any time ago. I mean, much of this statute was enacted and the statutory history on this statute gives information about properties that were in families for generations, for instance, and then a government came along, changed the rules, and the families thought they were going to make a certain amount of money on property and then because the government took action, their value was dramatically reduced. That's why this statute was enacted, at least according to the legislative history. Commissioner Regalado: It -- Ms. Chiaro: So that's -- it's a -- and it's a very separate kind of lawsuit than the kinds of lawsuits we get challenging your zoning decisions. Commissioner Regalado: No -- and I understand, but a zoning decision could damage also the value of a property. Ms. Chiaro: It could, but mostly your zoning decisions are challenged based on the procedure and based on the application of our laws, not because there's a value to the property that's lost, per se. Commissioner Regalado: And the case law shows who's winning and who's losing on that particular statute? I mean -- Ms. Chiaro: Well, I sort of don't understand that question. Commissioner Regalado: No. If you go back to the case law throughout the state of Florida, who has won more cases? Ms. Chiaro: On the Bert J. Harris cases? Commissioner Regalado: On the Bert J. Harris. Ms. Chiaro: As I said, there are no reported cases. I think maybe there's one reported case. Miami Beach has settled every one of its claims that it's received -- more than 30 we are told - -because of the possible impact on value, and as we said when we issued that memo on a completely different set of circumstances, but in the same neighborhood -- Commissioner Regalado: Because -- and Miami Beach settled because they wanted to keep the Art Deco style, and some people felt that that would attack their future use. That is the case in Miami Beach, right? Those -- Ms. Chiaro: Well, that was -- that isn't all of the cases in Miami Beach. Commissioner Regalado: Okay. But most of them because of the Art Deco. City ofMiami Page 72 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Chiaro: We -- in our discussions -- I don't know. Commissioner Regalado: Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chair Sanchez: All right. I think the issue here today is if there's substantial competent evidence in the record for the applicant to meet Section 1305 of the Zoning Code. The district Commissioner believes and agrees with 1305. The only issue that he has is that he wants to implement a 35 feet height restriction. That's what he believes. However, in my opinion -- and I've had an opportunity, just like all of us, to really read a lot of documents on this, on this case. It has been before us many times, and all the documents that have been presented, and there is no substantial evidence whatsoever for 35 feet height restriction in that area. Now, the only thing that comes close is the last document that Commissioner Sarnoff put into the record, which is a document that Mr. Cruz highly so refers to, which is the Upper Eastside master plan, prepared by the City ofMiami Planning, February 1999, but has never been adopted by the City, nor by this Commission. And it reads -- it's the third paragraph that he stated: The area along Biscayne Boulevard, from Northeast 64th Sfreet to Northeast 67th Street -- that's three blocks -- and Northeast 63rd Sfreet to Northeast 77th Street, shall be analyzed and evaluated for possible rezoning for multifamily resident [sic] use, low- to medium -density multifamily townhouse or PUD type. Housing is recommended for this area allowing 10 to 25 units per net acre, with a maximum height of 30 feet from the area east of the Boulevard and 50 feet from the area west of the Boulevard. That area. This project is on 55th Street, okay. I have taken into consideration testimony that has been given here by everyone. But I take to heart testimony put by Mr. Roberto Lavernia, who represented of -- the Planning Department, who specifically testified that the 35 feet is not, in his opinion, reasonable for the west side of Biscayne Boulevard. This project -- and the facts speak for itself-- 1305 allows 120 feet at this site. The applicant, who applied many years ago, had the right to 240 feet, which he was allowed. So he brought that down. Now, the other thing that I want to put on the record, Mr. Cruz, which you stated on the master plan that was presented here, I've read it completely, and I don't know if the County approved it or not. We certainly did not approve it, but I could tell you that, in many occasions, and I highlighted it -- some of the occasions, where this plan clearly -- and I don't know if it contradicts itself or not -- but promotes need for mixed -use multi family resident [sic] along Biscayne Boulevard, rental and condo. Northeast 50 to 55th Street (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Bay Pointe, good image. Stop at Bay Pointe wall; wall of motels, change to residential office use. Convert dead-end stops and plaza parking into adjacent commercial use, and it goes on and on as to some of the recommendations that have been made there. So, you know, I, too, am very concerned as to the liability that this City can be faced with. And based on the arguments that have been made here, where these cases are going to be filed -- Miami Beach settled every one of those cases. Maybe there's a reason why Miami Beach settled every one of those cases and didn't take them to court. So I think that we have a responsibility here, so does the Commissioner to represent his district. I respect his 35 feet. I just think that we need to have a fiscal responsibility as to the implementations that could affect this city, on a liability basis, on us approving this today. So I caution you to make the right choice, and then, you know, we'll explore the other possibilities, but this project could put us in a situation where the taxpayers from all over the City, as Commissioner Gonzalez stated, may have to pick up the tab. Yes, we can dictate the regulations of zoning, and the courts will probably sustain them. But Harris Act falls under different standards. And then at the end, I think the taxpayers are going to have to pay for it. Thank you. All right. There's a motion and a second, and that is for the 35 feet height restriction approving the project. Madam Clerk, roll call. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): Roll call. Commissioner Gonzalez? Commissioner Gonzalez: No. Ms. Thompson: Vice Chair Spence -Jones? City ofMiami Page 73 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: No. Ms. Thompson: Commissioner Regalado? Commissioner Regalado: Yes. Ms. Thompson: Commissioner Sarnoff? Commissioner Sarnoff Yes. Ms. Thompson: Chair Sanchez? Chair Sanchez: No. Ms. Thompson: Then the motion on the floor failed, 2/3. Chair Sanchez: All right. Need another motion. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: My -- I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman. Chair Sanchez: You're recognized for the record. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. My vote for this project, again, is the same from the last two times that I voted. I've always voted to support the project. However, I cannot support the project at 151 feet. It's just not going to happen for me. So in order for me to support this project, I'd like to support the project at 120 feet that's being recommended by our City Planning and Zoning Department. Commissioner Gonzalez: Is that a motion? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: That is a motion. Commissioner Gonzalez: I second that motion. Chair Sanchez: Okay. For the record, the motion has been proffered by the Vice Chair; it has been second by Commissioner Gonzalez. The item is under discussion. Commissioner Sarnoff? No discussion whatsoever. Commissioner Regalado? No discussion whatsoever. Okay. We have other items on the agenda, so Madam Attorney [sic]? Commissioner Sarnoff Clerk. Chair Sanchez: I mean, Madam Clerk. Everything's been legal today. So, Madam Clerk, roll call. Ms. Thompson: Roll call. Commissioner Regalado? Commissioner Regalado: No. Ms. Thompson: Commissioner Sarnoff? Commissioner Sarnoff No. Ms. Thompson: Commissioner Gonzalez? Commissioner Gonzalez: Yes. City ofMiami Page 74 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Thompson: Vice Chair Spence -Jones? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Yes. Ms. Thompson: Chair Sanchez? Chair Sanchez: Ladies and gentlemen, we have no reason to disapprove this project. Yes. Ms. Thompson: Then the motion -- modified motion, 120 feet, has passed, 3/2. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Mr. Chairman, I just want -- I would just like to add, I mean, I think that it's really important to say a lot of my decision was really based upon what recommendations came from my City Attorney regarding this overall lawsuit and what actually came from our Planning Department, Lourdes' department, and their recommendation. Also, I think it's important to say I do think that Elvis' position on this whole issue around, you know, the FAR, it was a very valid point, and I'm not really even sure whether or not this is going to be something that is accepted by the developer. Does this still put us in any legal -- because of us not supporting it at the 151 ? Ms. Chiaro: There is still a possibility that a claim comes for a Bert J. Harris lawsuit. Chair Sanchez: All right. Listen, I think -- Lucia Dougherty: Mr. Chairman, may I ask one question -- Chair Sanchez: We got to get going to the next agenda -- Ms. Dougherty: -- though? Chair Sanchez: We have -- Ms. Dougherty: With the condition -- Mr. Cruz: Mr. Chairman, I thought there was no more speaking from the applicant? Chair Sanchez: We're done on this. There is no more. We're closed. We got to move on. That's the way it was voted on. That's the way the final deliberation of this City Commission, and that is it. PZ.2 08-00405zc ORDINANCE Second Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WITH ATTACHMENT(S) AMENDING PAGE NO. 42, OF THE ZONING ATLAS OF ORDINANCE NO. 11000, AS AMENDED, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, ARTICLE 4, SECTION 401, SCHEDULE OF DISTRICT REGULATIONS, BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION FROM R-2 TWO-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL TO R-2 TWO-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL WITH AN SD-12 BUFFER OVERLAY DISTRICT FOR THE PROPERTIES LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 3671, 3673 AND 3675 SOUTHWEST 22ND TERRACE, MIAMI, FLORIDA; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City ofMiami Page 75 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 08-00405zc Analysis.PDF 08-00405zc Zoning Map.pdf 08-00405zc Aerial Map.pdf 08-00405zc Application & Supporting Docs.PDF 08-00405zc ZB Reso.PDF 08-00405zc CC Legislation (Version 2).pdf 08-00405zc Exhibit A.pdf 08-00405zc CC FR Fact Sheet.pdf 08-00405zc CC SR Fact Sheet.pdf LOCATION: Approximately 3671, 3673 and 3675 SW 22nd Terrace [Commissioner Tomas Regalado - District 4] APPLICANT(S): Felix M. Lasarte, Esquire, on behalf of Coral Way Entrance, LLC FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval. ZONING BOARD: Recommended approval to City Commission on May 19, 2008 by a vote of 7-0. See companion File ID 08-00405xc. PURPOSE: This will change the above properties to R-2 Two -Family Residential with an SD-12 Buffer Overlay District. Motion by Commissioner Regalado, seconded by Commissioner Sarnoff, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones 13007 Chair Sanchez: We move on to the next item. The next item on the agenda is PZ.2. All right. Let's go. All right. Listen, can we get some noncontroversial items out of the way? I mean -- Commissioner Gonzalez: PZ.2 is a second reading, right? Commissioner Regalado: These two, Mr. Chairman, are second reading. Chair Sanchez: All right. Well, just put something on the rec -- oh, that's the -- I think there was somebody to speak on the item here, but -- go ahead. You're recognized for the record. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): Chair, I'm sorry. PZ. 2 and 3 are companion items. Chair Sanchez: Yes, they are, Madam Clerk. Notice I didn't call you Madam Attorney this time. All right. Okay. Commissioner Regalado: Mr. Chairman, iflmay. Chair Sanchez: Yes, sir. Commissioner Regalado: There is a representative of the Coral Gate Homeowners Association here, and I would really like to hear from him. And -- Chair Sanchez: Commissioner -- City ofMiami Page 76 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Regalado: -- this is part of meetings that the developer had with members of the Coral Gate Homeowners Association, and it is important that it's put on the record. It is something that will benefit Coral Gate and the Coral Way area. So I'm just -- Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Regalado: -- hoping that we have the time. It will be a brief comment. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Commissioner, this is an ordinance on second reading that will require a public hearing. All right. Let's take a recess for, let's say, two minutes so they could get this out of the way and I can go to the bathroom and we can come back. So City Commission stands in recess for two minutes. [Later... ] Chair Sanchez: We're going to do PZ.2; it's on second reading. However, PZ.3 is a resolution that's being presented. It's a companion item. So let's have the -- Ms. Thompson: We don't have a quorum. Commissioner Regalado: We don't have quorum. Chair Sanchez: Oh, I thought Michelle was back. Okay. Ms. Thompson: No. Chair Sanchez: Well, we'll wait. Commissioner Sarnoff is in. All right, so that gives us a quorum. The meeting is back to order. So as I stated prior, PZ.2 is an ordinance on second reading, but PZ.3 is a resolution that's never been in front of us. So what we'll do is we'll take both of them up at the same time. You're recognized for the record. Roberto Lavernia (Chief of Land Development, Planning Department): Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Also, it is a -- it will require a public hearing, so anyone wishing to address this item could come up and speak. At least PZ.2 is a public hearing. All right. PZ. 2. Mr. Lavernia: PZ.2 and PZ.3 are companion items. PZ.2 is the second reading of the zoning change in order to apply SD-12 in order to have surface parking in the project. PZ.3 is the special exception with City Commission approval that is needed because the Zoning Board, in this case, only act as advisory to the City Commission. PZ. 2 was already presented as part of a zoning change for an SD-12 as part of this project that you have with you; that is the Miracle Entrance name. This project will not be as a Major Use in front of you. It will be a Class II Special Permit. The applicant has been working with the Planning Department for the last two months. At the last City Commission, we request a traffic study that was already presented to the Planning Department, and we are sending it to be reviewed with both conditions that was suggested at the City Commission, being one-way west only to 22nd Terrace or closing -- or both way. Those two options has [sic] been presented as part of a traffic study and we are studying it. For the special exception, it was presented for the Zoning Board, and the recommendation was to approval, 7/0. The Planning Department is recommending approval with three conditions that I'm going to put on the records, the three conditions for the special exception. The western and southern routes of the surface parking to conform to the City ofMiami off-street parking guideline standards, which require that for each row of parking, there shall be a minimum of two landscape areas with frees within the first 90 linear feet and one landscape area with a tree for each additional 90 feet;; b, include glass for the windows opening above the southern entrance City ofMiami Page 77 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 door, considering that no liner will be provided; and c, more planting are necessary in order to screen the surface parking area and drive -through from view from the neighborhood -- neighboring properties; enhance all the landscape buffers along side perimeters by providing layers of planting, including frees, palms, shrubs, and ground cover. Planning Department is still reviewing the plans because the plan has been modified and that -- we will check that all those condition are met in the final set of plans. For the record, it was Roberto Lavernia from the Planning Department. Chair Sanchez: All right. Sir, you're recognized for the record. Felix Lasarte: Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Commissioners. Felix Lasarte, with offices at 5835 Blue Lagoon Drive. Again, this item is here -- coming here before you for second reading. We are in accord with staffs recommendations. This is in Commissioner Regalado's district. You've seen this project before you in the first hearing. I do want to mention for the record, as a housekeeping matter, that we made some very minor modifications to the plans when we worked with staff to address some of their concerns, and we just wanted to make sure that that was made part of the record today. Chair Sanchez: All right. Need a motion and a second. Commissioner Regalado: I move it -- Commissioner Sarnoff Second. Chair Sanchez: There's a motion -- Commissioner Regalado: -- on second reading. Chair Sanchez: -- and a second. The motion has been made by Commissioner Regalado, second by Commissioner Sarnoff. Before we open it up for discussion, it requires a public hearing. Each and every one of you wishing to address this item, please step forward and be recognized. Sir, good afternoon. You're recognized for the record. Bob Valledor: Good afternoon, Commissioners. My name is Bob Valledor. I live at 3324 Southwest 20th Sfreet, which is about three blocks northeast of this property. I also have offices at 1450 Coral Way. We met with the developers and their attorney, and the Coral Gate Homeowners Association reached an agreement. And in full disclosure in all this, the -- part of the agreement is that the developer will donate twelve hun -- no more than $12,500 to the City of Miami to put a curving, which would be at the entrance of Coral Way and -- up to the first entrance where Sears is. Commissioner Regalado: You don't see it there, but it's on 36th Avenue. Mr. Valledor: It's the north side of 36th Avenue -- Commissioner Regalado: The side -- avenue on -- Mr. Valledor: -- which is -- Commissioner Regalado: -- 36th Avenue. And the reason for that is because the issue of the Coral Gate residents is that everyone who comes in south to north on 36 and fry to go into Sears, block fraffic and so the fraffic is blocked up to Coral Way and even to 36th Avenue, so the people of Coral Gate who only have that access on the 20th Street -- I mean, the 37 and the 20th Sfreet access have a hardship in going in and coming out of Coral Gate. So that is about a block and a half away from the project, but I think that the Coral Gate Homeowners Association, you know, City ofMiami Page 78 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 did a right thing of meeting with the developer and, you know, we have to thank the developer because -- Mr. Valledor: No -- yeah, we do. Commissioner Regalado: -- he's going to do whatever you guys needed and wanted him for. Mr. Valledor: Well, I think he's also reaching out as a good neighbor and is recognizing a situation, and that he's frying to help his neighbors to do that. Commissioner Regalado: And the only thing we need now -- and this is for the Administration -- we need to address 22nd Terrace as a one-way street because you cannot keep sending four lanes of traffic into one lane. That creates a bottleneck on 37th Avenue and 22nd Terrace and 37th Avenue and Coral Way, and delays traffic for 10 or 15 minutes, especially in the rush hour. And it needs to be studied whether we want it going east or going west because both directions have problems and good things, so I think we should study. Actually, you should also study, instead of going west, going east because the claim that FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) is making for not to have the arrow on the traffic light on 36th Avenue and Coral Way is that there is no [sic] enough traffic on 36th Avenue, so the people of Coral Way -- of Coral Gate cannot exit left because there is no green arrow -- there's no left turn signal. So I think that both direction should be discussed on 22nd Terrace, either going east or going west. Orlando Toledo (Senior Director, Building, Planning & Zoning): Commissioner, we will be meeting with FDOT about that, and we will be looking at both proposals, going east and going west. Commissioner Regalado: Okay. Mr. Valledor: All right. And I also wanted to mention -- I'll be the last guy to follow up -- that that was the second part of the agreement that the developer and their attorney agreed to me with the Secretary of Florida Department of Transportation with us, and the Administration, and I believe Commissioner Regalado's going to be part of that meeting. I just want to make sure this is all on the record and now you guys are getting jet fuel. Chair Sanchez: Hey, it's going to be a long night. We need jet fuel. Mr. Valledor: All right. And so I want to thank you very much for hearing us. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Mr. Lasarte: IfI can just -- for two seconds. I have the honor of sitting on the Miami -Dade Expressway Authority, where Secretary Pago sits there, and I've already addressed this issue with him, and I know that he's expressed to me that he does want to meet with you, Commissioner Regalado, and with the Manager. And he really actually knows the area very well and actually has some ideas on how the residents and their concerns, how that can be addressed. With respects to the payment of the money, we're -- at the time of building permit, we would go ahead and -- provided that the City allows that curbing, we would pay that money to the City, and we would work that out at the time of building permit so we could do that. Chair Sanchez: Not a problem. All right. Anything else you want to put on the record? Commissioner Regalado, anything else? Commissioner Regalado: No. I'm -- Chair Sanchez: All right. The public hearing is still open. Anyone wishing to address this item, City ofMiami Page 79 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 please step forward. The public hearing is closed; coming back to the Commission. We are on PZ.2, which is an ordinance on second reading. No further discussion on the item. Madam Attorney, read the ordinance into the record, followed by a roll call. The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro. Chair Sanchez: All right. Roll call. Ms. Thompson: Roll call. A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above. Ms. Thompson: The ordinance has been adopted on second reading, 5/0. Chair Sanchez: All right. That was PZ.2, an ordinance on second reading. It was approved, 5/0. PZ.3 08-00405xc RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WITH ATTACHMENT(S) APPROVING A SPECIAL EXCEPTION, REQUIRING CITY COMMISSION APPROVAL, AS LISTED IN ORDINANCE NO. 11000, AS AMENDED, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, ARTICLE 6, SECTION 612, SD-12 SPECIAL BUFFER OVERLAY DISTRICT, CONDITIONAL ACCESSORY USES, TO ALLOW SURFACE PARKING TO SERVE THE ABUTTING DISTRICT, SUBJECT TO ALL APPLICABLE CRITERIA, WITH A TIME LIMITATION OF TWELVE (12) MONTHS IN WHICH A BUILDING PERMIT MUST BE OBTAINED SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS, FOR THE PROPERTIES LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 2209 SOUTHWEST 37TH AVENUE, 3670 SOUTHWEST 22ND STREET AND 3671 SOUTHWEST 22ND TERRACE, MIAMI, FLORIDA. 08-00405xc Analysis.PDF 08-00405xc Zoning Map.pdf 08-00405xc Aerial Map.pdf 08-00405xc Application & Supporting Docs.PDF 08-00405xc Plans.PDF 08-00405xc ZB Reso.PDF 08-00405xc CC Legislation.pdf 08-00405xc Exhibit A.pdf 08-00405xc CC Fact Sheet.pdf LOCATION: Approximately 2209 SW 37th Avenue, 3670 SW 22nd Street and 3671 SW 22nd Terrace [Commissioner Tomas Regalado - District 4] APPLICANT(S): Felix M. Lasarte, Esquire, on behalf of Coral Way Entrance, LLC FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval with conditions*. ZONING BOARD: Recommended approval with conditions* to City Commission on May 19, 2008 by a vote of 7-0. See companion File ID 08-00405zc. *See supporting documentation. City ofMiami Page 80 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 PURPOSE: This will allow surface parking for the proposed Miracle Square project. Motion by Commissioner Regalado, seconded by Commissioner Sarnoff, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones R-08-0371 Chair Sanchez: PZ.3 is a resolution. Need a motion. Commissioner Regalado: Move it. Commissioner Sarnoff Second. Chair Sanchez: All right. There is a motion, and there's a second. For the record, the motion was made by Commissioner Regalado; it was seconded by Commissioner Sarnoff. Discussion on the item? Hearing no discussion, we'll even open it up to the public. Anyone from the public wishing to address this item? Public hearing is closed; coming back to the Commission. No further discussion. It's a resolution. All in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay." Motion carries, Madam Clerk, 5/0. That was PZ.3. PZ.4 08-00576xc RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WITH ATTACHMENT(S) APPROVING A SPECIAL EXCEPTION, REQUIRING CITY COMMISSION APPROVAL, AS LISTED IN ORDINANCE NO. 11000, AS AMENDED, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, ARTICLE 4, SECTION 401, UNDER CONDITIONAL PRINCIPAL USES IN PR PARKS, RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE DISTRICT, TO ALLOW THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW CLUBHOUSE WITH RESTAURANT, BAR AND RETAIL SPACE, FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 1802 NORTHWEST 37TH AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA. 08-00576xc Analysis.pdf 08-00576xc Zoning Map.pdf 08-00576xc Aerial Map.pdf 08-00576xc Application & Supporting Documents.pdf 08-00576xc Zoning Write-Up.pdf 08-00576xc Plans.pdf 08-00576xc ZB Reso.pdf 08-00576xc CC Legislation (Version 2).pdf 08-00576xc Exhibit A.pdf 08-00576xc CC Fact Sheet.pdf LOCATION: Approximately 1802 NW 37th Avenue [Commissioner Angel Gonzalez - District 1] APPLICANT(S): Pedro G. Hernandez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami City ofMiami Page 81 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval with conditions*. ZONING BOARD: Recommended approval with conditions* to City Commission on June 9, 2008 by a vote of 4-1. *See supporting documentation. PURPOSE: This will allow the construction of a clubhouse, restaurant, bar and retail establishment for the Melreese Golf Course. NOTE(S): File previously known as 08-00576x. Motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, seconded by Commissioner Sarnoff, that this matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones R-08-0372 Chair Sanchez: Now we go to PZ.4. PZ.4 is also a resolution. We'll let the City -- Roberto Lavernia (Chief of Land Development, Planning Department): Yes. PZ.4 is a special exception to allow the recreation and open space district to allow the construction of a new clubhouse and restaurant bar and retail space. The Planning Department's recommending approval. The Zoning Board recommending approval with two additional conditions that were not part of the original condition of the Planning Department. So first, I'm going to put the Planning Department conditions on the record, which is, number one, the applicant shall present all final design details, including but not limited to, architectural plan, site plan, elevation and floor plans for review and approval by the Planning Department prior to the issuance of any building permit;; and number two, a new complete landscape plan, including a tree removal and mediation plan, with specification, must be submitted for review and approval by the Planning Department prior to the issuance of any building permit. However, the Zoning Board vote with two additional conditions. Those two conditions are that the clubhouse restaurant bar and retail space shall remain permanently controlled by the City ofMiami; and number four, no alcoholic beverage permitted. The Planning Department is not -- was not in agreement with those two conditions. Thank you. Commissioner Gonzalez: Mr. Man -- Mr. Chair -- Chair Sanchez: Were you in agreement with those conditions? Okay. Commissioner Gonzalez: Mr. Chairman, I'm ready to make a motion on the item -- Chair Sanchez: Yes, sir. You're recognized for a motion. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- to approve the item without the two condition of the Zoning Board, which doesn't make any sense. Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Gonzalez: We can't commit to run the facility forever because we don't know if it is -- it's going to be feasible next year to allow someone else to run it and make it more profitable. That's number one. And number two, I'm still to see the first clubhouse that operates without a liquor license. I don't know. If there is one, I would like to see it because -- City ofMiami Page 82 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Sarnoff Commissioner, we know you're a big golfer, so have you ever golfed without having a beer afterwards? Commissioner Gonzalez: Yeah, right. Commissioner Regalado: I know one. I know a clubhouse that operates without an -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Oh, really? Commissioner Regalado: Yeah. Commissioner Gonzalez: Which one is that? Commissioner Regalado: In Rijad, Saudi Arabia. Chair Sanchez: Saudi Arabia. Let me tell you something. Commissioner Gonzalez: So -- Chair Sanchez: I have yet to see Commissioner Gonzalez with a golf club in his hand. Commissioner Sarnoff I was teasing. I'm sorry. Commissioner Gonzalez: Yeah. I don't have the nerves to do that. Chair Sanchez: All right. There is a motion to approve with removing both conditions. Commissioner Gonzalez: From Zoning. Chair Sanchez: From Zoning, yes. Commissioner Gonzalez: Leaving the two conditions from Planning. And by the way, I would like to see the landscape plans. Chair Sanchez: Need a second. Mr. Lavernia: Okay. Commissioner Sarnoff Second. Chair Sanchez: Okay. Discussion on the item. Well, before we open it up for discussion, anyone from the public wishing to address this item? PZ.4, it's a resolution. It's to allow the construction of a new clubhouse, with restaurant and bar retail space, at the Melreese golf course. Yes, ma'am. You're recognized for the record. Judith Sandoval: Judy Sandoval, 2536 Southwest -- Chair Sanchez: Judy -- Ms. Sandoval: -- 25th Terrace. Chair Sanchez: -- you play golf? Ms. Sandoval: What? City ofMiami Page 83 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: You play golf? Ms. Sandoval: No. I go to bars. No. This is kind of a joke, really. But I just wanted to ask, when the City's no longer running it or when the City does run it, I understand that the Mayor is a partner in a lot of bars and restaurants. Commissioner Gonzalez: No. The May -- Ms. Sandoval: If we could have a condition that he can't be part of this? Excuse me. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Ms. Sandoval: It should be in the open. Commissioner Gonzalez: I think that's totally out of place. I mean, to make that -- to infer that the City is building a clubhouse so the Mayor can have a business -- I believe, with all due respect to you, I believe it's very disrespectful to the Mayor, and it's very uncalled for. Chair Sanchez: You did have me on the bar joke, though. Ms. Sandoval: Pardon me? Chair Sanchez: You did have me on the bar joke. All right. Okay. Ms. Sandoval: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Chair Sanchez: All right. It's okay. All right. Anyone else? All right. If not, let me just take the opportunity to praise Commissioner Gonzalez. We did the ribbon -cutting today of the community center at that entire park. I know that each and every one of us has visited that park. Let me just tell you the success that that park has been. The water theme park has attract -- broken every record. As a matter of fact, they've had to split the day in half to be able to accommodate all those that are going with their families to enjoy a pleasant evening over at the water theme park. The baseball facility, I continue to get praises for that facility and today, the community center, which just opened up, had 80-something kids that are there in summer camp. And it just makes you feel proud of the things, at times, we've been criticized for, but our Parks Department -- and once again, I want to take the opportunity to also praise the Parks Department, the director, and all the people that work at the Parks Department -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Well deserved. Chair Sanchez: -- because they are running a tremendous organization out there with the demand of a lot of people going. Let me just say that the park, the first month, the water theme park -- Now, Commissioner, I'm sorry to steal your thunder. This is your thunder. But if I'm wrong on the numbers -- 'cause I like to look at the numbers -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Go ahead. Chair Sanchez: -- 50, 000 people attended the water theme park the -- Commissioner Gonzalez: First month. Chair Sanchez: -- first month, 50,000. Just doing numbers, only -- Commissioner Gonzalez: And the estimated figure for the whole year was 60,000. City ofMiami Page 84 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: Sixty thousand. So if you do the numbers, just based on kids attending there, it's $250, 000. That's not to mention what they're making on the concession stands, whatever the guy selling T-shirts is making. But it has been a great success. It has been a tremendous success. And now we have an opportunity to build a clubhouse in one of the -- which I consider -- and I do play golf and I'm a decent golf player -- is our golf course. You've played with me. You don't think so, right? But our golf course, Melreese, by far, being a publicly -run facility, it generates money. It's -- I mean, it loses money, but it does better than just about anyone else. I looked at the numbers. They collect $1.3 million, okay, and we pay 1.7. So we subsidize them $400, 000. That's without a clubhouse, that's with a horrible gift shop. Imagine, when you do have a world -class -- well, I don't know if it's going to be world class, but it'll be very, very decent -- when you do have a good clubhouse, where you're going to make money off of members, you're going to make money off of liquor, you're going to make money off of community parties because people are going to have their parties there, whether it's a wedding, whether it's -- whatever. Commissioner Gonzalez: Receptions. Chair Sanchez: Right, so it's going to generate money. So the shortfall is only $400, 000. So this is going to be, when you do partner up with the private sector and you start thinking outside the box to generate money, this is probably going to be one park that's going to generate money for the City. And from losing money, our parks, now we're going to be making money. So I implore the Administration and challenge the Parks director to explore all these possibilities in different parks to be able to generate money, as therefore we could continue to maintain those parks and continue to provide adequate programs for our children. So it's -- I mean, it's something we should all be very proud of. Commissioner Gonzalez: Let me add that the water park came out to be what I envision. I envisioned of a park where a family could go and enjoy the day as a family and also be a facility that produce enough revenue to sustain itself but not only to sustain itself to provide funding for other parks that not be able to sustain themselves. So I'm really happy about that. I think it's a good thing for the entire City ofMiami and for our parks. Chair Sanchez: And once again, Wednesday is free for the residents of the City ofMiami. Spread the news. Wednesday is free for the residents of City ofMiami. All right, so -- Commissioner Sarnoff Commissioner, just take good care 'cause you have such a large capacity of people going there. Make sure that you're keeping, you know, the maintenance -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Oh, yeah. Commissioner Sarnoff -- because you're getting a lot of impact, a lot of kids, and you have what's called shark skin pools -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Definitely. Commissioner Sarnoff -- and just make sure you're -- you have some sort of an accrual of maintenance 'cause I think -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Yes. Commissioner Sarnoff -- with that kind of volume, you're going to have items come up quicker than you'd like. Commissioner Gonzalez: Oh, yeah, definitely. City ofMiami Page 85 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: The only complaint that I've gotten is when a toddler goes to the bathroom, they have to shut down the pool. And they do turn it around quickly, clean it up, and they -- you're back in the water again. All right. So it's a resolution, removing both conditions. There has been a motion and a second. All in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay." Motion carries. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): Chair, I just want to make sure. I'm showing that as a modified resolution since you re -- Chair Sanchez: Absolutely, we're removing both conditions. Ms. Thompson: Thank you. PZ.5 07-00933ac RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WITH ATTACHMENT(S) CLOSING, VACATING, ABANDONING AND DISCONTINUING FOR PUBLIC USE THE EASEMENT AND ALLEY LOCATED NORTH OF NORTHWEST 2ND STREET BETWEEN NORTH MIAMI AVENUE AND NORTHWEST 1ST AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED HEREIN, WITH A ZONING CLASSIFICATION OF CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT (CBD). 07-00933ac Analysis.pdf 07-00933ac Zoning Map.pdf 07-00933ac Aerial Map.pdf 07-00933ac Public Works Letter.pdf 07-00933ac Public Works Analysis.pdf 07-00933ac Application & Supporting Documents.pdf 07-00933ac ZB Reso.pdf 07-00933ac Public Works Update Letter.PDF 07-00933ac CC Legislation (Version 2).pdf 07-00933ac Exhibit A.pdf 07-00933ac CC Fact Sheet.pdf LOCATION: Approximately N of NW 2nd Street Between N Miami Avenue and NW 1st Avenue [Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff - District 2] APPLICANT(S): Arthur Noriega, Executive Director, on behalf of the Miami Parking Authority FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval. PLAT & STREET COMMITTEE: Recommended approval with conditions* on July 6, 2006 by a vote of 6-0. ZONING BOARD: Recommended approval to City Commission on June 9, 2008, by a vote of 5-0. *See supporting documentation. PURPOSE: This will allow a unified development site for the previously City ofMiami Page 86 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 approved Courthouse Center Garage Major Use Special Permit. Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones R-08-0373 Chair Sanchez: Okay. PZ.5 is also a resolution. Somebody needs to make a motion for that. Commissioner Sarnoff So moved. Chair Sanchez: All right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sanchez: Well, can we put something in the record so the viewers can see what we're voting? Roberto Lavernia (Chief of Land Development, Planning Department): It's the street closure of Northwest 2nd Sfreet, between North Miami Avenue and Northwest 1st Avenue. It's part of the Courthouse Center Garage Major Use Special Permit that was approved by this board. Planning Department is recommending approval, and Plat and Sfreet Committee recommending approval, 6/0; Zoning Board recommending approval to the City Commission. Chair Sanchez: Okay. There's been a motion, I believe, by Commissioner Sarnoff. Who second it? Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): Spence -Jones. Chair Sanchez: Vice Chair Spence -Jones second it. Discussion on the item? Going to open it up to the public. Anyone from the public wishing to address this item? If not, public hearing is closed; coming back to the Commission. No further discussion. It's a resolution. All in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay." Motion carries. PZ.6. Commissioner Gonzalez: No. Mr. Lavernia: It was continued. Commissioner Gonzalez: PZ.9. Chair Sanchez: I'm sorry. PZ.6 and 7 were continued. PZ.8 was continued. PZ.6 07-01381Iu ORDINANCE Second Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 10544, AS AMENDED, THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP OF THE MIAMI COMPREHENSIVE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, PURSUANT TO SMALL SCALE AMENDMENT PROCEDURES SUBJECT TO §163.3187, FLORIDA STATUTES, BY CHANGING THE LAND USE DESIGNATION OF 0.60± ACRES OF REAL City ofMiami Page 87 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 329, 333, 335, 337 AND 346 NORTHEAST 58TH TERRACE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, FROM DUPLEX RESIDENTIAL TO GENERAL COMMERCIAL; MAKING FINDINGS; DIRECTING TRANSMITTALS TO AFFECTED AGENCIES; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 07-013811u PAB Reso.PDF 07-01381 Iu School Impact Analysis.pdf 07-01381Iu CC Application Supporting Documents.pdf 07-013811u Legislation (Version 2).pdf 07-013811u & 07-01381zc Exhibit A.pdf 07-01381Iu Analysis.pdf 07-013811u Land Use Map.pdf 07-013811u Arial Map.pdf 07-01381Iu CC SR 06-26-08 Fact Sheet.pdf LOCATION: Approximately 329, 333, 335, 337, and 346 NE 58th Terrace [Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones - District 5] APPLICANT(S): Marcelo Fernandes, Vice -President, on behalf of 64 Development Corp. FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended denial. PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD: Recommended denial to City Commission on December 5, 2007 by a vote of 8-0. See companion File ID 07-01381zc. PURPOSE: This will change the above properties to General Commercial. Motion by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Gonzalez, that this matter be INDEFINITELY DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): And Commissioner and Mr. Chairman, if you allow me, I would also like to defer indefinitely PZ.6 and PZ. 7. Chair Sanchez: All right. PZ.6 and PZ.7, is there a motion to defer indefinitely? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: So moved. Chair Sanchez: There's -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Second. Chair Sanchez: It's moved by the Vice Chair, second by Commissioner Gonzalez. No discussion on the item. PZ.6 -- no, I'm sorry. Is it PZ.6 and 7? Mr. Hernandez: 6 and 7. Chair Sanchez: PZ.6 and 7, to defer indefinitely. All in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay" Motion carries. City ofMiami Page 88 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 PZ.7 07-01381zc ORDINANCE Second Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WITH ATTACHMENT(S) AMENDING PAGE NO. 14, OF THE ZONING ATLAS OF ORDINANCE NO. 11000, AS AMENDED, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, ARTICLE 4, SECTION 401, SCHEDULE OF DISTRICT REGULATIONS, BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION FROM "R-2" TWO-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL TO "C-2" LIBERAL COMMERCIAL FOR THE PROPERTIES LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 329, 333, 335, 337, AND 346 NORTHEAST 58TH TERRACE, MIAMI, FLORIDA; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 07-01381 zc Analysis.PDF 07-01381 zc Zoning Map.pdf 07-01381 zc Aerial Map.pdf 07-01381zcApplication & Supporting Docs.PDF 07-01381zcZB Reso.pdf 07-01381zc CC Legislation (Version 2).pdf 07-013811u & 07-01381zc Exhibit A.pdf 07-01381zc CC SR 06-26-08 Fact Sheet.pdf LOCATION: Approximately 329, 333, 335, 337, and 346 NE 58th Terrace [Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones - District 5] APPLICANT(S): Marcelo Fernandes, Vice -President, on behalf of 64 Development Corp. FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended denial. ZONING BOARD: Recommended denial to the City Commission on January 14, 2008 by a vote of 6-1. See companion File ID 07-013811u. PURPOSE: This will change the above properties to C-2 Liberal Commercial. The applicant will proffer a covenant for these properties. Motion by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Gonzalez, that this matter be INDEFINITELY DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones Note for the Record: For minutes referencing item PZ.7, please refer to item PZ.6. PZ.8 07-00939zt ORDINANCE Second Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 11000, AS AMENDED, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, BY AMENDING ARTICLE 6, SECTION 627, CONCERNING THE SD-27 MIDTOWN MIAMI SPECIAL DISTRICT TO CLARIFY THAT MULTIPLE USES ON THE SAME BUILDING INCLUDE A COMBINATION OF RESIDENTIAL, RETAIL AND OFFICE; EXCLUDING FROM THE DEFINITION OF MIXED USES IN SD-27 THE COMBINATION OF ONLY RESIDENTIAL AND/OR LIVE/WORK USES IN A BUILDING; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City ofMiami Page 89 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Votes: 07-00939zt PAB Reso.PDF 07-00939zt CC SR Legislation (Version 3).pdf 07-00939zt CC SR 06-26-08 Fact Sheet.pdf APPLICANT(S): Pedro G. Hernandez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval without exceeding the approved Regional Activity Center (RAC). PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD: Recommended approval to the City Commission on July 23, 2007 by a vote of 7-0. PURPOSE: This will permit retail and office uses in mixed -use buildings at intersections of the SD-27 "Midtown Miami Special District". Motion by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Gonzalez, that this matter be INDEFINITELY DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote. Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones Chair Sanchez: Any other items? Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): No. Chair Sanchez: No? Mr. Hernandez: No. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Is PZ.8 being continued? Mr. Hernandez: I believe that the attorney -- there's a -- Ms. Dougherty may -- Chair Sanchez: All right. Mr. Hernandez: -- be asking for a deferral. Chair Sanchez: Is P --All right. Any items or anyone asking for a deferral on an item? Lucia Dougherty: I believe Joel Maxwell and I are here both on PZ.8, I believe. Joel Maxwell: That's correct. Ms. Dougherty: And I would actually ask for an indefinite continuance. I don't think you care about that. Mr. Maxwell: We would not object to that, Mr. Chairman. Chair Sanchez: All right. Need a motion, indefinitely -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: So move. Chair Sanchez: -- continuance. There's a motion by the -- City ofMiami Page 90 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Gonzalez: Second. Chair Sanchez: -- Vice Chair, second by Commissioner Gonzalez. No discussion on the item. Anything you want to put on the record, counsel? Mr. Maxwell: Just for the record, I need to identify myself Mr. Chairman. Joel Maxwell, for Akerman Senterfitt, offices at 1 Southeast 3rd Avenue, Miami. Thank you very much. Chair Sanchez: Okay. Hearing no more discussion, all in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: PZ.8 was voted on 5/0 for deferral -- indefinitely deferral. PZ.9 08-00146zt ORDINANCE Second Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER 23 OF THE CITY CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "HISTORIC PRESERVATION," BY ALLOWING THE HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD (HEPB) TO GRANT WAIVERS FOR LOCALLY DESIGNATED HISTORIC RESOURCES; PROVIDING DEFINITIONS AND ESTABLISHING PROVISIONS FOR: (1)"TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS FOR HISTORIC RESOURCES;" A PROCESS WHEREBY OWNERS OF HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT PROPERTIES OR NON-CONTRIBUTING PROPERTIES WITHIN THE DESIGNATED MIAMI MODERN ("MIMO")/BISCAYNE BOULEVARD HISTORIC DISTRICT MAY SELL BASE UNUSED DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS; (2)REQUIRING THE BENEFIT FROM SUCH TRANSFER TO BE USED FOR FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS AND MAINTENANCE OF ORIGINATING HISTORIC PROPERTIES; (3)CREATING AN ELIGIBILITY PROCESS FOR HISTORIC RESOURCES WHEREBY THOSE PROPERTIES NOT YET LOCALLY DESIGNATED MAY QUALIFY FOR THE TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS PROGRAM BEING ESTABLISHED; (4)ESTABLISHING A MONITORING PROCESS TO INSURE COMPLIANCE WITHIN THE TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS PROCESS; (5)CREATING A TRACKING SYSTEM WITHIN THE BUILDING PERMIT PROCESS THAT LIMITS CAPACITIES FOLLOWING THE SALE OF THE DEVELOPABLE TRANSFER RIGHTS SUBJECT TO THE APPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE; (6)ALLOWING WAIVERS FOR LOCALLY DESIGNATED HISTORIC RESOURCES BASED ON CERTAIN STANDARDS; AND (7)ESTABLISHING PROCEDURES FOR NOMINATIONS TO THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES; MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTIONS 23-1 THROUGH 23-9 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI; FURTHER AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 11000, AS AMENDED, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, TO AMEND ARTICLE 7, ENTITLED "HP HISTORIC PRESERVATION OVERLAY DISTRICTS," THAT ADDRESSES "DEVIATIONS" CONCERNING HISTORIC STRUCTURES, AND PROVIDING FOR CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF SAID ARTICLE ARE INCORPORATED IN THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, AND TO ADD RESTAURANTS AS A CONDITIONAL USE WITH APPROPRIATE SAFEGUARDS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City ofMiami Page 91 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 08-00146zt PAB Reso.PDF 08-00146zt CC SR Legislation (Version 3).pdf 08-00146zt CC SR Fact Sheet.pdf APPLICANT(S): Pedro G. Hernandez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval. PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD: Recommended approval to City Commission on March 5, 2008 by a vote of 8-0. PURPOSE: This will allow waivers from certain provisions of the zoning code for locally -designated historic properties, create a mechanism to establish the transfer of development rights for historic properties, provide additional clarification to the process, and add definitions to further instruct and inform. Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gonzalez, that this matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones 13008 Chair Sanchez: PZ.9, yes. All right. PZ.9. All right. That's Chapter 23. Commissioner Gonzalez: It's a second reading. Chair Sanchez: Yeah, second reading. All right. Ma'am, you're recognized -- Ellen Uguccioni (Preservation Officer, Planning Department): Good afternoon -- Chair Sanchez: -- for the record. Ms. Uguccioni: Yes, sir. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the Commission. My name is Ellen Uguccioni, preservation officer. This is a second reading on Chapter 23. Chapter 23 of the City Code is that part of the Code that governs everything that happens with historic preservation in the City. We have several new initiatives in this ordinance; one which introduces waivers that the Historic Preservation Board would be able to grant to the zoning -- to certain Zoning Code provisions, having to do with minimum lot size, setbacks, building footprint, green space; up to 20 percent of what the Code requirement is, they could waive. Off-street parking. There is a provision in this ordinance which suggests that the Historic Board could approve up to 100 percent of the Zoning Code requirement in the case where there's an adaptive use of an obsolescent building. At first reading, Commissioner Sarnoff asked us to investigate transfer of development rights, and there is now the language that is essentially enabling language, which sets up a TDR (Transfer of Development Rights) program. It does not specify a receiving area. It suggests that there are receiving areas within the City ofMiami, but they would be subsequently identified, and a process for which people would apply for those TDRs. And the third thing that it does, basically, is to change Article 7 of the Zoning Code so that what was formally in the historic preservation overlay, Article 7 the Zoning Code, the deviations become waivers, which we've included now in Chapter 23, but we still maintain the conditional uses which are in Article 7, and we have added a conditional use to allow restaurants. And I'd like to explain that in conditional uses, it would allow a use that is not granted by the underlying zoning, but it has to be granted in order for a preservation purpose to be -- Chair Sanchez: That -- conditional use for restaurants, right? City ofMiami Page 92 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Uguccioni: Yes, sir. And we had lodges and offices in there before, but we added restaurants. I want to make clear, though, that there is a process for that that is similar to rezoning in that it would go to the Historic Board, then to the Planning Advisory Board, and then for two readings before the City Commission. So that's not an automatic thing by any means. It is one where we would recommend it to you because there is reason and because there are safeguards, particularly, for near a residential neighborhood and there's a commercial use, i.e. a restaurant proposed. And that's basically what's in the ordinance, and I'll entertain any questions you have. Chair Sanchez: Does it have any language pertaining to heights? Ms. Uguccioni: No, sir, it does not. Chair Sanchez: Okay. All right. Commissioner Sarnoff. Commissioner Sarnoff Yeah. Mr. Chair, we've received some concerns from some folks on Brickell. And what their concerns -- I think I can alleviate it at the section where it discusses restaurants by putting the following language in -- and I'll tell you when it starts to get inserted. For the restaurants, the property shall be adjacent to a major boulevard -- and here's the additional language -- and a parking plan shall be required to be approved by the City Commission prior to the issuance of the approval for use. I think that provides a safeguard of restaurants and unintended consequences or where they should not belong, and I think this would alleviate any concerns that the folks on Brickell may have. Chair Sanchez: All right. Anything else you want to add to Chapter 23? Commissioner Sarnoff No, sir. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I just -- I'm sorry. Chair Sanchez: All right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones, you're recognized for the record. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Yes. I just wanted -- I know that one of -- in my briefing yesterday, Madam City Attorney -- also, I guess this whole issue of the restaurants came up as one of her concerns. I'm assuming that's why it was brought up in the overall provision. But Maria, can you at least -- I know that this came from -- was it several e-mails (electronic) that came from local residents about the issue of the restaurants and buildings and these cars -- perhaps, parking becoming an issue? Was that the reason why this came up? Maria J. Chiaro (Deputy City Attorney): Yes. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Or was this in reference to someone that was actually having this issue as a problem? Ms. Chiaro: My understanding is that the language, as initially drafted, didn't have profound protections -- because there are protections in it -- but profound protections, when a historic property is to be used as a restaurant, if that property is in a residential district. So with the language as drafted and then with the added language that Commissioner Sarnoff proposed, there -- the issue of parking in residential neighborhoods when a historic property is used as a restaurant will be alleviated -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Ms. Chiaro: -- and there will be profound protections there. City ofMiami Page 93 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. All right. That was my only question. I know that we had a long discussion on that yesterday. Chair Sanchez: All right. Okay. That takes care of that. I could live with that language. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Did we vote? Chair Sanchez: I had one that -- but could live with that one. Okay. Any further discussion on PZ.9, which is on second reading, as amended? Madam Clerk, as amended. All right. Anyone from the public wishing to address this item on second reading? Mr. Elvis Cruz, always a pleasure to see you. Elvis Cruz: Thank you, Commissioner, likewise. Elvis Cruz -- Chair Sanchez: Two minutes. Mr. Cruz: No problem -- 631 Northeast 57th Street. The copy that have has a page, page 19 of 33, if the City Attorney could go to that, specifically Section 23-7. There's a number of what hope are simply typos in that section. I'm going to -- with permission, City Attorney, I'll approach you and show you the typos. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Elvis, you're going to -- who do you want him to give it to, Madam City Attorney? Mr. Cruz: Well, I just want to know if these have been cleaned up. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: She just -- he wants to just see if the verbiage has been cleaned up. Ms. Chiaro: That's fine. I'll be happy to discuss -- Mr. Cruz: Okay. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Ms. Chiaro: -- if there are typographical errors. Chair Sanchez: What did he give to you? Ms. Chiaro: He didn't give me anything yet. Chair Sanchez: Oh. Ms. Chiaro: We'll take them, and if there are typographical -- Chair Sanchez: Elvis, what's -- Ms. Chiaro: -- errors, they will be corrected. Chair Sanchez: -- the issue? Mr. Cruz: That's just -- there's a lot of typo errors on this one page. It's just a minor clean-up thing, butt just wanted to make sure that they were aware of it. But aside from that -- Chair Sanchez: And does that surprise you? City ofMiami Page 94 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Mr. Cruz: Point well taken. Okay. The other item I wanted to mention, page 14 of 33 -- this is - - what section is this? Well, it's just on page 14 of 33. There's language in here that appears to discourage a new development from looking historically accurate. Nothing in these standards shall be consfrued to encourage a false sense of historical appearance. Replications or reconstructions shall be permitted only as specifically allowed by the HEP (Historic and Environmental Preservation) Board. I would think you should encourage any new development to be in the MiMo (Miami Modern) style and to look as MiMo as possible. This is an area that for some reason is debated in historic preservation circles. This has never made sense to me. Example, if somebody wanted to build a house in Morningside, which you're all familiar with, and make it in the 1920's architectural style so that the casual observer would not be able to separate it fi^om the preexisting old houses, that would be frowned upon. That would not be allowed. Makes no sense at all. I think the opposite. It should be encouraged to fit in with the style. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Mr. Cruz: Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Point well taken. All right. Ma'am, anything else you'd like to add before we vote on this ordinance? Ms. Uguccioni: Just that would like to respond very quickly to what Mr. Cruz had said and that is that we are not encouraging replications because it really opens the floodgates or could possibly to demolition of structures and kind of a, what we consider to be Disneyland kind of replications. Original fabric is critical, I think, to historic buildings and that (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of age that comes with it. So it is one of the Secretary of the Interior standards, which is one of the standards we use as a measuring stick, if you will, for certificates of appropriateness. So it is, indeed, codified, if you will, in this, and we believe it to be a responsible way to deal with new construction. We ask for compatibility with the MiMo architecture, so indeed, it's a takeoff if you will, of the design, but not something that looks like it would have been built in the 1950's. We think that is not totally honest. Thank you. Commissioner Sarnoff And you're saying that's how the Secretary of Interior deals with it? Ms. Uguccioni: Yes, sir. He says -- it clearly says nothing should be consfrued as having built at the time -- been built at the time. Chair Sanchez: All right. Judy. Judith Sandoval: Judy Sandoval, 2536 Southwest 25th Terrace. I simply wanted to mention, concerning this last item, that in other countries, which have a lot of historic buildings and fry to provide when newer buildings go up alongside them or in the vicinity, that they can have something of the style of the historic buildings, but that they are distinguished in some way, by a plaque or certain features of the decoration, which are consistent throughout the City and distinguish them from the genuine historic buildings. And the trouble is that in a historic district, sometimes buildings are built which don't go along with them whatsoever, or if there's one historic building and then next door to it goes something terribly modern or totally modern, which really clashes. If it's encouraged with some kind of workable system, it would, overall, look better, as long as you know what's real and what's -- or what's original and what isn't. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Anyone else? The public hearing is closed; coming back to the Commission. All right. Madam Attorney, read the ordinance into the record -- Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): I'm sorry, Chair. City ofMiami Page 95 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: -- followed by a roll call. Huh? Ms. Thompson: I didn't get a mover or a seconder yet. Chair Sanchez: On the historic preservation? Ms. Thompson: That's -- Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Marc Sarnoff -- Commissioner Sarnoff So moved. Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Sarnoff makes the motion. Commissioner Gonzalez: Second. Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Gonzalez seconds it. No discussion. Read the ordinance into record. We're on PZ.9. It's an ordinance on second reading, followed by a roll call. Ms. Chiaro: Okay. And take a rest. This is a very long title. The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro. Ms. Chiaro: I'm finished. Commissioner Gonzalez: Roll call. Chair Sanchez: Okay. Are you -- you want some water? Ms. Chiaro: There's not any more, although we did -- Mr. Cruz had a different version, so those typographical errors were in a previous version; the one in your package does not have those typographical errors. Chair Sanchez: All right. Roll call. Ms. Thompson: This is a roll call on your modified second reading ordinance. A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above. Ms. Thompson: The ordinance has been adopted on second reading, 5/0. PZ.10 08-00527Iu ORDINANCE First Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 10544, AS AMENDED, THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP OF THE MIAMI COMPREHENSIVE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, PURSUANT TO SMALL SCALE AMENDMENT PROCEDURES, SUBJECT TO §163.3187, FLORIDA STATUTES, BY CHANGING THE LAND USE DESIGNATION OF THE ACREAGE DESCRIBED HEREIN OF REAL PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 2300 NORTHWEST 14TH STREET (WEST PORTION, FOLIO #01-3134-076-0020), MIAMI, FLORIDA, FROM "MEDIUM DENSITY MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL" TO "RESTRICTED PARKS AND RECREATION"; MAKING FINDINGS; DIRECTING TRANSMITTALS TO AFFECTED AGENCIES; CONTAINING A City ofMiami Page 96 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 08-005271u Analysis.pdf 08-005271u Land Use Map.pdf 08-005271u & 08-00527zc Aerial Map.pdf 08-005271u PAB Reso.pdf 08-005271u Miami River Commission Letter.pdf 08-005271u CC Legislation (Version 2).pdf 08-005271u Exhibit A.pdf 08-005271u CC SR Fact Sheet.pdf LOCATION: Approximately 2300 NW 14th Street (West Portion, Folio #01-3134-076-0020) [Commissioner Angel Gonzalez - District 1] APPLICANT(S): Pedro G. Hernandez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval. MIAMI RIVER COMMISSION: On June 2, 2008, unanimously found the proposal to be consistent with the Miami River Corridor Urban Infll Plan's recommendations. PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD: Recommended approval to the City Commission on May 21, 2008 by a vote of 8-0. See companion File ID 08-00527zc and related File IDs 08-005291u and 08-00529zc. PURPOSE: This will change the west portion of the above property to Restricted Parks and Recreation. NOTE(S): File previously known as 08-005281u. Motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, seconded by Commissioner Regalado, that this matter be PASSED ON FIRST READING PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones Chair Sanchez: All right. Moving along, PZ.10. PZ.10 is an ordinance on first reading. Yes, we need to put something on the record. Roberto Lavernia (Chief of Land Development, Planning Department): 10 and 11 are companion items -- Chair Sanchez: Okay. Mr. Lavernia: -- and 12 and 13 are companion items, and I would like to present everything at the same time. Chair Sanchez: All right. This is basically clean-up language? Mr. Lavernia: Well, no. This is the property that used to belong to the Police Benevolent Association. Chair Sanchez: Why --? Yes, yes. Sorry. Mr. Lavernia: That was split in the west part and the east part. The west part was acquired by City ofMiami Page 97 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 the City ofMiami, so we are requesting the change from medium density residential to park and recreation. Chair Sanchez: I think the questions are all going to come on PZ.13, correct? The rest shouldn't be an issue. Commissioner Gonzalez: Not really. Mr. Lavernia: I don't think that it should be an issue. Chair Sanchez: All right, let's go. You want to move them all together? Commissioner Gonzalez: I'll move PZ.10. Chair Sanchez: Okay. Commissioner Regalado: Second. Chair Sanchez: PZ.10, there's a motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, second by Commissioner Regalado. It's an ordinance on first reading. You just want to put something on the record, sir? Mr. Lavernia: It's the land use change companion to the zoning change. The Planning Department is recommended for approval and the Planning Advisory Board recommended for approval too. Chair Sanchez: Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a public hearing. Anyone from the public wishing to address this item, please step forward and be recognized. Seeing no one, hearing no one, the public hearing is closed; coming back to the Commission. There is no further discussion. There's a motion and a second. We are on PZ.10. PZ.10 is an ordinance on first reading. Read the ordinance into the record, followed by a roll call. The ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro. Chair Sanchez: Roll call. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): Roll call. A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above. Ms. Thompson: The ordinance has been passed on first reading, 5/0. Chair Sanchez: Another victory for Parks. Commissioner Gonzalez: Another park. Chair Sanchez: Yep. PZ.11 08-00527zc ORDINANCE AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WITH ATTACHMENT(S) AMENDING PAGE NO. 25, OF THE ZONING ATLAS OF ORDINANCE NO. 11000, AS AMENDED, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, ARTICLE 4, SECTION 401, SCHEDULE OF DISTRICT REGULATIONS, BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION FROM R-3 MULTIFAMILY MEDIUM -DENSITY RESIDENTIAL TO PR PARKS AND RECREATION, FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 2300 First Reading City ofMiami Page 98 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 NORTHWEST 14TH STREET (WEST PORTION, FOLIO #01-3134-076-0020), MIAMI, FLORIDA; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 08-00527zc Analysis.pdf 08-00527zc CC Zoning Map.pdf 08-005271u & 08-00527zc Aerial Map.pdf 08-00527zc PAB Reso.pdf 08-00527zc Miami River Commission Letter.pdf 08-00527zc CC Legislation (Version 2).pdf 08-00527zc Exhibit A.pdf 08-00527zc CC SR Fact Sheet.pdf LOCATION: Approximately 2300 NW 14th Street (West Portion, Folio #01-3134-076-0020) [Commissioner Angel Gonzalez - District 1] APPLICANT(S): Pedro G. Hernandez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval. MIAMI RIVER COMMISSION: On June 2, 2008, unanimously found the proposal to be consistent with the Miami River Corridor Urban Infill Plan's recommendations. PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD: Recommended approval to City Commission on May 21, 2008 by a vote of 8-0. See companion File ID 08-005271u and related File IDs 08-005291u and 08-00529zc. PURPOSE: This will change the west portion of the above property to PR Parks and Recreation. Motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, seconded by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, that this matter be PASSED ON FIRST READING PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones Chair Sanchez: PZ.11. Commissioner Gonzalez: In my district. Roberto Lavernia (Chief of Land Development, Planning Department): It's the zoning change for the same property. Chair Sanchez: Yes. Mr. Lavernia: The Planning Department is recommending approval and the Zoning Board recommend approval, 8/0. Chair Sanchez: All right. This is the PBA (Police Benevolent Association) land the City bought to extend Fern Land [sic] Park across the fork of the river; am I correct? Mr. Lavernia: Yes, sir. Chair Sanchez: All right. There's a motion by the district Commissioner, Commissioner Gonzalez, second -- City ofMiami Page 99 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sanchez: -- by the Vice Chair. It is an ordinance on first reading. Anyone from the public wishing to address this item, please step forward and be recognized. Seeing no one, the public hearing is closed, coming back to the Commission. No further discussion on the Commission. Read the ordinance into the record. The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro. Chair Sanchez: All right, roll call. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): Roll call. A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above. Ms. Thompson: The ordinance has been passed on first reading, 5/0. PZ.12 08-00529Iu ORDINANCE First Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 10544, AS AMENDED, THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP OF THE MIAMI COMPREHENSIVE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, PURSUANT TO SMALL SCALE AMENDMENT PROCEDURES, SUBJECT TO §163.3187, FLORIDA STATUTES, BY CHANGING THE LAND USE DESIGNATION OF THE ACREAGE DESCRIBED HEREIN OF REAL PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 2300 NORTHWEST 14TH STREET, LESS THE NORTH 140 FEET (EAST PORTION, FOLIO #01-3134-076-0010), MIAMI, FLORIDA, FROM "MEDIUM DENSITY MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL" TO "GENERAL COMMERCIAL"; MAKING FINDINGS; DIRECTING TRANSMITTALS TO AFFECTED AGENCIES; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 08-005291u Land Use Map.pdf 08-005291u Analysis.pdf 08-005291u & 08-00529zc Aerial Map.pdf 08-005291u PAB Reso.pdf 08-005291u School Board Impact Analysis.PDF 08-005291u Miami River Commission Letter.pdf 08-005291u CC Legislation (Version 2).pdf 08-005291u Exhibit A.pdf 08-005291u CC SR Fact Sheet.pdf LOCATION: Approximately 2300 NW 14th Street, Less the North 140 Feet (East Portion, Folio #01-3134-076-0010) [Commissioner Angel Gonzalez - District 1] APPLICANT(S): Pedro G. Hernandez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami for the Miami Police Benevolent Association, Inc. FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval. MIAMI RIVER COMMISSION: On June 2, 2008, unanimously found the proposal to be consistent with the Miami River Corridor Urban Infll Plan's City ofMiami Page 100 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 recommendations. PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD: Recommended approval to City Commission on May 21, 2008 by a vote of 8-0. See companion File ID 08-00529zc and related File IDs 08-005271u and 08-00527zc. PURPOSE: This will change the east portion of the above property to General Commercial. NOTE(S): File previously known as 08-005301u. Motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, seconded by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, that this matter be PASSED ON FIRST READING PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones Chair Sanchez: PZ.12. PZ.12 is also an ordinance on first reading, same thing. All right, need a motion. Motion is made by Commissioner Gonzalez -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Move it. Chair Sanchez: -- second -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Move it. Chair Sanchez: -- by the Chair [sic]. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): No. Chair Sanchez: All right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Second by the Chair? Chair Sanchez: It's a park thing. You don't want to second it? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Yeah, I'm seconding it -- Chair Sanchez: Okay. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- by the Vice Chair. Chair Sanchez: I'm sorry. Commissioner Gonzalez: There's some -- Chair Sanchez: Vice Chair. Commissioner Gonzalez: -- representative of the PBA (Police Benevolent Association) here. Is the -- have the P -- have you met with the PBA people? Hello? Has anybody met with the PBA? Are you okay with the changes we're making? Lucia Dougherty: Yes, we are. Mr. Green: Yes. Commissioner Gonzalez: Okay. Fine with you, everything, right? City ofMiami Page 101 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Gerald Green: Yes, sir. Commissioner Gonzalez: All right. Go ahead. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): I'm sorry. We don't have that on the record, so -- Commissioner Gonzalez: All right. Will you please come up to the podium so --? Ms. Thompson: Thank you. Chair Sanchez: And just for point of clarification, the Vice Chair, Spence -Jones, second the motion. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Right. Commissioner Gonzalez: Yeah. And my question -- could you identify yourself for the record. Mr. Green: I'm Gerald Green, president, Miami Police Benevolent Association, 2300 Northwest 14th Street. Commissioner Gonzalez: All right. My concern was that -- if the City had met with you and if you were okay with the changes that we're -- been proposed here today? Mr. Green: Yes, sir. Commissioner Gonzalez: Thank you, sir. All right, so I made the motion and now we have a second. Chair Sanchez: Yeah, there's a motion and a second. Public hearing is open. Anyone from the public wishing to address this item, please step forward and be recognized. Seeing no one, the public hearing is closed, coming back to the Commission. It's an ordinance on first reading. Read the ordinance into the record, followed by a roll call. The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro. Chair Sanchez: All right, roll call. Ms. Thompson: Roll call. A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above. Ms. Thompson: The ordinance has been passed on first reading, 5/0. PZ.13 08-00529zc ORDINANCE First Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WITH ATTACHMENT(S) AMENDING PAGE NO. 25, OF THE ZONING ATLAS OF ORDINANCE NO. 11000, AS AMENDED, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, ARTICLE 4, SECTION 401, SCHEDULE OF DISTRICT REGULATIONS, BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION FROM R-3 MULTIFAMILY MEDIUM -DENSITY RESIDENTIAL TO C-2 LIBERAL COMMERCIAL, FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 2300 NORTHWEST 14TH STREET, LESS THE NORTH 140 FEET, (EAST PORTION, FOLIO #01-3134-076-0010), MIAMI, FLORIDA; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR City ofMiami Page 102 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 08-00529zc Analysis.pdf 08-00529zc Zoning Map.pdf 08-005291u & 08-00529zc Aerial Map.pdf 08-00529zc PAB Reso.pdf 08-00529zc Miami River Commission Letter.pdf 08-00529zc CC Legislation (Version 2).pdf 08-00529zc Exhibit A.pdf 08-00529zc CC SR Fact Sheet.pdf LOCATION: Approximately 2300 NW 14th Street, Less the North 140 Feet (East Portion, Folio #01-3134-076-0010) [Commissioner Angel Gonzalez - District 1] APPLICANT(S): Pedro G. Hernandez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami for the Miami Police Benevolent Association, Inc. FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval. MIAMI RIVER COMMISSION: On June 2, 2008, unanimously found the proposal to be consistent with the Miami River Corridor Urban Infll Plan's recommendations. PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD: Recommended approval to City Commission on May 21, 2008 by a vote of 8-0. See companion File ID 08-005291u and related File IDs 08-005271u and 08-00527zc. PURPOSE: This will change the east portion of the above property to C-2 Liberal Commercial. Motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, seconded by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, that this matter be PASSED ON FIRST READING PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones Chair Sanchez: All right. PZ.13 is an ordinance on first reading, and this is where the land change comes in. Commissioner Gonzalez: I'll move PZ.13. Chair Sanchez: All right. There's a motion by the Vice -- I'm sorry -- by Commissioner Gonzalez -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sanchez: -- second by the Vice Chair. Before we open it up for discussion, anyone from the public wishing to address this item? Seeing no one, the public hearing is closed; coming back to the Commission. Discussion on the item. I just had a -- we wanted to get something answered. I think this is going to be great. The property goes to C-2, which is liberal commercial. Do we have any control of what's going to be built there? I mean, have they --? Lucia Dougherty: Well, already, this is C-2 right here. Chair Sanchez: Right. City ofMiami Page 103 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Dougherty: And what we're doing is we're just extending the C-2 down here, down this line. Now, this is all R-4 to the west, which is a -- actually, kind of a more intense district in terms of the height because you can go up to 25 stories. As you know, C-2 allows only ten stories, but it also is the district that we are allowed to actually put our Police Benevolent Association -- Chair Sanchez: But under -- Ms. Dougherty: -- clubhouse. Chair Sanchez: -- C-2, it could go as high as 120 feet, correct? Ms. Dougherty: Yes, but that's not something we intend to do. In fact -- Chair Sanchez: Intend to do? Ms. Dougherty: No, no. We are going to take down the existing building, which is in a R-3 currently and build a new clubhouse for the facility. There's also going to be a shelter, by the way, for the community during hurricane situations. Roberto Lavernia (Chief of Land Development, Planning Department): Commissioner Sanchez - Chair Sanchez: Yes. Mr. Lavernia: -- answering your question, I think -- and I will request -- Chair Sanchez: I just -- listen. And the question is when we do this, when we change it to a C-2, I mean, I think the Commission needs to know what's going to be built there because we don't want any surprises in the future. Mr. Lavernia: This property is between the water and the first right-of-way, so it will need a Class II Special Permit, whatever they are going to build in there; so the Planning Department will be reviewing the project. Ms. Dougherty: That's correct. Chair Sanchez: All right. Okay. Any further questions or --? None? It's an ordinance on first reading. It'll come back to us on second reading. Read the ordinance into the record, followed by a roll call. The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro. Chair Sanchez: Roll call. