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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAppeal LetterM IAM I•DADE 111. miamidadearts.org miamidade.gov COUNTY Danielle Levine Cava, Mayor VIA ONLINE SUBMISSION & E-MAIL May 18, 2026 Olga Zamora Hearing Boards Division Chief City of Miami Planning Department 444 S.W. 2nd Avenue, 3rd Floor Miami, Florida 33130 Cultural Affairs 111 NW 1st Street • Suite 625 Miami, FL 33128-1994 T 305-375-4634 F 305-375-3068 Re: Appeal of May 6, 2026 PZAB Decision on Item #19077 Relating to the Coconut Grove Playhouse (PZAB Resolution No. PZAB-R-26-022) Dear Ms. Zamora: By this letter, Miami -Dade County appeals the above -referenced Planning and Zoning Appeals Board (PZAB) decision to the City Commission, pursuant to sections 7.1.2.6 d. and 7.1.5 c. of Miami 21 and applicable law. Section 7.1.5 c. provides that such an appeal shall be made within 15 days of the PZAB's decision. The County's appeal is timely in that the PZAB's decision was made on May 6, 2026 and this appeal is being submitted on May 18, 2026. At the May 6 hearing, the PZAB voted 5-to-4 in favor of the County's application for approval of five Exceptions and four subordinate Waivers to allow for the restoration, expansion, master planning, and related approvals for the Coconut Grove Playhouse. While the County's application received support from a majority of the board members present, the application was deemed denied because "the [County] failed to obtain the required supermajority vote pursuant to Section 7.1.1.4.d.4. of the Miami 21 Code and Section 62-17(d) of the City Code, which indicate that no action [of the PZAB] to approve an Exception shall be taken without the concurring votes of a supermajority of board members present." The specific reason for this appeal is that the PZAB's decision did not comport with applicable legal requirements, which has resulted in the County's inability to use the property in the manner contemplated by the County's application, including, principally, as a theater, which is the historical use. MIAMI•DiADE COUNTY Danielle Levine Cava, Mayor Cultural Affairs 111 NW 1st Street • Suite 625 Miami, FL 33128-1994 T 305-375-4634 F 305-375-3068 miamidadearts.org miamidade.gov Although under Miami 21, the City Commission shall conduct a de novo hearing, applying anew the applicable code criteria for Exceptions and Waivers, the County provides below some additional context demonstrating the necessity for this appeal. Inability to use the property. The County's efforts to rehabilitate the Playhouse site go back more than a decade. In 2013, for example, the Board of County Commissioners approved a lease agreement between the State of Florida, as owner and lessor, and Florida International University ("FIU") and the County, as joint lessees, for the Playhouse property ("Lease Agreement"). See Resolution No. R-797-13. The Lease Agreement includes an attached Business Plan, approved by the State of Florida, and expressly states that the County was to develop the Playhouse property in accordance with the Business Plan. See Resolution No. R-797-13, Lease Agreement at §8, pg. 13. The Business Plan in the Lease Agreement appended the "building program for a regional theater" that provided for the Playhouse to be reconstructed as a 300-seat theater. Id. at pgs. 52-62. In addition, the Business Plan repeatedly acknowledged that it was understood that there was a "need for [] additional, compatible development," such as parking along with "retail, restaurants, etc.," with "the objective of generating additional revenues principally dedicated to ensure the viability and success of GableStage's and FIU's cultural and educational programs." Id. at 48-49. In recommending approval of the Lease Agreement to the County Commission, the then -County Mayor explicitly highlighted the need to generate revenues to support the Playhouse through the development of the additional, compatible commercial development on site. Id. at 4. Since 2013, the County has been diligently seeking the approvals from the City necessary to see this project realized, including historic preservation and zoning approvals. But, unfortunately, the County has encountered headwinds at every turn, as evidenced by no less than four court proceedings, all of which to date have been decided in the County's favor. All the while, the County has been deprived of the ability to use the property as it was historically used —namely, as a theater. The additional components of the County's plan —including the commercial and parking uses —are essential to ensuring that the Playhouse campus is a complete, self-sustaining enterprise that will not end in economic demise, as occurred in the past before the County's involvement, when the theater fell into mismanagement and was shuttered. The Playhouse sits in the CI zoning district and, under Miami 21, every use in this district is subject to approval as an Exception. Thus, perversely, the County cannot even reestablish the historical theater use on the site without the approval of by