HomeMy WebLinkAboutPrelim. List of State Legislative PrioritiesCITY OF MIAMI
2014 STATE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
PRELIMINARY LIST
1. TRAILER PARKS
SUPPORT amending Sections 723.022 and 723.023 regarding the responsibilities of
trailer park owners and trailer owners. Section 723.024 prevents the City from placing
any lien against a trailer park for the violations of a trailer owner. The Florida statute
would need to be changed to allow the City to enforce its code against the trailer park
owner when the trailer owner does not comply.
2. ALF
SUPPORT changes to the Florida statute sections governing Assisted Living Facilities
(ALFs) and Community Residential Homes to provide for greater security for residents
and the community and to provide for notice to the municipality when an
ALF/Community Residential Home accepts criminal defendants.
3. FPL
SUPPORT legislation to have utilities to be able to underground near access highways
when projects are related to a nuclear facility and have utility companies bear the costs of
undergrounding when cost recovery is involved; legislation to consider
undergrounding as an alternate corridor when nuclear facilities are involved and have
utility companies pay for the undergrounding when more than two years of cost recovery
has been used; legislation to allow undergrounding when cost recovery is involved and
allow the utilities to pay for the undergrounding.
4. SHADE MEETINGS / EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
SUPPORT legislation that would amend Florida Chapter 286 regarding shade meetings
for anticipated litigation - Sec. 286.111- Sunshine law re: executive sessions. Currently,
executive sessions are only held when there is a litigation matter. The City supports
amending the section to state that executive sessions can be held when litigation is
anticipated.
5. PRE-TRIAL DETENTION NOTIFICATION
SUPPORT legislation that amends Chapter 903 Fla. Stat. to provide for electronic
notification to the arresting agency whenever a career offender, habitual violent felony
offender, a violent career criminal or three -time violent felony offender is granted bond
or released from pre-trial detention. The notification will allow the respective law
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enforcement agency to ensure the arresting agency is aware that the career offender has
been released back in to the community.
6. PENSION -
MONITOR legislation affecting Chapters 175 and 185, and ensure that the "deemed to
comply" exemption for cities like Miami remains in effect, and ensure that cities retain
flexibility to negotiate changes in pension benefits without jeopardizing their eligibility to
receive premium tax revenues.
7. CONDO CONVERSION -
SUPPORT legislation amending Section 718.616 to require that the building department
of a local jurisdiction be notified when a developer applies for condominium conversion
approval in order for said jurisdiction to receive a copy of the building inspections
required to be filed and be able to submit their consent to convert before said approvals
are given.
8. CLAIMS BILL
OPPOSE legislation providing for an appropriation to compensate Melvin and Alma
Colindres in cormection to a wrongful death action brought against the City of Miami
concerning the death of Kevin Colindres.
9. LOCAL BUSINESS TAXES
OPPOSE legislation to prohibit or diminish a local government's authority to impose to
local business taxes.
10. IMPACT FEES
OPPOSE legislation to prohibit local governments from imposing impact fees.
11. HOME RULE
SUPPORT the preservation of local home rule and OPPOSE any effort to preempt local
authority.
12. UNFUNDED MANDATES
OPPOSE all unfunded mandates.
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APPROPRIATIONS
MIAMI MARINE STADIUM
REQUEST $250,000 for the renovation of Miami Marine Stadium. The 6,566 seat stadium was
built in 1963 on land donated for "water sports," and designed by architect Hilario Candela, then -
a 28-year-old recent immigrant from Cuba. It was dedicated as the Ralph Munroe Marine
Stadium opened, completed at a cost of around $2 million ($15.3 million, adjusted for current
inflation). The venue, located just south of Downtown Miami, was revered for its scenic views of
Downtown and Miami Beach, hosting motorboat events, and events featuring the likes of Mitch
Miller, Sammy Davis, Jr., and U.S. President Richard Nixon (whose seasonal winter residence,
dubbed "the Florida White House," was on nearby Key Biscayne). The Stadium was host for
many world class powerboat events including Unlimited Hydroplane, Inboard, Outboard,
Performance Craft, Stock, Modified, Grand National divisions as well as other special event
races. The Stadium was also the site of a number of nationally televised events including the Bill
Muncey Invitational and the ESPN All American Challenge Series. The last major race in the
Stadium was the 1987 Inboard Hydroplane national Championship.