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): Roll call. A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above. Ms. Thompson: The ordinance has been passed on first reading, 5/0. Chair Sanchez: Congratulations to all, the PBA (Police Benevolent Association) and the City. Gerald Green: Thank you very much. We've been on that piece of property since 1941. It was purchased by a Miami police officer, who was killed in the line of duty while he was trying to build a pistol range in the sticks. And we're hoping now, since the land is going to be parkland City ofMiami Page 104 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 and we can come up with a new reinvention of ourself [sic] working with children -- we work with the Police Explorers. We're going to work with PAL (Police Athletic League) -- that this is going to be something we can all be proud of and we can come back here and show you our new plans. Chair Sanchez: And that place has a lot of fond memories for me because when we first got here from Cuba, we used to go out there; used to have the carousel -- Commissioner Gonzalez: The little frain. Chair Sanchez: -- the little roller coaster -- Mr. Green: Right. Chair Sanchez: -- and it was something that we did just about every weekend because we were broke. Commissioner Gonzalez: And the little frain. Mr. Green: Well, I -- right. I had my fifth birthday party there 55 years ago and I had my 60th party there in January -- Chair Sanchez: Wow. Mr. Green: -- so maybe we can go -- Chair Sanchez: God bless you. Mr. Green: Unbelievable. Chair Sanchez: All right. Mr. Green: Thank you very much. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. PZ.14 08-00395zc ORDINANCE First Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WITH ATTACHMENT(S) AMENDING PAGE NO. 34, OF THE ZONING ATLAS OF ORDINANCE NO. 11000, AS AMENDED, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, ARTICLE 4, SECTION 401, SCHEDULE OF DISTRICT REGULATIONS, BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION FROM PR "PARKS AND RECREATION" TO C-1 "RESTRICTED COMMERCIAL", FOR THE PROPERTIES LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 1702 AND 1714 WEST FLAGLER STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 08-00395zc Analysis.pdf 08-00395zc Zoning Map.pdf 08-00395zc Aerial Map.pdf 08-00395zc PAB Resos.pdf 08-00395zc CC Legislation (Version 2).pdf 08-00395zc Exhibit A.pdf 08-00395zc CC SR Fact Sheet.pdf City ofMiami Page 105 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 LOCATION: Approximately 1702 and 1714 W Flagler Street [Commissioner Joe Sanchez - District 3] APPLICANT(S): Pedro Hernandez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval. PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD: Recommended approval to City Commission on May 21, 2008 by a vote of 6-2. Also recommended to the City Commission that the existing park known as the "Plaza de la Comunidad", located in the Florida Department of Transportation right of way from West Flagler Street at the North of lots 1, 2, 3 and 4, remain designated PR "Parks and Recreation," by a vote of 8-0. PURPOSE: This will change the above properties to C-1 Restricted Commercial. Motion by Commissioner Gonzalez, seconded by Commissioner Regalado, that this matter be PASSED ON FIRST READING PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones Chair Sanchez: Okay. PZ.14. This is the clean-up language. Roberto Lavernia (Chief of Land Development, Planning Department): This is -- Chair Sanchez: You need to explain this one very carefully. Mr. Lavernia: -- the scrivener -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Move PZ.14. Chair Sanchez: There's a motion. Is there a second? Commissioner Sarnoff Second. Chair Sanchez: But you need to explain it. Mr. Lavernia: Yes. There was a scrivener's error and a discrepancy between the future land use map of the Comprehensive Plan designation and the Zoning atlas designation. On the Comp Plan designation is restricted commercial. However, at the Zoning atlas, the designation was PR (Parks and Recreation). What is happening in here is that the right-of-way of FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation), which is left -over property, there's an existing park there named Plaza de la Comunidad, and then the properties that are behind that are still commercial and in use and has been in commercial use for a very long time. But those property owners came to the Zoning Department to complain that they cannot have certificate of use when they changed the use because the designation is PR, so we are correcting a problem that was created at the Zoning Board -- Zoning atlas implementation, and we're changing this from PR to commercial in order for those business to continue having a business. Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Regalado, did you second it or was it Commissioner Sarnoff? City ofMiami Page 106 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Regalado: I second it. Chair Sanchez: Okay, it's been second by Commissioner Regalado. Motion has been made by Commissioner Gonzalez, second by Commissioner Regalado. Okay, it's an ordinance on first reading. Anyone from the public wishing to address this item, please step forward and be recognized. Seeing no one, the public hearing is closed, coming back to the Commission. Read the ordinance into the record and followed by a roll call. The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro. Chair Sanchez: All right. Roll call. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): Roll call. A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above. Ms. Thompson: The ordinance has been passed on first reading, 5/0. PZ.15 08-00500zt ORDINANCE AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WITH ATTACHMENT(S) AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, BY AMENDING CHAPTER 4, ENTITLED "ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES," ARTICLE I, ENTITLED "IN GENERAL," MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTION 4-2, ENTITLED "DEFINITIONS," AND SECTION 4-11, ENTITLED "EXCEPTIONS TO DISTANCE REQUIREMENTS," TO CREATE THE WYNWOOD ARTS DISTRICT, ALLOWING DISTANCE EXEMPTIONS AND ALTERNATE PARKING STANDARDS FOR A LIMITED NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS SERVING ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 08-00500zt Zoning Map.pdf 08-00500zt Aerial Map.pdf 08-00500zt Attachment A - NEW.PDF 08-00500zt Attachment B - NEW.pdf 08-00500zt CC Legislation (Verison 4).pdf 08-00500zt SR Fact Sheet.pdf First Reading APPLICANT(S): Pedro G. Hernandez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami FINDING: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval. PURPOSE: This will create the Wynwood Arts District and allow a cap of 15 liquor licenses within the boundaries. Motion by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Sarnoff, that this matter be PASSED ON FIRST READING WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Samoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones Chair Sanchez: All right, PZ.15. PZ.15 is an ordinance on first reading. City ofMiami Page 107 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Mr. Chairman. Chair Sanchez: You're recognized for the record. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: This is an item -- well, first of all, the Adminisfration -- well, I'm going to let you put your comments on the record first, Adminisfration. Roberto Lavernia (Chief of Land Development, Planning Department): This is the creation of the Wynwood Art Districtwith exception to distance requirement, allowing distance exemption and alternate parking standards for a limited number of establishments serving alcoholic beverage for an area described -- legally described and also geographically described in the map that you have in your package, and the Planning Department is recommending approval of this. Chair Sanchez: All right. You're recognized for the record. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. I just want to make myself really clear for -- to the Adminisfration. While I am approving, you know, and supporting this on the first reading, so I am moving it, I really expect for the Planning Department, the Zoning Department, the City departments to really make sure that the community is very much involved in what's happening in that Wynwood area. Myself and Commissioner Sarnoff represent a lot of the Wynwood residents, and there is a serious fear, there's a serious feeling of discomfort of them being pushed out further, based upon the issue surrounding, of course, we know Midtown, and that's a constant thing. I can at least say on my side of the street, it is. So I really want to make sure those that are business owners within that area do whatever it takes to make sure the local organizations, the local associations, and the local groups are spoken to in those particular communities. It's exfremely important. And I think that when this item comes back to us, we should have those residents, the folks that are -- that live in that area, have businesses in that area here out supporting this particular issue. I think that it's exfremely important. I also think that we need to -- I don't know how we came up with the map -- I think that we also need to -- the staff needs to look at revisiting the map because a certain portion of the community, the Wynwood residents that have been there for God knows how long are not even included, you know, in this new district plan; so I think it's important that there are some revisions to the overall map. And also, I -- you know, this is something that we've been going back and forth, and every time that I've had a discussion regarding these special disfrict or special area plans, or whatever we want to call them today, it's always been told to me that we're not doing these kind of special districts anymore because ofMiami 21, and I'm -- so since we are doing them now today, I'm asking that I -- for the -- like the third time I've asked for Overtown, the Overtown Folklife District, which I've been working on for three years, I would definitely want the staff to come back to also bring me an update as to where we are with the Overtown Folklife District plan, which we've been working on with neighborhood residents for almost three years. So I just want to make sure we're not playing games. With one group things move faster than the other and another group it doesn't, so that's -- I just want it to be clearly understood that in order for you to have my support, which is the disfrict Commissioner that represents the most of that particular area, one, the residents has to be involved, the Wynwood residents has to be involved and supporting it; two, I think the area map has to be revised to include other areas, and three, I -- one of the other questions I asked, and I never got an answer on, is the number of liquor licenses already within that area. Do we have that number as of yet? Maria J Chiaro (Deputy City Attorney): That inquiry was made; it could not be provided by today, so -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Do you know -- Ms. Chiaro: -- staff can -- City ofMiami Page 108 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- at all, Toledo, how many liquor licenses is already in the area? Orlando Toledo (Senior Director, City Manager's Office): We don't have that today, but will have that prior to second reading, and for sure, make sure that meet with you to let you know exactly what's out there. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay, 'cause I think that -- my one concern was I don't want us to pull out -- a number out of the air that we want 15 liquor licenses there when we may have had zero to start with first, so I think it's really important to know what the starting number is to know how much we're going to increase it by. It's almost as if we kind of already know what we want to put there, so that's why we chose the number 15. So I would like to make sure that before it comes back to us, we know what it is, how many's already there, and then we'll decide what that overall number is. But on that, I definitely would like to move that we support the item on the first reading with those corrections that are made, and I'm hoping that the next time it comes in front of us, I see people from the Wynwood community here. Chair Sanchez: All right. There's a motion. We need a second. Commissioner Sarnoff Second. Commissioner Gonzalez: Second. Chair Sanchez: Second. Anyone wants to be recognized on this before we open it up to the public? Commissioner Sarnoff I just -- just so you know that the -- Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Sarnoff, for the record. Commissioner Sarnoff Sorry. Chair Sanchez: You're recognized. Commissioner Sarnoff I apologize, Mr. Chair. Many of the people who are bringing this before this Board have committed to helping the establishment of the new Dorothy Quintana Center, which has been closed, as you know, for the better part of four or five years, and part of their contribution is going to be helping that center come along, so you know, we are looking at the community. I can't think of a better place for them to invest than the community center itself something that has, unfortunately, sat dormant for, you know, too long a period of time. So you know, I want you to know that the folks who are bringing this are not done and will continue to add enhancements to the community center and they've committed to doing that. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Chair Sanchez: All right. Anyone else? On the issue, you know, there is no greater importance for us than to promote the arts in our City. We have a wonderful opportunity to take this area of Wynwood and turn it into something we could all be very proud of. You know, if you travel the United States and you go to some of these cities and you start seeing some of these cultural districts, they are incredible. People go to these areas for entertainment, and not only for entertainment, but they go there to support the local artists and the artist -- and the art in itself which is hard at times for a struggling artist. You don't have to go too far, all right. The success of Cultural Friday, which is tomorrow, if I'm not mistaken, was created on this same aspect of cultural districts, okay. Within three blocks -- it's taken seven years -- but there are more than about 16 art galleries of proud artists that sell their art there, restaurants; and really, it has brought economic vitality to an area that, for many, many years before we even started Viernes City ofMiami Page 109 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Culturales was economically flat line, and that's just three to four blocks. Can you imagine what you can do with what you have there already? You would be able to create an area where people -- it would just energize the entire area; bring in restaurants, cafes, businesses. People from Wynwood that would be able to walk into these entertainments and these art galleries, but I do agree with the Commissioner on some issues. I think that the owners and the residents have to embrace it. They have to feel a part of it. And I think that we could accomplish a lot of great things. And now in the situation that we're in with the economy is that I think that we need to provide jobs and this area has the potential to provide a lot of jobs for our residents. So looking at it, I also agree with her on second reading. I am looking at adding maybe an adjacent property that I think would enhance to the area because it's a building that already has like eight or nine events a year that bring in a lot of people, and I think it would be able to enhance to that disfrict. So I think this is a win -win situation for the arts, a win -win situation for Wynwood and the entire City ofMiami. So having said that, I will support this on first and second reading. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Chair Sanchez: Yes. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Mr. Chairman, I want to be very clear for those that, you know, are watching this at home, that are here in the audience -- and those that truly know me know that there's never a question about whether or not Spence -Jones supports arts. I do that one hundred percent. Chair Sanchez: And I never -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Chair Sanchez: -- questioned that. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Right. The issue for me, you know, and sitting here for three years -- not just in Wynwood, but Wynwood, Overtown, Little Haiti, and all of these areas where major development is happening, a lot of times these developments are happening in neighborhoods that are not considering the people that live there now. I think that it's extremely important, just as Wynwood is shrinking every single day, and the Puerto Ricans, the Dominicans, Nicaraguans, all of these people are in my district that live in that particular area are not being considered when these major plans are being proposed. And what I'm saying -- and this is just only one portion of the plan, okay, so there's other portions of this overall plan; and I'm saying that in order for Spence -Jones to support anything from this point on, I need to see that the residents are in the audience supporting the project. I support arts all day long, but ifI have a factory or a warehouse in that same existing area that now gives me a hundred jobs or gives me fifty jobs, even though they're factory jobs or whatever the case may be, those are jobs that those working-class families go to every single day. Quite frankly, that might be the only way that they're able to take care of their families. IfI had a choice between that and Wynwood -- I'm going to be honest with you -- and not having that now and having less people working, you know, and making a decision based upon that, guess what? I'm going to vote for the other thing every day, all day long. So it's not about whether or not I don't support Dorothy Quintana. I support centers and all of that, but it's not about just giving people piecemeals [sic], giving them a community center, and they should be okay with that. No. They want economic development. They want participation. They want to be involved in what's happening in their particular area, and I, as the district Commissioner, is [sic] going -- I'm going to continue to fight to make sure that that happens. So I just want to be very clear, in my particular district, which the Wynwood arts disfrict in which we share, myself and Commissioner Sarnoff he -- him sharing a certain portion of it;; me sharing a larger portion of that disfrict in this particular plan, I am advising that the folks that are putting this overall plan together, that they must talk to the residents and they must have them involved in this overall plan. I love the arts. I support them 100 percent, City ofMiami Page 110 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 butt support people and them living every single day, and that's it. Chair Sanchez: All right. There's a motion and there's been a second for the record. Madam Clerk. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): Yes. First off Chair, can I please know who second it because I heard both -- okay, so it was seconded by Commissioner Sarnoff. Chair Sanchez: Let the record reflect. Ms. Thompson: Okay. And I also have, which I haven't heard anything of a substitute piece of legislation here. Chair Sanchez: Yeah. Now, let me just ask one more question. We could amend -- can we come back as the Commissioner stated and change the mapping? Ms. Chiaro: On second reading? Chair Sanchez: Yes, as long as it's not substantial. Ms. Chiaro: Yes. It depends on how much changing we're doing on -- at second reading, as long as it's not substantial. Chair Sanchez: Okay. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Can I ask a question? Who decided on the map then? Ana Gelabert-Sanchez (Director, Planning): We looked at the area, Commissioner, and we also had an art gallery map with us, so what we did we just took the map where the highest concentration or the art galleries were. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I just -- Ms. Gelabert-Sanchez: There -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I mean, I'm off of it. I'm just going to let you know, I just think it's extremely insensitive to not even think about the smaller Hispanic -based businesses that are on Northeast 2nd Avenue going north that could definitely benefit from having, you know -- I just -- 1 -- the map has to be looked at. That's -- Ms. Gelabert-Sanchez: We can take a look at the map, but just -- usually, what we have done with the other entertainment districts, we don't make them too large because, if not, it just loses - - they always can be expanded or reduced in some cases. I know there has been talk about other ones. In this particular case, we looked at the gallery map; we saw there was a concentration, and we fried to get the most concentration, understanding that this district could be expanded or could be reduced; and it was the same with the amount of licenses. But we will certainly take a look at the map one more time and bring it back to you for second reading. Chair Sanchez: Okay. All right. Read the ordinance into the record -- we are on PZ.15. It's an ordinance on first reading -- and then followed by a roll call. Ms. Chiaro: And a substitution was distributed to the City Commissioners and to staff day before yesterday correcting a typographical error. It -- Chair Sanchez: Yes. City ofMiami Page 111 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Chiaro: -- did not change any substance of -- Chair Sanchez: Yes. Ms. Chiaro: -- this ordinance. Chair Sanchez: And it was presented on time to the Chair, so -- The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro. Chair Sanchez: Roll call. Ms. Thompson: Roll call. A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above. Ms. Thompson: The ordinance has passed on first reading, as modified, 5/0. Chair Sanchez: All right. That was PZ.15. We go to P -- well, PZ.16 has been continued. PZ.16 08-00169v RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), DENYING OR GRANTING THE APPEAL, AFFIRMING OR REVERSING THE DECISION OF THE ZONING BOARD, THEREBY DENYING OR GRANTING VARIANCES FROM ORDINANCE NO. 11000, AS AMENDED, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, ARTICLE 19, SECTION 1901, ARTICLE 4, SECTION 401, SCHEDULE OF DISTRICT REGULATIONS, TO ALLOW AN INTERIOR SIDE SETBACK (NORTH) OF 0'0" (15'0" REQUIRED); A STREET SIDE SETBACK (SOUTH) OF 4'6" (15'0" REQUIRED); AND A REAR SETBACK (WEST) OF 2'10" (7'6" REQUIRED), FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 888 BRICKELL AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA. 08-00169v Analysis.PDF 08-00169v Zoning Map.pdf 08-00169v Aerial Map.pdf 08-00169v Letter of Intent.PDF 08-00169vApplication & Supporting Docs.PDF 08-00169v Plans.PDF 08-00169v ZB Reso.PDF 08-00169v Appeal Letter.pdf 08-00169v CC Legislation (Version 3).pdf 08-00169v CC Legislation (Version 4).pdf 08-00169v Exhibit A.pdf 08-00169v CC 07-24-08 Fact Sheet.pdf LOCATION: Approximately 888 Brickell Avenue [Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff - District 2] APPELLANT(S): W. Tucker Gibbs, Esquire, on behalf of Otis Wragg, 1000 Brickell Avenue, Unit 400 and the Brickell Avenue Condominium Association, Inc. City ofMiami Page 112 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 APPLICANT(S): Santiago D. Echemendia, Esquire and Bob de la Fuente, Esquire, on behalf of Alphatur, N.V. FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended approval of the appeal and denial of the Variances. ZONING BOARD: Granted the Variances on March 24, 2008 by a vote of 3-2. PURPOSE: The approval of this appeal will allow an extension of time of a Special Exception to allow multifamily residential structures of a density of R-3 or higher in the C-2 district. CONTINUED A motion was made by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, and was passed unanimously, to continue item PZ.16 to the Commission meeting currently scheduled for July 24, 2008. Chair Sanchez: All right. Any other item, counsel? Tucker Gibbs: Yes. Tucker Gibbs. PZ.16, I'm the appellant in the matter. We'd like to defer it until the next meeting. We've reached a settlement that needs to be ratified by the membership of the condominium association -- sorry about my voice -- and that should happen within 20 days. And if it is ratified, we will be withdrawing our appeal, so you won't hear it, but just in case -- Chair Sanchez: District -- Mr. Gibbs: -- we want the deferral. Chair Sanchez: Commissioner. Commissioner Sarnoff Yeah. So move. Mr. Gibbs: Thank you. Chair Sanchez: There's a -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sanchez: -- motion to defer to the next -- Commissioner Regalado: Second. Chair Sanchez: -- there's a motion to defer PZ. 16 -- Unidentified Speaker: July 24. Chair Sanchez: -- correct me if I'm wrong, to the next PZ (Planning & Zoning) item -- PZ agenda, which is, Madam Clerk? Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): July 24. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): July 24. Chair Sanchez: July 24. There's a motion by the district Commissioner, second by the Vice Chair. No discussion on the item. All in favor, say "aye." City ofMiami Page 113 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay." Madam Clerk, it's been approved 5/0 to defer to -- Unidentified Speaker: Thank you. Chair Sanchez: -- the next PZ agenda. Thank you. PZ.17 08-00166Iu ORDINANCE First Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 10544, AS AMENDED, THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP OF THE MIAMI COMPREHENSIVE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, PURSUANT TO SMALL SCALE AMENDMENT PROCEDURES, SUBJECT TO §163.3187, FLORIDA STATUTES, BY CHANGING THE LAND USE DESIGNATION OF THE ACREAGE DESCRIBED HEREIN OF REAL PROPERTIES LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 3410-3420, 3428 HIBISCUS STREET; 3501, 3520, 3522, 3530, 3535, 3545, 3547, 3560, 3567 GRAND AVENUE; 3509-3511, 3521, 3547, 3551, 3559-3567, 3575, 3587 THOMAS AVENUE; AND 3500, 3506, 3508, 3540, 3548, 3576, 3582 FLORIDA AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, FROM "SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL", "DUPLEX RESIDENTIAL" AND "OFFICE" TO "RESTRICTED COMMERCIAL"; MAKING FINDINGS; DIRECTING TRANSMITTALS TO AFFECTED AGENCIES; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 08-001661u PAB Resos.pdf 08-001661u Analysis.pdf 08-001661u Land Use Map.pdf 08-001661u Aerial Map.pdf 08-001661u School Board Impact Review Analysis.pdf 08-001661u Application & Supporting Documents.pdf 08-001661u CC Legislation (Version 2).pdf 08-001661u Exhibit A.pdf 08-001661u CC SR Fact Sheet.pdf LOCATION: Approximately 3410-3420, 3428 Hibiscus Street; 3501, 3520, 3522, 3530, 3535, 3545, 3547, 3560, 3567 Grand Avenue; 3509-3511, 3521, 3547, 3551, 3559-3567, 3575, 3587 Thomas Avenue; and 3500, 3506, 3508, 3540, 3548, 3576, 3582 Florida Avenue [Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff - District 2] APPLICANT(S): N. Patrick Range II, Esquire, on behalf of GV Bimini LLC and GV Freeport LLC, Contract Purchasers, and GI 3428 Hibiscus LLC, CG 3540 Florida LLC, CG 3559-67 Thomas LLC, Bimini Dev of Village West Corp, West Grove Dev Corp, CG 3522 Grand LLC, Bayshore Towers Dev Corp, Hubert C. Stephens, Andros Dev Corp, George A. and Dazelle Simpson and Stirrup Properties Inc., Donal Smith, Helen Fisher Roberts, Edna Mae and Thomas Demeritte, CG 3576 Fla LLC, Patrick J. Leonard and 3545 Grand Ave Corp, Owners FINDINGS: City ofMiami Page 114 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended denial. PLANNING ADVISORY BOARD: Recommended approval to City Commission on May 21, 2008 by a vote of 6-2. Also recommended that the applicant provide the Planning Department with the legal description of the property as soon as possible, by a vote of 6-2. See companion File ID 08-00166zc. PURPOSE: This will change the above properties to Restricted Commercial. Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Regalado, that this matter be PASSED ON FIRST READING PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Sarnoff, Sanchez and Regalado Noes: 1 - Commissioner Spence -Jones Note for the Record: Please refer to item PZ.18 for additional minutes referencing item PZ.17. Chair Sanchez: We go to PZ.17. PZ.17. Roberto Lavernia (Chief of Land Development, Planning Department): 7 and 18 are companion items. Chair Sanchez: Yes. Mr. Lavernia: One is the land use and another one is the change of certain properties facing Grand Avenue. Chair Sanchez: Okay. Mr. Lavernia: The application is to change all the properties going -- fronting Florida Avenue and Thomas Avenue. It was presented to the PAB (Planning Advisory Board). The PAB suggested that the applicant meet and come with another solution that do not allow the commercial intrusion into residential, so the applicant came with this solution that change part of the lots only, leaving a strip of 40 feet still residential facing Florida Avenue and 25th of residential facing Thomas Avenue. The PAB recommended approval, 6/2, and also that they gave -- give the Planning Department with the proper legal description for the property that they were changing, and the Planning Department original recommend denial for the intrusion of commercial uses into residential with -- we have no objection with the request of the Planning Advisory Board, and that this is going to be part of a bigger project, a Major Use Special Permit that encompasses around six block, and Lucia, correct me if I'm wrong with the numbers because I know that you're going to do the presentation; I don't want to repeat what you're going to said [sic], and we have no objection. Thank you. Lucia Dougherty: Oh, good afternoon, Madam Chairman [sic], members of the Commission. Lucia Dougherty and Patrick Range on behalf of the owner and the applicant, and joining me this afternoon is Peter Gardner, Margaret Nee, his associate, as well as Jeff Gomez, his colleague as well. Peter Gardner is the principal, and he was born and raised in Coco -- yes, ma'am. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I'm sorry to interrupt you. I just want to make sure that we're just following proper procedure. I don't see my Madam Clerk there. I don't know if we need to -- do we need to have her here, Pam, at all? Pamela Burns (Assistant City Clerk): No. We're fine. We can proceed. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. I just wanted to make sure. I'm sorry, Lucia. City ofMiami Page 115 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Dougherty: Peter Gardner, the principal of the project, was born and raised and lived his entire life in Coconut Grove; and he has a commitment to West Grove and the City ofMiami, and unlike other developers you have seen, he is not somebody who's going to come and develop and then leave your town. He's going to stay here. He'll have to face the scrutiny of the residents of Coconut Grove, as well as the scrutiny of the City Commission who will see him on a daily basis as you're in the City ofMiami. We are requesting a land use and rezoning of the first two blocks today of a six -block project, which will encompass, at the end, all the way from Plaza to Margaret, and from Florida to Thomas on Grand Avenue; but today we're only looking at two blocks and they are between Plaza and Hibiscus. And the reason for starting with these just two blocks and why we're asking to proceed now is because when we first met with the residents probably a year and a half ago, they said to us two things; we don't want you to have the kind of retail that we have in Coconut Grove -- I mean in CocoWalk;; we would like to have a service -- not a destination retail, but a local satisfier service type of retail. We'd like a grocery store, and we'd like you to start on the west end of Grand Avenue, instead of the easy part would be to take it from Center Grove and move west like everybody else. They said we'd like you to invest on the west end of Grand Avenue as opposed to the east end. So what did we do? We hired the very best retail consultant there is in South Florida, and this is a retail consultant that you hire. When the City ofMiami wants to go out and market its properties, it hires the same retail consultant. This is a retail consultant that brought in Fresh Market to Coconut Grove, Whole Foods down in South Miami, Houston's; and you're going to hear from them as to why to be a successful grocery store, you can't come out into the community and say, hey, guess what? We'd like to market this particular project but it's not going to be available for a year because you have to go through a Major Use Special Permit, and by the way, then it takes another six months to permit it. So if you say to this -- to -- if I'm a developer or ifI am the City or anybody who says to my consultant I'd like you to go see ifyou can get me a grocery store and all of a sudden they come back and say guess what? Right now a grocery store wants to come here and they want to come here and invest their money now, but guess what? You're going to have to wait a year and a half to go through a Major Use Special Permit. That's why we're coming today with the first two blocks. We've been criticized for coming piecemeal, but that's the reason. If you don't do it now, it may not be available in a year and a half. It's available now. The demographics are there. People are interested in coming to Grand Avenue and putting a grocery store. That's why we're asking for these two blocks to be taken out of what is a Major Use Special Permit eventually on the -- all six blocks. Okay. This plan and this rezoning is in keeping with the SD-28 which has already been -- I've blown up the SD-28 Village West Island Special Overlay Disfrict because this is what your plan and your Zoning ordinance says we ought to do, and that's what this plan, both in the first two blocks and the rest of the six blocks, does; revitalize and restore Grand Avenue and Douglas Road as a successful Main Street; reinforce the community's holistic, historic and cultural identity as a Caribbean island district; revise rezoning to ensure an attractive pedestrian friendly environment diverse in use and activities; utilize the architecture and urban design guidelines established to promote an active and pleasant pedestrian environment while accommodating the needs of the development and respecting the scale of the residential community; nurture the development of locally -owned businesses; attract and retain diverse and a balanced mix of residents and a broad range of housing options; promote pocket parks. Now, just to let you know, what we're asking for is we're asking to change the 0 district, office district, to an SD-2 district, meaning we're tying Grand Avenue together. Currently, this little bit of orange right here is the only office district on Grand Avenue to the west, and to the east is SD-2. So in a sense, the Center Grove has an SD-2 and west of this property is an SD-2, and all we're asking to do is to connect up the SD-2. Now you may say, oh, are they going to be getting more FAR (Floor Area Ratio) ? The fact is we're getting less FAR. The 0 Disfrict allows for 1.72 FAR; with bonuses you can go up to 2.27. With bonuses on the SD-2, which is what we're asking for, you can go only up to 1.76. So, actually, we're decreasing the FAR that is permitted, and furthermore, not only on this first two blocks, but the entire Grand Avenue. We're not developing 585,000 square feet that we otherwise could have, so we're not doing this for the maximization of FAR. So you might say why are you doing it? We're doing it so that we can provide underground parking so we can hide the parking City ofMiami Page 116 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 totally and we can hide the back of house. We're doing more than what was asked us to do here in the urban design guidelines, and how are we doing --? This is the plan in its totality. The orange represents residential, single-family residents; the purple represents duplex zoning and townhouses. We always intended to have the residents and the parking underneath, but you can't do that currently under the SD (Special District) -- you can't do that under single-family houses. So we had originally asked to move the zoning line up to Florida and down to Thomas. The Planning Board, after three hearings, says we're not going to let you do that because someday these houses, even though you put them up there, they could be converted into an office, so they could be converted into, you know, a commercial venture and that would be an intrusion to the neighbors on the north or the south. So they said come back with another scheme, so what we did is we agreed to leave this residential. This is single-family residential. So all we're doing is moving the zoning line from here to here, leaving this single family and leaving this duplex. Having said that, we had to also amend the SD-28 to allow us for -- to park underneath the residents -- the single family or the duplex. You might say, well, that's kind of unusual. The truth is right now, today, we could park on the surface. You could have a parking lot. Right now, today, in a single family and in duplex we can go with an SD-9 overlay and park on it. All this is doing is the same thing, only you're not going to see the parking; it's underneath the houses. So when you drive on Florida or you walk on Florida, what you're going to see from the street are single-family houses, and what you're going to see from the duplex zoning here when you walk down Thomas, you'll see townhouses. So that's the purpose of the rezoning that