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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSubmittal-Marleine Bastien-Letter to City Commissioners RE Magic City SAPLetter to the City Commission regarding Magic City SAP March 28, 2019 City of Miami C:ommission 3500 Pan American Dr Miami, FL 331:33 Submitted into the p blic record f r ite (s) Y'.. \ on 1,1 /1� , City erk To the Honorable Chair Ken Russell and the Honorable Commissioners Carollo, Gort, Hardemon, and Reyes: We write you today to request a moratorium on all Special Area Action Plans in the Little Haiti neighborhood. The City of Miami was recently considering three simultaneous SAP plans just in Little Haiti alone. We feel that this particular fast tracked mega -development model of urban development is unwise, unethical, and should not move forward as it stands. More importantly, it goes against our current stated code, is not resilient and defies many points within our current comprehensive plan redevelopment. Furthermore, we feel this pace and size of proposed deve opments in Little Haiti is not what was intended in the City's Miami 21 which safeguards communities from displacement, encourages real economic development, and is there to serve the people. We ask for a complete pause on SAPs in Little Haiti until the City conducts impact studies on the Magic City's proposed 25 story 10 liquor license nine acre mega development. We feel this moratorium is warranted given how grossly out of synch the Magic City proposed development is with the two story building neighborhood and Main Street it's overtaking. Why the rush? Why in all these months of heated concern have there been no impact studies? What is the timeline of the City's own soon -to -launch $4M climate gentrification study? Isn't this gentrification study going to focus in large part on this very neighborhood where the city had until recently been considering three simultaneous SAPs? What safeguards are in place? Why the rush to fast -track Magic City when hundreds of Cii:y of Miami residents cry foul? The concern is real and growing. The pace and impact of the Magic City SAP in Little Haiti will not only set the precedent for SAPs in Allapattah, Little Havana, Overtown, and Liberty City - it will also define the very future of this city. Will Miami be a city in which private collars trump the public good? Will we allow unbridled development to uproot historic communities and private interests to control public assets at the expense of our constituents? Will Miami be a city in which under invested communities' voices about their future go unheard? Will Miami choose to be a city in which entire neighborhoods are sold by their elected representative to the highest bidder --against the protest of residents, workers, and business owners? Together, we the undersigned ask our elected representatives to consider the following requests when reviewing the Magic City SAP Development Agreement and Community Benefits Package: • A Seat :at the Table. Community members are not merely token voices to be heard at the end of years - long negotiations, but are critical stakeholders that should be present from the genesis of any development process. Miami's future must not be drafted solely by outside investors. Residents and community leaders who built this community must be at the helm, and that position should be codified in Miami 21. • Impact Analyses and Impact Statements. Racial and social impact statements are a key step in planned neighborhood change and should be required in the Special Area Plan application process along with 4 b6� SvNfivt*o\ - Mot(16teOok \e\A - U e r 5; 1110. c, Q:1\f SAc Submitted into the public record'Jfgrr etp(s) Q7.1 1 on / City �1erk Letter to the City Commission regarding Magic City SAP existing economic, environmental, traffic, and density analyses. Such reviews should analyze not only the impact on the development site, but the effects of rising rents in the surrounding area, evici:ion rates, and displacement of communities of color in violation of the Fair Housing Act's affirmative reqLirements. If two or more Special Area Plans are proposed in one neighborhood, rigorous study of the totality of impact should be required before proposals reach the City Commission. • Fair and Equitable Zoning and Community Benefit Agreements. Community Benefit Agreements should be a required element of any major development, and of Special Area Plans, in particular. Within Miami 21, the City should articulate a clear baseline of expectations from developers which can be adapted to specific neighborhood needs through these agreements, rather than leaving the process up to lopsided negotiations, late in the development process that put residents at a disadvantage. • Affordable Housing and the Right to Remain. The community that built Little Haiti and other neighborhoods should not be forced out just as investment and long awaited infrastructure improvements arrive. Long term affordable housing policy is possible through a mix of new development with community control, homeownership programs, neighborhood preference policy and improvements in naturally occurring affordable housing. Low-income homeowners should be supported by financial and policy support that empowers them to remain in their homes when property taxes rise and code enforcement ramps up. In the midst of the housing crisis Miami faces, all Special Area Plans and major zo:iing variances with residential units should contain a minimum set aside of onsite, truly affordable housing. Baselines such as twenty percent of all units or half of all bonus density units are a meaningfully commitment that can help meet the city's needs and give developers and investors clarity for future projects. Definitions of affordability should be set in accordance with the