Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 2018-05-24 MinutesCity of Miami City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com Meeting Minutes Thursday, May 24, 2018 9:00 AM Planning and Zoning City Hall City Commission Francis Suarez, Mayor Keon Hardemon, Chair Ken Russell, Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner, District One Joe Carollo, Commissioner, District Three Manolo Reyes, Commissioner, District Four Emilio T. Gonzalez, City Manager Victoria Mendez, City Attorney Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 9:00 AM INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Present. Chair Hardemon, Vice Chair Russell, Commissioner Gort, and Commissioner Carollo and Commissioner Reyes. On the 24th day of May 2018, the City Commission of the City of Miami, Florida, met at its regular meeting place in City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida, in regular session. The Commission Meeting was called to order by Chair Hardemon at 9:01 a.m., recessed at 11:02 a.m., reconvened at 3:27p.m., and adjourned at 10:38 p.m. Note for the Record. Commissioner Reyes entered the Commission chambers at 9:02 a.m., Vice Chair Russell entered the Commission chambers at 9:06 a.m., and Commissioner Carollo entered the Commission chambers at 3:57p.m. ALSO PRESENT. Emilio T. Gonzalez, Ph.D., City Manager Victoria Mendez, City Attorney Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk Chair Hardemon: (INAUDIBLE) `18 meeting of the Miami City Commission in these historic chambers. The members of the City Commission are Wifredo Gort, Joe Carollo, Manolo Reyes; Ken Russell, the Vice Chair; and me, Keon Hardemon, the Chairman. Also on the dais are Emilio T. Gonzalez, our City Manager; Victoria Mendez, our City Attorney; and Todd Hannon, our City Clerk. The meeting will be opened with a prayer, led by Commissioner Gort, and the pledge of allegiance will be led by myself. All rise, please. Invocation and pledge of allegiance delivered. PART A - NON -PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S) PR - PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS PRA PROTOCOL ITEM 4186 Honoree Presenter Protocol Item Miami Bayside Foundation Scholarship Recipients (42) Miami Bayside Foundation Certificates of Merit (42) Human Resources Employees Human Resources Pins RESULT: PRESENTED 1) Mayor Suarez and Commissioners joined the Miami Bayside Foundation to pay tribute to forty-two (42) City of Miami High students commending them for their dedication and commitment to education. The students were recognized with Certificates of Merit for their outstanding performance. Elected Officials paused in their deliberations to honor their talents and enthusiasm for academic excellence, and wished them success in their college studies. 2) Mayor Suarez and Commissioners recognized various City of Miami Employees for their 25 years and 30 years of services; presenting them with Service Milestone City of Miami Page I Printed on 0712012018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Awards and commending them for their dedication and commitment to the City of Miami; furthermore thanking them for their dedication as City Employees. Chair Hardemon: We will now make presentations and proclamations. Presentations and proclamations made. Later... Chair Hardemon: They have one more protocol item they want to read, so the -- Is anyone here to --? Presentations and proclamations made. AM - APPROVING THE MINUTES OF THE FOLLOWING MEETINGS: AM.1 City Commission - Planning and Zoning - Mar 22, 2018 9:00 AM MOTION TO: Approve RESULT: APPROVED MOVER: Ken Russell, Vice Chair SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Chair Hardemon: Is there a motion to approve the meeting minutes of March 22? Vice Chair Russell: Moved. Chair Hardemon: Been properly moved and seconded. All in favor of the motion, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Hardemon: That motion carries. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR REGULAR ITEM(S) Chair Hardemon: I'd like to open the floor for public comment. If you're a member of the public and you want to speak on the morning agenda, this is your opportunity to do so, so you can approach any of the two lecterns; state your first name, your last name; you may state your address, but please state what item you're speaking about. Once again, I'm opening the floor for public comment. You can speak on any of the morning agenda items; state your first name, your last name; you may state your address, but please state the item that you're speaking of. Sir, you're recognized. Brett Bibeau: Thank you, Honorable Chairman, Honorable Commission. Brett Bibeau, Managing Director of the Miami River Commission, with offices located at 1407 Northwest 7th Street, here to read our advisory recommendation regarding RE.6 into the record, a letter from Chairman Horacio Stuart Aguirre, which is being distributed. On May 7, the City of Miami, Kobi Karp Architects -- and Kobi Karp Architects presented draft plans, a Memorandum of Understanding, and developer guidelines regarding the Administration's proposed redevelopment for the City of City of Miami Page 2 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Miami -owned 300 through 400 Southeast 2nd Ave., which is today the Hyatt Regency Hotel and the James L. Knight Convention Center. The Miami River Commission's advisory recommendation only considers the proposal in terms of consistency with the adopted City of Miami Zoning Code, Comprehensive Plan, Miami River Greenway Action Plan, and the Miami River Corridor Urban Infill Plan, in terms of a publicly accessible riverwalk, waterfront building setback, et cetera. The Miami River Commission's advisory recommendation does not focus on the economic aspects of the proposal. The Miami River Commission adopted a unanimous resolution, recommending approval of the item, with a few conditions, which the presenters have agreed to. Your time and continued support for the Miami River District are appreciated. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir. Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Bibeau? Mr. Bibeau: Yes, sir. Vice Chair Russell: Did you weigh in on water taxi access or that sort of thing? I'm sorry ifI missed it. Mr. Bibeau: The Miami River Commission has always been in support of water- borne transportation on the Miami River. It's in all of our strategic plans. We also support a 2015 reso from the City Commission, which directed your Administration to apply for marine -operating permits for that specific use at a list of properties, which included, but not limited to, this property. Vice Chair Russell: Good. Thank you. Mr. Bibeau: Thank you. Betty Ruano: Good morning. Betty Ruano, Director of Operations for Little Havana Activities & Nutrition Centers, located at 700 Southwest 8th Street, Miami. I was here this morning to, once again, thank you all for your continued support of Little Havana, but today in particular, Commissioner Gort, we wanted to thank you for giving us the opportunity to provide services, hopefully, at Maceo Park. We toured the facility on Friday, and wow, it was amazing; beautiful facility. Our staff and our management are super excited to continue to provide services within the City of Miami. And if this item, PH 6, is approved, it will be the ninth facility that we have within City limits. It's the largest area that we serve in our company, and it would make it our 15th senior center. We really appreciate the opportunity to continue to provide quality services to the residents of the City of Miami. Thankyou so much. Chair Hardemon: Thank you. Melissa Tapanes-Llahues: Good morning. My name is Melissa Tapanes-Llahues. I am a resident and property owner at 3767 Carmon Court in beautiful Coconut Grove. You may know me as a land use attorney, with law offices at 200 South Biscayne Boulevard, Miami. I'm here today as a professional and moral responsibility to inform the Commission and the Management and the City Attorney of what's happening to our beautiful Coconut Grove. We are under attack. The residents, the business owners, are under attack. And you might not know this, but we feel under attack by the City Administration. There are numerous -- I'm here in specifically to support FR.6, which is providing for redress of historic designation matters before this City Commission. What has transpired over the last couple years is that there's been a lack of enforcement dealing with our tree canopy and development within the Neighborhood Conservation District. It has basically made City of Miami Page 3 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 people very angry, including myself, and we've been before this Commission talking about more enforcement. We've had numerous workshops on Saturday mornings. There was one yesterday. Commissioner Russell attended a couple of them. And in every one of them, I've been told, in no uncertain terms, to sit down and shut up, because I believe in property rights. I'm Cuban American. My grandfather spent over 20 years as apolitical prisoner in Isla de Pino, and I am here as an American with a strong background in property rights. So I feel it's my responsibility to tell you that we are under attack. What is happening before in these Administration - sponsored Code amendments dealing with designation, they were -- your Commission approved 20 homes in Village West to be designated historic. By the time it was at the Historic Preservation Board last month, that number was up to 64, and the Preservation Office was talking -- were talking about property folio numbers like Monopoly money; adding, subtracting folio numbers, where the people in the crowd -- although the grand majority of them, about 95 percent, were speaking against designation of their homes -- the designation -- the Board didn't care, and they voted to designate all the properties historic. I was there, because I was following a Code amendment, where -- it was an amendment to Chapter 23 that required interim protective measures for every property in Coconut Grove over 50 years old, which is about eight -- well, if you talk about property, it's 100 percent of them, but if you're talking about structures, it's about 80 to 90 percent of them. And I asked for a deferral, because I could not believe that I was the only person that had read the agenda that was there concerned about this Code amendment. I was told by the Preservation Officer this had to move forward today, and it did unanimously, but the Preservation Board said it should not only apply to Coconut Grove; it should apply citywide to every building permit for houses or properties over 50 years old for them to have immediate interim protection orders. As a property rights lawyer, I see that as a de facto Historic District without the proper due process of law, I find it unconstitutional, and it's wrong; especially because everyone was here against it. So FR. 6, all it's doing is providing redress to four property owners when they claim economic hardship to appear before this board. Because what's happening now is that each one of those 64 property owners called my law office and asked me to represent them, and for me to represent them all -- And Chairman Hardemon, you're an attorney -- I need to have an office here, a Public Defender's Office, to represent all these property owners that are in need of my services. They should not have to hire a law firm, like myself, or hire me, or require the assistance of a Public Defender in property rights to deal with these issues. They're very significant. And historic designation is being used as a way to stop development, which is wrong. Chair Hardemon: I'm going to stop you, because you've -- Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: Yes. Chair Hardemon: -- been speaking for four minutes. Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: And I appreciate it. Chair Hardemon: And that item has been continued. Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: Correct. Chair Hardemon: But certainly, we want to keep this conversation going, so we'll (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: I'd like to add just one thing, and I know I'm way over my time. I do have many other property owners that are here to speak for this or -- for FR. 6. I'd also like to mention the issue of the Neighborhood Conservation District. We're very concerned that the workshops dealing with the Neighborhood City of Miami Page 4 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Conservation District are just a mob democracy. It's a room full of people telling people like me -- And Commissioner Russell, you experienced it firsthand. It's happened at every one of these workshops on my Saturday mornings and yesterday evening, where I'm just told to sit down and shut up, because I believe in property rights. This is the conversation that's happening. And the legislation that's going to be before you is based on the way that they're deciding the FLR (floor/lot ratio), which is our property rights that the Administration is proposing to you is through stickers. Do you want 40 percent, 50 percent, or 60 percent FLR? And that's just wrong. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman? Commissioner Reyes: I promise you that -- I mean, this was deferred, because additional language is going to be included, but it's going to be on the June 28 -- yes, it's June 28 agenda, okay? I promise you that. Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: And I thank you, Commissioner Reyes, for your leadership and many other of you, because we need leadership in Coconut Grove. We're very concerned. Chair Hardemon: Mr. Vice Chairman. Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: And -- thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Ms. Tapanes, I wasn't sure which item you were speaking on at first, because you started talking about the trees. Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: But I feel a bit of a mixed message coming from you, and I think this is indicative of where many, many people are on these issues. People have their threshold for what is property rights and what is the communal benefit, and you started by talking about the tree canopy. Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: Correct. Vice Chair Russell: I received half a dozen messages from you this weekend about somebody who is trimming trees on their private property. You don't believe that they have the property rights to be able to do -- Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: No. Vice Chair Russell: -- what they want on their property with regard to tree trimming, because you believe in preserving the canopy -- Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: No. Vice Chair Russell: -- and our Code expressly protects it. Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: Let me be very clear, Commissioner. Vice Chair Russell: But on this issue of building structures, that's where you feel a different way. Now, I'm not saying you're right or wrong on either, but -- Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: But that's not -- you're articulating -- City of Miami Page 5 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Vice Chair Russell: -- the mob mentality -- If I may finish, please? -- the mob democracy is actually democracy, and it can get heated, but people are on different sides of that argument. Some feel that trees are the number -one thing that should be protected, and building structure rights should not; others feels exactly the opposite; others feel there should be no regulation of people's property rights. So this is a difficult discussion, and we're continuing to have it, and I really appreciate deferring the item, because we're working on a lot of this. We're working on a lot of this to get it as right as we can with the compromise that we can. Thank you. Commissioner Reyes: And the other thing -- Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: If I may respond, because I think that -- Chair Hardemon: Let me get -- this is it. Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: Well, I was -- my statements were taken out of context, so let me be very clear. On Saturday, 150 -- 146 trees were removed without permits and in violation of a City of Miami Zoning waiver, without permits. That is the rule of law. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: When we talk about mob democracy, we -- Chair Hardemon: All right. Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: -- talk about establishing rule of law based on just a mob democracy. That's two different things. Chair Hardemon: Okay. You've -- Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: I believe in the rule of law. Chair Hardemon: -- clarified it now. We've been -- Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: -- on this for at least seven minutes now, so I'm going to move on. This is the public comment time -- Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: -- and I'm going to move to the gentleman behind you. Sir, you're recognized to speak. Commissioner Reyes: Who will take this? Ms. Tapanes-Llahues: Thank you. And if you have any questions about where my -- what I believe, I'm -- Bay Elliot: Good morning, Commissioners. Chair Hardemon: You're recognized, sir. Ms. Elliot: My name is Bay Elliot, local citizen, born in Coconut Grove, born on Poinciana, grew up here, long-time property owner here in Coconut Grove, former Citv ofMiami Page 6 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 military Navy pilot; flew during the Vietnam War and Gulf War 1. I'm new to these issues with historic designation and the FLR restrictions, and I went to my first meeting last night. Here's what I saw: The representatives that wanted to do the historic designation and restrict the FLRs over 60, white privileged, and there were no minorities that were represented at all in terms of speaking out against some of these things that are being proposed. I fought for individual rights. What is being proposed is diametrically opposed to that, and I just want you guys to know that what was being proposed was a whole lot of what I would call "unequal equivalency, falsities" -- or `falsehoods," and it was done by privileged people. And I admit, I'm white, over 60, and certainly, I've been privileged my whole life. I've been very, very lucky. But there's a whole constituency here in this City that is not being represented, and their rights are being trampled on, and I want to make sure that all of you guys are very, very aware of that; especially, minority communities are being completely trampled on. In terms of awareness, I was told by this group that there's a consensus from -- again, it's only a week that I've been aware of these things, and I think there is a consensus on canopies, certainly, but this consensus, you know, it's a straw poll. Last weekend I was talking with about 35 Grove residents at a party; only one was aware of what's being proposed here, and she had it all wrong. She did not know what was being proposed. My point is that I probably know 300 Grovites pretty well. I know maybe 125 extremely well. I was not aware of these issues until a week ago. And last night was the first time I heard people actually putting out points, and they were patently false in most cases. So I would just like to register my extreme complaint and displeasure with the lack of consideration for the minorities in this whole process. They're being railroaded, they're not being represented, and there is no consensus. That is a falsehood. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much, sir. Sir, you're recognized. Manuel Prieguez: Good morning, Commissioners. Manny Prieguez, 4000 Malaga Avenue, Miami, Florida -- Coconut Grove, Florida 33133. You know, I didn't have any issues today here at the Commission, and I was actually, by pure happenstance, was standing be back there and I heard Melissa speak. And you know what? She inspired me to get up here and say a few words, based on the conversation that occurred, because I've been living in Coconut Grove since 2001, when I got married. We bought our house, and we've been living there ever since. And I am in favor of Commissioner Regalado -- excuse me -- Commissioner Reyes' -- sorry -- you know, legislation. The one point that I want to do bring out that I think is very, very important is that when she categorizes it as a "mob democracy, " what's really important -- the caveat that's really important to mention in that regard is that it's a "minority" mob democracy. It is a very aggressive, passionate --and I respect their passion -- small group of people that believe very strongly a certain way and are very active about it, and that's why they've been pretty successful, to a certain degree, to impose their will upon everybody else. And so, I personally find it offensive -- (Applause) Mr. Prieguez: -- that someone that lives two miles away from me, let's say, hypothetically speaking, would, you know, impose something upon me and my house and my rights, because they feel a certain way, because they think that it should be a certain way. That's not fair, and therein lies the rub, when you try to impose upon other people and -- where they live and what they do and how they do it and how they choose to live their life and so forth. Listen, it's a tough issue; there's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. And I love old houses, and I think old houses should be preserved, and I think that there's great value to that. I enjoy walking into a beautiful, old home that's been therefor a long time. I appreciate that. But to her City of Miami Page 7 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 point, property rights are sacred. And in my totem pole, I have to tell you that property rights are slightly above that nostalgic feeling that I also feel about old homes. So I just wanted to put that on the record, and thank you for inspiring me. Thanks. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. Sir, you're recognized. Charles Treister: Good morning, Commissioners. My name is Charles Treister. I live at 1624 Micanopy Avenue. I'm a long-time, life -time Grove resident. I'm also an architect, and I have been building houses in Coconut Grove for 35 years. I want to share the sentiment that some of these other speakers have said. I've gotten very involved just recently in this whole movement about the re -- studying the whole zoning question, and I think it boils down to this: We all want a certain quality of life, and we love the Grove for what it is. It's a place with beautiful trees, and it's a place with a live -and -let -live attitude. There's been different style of architecture, different style of houses. But if I went to each of you and said, "You know, I like driving a 'S7 Chevy, and I think you have to drive a 'S7 Chevy, " that wouldn't be fair. It's great to drive a 'S7 Chevy, but don't tell me that I have to drive a 'S7 Chevy. One of the underlying issues -- and we face this every day as architects and builders -- we have new needs; we want to modernize our housing stock. Our housing stock in the City, predominantly, is mostly over 50 years old, so many of these houses need updating, they need additions, they're too small. That's a normal city. That's the process of building. So I think you have to do -- as Commissioners, when we're studying zoning, we have to find a balance between property rights, the ability to modernize, and to bring things up to date, and to look for the common good. The reason I'm very much in favor of this is when I saw this historic ordinance, which was passed unanimously by the Historic Preservation Board to put in interim protective measures for every house over 50 years old, and then they wanted to make it for citywide -- that's 80 or 90 percent of every house. You wouldn't be able to change your roof or your front door. It's crazy. Sothis measure, I was so happy to see, because it at least allows a redress for putting on a historic measure. And I would really urge you, as we move forward through this process, to really never forget the property rights of individuals, and the ability -- that the Grove and the City is a vibrant place that we need to modernize, we need to allow freedom, and really, that's our cornerstone. Thank you for letting me speak. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much, sir. Ma'am, you're -- Jacqueline Rose: I'm going to let him go first; I'm still thinking. Chair Hardemon: Yes, ma'am. You're recognized, sir. Jose Goyanes: Jose Goyanes. Chairman, Commissioners, Jose Goyanes, 1615 Micanopy Avenue, Coconut Grove. Today, I'm here because I won't be here next month to speak, even though I'd rather much sit in my office and watch the Commission meetings from there, but I'm in favor of FR.6, Commissioner Reyes' item on today's agenda. In addition, I'm against the historical preservation -- historical protection measure, which is blanket labeling of any property over 50 years old in Coconut Grove, or in the City of Miami, as historic. This is being considered and recommended by the City's HEP (Historic & Environmental Preservation) Board. I'm also against any changes to the NCD -3 Code in Coconut Grove. This is going to bring additional restrictions to the already -burdensome Building and Zoning Code. By this, I mean any reduction of lot coverage that one can currently build on in Coconut Grove. This will severely reduce the sizes of a home or even an addition to a home, in my case. It's our understanding that a small minority is pushing this idea to be implemented by the City of Miami. You know, we're talking about property rights. For many people in this community that don't have a trust fund and don't City of Miami Page 8 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 have stocks or a 401k or a pension, their home is the only investment that they have, and that's it. That's their nest egg. And what -- will rely on for retirement, whether they decide to sell their home to a buyer, to a developer; apply for line of credit on that home, or even go out and get a reversed mortgage. Decisions like this are being proposed by individuals and are going to adversely affect the property values in the City ofMiami, and it's also going to adversely affect the property taxes in the City of Miami's bottom line. And this is something that I hear at every Commission: We need to figure out how to bring more money into the City ofMiami. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much, Mr. Goyanes. Ms. Rose: My name is Jacqueline Rose. I'm 85 years old. I've lived at 2000 South Bayshore Drive, Villa 34, for 34 years. I -- everything he said, I agree. We're in the United States. My husband was in the Marines in World War IT We have rights, property rights. We work and try to invest money, and be independent financially. I bought a lot a little over a year ago. I bought it with the idea that it would be sold as a builder who would rip down the shack, and he would not be stopped from doing that, and I would not be stopped from selling my property. I have had two builders who wanted to buy it. We actually requested a demolition permit, because we had an inspection company come, and they said it would cost $230,000 to repair this place that's practically falling down. It looks okay on the outside, because they painted it sometime, but inside, everything is rotten. The pipes are 70 years old. You can smell urine when you walk in the place. It's empty. Nobody would live there, in their right mind. Now, I have someone who wants to buy it. And when my -- when we applied to have it demolished, it was way back in February 17. Somebody came out from the City and said it's an unsafe structure. We would get a demolition permit. Well, what -- somebody put up something on the building that said it was approved for demolition. Somebody tore that paper down. Now they're telling us, "No, you can't demolish it." I'm not going to spend $230,000. That's like building a new building. It's only 915 square feet. How can you now try to enforce something after I requested the demolition permit, and after it's been declared unsafe? And you say, "No, "I can't demolish it? I have to spend $230,000? That doesn't seem like we're in America. Where are my property rights? Why are you taking them away from me? I'm 85 years old; I want to sell it now. I'm not very healthy. And it's nota time to apply for something, and after you apply, they're thinking about putting this into effect, but meanwhile, one person says we can demolish it, and then the Heritage thing says, "No, you can't demolish it. " Tell me how that's fair? Where are my American property rights? Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much, ma'am. J. B. Diederick: My name is J.B. Diederick, 3758 Frow Avenue, and 3475 Hibiscus Street. Ms. Rose: Excuse me; I forgot to tell you (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Diederick: Thank you. She's my neighbor. She's all right. I like her. Commissioner Reyes, I want to thank you for bringing a little bit of reason and democracy into the process, and allowing us to exercise our rights as property owners, or at least move us -- moving us closer to it. Commissioner Russell, I liked you at the very beginning. When you came to office, I thought, "Here's a good guy. " But sir, your efforts are anti -Democratic. You have found a go -around -- Chair Hardemon: Speak through the Chair, sir. Mr. Diederick: I'm sorry. Commissioner Russell has found a way to go around the process of historic districting that excludes the voter and those of us who have City of Miami Page 9 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 property rights. My issue with this is that once done in Coconut Grove, where they're going to find the least path of resistance, they're going to do it elsewhere, and it'll be happening in your district; in your district, sir; and in your district, and in Commissioner Carollo's district. My biggest issue is that at a Federal level -- and I have been boning up on this thing since my 24-hour notice to the first -- well, the third meeting, because things happen under trees. I'm furious about this. I'm not going to be here on the 28th, because I have to go to a wedding. I canceled the rest of my vacation in hopes of being here when you guys discuss this. But your methods, sir, are anti -Democratic, and you are putting together something that is going to be very damaging to us. The Historic Preservation Act of 1966 says that owners must be in agreement -- all parties must be in agreement. The Florida Constitution protects our rights to home ownership. And I don't understand why you're trying to redistrict in another way. If it can't happen one way, don't do it. If people don't want it -- or some people don't want it -- clearly, it's not going to happen. You guys have also promised us money. "Oh, we're going to" -- `you're going to sell your air rights. You're going to sell your ground rights. You're going to sell your dirt. You're going to sell whatever you want; density. " You're trying to change it so that we can try to sell stuff. I don't want to sell anything. I just want my rights as a property owner to be respected, because also, nobody's even told me what my house is historic for. Nobody special has lived there. There's plenty of houses that are slated for demolition in the neighborhood that look just like it, and they're all over the City. Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir. Mr. Diederick: You want them, buy it, haul it off. I'll haul it off to the property you want to. I'll stick it in the back of my truck. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much, sir. Mr. Diederick. I beg your pardon? Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. Mr. Diederick Thank you very much, sir. Appreciate it, gentlemen. Chair Hardemon: Ma'am, you're recognized. Sandra Elliot: Hi. I'm Sandra (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Elliot. I have a couple of properties in Coconut Grove. I want to also voice my objection to the historic redistricting. If you have every house that's over 50 years old designated as a historic property, we're not going to be able to advance or change any of our properties. People don't want to buy old houses anymore; very few people do. They want larger closets. They want different offices for the people who live there. They- - these old houses just aren't appropriate for what -- the way people live nowadays. So what do you do? Just have your house sit there until it falls down and then rebuild? You know, it has to be -- you have to be thoughtful about what's going to happen in the future. Seems to me, if you're going to propose redistricting like this or re -designating, it should be put to a referendum so that everybody really understands what's going on, as opposed to just having it done behind closed doors. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much, ma'am. Sir. Andrew Rasken: How you doing? Andrew Rasken, 3295 Charles Avenue. I wanted to thank Commissioner Reyes. I'm in support of deferring -- I'm in support of FR.6. I appreciate you proposing it. I actually own a property on Charles Avenue. It's City of Miami Page 10 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 part of the thematic historic preservation. I purchased the home for my family. The home is in disrepair. It was determined to bean unsafe structure. However, I've been combined as part of this large grouping of what was once 20 homes is now 64 homes. The home is in terrible shape. I was intending on building a home for my family. I have a wife and two children. I won't submit them, but you could see the home has mold. The home is -- has structural damage, is completely torn apart, and I'm being required to keep the home. It's not a home in good condition, and it's unfair to my family. So for me to be stuck in this historic designation that I have -- that I look at as a political accomplishment is really disappointing. Further, the issue of the NCD (Neighborhood Conservation District) rezoning -- the FLR rezoning, this was the only home I could afford in the area. I want to live close to where I work. And under current Zoning Code, I could build a 3000 -square -foot home, which is sufficient for my family. Under what's being proposed, I can only build a 2000 -square -foot home, and that's just not the way I want to live, and that's not the house -- the property that I could afford to invest in. It's very hard to think about. It's hard to process after the fact that I've already purchased the property. So I would like you to take that into consideration. I understand what happened last night at this meeting was a unanimous decision that everybody in Coconut Grove wants to have a 40 percent square foot -- or property coverage, and that's not practical for me to live in a 2000 -square foot property, so. Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir. Mr. Rasken: Appreciate it. Chair Hardemon: You want to say something? Commissioner Reyes: I wanted to ask you something, because when we spoke, you told me that that house, you had a permit for demolition, and then they came and declare it historic; is that right? Mr. Rasken: No. What I was told was that I was part of this grouping. I've already prepared and submitted -- prepared plans, spent money on an architect, submitted for demolition. However, I was put on hold I was -- basically said, "Sorry, you can't do anything, because you're now part of this group, " after I spent all of this money. And then they said to me, "Well, if you can determine that your house is an unsafe structure, you will be removed from this list. " They've come and determined it's an unsafe structure. I went back to the Historic Preservation Board, and they said, "Nope. Sorry. That's not the case, actually. " They said, "You have the option to repair or demolish. " I said, "That's everybody's option, repair or demolish. " That's the process. Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir. Mr. Rasken: But I'm choosing to demolish. Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir. Mr. Rasken: It's very disappointing. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: You're recognized, ma'am. Rhonda Rose: Hi. My name is Rhonda Rose. I live at 2000 South Bayshore Drive. We own a property at 3514 Crow, as well as 3521 Crow. I had the same situation as the gentleman, where we had put in a submission for demolition; it was declared structurally unsafe. When I went to tell the department I wanted to demolish it, they told me I can't; and, in fact, would not even accept my written disclosure that I am City of Miami Page 11 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 choosing to demolish, because the paper says I have to let them know, and said they would -- they literally would not accept a piece of paper that said that this is my choice, which I don't understand, and -- But more importantly, I do support the -- FR.6 that you're proposing. Thank you. And I understand the desire to keep Coconut Grove with its beautiful feeling. I mean, this is why we all live there. My mom's lived there 30 -something years. I've been living in and out of the Grove most of that time. And I just feel that the people who have bought already with the understanding of what you're entitled to build on that property at the time that you buy should not betaken away. And I think if any of you -- if I came to you and I said, you know, "Whatever size house you live in, now you have to take off half of it, because I don't like it so big; I want you to have a smaller house, " that's really what you're telling us and all of the residents. So I was going to be able to build, let's say, a 35- to 4000 -square -foot house, and now I can build a 2000 -square -foot house. Well, if I said to you, and you live in a 2000 -square -foot house, and I go, "Eliminate half of yours; you can only have a 1, 000 -square, " you would be upset, because it's not right. In addition, I actually drove -- the 51 homes. I didn't know there was 64 at this point. I went -- when -- the list was 51 homes at the last meeting; which, by the way, 90 percent -- 95 percent of the people who spoke, who were property owners, spoke against the historic designation, and regardless, it was unanimously chosen to proceed to the next step, which is July 3. I forgot what I was just going to say. Oh, of the 51 homes that are all frame homes, if you drive them yourself, you'll see that all of them are frame homes, owned by the lowest economic group in Coconut Grove. Most of them do not under -- have not understood what was going on, because they don't understand that the values of their properties are going to be cut from hundreds of thousands of dollars to maybe 100, 000, because nobody is going to want to take on -- like in our situation, we're -- not only is the house falling apart, but if they tell me I have to rebuild it, it's a 200 plus thousand dollars that wouldn't even be worth it. And plus, we paid 200,000. I mean, it's crazy. So I just want to say, please think about those of us who have bought properties with the understanding of what we could do, and that it is -- we feel very unfair [sic] and you -- you know, taking away our property rights, and we feel very strongly about it. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much, ma'am. Linda Alger: Good morning. Linda Alger, 2784 Southwest 29th Avenue, 33133. Back in October I was in this Commission hearing to hear a project that was going to be built at a transit station, which, as you guys know, makes me very happy; density at transit stations. I'm a proponent for that. But the item before it was the item talking about multiple properties, thematic designation, and Commissioner Russell described it as 20 shotgun houses that he wanted to save. I didn't hear anything else about it. I know it passed on second reading, November 17, unanimously. And I saw an electronic notice, by chance, about a meeting on -- at Armbrister Park on March 10, which I attended, which was held under the tree, because the employee wasn't there to unlock the building, and we held our meeting under the tree; the 20 shotgun houses turned into 51 shot -- 51 wooden vernacular. The list grew. My big ask at that meeting was, "How did you notify the property owners?" Well, I was explained by Planning Department that "We didn't do such a good job, but we'll try to do better for the next meeting. " Next meeting was two days later, March 12, in the evening, at Armbrister Park; same audience. Now I'm angry. And I said it again --and there was somebody there taping the meeting. The meeting is about two and a half hours long and can be watched on You Tube. "Okay, we'll have a third meeting. " We don't have to. We've already had our two public meetings, but "We'll have a third meeting, because it seems like a lot of people are unhappy, and we'll send out notices, " which they weren't required to, but which they did, because so many of us were getting angry about the lack of notice. So the City spent the money, sent certified notices out to tell people about the third meeting, City of Miami Page 12 Printed on 07120/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 which was held on the 20th at Armbrister Park, and now people came out; still not all the property owners, because some of them didn't get their notice until the day after the meeting, but at least more people found out about it. Fast forward, April 3 Chair Hardemon: I'm --April 3 is a little too far away from me to not stop you. Ms. Alger: Okay. I'll tell you what happened on April 3. This chamber was packed. It was a HEP Board meeting, Historic Preservation and Environment [sic] Board meeting, and people came out, and the majority of the people in the room spoke against the historic designation. However, in their ultimate wisdom, 8-0, it passed to move forward, the preliminary designation, and that's where we find ourselves right now. But one of the things that came out of that meeting was a lot of people were upset. They had no knowledge. They had no idea what was going to happen next or what was going to be required of them, because you know what? Those things weren't discussed at the meetings in the park. In the park, the continual message was, "How valuable your property's going to be after we do this for you. " They came down from Morningside to convince people how valuable their property was going to be. What an irony. So there was no talk about -- Somebody said something about, "What am I going to do after it's declared historic? Just let it sit there and fall apart?" No. Because guess what? If you read Chapter 23, you must maintain your property. You cannot let it sit there and fall apart. Historic designation does not allow you to do that, nor does having a property in the City that's not historically designated. So here's the problem: On April 3, the ask of the Preservation Board meeting had so many people were upset. They looked over at Mr. Warren, and said, "There's a lot of confusion. Could you have another meeting?" April 3. What's today's date? 24th? He then was asked to have two meetings; those meetings have not taken place. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. Ms. Alger: Can I ask --add one more thing, please? Chair Hardemon: The thing about it is that we know this is not being heard today. We know this is being continued. Ms. Alger: I understand. I came to say "thank you " to this Commissioner for doing something. Chair Hardemon: And all I'm saying is that I'm allowing people to voice their concern about the issue, but I don't want to allow people to go over three minutes over their designated time. Ms. Alger: Okay. Chair Hardemon: But I'll allow -- I'll let you finish your conclusion. Ms. Alger: Okay. Here's the problem: Thank you for your legislation, and I understand it was deferred and we'll here it again, and I hope that I'm here that night or that day when it's heard. We really need to go back and look at this good intentions, horrible results on certain people's properties and their lives and their economic situation. I think there's a better way to do this. I think we need to put the brakes on a little, but we're not. The 120 days is still counting. And by the way, the legislation that was brought in front of the Preservation Board about the eminent protection measures, one of the Preservation Board appointees decided to extend it to every property, every structure in the City of Miami over 50 years of old. City of Miami Page 13 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. Ms. Alger: Scary. Chair Hardemon: Thank you. Commissioner Gort: Mine was built in 1932. Chair Hardemon: '39 is mine. Vice Chair Russell: '45. Chair Hardemon: You're recognized. You're recognized, ma'am. Cathy Parks Suarez: Good morning. My name is Cathy Parks Suarez. I live at 4035 Battersea Road. I'm here for FR. 6. Thank you, Commissioner Reyes, for addressing this. Nobody has been here more than me to fight for the West Grove. Commissioner Hardemon, you've heard me talk about Battersea Woods. I'm sitting with four houses for sale now in front of me; people who were opposed to Battersea Woods are now moving, who got their way. I feel like there's a small army ofpeople that beat me up when I was redoing a 1940's house on a 13,000 -square foot lot that's less than 3,000 square feet total. I over -hired an architect. I thought I did everything right to find out that I was being blocked by City Hall, not the Building Department; cost me an extra 50 grand. I couldn't move in my house. I'm the only person you'll ever meet that had residential fire inspection in Miami -Dade County or City of Miami. I've had blow-up surveys and TOPO (topographic) surveys. Developers are surprised that I know what those things are. The NCD -2 has written the West Grove out, and the -- historic designation and not telling the people what they have to do in order to apply for any money is scary. They have no idea. Some think they hit the Lotto. Some people think they're going to get paid. Some people are calling me and asking me when are they going to get their money. When people get evicted on Grand Avenue, they come to my house. So it's -- I get the calls. When Gibson had their elevator turned off on Friday for the Hurricane Irma, they called me. So the transparency isn't there. The building -- the Planning Department has been rough and gruff, telling people, "Yes, you have property rights; get a lawyer. " And they've said it; I've heard them. It's not how we talk to constituents. We're scaring people. It's going to affect Commissioner Hardemon's district. The minutes transcribed in writing are far different than the actual video. I sat down and watched the video last week. Your details, Commissioner Hardemon, are similar to mine. We have a big racial issue here. We don't treat people of color the same way we treat people that look like me. I'm 60 years old. I'm horrified. This guy right here, lives on Poinciana, we're the same; I agree with him. We are not representing these people. Last night at that meeting, there was hardly any African-American people from the community; they have no idea what's hitting them. And some of the people that are representing this community are not representing them in the property manner. Please stop the madness. I'm begging you guys to stop the madness, or we're going to have nobody left. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. Sir, you're recognized. Octavio Robles: Good morning. My name is Octavio Robles. I'm an architect and a lawyer. I live here in the Grove. I've been here 33 years; very, very much interested in the protection of the green canopy. I think everybody agrees on that. I'm here because I'm very concerned about this blanket districting -- historic district designation for Coconut Grove. I was very involved in the very early effort to name the Art Deco District -- actually, it's called the Miami Beach Architectural District -- get it into the National Register and protected. And so, I know a little bit about City of Miami Page 14 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 historic preservation; I was involved in it from the beginning. Naming Coconut Grove on a blanket basis for any structure that is older than 50 years is absolute madness. It's just an effort by associations mostly that are organized to do this and to do the changes to the NCD -3 to put a stop to development. I was also, about 30 years ago, involved in the early stages of an association here in Coconut Grove that has a very significant voice, but I can tell you that it's, number one, a small group of people; I was part of it. It's basically a not-for-profit filed in Tallahassee. It's a voluntary association membership. Right now, I don't know what the number is, because I haven't been a member for a while, but it's few people with a megaphone. I'm just in the process of forming a new association that will encompass north and south Coconut Grove of property owners with a different point of view regarding both the NCD -3 and the historic preservation, and we have a lot of people that have no clue what's really going on and what has -- the agenda that is being pushed by these smaller groups. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. Ms. Rose: I just want to hand you this report and let you look at the pictures. Chair Hardemon: Can you pass it to the Clerk, please? Ms. Rose: And I'd like -- I just have a quick (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Chair Hardemon: Seeing no other persons that are here for public comment, I'm going to close the public comment at this time. Okay. Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman, I would just like to make a comment, if-[ could? Chair Hardemon: Go ahead. Vice Chair Russell: And we could wait until the following, but I know a lot of folks won't be able to be here, and they came here because it was on the agenda today, and they spoke their piece, and I fully respect that 100 percent. To Commissioner Reyes, I very much appreciate that you're deferring this item, because this is legislation written by a Commissioner of another district to counter legislation being written by the district Commissioner of his home district. I understand what you're doing. I understand your feeling that property rights are being trampled, and you feel the need to come in and right that wrong. But there is a larger story here that you may or may not know, and I have a larger plan here that I'm working on that you may or may not know because of sunshine issues. And so, what I would like to ask -- and I ask this of all of our Commissioners -- that we begin to respect the boundaries of our Commission districts, of the people who elected us, because we have our ear to the ground, we have our finger on the pulse, and we also see the entire story, not just those who come to us. So you are very absolutely right with regard to the property rights issues and the people who came here to speak today, but they -- there's a plan I'd love to share with you, if you have enough interest in this issue, to write opposing legislation. I would rather workshop it with you, or be glad to talk to you to see my entire plan for this community, because what you have here -- many issues being conflated; the change to the NCD, the FIR changes, the historic ability for the Preservation Department to look at homes under demolition, and thematic district are all completely different subjects, and they've all been conflated here together to talk about property rights. We can have an argument about each one of those items, and I'm glad to talk about it. For example, there is a complete misunderstanding of the intention of the blanket 50 year issue. No one is trying to blanket 50 -year -designate every home over that age. The issue was that the previous Historic Preservation Officer did not feel that they had the purview to look at homes under designation. Sir, are you standing for a reason? City of Miami Page 15 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Diederick: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to respond, if I can. Vice Chair Russell: We're at -- we're past the point of public comment, please, and you did say your piece -- did not feel that she had the purview to look at homes under demolition, where it does say in the Code, `Demolition waivers. Requests for demolition in the NCD need to go before the Preservation Department. " Her interpretation was that it could only -- her job was only to see if it was designated or not, but not had the purview to weigh in on whether or not it should be designated; the last chance for that home, before it were to go down. So I was looking at that time to give her a little more ability to then say, I would like to examine this home that's up for demolition to see if it's worthy of preservation. " This has nothing to do with the thematic preservation. We already have blanket district preservation, which is actually much more aggressive than the blanket designation. It covers houses that aren't even historic at all. Thematic was meant to be laser -focused; not on a complete area, but on specific homes of a like kind. So our current Preservation Officer feels certainly within his purview and his interpretation of our Code that he has the ability to examine any home that is up for demolition as it comes across his desk. And so, that legislation will be withdrawn. The one with regard to the 50 year blanket, you know, full examination, it has been misinterpreted. It would be unwieldly for that department to fully examine every home that comes under 50 years and go through the entire process of examination for historic designation. That was not the intention. Whatever Historic Preservation Department felt and took it to, I will not be sponsoring that legislation; it's not happening. As far as the West Grove -- and I want to take this completely separate from the issue of FLR, massing of houses, tree canopy, changing of this Code. When it comes to property rights, we could just say, "Let's just get rid of the NCD altogether, " because the NCD is an elevation of Miami 21, where the community as a whole -- and some will disagree -- but as a whole said, "We would like heightened restrictions on development in our community to preserve the character of this area. " And because of that legislation, you can go to Google Earth and find Coconut Grove without a map. Why? Because the canopy exists there like nowhere else in the City; because the homes are not built out in the same way as they are elsewhere. So there's a reason we have that Code. And could that be -- say that's a restriction of property rights? Absolutely. Every single rule we make in our Code becomes a restriction of property rights; otherwise, people could build as high as they want and as big as they want. Now, how much restriction and where and how high, that's where the fights happen, and I welcome those