we are requesting. It's in order to get all of the parking in this project so you don't see it; it's underground. You can't do that without the rezoning. We're not asking for it to be increasing our FAR. We're not asking for it to increase our height. It's simply to make it a more urbanistically-better project, okay. We have been before the Planning Advisory Board three times. We've been before the Zoning Board once [sic] time. We've been before the Village Council two times. We've scaled back the project. We've prepared an SD-28 overlay, which you'll see in your next Commission meeting. We've prepared covenants, which Tucker Gibbs is here and will describe for you. We've created a founder's park, which is in the middle of our project; many pocket parks, which are asked for in the SD-28. We're LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) -- we're going to apply for LEEDS certification. We've agreed to start on the west side with the grocery store, which is what the original people we spoke to said they'd like to have. We've met over 20 times with residents in the neighborhood. We've met with that many individual people. We've met with HOATA (Homeowners & Tenants Association), the Ministerial Alliance, GUTS (Grovites United to Survive), UEC (Urban Empowerment Corporation), Collins, the -- we have St. Albans, Christ Episcopal, and we have again went -- I met with at least that many individuals as well. We're going to be -- after this is built, there will be a thousand permanent jobs; over 700 during construction. We will be working with the UEC to actually have job placement. And, again, this is not a destination retail like CocoWalk or like Mayfair. It is part of an office component. This is not a residential project for the most part. We do have some residents, but for the most part, this is a commercial project, one that will create jobs for the neighborhood and jobs for the people, and hopefully, will spur an activity and be a place where people will be proud to live, work, enjoy, and walk around. Max Strang is our architect and he's going to present the plans and show you the renderings. We then have Monette O'Grady with Prime Sites, who is our retail consultant who will describe to you why it is it's important to move forward on this [sic] first two project -- this first two blocks first. And let me just say this to you. The best thing you could have is to hold their feet to the fire in the first two blocks because if they don't do what you ask them to do in the first two blocks, you have them on the hook for the rest of the time. It's very unusual. You have a lot of people come before you and be able to say I'm going to do this and this and this and this, but you don't have them in the end. This particular time you have for another year, and many times they're going to be -- come before you again and you can see if they've actually kept their word and did what they said they were going to do. Tucker Gibbs is going to give his expertise on how he's drafted the documents to protect the neighborhood, and then we also have Richard Shepard with us this afternoon, who is the person with the University ofMiami, who prepared the West Grove Vision plan. So with that, I'd like Max Strang to go through the architecture with you. City ofMiami Page 117 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Max Strang: Okay. Thank you. My name is Max Strang. I'm the design architect for the project, office at 1395 Brickell Avenue. I want to start giving you some larger context of the site here. This encompasses all six blocks on this site aerial. Of course, today we're just looking at the westernmost two, which would be on the top side of this. In this picture, Douglas Road is in the foreground, the Center Grove is in the back. Okay, in this case you see the relationship of again, the Center Grove in the foreground, the project in the back. Here's a few just current street shots of Grand Avenue; the residential street's on the back side. Again, Lucia went through the seven points of the intent of the SD-28 district. We feel that we strongly hit every single one of them. Again, this is our concept plan for all six blocks. On the left-hand side you see the two blocks that are before you tonight. We're adhering to the five -story height limit, which is via the SD-28 rules. We want to create a Caribbean, a Bahamian feel to the entire place, encourage the pedestrian friendly, pleasant, walkability attributes to this. We want this to be a model for how we can live in a new Miami. It is a mixed -use project. It's ground floor retail on all of the blocks, and some of the blocks have residential apartments above; the other blocks have commercial office. Again, these are the two blocks in question. I can come back to the board at the end. Lucia mentioned that instead of doing underground parking, there is the SD-12 overlay that does surface parking, and this is a current example of that on a back sfreet in Coconut Grove; and you know, this approach is proving to be not very neighborhood friendly. It really does not activate the block. The picture is self-explanatory. Instead, we'd like to do something like this, a continuous residential buffer along the back side of the street. The fact that there is no backyards to these homes is not apparent to the street -- from the sfreet. The fact that there is underground parking beneath here again is not apparent from the street or the sidewalk. This shows a street elevation of these cottages. We're calling them the Bahamian cottages. Moving on to Grand Avenue is the commercial side. As I said, we're adhering to the five -story height limit. This cross section, you know, it shows our concept of how we want to enable the underground parking, yet also enable the adequate buffering for the residential neighborhoods in the back. We're sticking to five stories on the front. We transition down in the middle of the block to two stories. This would be a rendering of Founders Park. We're keeping with that cultural tie to the Bahamas. These'll be the liner townhomes on the back of the southern block before you tonight. I just want to make a few more points. I'm going to come before you. On this board it shows the two blocks in question. We have Grand Avenue down the middle, Florida Avenue on the top, Thomas Avenue here. A long time ago Grand Avenue was widened from a two-lane road to a four -lane road, and during that time it kind of ate into the commercial frontages of the lots fronting on Grand, so now we're starting off with a somewhat substandard lot in depth. When you look at some of the SD-28 requirements in just good urban planning now, we want to hide the garbage, the deliveries, and just the service elements within the back of the block as well. In order to accommodate all the services and with our substandard depth, that's one reason why we're asking to move this line a little bit deeper so we can, you know, have everything that we need, yet hide it with a buffer. If you look at this map here, yes, we're creating some shallow lots on the back side. As you saw through the renderings from the sfreet -- from the sidewalk, you can't tell. Chair Sanchez: Do you own all those properties? Mr. Sfrang: This is our concept plan. There's currently one lot in the middle of this block here that is not under ownership; we're obviously going for it, and in the event that we do not get it, we will adhere to any setbacks that we need to currently. Yeah, I think we're under negotiations right now for that last lot. Chair Sanchez: Okay. Mr. Sfrang: But what I want to point out is that, you know, from the street you can't tell that it's a shallow lot, only when you get from the aerial perspective can you see it's a shallow lot. What you also see is that we're not the only shallow lots in the neighborhood. Immediately across the City ofMiami Page 118 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 street, across Plaza, there's some lots there that are also shallow. On the other side of our project, way over here behind CVS (Consumer Value Stores), there's also some shallow lots; so this is nothing, you know, out of the blue for this neighborhood. One thing to mention, too, is that all of the commercial ingress and egress from traffic, they're not occurring from the back streets. As soon as we get off of Grand, we take them underground to the parking off the short side streets. We want to maintain the pedestrian friendly aspect of Grand Avenue and eliminate the pedestrian vehicular conflicts and just make it a very walkable area. One last point about the smaller lots is that one of SD-28's major points is that we accommodate a range of housing, and the smaller lots actually helps us achieve that goal. Obviously, a home without a backyard that you can put a swimming pool in for example will probably sell for less than lots across the street. Therefore, we can make this more affordable. So to that end, we think that this is a great solution for real problems, for real issues. The Planning Advisory Board agrees, the Zoning Board agrees, and we hope you will agree here tonight, as well. Commissioner Sarnoff But you're not selling those lots? You're renting those. Mr. Strang: Correct, yeah. Those are part of the overall project. They'll be rentals. The rental rates, I guess, is whatl was referring to. Yes. So we have one more example. Also in the Grove, the underground parking is not an entirely new concept. Just a few years ago the Grove Garden project, formerly known as the Taurus, is here; and they used a similar type of transition where they actually went to SD-2 zoning over here and put a townhome on the back of their project, and it has underground parking beneath it. So it's a readily achievable goal is what we're aspiring for. This is not an exact same circumstances, but you get the point in this picture. And, again, I just want to highlight the back sfreetscape. As far as buffering the neighborhood, that is a goal of ours. We want to keep the commercial feeling on Grand Avenue. We want to keep the residential feeling on Florida Avenue and on Thomas Avenue. One of the -- I guess the best planning solution you can ask for on those back streets is homes facing homes, and at the Planning Advisory Board meeting about a month or so ago, your Zoning director and Planning director came out here and said that as far as the way to transition from commercial to residential, that we've got it right on, so we're very proud of that. We think, again, it's a great solution. And I'm here to answer any questions that you may have. Chair Sanchez: All right. Ms. Dougherty: The next person would be Richard Shepard. Richard Shepard: Good afternoon. I'm Richard Shepard, formerly director of the Center for Urban and Community Design at the School ofArchitecture at the University ofMiami. I'm still related to the School ofMiami. And I'm here because I was responsible for six years of working with the community in which we engaged in the community in numerous monthly meetings, in fact, to come up with how we could help them. When we first came to the community, we said to them how can we help you? We'd like to bring the intellectual resources of the university. They said we want to know -- we've had many master plans, but we want to know what to do with Main -- with Grand Avenue. And so we began a study working on Grand Avenue, as I say, in regular meetings with community members, community leaders, and we came up with help actually from the City ofMiami, grants from the City ofMiami, from HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development), from the Knight Foundation with this vision plan, which set forth the ideas of changes in zoning to clean up things to make it more compatible for -- to revitalize the street which had fallen into a boarded -up state and which the neighborhood really wanted to be the center of their community. We also build affordable homes, and the City of Miami helped us with that as well by giving us some sites to work on. And the end result of this report was actually the Neighborhood Conservation District, which the City Planning Department helped us by approving, which spelled out -- and we helped them with that to state the heights of buildings, the relationship of the architecture to the community. I was very concerned after doing all this that the first proposal by developers was seven and nine stories City ofMiami Page 119 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 tall and was totally misunderstanding what we wanted to do, and it met disapproval from the community. And the same way I was totally thrilled when I saw the current proposal because I felt it really articulated so many of the ideas that we had come up with by years and months of working with the neighborhood, and in fact, it did that and more. They go beyond our vision plan by providing public spaces, by solving mainly the ingenious way they've solved the parking problem because to bring the height of the buildings down, the solution of putting them in the rear and underneath was the way to create the kind of height that we had planned on in the original master plan. I'd like to also point out that the way they've woven it into the community arcades and porches and, even better, they are going to go for a green certification for the whole complex, which will be one more step in the right direction of good planning and architecture. So I'm happy to see that they are under negotiations. The Pointe Group, with the 3600 Block, which is mostly owned by neighborhood owners, they're talking with them about completing the project; and I'd love to see that. There's an opportunity in that block to see some of the original existing buildings, such as the Ace Theater, shotgun houses, older houses to be kept and woven into the fabric of this wonderful new Grand Avenue. So just to sum up, I'm really pleased to be here to support this scheme because it's the realization of a dream we started a long time ago, and I hope you'll approve these changes. Commissioner Sarnoff Is it Dr. Shepard? Mr. Shepard: No. Richard Shepard. Commissioner Sarnoff Mr. Shepard. You indicated the first proposal was seven to nine stories. Do you mean the Marrero? Mr. Shepard: Yes. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. That was the Marrero agreement or the Marrero Group, right? Mr. Shepard: Correct. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. That has nothing to do with these folks? Mr. Shepard: Exactly. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. Mr. Shepard: Thank you. Chair Sanchez: All right. Are you --? Mr. Shepard: Pardon me? Chair Sanchez: Madam Counsel, are you done with your presentation, or do you have -- Ms. Dougherty: We just have two more folks. Chair Sanchez: -- other expert witness or testimonies you'd like to put into the record? Ms. Dougherty: Yes. We have Monette O'Grady, who is our retail consultant, who we -- as soon as we heard from the community that they wanted a grocery store, we asked them to go out and find one; and again, they are experts in finding grocery stores, having brought Fresh Market as well as Whole Foods. They found one, and she's going to testify as to why timing is critical when you're in -- about to negotiate with a retail tenant. City ofMiami Page 120 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: All right. Ma'am, state your name and address for the record. Monette O'Grady: Monette O'Grady. I'm a resident in Coconut Grove at 1660 South Bayshore Court, Miami, Florida. I'd like to talk not only about timing; I'd like to talk about four issues about retail. A lot of things are happening in the retail industry today. There's a lot of mistakes out there, a lot of things that we all learn in the retail business. And one of the things I'd like to focus on today is functionality in retail and why that's so important in the design of our retail property. I'd like to talk about critical mass, and I'd like to talk about user-friendly and what those three issues mean in a retail development. Functionality comes from the concept of how a retail user looks at a property and can their business operate, and that means that a property must be properly designed so that each retail use can properly operate their business; and that is also a part of the decision -making process that each retail consumer of their business will look at when they consider a property. Most businesses today, whether they are national, regional or local users, will consider looking at a project and pass on it if they can't physically operate their business; and that's what we call functionality today in the retail business. Critical mass is a very important concept today in that it is how businesses survive with one another, and it's very important because they live off of one another. One business doesn't come and just survive typically on their own. They enjoy the business and enjoyment of surviving with one another and helping one another. And this particular concept of starting off with an anchor and building upon one another is very important, so that is why obtaining the approvals today to start the building blocks at Grove Village is very important. And the other very important concept is the user-friendly approach to the retail development so that the consumer can enjoy the ease of coming and going to the project; can come in; can park easy; get inside the business and enjoy their experience. And without those three important components, they cause a project not to be successful. So those are a lot of the items that we as a team have looked at and considered in the development of Grove Village. And each of the projects that we've looked at throughout and have been involved in, a lot of time goes into -- excuse me -- each retailer deciding today do I want to be in Coconut Grove. Do I want to be in the City of Coral Gables. Do I just pass on those areas because those properties don't fit our objectives? And there's a lot of choices out there for retail businesses to go. And they don't always just decide that they want to be in Miami. They want to go into Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton. They make decisions today because all of the factors make sense and financially they feel they can operate their business properly. Commissioner Sarnoff Thank you. Ms. O'Grady: Any questions? Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Any questions? No. Madam Counselor, next. Anything else you want to put on the record? Ms. Dougherty: I'd like Tucker Gibbs to talk about the documents that he's prepared. Chair Sanchez: All right. Tucker, good afternoon. Tucker Gibbs: Good afternoon. I prepared the covenants, and I wanted to talk to you all a little bit about the covenant that I prepared. I've been representing Peter Gardner for over a year now, and he came to me to talk to me about how to build a project. He wanted to build a project that fit in with Coconut Grove. And as you all know, I don't represent developers very often. I think I can count on one hand the times I've represented a developer. And I represent developers who I do believe in, and I do believe in what Peter is doing. I think what he is doing is really doing something good for the community. It's something that I've -- I'm very excited about it, somebody who's lived in Coconut Grove his entire life, and I can tell you that it is the most sensitive project that I have ever seen in Coconut Grove in terms of the community outreach. I have never, ever seen a developer go to the community as much as this developer has, and what I mean by that is I don't mean just in the West Grove; I mean in Coconut Grove. I've never seen a City ofMiami Page 121 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 developer meet with the community over 30 times, go to every single community meeting. If somebody calls, they go to a meeting and they present and they listen. So in that spirit, the developer, Peter Gardner, asked me to develop a covenant. Now we've all heard that covenants are virtually unenforceable, and you'll probably hear people say we don't believe in covenants because covenants can be broken. Well, it depends on how you write a covenant. Because, yes, a covenant that says the City Commission or the County Commission or a City Council can vote to amend the covenant is a covenant that is easily broken. But this covenant doesn't say that. This covenant talks about what we do. The zoning issue at hand on these pieces of property, the zoning lines, according to this covenant, cannot be moved. My clients or their successors in interests will not and cannot move -- apply to the City, apply to you all to move those lines, to rezone the property, unless they get approval of a certain percentage, a super majority of the people who live within 500 feet. I said 75 percent. That means 75 percent of the people who own property with -- from this project, within 500 feet of this project, 75 percent have to tell my clients in writing it's okay for you to submit an application to the City ofMiami, to submit an application. If my client submits an application without that approval, any individual or group representing individuals within 500 feet can go into court and seek enforcement, and the prevailing party gets attorneys' fees. People go, oh, well, generally people can't afford lawyers. I guarantee you -- and Mr. Sarnoff, I think, will agree -- any attorney looking at this covenant that says you can't apply unless you get 75 percent in writing, that attorney has an easy job if my client has gone in or his successor has gone in and asked for an application without that 75 percent. That's easy money for any attorney. Any attorney in town is going to take it. That is about as airtight a covenant as you can create, and that's whatl did; and I did it -- and I think I was hired to do it by my client because that's what do. I represent objectors, people who want to protect their neighborhoods. I have a reputation. In three counties I do this. This is my bread and butter. I'm not going to sell myself to any developer who walks down the pike. I'm going to do this because I believe in it. I live in this community. My offices for five years were on Grand Avenue. This is my home town, Coconut Grove, and I will tell you that Peter Gardner stands next to me as somebody who's grown up in Coconut Grove, as I have, who cares about Coconut Grove. This project is a project that is done -- that is going to do and it seeks to do many things for Coconut Grove. For years I used to hear when I was on the board of the Local Development Corporation -- and that was 20 years ago -- when I was on the board of Coconut Grove Cares and president for ten years, when I was on the board of St. Albans Nursery and school, when I was on those boards, I would hear people in West Grove say why is it that all the development and all the investment happens in the Village? Why doesn't it happen in the West Grove? Why won't people invest in the West Grove? And it's important to know that. This is the best opportunity for the people of the West Grove and the people of Coconut Grove to come together with a development that is going to be good for everybody. When I say good for everybody, I don't want to repeat what Lucia said because Lucia did a good job, but it's the issue of how do we ensure that people who live in the West Grove have jobs? We're doing that. We have an outreach program, and I know that other people will get up and speak to these issues. But with the Urban Empowerment Corporation, placement of qualified candidates in jobs in this project with Positive Partners, which is a 16-group --16 community groups in Coconut Grove working with them for job placement. In terms of tenant outreach, yes, there are people who rent on Grand Avenue and people who rent and live on Florida Avenue whose properties we've bought, whose properties we're redeveloping. We have worked with them. We have knocked on doors. We've had meetings with people and said we're here to help you find a new place to live. You want to live in the Grove? We'll help you find a place in the Grove. You want to live somewhere else? We will help you find somewhere else to live. And we've done that. We've had meetings with people. We've gone to meet with people individually. In terms of what we're doing -- and remember, this item today is a zoning item. You're talking about a rezoning, but you're going to hear about the whole project, so we feel obligated to tell you about the whole project. This is a project, as Lucia said, that is focused on the community. This isn't CocoWalk. It isn't Mayfair. This isn't something about tourist destination. This is for people who live and work in Coconut Grove where they can stop, where they can eat; yes, where they can have offices and where they can live. That's what this project is about. It's about public spaces. I City ofMiami Page 122 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 want to tell you how many times I heard Jim McMaster, who will speak to you tonight, tell me about the Farmer's Market, those beautiful oak trees, and the fact that when the Marrero's came and when they were going to develop on Grand Avenue, and by the way, develop higher than the SD-28 would allow, that they were going to develop that property, tear down those frees, and put in a development there. People said you know what? We want to preserve that park. Well, Mr. Gardener wants to preserve that as a park, as well, and what that would be will be public open space maintained by Mr. Gardener, not at the City's expense; but it would be open space. He has Founder's Park on the 3500 Block of Grand Avenue also, and many other smaller pocket open areas. This is something that this community has never seen, whether it's in the Village or whether it's in the West Grove. The fact is this is one of the most sensitive projects I've ever seen in the Grove. I hate to repeat myself. If you have any questions about the covenant, I'm happy to answer it. The bottom line on the covenant is we wanted to keep it simple so it would be easy to enforce by the neighbors. Commissioner Sarnoff Tucker -- Mr. Gibbs: Thank you. Commissioner Sarnoff -- I do have a question on the covenant. Mr. Gibbs: Sure. Commissioner Sarnoff If you go to your -- and I read it very quickly, so forgive me. But if you go to your page 3, you talk about 75 percent of the owner's real property within 500 feet of the property. If you were to exclude and use your term owner, so you have "hereinafter referred to as owner" -- then you would have to get 75 percent of the people that you don't own the property; would your client be agreeable to that? Mr. Gibbs: Say that one more time. I'm not sure -- Commissioner Sarnoff Sure. Mr. Gibbs: --I understood. Commissioner Sarnoff IfI understand how it works, we go -- and you want -- let's say something happens years later and you want to move the property line, you want to move the zoning, you would draw a line and go around, I think it's 500 feet;; am I correct? That would capture a good part of your own property. Mr. Gibbs: Yes, it would, but it would also -- what it would do was -- you're right. If we were going to move this line -- Commissioner Sarnoff Right. Mr. Gibbs: -- on -- toward Florida Avenue -- Commissioner Sarnoff You would want to move that. Mr. Gibbs: -- it would be 500 feet this way, 500 feet this way. But the fact is is -- and the goal is to include this property as part of a Major Use Special Permit, and I suspect that after the Major Use Special Permit would be approved by the City, it's this entire piece. So if we wanted to move this line here, it's unified at that point because the goal, even though you're only dealing with this issue here, will be to include this in the Major Use Special Permit for this entire piece of property -- City ofMiami Page 123 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Sarnoff Do you under -- Mr. Gibbs: -- so -- Commissioner Sarnoff -- I don't think -- I think I'm -- I think my question's infinitely simpler than you're making it. Mr. Gibbs: Well, no, but what I want -- but I understand what you're saying, but I wanted to know -- I want you to understand that in that case, we wouldn't be notifying ourselves. We would be notifying 500 feet out this way, 500 feet out this way and that way and that way. Chair Sanchez: That answers the question. Commissioner Sarnoff So this -- Right. So the 75 percent would not include yourself? Mr. Gibbs: That's correct. Commissioner Sarnoff As -- well, I think to do that -- and I don't want to be your contract lawyer here, but -- Mr. Gibbs: Well, you can be. I -- you know -- Commissioner Sarnoff If you just put excluding owner and put it in quote -- because you have defined owner -- Mr. Gibbs: That's fine. Commissioner Sarnoff -- I think you'll get a better covenant -- Mr. Gibbs: Sure. Commissioner Sarnoff -- that I think is your intention. Mr. Gibbs: Absolutely. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. Mr. Gibbs: We have no problem with that. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Tucker, I do -- I'm -- I want to -- Chair Sanchez: Yes. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Chair Sanchez: Vice Chair. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I do have just a couple of questions. First of all, we -- I know I haven't gotten a copy of the covenant. I guess the District 2 Commissioner is the only one that has one at this point. I -- Mr. Gibbs: It is a work in progress, too, because again, I will take whatever anybody says on this dais and we will work on it. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I mean, I would have liked to have seen even the work in progress. City ofMiami Page 124 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Mr. Gibbs: I understand. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. I know Commissioner Sanchez hasn't gotten the work in progress and neither has Commissioner Gonzalez. Mr. Gibbs: Well, one of the reasons why I -- you know, I think that the covenant's something I wanted to present to you all and get your feedback on, and so -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Mr. Gibbs: --I apologize to all -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I would still like to have a -- ifI could get a copy of it -- Mr. Gibbs: Absolutely. I'll give you -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- so that I could at least -- Mr. Gibbs: -- I can go back -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- see what -- Mr. Gibbs: -- and make a copy -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Mr. Gibbs: -- and get it to you. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: And not just for me, but for the other two -- Mr. Gibbs: Absolutely. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- and then the -- Mr. Gibbs: I'll make five copies. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- other question I have for you, Tucker, and you have -- Mr. Gibbs: We have copies. Excuse me. I'm sorry. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: No problem. For the most part, Tucker, you are right. For the most part, you're always fighting on the opposite side. I mean -- Mr. Gibbs: As you know, yes. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Yes, you are. I have to ask you this question, are you familiar already or you have -- have you -- do you have a understanding of HOATA's suggested terms? Are they included in this covenant? Mr. Gibbs: No, because -- and I will tell you that we have not seen -- I haven't seen anything from HOATA, but in terms of the covenant, the covenant's issue, which was brought up at the Planning Advisory Board, was the issue of the rezoning; and we were told that you can't condition a rezoning and you can't do a covenant, but the Commission can do a covenant. So the focus of the covenant was on the rezoning line and moving it because that was the concern City ofMiami Page 125 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 that we heard from HOATA, as well as others, that the fear was if you move the line here, what's to stop you from continuing to move the line? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Yeah. I think they had more than just moving of the line. I think there were several other issues. Mr. Gibbs: No, but on the zoning issue. Remember, we're talking today and tonight, this is all about a rezoning and that was -- the issue I was addressing in the covenant -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Right. Tucker -- Mr. Gibbs: -- was the rezoning. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- I mean, I can tell you personally, sitting up here three years, even though they've been zoning issues, the developers have proffered certain things regarding the zoning -related items that we have approved and it has been brought up as an issue. And as a matter offact, Lucia and, I believe, Patrick Range were involved in those particular projects, so I'm clear that there are certain things that can be proffered or can be mentioned as a part of a community benefits agreement or some sort of covenant. So my question was have you -- I guess you answered the question, you have not had an opportunity to view any of the terms from HOATA? Mr. Gibbs: No, because HOATA hasn't informed us of anything that they want. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. All right. I just -- Mr. Gibbs: We haven't -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Mr. Gibbs: -- gotten any list of anything from HOATA -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: And then I -- Mr. Gibbs: -- although we've asked them for stuff. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. And so I guess, since you haven't gotten it, but when you do receive it, you are open to at least incorporating some of their ideas and terms in the project, correct? Mr. Gibbs: Absolutely. In fact, we've been asked -- we've -- from the beginning we've asked HOATA for such a list, and that's starting in October until now we've been asking for that. Absolutely, once we get it, we will start working on it immediately. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Well, I guess I got yours and I didn't get -- okay. I didn't get yours, but we got, I guess, HOATA's. I mean, I think some of us have gotten some of -- Mr. Gibbs: Yeah. I don't have a list from HOATA. Sorry. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. So, hopefully, there's somebody from HOATA that will put some of this information on the record today. Mr. Gibbs: I understand from what I read in the paper this morning that HOATA does have a list that they voted on last night. City ofMiami Page 126 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Mr. Gibbs: That's all I know, though. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: All right. Thank you, Tucker. Mr. Gibbs: Thank you. Chair Sanchez: All right. Madam Applicant, does that conclude your presentation? Do you have more --? Ms. Dougherty: That concludes our presentation. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Okay. Is there anyone from the other side? Jim McMaster: Commissioner, I don't think that the opponents have an attorney, but I know you have a rule about limiting presentations by individuals. Could we designate several people to represent our group and they could actually speak for longer than the two or three minutes, whatever you generally -- and then the rest of us will --? Chair Sanchez: We can accommodate that, absolutely, yes -- Mr. McMaster: Wonderful. Chair Sanchez: -- but can you just select a few, and then, what we'll do is we'll open it up to the public hearing. Madam Clerk, how many have signed up to speak? Before we go any further, I know that some people have come in. If you're going to be coming in front of the Commission to give any testimony, we ask you to please rise and be sworn in, please. Yeah. And could you just put your name on the record, last speaker? Mr. McMaster: Jim McMaster, 2940 Southwest 30th Court, Coconut Grove. Chair Sanchez: Madam Attorney [sic], could we swear in those that are going to be speaking? Ms. Thompson: Really, I haven't taken the Bar. Chair Sanchez: Madam Clerk. I'm sorry. Ms. Chiaro: And people get us mixed up all the time. Chair Sanchez: Madam Clerk. I'm sorry. It's been a long day. Ms. Thompson: Not a problem. If you're going to take -- to be giving testimony on PZ. 17 and 18 this evening, I need you to please raise your right hand. The City Clerk administered oath required under City Code Section 62-1 to those persons giving testimony on zoning issues. Ms. Thompson: Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Mr. McMaster, how --? Mr. McMaster: Let me check and see who they would like to -- Ms. Dougherty: Chairman? City ofMiami Page 127 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Mr. McMaster: -- get more time. Ms. Thompson: Chair, I have -- Ms. Dougherty: Chairman Sanchez? Chair Sanchez: Yes. Please, call me Joe. Ms. Dougherty: I can't. Chairman Sanchez, I would like to submit 30 letters into the record for Chair Sanchez: Thirty letters? Ms. Dougherty: Yes -- in support from Coconut Grove neighbors. Ms. Thompson: And, Chair, we have 25 people who have signed up to speak. Chair Sanchez: All right. Mr. McMaster: Representing and getting a little more time will be Jihad Rashid, Pierre Sands, president of HOATA, and myself. Chair Sanchez: Okay. All right. Come on up, sir. Good afternoon, sir. Jihad Rashid: Good afternoon, Chairman. Ms. Thompson: I'm sorry; Chair, do we have a time limit? Mr. Rashid: We're part of the three that's -- given some accommodation -- Chair Sanchez: Yeah. Mr. Rashid: -- for time -- Chair Sanchez: Let 'em -- Mr. Rashid: -- if we deferred. Okay. Chair Sanchez: -- we'll give 'em some time. Mr. Rashid: Okay. Chair Sanchez: Let's -- five minutes. Do you think five minutes will be enough for you? Mr. Rashid: Sure. We'll be crisp. Jihad Rashid, president of Coconut Grove Collaborative, 3628 Grand Avenue. I just wanted to stipulate that many aspects of this project, as presented by Attorney Dougherty and others, is frue, but just simply and succinctly, what's absent from that project is benefits to the community. This is a $300 million proposal that is very impactful. For decades what was sacrosanct in this part of Coconut Grove is the treasured residential zoning on the residential streets north and south of Grand Avenue. We also stipulate that we have advocated and worked assiduously to bring development in, but we have to make sure that we bring development in that have measurable, tangible, specific benefits; and I was impressed by the detail of the benefits that was going to be derived from this project for the investors and for the people who are not here yet. My role as president of the Collaborative is to protect the City ofMiami Page 128 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 interests of the historical residents there, who've long -suffered and worked in many ways to invite development in. This development is good; that it has a glaring deficiencies [sic], and it does not address the specific needs with respect to housing for the residents that are living there that are affordable and decent and business opportunities. The Coconut Grove Collaborative is prepared to support any development of such discourse and many other residents also, but we have to sit down and map out and craft specific benefits, as specific as this project is, for its potential investors. I've heard the discussions and all kind of ways of the setbacks. We've been proffered parks that we haven't asked for. We've -- and I want to say that, in due respect to Mr. Shepard of the Vision Plan, did not include the residential portions of the Village West. It did not include Thomas Avenue. It did not include Florida Avenue. Under current SD-28 zoning, it encourages the rehabilitation of existing structures for the purpose of affordability, and I want to remind everybody that this development is in a City ofMiami-designated neighborhood development zone. There are certain recitals there, and I'm going to ask the Commissioners that do have experience in affordability and housing, and I think it's one Commissioner that does -- and I was visiting my Commissioner's office and I saw this document and it's trumpeting how in Overtown, they getting a boost for affordable housing. We need the advocacy and understanding about our needs. We need to accommodate the needs of our investors and the new supermarkets, and the stores, the walkable pedestrian ways. We want and we appreciate the fact that they have been sensitive to the architectural cultural character with the Bahamian and Caribbean design, but at the end of the day, we want to make sure that there are Caribbean and Bahamian people in these places. We like the idea that it's going to be a store there, but we'd like to be in the neighborhood so we can shop at the store, and this is the glaring, gaping deficiency of this plan. Yes, these developers, they love to meet. They're the most meeting proposed developers that's been around, but we need substance in those meetings. We need them to come out and say we will provide you with 150 units of affordable housing. We're willing to provide up to 50,000 square feet of commercial space, not at their expense. There are pots of monies. There's pools of money. Anybody knows Community Development 101 that jobs and job sustainability means nothing without affordable housing. That is the science and the bedrock of jobs, so it is disingenuous to banter jobs. And coming out of the '60s and the CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) programs, the big corporations would announce the big job initiatives, hire a hundred people, and after a given period of time, you have nobody there. So it's not just jobs; it's job sustainability, and job sustainability is on the foundation of affordable housing. So we want the cultural things. We appreciate those sensitive things. But what they are asking for is very impactful, very impactful. So any developer that comes into a particular area are [sic] required to do many things. Impact studies. They're required to do environmental studies. They're invited [sic] to do a historical preservation studies. This is a neighborhood development zone and nobody is studying the impact on the current residents or how they will be impacted on this, and we're asking for a little bit so that we can be here at the end of the day to enjoy all these benefits; so I don't want to see the pictures and I don't see myself in those pictures. So we have solutions. So we're not without solution. And let us further stipulate that if anything is deleterious to this developer, that's not what we want. They've expressed their concerns and fears that they're going to be quagmired by the City's and the County's policies and rules. They're afraid of your rules. They're afraid that if we involved -- but these things, to the untrained eye, they're usually associated with CDBG, Community Development Block Grants, and the Davis Bacon/HUD guidelines. We're not referencing that. We have a partnership with a major respected developer, Michael Wohl, who's part of our team, who is the southeast chair of the Urban Land Institute Terwilliger Center, has joined with the Collaborative to come up with solutions through expense to -- at no expense to the developer. We have a golden opportunity here if we just don't foreclose the central element of a impactful development like this. It's how we can make it a win for the City, who can achieve its developers, a win for the developers to get their bottom line, but more importantly, a win for the people who have been long-suffering looking for development that's not specifically included in here. And let me further say that these deals that they've made with private residents that own property now does not change the equation. We had a glaring deficiency in affordable housing for 20 years and these property owners owned that property. So if you make a deal with a property owner City ofMiami Page 129 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 that owns this, that doesn't change that, that doesn't address the glaring need. The County has designated this area, Census Track 72, as a targeted urban area. There is a pool of money, $15 million, sitting there that can help ameliorate the negative impacts of their zoning. They're asking us for a lot. They're asking this community to give up a lot for something. We're going to stand outside this new restaurant and look in. We want to be inside the restaurant sitting at the table. We don't need the Blue Plate Special, but we want a good meal at this table and we can do it. We have the competencies to work constructively and cooperatively with these developers. Don't misunderstand our intentions. We need respect, and they've come here and say frust us, and they haven't given us the same frust and confidence that they want us to engender to them. So we want you to send them back to the table and something to work for them, not to beleaguer them. So they are under the timeline, but this community is under the timeline; and they talk about the timeline for brick and mortar and the absence is the human beings. I want the same passion that this community -- that I've been living here for 23 years -- for these residents that have contribute -- these historical residents that were responsible for founding the City ofMiami, so we can work out a thing in the time. We are professional people. We are sympathetic to this, and we can work professionally and progressively with them to achieve specific objectives with these developers so everybody can benefit. Thank you for your time. "[Later...]" Chair Sanchez: Madam Attorney, read the ordinance into the record, followed by a roll call by the City Clerk. The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro. Chair Sanchez: I'm surprised nobody screamed out "Bingo" -- Madam Clerk -- with all the numbers. Ms. Thompson: Roll call. Commissioner Gonzalez? Commissioner Gonzalez: Yes, ma'am. Ms. Thompson: Commiss -- I'm sorry, Vice Chair Spence -Jones? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: My vote is no. Based upon principle, I think it's important to have a community benefits agreement in place. Ms. Thompson: Continuing with the roll call. Commissioner Regalado? Commissioner Regalado: Yes. Ms. Thompson: Commissioner Sarnoff? Commissioner Sarnoff Yes, and I look forward to seeing the covenant or there won't be a second vote. Chair Sanchez: And I think -- Ms. Thompson: And then -- Chair Sanchez: -- that was put on the record very clear, crystal clear. Ms. Dougherty: Can I make a --? City ofMiami Page 130 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Thompson: And -- Chair Sanchez: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Ms. Dougherty: Question. I just want to ask whether or not you intended to zone it all the way to the property line or just up to the zoning line? Is it minus the 45 feet? Commissioner Sarnoff That is my understanding. Ms. Dougherty: In other words, what the Planning Board recommended? Commissioner Sarnoff Yes. Ms. Dougherty: Okay. Chair Sanchez: That's what we're approving. What's -- Commissioner Sarnoff What the Planning Advisory Board approved. Chair Sanchez: Right. All right, continue with the roll call, Madam Clerk. Ms. Thompson: Continuing with your roll call. Chair Sanchez? Chair Sanchez: Yes. Ms. Thompson: The item has been passed on first reading, 4/1. Chair Sanchez: All right. "[Later...]" Chair Sanchez: Yes, sir. Mr. McMaster: Jim McMaster, 2940 Southwest 30th Court. I'm just a little confused at the directions of our -- Commissioner Sarnoff. I thought I under -- heard him to say that these two blocks are totally separate and it's important to push them ahead and that they don't really have anything to do with the other four blocks. My concern is is that the 25-foot section left duplex along Thomas is identical to other parts of Thomas farther down; that the 45-foot section that the neighbors do not want parking underneath, and that's the primary issue, just no parking underneath. It's the same all the way to three blocks down, so if we're basically approving this and saying we'll deal with these issues on the Major Use Special Permit, so I'm not sure if we really should bother negotiating with these people. It seems like it's a -- you know, they got these two blocks and then we're going to negotiate later on the other four blocks, but it's the same zoning, same issue, same everything, so -- Commissioner Sarnoff Not necessarily, Jim. Mr. McMaster: -- you know. Commissioner Sarnoff I mean, I don't see it the way you see it. I mean, I'm approving or I'm at least moving to approve the two pro -- the projects, the phase one, if you will. I have not stated that I would approve phase two. Mr. McMaster: Okay. I was hoping for a little guidance directing them to deal with us, and I didn't really get any guidance, so I -- City ofMiami Page 131 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Sarnoff Absolutely, Jim. Mr. McMaster: -- feel like I'm left out there. Commissioner Sarnoff I strongly urge them to work with you if they intend on doing a phase two. Mr. McMaster: Okay. Well, cat's out of the bag then. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: All right. Thank you so much. Commissioner Sarnoff I don't think the cat's out of the bag. Chair Sanchez: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I think it's been answered. Mr. Sands: I've got one question. It's a math question. I lament the fact that was very bad in math, and ifI were better, I probably would be practicing medicine today, but -- Chair Sanchez: Sir, your name. Mr. Sands: I'm making a point. Chair Sanchez: Name. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Got to put your name on the record. Unidentified Speaker: State your name. Mr. Sands: Pierre Sands, Coconut Grove. The point you made to the community was the 70 percent unemployment and you also mentioned that -- Commissioner Sarnoff I'm not going to reargue this, Pierre. Mr. Sands: Well -- Commissioner Sarnoff I'm not -- Mr. Sands: -- for the record -- Commissioner Sarnoff No. Mr. Sands: -- what I'm asking you is to be -- Commissioner Sarnoff No. Mr. Sands: -- sensitive to what we were here standing for, and you -- Commissioner Sarnoff And I -- Mr. Sands: -- said that gentrification was the inverse of segregation. I'm bad in math, man, but I do know --I believe that gentrification is a function of segregation, andl -- Chair Sanchez: Thank you. City ofMiami Page 132 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Mr. Sands: -- just want to stand there and correct your math. Commissioner Sarnoff And -- Chair Sanchez: All right. Mr. Sands: I thank you, respectfully. Commissioner Sarnoff -- I could correct you, Pierre, because if you'd sit there and you say I want to keep my community all one race, if you will, then that's essentially what you're saying. Chair Sanchez: No, no, no, no, no. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: That's not what he's saying. Chair Sanchez: Okay. All right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: He never said that. Commissioner Sarnoff Well -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: He's never said that. Commissioner Sarnoff -- the inverse ofgentrification -- Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Sarnoff -- is segregation. Chair Sanchez: Thank you, sir. Applause. Chair Sanchez: All right. Ladies and gentlemen, we got to refrain from doing that. All right. Ms. Dougherty: Mr. Chairman, we have a couple of folks who have to leave to go to their jobs. May they speak and do their two minutes before? Chair Sanchez: All right. Well, I think -- Ms. Dougherty: Excuse me, Madam. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: They should be able to finish their presentation. Chair Sanchez: Mr. McMyer [sic], are you okay with that? Mr. McMaster: Yes, that'll be fine. We'd expect the same courtesy if our people had to leave. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: I'm trying to give everybody the same -- Mr. McMaster: Oh, no. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: -- courtesy here and the same amount of time and the same respect. All right, please. Let's have your speakers and -- okay. These are just two minutes, okay, because these are just regular speakers? And then we'll go back; we'll have -- afford an opportunity -- all City ofMiami Page 133 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 right. George Farge: Hello, everybody. My name is George, and I'm the owner of a new restaurant. It's called Georgie's on Commodore Plaza, and for 15 years I had the restaurant in Coconut Grove, so -- French restaurant called Le Bouchon. And the reason I came back to the Grove and Commodore is I heard about the Grove Village, and for a couple of years, between Brickell area and South Miami, I saw the business in Coconut Grove go down; and I was very happy that now, hopefully, we'll have a new area and it's going to bring more people, more business, and it's going to be great for everybody. That's it. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Next speaker. Lee Marks: Lee Marks, 2935 Seminole Street. I'm very familiar with all of you, and I wasn't expecting to speak this evening. I'll be very brief. Commissioners, I think George (UNINTELLIGIBLE) even though it's not his native language, spoke very eloquently about the fact that the Grove needs to generate new business. I'm very -- I understand Rashid, and I'm sure Jim's and everyone else's, and Pierre, an old friend, all your concerns and support you guys; and I know that we can work something out with the developer. I think the developer's very proactive with you all, and I think the businesses in Coconut Grove needs this developer, so Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Thank you. Mr. Marks: -- see what you can do to support everybody. Thank you. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Thank you. Okay. Lucia, that was only -- it was only two, right? Ms. Dougherty: Yes. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. We're going to proceed on this end. You have five minutes. Pierre Sands: My name is Pierre Sands. I'm the president of Homeowners and Tenants Association, and a long-time resident here in Coconut Grove. This evening I heard, you know, Max talk about the Caribbean flavor. I believe Tucker talked about this -- the document, their deed being a work in progress. There was someone here speaking about retail functionality and user-friendly critical mass and those terms sort of -- are reminiscent to me of a biology class. What it indicates is that those are those measurements that detect a pulse to see whether or not this living organism is alive, and certainly, these are the very things that we on the homeowners and tenants side are looking for to see in this project. We are very aware of critical mass. We cannot afford to lose that critical mass of people who have lived in this community for over a hundred years. I agree with you, your project needs to demonstrate that it is user-friendly to us; and also that it is and can demonstrate functionality with this community. I want to go back to Mr. Strang, Max, that you can't have that flavor without the main ingredients. The people are the integral and inextricable ingredient in this gumbo. We need that you demonstrate to us that we can be here. I want to talk -- and please give me a little bit of latitude. I just came in from work. I want to talk about a critical -- this time. It is a critical time. This is this point where the present meets future and becomes irrevocably the past. We have a great opportunity here to demonstrate in our present, our future, that when we look at the past, that we've done something meaningful and good and equitable for this community. I don't know you Commissioners, except I know Mark Sarnoff personally. It is my appeal to you, as your neighbor, as your friend, as a man who came to our church and we prayed with you. We offered you what we term spiritually as fervent prayers offaith that availeth much, and we believe that when you evoke the images of David and Goliath, that was not a term of fear for us, but a term offaith. We believed you when you said that you would defend our community, and we hold you to that. Allapattah. Overtown. The very pressures that are exerted on this community, West Village, are the very same pressures City ofMiami Page 134 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 that you experience in your areas, and we look to you to hold a sympathetic -- not only a sympathetic eye to us, but a proactive position for us. Commissioner Jones [sic], I know that many, many times you have been on the forefront of not only representing that Overtown district, but we recognize and respect what you've done for Coconut Grove; and we put that in your hands also. I want to go back, Tucky [sic], to you saying that this is a work in progress, this deed. By the very admission that it is a work in progress means that, in this moment in time that you cannot rush to approve this development program until you can see that it definitively will benefit the entire community, not just the business district, but the human district. We require that ofyou. This is your moment, each and every one of you, to do something great through the course of history, so when you are reviewed in time that you will bask in these rays of review, historical review. You can do this good thing. John Kennedy called it profiles in courage. Tolstoy called it that moment of moral hesitation and this is where in that -- those moments you can look inside of yourself and see things that are not lucrative or expedient but good, and you can win the moment for this Coconut Grove, the people of Coconut Grove. It is our cry for survival that we ask that you give us time to work this out. Don't approve this just yet;; give us time. And so I thank you all for this opportunity to speak on behalf of West Village. And I hope that, Max, your buildings will be every bit as long-standing as those shotgun shacks that have stood for probably a hundred years in Coconut Grove. I hope that when you build them, you will have a wide cross section of people in mind, rich people, poor people, middle-class folks; but let it be the people who have built this place. Let this be a legacy that you can be proud of each and every one ofyou. I thank you very much. God bless and keep you. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Thank you, Mr. Sands. Mr. McMaster: Jim McMaster, 2940 Southwest 30th Court. For many years before I started focusing on frees, I was down here regularly on zoning issues, neighborhood issues; and I was down here on all different parts of Coconut Grove that were being impacted by proposed rezonings, land uses, new uses, structures, and I don't think that the area surrounding Grand Avenue should be treated any differently than the area behind Bayshore Drive, the area I lived in, behind Home Depot, or north Grove along US 1. I think there's an implication here that this is a blighted neighborhood and that we need to remove it. I think the fact is is that if you go today and turn onto Florida Avenue from 32ndAvenue, you will find that during segregation, the doctors, the lawyers, the postal people could not live outside that community; and that they built beautiful homes there, and that Thomas Avenue is not quite as intact. Thomas Avenue does have some older housing stock. It does have some apartment buildings. But the area north of Florida Avenue -- and I've been given some pictures here, and like this house looks like it belongs in Bay Heights. They're renovating a house. I'm going to pass out these pictures. I think that this neighborhood, like every neighborhood in Coconut Grove, needs to be protected. And I really do think that Jihad spoke eloquently about if you stand in the center of Grand Avenue and look out, I would like to focus strictly on standing in the center of Florida or Thomas looking in, andl think that -- my concern here is that if you look at these boards -- and it took me quite some time to come up with what you're approving today. All these pretty pictures, the Bahamian, little single-family houses, the parking underneath. You know, it goes on and on and on. You are approving none of that. This is what you are approving today. Now, it isn't quite so pretty, isn't quite so sexy; it's teal and yellow and beige, but this is what you're approving. Normally, when something comes in front of you, it has a Major Use Special Permit attached to it. It has restrictions. The deed restriction that Tucker is talking about -- Tucker -- I worked with Tucker and Lucia on what we called the Farmer's Market/CVS site across from Grady Dinkins. There is a deed restriction on that site. Now, I know Tucker was paid to come up with a proposed deed restriction for this project, but it is not the agreement that the community spent six or nine months working on that we all agreed to on the Grady Dinkins /CVS/Farmer's Market site. So HOATA met Monday night. HOATA has agreed that they do want to work. There'll be speakers here, William Bellinger, you know, Benny Twyman, who may end up having commercial around them; didn't expect that. I think that everybody has come to the conclusion that they have to compromise, they have to work, but HOATA on Monday night decided that if the community City ofMiami Page 135 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 spent six or nine months working on the CVS/Farmer's Market site and there's a deed restriction, we simply need to take that exact same language and we need to plug in whatever the restrictions are because, with all due respect, Tucker, ifI hired you to write a deed restriction, I certainly would write it in my favor, which is what Tucker did, and that's understandable. My concern is -- and Commissioner Sarnoff, we all have heard about the 27th Avenue Meforail Station. The developer came in with 1,000 condominium units and one million square feet. A year later the developer wouldn't guarantee one residential unit. We have a situation here where no plans, no MUSP, no deed restriction. My concern is not that they'll build this. My concern is is that they won't build it, and what you're left with is this. And a future developer can do whatever they want to do. So I think that Pierre hit it right on the head, that you should defer this tonight. We will be getting back to you. HOATA -- and I guess I left it on my seat -- has a list of requirements. The folks on Florida Avenue are willing to accept the houses on the little 45-foot-wide strip, but they do not want parking underneath. They simply do not want the parking. If you look at this diagram here, in the middle block there's a big bulge out to Christ church in the single-family zoned properties today. That bulge is a parking structure. There is a parking structure here, so we need to work with them. And there are a lot of restrictions about where the -- moving the line 55 feet. IfI understood Lucia correctly earlier, they are not going to ask for an increase in FAR for their project on Grand when they rezone the 55 feet on the Florida side and 75 feet on the Thomas side. We need to clarify this. Okay, let's say they are going to use the additional square footage in that area. Well, then they should not be allowed to move the building itself closer to the existing single family. And I think that the most important thing is do they have the right to put up a grocery store today? My understanding is is that the ordinance was amended to allow grocery stores up to 40,000 square feet along US 1 where they belong. Unfortunately, I live along US 1, but it's where the, you know -- so my understanding is -- and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, on Planning staff -- they today do not have the right or ability to build this grocery store, so there's no rush here. Please defer this. I think that you'll hear from the adjacent neighbors. They're very sad. They feel they're being squeezed out. Florida Avenue, the 3300 Block, was complete. A house had a new roof new windows. The developer bought that house and demolished it. So they are creating facts on the ground. They are demolishing house after house after house, apartment house after apartment house; and the neighbors, again, are very upset about this. This is not fair. It shouldn't be happening, but it is. And they're -- HOATA and the neighbors are willing to talk, they're willing to compromise, but we have a long way to go, so you should vote to defer this. Thank you. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: All right. Thank you, sir. I just have a quick question; I wanted to get an answer from Madam City Attorney. He just made a statement regarding the supermarket because that was one of the major, you know, things that they discussed in their presentation regarding the fact that they have a supermarket, you know, at the table and they need to get moving on that. Is he correct in his statement regarding the issue of -- Chiaro: If -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Will they have the ability to put the supermarket there? Ms. Chiaro: I'm sorry; if what? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Excuse me. What's your name again, sir? You mentioned something about the supermarket and that there's a big rush or push for that. Mr. McMaster: Right. What -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I want -- Mr. McMaster: -- there was -- we wanted to limit big stores in Coconut Grove, which I think is appropriate, and the ordinance was amended to not allow large stores in Coconut Grove. It City ofMiami Page 136 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 turns out there is a proposal with Milam's to expand it, which is wonderful. It's right behind me. When they amended the Code to allow grocery stores up to 40,000 square feet in SD-3, my understanding was it was limited to the area just along US 1, which is already high density, high intensity; so that would mean that -- my understanding is is that today, they could not apply to build a 40,000-square-foot grocery store. Ms. Chiaro: In excess of 40,000 feet. Mr. McMaster: No, up to -- no. Over 20,000. They could not put in a grocery store over 20,000. Ms. Chiaro: That's correct. Mr. McMaster: And I think -- so -- Ms. Chiaro: I mean -- Mr. McMaster: -- they could not build the grocery store they're proposing today, and there's no real rush here. I think we need to slow this process down, and I think we can get a -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Right. I just -- Mr. McMaster: -- settlement. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- want to make sure that get an answer because I got two staff people that are like not really -- so is that true that at this point they couldn't build what they're proposing now, Lourdes? Lourdes Slazyk (Zoning Administrator): Right. The square footage is limited. The increased square footage for grocery stores was limited to US 1. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Ms. Slazyk: So I don't know the final number of their grocery store's square footage, but it -- I don't think they could build it that way. Ms. Dougherty: Well, 20,000 square feet, as of right -- Ms. Slazyk: Twenty thousand is right. Ms. Dougherty: -- 40,000, you need a special exception. Ms. Slazyk: Yes. Ms. Dougherty: Anything over 40,000 you can't build at all. Ms. Slazyk: Correct. Ms. Dougherty: So we would need a special exception. However, I must tell you that we will be looking for the same kind of treatment thatMilam's had, so we will be coming back with a proposed amendment so that -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: So you're going to be asking for a proposed amendment? Ms. Dougherty: Yes. City ofMiami Page 137 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. And then my other question, he -- you made also a statement -- and then I'm -- I guess I'll open up to the floor -- you mentioned that Tucker and the whole issue of the deed restriction and why we're doing this first and not the major -- the MUSP. Mr. McMaster: Right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: You made that statement regard -- Madam City Attorney, can you explain to us, I'm assuming, why they decided to take -- or should I be asking Lourdes that, why they decided to take that route? Because the MUSP would have really allowed for the community to have more input in -- Slazyk: Yeah. They're entitled to do it this way. They could have done all of it under the MUSP if they had chosen to. Lucia explained earlier why they chose to break it up -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I might have missed it. Ms. Slazyk: -- into two phases, but they can come in and break their MUSP up into phases if they want. The MUSP isn't required until they hit the threshold. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Ms. Slazyk: So this phase alone is not a MUSP threshold. They can do it this way. If they wanted to, they could have brought everything together, but she had a reason why they did it this way. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: And, sir, did you understand her reason why? I just -- Ms. Slazyk: Yes. They -- yes. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: No, no. He -- Mr. McMaster: Yes, but I do think it still leaves us out that, you know, what you're approving is this; and so I do think that they have plans. They say they're going to build this if they give the community a deed restriction showing these two blocks, you know, locking this in; then it's just as good as a MUSP, but as of right now we don't have any guarantees of anything. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. That answers -- Mr. McMaster: Thank you. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- my question. Mr. McMaster: Thank you. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: And I wanted to make sure we were on the same -- yes, Lourdes? Ms. Slazyk: One additional point. What's before you today is a land -use and zoning change. Once they get the land -use and zoning change, they still need a Class II to build the building. And the Class II, the final design of the project will be available for the community to see through the Class II process. The MUSP is when they hit the threshold, and that is coming to you. They've actually -- are in the process of filing it now, but it's not going to be before this, so there is -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: So there'll be -- City ofMiami Page 138 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Slazyk: -- still a Special -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- several other steps -- Ms. Slazyk: Yes. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- before we get to this big project? Ms. Slazyk: Um -hum. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. All right. So we -- Lucia, do you have any comments that you want to make -- Ms. Dougherty: Well, I just wanted to -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- before I open the floor? Ms. Dougherty: In case you were asking that question why we are doing it this way, it's because the first thing that we heard from the community is they'd like a grocery store, so we engaged somebody to go find one; they're ready to go. They'd like to be under construction in the first quarter of '09. If we have a Major Use -- if we incorporate it in a Major Use Special Permit, this process takes about a year to get through that process, and then you're another six months for getting a building permit. So this allows us to jumpstart with somebody who's ready to go now to get it going and to be a catalyst for the rest of the project. And like I said, the good news is you'll be able to see whether or not we do what we said we'd do -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Now -- Ms. Dougherty: -- on a block, by the way, that nobody objects to. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Right. Ms. Dougherty: There isn't anybody in this audience or has been in any of our meetings that have -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Yes. Ms. Dougherty: -- objected because they live anywhere around this -- these two blocks. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Right. And, Lucia, again, I wanted to make sure not only the people here in the audience understood, but the people that are watching also understand so that's why I wanted to make sure that you, you know, provided some clarity. Madam Clerk -- thank you -- so I should -- Commissioner Sarnoff Wait. Stay up there. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Sure. Do you have a --? Commissioner Sarnoff I do have a question for her. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay, go 'head [sic]. Commissioner Sarnoff What -- supposing I'm only interested in jobs. Supposing I only want to see the opportunities provided for jobs right now. What guarantee do I have a grocery store gets City ofMiami Page 139 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 put there? Because I hear what Jim McMaster's saying. He's saying here you have a piece of cardboard and all you've done is moved the line. How do I know a grocery store gets built there, supposing I'm only interested in jobs? Ms. Dougherty: Well, that's a good question. Right now you have an 0 zoning classification, right? You can have the same uses we're doing now, only with more FAR and more residential essentially. That's the difference that we can have, an increase of mixed uses in the SD-2 and it also connects up the entire Grand Avenue. But what we had done, as we've -- we've done two things. One is you don't have to approve the Class II. Number two, we've also drafted a covenant tying us to this particular site plan. And number three, if we -- Commissioner Sarnoff Well -- Ms. Dougherty: -- don't put something in the ground, you can always rezone it back. Commissioner Sarnoff Well -- and I don't like to do something for nothing, but talk to me about the covenant. Is there anywhere in the covenant that a Publix, a Whole Foods, something is coming in there? Ms. Dougherty: There's nothing in the covenant that guarantees a grocery store. I'm going to look to see if any -- if that would be a problem. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: And then just to add -- Ms. Dougherty: It doesn't -- I don't think it'll be a problem to put it in there, if you wanted to. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay, 'cause -- but just adding onto Commissioner Sarnoff, you said that when you sat down to speak to the residents of the Grove, of the West Grove -- Ms. Dougherty: Yes, ma'am. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- that one of the main -- major things that they wanted to see happen was a grocery store, so if that is the case, then it seems like that should be the driving force behind it, which I'm assuming that Commissioner Sarnoff is stating this because jobs is what he's trying to actually bring to -- Ms. Dougherty: Right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- that area; am I correct on that, Commissioner Sarnoff? Commissioner Sarnoff Oh, absolutely. I mean, I'd -- the UEC has been funded;; it's got the CDBG funding. They have the ability to teach, I imagine, the more sophisticated computers that the Publix or whoever uses right now. And supposing this Commissioner here was only focused on, you like to call it phase one. I don't -- do you call this phase one? Ms. Dougherty: I'm sorry; I have to look -- Commissioner Sarnoff Do you call this phase one, or I don't --? Ms. Dougherty: This is -- that'd be fine. Commissioner Sarnoff All right. Ms. Dougherty: Phase one. City ofMiami Page 140 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Sarnoff And I imagine there's a phase two. And is there a phase three, or is it phase two --? Ms. Dougherty: No. Phase two is the MUSP -- Commissioner Sarnoff The whole thing. Ms. Dougherty: -- for the entire site -- Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. So supposing -- Ms. Dougherty: -- which will include this. Commissioner Sarnoff -- for instance, this Commissioner's only concerned with looking at phase one and he's only concerned at looking at -- What would you hand me this for? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I'm sorry; let me say -- sir, you need to also make sure you submit whatever you have, Mr. McMaster, to the Clerk first. Commissioner Sarnoff No. I just want to talk about jobs, and I just want to talk about -- the grocery store is the big generator of jobs, correct? Ms. Dougherty: Correct. Commissioner Sarnoff And I might -- I guess I have no right to ask you what grocery store you've been in contact with, but a grocery store could bring between 150 and 300 jobs, depending on how you staff it. How do I know, one, I'm going to get a grocery store; two, that the Village West is going to get those jobs? Ms. Dougherty: Well, we could put in the covenant that so many square feet would be a grocery store, okay? That's number one. Number -- Commissioner Sarnoff And how many square feet would that be? Ms. Dougherty: We're hoping for 40,000. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. Ms. Dougherty: Again, you're going to have to amend your Code to allow us to do that. Then the other issue was how do we know we're going to be doing --? We're working with -- we have a -- we are going to enter into an agreement with UEC to -- for job placement. They're going to do the job training; we're going to do the job placement. And the other good thing is that we're going to continue having management of the entire site because everything is going to continue to be owned by the Pointe Group, so we're notgoing to be selling offpieces of it;; we're notgoing to be selling off condos; we're not selling off you know -- Commissioner Sarnoff So at some point today or tonight, if we were to vote for this just for phase one, we would be provided a document which would ensure that there would be a grocery store of approximately 40,000 square feet and those jobs will be first offered through the Village West; is that a correct statement? Ms. Dougherty: Yes. Well -- Commissioner Sarnoff Would that be a --? City ofMiami Page 141 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Dougherty: -- first -- and you can make it a condition of the Class II Permit, as well, if you direct your staff. Commissioner Sarnoff Well, let me play an advocate for Jim McMaster. We vote today and -- Ms. Dougherty: On first reading. Commissioner Sarnoff Right, it's first reading. -- somehow we get to second reading and you guys decide not to do a grocery store; what happens? Ms. Dougherty: If we decide to do a -- not to do a grocery store by the time we get to second reading, we tell you that and you don't vote for us. Commissioner Sarnoff No, no. You go through second reading -- Ms. Dougherty: Oh. Commissioner Sarnoff -- you're still maintaining it, but something very adverse happens, and I don't even want to speculate what that could be. Ms. Dougherty: And we have -- Commissioner Sarnoff Does this -- did -- does -- Ms. Dougherty: -- already post --? Commissioner Sarnoff Let me just ask it. Does everything go back to the status quo ante? Does everything go back to the way it was just before we voted, if you don't put a grocery store in? Ms. Dougherty: Well, we have a covenant that says we have to put a grocery store, so we'd have to somehow undo this covenant by going and getting all of the neighbors, 75 percent of the neighbors, and you to not make us do a grocery store. Does that make sense? Commissioner Sarnoff No. Ms. Dougherty: Okay. We now -- Commissioner Sarnoff Try it another way. Ms. Dougherty: -- have a covenant that ties us now to 40,000 square feet of grocery. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. Ms. Dougherty: Something goes wrong. There is -- you know, they changed their mind; we don't have any kind of a grocery store that's going to come in. Commissioner Sarnoff Right. Ms. Dougherty: At that point we now have a covenant tying us for this particular piece of property to a grocery store that says that it cannot be changed without you agreeing and 75 percent of the people around the property agreeing, so we'd all have to come back here and decide what to do. That's what it would be. So I guess you -- in a way, the worst thing that could happen is you still have residents on the back and you still have a requirement of having underground parking and you still have -- I mean, what is the worst thing to happen? You've City ofMiami Page 142 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 down zoned yourself to a lesser FAR. All you've done is moved the zoning line over. Commissioner Sarnoff Which is whatMcMasters [sic] is saying, his concern. That's his concern. Ms. Dougherty: What -- well, you know what? We could do this. Patrick just made a suggestion that in the covenant, if it doesn't happen within a certain period of time, what we could do is put in the covenant that we will initiate a rezoning back to the way it was -- Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. Ms. Dougherty: -- or we would allow you to initiate a rezoning back to the way it was. We could do that. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Commissioner Sarnoff, are you fin --? Okay, because I really want to at least respect and allow for the residents to -- and then I'll -- it'll come back to the Commission for us to ask key questions. So thank you, Lucia, for your comments. Ms. Dougherty: Sure. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: We're going to go 'head [sic] and open up the floor. Each person has two minutes to speak. We have two podiums, so you can just -- I guess, if you can start lining up, that would be great. Can we have some people lining up on this side and lining up on this side? Everybody's been sworn in already? Just make sure that -- you only have two minutes -- when you do speak, you state your name and address for the record. William Bellinger: Hello, everyone. My name is William Bellinger. My address is 3461 Florida Avenue. And I thank you for giving us the privilege of talking tonight. Mr. Sarnoff, I really hope that you consider, you know, supporting the residents and looking at us and treating us in a fashion that is fitting for anybody. And right now, it seems as if the old SD-28 that was put into place, you know, if you were going to build something like this, you would take in consideration the old SD-28 that was put in place in order to do your project. And right now it states that -- it gives a five-foot setback on the sides, zero minimum, and above ground ten feet; and it also protects the neighborhood from traffic that comes in, and it states that traffic could only come in from Washington, Jefferson and Douglas Road as it states right now. And what's a concern for us, they talking about a covenant, but what we need is a deed restriction, one that was used at the CVS that's in the community now, not the covenant because a covenant is not the same. Commissioner Sarnoff A covenant becomes a deed restriction. Mr. Bellinger: Yeah, but at -- if you look at the CVS and you look at these houses that are in the back of the CVS, this is a deed restriction. And you see garages. Well, it's no garages on these homes. And I hear these developers and representatives saying that they will do what necessary to help the residents. And they say that they own 80 percent of Grand Avenue, Florida and Thomas. Me being a resident, I cannot see myself living in the R -- zone R-1 area that I bought and to have these guys come in and -- what it's going to do is it's going to change the zoning -- trying to change the zoning, which would bring down the value of my property now. Commissioner Sarnoff Where do you live? Mr. Bellinger: 3461 Florida Avenue. This would really bring down the value of my home. And this underground parking, when they saying they giving us 45-feet setbacks -- okay, it's 45 feet from what, the sidewalk back 45 feet. And if you put the parking under the homes, which they City ofMiami Page 143 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 want to go under the homes and, I guess, go as far as they can go under their property. It's no longer giving them 45; you're actually giving them a hundred feet, and we really don't want the parking underneath the homes. And if these homes are going to be built, why not have these homes that are built on Florida and Thomas affordable housing and have a home association and put that in the deed restriction also? I would feel more comfortable with someone who is a homeowner rather than a tenant, who cares not too much about their homes like a homeowner would. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Yeah. Sir, I -- Mr. Bellinger: And -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- need you to wrap up because you only have two minutes, just in closing. Mr. Bellinger: Okay. Commissioner Sarnoff Let me see ifI understand what you said, though. You said it would be okay with you if they went completely underground so long as it was affordable housing, but not if it wasn't affordable? Mr. Bellinger: Negative. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. Mr. Bellinger: I do not support the underground parking at all. Commissioner Sarnoff At all. Mr. Bellinger: At all. And really what they are doing is with the character assassination saying that it's termite -infested, you know, we're blighted. And we didn't just hear this from the developers; we heard this from different panels up here and it really hurts. I stayed here all my life. I was born and raised here on Grand Avenue in Coconut Grove. And then when you're talking about the grocery store, listen, I shopped atIke's Food Center where my mother and my father did not have the funds that they needed sometime. We will pay bills before we ate, and these type of stores, mom and pops, as you would call it, we would go to and get credit; and sometimes it would take a couple of months before we pay it back, and you have the same type of individuals that stay in these neighborhoods nowadays. I mean, I support a grocery store in the neighborhood, but I still have to speak for the guys that cannot afford to purchase at these type of places, and you need folks in the neighborhood that stay there in order to shop there. And on Grand Avenue, when I was staying there, it was over 300 homes -- not homes. I mean rentals and affordable housing, and since the Marreros and the Gardners have bought up the place, it probably like 170 now, but what's going to happen to these people? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: All right, sir. I just -- be mind -- everyone that has to speak, but your point is well taken. Mr. Bellinger: Thank you. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: And thank you for putting your comments on the record. Ken Knight: Ken Knight, Affordable Safe Housing Coalition, and one of the Positive Partners at the business center on Grand Avenue. There's a big picture, and we're not just talking about zoning and the affordable housing. What we're talking about is the economic and the racial segregation that we have pretty much on the other side. I mean, the -- America is changing. City ofMiami Page 144 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Leaderships is [sic] changing. And we got to stop this black -white -Cuban because there again, if you check our genealogy and we check our charts, we're probably all related in some way. But the disparity between what we'll call the east side and the west side can only end with a project such as this that gives you the jobs, that gives you the housing, and yes -- no, Mr. Gardner is not responsible for affordable housing, but we are. Those people that have known me, my background is in housing and affordable housing. I can't say enough. We have a proud developer in this town called Ario Lundy, Palmetto Homes. Anyone can go to 58th Street in the Liberty City community and they can see quality affordable housing, and there again, and he's in partnership with the City ofMiami. There again, he is a Positive Partner and he -- and I'm proud to say he's African American and with a proven track record. So no, we can do affordable housing, but we must see the big picture. And as we look to make the Coconut Grove an international city, we're not no longer talking about a "black Grove" because we have to stop seeing things and have this racial divide, so it's a matter of economic survival. It's a matter of the housing. Because I read the article in the Herald, and at the end of the article, it was saying that you have boarded -up houses, houses with no windows, and squatters in the houses. Well, how are we going to end that if we don't have a project such as this? We have to have new housing. And yes, the housing stock is in need of rehabilitation. That's why we have the 40-year certification program, to bring properties and bring buildings up to Code, and Coconut Grove is no different. So let's do something positive. Let's do something that's going to create these jobs - Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Thank you, Ken. Mr. Knight: -- and provide affordable housing. Thank you very much. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Thank you, Ken. You're recognized. Jack Cooper: My name is Jack Cooper. I live at 3360 Florida Avenue. And with the zoning change, the property value would decrease, and with the parking lots and stuff under the homes, it will bring the value of homes down. And when you bringing the value of the homes down, to me it's like somebody is frying to slip an eminent domain in the back door, okay? And furthermore, like these pictures that they are showing you here, there's nothing but -- to me, it's watercolors. They are not showing you the real picture of what they are going to do with these lots that the houses sat on that they demolished. They're taking a 50 by 100 lot, they're going to cut it in half and they're going to put a little small something there that's -- the lot they are talking about is maybe from me to her, and that's as big as it's going to be. And some of the projects they are talking about putting on Grand Avenue, I can't see it. There isn't enough room for it. I grew up in Coconut Grove from the time I was five years old, okay, and nobody is against them developing Grand Avenue. I would love to see Grand Avenue developed. Stay away from the family dwellings that are on Florida Avenue, Thomas Avenue, because from McDonald's down to Elizabeth, those are very well kept homes. They bought two, they tore one of them down. The first thing they did was took out all the windows, then they went somewhere that they were doing some building or some construction material; they pile it up in the yard, bust the wall out in the building, and took the bulldozer and pushed it up inside the building; and then they said that the neighborhood had shotgun houses. And what he was talking about, this particular house where there's a squatter, that house was just sold, and this guy is over there at that house. But that house was very well maintained because it's right next door to me. Thank you. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Thank you, sir. You're recognized. Henry Givens: Good evening. My name is Henry Lee Givens, 10500 Southwest 149th Street, Miami 33176. I'm president of Grovites United to Survive, and I would like for Dr. Simpson, who's one of our founding members, and Mrs. Gibson, one of our members, if they would care to (INAUDIBLE) -- City ofMiami Page 145 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Thompson: I'm sorry; Mr. Givens, you have to speak into the mike. We're not recording you. Mr. Givens: I would like to ask ifMrs. Gibson and Dr. Simpson, if they would like to, to please come forward. We are the owners of the property that is located at the northeast corner of Grand Avenue and Douglas Road. We also own two buildings across the street on the southeast corner of Grand Avenue and Douglas Road. We made the sacrifice 20 odd years ago to purchase those parcels primarily to make sure that there was an African American land ownership on the Grand Avenue corridor. Unfortunately and maybe fortunately, over the last 20 odd years we've sought to develop but we were unable to develop. More recently, as things have begun to change, the opportunity now presents itself. We are not coming asking anybody to help us to do this, that or the other; we come to the table with nearly $5 million of nothing but equity, and it's a 100 percent African -American -owned corporation. More recently, we are having discussions with the Pointe Group advisors in reference to the possibilities of participating in a development, and we won't elaborate on that now because we would much prefer to finalize the discussions and go back to our investors. We feel that this is probably the best and the only opportunity that we will have or the opportunity to bring about affordable housing and decent living accommodations into the under -- Grand Avenue corridor, and it certainly would be the only opportunity that an African -American group would have an opportunity to actually own a building of substance. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Henry, just so that -- your time is up, but just for a point of clarity, you're speaking in reference to the project that you have, not necessarily -- Mr. Givens: And -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: -- the project that's in -- before us because you mentioned this is the opportunity for affordable housing or this particular project that's being presented to us now does not have any affordable housing in it. Mr. Givens: Yes, but we are also speaking in support of the Pointe Group and their project. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Thelma Anderson -Gibson: Thelma Anderson -Gibson, 3661 Franklin Avenue. Good evening. I'm here speaking in support of the project primarily because I have lived long enough to go through this City planning for us and not planning with us. I went through the Jack Luft project back in the '70s, the Harvey Wallace project that was going with the LDC in the '80s, and then the Marrero Group, and now we have the Pointe Group. And I just believe the time has come, change is going to take place, and that we need to be about having this change and be a part of it. And the reason for bringing up the GUTS project is because we have been working with the Pointe Group in order to -- I have been a proponent of workforce housing and affordable housing and trying to keep that one block that's primarily owned by African Americans to be sure that some of us are still in the area. And I think that one of the things that we have been able to do in working with the Pointe Group is to collaborate in trying to do some workforce housing just to be sure that blacks and some other people -- gentrification is coming, there's no question about that. We know that. It's been going everywhere all over the country, and I have been a proponent of saying to our people, keep what it is that you have; you don't have to sell your property, but they sold and the developers came in and they bought. Twenty-five years ago we started GUTS for this very reason, to be able to buy land on Grand Avenue so that black folk could continue to be able to live in that area. And I said to us for 25 years, let us buy up the property on Grand Avenue, and we didn't do that; and so now we're at this point where we are struggling to stay in the community, and I think we have that with Pointe Group. And I like the project because they are talking about doing some things that we have never seen, making it a City ofMiami Page 146 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 pedestrian friendly area because people are afraid to walk in our area. And I think that if we have people living there and we have businesses there, people are able to have jobs and be able to walk down in the West Grove just like they do in the Village of Coconut Grove, and I think that this is one of the best things could happen to us. Chair Sanchez: Thank you -- Ms. Gibson: Thank you. Chair Sanchez: -- so much. Ms. Gibson: Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Next speaker. Ida Atkins: My name is Ida Atkins, and I reside at 3470 Florida Avenue. My question is, I live there. Right on the corner of me, there's a house there. It's on the corner; that they have come and bulldozered [sic] it, whatever, and it's a lot of garbage there on that -- I'm right next -- almost next door to it. I'm not opposed to changing because we change. We change in age. We change in clothes. But don't want to see underground parking on my street where I live. I don't want to see the houses, you know, boxed in. I don't want to see that, although I'm there. My house is not in this little thing, but in a few years after they buy up everything, it will be. So I don't have anywhere to go. I came here from South Carolina. I've been here since I was 17, and I want to continue to stay here. And as -- I understand Pointe Group and what everybody else is saying; we are frying -- we will go along with them, but there's some stimulation [sic] in it. Emit [sic] domain forcing us to sell, which the people don't understand, they sell because they want the money. But me, I'm not selling. They have to build up on top of me; I'm going to be here, and that is what I'm here for. I don't want to see RD-1 [sic] change 'cause that's where I live. And if it change it, all -- a lot of other stuff is going to come in. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Thank you, ma'am. Next speaker? Yes, sir. George Simpson: My name is Dr. George Simpson, and I live at 3619 Percival Avenue. I've lived there since 1955. That gives us what, 53 years? My family has been here over a hundred years, so we know -- have gone through all of the things in the Grove, but would want to say, I have been part of GUTS -- we've been part of GUTS. We've been part of the other attempts to improve the Grove. And as far as the Pointe Group is concerned -- and we work with several -- I feel like the old biblical saying, this is a group that long we sought and cried that we have found. Because I feel that with all of the disappointments we have had, we have the best shot at doing something here positively with this group than any that I've ever worked with. I've talked with them and we've worked with them, and they have offered. And first thing I said to them early on, if they'll remember, was one thing you have to do is make some provisions for affordable housing, and they said they were willing to do so. I think that they have kept their word in everything they've said to me. I think that the plan is good for the neighborhood. One thing that I keep on hearing is I don't want to see this underground parking. Well, there's underground parking on Franklin Avenue. The thing is you don't see it. You just don't see it. So I think that this group offers the best shot that this West Grove has had in all of these 100 years to improve the area and they have given their word and have kept up, so far as I know, to cooperate with the individuals who live in the area and make some provisions for affordable housing. So I strongly support this project. Chair Sanchez: Thank you, sir. Next speaker. Brad Houser: Thank you. My name is Brad Houser. I live at 3630 Plaza Street in the Grove, and I am here to speak in favor of the Pointe Group project and in favor of Peter Gardner. He's City ofMiami Page 147 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 a man of honor, and what he says will happen. I've known Peter for quite some time; worked with him in various capacities, and I feel very strongly about that. I -- with regard to the economic impact that's been discussed here today, I am not an economic or financial expert by any stretch, but common sense tells me that if you look at the West Grove as a whole, the economic impact will be positive. If you don't just look at one or two streets, but look at the entire West Grove district, I think it will be an economic benefit. In closing, my wife and I come with a little bit of an interesting perspective. We live within steps of the Marlor Street walkway that goes from the West Grove to the South Grove, and what we've experienced in the last two years since that walkway was opened is it's really a beautiful thing. It's a lot of young children from the West Grove on their bicycles, on foot coming into the South Grove, playing with our children in the South Grove, playing football, basketball in my front yard with my children, and I look forward to the day when we see the movement of traffic going back the other way from the South Grove to the West Grove to the economic benefit of the West Grove. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Edwin Gaitor: Good evening. My name is Edwin Gaitor. I'm the president of Safe and Sound Security. I'm also the president of the Merchants Association in the West Grove. I'm also a member of the Positive Partners. I really feel the -- a great feeling in this building today and some people that came and spoke and stood up on behalf of the homeowner's association, on behalf of the Pointe Group. I sat in my office before I knew I had to come to this meeting, and I asked myself wow, where are we going with this here? And I thought about the future and I thought about my three little grandchildren because I wanted to know that someday when they come and they raise up and they say Grandfather, what's -- what happened in this community, what changed it? And I want to be said on the record that we all changed it. In some ways, it was the right ways, then some ways in the wrong way. I am supportive of this project because I believe that it is a good thing for West Grove, and from a whole perspective as well as -- Brother Rash [sic], you spoke in regards to affordable housing; and jobs and economics is the way the future is heading, and we need to create a better community in the West Grove, and that's all I'd like to say. Chair Sanchez: Thank you, sir. Mr. Gaitor: Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Next speaker. Ladies always first. Michelle Niemeyer: I got in the long line. Michelle Niemeyer, 3053 Day Avenue, Coconut Grove. I'm going to speak for a couple seconds as the chair of the Cocoanut Grove Village Council and also share my personal viewpoint. As the chair of the Village Council, I just wanted to update you on the status of what we've done with respect to this project because there's been a great deal of discussion. The Pointe Group has been to the Village Council twice; they were there last week. There was a decision to have some further discussions with the community involving a committee that's been formed at the Village Council, but I'm here to tell you today that there was no intention on the Village Council's part -- and although I was on vacation, I got the DVD (Digital Video Disc) and watched it today, and spoke with Martin Zilber, who was the chair that day. It was not the Village Council's intent to slow down this process. You'll have a second reading. By the time you have a second reading, our discussions will be done and we'll be able to come back and report to you, so we wanted to make sure that you knew that and there wasn't any delay due to our involvement in this process. I -- as a resident of Coconut Grove, I want to let you know I'm very strongly in favor of this project. We've seen a number of projects fail on Grand Avenue. We've seen a lot of blight on Grand Avenue, and the best thing we can do to encourage a neighborhood to be more prosperous is to bring prosperity into that neighborhood. Peter Gardner is clearly willing to do that. And personally, I'd like to see this project succeed. Max Strang's idea about underground parking is brilliant. There's -- it's the future in Miami. We don't have underground parking here very often. Coming from other cities, City ofMiami Page 148 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 I fail to understand why. I guess the water table has something to do with it, but we have technologies now to deal with that; so hopefully, we'll be able to move forward and do it quickly and get the West Grove in a better position than it is right now. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Next speaker? Well, those that are going to be speaking, you could line up on this one. All right. Yes, sir. Oh, I'm sorry. No, no, you -- it was your turn. It's hard here. I got to keep, you know, the order. Jim Sadler: My name is Jim Sadler and I've lived in Coconut Grove all my life, 45 years. And I've listened to everybody tonight, and I think we're all in agreement that there's room for improvement on Grand Avenue. I think it's pretty obvious. And I'd just like to make a statement about the developer. I think they're in a unique position here, one that is different than any other position, than any other owner of land on Grand Avenue has been in in that they have almost all the parcels assembled now, so they don't have to work with a lot of other people frying to figure out how to put together a master plan. It would have taken a lot of coordination and a lot of different ideas to develop a good master plan, and I believe these guys are the first ones who have the ability to do that and to do a really good job developing a master plan for Grand Avenue. And as far as Peter Gardner is concerned, he's also lived here all his life; and I know that he wants to go and enjoy that street and enjoy the buildings and the places and the people there, and I think he wants to be proud of the project that he's done and he wants people to be proud of him for the project he's done; and I don't think he's looking to come in here and make a lot of money or resell this thing to another developer down the line. I think he really wants to see this project through. So that's why I'm here tonight because I know him very well and he's a good guy. Chair Sanchez: Thank you, sir. Sir, you're recognized for the record. Name and address. Rick Holton: Thank you. I'm Dr. Rick Holton. I own property at 3825 Florida Avenue, 3521 Florida Avenue, and 3350 Hibiscus, which is on the corner of Florida Avenue. No one likes change but a wet baby, and it appears as if change is here. I am in support of this project. I served 15 years as the president, Commissioner, as you know well, as the Coconut Grove Local Development Corporation, and we tried so hard to get development down Coconut Grove and down Grand Avenue. Although I'm in support, I also embrace Jihad's argument, and would also urge that the Pointe Group listen to my neighbors as well. There are some concerns, but think we're close. I think we're so close that we can't give up right now. So, again, there are some concerns. I think the concerns could be fleshed out, and I don't want to see just a 40,000 -- maybe a 50,000, whatever we can do, but we're looking for change in our community. And again, I'll go on record supporting the Pointe Group. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Thank you, sir. Good afternoon, ma'am. Lottie Person: Oh, I'm before all of mine, all of my Commissioners, my favorites, all of them. That's just one second of my time. My name is Lottie Person. I live at 3111 Plaza Street. And I'm in support of the project on Grand Avenue. When I first went to a meeting, I heard something about a store, and we do need a store on Grand Avenue. Why do we need a store and why do I support this project? It is because the elderly, like myself we need a store that we can walk to. I have a -- you know, I said this then -- sister that lives right at Hibiscus and Grand. She has to pay people to take her back and forth to grocery shopping, unless she pay for the -- what you call that special transportation. We got two senior citizen buildings, even though they go -- they're able to go once a month, but what happen when they give out almost at the end of the month? If we have that store there, we can walk; within walking distance. Most of them, we don't even have cars. I don't have a car anymore, so I'm walking; and Marc, don't feel bad about it because I'm meeting a lot of people. Commissioner Sarnoff What happened to the Volvo? City ofMiami Page 149 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Person: Oh, it's still sitting out there. I'm going to have it repaired. Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. Ms. Person: I wouldn't give that up for nothing. but anyway, we must -- you know, we must -- with everything -- we seniors and (UNINTELLIGIBLE), we need that store there because we -- you know, just think, they even got a Walgreens that is going to be built on Hibiscus and Bird Road, somewhere -- see, we elderly people, we need these things for us; and I'm looking -- I'm fighting for me and I'm fighting for my elderly because all of those senior citizens, those two building, they are my seniors, and Marc knows that. Nobody mess with them. So we got to have this project. And I want to say to the Village West, I am so sorry -- Chair Sanchez: Could we just -- Ms. Person: -- that -- Chair Sanchez: -- we need to speak into the mike -- Ms. Person: Okay. I am -- Chair Sanchez: -- because not only -- Ms. Person: -- so sorry that I'm on the opposite side, and then I'm not sorry, but we must -- we need this project, and I'm hoping that we will all get together, you know, and make sure that this project will, you know, come to -- what is it supposed to be. And don't think -- just think about the jobs. Chair Sanchez: And in conclusion. Ms. Person: Plenty of jobs is going to take place there 'cause I'm planning on being a greeter when that store open. I want to greet everybody when the store open, so -- Chair Sanchez: In conclusion. Ms. Person: In conclusion, Village West and resident, I love you all and I'm going to continue to work with you all, but I just can't do it on this project. And I'm asking you all please don't defer this. Please pass this. The longer, you know, you start that kind of stuff -- and Village West is known for that. We don't get nowhere. So please, pass this today. Chair Sanchez: Thank you very much. Ms. Person: Thank you. You all know I love you, don't you? Chair Sanchez: All right. Next speaker. Judith Sandoval: Hard to follow that. Anyway, 2536 Southwest 25th Terrace, Judy Sandoval. I would like to start out, I'm sorry, with a note of sarcasm in a way, but I don't mean it that way. Chair Sanchez: Really? Ms. Sandoval: Everybody has -- no. I really, you know -- Chair Sanchez: Really? City ofMiami Page 150 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Sandoval: Everyone has spoken so well of the developer, and I'm sure they're right, and that when he dies, he's going to go straight to heaven. But I would like to say that every developer who does a project in Miami should meet 30 times with the neighborhood; it seldom happens. Now, I just wanted to ask -- this is noncontroversial. I wanted to ask something of Max because I see something in his design that I should -- think should be done much more often in Miami, and I'm not sure how he's worked that, and that is the use on Grand Avenue of arcades, which provide shades and you can walk under; and historical buildings were done that way in Miami just as they're done in Europe in ancient times. Could you please explain that a little and how wide they are and what it would provide? Chair Sanchez: All right. Good question. It'll be answered. Mr. Strang: It's a frequent attribute of architecture in the tropics and the Bahamas and the Caribbean to get people out of the sun and get people out of the rain because there's a lot of rain and a lot of sun, so Miami's no different;; and we're proud of the fact that we want to, you know, encourage those kind of architectural details, deep overhangs, wide colonnades that you can actually walk under. This is not just a stucco job on the surface of the building. This is real, authentic porches, deep balconies, arcades, colonnades, so those are going to be prevalent throughout the whole project. Ms. Sandoval: That's good. That's very good. Now I want to say something about the residential streets. I live in a neighborhood that is similar to many parts of the West Grove. I certainly would not like to see underground parking, and those truncated lots and small houses for rental on my street; and I know the property would go down. And I'm very afraid that this innovative, new kind of zoning, which these people who are promoting this development cooked up with the City Planning Department, will set a precedent, and it will soon -- we'll be seeing it in other parts of the City, and I don't think that the neighborhoods are going to like it; and I think you should be very careful about approving it. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Good afternoon, sir, or almost good evening. Anthony Parrish: Good evening. Chair Sanchez: Good evening. Mr. Parrish: Good afternoon, Commissioners. Andy Parrish, with offices at 145 Grand Avenue, which, by the way, is the first new office building that was built on Grand Avenue in 50 years. I'm also the developer of the first 15 affordable houses that were built on spec in the Village West in probably 40 years, and the first new commercial building that was built on Grand Avenue in 50 years so I'm kind of a pioneer. I'm also a long-time, since 1994, member of the Village West Homeowners and Tenants Association. A lot of them are my friends. I've been at their dining room tables. I've bought barbecued from them. I've been at many, many meetings where I was the only white person in that whole hall where they meet and that can be attested to, so I do have some standing there. I base my -- most of my professional life in trying to help that community reach its destiny. It's not going to be the destiny I envisioned because when David Blumenthal and the Blumenthal family sold their projects, which was most of the properties we're talking about today on Grand Avenue, they were first offered to me. Unfortunately, I didn't have the $8 million he offered them to me for. I'm sure Peter Gardner wish they'd been offered to him for $8 million. Since then -- and this goes directly to why underground parking is required. When -- there's -- first, let me just back up just a minute. So the last times you saw me, it was fighting against the Mercy Hospital project;; before that it was fighting against the Home Depot projects. I feel a little bit like Tucker Gibbs; I don't usually come down and support anybody who's frying to develop anything because I've seen so many travesties. But this developer came before -- they came to me, showed me what they were frying to do and why they were trying to do it. Max Strang, he's built projects for me, affordable housing projects in the City ofMiami Page 151 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 West Grove, and I said this is a heck of a lot better than the Marrero Group. The Marrero Group wanted to do 12-story buildings on a 70-foot boulevard. So then I heard Max explain to me why underground parking is required and it made a lot of sense. If you go from 8 million to whatever the Marrero group paid for the land to whatever Peter's paying for the land, that cost has to be absorbed somewhere; and as you well know, every single project in the City ofMiami requires parking to be supplied. Now, the Marrero group wanted to go up. They wanted to have five stories of parking and then build on top of that because that's what their economics dictated. The next group comes in, pays a higher price; what are they going to do, go up to 50 stories? No. They came up with a very innovative project to go underground with the parking. Now, I'm not smart enough to know Max would have to do it whether you actually need to be underneath the actual 45-foot or 20 foot strip. I don't know. That's up to them. Butl do know the reason I supported that project is they lived with basically what Richard Shepard came up with. I was at every single one of those charrettes for three years, every single one of them, along with Yvonne McDonald and a bunch of other people in this room, Thelma Gibson. This is what the community wanted. They said the most sacrosanct thing was we don't anything more than five stor -- some people wanted three stories. My building's two stories, but bought my land for like $8 a foot. So there is an economic basis to it. The second thing was -- a part of that NCD is they didn't want intrusion into Florida Avenue and Thomas Avenue. My friend Jihad Rashid is exactly right about that, so there is a give and take. This is not an easy decision for you, Commissioners. This is a very hard decision. It was a hard decision for me to support them. But you either go up for the parking or you guys eliminate the parking requirement, which I'm sure the developer will apply to, or somehow we had to create parking that works; and I think underground parking that you don't have to look at, buffered like CVS, is a good solution, a very good solution. The third reason I supported the project was Peter Gardner himself. He looked at me and I asked him, are you going to sell this out? You going to do your zoning and sell it out? Are you going to do exactly what you're saying? Are you willing to work with the community? And he said, watch me. That's why we're doing it in phases. We're doing this project in phases so that you'll have another bite at the apple. The Village West will have another bite, the UEC; everybody will. Let them prove what they're trying to do, which brings me to my last point. Do not defer this. Some of you -- I know Commissioner Regalado's been around long enough. What happened -- I got into the brokerage business back in the '80s when Brickell West -- west Brickell had one high-rise building on it; everything else was speculated. Alan Moore's company was buying things out just like Peter Gardner is. Everything got built -- bid up from like -- I think it was like 20 or $30 a square foot until it ended up being $200 a square foot, and what happened? For 20 years that sat until Pericones built their building down there. Now it's booming, but it took 20 years because of the deferrals and what happened with that. Chair Sanchez: In conclusion. Mr. Parrish: So I'll -- in conclusion, you have the experts here tonight. You've got the queen of Zoning, Lucia. You've got Max Strang. You've got Patrick Range. Richard Shepard was flown down from Boston. You've got Tucker Gibbs, and you've got the developer himself. On this side he just doesn't have a JD (Juris Doctorate). You've got Jim McMaster, who know -- as you well know, knows more about zoning than most of these lawyers that come before you. You have Jihad Rashid, who's an expert on affording housing; and you have Pierre Sands, who's the conscience of the community. You have everybody here tonight to make this thing go through, if there's goodwill and people are willing to work at it. Peter has promised he'll do that. Let him have a chance. Do not defer this project. If you dumb it down, there'll be less money to make it good; and if you dumb it down too much or defer it too long, it'll go away and will sit for 20 years. Thank you very much. I appreciate -- Chair Sanchez: Thank you, sir. Mr. Parrish: -- your time. City ofMiami Page 152 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Next speaker. Cecilia Holloman: Hello. I'm Cecelia Holloman. I'm the executive director of the Urban Empowerment Corporation, and I'm also the facilitator of Positive Partners in the West Grove. Positive Partners are 14 of 17 organizations, community -based organizations existing in the West Grove with five partners outside of the West Grove, including the State Attorney's Office, FANO (Florida Association of Nonprofit Organizations), and South Florida Apprentice [sic] Training Program and South Florida Workforce Program, all of which have partnered with the UEC to provide job training, job creation, and support services for persons who are unemployed and needing jobs in the West Grove. We have recently been awarded a contract through CDBG through the City ofMiami to create jobs in the West Grove, and we also have a contract with the County to provide job -- employability skills development. And I'm very proud to report that we have placed -- trained and placed 93 people since December in the first quarter of our -- of this year and we'll continue to do so. We have contracted with workforce -- South Florida Workforce, and we have a computerized job resource center, and that place is packed out every day with people who are looking for jobs. The demographics of those people who are looking for jobs range from people who have never worked and have no skills that we're putting into training programs, such as South Florida Apprenticeship Training Program. We have just graduated 15 youth from that program who will be working on the Pointe Group -- with the Point Group in the construction phase. We also have individuals who have master's degrees and graduate degrees who've come in there and they are out of work. We have working parents and young people. We also provide a youth entrepreneurs program, and we provide a program for individuals who are starting up their own businesses. And so we have taken a very strong lead in economic develop [sic] in Coconut Grove, and we're working diligently with the merchants in that community to make sure that they maintain and expand their businesses even in the process of this development. We've been successful already at working with Pointe Group in forging a partnership for jobs, and I'm very, very pleased at the partnership. I'm very pleased at the way the partnership has been formed. I think that Commissioner Spence -Jones asked the question about -- or maybe it was you, Marc, that asked the question about how that would work. We have formed that partnership so that the Urban Empowerment Corporation will continue to prepare people for jobs. Even those who are going into entry level, we will prepare them. We also put them into training programs, and then we have a pool of qualified and eligible individuals who we will then work with a Pointe Group to make sure that they have first priority in placement. Because what we know -- and I come from HUD, as a community builder in HUD -- in New York, and actually when I came here in 9/11, many of the people in this room were responsible for bringing me here. Chair Sanchez: Ma'am? Ms. Holloman: Yes. Chair Sanchez: In conclusion, please. Ms. Holloman: And so -- there's a couple of points I will need to make, and that is that we came -- I came as an expert in gentrification, and one of the issues was that we needed development in this community, we needed jobs in this community, and we do need affordable housing. And I propose that this is a win -win situation. I stand in support of this project because we have had over 20 charrette meetings planning this development, and then we've had 217 people in this community who have signed on -- and I've put that in your packet -- came to meetings and met with Pointe Group over the last four months and concluded that they support the development. There were also eleven public meetings and 200 --114 petitions that we've submitted to you from people who cannot be here tonight, many of who were planning to come later on. Our Positive Partners is also supportive. I say this is a win -win situation because we talk about affordable housing and it is necessary. City ofMiami Page 153 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: Ma'am. Ms. Holloman: I'm going to conclude. Chair Sanchez: With all due respect, please, we need to -- Holloman: I'm going to conclude. We talk about affordable housing. We support the position that Jihad and HOATA has taken in terms of the fact that there needs to be affordable housing, and we stand ready with them to help support the TOD, which will be an affordable housing project. We believe that the community has to fill this gap that Jihad talks about, but we also believe that people have to have jobs and if they're going to have homes -- we don't want to continue to let them be poor and constantly get subsidies; we want them to have jobs so that they will be able to get homes and live in this community and rent these places; and so, therefore, we think that this is a win -win situation. We support the position that Lucia put before you, that is that there be a covenant with a guarantee of the jobs and the grocery, and we stand ready to support that proposition. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Counsel, you should have put her in your presentation team. All right. Sir, you're recognized for the record. Charles Byrd: Good evening, Commissioners. Charles Byrd, Coconut Grove Collaborative, board chair. I think it's apparent tonight that we're close to something really great in this community. The Pointe Group has proven that they've -- their design plan for this project is incredible and we're close, but there's a couple points that we need to -- that want you to be conscious of in your decision -making tonight. The first one would be that the impact on the existing residents in this community is huge. It's huge. You've heard from some of them tonight. I can't implore you to pay attention to that. Despite all the good dialogue and discussion about this project, it comes down to the folks who live in this community, and it's important that they be heard. It's important that when you get an opportunity to look at the HOATA list of concerns, that you take a real good look at that. There's no need to rush this thing because it's so -- it's the impact on the residents forever in this community. Despite the good intentions of the developer, this is it. We're -- and I agree with Mrs. Gibson and some of the other speakers who have said tonight that we are as close as we've ever been in the West Grove to a project that everyone can be proud of and that everyone has a stake in, and it is a win -win for this entire community, so we're close. But implore you to look at the concerns of HOATA. Second, we have -- the Collaborative has had dialogue and discussion with the Pointe Group over the course of several -- over the course of really this year, I guess. There are -- there's the opportunity to craft an affordable housing piece to this thing that is also a win -win for this community. There are a ton of subsidies that are available that the Collaborative has access to through its capacity as a community -based corporation that has the opportunity to access these subsidies that will build whatever the number of units that we come up with in our negotiations that, again, provide affordable housing to the residents in this community; and that's the second most important point. We've got this beautiful development, $300 million, but we don't have residents who live in this community living there. Doesn't make any sense. So we've reached out to the -- to Pointe Group and said listen, there are a ton of subsidies available. Let us access them with you. We'll work closely with you. The Pinnacle Housing Group, who is one of the most formidable housing developers in this county, has offered to work with us and with them to craft this, so let's get back to the table. We can make this work for this community, but you've got -- we have to be open to the discussion to make it happen. We don't know how many units it's going to be, but we want to make it -- make sure that the residents in this community have an opportunity to live in this development. That -- it's only fair that they get the opportunity. One last point. In addition to the subsidies for affordable housing, the County has bond money available for infrastructure costs on these kind of developments. When Rashid mentioned $15 million, the pool of money is larger than $15 million. There's a substantial amount of general obligation money available City ofMiami Page 154 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 through Miami -Dade County that they want to spend in urban neighborhoods. And you know what? That money doesn't cost them a dime. That's free money. It's money designed for developers who come into urban neighborhoods and bring this kind investment, $300 million, so what -- the County says, listen, you coming into our neighborhood and you're going to make that kind of investment in our neighborhood? Well, we're going to provide you with some resources to cover your infrastructure cost. So the bottom line is we can actually pay for almost all of their infrastructure on their project, but we got to have a discussion with them. We've been trying to implore them. Let's do this. Let's craft this. All the pieces are in place. So this puzzle is coming together right as -- before our eyes. Chair Sanchez: In conclusion. Mr. Byrd: In conclusion. There's an opportunity to do this the right way. Chair Sanchez: Okay. Mr. Byrd: So I implore you, in your decision -making tonight, to take all those things into consideration. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. All right. Next speaker. Let's fry to keep it at two minutes. Willie J. Leonard: W. J. Leonard, pastor of St. Matthew Community Missionary Baptist Church, past president Coconut Grove Ministerial Alliance, standing proxy for the standing president at this particular time, and a very big property owner in Coconut Grove. We, the churches of the alliance of churches in West Grove, have met many times with the Pointe Group. We have asked them all the tough questions. We have censored them. We have taken them over and over and over their perspective plans. They have explained them. They have come back to my church at town hall meetings. We've been to the St. James Baptist Church town hall meeting, and many other major churches in Coconut Grove. We have met and packed out churches, and all the people that are here I've seen in these meetings. The Alliance have voted unanimously every time to support the Pointe Group and to vote to go forward with the development with the covenants that is in place. We feel very safe that this development would be a good thing for Coconut Grove. It's time for progress. Chair Sanchez: Next speaker. Thank you, sir. Bennie Chapman: Hello, everyone. How are you all today? Chair Sanchez: Well. Bennie Chapman: My name is Bennie Chapman, and I live at 3360 Florida Avenue. I've heard everybody come up and talk what's good for Coconut Grove and for the residents. I've been living at that house over 46 years; my parents had it built, and that's a legacy from them to their children, which is myself. And that's a legacy I would like to leave for my children, but everybody's saying what's good and what's best for where I live. And if you've seen the papers today, you saw the houses that, in the papers, that we were talking about, that the developers bought, all right now, you're talking about a food market up there on Grand Avenue. Let there be anything you want to build on Grand Avenue. Make Grand Avenue so beautiful I would walk out there with my head up high, but leave Florida Avenue alone. That's where I dwell. And you're talking about underground parking. When you're talking about underground parking -- and those houses you saw in that newspaper today, those developers bought those two houses next door to me. That's next door to where I live. And if you're going to take that and build that underground, you're going to jar the foundation of my house in which it stand because you're going to have to use some sort of pressure to dig within all those rocks to make you underground parking. So I'm asking you have Pointe View [sic] to come up with some kind of written City ofMiami Page 155 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 statement on paper; bring it to us. Let us see it. Let us talk. They have not once come to the owners of those houses right there on 3360 Florida Avenue and talked with us or given us any idea of what's happening. They brought you some watercolor pictures up here to show you. They're beautiful, yes. But help us. I humbly ask each and every one of you up here do not rezone my area in which I live. Do whatever you want on Grand Avenue. Make it beautiful. But that's where I lay my head. That's where I have to sleep. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Ms. Chapman: Think about all that noise that's going up under that underground, that pressure. They got to have somewhere for that sound to come out, and when that sound come out, it's going to jar me. It's going to -- all that noise going to happen. And then you're talking about the homeowner, the developer. The developer has created bums living on the property in which they bought, okay, and you saw it in the newspaper. He lives there, and mind you, he doesn't live inside the house; he lives in the backyard where he bathes and everything else. You saw where he came out in front of the yard when the Miami Herald was there -- Chair Sanchez: Ma'am -- Ms. Chapman: -- with us. Chair Sanchez: -- in conclusion. Ms. Chapman: Okay, in conclusion. But you developers, you bringing in stragglers into my neighborhood. Do not rezone it, I ask you. I humbly -- Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Ms. Chapman: -- ask you, you hear? Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Next speak -- Ms. Chapman: But if you rezone it, in consideration with us, talk to us. The developers, you talk to us, and you put something on paper and let us see what you doing. Chair Sanchez: Ma'am. Ms. Chapman: Talk to us. Put the whole plan for the whole Florida Avenue and the whole Thomas, okay? Chair Sanchez: Thank you, ma'am. Next speaker. Thank you. Robert Kayes: Hi. Good evening. My name is Rob Kayes. I live at 3670 Palmetto Avenue. I've lived in Coconut Grove for 25 years. I've redone numerous homes in Coconut Grove. I mainly like to remodel and to save the architecture that's there. And I think, like the gentleman said today, we're in kind of an infliction point here. I've lived in other parts of the United States, and I've seen neighborhoods that weren't doing as well as others. And there comes along a time when a developer -- you never know when it's going to be -- and he comes along with the right plan, the plan that seems to work maybe not perfect for everybody, but it's the solution for everybody to get to a point; and if we don't eventually start moving toward that point, we can never have a solution to, you know, the problems. I've known Peter Gardner for 10 years, since I have lived here. I know he's a man of his word and a man of integrity. I believe a hundred percent that he'll pursue this project with the best of intentions, and I would just like you to know that I'm definitely in favor of this project. Thank you. City ofMiami Page 156 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: Thank you, sir. Next speaker. Jean Bernard Dederick: Good evening. My name is Jean Bernard Dederick. I have a place at 3475 Hibiscus Street and another one at 3758 Frow Avenue I bought about five years ago. I was fortunate enough to get, I think, the last two properties from Blumenthal, the duplexes; and I'm very excited to preserve them. I want to keep them as the wooden homes that they are and beautify them and make them look Caribbean. I want to make gingerbread houses out of them. I want them to really fit into the neighborhood, and I'm very excited that this is happening to the neighborhood because over the last five years -- I'm part affordable housing and I'm part trying to rent other -- each side of the duplex. I've had -- I inherited tenants from Blumenthal, who've been in their units for 30 plus years, and of course, with that comes the rent they pay, which is, you know, it's a little challenging with today's taxes, but I tried to keep it the same way. I've had people destroying my other units, new tenants. It's been very difficult to fill them. So I'm excited about what's happening, and you know, if you need any help, I've got a shovel; I'll come and help. And if anybody knows of a good tenant, give me a call. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Twyman Bentley: Good evening, Commissioners. My name is Twyman Bentley, and I reside at 3340 Florida Avenue. I have been living at that residence for over 45 years. My parents built the home, and I have inherited it from them. First, what I want to say to you is that I'm not against development. I'm not against development on Grand Avenue. In fact, I'm for it. My difference here tonight lies in the fact that most of my partners here, who are for development, don't live on Florida or Thomas Avenue. And there are two points in the applicant's proposal that I have serious concerns on and that is the destabilizing effect of underground parking on the residential areas of Thomas and Florida Avenue, and the fact that on those properties that they own, they want to put rental housing as opposed to affordable housing homeownership. I'd like to paint a picture for you of the block that I live on, the 3300 Block of Florida Avenue. Currently, there are 14 units existing there. Of those 14, 7 of those housing units are currently occupied by owners that have been in the same ownership and owned it for over 30 years. I don't know if any of you all can claim that on your respective neighborhoods. Of the other seven, four of those, up until about four years ago, were also owned by the same families that had owned them for at least 30 years. What I would like to see tonight is the deed restriction that HOATA just passed two nights ago, that we have an opportunity to present that to the point advisors and negotiate some of our concerns. I'm for keeping single-family homeownership on Florida Avenue. I don't want to see rental housing units there because it's very destabilizing. I'd like to see other people come in and own homes, and I don't want to see underground parking under that -- under these homes. But we have certain deed restrictions and covenants -- or I -- Chair Sanchez: All right. Mr. Bentley: -- should say setbacks -- Chair Sanchez: Sir. Mr. Bentley: -- that could give us an opportunity to negotiate with Pointe Group, so all I'm saying is please, do not pass this -- the applicant's proposal tonight without us having a chance to negotiate them with us. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Mr. Bentley: Thank you. Chair Sanchez: Next speaker. Is this the last speaker? Are you the last speaker, sir? All right. Bernard Griffith: Maybe. City ofMiami Page 157 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: Maybe. Mr. Griffith: Good evening. Chair Sanchez: I'm hoping you are. Mr. Griffith: Mr. Chairman and members, I am Bernard Griffith. I'm director of Christ Episcopal Church in Coconut Grove, and we do have a parking lot that borders a part of Thomas Avenue; and as far as we at Christ church are concerned, we would really love to see that little part of Thomas Avenue change a bit because right now there are some illegal activities that go on right close to our parking lot that we would see -- we would hope to see eradicated. But be that as it may, I haven't really heard a lot of opposition to development. What I have heard is discussion about the ways the development should take place. Yes, people are concerned about underground parking garages, and people are concerned about movement in their neighborhoods; and of course, we understand also that any developer worth his or her salt would have to have some opportunity to make good on the development so that the development doesn't fail. And so there are two sides to the development. There's the question of making what I must call a profit, but also there must be the sense of the neighborhood being preserved in some form or fashion, and everybody has to give up something if development must occur. Christ church has had a long history of development in the Grove, of supporting African American life in the Grove, of stepping out there and being very proactive for African Americans and the Grove. I've been here before talking about the continuation of St. Albans Enrichment Center. And so we are not really out here frying to advocate something that would hurt, we hope, the community that is being affected, but we at Christ church took Peter even as far as overhead corridors downtown to meet with our bishop and to meet with our property and loan committee. We wanted to not only verify what the project was all about with higher authorities, but we also wanted to find out something about the spirituality. We insisted that he go to Martin Luther King service and read scripture, for instance, just to ensure that there was something else beyond what he was doing. We have always found him to be a person who would listen and who would adapt, and I'm sure that the residents being affected would find him to be the same. So I would suggest that even as Christ church supports this project wholeheartedly, that all of the residents with concerns and certain problems that they say might occur, would find Peter a very willing person ready to accommodate, as much as possible, their concerns. Thank you very much. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. There's two types of people you can't give a mike to and ask them to speak for two minutes. That's a politician and a pastor. All right, ma'am. Last speaker. Okay. Kathy Hamilton: My name is Kathy Hamilton. I live at 3600 St. Gardens Road, but I also own property on South Bayshore Drive and on Southwest 22nd Avenue. I'm here to speak in support of the Pointe Group project. I've known Peter Gardner since 1978, when he was eleven years old and attending Ransom; and I know that he loves Coconut Grove. He's a long-time resident. He has three children that live in the Grove. And I know that we're in good hands when we're with the Pointe Group. I also want to say that we should not be afraid of change. I, myself was opposed to the Home Depot project, and now that it's here, I'm so happy that it's here and I love it. So don't be afraid of change. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: All right. That concludes the public hearing. Thank you so much, ladies and gentlemen for being so cooperative. It comes to the Commission. I am prepared to listen to a motion and then we'll debate or discuss that motion, so is there a motion? Commissioner Sarnoff I'll do a motion to approve. Chair Sanchez: Okay. There is -- City ofMiami Page 158 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Regalado: Second. Chair Sanchez: -- a motion on the record. The motion is made by Commissioner Sarnoff and it is second by Commissioner Regalado. The item is under discussion. Who wants to discuss the item? Commissioner Sarnoff I -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: May -- I do -- I definitely have some comments, butt will defer to the district Commissioner. Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Sarnoff you're recognized for the record, and afterwards, Vice Chair Spence Jones, you'll have an opportunity. Commissioner Sarnoff Robert Kennedy once said, "People don't like change; they like progress," and most politicians never talk about change until Barack Obama. Until Barack Obama said, "We've got to change America," and he is shifting the paradigm. For years and years and years Grand Avenue has been bypassed. It's been bypassed for progress. It's been bypassed for prosperity. And when I first started looking or becoming interested in this particular job, I was talking about one Grove, and that was breaking down barriers; and those barriers included moving people off to the west, to the east, to the north, to the south, without regard for color or whether they were rich or poor. All too often this governing body and other governing bodies tend to hand out fish versus fishing hooks, and that's, very simply put, that we don't do enough about jobs. From the day one I got onto this Commission, I thought to myself it's not about -- self-respect comes from getting up in the morning and having something profitable to do and making a profit at doing what you do, and far too often, with a 70 percent unemployment rate on Grand Avenue, you do not have self-respect; and when you don't have self-respect, you will not respect others, and that will tend to turn into lawless behavior, and it has. We're talking right now about Grand Avenue, and I really want to hold phase one to its own merits because I'm only speaking about phase one. Because like the Coconut Grove Collaborative has had to say and others, there are some opportunities, I believe, in phase two for some affordable components, but I'm going to stick to the fishing hook because as the budget gets tighter, as the federal government provides less and less CDBG money, you're going to have to find a way to make a living, and in making a living, having self-respect for yourself. I can think of no better project and no better situation than putting a grocery store with the UEC having the ability to teach the people how to work everything necessary in a grocery store. I know that when I was young -- my father is a butcher -- and I know I learned how to stock a grocery store. I wasn't very good at cutting the meat, thank goodness. But that's something that can be learned, and you can learn to work the machines; and there is a good plan in place. Underground parking, wave of the future. That is stellar design. That is off -the -charts good planning, and is that -- progress could be changed. Change is a good word today. Used to be people didn't like change. Hopefully, on November of this year, you're going to vote for change. There is an opportunity for affordable housing, I agree with that and I hear the sentiments there, but I'm not going to hold this project up today to put an affordable component in phase one. I will listen and consider all aspects of affordability and how to create that affordability, whether it happens to be in the townhouse component, whether it happens to be the GUTS component -- because I've seen projects there, and I happen to like the GUTS idea a great deal -- or whether it happens to be in the TOD, which we happen to call the Frank B. Rolle Center, because there's a huge affordable housing project that's going on line there with Commissioner Carlos Gimenez and a great deal of County dollars that will provide a huge affordable component there. And I will support anyone from this community in doing the tran -- the TOD over there. I know that I'm supposed to meet with him in about two weeks to start looking at that particular component. You know, I listen to the best -- I always like to say on a big meeting like this -- who affected me the most. It would happen to be Dr. George Simpson. Dr. George Simpson said this is the group City ofMiami Page 159 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 we have long sought and he said with a tear in his eye. Now I don't happen to know Peter Gardner. No disrespect, Peter; I don't. But will tell you this, I don't think could have gotten as many people to come up here and testify as to my good deeds as you've gotten up here today, so it's a credit to you; it's a credit to you growing up in the Grove, and it's a credit to you to having attended Ransom Everglades. Now my concern is certainly for the people who live on the phase two projects that are going to be either built around or built upon, and I was one of those people because I was Ransom Everglades. I used to live on Royal Road, and I had a chiller plant put right next to my house, so I know what that feels like. I know what that can be. I know what the setbacks will be. They'll be ten feet both sides, twenty feet in the back, and they'll have a twenty -five-foot by a sixty -three -degree angle. I know something of what that will look like, and my concern is truly for the folks that happen to be affected in phase two. There will never be a perfect project. It can't be done. But how many trains have left the station for Grand Avenue? How many times has a developer come out there and said to you, I'm going to do this? And by the way, it'll be 15 stories, 12 stories, butl can get it down to 7; I only need to encroach here. This is the least invasive project that has come to Grand Avenue, period. It's time. It's time to create one Grove. It's time to cross the borders. It's time -- you know, gentrification, also the inverse of that is segregation. The inverse ofgentrification is segregation; leave my community just the way it is. And if we desegregate, as we were supposed to have done, we would be living by and amongst each other in a much more profitable way, and we have an opportunity this November to elect somebody who'll make it profitable for all Americans, and I hope we take that opportunity. I have to support this project as its presently stated with the caveat that there is an immediate conversation regarding an affordable component whether it happens to be GUTS, whether it happens to be the TOD, and let me last say, I need to see a covenant. I need to see a covenant that says, as clearly as I can, this grocery store gets built; and if this grocery store does not get built, we go back to what lawyers call the status quo ante. It is as if it's ten minutes before we even vote. The property goes back just the way it was. Until I see that covenant, I will not cast a second vote in favor of this. So that's what have to say. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Ms. Thompson: Excuse me, Chair. Chair Sanchez: All right. Chair Sanchez: Yes. Ms. Thompson: There's one -- Commissioner Sarnoff Oh, I'm sorry, you're right, Madam Clerk. I did put some letters that my office has received. We received about 65 or 70 letters and, I think, a petition of over 400 people who are in favor of this project; and I've given it to the Clerk. Chair Sanchez: All right. So stated for the record. Vice Chair Spence -Jones, you're recognized for the record. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Okay. Well, basically, the item has been voted on. Chair Sanchez: No, it has not. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Well, basically, we had a motion and a second on it so far. Let me just say this, and I guess I -- my position will always be different from where I sit. It's an awkward position. While I represent a district that is, I'd say, 80 percent or 75 percent African American, you know, West Grove has always been a very sensitive issue for me from the standpoint of always trying to provide support to those residents that do live there. I agree with a lot of things this evening. I want to comment Rashid, Jim, Pierre, and Charles Byrd for their outstanding job with putting their positions on the record, and I think that, you know, for the most part, if anybody was really listening in the room, no one said or stated even from the City ofMiami Page 160 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 opposite side that they did not support the project or they did not want to be involved in the project. I think that what they were merely asking for was more time. What they were merely asking for is a real community benefits agreement that included their participation. There were several statements made here tonight regarding the issues surrounding a few things that really just kind of shook me. I know, sitting in this seat for the last three years, there's been several promises made by some of these things folks sitting in this room, by many developers around certain key projects that were going to make a difference in certain parts of my district; and even as of today, you know, three years later, even with the covenants attached to those promises, either the land is up for sale or the project's not happening now, so I have become a little jaded when it comes to developers and what they promise to do for people that have been living in communities for all of their lives. We've listened to residents tonight that live on Florida Avenue. It hurts me, it pains me to hear a resident -- Ms. Betty [sic], I think that was her name. I don't know ifI said the name correctly -- living on Florida Avenue and no one's ever knocked on this woman's door. And, you know, at the end of the day, you know, yes, we have to vote and approve a project, and we want to see things happen; and I'm sure, you know, even in the disfrict in which, you know, I live in, Liberty City, I want change to happen there. I've been fighting all last three years for Overtown and Little Haiti for projects like this that will make a change, but don't agree in doing that without having the real input of the folks that have to live there or have been there for many, many years. And as you guys have seen me sit on this dais and I've had to make some really tough decisions, one of the big projects being Crosswinds, you know, that was a clear example of you know -- before I made a decision about something, I had several meetings that took place throughout Overtown to make sure there was a understanding. Now, even though we may not have agreed to all of the terms and everything surrounding a particular project, but we at least tried to gain as much input in the overall community benefits agreements so that we could have a project that makes sense. Now to sit here and hear from Tucker tonight - - and I have a lot of respect for Tucker, you know -- that, yeah, we're in the middle of working it all out. Well, if you're in the middle of working it all out, my viewpoint then is work it out. You know, we have for other projects -- and I know we all have sat up here and voted on projects, and when the community or key people from particular communities have said we just need more time. It's not that we don't support it, fellow Commissioners; we do, but just -- can we sit down and work through these details? And to not even hear that, to be deaf to that, you know, is, you know, to me, I think is irresponsible, you know. And, you know, I -- I'm not taking anything away from Mr. Gardner. I'm sure his heart is in the right place, but to me, if his heart was fruly in the right place, he would be standing up to the mike tonight and saying, you know what? I've heard these residents myself as a long-time Grove resident. These are the few things that they're asking for. I'm willing to at least give them the opportunity to have those things included. Even his own team members have said -- even his own team members have asked for that. Then my question becomes what is the big rush? Is something going to happen tomorrow that's going to prevent the project from happening? and I have to say this, the one thing that really, truly disturbs me out of all of these -- all these projects is that -- especially -- I can't speak for any other community but the one I live in, the African American community -- is when these projects take place, it destroys me to see the division happening from the folks that live in the same neighborhoods. The people that have to work, live and play together every single day, we allow for people to come in and further divide the community. That does not help the community; that hurts the community. So, you know, while I see these beautiful pictures, I think they're great. I think that even the community has acknowledged it's something that's needed. I respect the disfrict Commissioner and what he feels needs to happen for his disfrict, but have -- I would not feel good about myself to sit up here as a -- at least as a fellow African American -- and I want us to be very clear about this, you know. The folks that are in the Grove -- we call it the West Grove, and I understand we don't want to divided Grove; we want a one Grove, but let's not have a one Grove term only when it's convenient for certain projects or programs to happen. I'm hoping that there's a one Grove on all -- from all perspectives. And as I begin to sit here -- and I'm just telling you, over the last three years, as a young person sitting here and seeing different people parade up here for different projects -- and I've gotten beat up on some projects right here in the Grove, and I can honestly say, you know, when I was fighting for them same kind of City ofMiami Page 161 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 jobs, same jobs, the jobs that were important to have for the West Grove folks or the people in the community, then it was a different perspective. So I -- you know, I ride down Grand Avenue. I have family and friends that live in the West Grove, and it's amazing what's happening in that area, and there are some beautiful things happening too, so I don't want to say anything bad. But there's a -- there is a big fear from the residents that live there that they are going to be pushed out, and for us to sit up here and pretend like that's not a reality, I think that we're not being fair to the residents that have been there 30 and 40 years; that have been paying their taxes and supporting every single last one of the Commissioners that sit up here. You know, it's wrong. So I -- the comment around -- that was made earlier around the Class II Permit, but we'll deal with the grocery store when the Class II Permit -- come on, let's get real. First of all, if it gets to the point of a Class II Permit, we all know that that's not going to come in front of us. It's going to -- that decision is going to be made by a City staff member. I don't feel comfortable with the City staff member making that decision. I want it to come in front of this board, and I want to make sure that everything that was promised to the people of the West Grove happens. I've already seen the Class II Permit II [sic] route happen already, and the mere fact that the Commissioner would ask a very point question to Lucia around the grocery store, and folks would have to hem and haw about the grocery store when, in the beginning, the whole premise of all of this, the reason why it was all happening, and the reason why I decided to create all of this is because the folks in the West Grove or the people that are living in that particular area wanted a grocery store. Then to me that means, you know what? Then you guys need to sit back at the table and make sure there's a clear understanding about that grocery store and make sure that there are other community benefits. I totally agree with Jim, Rashid, and Charles. The jobs are very important; not taking them away. Yes, we need those jobs. We need jobs everywhere. But the reality is there are other things that are needed in the West Grove. The people have to feel empowered. They have to be a part of the change. My fellow Commissioner mentioned change and utilized lifelong democrat Barack Obama as an example of that, you know, with what he's doing now to this whole world, thank god, that now we're having a different viewpoint of how people are viewed. You know, to hear us use the word "change" in any way and use him in any way, quite frankly, I think that if Barack was sitting on this dais along with us and he heard everything that happened within this room and he heard the residents and heard what they had to say, I think that he would be a fair man and then -- and state to give the residents the opportunity to at least sit down and give you their viewpoint. We may not agree with all those things that they want to see happen, but it's important. It goes beyond the jobs. What about the support for the local small businesses? Is there going to be space in this -- there for them somewhere? What about the affordable housing element that's needed? Is that going to be a part of the community benefits agreement? And when I say, you know, that mix. Because I think that it's necessary -- I understand that Peter has to make money, but at the end of the day, there were people that were living there before you got there. You decided to buy that land. Respect the people that are there. And then I didn't see in the so-called community benefits or any sort of agreement, Tucker, stating -- are we going to have subcontractor opportunities? Are we going to be able to have these smaller business vendors have the opportunity to do work in this beautiful facility that's going to take place in their neighborhoods? Yes, CeCe, I support you sister. I'm glad you're going to provide them with the job training, but guess what? All of our people from our community don't need to be trained on a job. That's only one portion of the community. Other folks have businesses that need to be supported so they could take care of their families and run their businesses too. So, you know, I sit in a very strange place. I mean, really. And it's -- you know, I know that Commissioner and I have a love/love relationship sometime on the other side of the dais, and I have grown to have respect for his opinions and his viewpoints about things, but hope he has the same respect for mine, too, you know. And when it comes down to -- and I hope that all my Commissioners are listening. And Regalado's a pretty fair judge. Everybody sitting up here understands the issue. We know that things need to happen in the West Grove. I'm just appealing to everyone that's in here, you know, to really, really think about when we make decisions like this, how it's going to really affect the residents and the people that -- just like I said earlier about Wynwood. You know, I love the fact that we want to do great things in Wynwood, and I support that 100 percent, but I'm not going to shift City ofMiami Page 162 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 those factory jobs out of Wynwood unless we consider the people that are living there, people that are from Dominican Republic, that are from Puerto Rico, that are -- from Cu -- that have been working in those warehouses for God knows how -- I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to disturb the fabric like that and not include the people. I feel the same way about West Grove, same way. So, you know, my fellow Commissioner on the other side of the dais made a quote -- had a quote earlier, and the quote was by who now? Was it Kennedy? Chair Sanchez: Robert Kennedy. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Robert Kennedy. Chair Sanchez: Bobby Kennedy. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Well, my favorite hero happens to be Dr. Martin Luther King, so I'm going to say this in closing. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. And I say that to say, I may not do the thing that is always most favorable or popular, but I'm always going to fry to do the right thing; and it doesn't matter whether or not it's in my district or another district. But I know that ifI have a community that has honestly in their minds -- and not even in their minds because this is a true feeling that they have -- have been stepped on, pushed aside, not dealt with, not supported for whatever reasons -- and you can't make one or two people wrong for -- make a whole community wrong for one or two people making mistakes; because they were not able to do things, that the whole community's that. As government we need to do whatever it takes to support affordable housing and all of these things that's necessary to happen in these neighborhoods. So I say this in closing, you know, I -- it's very difficult for me to support this tonight, and I would like to see that, at least Peter -- I don't even know which one is Peter. Where's Peter? Okay. Peter. Because you've had so many great things said about you tonight, you know. It's like it's hard to not like you, you know? It's like I haven't -- I mean, even the people that are opposing you are not saying anything bad about you, you know, so I'm just imploring you, Peter, you know, a long-time Coconut Grove resident, to at least consider some of the issues that the folks are communicating; and you have to understand their fears. You know, they wake up the next day and the person that was their neighbor, the house was sold. And I think Hs. Dottie [sic] or somebody mentioned we can't tell people whether or not they should sell their houses; they're selling their houses on a -- but a lot of people are selling their houses because they just don't know and they don't understand. So all I'm asking you to do is, with your people, to please consider what the people are asking for, and it's not a lot. And that's it. Chair Sanchez: Thank you. All right. Applause. Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Regalado, you're recognized for the record. Commissioner Regalado: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I will try to be brief. I know that we're eager to vote and decide. I mean, the fear of the bulldozers is not only in the West Grove; it's a regional fear from Overtown to the Omni area, from Little Havana. You know, the development has made its way and a lot of people, a lot of renters had to go somewhere. I was thinking, when they were presenting this project, that if you only move this six blocks to any CRA (Community Redevelopment Area) area in South Florida, be North Miami or Miami or Homestead, if you only move -- take this project and put it on a CRA area, the developer will be asking the government for $16 million, and the boards will be considering because this is about jobs and this is about redevelopment, but on this case, the developer is not asking money from the government; it's just presenting a project. I live about three blocks from Publix Supermarket in Southwest 27th Avenue, and I will tell you that I like to go there because I like to not only see the City ofMiami Page 163 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 people, but the employees; and you see the most diverse people working there, bagging -- well, Judy goes there all the time, Judy Sandoval. I see her all the time -- working on the deli, working on the meat department. It is incredible, and it's also a sense of happiness when you see all these people that are enjoying what they're doing. So I think that for anyone who brings to the table a source of job, especially in this moment, well, it's a person with courage. Yesterday the Federal Reserve did not move the interest rate for the first time in 18 months. Unemployment is growing throughout the country and the state, and the stock market went down 200 points; and we don't know if November will bring economic -- an economic downturn. So anyone who's willing to risk everything to redevelop an area, an area, which, by the way, there are more than 700, 000 people living south of Lejeune to the Keys in Unincorporated Miami -Dade and all the different municipalities, and if we were to try to bring those people that live down south as customers and tourists to the Grove area and take them away from other areas, South Miami or the Gables, the easiest gateway to the Grove from south is Grand Avenue, and you know, if you have a little Miracle Mile in Grand Avenue, I will tell you that a lot of people will enjoy coming to the Grove and this will benefit all in the City. so I support this project, and I think that, like the area Commissioner said, Commissioner Sarnoff, you know, the second phase we have to see; first phase, please do it. You know, don't delay it. We shouldn't delay it. And I'm sure that they will be talking to the people. I remember -- I'm not sure, but in the last two years there is no one Sunday in the month that you don't pick up the neighbors and you see a story about the West Grove and this project and the other guy, Marrero, and the meeting, and there is a meeting of the West Grove Village, and there is another meeting with the developers; so I am -- I have been following through the media this meeting, and I think it's been three years, at least. I'm not sure. But just hope that they keep meeting. It's good that you all are here, butl think that we should vote today and vote to approve. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: All right. Ladies and gentlemen, I promise you, I won't use the word change; and I apologize for not having any fancy quotes tonight, but it's been a long night. Commissioner Gonzalez: I can give you one from Jose Marti, if you want? Chair Sanchez: No, no, no, no, no, no, don't need it. But let me just say that -- Commissioner Gonzalez: I promise you that I'll come prepared for the next meeting. Chair Sanchez: -- all of us that live in the City ofMiami have witnessed prosperity throughout the City in certain areas, whether it's South Miami, whether it's downtown, whether it's in Wynwood, whether it's in Little Havana, or whether it's in Allapattah; and somewhere along the way West Grove has been left out. Now, there are Commissioners up here that have been here for quite some time. I know that I've been here ten years. Commissioner Regalado has been here more than I have. But we have had people come up here with a lot of empty promises, and they've come out here and they promise you the world and they never deliver. So I'm going to use one word and that word is going to be prosperity, and I think that this project that's being presented here -- at least on the first page. I tend to agree with Commissioner Sarnoff and Jihad's argument about affordable housing. I think it's very important that the second phase, we work out something to be able to provide affordable housing. I don't think anybody wants to get rid of anybody from Coconut Grove. But this is a sensitive project that believe it is focused on the Grove, and if you don't believe, just look at the project itself. It is a project that really has the characteristics of the Grove in itself. I think it adds to the Grove. It's going to be able to give the Grove a -- something that it's lacked for many, many years. It's a $300 million project. You haven't heard of $3 [sic] million project coming to the Grove. I've been ten years and I've never heard it. So, you know, one of the things that we talked about is in the past -- and I remember that project. That was a density project they wanted to put out in the Grove, and there was a lot of concern, and I feel Grand Avenue should not be an area where it's got a lot of density. This project does not have that density. It's low density. So it's going to give it a flavor of the Bahamian/Caribbean characteristics that think will be great for that area. Now, let's City ofMiami Page 164 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 talk about prosperity. You know, we talk about people moving out of the City; things are going to get tougher than we anticipate. We look at the gas prices, the gas prices continue to climb, record -breaking, not to mention all the other crisis that are out there. But you know, prosperity. I think the people in the Grove -- West Grove -- and I get to talk to some of the youth. Ladies and gentlemen, they're moving out of the Grove, and some of our communities. They're moving out of the City and going someplace else. They're not being forced out; they're being moved out because they don't have a job and they don't have opportunities. So I think that this project brings an element of things, and not only is it going to make the West Grove a better place; it's going to make the entire City a better place, and it focuses on economic vitality, which this work will -- this project will. That supermarket -- you know, I talk to people; that you go to Milam's or you cross US I and you go to Publix on the other side. That's reality. I think you build a supermarket there, you're going to have people really connecting the Grove so one day we don't even say West Grove, east Grove, north Grove, south Grove; we say Coconut Grove, all right? It is Coconut Grove. And as Mr. Johnson would always say, it is one Grove. Affordable housing is very important. I think the second phase I think that will champion Commissioner Sarnoff to work with the developer to fry to come up with some affordable housing. You know what? It isn't your responsibility to provide affordable housing. It is government partnering up with you to provide affordable housing, decent affordable housing for the people of Coconut Grove and Miami. And the other thing that I'm going to tell you that think is very important is once you have a project like this, I guarantee you your crime problem with Coconut Grove will diminish. Your crime problem in Coconut Grove will diminish because you're going to have pedestrians walking, you're going to have retail, you're going to have foot traffic which will require additional police, which will require more attention, and above all, it's going to improve your quality of life, which we take for granted in our City. So these are all the elements. Is it a perfect project? I don't think it is. But you know what? It is a project thatl think is doable, and I think it's a project that is coming in phases. We won't allow it to be a runaway train. And I think, overall, once this is said and done, I think that everyone could be very proud of what this City Commission has done working with the residents and working with the developer for West Grove. So I just wanted to put that because you know what? I make decisions here, and I know I can't please everybody. I please two people. I please my conscience and I please the good Lord. Other than that, that's all I have at the end of the day. All right. So I think we're ready to rock and roll and vote. There is a motion and there is a second to approve the project. It is an ordinance, correct? Ms. Thompson: Yes. Chair Sanchez: All right, read the ordinance into the record, followed by a roll call. Commissioner Sarnoff Do you need it? "[Later... J" Chair Sanchez: Madam Attorney, read the ordinance into the record, followed by a roll call by the City Clerk. The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro. Chair Sanchez: I'm surprised nobody screamed out "Bingo" -- Madam Clerk -- with all the numbers. Ms. Thompson: Roll call. Commissioner Gonzalez? Commissioner Gonzalez: Yes, ma'am. Ms. Thompson: Commiss -- I'm sorry, Vice Chair Spence -Jones? City ofMiami Page 165 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Vice Chair Spence -Jones: My vote is no. Based upon principle, I think it's important to have a community benefits agreement in place. Ms. Thompson: Continuing with the roll call. Commissioner Regalado? Commissioner Regalado: Yes. Ms. Thompson: Commissioner Sarnoff? Commissioner Sarnoff Yes, and I look forward to seeing the covenant or there won't be a second vote. Chair Sanchez: And I think -- Ms. Thompson: And then -- Chair Sanchez: -- that was put on the record very clear, crystal clear. Ms. Dougherty: Can I make a --? Ms. Thompson: And -- Chair Sanchez: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Ms. Dougherty: Question. I just want to ask whether or not you intended to zone it all the way to the property line or just up to the zoning line? Is it minus the 45 feet? Commissioner Sarnoff That is my understanding. Ms. Dougherty: In other words, what the Planning Board recommended? Commissioner Sarnoff Yes. Ms. Dougherty: Okay. Chair Sanchez: That's what we're approving. What's -- Commissioner Sarnoff What the Planning Advisory Board approved. Chair Sanchez: Right. All right, continue with the roll call, Madam Clerk. Ms. Thompson: Continuing with your roll call. Chair Sanchez? Chair Sanchez: Yes. Ms. Thompson: The item has been passed on first reading, 4/1. Chair Sanchez: All right. "[Later...]" Chair Sanchez: Yes, sir. Mr. McMaster: Jim McMaster, 2940 Southwest 30th Court. I'm just a little confused at the directions of our -- Commissioner Sarnoff. I thought I under -- heard him to say that these two City ofMiami Page 166 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 blocks are totally separate and it's important to push them ahead and that they don't really have anything to do with the other four blocks. My concern is is that the 25-foot section left duplex along Thomas is identical to other parts of Thomas farther down; that the 45-foot section that the neighbors do not want parking underneath, and that's the primary issue, just no parking underneath. It's the same all the way to three blocks down, so if we're basically approving this and saying we'll deal with these issues on the Major Use Special Permit, so I'm not sure if we really should bother negotiating with these people. It seems like it's a -- you know, they got these two blocks and then we're going to negotiate later on the other four blocks, but it's the same zoning, same issue, same everything, so -- Commissioner Sarnoff Not necessarily, Jim. Mr. McMaster: -- you know. Commissioner Sarnoff I mean, I don't see it the way you see it. I mean, I'm approving or I'm at least moving to approve the two pro -- the projects, the phase one, if you will. I have not stated that would approve phase two. Mr. McMaster: Okay. I was hoping for a little guidance directing them to deal with us, and I didn't really get any guidance, so I -- Commissioner Sarnoff Absolutely, Jim. Mr. McMaster: -- feel like I'm left out there. Commissioner Sarnoff I strongly urge them to work with you if they intend on doing a phase two. Mr. McMaster: Okay. Well, cat's out of the bag then. Thank you. Chair Sanchez: All right. Thank you so much. Commissioner Sarnoff I don't think the cat's out of the bag. Chair Sanchez: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I think it's been answered. Mr. Sands: I've got one question. It's a math question. I lament the fact that was very bad in math, and ifI were better, I probably would be practicing medicine today, but -- Chair Sanchez: Sir, your name. Mr. Sands: I'm making a point. Chair Sanchez: Name. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Got to put your name on the record. Unidentified Speaker: State your name. Mr. Sands: Pierre Sands, Coconut Grove. The point you made to the community was the 70 percent unemployment and you also mentioned that -- Commissioner Sarnoff I'm not going to reargue this, Pierre. Mr. Sands: Well -- City ofMiami Page 167 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Sarnoff I'm not -- Mr. Sands: -- for the record -- Commissioner Sarnoff No. Mr. Sands: -- what I'm asking you is to be -- Commissioner Sarnoff No. Mr. Sands: -- sensitive to what we were here standing for, and you -- Commissioner Sarnoff And I -- Mr. Sands: -- said that gentrification was the inverse of segregation. I'm bad in math, man, but I do know --I believe that gentrification is a function of segregation, andl -- Chair Sanchez: Thank you. Mr. Sands: -- just want to stand there and correct your math. Commissioner Sarnoff And -- Chair Sanchez: All right. Mr. Sands: I thank you, respectfully. Commissioner Sarnoff -- I could correct you, Pierre, because if you'd sit there and you say I want to keep my community all one race, if you will, then that's essentially what you're saying. Chair Sanchez: No, no, no, no, no. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: That's not what he's saying. Chair Sanchez: Okay. All right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: He never said that. Commissioner Sarnoff Well -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: He's never said that. Commissioner Sarnoff -- the inverse ofgentrification -- Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Sarnoff -- is segregation. PZ.18 08-00166zc ORDINANCE AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WITH ATTACHMENT(S) AMENDING PAGE NO. 46, OF THE ZONING ATLAS OF ORDINANCE NO. 11000, AS AMENDED, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, ARTICLE 4, SECTION 401, SCHEDULE OF DISTRICT REGULATIONS, BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION FROM R-1 First Reading City ofMiami Page 168 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL, R-2 TWO-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL AND 0 OFFICE WITH AN SD-28 VILLAGE WEST ISLAND SPECIAL OVERLAY DISTRICT AND NCD-3 COCONUT GROVE NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION DISTRICT TO SD-2 COCONUT GROVE CENTRAL COMMERCIAL DISTRICT WITH AN SD-28 VILLAGE WEST ISLAND SPECIAL OVERLAY DISTRICT AND NCD-3 COCONUT GROVE NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION DISTRICT FOR THE PROPERTIES LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 3410-20, 3428 HIBISCUS STREET; 3501, 3520, 3522, 3530, 3535, 3545, 3547, 3560, 3567 GRAND AVENUE; 3509-11, 3521, 3547, 3551, 3559-67, 3575, 3587 THOMAS AVENUE; AND 3500, 3506, 3508, 3540, 3548, 3576, 3582 FLORIDA AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 08-00166zc Analysis.pdf 08-00166zc Zoning Map.pdf 08-00166zc Aerial Map.pdf 08-00166zc Application & Supporting Documents.pdf 08-00166zc ZB Reso.pdf 08-00166zc Updated Surveys.pdf 08-00166zc CC Legislation (Version 2).pdf 08-00166zc Exhibit A.pdf 08-00166zc CC SR Fact Sheet.pdf LOCATION: Approximately 3410-20, 3428 Hibiscus Street; 3501, 3520, 3522, 3530, 3535, 3545, 3547, 3560, 3567 Grand Avenue; 3509-11, 3521, 3547, 3551, 3559-67, 3575, 3587 Thomas Avenue; and 3500, 3506, 3508, 3540, 3548, 3576, 3582 Florida Avenue [Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff - District 2] APPLICANT(S): N. Patrick Range II, Esquire, on behalf of GV Bimini LLC and GV Freeport LLC, Contract Purchasers, and GI 3428 Hibiscus LLC, CG 3540 Florida LLC, CG 3559-67 Thomas LLC, Bimini Dev of Village West Corp, West Grove Dev Corp, CG 3522 Grand LLC, Bayshore Towers Dev Corp, Hubert C. Stephens, Andros Dev Corp, George A. and Dazelle Simpson and Stirrup Properties Inc., Donal Smith, Helen Fisher Roberts, Edna Mae and Thomas Demeritte, CG 3576 Fla LLC, Patrick J. Leonard and 3545 Grand Ave Corp, Owners FINDINGS: PLANNING DEPARTMENT: Recommended denial. ZONING BOARD: Recommended approval to City Commission on June 9, 2008 by a vote of 3-2. See companion File ID 08-001661u. PURPOSE: This will change the above properties to SD-2 Coconut Grove Central Commercial District with an SD-28 Village West Island Special Overlay District and NCD-3 Coconut Grove Neighborhood Conservation District. Motion by Commissioner Regalado, seconded by Commissioner Gonzalez, that this matter be PASSED ON FIRST READING PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner Gonzalez, Sarnoff, Sanchez and Regalado Noes: 1 - Commissioner Spence -Jones City ofMiami Page 169 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Chair Sanchez: We got one more item. Let's -- PZ.18 is a companion item. It's an ordinance on first reading. All right, let's -- Commissioner Regalado: I move it. Chair Sanchez: Well -- Commissioner Gonzalez: Second. Chair Sanchez: -- hold on, hold on, hold on. Yes, we do have -- we have a motion by Commissioner Regalado, second by Commissioner Gonzalez. It is an ordinance on first reading, requiring a public hearing. Is the applicant --? I mean, the applicant doesn't need to put something into the record, I mean, but, sir, you certainly have an opportunity to -- all right. Ladies and gentlemen, we still have a Commission meeting going on. We have one more item. If you are exiting, please be kind to keep it -- keep your noise down so we can proceed with our hearing. "[Later...]" Chair Sanchez: All right. Ladies and gentlemen, next item. Commissioner Gonzalez: All right. Chair Sanchez: Sir, it's -- the item is over. Commissioner Gonzalez: We need to continue with the meeting. Chair Sanchez: We need to continue. Unidentified Speaker: You've got to vote on it. Chair Sanchez: We got to -- no. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. We're not going to rush it. Sir, we're done on the item. It's PZ.18. It's a companion. It's an ordinance on second reading. There's been a motion by Commissioner Regalado, second by Commissioner Gonzalez. It is an ordinance. I got to open it up to the public. Anyone from the public wishing to address this item, please step forward and be recognized. Seeing no one, the public hearing is closed. Read the ordinance into the record, followed by a roll call. Maria J. Chiaro (Assistant City Attorney): And, Mr. Chairman, I just want to clarify for the record that both of these ordinances were subject to the conditions of the Planning Advisory Board, which removed a portion of the property. Commissioner Sarnoff Correct. Chair Sanchez: Yes. Commissioner Gonzalez: Yeah. Ms. Chiaro: So the legal descriptions will be amended for second reading, but -- Commissioner Sarnoff Understood. Ms. Chiaro: -- the title is read the way it is. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): Then may I please ask and make sure that the record -- City ofMiami Page 170 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 make sure I have the record right. Does that mean that your PZ.17 is amended or modified? Ms. Chiaro: No, ma'am. Ms. Thompson: Thank you. Ms. Chiaro: It means it is subject to the conditions of the Planning Advisory Board. Ms. Thompson: And adopted as presented -- Ms. Chiaro: Yes. Ms. Thompson: -- on the agenda. Ms. Chiaro: Yes. Ms. Thompson: Thank you. Chair Sanchez: So you got that part, Madam Clerk? Ms. Thompson: Got it. Chair Sanchez: All right. So now read PZ.18. Read the ordinance into the record, followed by a roll call. The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro. Commissioner Sarnoff As amended by the -- Ms. Chiaro: Additionally as amended -- not as -- additionally with the -- Commissioner Sarnoff As -- Ms. Chiaro: -- conditions -- Commissioner Sarnoff Right. Ms. Chiaro: -- set by the Planning Advisory Board. Ms. Thompson: So that your vote -- the roll call will be taken on the ordinance that was presented. There's no amendment, no modification, okay? Roll call. Commissioner Sarnoff? Commissioner Sarnoff Yes. Ms. Thompson: Vice Chair Spence -Jones? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Absolutely no. Ms. Thompson: Thank you. Then Commissioner Gonzalez? Commissioner Gonzalez: Yes. Ms. Thompson: Commissioner Regalado? Commissioner Regalado: Yes. City ofMiami Page 171 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Ms. Thompson: Chair Sanchez? Chair Sanchez: Yes. Ms. Thompson: The ordinance has been passed on first reading, 4/1. Chair Sanchez: Get with the City Attorney and they'll explain to you what we approved. Okay. All right, ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the -- Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): No. Chair Sanchez: -- PZ (Planning & Zoning) items. MAYOR AND COMMISSIONER'S ITEMS CITYWIDE HONORABLE MAYOR MANUEL A. DIAZ END OF CITYWIDE ITEMS DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER ANGEL GONZALEZ DISTRICT 2 COMMISSIONER MARC DAVID SARNOFF D2.1 08-00754 DISCUSSION ITEM DISCUSSION TO ADDRESS THE VACANT PARCEL(S) DUE EAST OF THE AMERICAN AIRLINES ARENA ALSO KNOWN AS PARCEL B. COMMISSIONERS TO DISCUSS THE HISTORY OF THE SITE(S) AND THE CITY'S PRIOR OWNERSHIP OF THE SITE(S). POSSIBLE FUTURE USES WILL BE DISCUSSED INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY OF THE PUBLIC GAINING ACCESSIBLE WATERFRONT GREEN SPACE. A RESOLUTION ADDRESSED TO THE CURRENT PROPERTY OWNER MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AND TO THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MIGHT RESULT. 08-00754 E-mail.pdf DEFERRED Chair Sanchez: It's been a long day, folks. Hopefully, this is the last one. If we could just get rid of pocket items, then we could go home. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): You have two -- Chair Sanchez: Two what? Ms. Thompson: -- district page items. Chair Sanchez: Commissioner Sarnoff deferred his. Commissioner Regalado, you're deferring City ofMiami Page 172 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 yours, too? Commissioner Regalado: Yeah. I have a pocket item. Chair Sanchez: Yeah, we have pocket items, but there are no district blue sheets or district items. We're just going straight to pocket items, okay? "[Later...]" Chair Sanchez: The district items have been deferred both by Commissioner Sarnoff and by Commissioner Regalado. DISTRICT 3 CHAIR JOE SANCHEZ DISTRICT 4 COMMISSIONER TOMAS REGALADO D4.1 08-00711 DISCUSSION ITEM DISCUSSION ABOUT DIRECTING THE ADMINISTRATION TO ASSIST RESIDENTS WITH THE FIRE FEE REFUND PROCESS THROUGH THE CITY OF MIAMI NET OFFICES. 08-00711 Memo.pdf DEFERRED Note for the Record: Please refer to Item D2.1 for minutes referencing Item D4.1. City ofMiami Page 173 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 NA.1 08-00767 District 4- Commissioner Tomas Regalado DISTRICT 5 VICE CHAIR MICHELLE SPENCE-JONES Non Agenda Items RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATING OF FUNDS, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,000, TO THE AMERICAN CHILDREN'S ORCHESTRA FOR PEACE INC., TO CO-SPONSOR MUSIC FEST 2008; ALLOCATING SAID FUNDS FROM THE DISTRICT 4 SPECIAL EVENTS BUDGET, ACCOUNT CODE NO. 001000.921054.6.289. Motion by Commissioner Regalado, seconded by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner Sarnoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones Absent: 1 - Commissioner Gonzalez NA.2 08-00769 District 5- Vice Chair Michelle Spence -Jones R-08-0374 Chair Sanchez: So let's go to pocket items. Anybody's got pocket items? Commissioner Regalado, you're recognized for the pocket item. Commissioner Regalado: Very briefly. A resolution of the Miami City Commission authorizing the allocation of funds, in an amount not to exceed $1,000, to the American Children's Orchestra For Peace, to cosponsor Music Fest 2008; allocating said funds from District 4 special events budget. So move. Chair Sanchez: There's a motion. Need a second. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sanchez: Second by Vice Chair Spence Jones. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I have a (INAUDIBLE). Chair Sanchez: You have a question on that? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: No. I just second it. Chair Sanchez: Okay. No discussion on the pocket item. All in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay." The pocket item has been approved. RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE WAIVER OF ALL FEES FOR THE USE OF THE LITTLE HAITI SOCCER PARK ON FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 2008, FOR THE NOTRE DAME D'HAITI CHURCH SOCCER LEAGUE; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE USE OF THE City ofMiami Page 174 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 CITY OF MIAMI'S SHOWMOBILE ON FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2008, FROM 3:OOP.M. TO 12:00 A.M., FOR THE "FEAST OF OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP." Motion by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Sarnoff, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner Sarnoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones Absent: 1 - Commissioner Gonzalez R-08-0375 Chair Sanchez: Any other pocket items? Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I have a pocket item, sir. Chair Sanchez: You're recognized for the record. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: A resolution of the City ofMiami authorizing the waiver of all fees for the use of Little Haiti Soccer Park on Friday, June 28 [sic], for the Nofre Dame Haiti church soccer league. The event is on Friday, June 27, from 3 p.m. to 12 a.m., for the Feast of Our Lady. Chair Sanchez: All right. There's a motion. Need a second. Commissioner Sarnoff Second. Commissioner Regalado: Second. Chair Sanchez: You know what you voted on? Commissioner Sarnoff Yeah. I heard what she said. Chair Sanchez: She's giving away a million dollars. Commissioner Sarnoff She didn't say a million dollars. Chair Sanchez: Okay. All right. Commissioner Sarnoff I heard it. Chair Sanchez: You can't -- Commissioner, you can't leave. We got to, you know -- we got other pocket items. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Oh, I didn't know that. Chair Sanchez: All right. Vice Chair Spence -Jones: I thought that was the last -- Chair Sanchez: No. I have a pocket item. All right. All in favor, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay." Pocket item presented by Vice Chair Spence -Jones has been approved. City ofMiami Page 175 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 NA.3 08-00777 RESOLUTION District 3- Chair Joe Sanchez A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF FUNDS, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $2,000, TO THE FAMILY TIES FOUNDATION, TO SPONSOR THEIR "SALUTE TO OUR HEROES" EVENT; ALLOCATING SAID FUNDS FROM THE DISTRICT 3 SPECIAL EVENTS ACCOUNT NO. 00001.980000.548000.0000.00000. Motion by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Regalado, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner Sarnoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones Absent: 1 - Commissioner Gonzalez R-08-0377 Chair Sanchez: Any other pocket items? Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): I have one, sir. Chair Sanchez: Well, you're going to go last. Mr. Hernandez: Well, you asked. Chair Sanchez: All right. This is a pocket item. The Family Tie [sic] Foundation, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to meeting the needs of the families of the wounded soldiers, they're hosting an event called "Rock For Troops," a tribute to our heroes that are coming back. These are soldiers that are wounded, and although they get assistance from the VA (Veteran's Association) and the federal government, this non-profit organization raises money for them and their families. This event is being held Saturday, and I take this opportunity to invite each and every one of you to attend, Saturday, June 28, from 4 to 9 p.m., at Finnegan's on the River, in downtown. It is called Rock For Troops Tribute, and at this time, what I'd like to do is present a pocket item -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Yes. Chair Sanchez: -- which is a resolution of the City ofMiami Commission authorizing the allocation of funds, in the amount not to exceed $2, 000, to the Family Ties Foundation, sponsored -- to sponsor their salute to the heroes' event; allocated said funds from my district special events account. The number -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sanchez: -- and I won't state the number, so -- Vice Chair Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sanchez: -- there's a motion. The motion is made by the Vice Chair, second by Commissioner Regalado. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, if you have nothing to do Saturday, do show up; support our troops and their family [sic] as it is time for us to thank them for what they've done for this great nation of ours. Priscilla A. Thompson (City Clerk): May I have a vote, please? Chair Sanchez: All in favor, say "aye." City ofMiami Page 176 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: Anyone in opposition, having the same right, say "nay." Motion carries. NA.4 08-00768 RESOLUTION City Manager's A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Office ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, WITH MIAMI-DADE COUNTY ("COUNTY"), FOR THE PURPOSE OF ACCEPTING FUTURE DISTRIBUTIONS OF FUNDS, FROM THE COUNTY'S PARKING FINES REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM, ADMINISTERED BY THE OFFICE OF AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT COORDINATION, WHICH RECEIVES REVENUES COUNTYWIDE FROM TICKETS ISSUED FOR ILLEGAL PARKING IN HANDICAPPED SPACES; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A GENERAL AFFIDAVIT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ACCESSING SAID FUNDS, WHICH ARE ALLOCATED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION TO IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY AND FUND PROGRAMS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. 08-00768-Leg islation. pdf 08-00768-Exhibit. pdf 08-00768-Summary Form.pdf Motion by Vice Chair Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Sarnoff, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner Sarnoff, Sanchez, Regalado and Spence -Jones Absent: 1 - Commissioner Gonzalez R-08-0376 Chair Sanchez: Mr. City Manager, you're recognized for your pocket item. Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a resolution authorizing the Manager to enter into an interlocal agreement with Miami -Dade County to accept future distribution ofADA (Americans with Disabilities) parking fine funds. This is a -- the money from tickets from people that park in handicap spaces, and by doing this, we can then Vice Chair Spence -Jones: So moved. Mr. Hernandez: -- accept those monies from the County and use at parks -- Commissioner Sarnoff Second. Mr. Hernandez: -- to improve accessibility. Commissioner Sarnoff Second. Chair Sanchez: All right. Commissioner Sarnoff All in favor, please say "aye. " Vice Chair Spence -Jones: All in favor -- City ofMiami Page 177 Printed on 7/18/2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes June 26, 2008 Commissioner Sarnoff All in favor -- Commissioner Regalado: Aye. Commissioner Sarnoff -- please say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sanchez: One no. No, I'm only kidding. Yes. NA.5 08-00776 DISCUSSION ITEM DISCUSSION CONCERNING FILM NIGHT V AT CITY HALL "ONE WATER" - FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2008. DISCUSSED Commissioner Sarnoff Hey, I just want to remind everybody tomorrow night, film night, One Water. Everybody please come out to City Hall. Pete Hernandez is the guest speaker, so we'll be there. Pedro G. Hernandez (City Manager): Thank you. Please be there. Chair Sanchez: Okay. Motion to adjourn. Commissioner Sarnoff Motion to adjourn. Do I have a second? Chair Sanchez: Second. Commissioner Sarnoff All right. Move to adjourn. Everybody in favor? Chair Sanchez: You can't make a motion; you're the Chair. City ofMiami Page 178 Printed on 7/18/2008