incomes of the neighborhood, City median income, and community input. Units at or above market rate, which can include "workforce" units in some neighborhoods, should not be considered towards any density bonuses or other incentives for a project. Additional contributions to affordable housing development, above and beyond onsite construction, should also be encouraged. Commercial developments should also contribute affordable housing funds and consider set asides for small businesses at reduced rates. • Moratorium until Miami 21 is revised. Until this process is fixed and Miami 21 is revised to incorporate the above and other recommendations, there should be an immediate moratorium on new and pending Special Area Plans applications. It is then critically important that the City fast track Miami 21 revisions to make all necessary code modifications and transitions so development can proceed in a manner consistent with good planning that ensures the resilience, wellbeing, and protection of our communities.. • Community Control of the Land. Without a stake in land ownership, small business owners, renters, and community organizations in Little Haiti and other neighborhoods will be under constant threat of displacement. Community Land Trusts shaped by community leaders and led by residents should be established to ensure long term affordability and economic prosperity of the community. This model has flourished in similarly situated communities across the country and should be supported with land donations and other support from public and private entities. Such donations could be facil tated through Community Benefit Agreements, amongst other avenues. Furthermore, the true reality is that community land trust could help fast track the. City's ability to save current green spaces which is clearly identified with in the city's comprehensive plan as a deficiency within the city of Miami. It can also help with in the concept of adaptation action areas and the market forces that are driving kind of gentrifica :ion in Little 2 3ubmitteci into the pulq,lic record fpr ite r( s on SI L%I . City Clerk Letter to the City Commission regarding Magic City SAP Haiti. Having the community land trust can be the blueprint for protecting high ground areas from future climate -related gentrification. And in addition, we request that the City integrate into its land use policies the following priorities: • Economic Empowerment. In our future Little Haiti, small businesses and entrepreneurs are supported through provisions of discounted space, incubators and training programs, and grant programs. Worker -owned cooperatives, social enterprises and other innovative business models should be encouraged and supported with financial and technical support. • Investment and Preservation of Cultural Heritage. The cultural heritage of our neighborhoods is one of Miami's biggest assets. In Little Haiti, Haitian architecture, names, and signage should be protected and invested in. Resources should be made available to promote Haitian art, culture, and traditions. • Reduce incentives for speculation that narrow margins for public benefits. Past upzonings have revealed that investors sell the property once the upzoning has been achieved, at a premium. This means that without: building a single thing, developers can reap the benefit of upzonings as the land value increases. Less on -site promises tied to the land in the development agreement means the land is worth more on the speculative market. This alters the original pro forma and makes it more difficult for developers to maintain lower rental rates due to high land prices post-upzoning. There should be a disincentive to this kind of lipping of property after an SAP upzoning (or other large-scale upzoning) has been achieved, e.g., a one year waiting period before the land is resold. We appreciate your attention to these requests and concerns. And we want to leave you with a vision for a different and much more inclusive framework/ future in which so called "public -private partnerships" mean our communities can participate in co -designing and shaping the proposed investments in their neighborhood. Miami has an opportunity to bring forward a resilient framework for future public private partnerships that can ensure that our City's dynamic cultural hubs like Little Haiti attract ethical development and diversity without rapid displacement. A city in which all communities are economically, culturally, and environmentally resilient, no matter the median income. This is the Miami we should be striving to become. Respectfully, Marleine Bastien, Family Action Network Movement Zelalem Adefris, founding member, Miami Climate Alliance Yoca Arditi-Rocha, The CLEO Institute Gretchen Beesing, Catalyst Miami Trenise Bryant, Miami Workers Center / Miami Climate Alliance Frances Colon, concerned resident, Little Haiti Michael Clarkson, Konscious Contractors Sasha Forbes, National Resources Development Council Albert Gomez, South Florida Resilience Systems 3 Letter to the City Commission regarding Magic City SAP Alana Greer, Community Justice Project Submitted into the pudic Valencia Gunder, Smile Trust record f r it (s) Z \ Cynthia Hernandez, South Florida AFL-CIO on 3 City lerk Meena Jagannath, Community Justice Project Tomas Kennedy, FLIC Votes / Florida Immigrant Coalition Caroline Lewis, The CLEO Institute Jack Lieberman, South Florida Labor Community Alliance Adrian Madriz, SMASH /Miami Climate Alliance David McDougal, founding member, Miami Climate Alliance Marcia Olivo, Miami Workers Center Gustavo Perez, member, City of Miami Forever Citizen Oversight Board Daniella Pierre, Miami -Dade NAACP Isabel Sousa, Florida Immigrant Coalition Melissa Taveras, concerned resident of the City of Miami Cc: City Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez; Mayor