HomeMy WebLinkAboutSubmittal-Robert Zimmerman-StatementStatement of Robert Zimmerman
Miami City Commission
May 8, 2014
My name is Robert Zimmerman. I am the President of the 1000 Venetian Way Condominium,
Inc. I represent 300 residents of the City of Miami who believe the current proposal will be
extremely detrimental not only to our neighborhood but also to the entire population of the
Downtown Miami and Venetian Causeway neighborhoods. I speak officially for my
Association and, I am also in contact with several other homeowners' groups who share our
concerns.
We are concerned about all of the issues that Mr. Herbits and others have raised here — lack of
current traffic analysis, public subsidies to a private developer, impacts on public safety and
evacuation resources and other concerns. I would like to focus on the environmental issues
raised by this project.
In 2014, so much more is known about the dangers of rising sea levels due to climate change
than was known ten years ago when this project was first approved. Miami -Dade County is part
of the Four -County Climate Change Compact. The Compact has raised alarms about the
inevitable impact of rising sea levels on our homes, roadways, neighborhoods, and economy. It
is inconceivable to my Association and to others that the City of Miami would allow this
development, located on the deep water's edge, to move forward without first considering and
accounting for the impact of the rising sea. The issues in the lawsuit against Chicago, based on
its failure to adequately increase storm water storage capacity thereby causing heavy rainfall to
flood hundreds of homes in 2013, are no surprise in the year 2014. I ask that the City of Miami
take these risks seriously.
The dredging activities that will be required for the Flagstone project will deepen the channel
thereby strengthening the impact of storm surges. Stronger storm surges will negatively affect
the Biscayne Bay ecosystem as well as the billions of dollars of buildings, homes, and
commercial properties located on the shoreline including those along Biscayne Boulevard,
Biscayne Drive, and the Venetian Causeway. Does the current agreement require that adequate
insurance be maintained for the inevitable damage that will occur at some time in the next
seventy-five years due to sea -level rise and the storm surges that increase in size and strength as
a result of the deepening of the channel? How are all of us homeowners and property owners
going to be compensated for the increased storm surge damage to our properties that will occur
in years to come as a result of the dredging that this project requires? If the City fails to require
the developer to provide proper insurance for these increased risks, we the taxpayers will be
required to compensate property owners for the damage. This requirement represents another
subsidy for the developers to which our community, as taxpayers, is sharply opposed.
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