the PZAB or, on appeal here, by the City Commission. The PZAB's denial of the County's application therefore thwarts and deprives the County —and, indeed, the entire community —of the long -held use of the property in a manner that fails to comport with applicable law. M IAM I•DADE 111. miamidadearts.org miamidade.gov COUNTY Danielle Levine Cava, Mayor Cultural Affairs 111 NW 1st Street • Suite 625 Miami, FL 33128-1994 T 305-375-4634 F 305-375-3068 The County's application here seeks to restore that historical use in a responsible, self-sustaining manner, all within a beautiful campus that is compatible with, and sensitive to, its surroundings and the area's neighbors. It is important to emphasize that each of the County's zoning requests are needed either to reestablish the historical use along with necessary supportive uses, as explained above, or owe to the inherent constraints of the site. This is an irregularly shaped parcel, and the County has designed a plan that works to balance all of the many interests and goals in a responsible and efficient manner. The County's commitment is to provide an economically -viable theater campus that includes a state-of-the-art new theater and fully -restored and historically appropriate front building with small shopfronts, along with adequate parking and a place for theatergoers to eat, greenspace and landscaping for the public to enjoy, commercial uses to help economically support the theater, and educational space. The County is also committed to ensuring that the articulation of these uses on the campus treats the abutting neighborhood, in particular the historic West Grove, with respect and dignity. Accommodating all of these interests on this irregularly shaped and constrained parcel is a challenge, which is why the County seeks certain Waivers as part of its zoning application. For example, while the application seeks a Waiver for a reduction from the Code -required greenspace, in reality the County is increasing the amount of greenspace and landscaping on the site from what is there today and what has been there in the past. However, given the constraints of the site, the County simply cannot fit all of the Code - required greenspace on this site along with the theater, the historic front building, and the garage. Similarly, the Waiver for impervious surfaces along the front property line is a function of where the historic front facade sits. To keep it in place, this Waiver is needed because the front facade is situated on zero frontage. But this Waiver for impervious pertains only to the front property line, and elsewhere on the site the County's project is compliant with pervious requirements and will satisfy stormwater requirements. With this in mind, it is clear that the County's application is needed to re-establish the important historical use of the property, along with necessary supporting uses, all of which are thoughtfully arranged throughout the campus. Because the PZAB's decision ignored these facts and resulted in the County's inability to use the property for the public's benefit, the decision was made in error. Failure to comply with applicable legal requirements. Quasi-judicial decisions of local government boards, such as the PZAB, are reviewed pursuant to a familiar three - pronged standard that considers: (1) whether the board observed the essential requirements of the law; (2) whether the board's decision was supported by competent MIAMI•DiADE COUNTY Danielle Levine Cava, Mayor Cultural Affairs 111 NW 1st Street • Suite 625 Miami, FL 33128-1994 T 305-375-4634 F 305-375-3068 miamidadearts.org miamidade.gov substantial evidence; and (3) whether the board accorded procedural due process. See Miami -Dade Cnty. v. Omnipoint Holdings, Inc., 863 So. 2d 195, 198-99 (Fla. 2003). Here, the PZAB applied the wrong law, made a decision that was unsupported by substantial competent evidence, and failed to accord due process. As such, the PZAB's decision is legally infirm. Based on the foregoing, the County respectfully requests that this appeal be processed and placed on the next available City Commission agenda. For the reasons explained in the City staff report, among others, the County's application satisfies the relevant standards. Accordingly, after conducting a de novo hearing, it would be most appropriate for the City Commission to approve the County's application for this important project. Such an approval is essential to allow the County to restore the historical use of the property, return great theater to this site, and provide County residents and visitors with a significant public benefit and cultural resource in the heart of Coconut Grove. Sincerely, Jimmy Morales, Chief Operating Officer Office Of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava Miami -Dade County cc: Ashlee Thomas, Interim Director David Snow, City Planning Director Sevanne Steiner, Assistant Planning Director George Wysong, City Attorney Amber Ketterer, Assistant City Attorney Kenneth Jessell, Florida International University Alex Argudin, Miami Parking Authority