Francis Suarez; Chief Resilience Officer Jane Gilbert; Miami Dade County Chief Resilience Officer James Murley 4 Letter to the City Commission regarding Magic City SAP March 28, 2019 City of Miami Commission 3500 Pan American Dr Miami, FL 331:33 Submitted into the put!? record f ite s C. \ L 3 on 5 / / 111 . Ciiy Clerk To the Honorable Chair Ken Russell and the Honorable Commissioners Carollo, Gort, Hardemon, and Reyes: We write you today to request a moratorium on all Special Area Action Plans in the Little Haiti neighborhood. The City of Miami was recently considering three simultaneous SAP plans just in Little Haiti alone. We feel that this particular fast tracked mega -development model of urban development is unwise, unethical, and should not move forward as it stands. More importantly, it goes against our current stated code, is not resilient and defies many points within our current comprehensive plan redevelopment. Furthermore, we feel this pace and size of proposed deve opments in Little Haiti is not what was intended in the City's Miami 21 which safeguards communities from displacement, encourages real economic development, and is there to serve the people. We ask for a complete pause on SAPs in Little Haiti until the City conducts impact studies on the Magic City's proposed 25 stary 10 liquor license nine acre mega development. We feel this moratorium is warranted given how grossly out of synch the Magic City proposed development is with the two story building neighborhood and Main Street it's overtaking. Why the rush? Why in all these months of heated concern have there been no impact studies? What is the timeline of the City's own soon -to -launch $4M climate gentrification study? Isn't this gentrification study going to focus in large part on this very neighborhood where the city had until recently been considering three simultaneous SAPs? What safeguards are in place? Why the rush to fast -track Magic City when hundreds of City of Miami residents cry foul? The concern is real and growing. The pace and impact of the Magic City SAP in Little Haiti will not only set the precedent for SAPs in Allapattah, Little Havana, Overtown, and Liberty City - it will also define the very future of this city. Will Miami be a city in which private collars trump the public good? Will we allow unbridled development to uproot historic communities and private interests to control public assets at the expense of our constituents? Will Miami be a city in which under invested communities' voices about their future go unheard? Will Miami choose to be a city in which entire neighborhoods are sold by their elected representative to the highest bidder --against the protest of residents, workers, and business owners? Together, we the undersigned ask our elected representatives to consider the following requests when reviewing the Magic City SAP Development Agreement and Community Benefits Package: • A Seat at the Table. Community members are not merely token voices to be heard at the end of years - long negotiations, but are critical stakeholders that should be present from the genesis of any development process. Miami's future must not be drafted solely by outside investors. Residents and community leaders who built this community must be at the helm, and that position should be codified in Miami 21. • Impact Analyses and Impact Statements. Racial and social impact statements are a key step in planned neighborhood change and should be required in the Special Area Plan application process along with 1 Submitted into the public I•ecord / r �Is) P 1 City � Letter to the City Commission regarding Magic City SAP on tY erk existing economic, environmental, traffic, and density analyses. Such reviews should analyze not only the impact on the development site, but the effects of rising rents in the surrounding area, evici:ion rates, and displacement of communities of color in violation of the Fair HousingAct's affirmative requirements. If two or more Special Area Plans are proposed in one neighborhood, rigorous study of the totality of impact should be required before proposals reach the City Commission. • Fair and Equitable Zoning and Community Benefit Agreements. Community Benefit Agreements should be a required element of any major development, and of Special Area Plans, in particular. Within Miami 21, the City should articulate a clear baseline of expectations from developers which can be adapted to specific neighborhood needs through these agreements, rather than leaving the process up to lopsided negotiations, late in the development process that put residents at a disadvantage. • Affordable Housing and the Right to Remain. The community that built Little Haiti and other neighborhoods should not be forced out just as investment and long awaited infrastructure improvements arrive. Long term affordable housing policy is possible through a mix of new development with community control, homeownership programs, neighborhood preference policy and improvements in naturally occurring affordable housing. Low-income homeowners should be supported by financial and policy support that empowers them to remain in their homes when property taxes rise and code enforcement ramps up. In the midst of the housing crisis Miami faces, all Special Area Plans and major zoning variances with residential units should contain a minimum set aside of onsite, truly affordable housing. Baselines such as twenty percent of all units or half of all bonus density units are a meaningfully commitment that can help meet the city's needs and give developers and investors clarity for future projects. Definitions of affordability should be set in accordance with the incomes of the neighborhood, City median income, and community input. Units at or above market rate, which can include "workforce" units in some neighborhoods, should not be considered towards any density bonuses or other incentives for a project. Additional contributions to affordable housing development, above and beyond onsite construction, should also be encouraged. Commercial developments should also contribute affordable housing funds and consider set asides for small businesses at reduced rates. • Moratorium until Miami 21 is revised. Until this process is fixed and Miami 21 is revised to incorporate the above and other recommendations, there should be an immediate moratorium on new and pending Special Area Plans applications. It is then critically important that the City fast track Miami 21 revisions to make all necessary code modifications and transitions so development can proceed in a manner consistent with good planning that ensures the resilience, wellbeing, and protection of our communities.. • Community Control of the Land. Without a stake in land ownership, small business owners, renters, and community organizations in Little Haiti and other neighborhoods will be under constant threat of displacement. Community Land Trusts shaped by community leaders and led by residents should be established to ensure long term affordability and economic prosperity of the community. This model has flourished in similarly situated communities across the country and should be supported with land donations and other support from public and private entities. Such donations could be facil tated through Community Benefit Agreements, amongst other avenues. Furthermore, the true reality is that community land trust could help fast track the City's ability to save current green spaces which is clearly identified with in the city's comprehensive plan as a deficiency within the city of Miami. It can also help with in the concept of adaptation action areas and the market forces that are driving kind of gentrification in Little 2 s d into nubile r ,or ire_ _ of Si- t ! \O City C erk Letter to the City Commission regarding Magic City SAP Haiti. Having the community land trust can be the blueprint for protecting high ground areas from future climate -related gentrification. And in addition, we request that the City integrate into its land use policies the following priorities: • Economic Empowerment. In our future Little Haiti, small businesses and entrepreneurs are supported through provisions of discounted space, incubators and training programs, and grant programs. Worker -owned cooperatives, social enterprises and other innovative business models should be encouraged and supported with financial and technical support. • Investment and Preservation of Cultural Heritage. The cultural heritage of our neighborhoods is one of Miami'. biggest assets. In Little Haiti, Haitian architecture, names, and signage should be protected and invested in. Resources should be made available to promote Haitian art, culture, and traditions. • Reduce incentives for speculation that narrow margins for public benefits. Past upzonings have revealed that investors sell the property once the upzoning has been achieved, at a premium. This means that without: building a single thing, developers can reap the benefit of upzonings as the land value increases. Less on -site promises tied to the land in the development agreement means the land is worth more on the speculative market. This alters the original pro forma and makes it more difficult for developers to maintain lower rental rates due to high land prices post-upzoning. There should be a disincentive to this kind of lipping of property after an SAP upzoning (or other large-scale upzoning) has been achieved, e.g., a one year waiting period before the land is resold. We appreciate your attention to these requests and concerns. And we want to leave you with a vision for a different and much more inclusive framework/ future in which so called "public -private partnerships" mean our communities can participate in co -designing and shaping the proposed investments in their neighborhood. Miami has an opportunity to bring forward a resilient framework for future public private partnerships that can ensure that our City's dynamic cultural hubs like Little Haiti attract ethical development and diversity without rapid displacement. A city in which all communities are economically, culturally, and environmentally resilient, no matter the median income. This is the Miami we should be striving to become. Respectfully, Marleine Bastien, Family Action Network Movement Zelalem Adefris, founding member, Miami Climate Alliance Yoca Arditi-Rocha, The CLEO Institute Gretchen Beesing, Catalyst Miami Trenise Bryant, Miami Workers Center / Miami Climate Alliance Frances Colon, concerned resident, Little Haiti Michael Clarkson, Konscious Contractors Sasha Forbes, National Resources Development Council Albert Gomez, South Florida Resilience Systems 3 Letter to the City Commission regarding Magic City SAP Alana Greer, Community Justice Project Valencia Gunder, Smile Trust Cynthia Hernandez, South Florida AFL-CIO Meena Jagannath, Community Justice Project Tomas Kennedy, FLIC Votes / Florida Immigrant Coalition Caroline Lewis, The CLEO Institute Jack Lieberman, South Florida Labor Community Alliance Adrian Madriz, SMASH /Miami Climate Alliance David McDougal, founding member, Miami Climate Alliance Marcia Olivo, Miami Workers Center Gustavo Perez, member, City of Miami Forever Citizen Oversight Board Daniella Pierre, Miami -Dade NAACP Isabel Sousa, Florida Immigrant Coalition Melissa Taveras, concerned resident of the City of Miami Submitted into the pu lic record or it m(s)i.. on J City C erk Cc: City Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez; Mayor Francis Suarez; Chief Resilience Officer Jane Gilbert; Miami Dade County Chief Resilience Officer James Murley 4