The stadium was condemned in 1992. On April 28, 2009 the National Trust for Historic
Preservation named the Commodore Ralph Middleton Munroe Marine Stadium to its list of
America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. On April 18, 2012, the American Institute of
Architects's Florida Chapter placed the stadium on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years.
100 Places as the Ralph Middleton Munroe Miami Marine Stadium.
WAGNER CREEK / SEYBOLD CANAL
REQUEST funds up to $8 million from the State of Florida for environmental cleanup of
Wagner Creek / Seybold Canal. The project area is located in Miami along a 2.5-mile (8,800-
foot) tributary to the Miami River, which includes Wagner Creek and Seybold Canal. In
combination, Wagner Creek and Seybold Canal represents a major tributary to the Miami River,
providing drainage for a sizable portion of the City. Wagner Creek is a tributary of the Miami
River via the Seybold Canal that connects to Biscayne Bay. Biscayne Bay is a South Florida
Water Management District (SFWMD) priority water body. Also, Seybold Canal is a navigable
waterway and allows small craft access to both residential and industrial landowners.
The purpose of this project is to remove accumulated sediments and dioxins (a hazardous
chemical that are bound to the sediments) and subsequently restore stormwater capacity in both
Wagner Creek and Seybold Canal. Flooding caused by future hurricanes and storm events can
lead to severe infrastructure damage and water quality degradation within the projects drainage
basin and this project will reduce flood conditions in the surrounding neighborhoods caused from
typical storm events. As a result, the City of Miami has placed great importance on the
completion of this dredging project in an effort to help mitigate flood damage and increase
public safety.
The State of Florida owns the submerged land in Seybold Canal from which the Miami -Dade
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Department of Environmental Resource Management (DERM) is legally requiring the removal
of its contaminated sediments, including dioxin. Safely removing and disposing of this highly
contaminated State owned submerged land, located in the Seybold Canal, is estimated to cost $8
million. The Seybold Canal / Wagner Creek Maintenance Dredging and Environmental Clean -
Up Project will remediate what is known as the most polluted waterway in the State of Florida,
and will save 4 existing marine industrial businesses, which generate numerous jobs. Therefore,
we respectfully recommend the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's (FDEP)
proposed budget submittal, for approval by the Florida Legislature in the 2012 Legislative
Session, include $4 million for the City of Miami to conduct this FDEP permitted project.
OLYMPIA THEATER / GUSMAN CENTER
REQUEST $1,000,000 to completely restore the brick veneer and terracotta facade of the
National Register listed Olympia Theater Building (a.k.a., Gusman Center for the Performing
Arts). The project area is located in Miami, on historic Flagler Street in the heart of Downtown
Miami. Engineering reports (2009 & 2010) have indicated that the brick veneer is loose and
peeling from the structure. The Olympia Theater is one of the few remaining "Movie Palaces"
built in Florida during the 1920's. The Olympia Building is currently an affordable rental
housing community with 80 units. The bricks and ornaments from the architecture were
temporarily secured (pinned) in 2010, these were temporary measures for safety, there is a risk
that brick can further degrade and fall onto pedestrians and property on the public sidewalks and
roadway. Performances and tenants are negatively impacted by the building appearance and
damage from water intrusion. High winds and driving rain caused by future hurricanes and
storm events can lead to severe damage to this historic asset. The historic Olympia Theater
Building is a National Register Landmark, and designated historic building in the City of Miami.
The State of Florida has contributed in the past to restoration of the theater interiors. The project
re -secures the building exterior elements to the structure and prevents water intrusion into the
building which has gone through an extensiveinteriorrestoration that began in 2006.
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