HomeMy WebLinkAboutREVISED Appeal Letter•
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City of Miami
Dept of Planning & Zoning - Hearing Boards Section
444 SW 2"d Avenue, 3rd Floor Miami, FL 33130
ATTN: Olga Zamora, Chief of Hearing Boards
600 NW North River Drive, Miami, FL 33136
May 14, 2018
RE: HEPB-R-18-034 Notice of Appeal of kayak installation & new seawall 601 NW 7th St Rd
Dear Ms Zamora:
We wish to appeal the HEPB decision to move this item on to the County for Class I Permit to begin
construction of new seawall along Seybold Canal & install a kayak ramp off the tip of Point Park. There
are a variety of issues which cause this proposal to have a negative impact on the park & neighborhood:
1. There is no independent engineering report on the condition of the seawall — local knowledge
indicates it is standing intact in the water, built according to techniques from 100 yrs ago, making
it truly historic: gravity seawall (built like a pyramid in the days before plywood & steel). This
should not be hidden away by sheetpile — instead a sign in park should explain & show the
unusual construction. The cap on the seawall is the only aspect with signs of wear & tear. It
should be replaced......would not take a million dollars as this proposal plans to spend. Seawall
should be carefully analyzed, gently repaired & preserved as a major piece of construction history
in this area. Unfortunately, this didn't get presented to Historic Board so they did not know
enough for the decision they had to make.
2. The passive park receives regular visits from 3 neighborhoods: Spring Garden, Overtown, &
Brickell......all embrace & find joy in the green grass & trees by the water. The kayak launch
removes trees from the site ruining the view, & the launch ramp requires cutting a swath of our
parkland away, destroying our lovely circular pathway — the park is so beautiful in photos from
the River because of these features, which people have come to love over the decades.
3. The Middle River at this location is narrow & turns, making a stronger current as it comes thru 5111
St Bridge & not safe for nonmotorized vessels due to Norseman Boatyard, Seybold traffic & the
new huge tugs & ships which travel just along the park to set up for turning thru the bridge —
unsafe for any but the most experienced. There are several other kayak launch locations in the
Lower River where the River is wide & straight = safer.
4. Because this passive Point Park has no streetfront of its own, all arriving cars park in front of our
homes, Two large homes are being added to this corner right now, so those families will be using
even more of our street parking. Many park visitors arrive by car which we accommodate, but
there is hardly space to attract a new group: athletes with kayaks — 20 yrs ago it was designated
as a passive space, not an athletic space.
5. During Irma a wall of water came upriver & rnoved up Seybold, flooding homes by park. This
kayak ramp now opens a pathway fora similar bigger wall of storm water to come upriver & right
up into the park— even the rock riprap allows for water intrusion. Neighbors feel the shoreline
along the river should receive the sheetpile seawall, high, to prevent future high water events at
the park.
6. Overtowners & Spring Gardeners rub shoulders in this park, share stories, & now are holding
hands to nudge the soccer/concert arena to a larger, better location. Some feel this kayak launch
idea is actually to create a place fora water taxi to deliver soccer fans & concert goers into Point
Park every weekend to mingle along our homes as they move to & from their event. The County
Mayor told Spring Garden residents he would "close -off" our neighborhoo it the arena is built -
a water taxi arriving to Point Park does not conform to his promise.
7. This was named Point Park (instead of for the Hewes brothers who sold the land to the Trust for
Public Land). Now they want to chop off the Point itself! And despoil the lush park which we
love, while spending a million to entomb an historic pyramid seawall which is standing proud on
the calm waters of the canal for the last 100 yrs & this proposal endangers the novice kayakers by
luring them to launch into a federal shipping lane. help!
Sincerely,
Isaac M. Perry Ili / Rebecca Long
cc: Historic Officer