discussions, and we will have them, and we are. It's a long process. It's a healthy process. It's a little bit of a painful process. But what I would like to finish with is this issue of the West Grove with thematic preservation; why I'm doing this. And from the very first interview, and from what I campaigned on, and the entire -- the highest turnout in my election, the highest precincts that were record-breaking were within the West Grove, were within the African-American community, because of the promises that I made to them. And one of my promises is that I will help preserve not only the structural history of Coconut Grove in their neighborhood, but the people of Coconut Grove will have a place to live there, if they want to live there. Now, of the 64 houses we're talking about -- because I didn't know there were going to be -- I really thought there was a dozen as you drive around. But when the Preservation Department did a full survey, it's over 60 homes that fall within this story, and what -- this story is about a neighborhood that was designated for black people. They weren't allowed out, because there was a wall. You couldn't walk through the white neighborhood. At that time, they needed the people to build the houses for the rest of the Coconut Grove, but they didn't want the land. Guess what? Now they want the land, but they don't want the people, because of those 64 houses, over 50 of them are owned by speculative development who are ready to demolish and build the biggest, largest thing that their development dollars will allow. Of the 14 left, who are single-family homeowner homes that are lived in by folks in the West City of Miami Page 16 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Grove, I'm trying to do what I can. Not all of them will get designated, but simply, the brakes had to be put on, because the dollar signs -- and many folks here who are in the development and real estate industries that didn't necessarily disclose that as they were speaking, that's perfectly fine. That is your job. That is your objective. It is a profit -minded, full marketability, but there must be a finger on the scale for this neighborhood. There will be preservation. It will be a little painful. Rights will not be taken away. We are going to find a way to get through this. I ask for your patience on a greater plan for this community that allows development, that leaves room for profit, that leaves room for new market -rate structures, but preserves the people, preserves the culture, and leaves some remnant of the structures that existed that tell the story of the City of Miami. I really do appreciate your advocacy. I appreciate you getting involved, and I would love to work with you on this to find a balance, because maybe I do lean a little too far in one direction at some points, and I need a little help, but that's why we're here together. That's why we're here together, and we're going to get through this. And so, please, I'm not your enemy, and I'm glad to work together with you. Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Gort -- Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: --then Commissioner Reyes. Commissioner Gort: I was elected first time in '93; and in 2001, I left, and I was elected citywide, so I work citywide always. We had to create the district, and I was the Chairman creating the district, and I respect the district. I don't think there's anyone that respect the district more than myself. But when you have a problem, and you have a lot of people from somebody else's district come into my office and asking for help, I think there's a lack of communication somehow. And let me tell you, I've been going to -- it seems like I'm in -- still in campaign. I go to block meetings, and you'll be amazed how much ignorance there is out there; people are not aware how they function. And let me tell you one of the problems we have: Canopy. I have plenty of trees in my house. But my neighborhood in Allapattah, if you wanted the -- expand something and there's a tree in the middle, which I think, yes, you got to cut it, but you have to replace it, but sometime the cost of the replacement for some of those people, they can't afford it. So what happens is they don't fix their home (UNINTELLIGIBLE). So these are things that we have to look at, because in my neighborhoods, I have a lot of problems. I personally want to create a -- do some enhancement to my house. It was built in 1932. I wanted to make a driveway. Guess what? I got a pine tree that I put in there with my -- and I'm going to go through the process. I'm going to ask for the permit, but I want to see how many trees they're going to ask me to -- Because I've seen (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- you take one tree down, you got to put a dozen. If not, you got to contribute. So some people can afford to do so, but some people cannot. And then what happens is plans, they stay in the Building Department for years, waiting for an answer. So I'm glad you speak that way. I think we got to listen to the people, and we got to look at their problem. Each neighborhood is different. That's one thing about the City of Miami: You can travel three blocks away from one neighborhood into another neighborhood; it's a completely different view. And this is the things we need to work on. I mean, I understand you want to do the things in your district (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I want to do in mine, and we all want to do in our district, but we want the benefit for the whole City. Now, when somebody saying about, "Well, that could be implemented citywide, " we have to be very careful, because the City is different world and different places. Commissioner Reyes: Yes. I guess it's my turn, sir? Well, since you addressed me, Commissioner Russell, let me tell you this: Since day one, the first day that I got -- City of Miami Page 17 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 day after I was sworn in, you have presented -- I think it was -- an ordinance or a resolution about declaring the whole City and giving all power to the Historic Preservation Board to declare any, any, any building historic, and we got into an argument. And during that same day, somebody told me about another issue, that it wasn't in my district. My answer was this: I was elected by District 4, but I'm a Commissioner for the City of Miami. I represent my district, but whatever affect the City of Miami, affect all of us. If some of my constituents, they feel that my actions or my proposals are hurting them, and they come to you, you're welcome, you're welcome to get involved, because I don't believe in this type of fiefdom that Commissioners -- not only here; also in the County -- they think that "This is my little fiefdom, and nobody gets in there. " And I don't agree with you. I'm sorry; I'm old school, you see. I'm old. And as I said the other day, you see, this board is out of control. This board has to be reined in, and I said it, and I repeat it again. I'm afraid -- (Applause) Commissioner Reyes: -- that someday they're going to come here and say, "Everybody that is older than 70 years old is going to be declared historic. " Chair Hardemon: You got to go. Commissioner Reyes: I got to go. I got to go. I'm afraid of that. And -- Commissioner Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Commissioner Reyes: You see, this idea that they can come in, and they can come on somebody's property and said, "This is historic, " either you like it or not, it's anti-American. I believe in property rights. (Applause) Commissioner Reyes: I believe in property rights. And if I have to bring this up a hundred times, I will bring it. And I'm glad, Commissioner Gort, that you brought the trees -- the Tree Ordinance, also. That is something that has to be revisit also many people in my district, in your district, in your district, and your district that they cannot afford to bring a tree expert that cost $250 to tell them that they can only trim 10 percent of that tree, when they have a big branch that is leaning over their house; and when a hurricane comes in, it's going to destroy the house. And some of these people cannot even afford insurance. And who is going to pay for that? Are we paying for that? No, we are not going to pay for that. So we have to protect -- People come first -- Chair Hardemon: That's right. Commissioner Reyes: -- in my opinion, okay? (Applause) Commissioner Reyes: And that's it. We -- you have -- Chair Hardemon: Please, no more clapping. Commissioner Reyes: -- you have -- Chair Hardemon: That's it. No more clapping. Commissioner Reyes. City of Miami Page 18 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Commissioner Reyes: Commissioner -- Chair Hardemon: No more clapping: Commissioner Reyes: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: A good speech, though. Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Chair Hardemon: He's very impassionate [sic]. He's very good (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Commissioner Reyes: Oh, yes, I'm passionate. Chair Hardemon: I need you all --for me not to interrupt him, I need you to just do the spirit fingers. Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Chair Hardemon: I -- you know, you give people an inch, they take a mile, so. Commissioner Reyes: You know, Commissioner Russell, I welcome sitting with you and working with you. If you had a bigger plan, I mean, a more lenient plan, you see, nobody knew about it. The only thing that I want to do -- And my legislation, what it's doing is -- and it not only affect your district; it's going to affect every district -- that we're going -- we're reining in a group of people, as the gentleman really describe, well-to-do white people that live in mansions; some of them, they are not even residents of the City of Miami. So -- and they are making decisions that is going to affect the people and the people's right to do with their property not what they want, not what they want; what the law allows. If -- let's say -- and I told you, this --we want to bring people to the City of Miami, young people to the City. I live in Flagami. Most of the houses in Flagami -- My neighborhood was built in 1950s at the -- My house was built in 1954. Now, if I sell my house, and a young couple comes in and they want to add a pool, or they want to add another room, and they got a permit, and now that's going -- house is going to be declared historic, that is insane. It is totally insane, and that's what I'm saying. I think that we have to protect our people, protect their rights to do with the property what they want, and that is one -- that's the nature of that -- I mean, includes your -- Coconut Grove, it's not precisely directed to Coconut Grove; it's the whole City. You see, the other day somebody told me that this Historic Preservation Board declare the Miami Marine Stadium historic; fine. That's fine and dandy. That is a historic -- I mean, the architecture is unique and all of that, but they went beyond that. They declared the water behind it historic, too. I mean, that doesn't make sense. You see, that water was declared historic? I mean, whoa. They better do something to keep the water there, because that water is going to be moving now, okay. I mean, that is what -- it is ridiculous. These people, they have taken upon themselves the right to dictate what we can do with our property, and that is, in my opinion, un-American. I teach Government. And I didn't wanted to say this -- I didn't want to say this. And one of the measures that we have in order to -- I mean, one of the things that we measure is the amount of government intervention in the -- in people's life to declare the amount of socialism that it is in that government, and I am totally anti -socialist, period. I don't want -- I think -- As I told you once, you might be Hamiltonian, but I'm a Jeffersonian. In my opinion, the best government is the government that govern the less, you see; that it is for the people, by the people, you see, and the people are the ones that rule. And that's why I was elected. I mean -- and I'm sorry if I infringe in your fiefdom, but I don't believe in fiefdom, and that -- City of Miami Page 19 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: The -- Commissioner Reyes: Oh. Chair Hardemon: I will tell you that one of the things I've always said about the Historic Preservation Board is -- in reference to it, rather -- that I believe that boards like that, you have to have people who are on the board -- I'm not speaking to everyone on the board -- but you have to have people on there that are impartial. I don't believe in having preservationists on the board or those are who anti - preservation. I think you should have middle-of-the-road people, because you have someone who's a preservationist, who's going to advocate for a preservation of a particular property, and then you're going to have a homeowner who's going to either be with or against that preservation; he's going to fight against it. And it's just like going to a court proceeding. I think you deserve to have a fair opportunity at defeating whatever it is that the advocate is advocating for. And so, you know, when we appoint too many people -- for people -- I mean, we -- this happens on a national scale as well, but when you appoint too many people who are of the same mindset, then the board typically sways in that fashion. And so, you know, I think people deserve an opportunity to be -- reasonably be heard and have a decision that's made that's based on the facts, and what it appears to be -- because I can't speak, because I was not there -- but it appears to be that that's not what's occurring there. So, you know, that's just something that we should all consider really and truly. But this is -- I'm glad I let everyone have an opportunity to speak on this issue. The issue will be heard again at the -- I believe it's the 28th of July, that meeting? Or is it June? We're in May now. So the June 28 meeting. So I'm sure everyone will be back to get their next two minutes ofpublic comment. MV - MAYORAL VETOES NO MAYORAL VETOES (Pursuant to Section 4(g)(5) of the Charter of Miami, Florida, Item(s) vetoed by the Mayor shall be placed by the City Clerk as the first substantive item(s) for City Commission consideration.) ORDER OF THE DAY Chair Hardemon: Are there any mayoral vetoes? Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Chair, there are no mayoral vetoes. END OF MAYORAL VETOES Chair Hardemon: We will now begin our regular meeting. The City Attorney will state the procedures to be followed during this meeting. Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Any person who is a lobbyist, including all paid persons or firms retained by a principal to advocate for a particular decision by the City Commission, must register with the City Clerk and comply with related City requirements for lobbyists before appearing before the City Commission. A person may not lobby a City official, board member, or staff member until registering. A copy of the Code section about lobbyists is available in the City Clerk's Office or online -- City ofMiami Page 20 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: Let me stop you for one second. Later... Chair Hardemon: We will now begin the regular meeting. The City Attorney will state the procedures to be followed during this meeting. Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Thank you, Chairman. Any person who is a lobbyist, including all paid persons or firms retained by a principal to advocate for a particular decision by the City Commission, must register with the City Clerk and comply with the related City requirements for lobbyists before appearing before the City Commission. A person may not lobby a City official, board member, or staff member until registering. A copy of the Code section about lobbyists is available in the City Clerk's Office or online at wwwmunicode.com [sic]. Any person making a presentation, formal request, or petition to the City Commission concerning real property must make the disclosures required by the City Commission [sic] in writing. A copy of this Code section is available in the City Clerk's Office or online at wwwmunicode.com [sic]. The material for each item on the agenda is available during business hours at the City Clerk's Office and online 24 hours a day at wwwmiamigov.com [sic]. Any person may be heard by the City Commission through the Chair for not more than two minutes on any proposition before the City Commission, unless modified by the Chair. If the proposition is being continued or rescheduled, the opportunity to be heard may be at such later date before the City Commission takes action on such proposition. The Chairman will advise the public when the public may have the opportunity to address the City Commission during the public comment period. When addressing the City Commission, the member of the public may first state his or her name, his or her address, and what item will be spoken about. A copy of the agenda item titles will be available at the City Clerk's Office and at the podium for your ease of reference. Anyone wishing to appeal any decision made by the City Commission for any matter considered at this meeting may need a verbatim record of the item. A video of this meeting may be requested at the Office of Communications or viewed online at wwwmiamigov.com [sic]. No cell phones or other noise -making devices are permitted in chambers; please silence those devices now. No clapping, applauding, heckling, or verbal outburst in support or opposition to a speaker or his or her remarks shall be permitted. Any person making offensive remarks or who becomes unruly in Commission chambers will be barred from further attending Commission meetings and may be subject to arrest. No signs or placards shall be allowed in Commission chambers. Any person with a disability requiring assistance, auxiliary aids and services for this meeting may notify the City Clerk. The lunch recess will begin at the conclusion of the agenda item being considered at noon. The meeting will either end at the conclusion of the deliberation of the agenda item being considered at 1Op. in. or at the conclusion of the regularly scheduled agenda, whichever occurs first. Please note, Commissioners have generally been briefed by City staff and the City Attorney on items on the agenda today. At this time, the Administration will announce which items, if any, are being either withdrawn, deferred, or substituted. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: You're recognized, sir. Nzeribe Ihekwaba (Chief of Operations/Assistant City Manager): Good morning. At this time, the Administration would like to defer or withdraw the following items: PH1, to be withdrawn -- Chair Hardemon: Can you do me a favor? Can you say the action first and then the item? City of Miami Page 21 Printed on 07120/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Ihekwaba: Withdraw PH 1, which is the transfer of City -owned parcel of land; indefinitely defer FR.], which is the item on historic preservation; defer to June 28 FR. 6, which is the designation of historic resources; indefinitely defer RE. 1, which is the acceptance of funds for the Coconut Grove Sidewalks Project; defer RE. 6, which is the Hyatt's legislation, to July 12 meeting; and the companion item, which is RE. 7, the ballot item, defer it to July 12 meeting. Chair Hardemon: Are there any other items that any Commissioners want to withdraw, defer, or continue? Commissioner Reyes: FR.6 is deferred, right? Mr. Ihekwaba: Yes. Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Mr. Ihekwaba: To June 28. Chair Hardemon: All right, seeing no further continuance or actions, all in favor of the motion, say -- or is there a motion first? Commissioner Gort: Move it. Commissioner Reyes: Second. Chair Hardemon: Its been properly moved and seconded. Moved by Commissioner Gort. Seeing no further discussion, all in favor of the motion say, "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Hardemon: Motion passes. City of Miami Page 22 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 lea»:&11•]►/e11e1:j»e1ZTAki IQ*1 PA.1 PERSONAL APPEARANCE 4037 PERSONAL APPEARANCE BY RAMIS EMMANUEL MERCADO FROM THE MOTIVATIONAL EDGE REGARDING ENVELOPES OF SAFETY PROGRAMMING AND THEIR SOON-TO-BE NEW CAMPUS AS A HUB FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND CULTIVATION FOR ALL CITIZENS, YOUNG AND OLD, IN THE CITY OF MIAMI. RESULT: PRESENTED Chair Hardemon: We do have a personal appearance by Ramis Emmanuel Mercado. You're recognized, sir. Please step to the lectern. Ramis Emmanuel Mercado: Thank you very much. Chair Hardemon: You'll have five minutes to address the body. Mr. Mercado: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Mayor's not here. Thank you, Commissioners. I appreciate the time. My name is Ramis Emmanuel Mercado, and I'm your friendly neighborhood culture cultivator. I cultivate free minds to create art divine, and I'm here representing the Motivational Edge. Regardless of rhyme or reason, this is the season for us to speak it, because if we don't, then our bones will leak it, and the rocks will soak it all up and start to speak it; and woe are we if we do let them do that, because then we'll be as purposeless as those rocks were before we let them do it. Before I tell you all what we do, I want to first thank Commissioner Gort for his long-standing support for us and our programming in Allapattah. Over the past five years or more, we've been serving the Allapattah community from our center, and we've had an amazing impact. We've served hundreds of students, thanks to your support; 93 percent of those students showed improvement in their academics; 83 percent of those students went through the college programs; and 100 percent of them graduated high school; speaking of the students that went through our programs, thanks to you, Commissioner Willy Gort. We also want to thank then -Commissioner of District 4, Francis Suarez, now Mayor Suarez, for his partnership with us in EOS, the Envelopes of Safety Program that we launched. We were in many different schools around the County and had a great impact there as well. Over 150 youth were impacted in various schools. I personally had the opportunity to go into Henry Flagler and serve there. We taught a lot of students there; created bonds with those students. We saw their behavior improve, according to the staff at the school. We saw their grades improve. We saw the consistency of their attendance and their interaction with their students improve, based off of their interactions with us, so we're so grateful for having had that opportunity. For the last 10 years, we've had the honor of serving all of South Florida and are expanding now across the State; all of this, using arts as a motivational platform, whether it be lyrical expression, urban arts, sports and wellness, team sports, dance, martial arts. We use anything we can to engage these students and help empower them and give them the tools to succeed at life and be productive and positive members of society. As I mentioned, 83 percent of our students have gone on to college, but our impact is not only for the students that we serve and the youth that we serve; it's also in the community at City of Miami Page 23 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 large, because we employ local teaching artists to do our programming, and we pay them well, and we give them an opportunity to use their art and their craft as their actual 9 -to -5, which means now that these artists are -- their families are sustainable, and they're able to create more art for our communities that, in turn, enhances the culture and the community; all based off of the opportunity of using their craft to teach other students and motivate students. We hire from within the communities that we serve. If programming is in Allapattah, we hire teaching artists from Allapattah, local artists, and we partner with local organizations. Why do I share this with you? Why do I share our impact? Because what we did with our small, 700 -square -foot center that we had Willy Gort's support for, we were able to serve hundreds of students. Now we have a project for Allapattah that is over 20,000 square foot, an indoor/outdoor center that will have sports, wellness, and academic help, digital design, lyrical expression, a state-of-the-art music recording studio, 3D printers on the inside, computers. We want this to be a hub for the youth of Allapattah and for the community at large. Why? Because we believe that if we allow them to be confident in who they are and the talents that they've been given them, and we give them the tools to capitalize on those talents, they will be successful. Our Lyrical Expression Program improves their literacy rate, their writing skills; it's improved their language arts scores exponentially, and we're grateful for this opportunity. Our Allapattah campus is going to have batting cages, it's going to have a garden, a multi-purpose field. We have partnerships with the NFLPA (National Football League Players Association); we're speaking with the Marlins to come in on that. So what we want to do is invite all of the Commissioners and everyone in this room to partner with us, to work with us; to help us make this a hub for our City, help us make this a place where culture can be enhanced; a place where the community can come and learn skills that they can use at large. Thank you for your time. Commissioner Gort: Before you finish, I want you to go and talk to Rosie; I think we might have a plan for your garden. Mr. Mercado: Oh, awesome. Yes. Any other questions or anything? Chair Hardemon: I don't think so. Thank you very much, sir. Mr. Mercado: Okay. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it. END OF PERSONAL APPEARANCES City of Miami Page 24 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 141eQ9101►69A►kreCe7A►197_1 The following item(s) was Adopted on the Consent Agenda RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Ken Russell, Vice Chair SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo CA.1 RESOLUTION 3907 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO CHANGE THE NAME OF Department of Fire- THE PROGRAM ENTITLED: "THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") Rescue DEPARTMENT OF FIRE -RESCUE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ("EMS") CADET PROGRAM" TO "FIRE CHIEF MAURICE L. KEMP EMS CADET PROGRAM" WHICH PROVIDES MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS' STUDENTS ACADEMIC, CAREER, AND CLINICAL INSTRUCTION IN EMS BY UTILIZING RESOURCES AND PERSONNEL OF THE CITY'S DEPARTMENT OF FIRE -RESCUE; FURTHER RENAMING THE SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECT ESTABLISHED FOR SAID PROGRAM, ACCOUNT NO. 11000.181000.481000.0000.00000. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0210 This matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda. Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item CA.], please see "End of Consent Agenda. " City of Miami Page 25 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 CA.2 RESOLUTION 4164 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department of Real ATTACHMENT(S), RESCINDING RESOLUTION NO. 18-0046, Estate and Asset ADOPTED FEBRUARY 8, 2018, WHICH AUTHORIZED THE CITY Management MANAGER TO EXECUTE A LEASE AGREEMENT FOR OFFICE SPACE FOR COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ("CED") WITH DOWNTOWN 33, LLC AND SUBSTITUTING IN LIEU THEREOF THIS RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A LEASE AGREEMENT ("AGREEMENT"), IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") AND ONE FLAGLER, LLC. ("LESSOR"), FOR THE USE OF APPROXIMATELY ELEVEN THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED NINETY SQUARE FEET (11,390 SF) OF OFFICE SPACE IN THE BUILDING LOCATED AT 14 NORTHEAST 1ST AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, FOR CED, WITH A MONTHLY RENTAL FEE OF TWENTY TWO THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED FIVE DOLLARS AND FORTY TWO CENTS ($22,305.42), WITH ADDITIONAL OPERATING EXPENSES ESTIMATED AT TWO DOLLARS PER SQUARE FOOT ($2.00 PSF) AND INCREASES OF TWO AND A HALF PERCENT (2.5%) PER YEAR, FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE (5) YEARS WITH TWO (2) ADDITIONAL THREE (3) YEAR OPTIONS TO RENEW; WITH TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS MORE SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH IN THE ATTACHED LEASE PROPOSAL, ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED AS EXHIBIT "A", AND TO BE FURTHER DETAILED IN SAID AGREEMENT. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0211 This matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda. Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item CA.2, please see "End of Consent Agenda. " Citv ofMiami Page 26 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 CA.3 RESOLUTION 3760 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION Office of the City AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO PAY TO AND Attorney ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF HERMAN GUTFREUND and Mayor SUBJECT TO THE CONDITIONS IMPOSED BY CHAPTER 440, FLORIDA STATUTES, THE TOTAL SUM OF $181,694.29, INCLUDING $100.00 FOR A SEPARATE GENERAL RELEASE, IN FULL SETTLEMENT OF ALL CLAIMS AND DATES OF ACCIDENT ALLEGED AGAINST THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY"), ITS OFFICERS, AGENTS, AND EMPLOYEES, WITHOUT ADMISSION OF LIABILITY, UPON EXECUTING A SETTLEMENT, HOLD HARMLESS, AND INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT AS WELL AS A GENERAL RELEASE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, ITS PRESENT AND FORMER OFFICERS, AGENTS, AND EMPLOYEES, FROM ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AND DEMANDS; ALLOCATING FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $181,594.29 FROM ACCOUNT NO. 50001.301001.524000.0000.00000 AND FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $100.00, FOR THE SEPARATE GENERAL RELEASE, FROM ACCOUNT NO. 00001.980000.531010.0000.00000. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0212 This matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda. Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item CA.3, please see "End of Consent Agenda. " CAA RESOLUTION 4182 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION RETROACTIVELY APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY Commissioners ADMINISTRATION TO SUBMIT, AND MODIFY AS NECESSARY, and Mayor THE NORTHEAST CORRIDOR PROPOSAL AND THE EAST - WEST CORRIDOR PROPOSAL ("PROPOSAL") IN RESPONSE TO THE MIAMI-DADE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ORGANIZATION'S INVITATION FOR SMART PLAN DEMONSTRATION PROJECT PROPOSALS; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, ANY AND ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS NECESSARY TO SUPPORT THE CITY OF MIAMI'S PROPOSAL, SUBJECT TO ALLOCATIONS, APPROPRIATIONS, AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL; STRONGLY SUPPORTING AND ENDORSING THE PROPOSAL; DIRECTED THAT FUNDS ARE TO BE ALLOCATED BY SEPARATE RESOLUTION(S). ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0213 This matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda. Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item CA.4, please see "End of Consent Agenda. " END OF CONSENT AGENDA City ofMiami Page 27 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: So what I'll do right now is, I'll try to get some business taken care of. And what I'd like to -- Oh, first of all, Madam City Attorney, are there any amendments to any of the resolutions, or items on the agenda that you need to put on the record? Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Yes, Commissioner -- Chairman. For REB, we're adding the language which includes, but is not limited to, "expenditures on furniture, fixtures, and equipment, " and I could pass out a copy. Chair Hardemon: Well, thank you. Okay. Is there any other item that needs to be amended? So, if there's no other that needs to be amended, then -- Vice Chair Russell: Is a pocket (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ? Chair Hardemon: No. That's the item -- I think she just -- Ms. Mendez: RE. 8. Chair Hardemon: -- she just -- Ms. Mendez: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Chair Hardemon: -- passing out. Okay. All right. Are there any other amendments? Ma'am, you want to be recognized for amendments on any of the items? Annie Perez: Good morning, Commissioners. Annie Perez, director of Procurement. RE.2 and RE 4, we've included some backup documents that the Clerk's Office has for all of you, and it's regarding the Declaration of Emergency from the President on the hurricane, and also some FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) procurement guidelines, just as back up for RE.2 and RE.4. Chair Hardemon: Is there any other item? All right, seeing none, the Chair would like to entertain a motion. What I'd like to ask of this board is to approve the CA (Consent Agenda) agenda -- Commissioner Gort: Move it. Chair Hardemon: -- the PH (Public Hearing) -- well, it -- yeah, we're going to do more -- the CA agenda, the PH agenda, and the RE (Resolution) agenda, except for RE.9. Commissioner Gort: I'm sorry. Mr. Chairman, can you state it again? Chair Hardemon: It's the CA agenda -- Commissioner Gort: Yes. Chair Hardemon: -- the PH agenda, what's left of it; and the RE agenda, except for RE.9. We're not considering RE.9 at the moment. Vice Chairman Russell: I will move it. Chair Hardemon: It's been properly moved by the Vice Chairman -- Commissioner Reyes: I want to co-sponsor RE.S. City of Miami Page 28 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Vice Chair Russell: PH. S. Commissioner Reyes: Oh, PH.S. Chair Hardemon: PH. S. Commissioner Reyes: PH.S. Chair Hardemon: Duly noted for the record, and I'll take that as a second. Any further discussion on any of those items? You want to be recognized? Francisco Garcia: Yes. My apologies. Francisco Garcia, Planning Director. As pertains to item RE.3, which is an interlocal agreement with Miami -Dade County, we heard as recently as yesterday that they would like to insert -- and we all agree that it makes sense -- an additional paragraph in that particular agreement; if I may read it into the record, please, and I'll make specific reference as to where it is inserted. So this pertains to Item RE 3, and under Section 4, which is "Exercise of County Jurisdiction. " At the end of that section, which is only about five lines, I will begin reading the intended language, which goes after the word "safety, " as in elevator safety. It says the following: It is provided, however, that the City shall be responsible for ensuring that referrals regarding enforcement of land use, zoning, or Building Code requirements that result from any City fire inspections, emergency responses, or other City actions, are timely transmitted to the County's Building of ficial. Furthermore, the City and County shall ensure that their respective staffs are informed and shall coordinate to ensure that the property owners and tenants of the project are also informed as to these jurisdictional matters. The City and the County may memorialize or effectuate these processes by any supplemental instruments that may be deemed necessary. " As you can see, it's fairly innocuous, technical language, but they -- they're asking of us to include these, and we have no objection. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. I'm sure the mover and the seconder agrees to those changes, including the language that was submitted by the -- Madam City Attorney, and also on the record by the Procurement Director. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all in favor of the motion, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion passes. Vice Chair Russell: CA, PH, and RE. City of Miami Page 29 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 00:0141Lem: I;r_1:71►[*9 PH.1 RESOLUTION 3960 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department of ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO Community and CONVEY, WITH PARCEL REVERTER PROVISIONS, THE CITY OF Economic MIAMI ("CITY") OWNED PARCELS OF LAND LOCATED IN THE Development CITY OF NORTH MIAMI, KNOWN AS THE LIFE QUEST FACILITY PROPERTIES, TO EMPOWER "U," INC., A FLORIDA NOT FOR PROFIT CORPORATION ("EMPOWER U"), FOR THE REHABILITATION AND UTILIZATION OF RESIDENTIAL HOUSING UNITS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE SUPPORTIVE HOUSING PROGRAMS AS PART OF THE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH AIDS ("HOPWA") PROGRAM; ALLOCATING FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $700,000.00 FROM PRIOR YEARS' HOPWA PROGRAM FUNDS TO ASSIST WITH THE REHABILITATION OF THE LIFE QUEST FACILITY PROPERTIES; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING AMENDMENTS, RENEWALS, EXTENSIONS, AND MODIFICATIONS, AS MAY BE NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE(S), SUBJECT TO ALL FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LAWS THAT REGULATE THE USE OF SUCH FUNDS. MOTION TO: Withdraw RESULT: WITHDRAWN MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PH.], please see "Order of the Day. " City of Miami Page 30 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 PH.2 RESOLUTION 3963 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department of ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF Community and COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS IN THE Economic AMOUNT OF SEVEN HUNDRED THIRTY THREE THOUSAND ONE ABSENT: HUNDRED EIGHTEEN DOLLARS ($733,118.00) FROM THE Development CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM ("CIP") DOMINO PARK PROJECT TO THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT FOR PARK IMPROVEMENTS AT JOSE MARTI AND RIVERSIDE PARKS; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, INCLUDING AMENDMENTS, RENEWALS, EXTENSIONS, AND MODIFICATIONS, AS MAY BE NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE, SUBJECT TO ALL FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LAWS THAT REGULATE THE USE OF SUCH FUNDS. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0215 MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Ken Russell, Vice Chair SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PH.2, please see "End of Consent Agenda. " PH.3 RESOLUTION 3943 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department ofReai ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO Estate and Asset EXECUTE A GRANT OF UNDERGROUND EASEMENT ON CITY - Management OWNED PROPERTY LOCATED ON WATSON ISLAND, MIAMI, FLORIDA, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, TO THE MIAMI- DADE COUNTY WATER AND SEWER DEPARTMENT OF AN APPROXIMATELY FIFTEEN (15) FOOT WIDE BY TWO HUNDRED FIFTY (250) FOOT LONG UTILITY EASEMENT ("EASEMENT"), AS MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED IN EXHIBIT "A" OF THE EASEMENT, ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, FOR A PERPETUAL NON-EXCLUSIVE UNDERGROUND EASEMENT ON THE PROPERTY, FOR THE CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION, AND MAINTENANCE OF UNDERGROUND UTILITY FACILITIES, WITH THE RIGHT TO RECONSTRUCT, IMPROVE, CHANGE, AND REMOVE ALL OR ANY OF THE FACILITIES WITHIN THE EASEMENT WITH THE FULL RIGHT OF INGRESS THERETO AND EGRESS THEREFROM; CONTAINING A REVERTER PROVISION PROVIDING THAT IF THE EASEMENT SHALL BE ABANDONED OR DISCONTINUED, THE EASEMENT SHALL CEASE AND REVERT BACK TO THE CITY. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0214 City ofMiarni Page 31 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Ken Russell, Vice Chair SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PK3, please see "End of Consent Agenda. " U:PEI V=91011110j1Is] h 3981 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Office of Grants ATTACHMENT(S), BY A FOUR-FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE Administration VOTE, AFTER A DULY NOTICED PUBLIC HEARING, (1) WAIVING COMPETITIVE BIDDING PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-86 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED; (2) AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT GRANT AWARDS FROM THE CITIES FOR FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT FUND, INC., A DELAWARE NON-PROFIT CORPORATION ("CFE FUND"), FOR THE FIRST (1ST) YEAR IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($20,000.00) WITH NO MATCH, FOR THE SECOND (2ND) YEAR IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED ONE HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($150,000.00) WITH AN EQUIVALENT MATCH FROM THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY"), AND FOR THE THIRD (3RD) YEAR IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($100,000.00) WITH A MATCH FROM THE CITY IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($200,000.00); AND (3) AUTHORIZING THE CITY'S IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION OF COMMUNICATIONS, MARKETING, PUBLICITY MEDIA EVENTS, AND SOCIAL MEDIA IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($2,500.00) ("IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION"); AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO SECURE SAID MATCHES FOR THE PURPOSES OF ESTABLISHING A FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER ("PROJECT") AND PROVIDING FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND PERSONALIZED COACHING TO LOCAL RESIDENTS ("PROGRAM"); ESTABLISHING A NEW SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECT FUND, ENTITLED "MULTI-YEAR FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT EXPANSION PROGRAM 2018-2020" AND APPROPRIATING THE GRANT AND IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION, SUBJECT TO BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT TIME OF NEED; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE GRANT AGREEMENTS AND ALL OTHER NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, APPLICATIONS, RENEWALS, EXTENSIONS, AND MODIFICATIONS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE OF AND COMPLIANCE WITH SAID GRANT AWARD FROM THE CFE FUND AND IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION; AND PROVIDING THAT CITY MATCH FUNDS SHALL BE APPROPRIATED BY SEPARATE LEGISLATION AT TIME OF FUNDING. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0216 City ofMiami Page 32 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Ken Russell, Vice Chair SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PK4, please see "End of Consent Agenda. " PH.5 RESOLUTION 3992 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, BY A FOUR - Department of FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, PURSUANT TO SECTION Planning and 18-92 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS Office of Zoning AMENDED ("CITY CODE"), AFTER AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC AYES: HEARING, RATIFYING, APPROVING AND CONFIRMING THE CITY ABSENT: MANAGER'S FINDING OF A SOLE SOURCE, ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED AS ATTACHMENT "A," WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDDING PROCEDURES, AND APPROVING AN INCREASE IN THE CONTRACT AMOUNT FOR A STATED TIME, UP TO TWO (2) YEARS, AND PAYMENTS, FOR TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($2,500.00) MONTHLY, FOR A TOTAL OF SIXTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($60,000.00), FOR THE CONTINUED USE OF THE GRIDICS LLC SOFTWARE APPLICATION FOR THE CREATION OF PROPRIETARY INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS, TO IMPROVE PROCESSES AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND OFFICE OF ZONING; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND OFFICE OF ZONING, SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF NEED; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS, RENEWALS, AND EXTENSIONS, SUBJECT TO ALLOCATIONS, APPROPRIATIONS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL HAVING BEEN PREVIOUSLY MADE, AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED ("CITY CODE"), INCLUDING THE CITY'S PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE, ANTI -DEFICIENCY ACT, AND FINANCIAL INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES ALL AS SET FORTH IN CHAPTER 18 OF THE CITY CODE, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE REGULATIONS, AS MAY BE NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0217 City ofMiami Page 33 Printed on 07/20/2018 MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Ken Russell, Vice Chair SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo City ofMiami Page 33 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PK S, please see "End of Consent Agenda. " PH.6 RESOLUTION 4132 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Commissioners ATTACHMENT(S), BY A FOUR-FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE and Mayor VOTE, AFTER AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING, RATIFYING, AYES: APPROVING, AND CONFIRMING THE CITY MANAGER'S FINDING, ABSENT: ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED AS ATTACHMENT "A," THAT COMPETITIVE NEGOTIATION METHODS AND PROCEDURES ARE NOT PRACTICABLE OR ADVANTAGEOUS FOR THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY"), PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-85(A) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED; WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR SAID PROCEDURES; AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS FROM THE DISTRICT 1 COMMISSIONER'S SHARE OF THE CITY'S ANTI -POVERTY INITIATIVE IN A TOTAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $92,702.00 TO LITTLE HAVANA ACTIVITIES NUTRITION CENTERS OF DADE COUNTY, INC., A FLORIDA NOT FOR PROFIT CORPORATION ("LHANC"), FOR ELDERLY MEALS ASSISTANCE AT THE ANTONIO MACEO PARK; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ANY AND ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0218 MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Ken Russell, Vice Chair SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PK 6, please see "Public Comment Period for Regular Item (s. " and "End of Consent Agenda. " END OF PUBLIC HEARINGS City of Miami Page 34 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Ia:MaI:&l9NNFA 911►[eye]N911►/_1►191;&1 FRA ORDINANCE First Reading 3374 TO BE INDEFINITELY DEFERRED Commissioners AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING and Mayor CHAPTER 23 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AYES: AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "HISTORIC PRESERVATION," TO ABSENT: ALLOW FOR THE TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT DENSITY FROM HISTORIC RESOURCE SENDING SITES TO CERTAIN RECEIVING SITES LOCATED WITHIN TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT AREAS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION TO: Indefinitely Defer RESULT: INDEFINITELY DEFERRED MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item FR.], please see "Order of the Day. " FR.2 ORDINANCE First Reading 3424 AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING Commissioners CHAPTER 35/ARTICLE V OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, and Mayor FLORIDA, AS AMENDED ("CITY CODE"), ENTITLED "COCONUT GROVE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT, DESIGN DISTRICT AND WYNWOOD PARKING IMPROVEMENT TRUST FUNDS;" CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION TO: Pass on First Reading RESULT: PASSED ON FIRST READING MOVER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner SECONDER: Ken Russell, Vice Chair AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Chair Hardemon: All right. So let's move on to our First Readings. Madam City Attorney, can you read FR.2 into the record, please? Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): An ordinance -- Chairman, FR. 2, correct? Chair Hardemon: That is correct. City of Miami Page 35 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney. Chair Hardemon: Is there a motion to approve it? Commissioner Reyes: Move it. Vice Chair Russell: Moved. Chair Hardemon: It's been properly moved and seconded to approve. Any discussion on the item? Hearing none, all in favor of the item, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion passes. FR.3 ORDINANCE First Reading 4115 AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING MOVER: CHAPTER 18, ARTICLE III, SECTION 18-115 OF THE CODE OF Commissioners THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED and Mayor "FINANCE/CITY OF MIAMI PROCUREMENT ABSENT: ORDINANCE/ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS," TO STRIKE THE PHRASE "GOODS AND SERVICES" FROM THE LANGUAGE OF THE SECTION; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION TO: Pass on First Reading RESULT: PASSED ON FIRST READING MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner SECONDER: Ken Russell, Vice Chair AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Chair Hardemon: Madam City Attorney, what is the --? On FR.3, the donation for cash, what is the limit that's placed on it at the moment? Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): For FR.3, right now we have it at a 25,000 threshold, but we could increase it to 50. Chair Hardemon: The thought was to increase it to $50, 000. I had a discussion with the City Administration. Is that the -- still the desire? Emilio T. Gonzalez (City Manager): Yes, it is, sir. Chair Hardemon: All right. Is there a motion to approve --? Well, first of all, can you read FR.3 into the record? But first, I want to know if there's a motion to approve FR.3 -- Commissioner Gort: Move it. Chair Hardemon: -- with that amendment? Vice Chair Russell: Second. City of Miami Page 36 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: Been moved by Commissioner Gort; seconded by the Vice Chairman. So Madam City Attorney, can you read it into the record, with the amendments, please? The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney. Ms. Mendez: And we will raise the threshold to 50, 000 instead of 25, 000. Chair Hardemon: Any further discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all in favor of the motion, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Hardemon: Motion passes. FRA ORDINANCE First Reading 4123 AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING Commissioners CHAPTER 2/ARTICLE II OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, and Mayor FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION," MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTION 2-33, TO REGULATE THE CREATION, DURATION, REINSTATEMENT, ETC. OF PILOT PROGRAMS IN THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION TO: Pass on First Reading RESULT: PASSED ON FIRST READING MOVER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner SECONDER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Chair Hardemon: Madam City Attorney, please read FR. 4 into the record The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney. Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Chair I thought about this ordinance, because since I got here, I have found pilot programs that been in effect -- being a pilot for 17 years, you see. I think that they need a pilot programs --the word says it, "pilot, "you see. And they should be in effect for one year. And if it works, let its -- come to its and -- so we can extend it, or we can expand it. But pilot programs for one -- I mean, for 17 years, I think that is unacceptable. Chair Hardemon: So I'll take that as a motion. Is there a second? Commissioner Gort: Second. Chair Hardemon: Seconded as well. Is there any further discussion? Hearing none, all in favor of the motion, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. City of Miami Page 37 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion passes. FR.5 ORDINANCE First Reading 4143 AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER 18/ARTICLE III/SECTION 18-72 OF THE CODE OF THE Commissioners CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, ENTITLED FINANCE/CITY OF MIAMI and Mayor PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE/APPLICATION AND EXCLUSIONS," BY AMENDING SECTION 18-72(B) TO EXCLUDE FROM THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE CITY OF MIAMI PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE MATCHING FUND GRANTS TO THE CITY AND RELATED ADVERTISING, PROVIDING FOR CERTAIN CONTRACTUAL AND LEGAL LIMITATIONS FOR THIS EXEMPTION AS ARE PROVIDED HEREIN; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION TO: Pass on First Reading RESULT: PASSED ON FIRST READING MOVER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner SECONDER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Chair Hardemon: FR.5, please read it into the record. Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Chairman, is this FR.5? Chair Hardemon: That is correct. The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney. Ms. Mendez: This item was generously sponsored by Commissioner Gort. It was to resolve an issue with a determination from our Law Department with regard to certain advertising costs and the accepting of grants, and then the procuring of those. Chair Hardemon: Motion to approve it? Commissioner Reyes: Move it. Commissioner Gort: Move it. Chair Hardemon: Been properly moved -- Commissioner Gort: Second. Chair Hardemon: -- and seconded Any discussion on it? Hearing none, all in favor of the motion, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion passes. City of Miami Page 38 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 FR.6 ORDINANCE First Reading 4151 AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING Commissioners CHAPTER 23 OF THE CITY CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, and Mayor FLORIDA, AS AMENDED ("CITY CODE"), ENTITLED "HISTORIC AYES: PRESERVATION," TO AMEND SECTION 23-4 OF THE CITY ABSENT: CODE, ENTITLED "DESIGNATION OF HISTORIC RESOURCES, Note for the Record. Item FR.6 was deferred to the June 28, 2018, Planning and HISTORIC DISTRICTS, AND ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES AND ZONES," TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR AN OWNER OF A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIALLY ZONED HOMESTEAD PROPERTY TO ALLEGE AND PROVE THAT HISTORIC DESIGNATION WOULD CAUSE THE OWNER UNREASONABLE OR UNDUE ECONOMIC HARDSHIP, PROVIDING CRITERIA, PROVIDING FOR A DIRECT APPEAL TO THE CITY COMMISSION, PROVIDING FOR A WAIVER OF APPELLATE FEES AND COSTS IN THIS INSTANCE; FURTHER AMENDING CHAPTER 62/ARTICLE VII OF THE CITY CODE, ENTITLED "PLANNING AND ZONING/HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD," BY AMENDING SECTION 62-28 OF THE CITY CODE, ENTITLED "FUNCTIONS, POWERS AND DUTIES, GENERALLY," AND SECTION 62-27, ENTITLED "MEMBERSHIP AND QUALIFICATIONS OF THE BOARD," TO PROVIDE THAT ALL BOARD MEMBERS WILL BE ELECTORS OF THE CITY, TO PROVIDE THEY ARE SUBJECT TO STATE, COUNTY AND CITY ETHICS CODES, AND TO FURTHER PROVIDE THAT THEY WILL NOT BE TRANSACTING BUSINESS WITH THE CITY DURING THE TIME OF BOARD MEMBERSHIP; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION TO: Continue RESULT: CONTINUED MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Note for the Record. Item FR.6 was deferred to the June 28, 2018, Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting. For minutes referencing Item FR.6, please see "Public Comment Period for Regular Item (s) "and "Order of the Day. " City of Miami Page 39 Printed on 0712012018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 FR.7 ORDINANCE First Reading 3910 AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH MOVER: ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING THE MIAMI FIRE FIGHTERS' Miami Firefighters' RELIEF AND PENSION FUND ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO Reiief and Pension ORDINANCE NO. 6432, ADOPTED SEPTEMBER 2, 1959, AS Fund SUBSEQUENTLY AMENDED, TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE CHANGES REQUIRED BY THE U.S. INTERNAL REVENUE CODE, AS AMENDED, AS PROVIDED IN EXHIBIT A ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION TO: Pass on First Reading RESULT: PASSED ON FIRST READING MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Chair Hardemon: FR. 7, please read it into the record. Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): FR. 7. The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney. Commissioner Gort: Move it. Vice Chair Russell: Second. Commissioner Reyes: Second. Chair Hardemon: Been properly moved and seconded. Any further discussion about it? Hearing none, all in favor of the motion, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion passes. 1N1►Ioxel0aI:&Ii:I;rA911►[eye]:1911►/_1►[91;&1 City of Miami Page 40 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 1:I�:7; &1011 tit1101kiR? RE.1 RESOLUTION 3866 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Office of Capital ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO Improvements ACCEPT FUNDS IN THE TOTAL NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT OF AYES: $308,526.61, WITH FUNDS TO BE APPROPRIATED BY ABSENT: SEPARATE RESOLUTION(S), FROM THE COCONUT GROVE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT ("COCONUT GROVE BID"), A BOARD OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, FOR THE COCONUT GROVE SIDEWALKS PROJECT NO. 40-1330687 ("PROJECT"), FOR THE PURPOSE OF IMPLEMENTING THE COCONUT GROVE BID'S REQUESTED MODIFICATIONS INTO THE PROJECT'S PLANS; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE FUNDING ACCEPTANCE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, FOR SAID PURPOSE. MOTION TO: Indefinitely Defer RESULT: INDEFINITELY DEFERRED MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item RE.], please see "Order of the Day. " City ofMiami Page 41 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 RE.2 RESOLUTION 3990 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, BY A FOUR - MOVER: FIFTHS (4/5) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, RATIFYING, RETROACTIVELY Department of Real APPROVING, AND CONFIRMING THE CITY MANAGER'S Estate and Asset EMERGENCY FINDING, ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED AS Management ATTACHMENT "A," THAT IT IS MOST ADVANTAGEOUS FOR THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") TO WAIVE THE COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDDING PROCEDURES PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-90 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED; RETROACTIVELY AUTHORIZING THE SELECTION OF KEARNS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY FOR EMERGENCY DERELICT VESSEL REMOVAL SERVICES FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF REAL ESTATE AND ASSET MANAGEMENT, IN THE OF $160,468.00; FURTHER DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO SEEK REIMBURSEMENT FOR THIS EXIGENCY AND EMERGENCY DERELICT VESSEL REMOVAL FROM THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY AS APPLICABLE AND AS AVAILABLE. =1 �/_C91Iivi1=1►ki►111i41-1=1;M;aU-11011iv MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Ken Russell, Vice Chair SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item RE.2, please see "End of Consent Agenda. " RE.3 RESOLUTION 4038 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department of ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO Planning EXECUTE AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, BETWEEN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY("MDC") AND THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") FOR EXPANSION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE RAPID TRANSIT ZONE ("RTZ") WITH INCLUSION OF THE BRICKELL METRORAIL STATION, ITS SURROUNDING PROPERTY, A NEW CITY FIRE STATION NO. 4, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARKING GARAGE, AND MIXED-USE PROJECT. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0220 City ofMiami Page 42 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 MOTION TO: Adopt with Modification(s) RESULT: ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S) MOVER: Ken Russell, Vice Chair SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item RE.3, please see "End of Consent Agenda. " City of Miami Page 43 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 REA RESOLUTION 4057 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department of ATTACHMENT(S), BY A FOUR-FIFTHS (4/5) AFFIRMATIVE Finance VOTE, RATIFYING, APPROVING, AND CONFIRMING THE NECESSARY ACTIONS AND SUBMISSIONS BY THE CITY MANAGER, THE FINANCE DIRECTOR, THE BUDGET DIRECTOR, THE PROCUREMENT DIRECTOR, AND ALL OTHER DESIGNATED CITY OFFICIALS AND CITY DEPARTMENTS OF ANY AND ALL REQUESTS ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY') FOR HURRICANE IRMA (A) EMERGENCY CIRCUMSTANCES AND EXIGENCY CIRCUMSTANCES COST AND EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY ("DHS") THROUGH THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY ("FEMA") AND THE STATE OF FLORIDA ("STATE") DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ("DIVISION"), WHICH ARE CURRENTLY ESTIMATED AT THIRTY-FOUR MILLION ONE HUNDRED NINETY-THREE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-EIGHT DOLLARS ($34,193,228.00), AND (B) REIMBURSEMENTS FROM INSURANCE PROCEEDS BASED ON CLAIMED LOCATIONS IN AN ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF NINE MILLION FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY- THREE DOLLARS ($9,429,373.00), ALL AS SET FORTH GENERALLY ON COMBINED EXHIBIT "A"; ESTABLISHING TWO (2) SEPARATE NEW SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECTS, RESPECTIVELY ENTITLED "HURRICANE IRMA FEDERALLY FUNDED SUBAWARDS AND GRANTS FISCAL YEAR 2017- 2018" AND "HURRICANE IRMA INSURANCE PROCEEDS AWARDS FISCAL YEAR 2017-2018" AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR THE REIMBURSEMENTS OF CITY FUNDS ADVANCED AND EXPENDED AND FOR RELATED MITIGATION COSTS AND EXPENSES FOR REPAIRS AND REPLACEMENTS, ALL IN CONNECTION WITH HURRICANE IRMA, IN THE AMOUNT(S) OF MULTIPLE GRANTS AND SUBAWARDS (COLLECTIVELY, "GRANT AWARDS") CONSISTING OF GRANTS AND SUBGRANTS FROM FEMA, WHETHER DIRECTLY TO THE CITY OR THROUGH THE DIVISION, AND CONSISTING OF MULTIPLE INSURANCE PROCEED AWARDS ("INSURANCE PROCEEDS AWARDS"); AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT SAID GRANT AWARDS AND INSURANCE PROCEED AWARDS IN CONNECTION WITH THE SUBMISSIONS AS SET FORTH IN COMBINED EXHIBIT "A," AND TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE FEDERALLY -FUNDED SUBAWARD AGREEMENTS AND GRANT AGREEMENTS (COLLECTIVELY, "GRANT AGREEMENTS") AND ANY AND ALL NECESSARY INSURANCE AGREEMENTS, ALL IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, AND ANY AND ALL OTHER NECESSARY DOCUMENTS IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE OF AND COMPLIANCE WITH SAID MULTIPLE GRANT AWARDS AND MULTIPLE INSURANCE AWARDS; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXTEND SAID MULTIPLE GRANT Citv ofMiami Page 44 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 AGREEMENTS (FISCAL YEAR 2017-2018) AND INSURANCE AGREEMENTS (FISCAL YEAR 2017-2018) AS NECESSARY AND TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ANY AND ALL OTHER RELATED MODIFICATIONS, AMENDMENTS, RENEWALS, AND EXTENSIONS ON ALL RELATED MATTERS, ALL IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY; AMENDING THE CITY'S APPROPRIATIONS RELATING TO THE CITY'S OPERATING BUDGET AND THE MULTI-YEAR CAPITAL PLAN FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2017-2018, BOTH AS PREVIOUSLY AMENDED, IN CONNECTION WITH THE CITY'S HURRICANE IRMA EMERGENCY CIRCUMSTANCES AND EXIGENCY CIRCUMSTANCES EXPENDITURES AS NECESSARY FROM THE DISASTER FUND, THE IRMA FUND 80000 ACCOUNT; RATIFYING, APPROVING, AND CONFIRMING CERTAIN NECESSARY ACTIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER, THE FINANCE DIRECTOR, THE BUDGET DIRECTOR, THE PROCUREMENT DIRECTOR, OTHER DESIGNATED CITY OFFICIALS, AND DESIGNATED CITY DEPARTMENTS TO UPDATE THE RELEVANT FINANCIAL CONTROLS, PROJECT CLOSE-OUTS, ACCOUNTING ENTRIES, AND COMPUTER SYSTEMS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH AND FOR ONGOING HURRICANE IRMA FUNDING COMPLIANCE AND INSURANCE COMPLIANCE, REPAIRS, RELATED WORK, AND MULTIPLE GRANT AWARDS AND INSURANCE PROCEED AWARDS IN PROGRESS; AND PROVIDING FOR APPLICABLE EFFECTIVE DATES. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0221 MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Ken Russell, Vice Chair SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSTAIN: Carollo Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item RE.4, please see "End of Consent Agenda. " City ofMiami Page 45 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 RE.5 RESOLUTION 4118 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI COMMISSION, WITH Department of ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE PROCUREMENT OF TREE Public Works TRIMMING SERVICES FROM ASPLUNDH TREE EXPERT, LLC, AYES: FORMERLY KNOWN AS ASPLUNDUH TREE EXPERT CO. ABSENT: ("ASPLUNDH"), FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS ("PUBLIC WORKS"), PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-111 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA AS AMENDED ("CITY CODE"), UTILIZING THE COMPETITIVELY SOLICITED AND EXISTING CITY OF HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA ("HOMESTEAD"), CONTRACT NO. BID #201308 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2018, SUBJECT TO ANY RENEWALS, EXTENSIONS AND/OR REPLACEMENT CONTRACTS BY HOMESTEAD; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ALL OTHER APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS, RENEWALS, AND EXTENSIONS, SUBJECT TO ALLOCATIONS, APPROPRIATIONS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL HAVING BEEN PREVIOUSLY MADE, AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF THE CITY CODE, INCLUDING THE CITY OF MIAMI'S PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE, ANTI -DEFICIENCY ACT, AND FINANCIAL INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES, ALL AS SET FORTH IN CHAPTER 18 OF THE CITY CODE, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE REGULATIONS, AS MAY BE NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0222 MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Ken Russell, Vice Chair SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item RE. S, please see "End of Consent Agenda. " City of Miami Page 46 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 RE.6 RESOLUTION 3968 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department of Real ATTACHMENT(S), DIRECTING THE CITY ATTORNEY TO Estate and Asset PREPARE AN AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF Management MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED ("CHARTER"), FOR CONSIDERATION AT THE REFERENDUM SPECIAL ELECTION SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 28, 2018, PROPOSING, UPON APPROVAL OF THE ELECTORATE, TO AMEND SECTION 29-B OF THE CHARTER, ENTITLED "CITY -OWNED PROPERTY SALE OR LEASE - GENERALLY," TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY COMMISSION, BY A FOUR-FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, TO WAIVE COMPETITIVE BIDDING AND APPROVE AN AMENDED AND RESTATED LEASE WITH HYATT EQUITIES, LLC, TO EXTEND THE CURRENT LEASE TERM TO A TOTAL OF NINETY-NINE (99) YEARS, TO EXPAND THE LEASED PREMISES TO INCLUDE THE LAND UPON WHICH THE CONVENTION CENTER IS LOCATED AND AMENDING THE PARKING AGREEMENT, WITH AN ANNUAL BASE RENT PAYABLE TO THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY') OF AT LEAST TWO MILLION DOLLARS ($2,000,000.00), PLUS ADDITIONAL PROFIT PARTICIPATION RENT FOR OTHER USES, WITH RESTRICTIONS, REVERSIONS, AND RETENTION BY THE CITY OF ALL OTHER RIGHTS, TO BE REDEVELOPED PURSUANT TO A COMPREHENSIVE REDEVELOPMENT MASTER PLAN, INCORPORATING THE JAMES L. KNIGHT CONVENTION CENTER LAND, REQUIRING CITY COMMISSION APPROVAL. MOTION TO: Defer RESULT: DEFERRED MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Note for the Record. Item RE.6 was deferred to the July 12, 2018, Regular Commission Meeting. For minutes referencing Item RE.6, please see "Public Comment Period for Regular Item(s)" and "Order of the Day." City ofMiami Page 47 Printed on 0712012018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 RE.7 RESOLUTION 3967 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department of Real ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING, SETTING FORTH, AND Estate and Asset SUBMITTING TO THE ELECTORATE A PROPOSED CHARTER Management AMENDMENT AMENDING THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED ("CHARTER"); AMENDING SECTION 29-B OF THE CHARTER, ENTITLED "CITY -OWNED PROPERTY SALE OR LEASE -GENERALLY," TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY COMMISSION BY A FOUR-FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, TO WAIVE COMPETITIVE BIDDING AND AUTHORIZE AN AMENDED AND RESTATED LEASE WITH HYATT EQUITIES, LLC, TO EXTEND THE CURRENT LEASE TERM TO A TOTAL OF NINETY-NINE (99) YEARS, TO EXPAND THE LEASED PREMISES TO INCLUDE THE LAND UPON WHICH THE CONVENTION CENTER IS LOCATED, AND AMENDING THE PARKING AGREEMENT, WITH AN ANNUAL BASE RENT PAYABLE TO THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY') OF AT LEAST TWO MILLION DOLLARS ($2,000,000.00), PLUS ADDITIONAL PROFIT PARTICIPATION RENT FOR OTHER USES, WITH RESTRICTIONS, REVERSIONS, AND RETENTION BY THE CITY OF ALL OTHER RIGHTS, TO BE REDEVELOPED PURSUANT TO A COMPREHENSIVE REDEVELOPMENT MASTER PLAN, INCORPORATING THE JAMES L. KNIGHT CONVENTION CENTER LAND, REQUIRING CITY COMMISSION APPROVAL; CALLING FOR A SPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON AUGUST 28, 2018; DESIGNATING AND APPOINTING THE CITY CLERK AS THE OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CITY COMMISSION, WITH RESPECT TO THE USE OF VOTER REGISTRATION BOOKS AND RECORDS; FURTHER DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO CAUSE A CERTIFIED COPY OF THE HEREIN RESOLUTION TO BE DELIVERED TO THE SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS OF MIAMI- DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, NOT LESS THAN 45 DAYS PRIOR TO THE DATE OF SUCH SPECIAL ELECTION; PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE FOR THIS RESOLUTION. MOTION TO: Defer RESULT: DEFERRED MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Note for the Record. Item RE.7 was deferred to the July 12, 2018, Regular Commission Meeting. For minutes referencing Item RE. 7, please see "Order of the Day. " City ofMiarni Page 48 Printed on 0712012018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 RE.8 RESOLUTION 4156 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION Commissioners AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ALLOCATE ECONOMIC SECONDER: DEVELOPMENT FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $800,000.00 FOR and Mayor THE REHABILITATION OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1302 ABSENT: NORTHWEST 54 STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA, WHICH INCLUDES ABSENT: BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO EXPENDITURES ON FURNITURE, FIXTURES, AND EQUIPMENT, FROM ACCOUNT NO. 14010.910199; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ANY AND ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. =1ill /_ClaIIT, l=1►kiill R1IT, 14=1:M:aiE���Y� ? MOTION TO: Adopt with Modification(s) RESULT: ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S) MOVER: Ken Russell, Vice Chair SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item RE.8, please see "End of Consent Agenda. " RE.9 RESOLUTION 4189 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION EXPRESSING MOVER: SUPPORT OF THE OPENING OF THE UNITED STATES Commissioners EMBASSY IN JERUSALEM, ISRAEL; ENCOURAGING OTHER and Mayor COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD TO DO THE SAME; NAYS: ENCOURAGING OTHER CITIES TO ADOPT SIMILAR ABSENT: RESOLUTIONS OF SUPPORT; REAFFIRMING THE CITY OF MIAMI'S SUPPORT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL IN ITS FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISTS AND UNDEMOCRATIC REGIMES; DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, THE UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE, THE UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL, AND PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0228 MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Gort, Carollo, Reyes NAYS: Hardemon ABSENT: Russell City of Miami Page 49 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Commissioner Carollo: We -re not over with the meeting, Commissioner. We got one item left, but if you don't want to vote on it, it's fine, but since we lost a Commissioner -- we have one over there. We have three. If I could get a resolution that we need to get out of the way. It's just a quick resolution; then we'll go back to this, because I don't want you to leave here mistaken as to what was said. Commissioner Gort, if you could hang loose for a second -- Elena Botero: Just one second. Commissioner Carollo: -- I'd like to bring up Madam City Attorney. Commissioner Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) order, ifpossible. Commissioner Carollo: Excuse me, sir? Commissioner Gort: I'd like to keep the meeting in order. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. The only thing is that while we have three here -- Ms. Botero: Order. I'm sorry. Commissioner Carollo: -- I want to make sure if we could go back just to this resolution. Commissioner Reyes: Four. Commissioner Carollo: We got four. Okay. We're good. If we could, Chairman, real briefly, if we could go to this resolution. It's -- Chair Hardemon: RE.9? Commissioner Carollo: -- RE.9. A resolution of the Miami City Commission expressing support of the opening of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem, Israel, and encouraging other countries of the world to do the same; encouraging other cities to adopt similar resolutions of support; reaffirming the City of Miami's support of the State of Israel in its fight against terrorism and un -democratic regimes; directing the City Clerk to transmit a copy of this resolution to all members of the Florida Congressional Delegation, the United States Secretary of State, the United States Ambassador to Israel; and the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. Is that sufficient, Madam City Attorney? Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Yes. Commissioner Carollo: And I make the motion for this resolution. Commissioner Reyes: I'll second your motion. Commissioner Carollo: It's been second. Chair Hardemon: It's been properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Commissioner Carollo: No discussion. Chair Hardemon: Well, I'm just a lowly -- Commissioner Carollo: Well, no. I didn't know you had any -- City of Miami Page 50 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: -- "Miamuh" City Clerk. And I don't feel that I have the level of sophistication to support this resolution, and I'll leave it at that. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Well, that's fine. I respect you. Chair Hardemon: But I'm here. Commissioner Carollo: I know that, and I respect that. Is there a vote? Chair Hardemon: Yes, there is. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: All in favor of the motion, say "aye. " Commissioner Carollo: Aye. Commissioner Reyes: Aye. Commissioner Gort: Aye. Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion passes. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Chairman. I appreciate that. Chair Hardemon: No problem. 1A►IOxelaN410]RNA 1[07►1.1 City of Miami Page 51 Printed on 07120/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 sm*97MN13'we1►UZ4197JiIJiI11191114*� BCA RESOLUTION 4171 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WAIVING THE EMPLOYMENT Office of the City REQUIREMENTS BY A FOUR-FIFTHS AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, AS IT RELATES TO Clerk LARRY SPRING AS A MEMBER OF THE OFF-STREET PARKING BOARD. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0224 MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner SECONDER: Keon Hardemon, Chair AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes ABSENT: Carollo Chair Hardemon: I forgot to -- Commissioner Reyes: RE.3? Chair Hardemon: -- add in there -- because there's a gentleman here that is waiting on its to pass the BC.1. I wanted to add BC. I to it. So is there a motion to approve BC.1 ? Commissioner Reyes: Move. Chair Hardemon: Seconded by the Chair. Is there any discussion about BC.1 ? Commissioner Gort: PZ. 1, Planning & Zoning? Chair Hardemon: Yeah --well, no, PC -- Vice Chair Russell: BC (Boards and Committees). Chair Hardemon: BC. 1, which is the Off -- the board appointment. There's an Off - Street Parking Board employment waiver, four-fifths Commissioner Gort: Oh, okay, okay, okay. Yes, yes. Chair Hardemon: So it's been properly moved and seconded All in favor of the motion, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Hardemon: All against? That motion carries as well. ;I►Iexel0 Z97ilN31m_1kiI3X9191 6161111119;1;&9 City of Miami Page 52 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 1-1IM-1llBiel NkI BUA BUDGET DISCUSSION ITEM 3241 MONTHLY REPORT Office of I. SECTION 2-497 OF THE CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES Management and (RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIRECTOR OF MANAGEMENT AND Budget BUDGET) II. SECTION 18-502 (CITY'S ANTI -DEFICIENCY ACT) III. SECTION 18-542 (FINANCIAL INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES) RESULT: PRESENTED Chair Hardemon: Can we move to BU.1, please? Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir. Commissioner Gort: Deferred. RE.1 is deferred. Vice Chair Russell: BU.1 ? Chair Hardemon: No, BU. 1. Commissioner Gort: Oh. Chair Hardemon: BU. 1, which is the status of the 2018 -- Oh, there you are. Sandra Bridgeman (Chief Financial Officer/Assistant City Manager): Yes. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. There's someone that's much less attractive than you are that usually comes to give this, so. Vice Chair Russell: Ouch. Sandra Bridgeman: Good morning, Commissioners. Sandra Bridgeman, Chief Financial Officer and Assistant City Manager. Mr. Rose is in a meeting today; therefore, I will be presenting the monthly report. The report sent out to you all this morning is based on revenue and expenditure data as of April of this year, seven months into the fiscal year. As you can see in the report, overall projected revenues, minus expenditures, are currently trending toward a year-end surplus of 25.4 million; approximately 31.7 from general fund, and a deficit of 6.3 in the internal service fund, and that deficit is due to health costs and Workmen's -- additional, increasing, rising Workmen's Compensation costs. This month's projection is approximately 3.8 million lower than the project -- the surplus projection for last month, and represents a variance of approximately 3 percent from the adopted budget. It does not include projections of expenditures included in the mid -- It does include -- I'm sorry -- it does include projections of expenditures included in the mid- year budget amendment. It does not include, however, the costs that may be associated with open collective bargaining negotiation or pending legal cases. Word of caution: It should also be noted that this does not mean that the City City of Miami Page 53 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 general fund balance will increase by 25.4 million from the year end of the year fund balance in September 2017, as the current budget includes the use of 24.5 million of rollover from the previous year. If those projections hold true, the fund balance will increase by $900, 000 from last September. Please look through the details of the report and ask questions at your leisure. As I said, Workmen's Compensation and health costs are rising rapidly, due to a small number of large claims. We're monitoring it, and we are doing everything that we can to take steps to reduce the spending. We continue to use a 7 percent property tax roll growth into next year, which is much lower than that we've been using. It was 11.2 percent. We enjoyed that last year. However, it's trending at 7 percent. We'll get our preliminary property tax assessment figures at the end of next week. At this time, I'll take any questions that you may have. Commissioner Gort: So you're projecting 7 percent? Ms. Bridgeman: That's what the -- verbally, the tax -- the Property Tax Appraiser's Office is telling us that. And we enjoyed 11.2, imagine, so it's going to put us in a really not so favorable situation. Commissioner Reyes: You are including in your projection -- revenue projections all the --for next year -- I mean, it's going to be for next year, what you're talking about, right? Ms. Bridgeman: Correct. Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Are you including all the potential construction that we going to have and that are in the works? Ms. Bridgeman: All the data that was provided from everyone was included into those projections. Commissioner Reyes: Okay. When we are going to have -- I mean -- some information about how are you projecting your -- the revenues and the costs? Ms. Bridgeman: Well, we'll have to -- I'll have to check with Chris. As you know, I've only been here four weeks. Commissioner Reyes: Okay. I would like to see them. Ms. Bridgeman: And you --certainly. We'll just give you the information. Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Ms. Bridgeman: But I have to double check with Chris. Commissioner Reyes: Thankyou. Chair Hardemon: I didn't receive a copy of the email that you sent out today. If you sent it out today, I don't have it just yet, so just make sure you forward it to me again. Ms. Bridgeman: Yeah. Everyone was copied on that, but -- Chair Hardemon: Just forward it tome again. For some reason, I don't have it. Ms. Bridgeman: Okay. We'll rectify that, if that's the case. City of Miami Page 54 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. Any other questions? If not, thank you very much, ma'am. END OF BUDGET City of Miami Page 55 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 91a911;�d11:9101kiIkIA►yi1.1 D1.1 DISCUSSION ITEM 3868 QUARTERLY UPDATE BY MR. WAYNE PATHMAN, CHAIRMAN OF Office of THE SEA LEVEL RISE COMMITTEE AND MEMBERS OF THE SEA Resilience and LEVEL RISE COMMITTEE REGARDING RECOMMENDATIONS Sustainability FOR ADVANCING THE CITY OF MIAMI'S RESILIENCE TO INCREASED FLOODING RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH SEA LEVEL RISE. RESULT: DISCUSSED Chair Hardemon: Calling the May 24, 2018, Miami City Commission meeting back into session. We've completed a significant amount of our agenda. What I'd like to do is, first, let's deal with D7.1, Sea Level Rise Committee quarterly update from the illustrious Chairman, Mr. Wayne Pathman. Is he in? He is here. He's the beacon of light at the end of our day. You should come on. IT (Information Technology), we need the podium microphone to work. That microphone. Wayne Pathman: Now it's working. Thank you for that very nice introduction, Mr. Chairman; I appreciate that, and right back at you. All right. Well, first of all, it's a pleasure to serve as the Chairman of the City of Miami Sea Level Rise Committee. And with me today is also your Chief Resilience Officer, Jane Gilbert; Frances Colon, who is a new member of our committee; and also, Albert Gomez. They'll both be speaking, so I'll try to keep it brief. Some of you may be aware that last week, RMS held their Exceedance Conference here in Miami, which over a thousand people from around the world attended. Some of the brightest minds and best experts in the industry dealing with resilience and climate change were here. Mayor Francis Suarez did participate, too, in some of the meetings, and made some presentations on a panel. Why I bring that up is that it was a great opportunity for the City to host an event, and I hope that they'll come back next year and agree to host it again, because Miami is clearly one of the leading cities dealing with resilience and flooding and climate change. As far as the committee is concerned, something I'd like to bring to your attention that I think is very important that came out of this conference, and that is that the former FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) director, who retired recently, Roy Wright; and the Assistant Deputy Director, Nicholas Shufro, were there, and I had an opportunity to talk to them, to engage them in conversation. And in a panel that they were on, they indicated that they believe that the National Flood Insurance Program will be going to risk-based assessment in two to three years. If you'll recall, I've talked about that before in front of the Commission. And as the Chairman of the committee -- and I think I can speak on behalf of the entire members of the committee -- that this is really the tip of the spear. If this happens, this is a game -changer for our city. This is something that the Commission and the Administration need to take very seriously. I spoke to them, like I said, privately as well, and they confirmed that this is, in fact, going to happen. Now what that means -- Yes, Mr. Chairman. Chair Hardemon: Who makes the decision whether or not they go to a risk-based assessment? Is it a matter ofpolitical --? City of Miami Page 56 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Pathman: Ultimately, it's I think a combination of both being recommended by the NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) and FEMA, and Congress will make that ultimate decision. But in committee meetings that they had last year, as well as some earlier this year, it seems to be the direction that they are going in, and it's really out of necessity. The program really isn't designed to do what they're asking the program to do to ensure all of these areas that are at risk from flooding. And as you know from the hurricane and what happened in Houston, Houston is not -- has not been described as a flood zone area; it is now, and they know they're going to have continuous flooding there, because of the way that city is designed and the way their zoning works, and the fact that heavy rainfalls continue more frequently than they ever did. So as the pool grows and more areas need the assistance of the program, those areas that are of high risk have to start paying a higher premium, and clearly, South Florida is one of the ones that is high risk and is ground zero, as many studies have shown, for the most economic risk to sea level rise due to flooding. So what does that mean? It means that, ultimately, we're going to see some very, very in -- no, some increase in our premiums for flood insurance, which will affect banking, it'll affect bonding, and it'll affect taxation, something that everybody here is very sensitive to. I think that, initially, you'll see 20 to 25 percent increases in premiums. Obviously, the higher the risk, the more expensive the property, the more -- the higher premium you're going to pay, but that's just the beginning. Eventually, you're going to see, over the next 10 or 15 years, probably 100 to 200 percent increase in high-risk areas for premiums for flood insurance. And why do I say that? Because in 2012, Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Act, which took off all the subsidies, and basically went to a risk-based premium design. There was an outcry for all coastal communities in all states, saying to Congress, "This just can't be allowed. " In 2014, they came up with the Affordability Act, which basically put subsidies back on, but allowed increases. What we're going to see is a combination of the two. It is something that is going to be called "Risk - Based Assessment. " And what we're trying to do as a committee, and what we really want your support for, is that I proposed, along with my committee members, an idea about a month and a half ago that we create a City of Miami Risk Action Plan -- RAP for short -- and it would be directly associated with dealing with risk issues; not to ignore any of the other issues that are impacted by sea level rise or flooding, but directly address risk, because our financial institutions around the world are looking at this issue very closely. And I guess the best example I could give you as to what we're going to try to do -- and hopefully propose something to the Commission before the end of the year -- is if you look back to 1992 when we had Hurricane Andrew, after Hurricane Andrew, the South Florida Building Code was changed to the Florida Building Code, and what we did was we made the Code basically the most resilient Code to hurricanes in the entire country, and as a byproduct of that, insurance stayed at bay, because we addressed risk and we addressed their risk. So insurance didn't skyrocket through the roof, and we built better homes and better buildings and a better community. We have to look at flooding the same way. It's coming. It's something that the world is dealing with. And I can assure you that the economic impacts of what is being discussed around the world today and in every institution, every financial institution, is going to come first, long before the water gets here. And when Roy Wright, who I've had the pleasure of knowing, and Nicholas Shufro, for a while, say that this is the direction that the Government will be going in, I think you can pretty much take it to the bank. We'll see some modifications, but it will probably be risk-based assessments. So as we move forward, the committee, one of the things that, you know, I have asked repeatedly for is to get some funding. Now, I understand about budgets. You know, I appeared before you on other matters in my private law practice, but the City needs to look at this issue very seriously, and we need resources. We, as a committee, are a group of volunteers. We meet once a month. We have workshops in between, which we all volunteer to show up at. We've been working diligently with Francisco Garcia of the Planning Department, to try to change the Zoning Code, to make it more resilient as City of Miami Page 57 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 it relates to flooding, but we need outside resources to help us do this 40 year risk plan. It is imperative that this plan, or something like it, get done. The world needs to know that over the next four [sic] years, the City of Miami is going to be addressing this risk. It's not a big budget item today; not asking you to build major infrastructure, other than what you're going to be working on under the Forever Bond, the 200 million, but we need to let the world know that this is an issue that you're concerned with and that we have ideas on how to deal with it. If not, insurance is going to skyrocket, banking is going to change; you're going to see 30 - year mortgages be a thing of the past; banks are going to ask for additional insurance, excess insurance on flood. So just by way of example, let's say you have - - and I'm just picking a round number -- $2 million home or $2 million property. Let's say it's a home. Your bank says they want 40 percent coverage, which will be $800,000 worth of insurance. You can only get 250 today from the Federal Government, which is probably going to go up to 500, but you still have a gap of $300,000 worth of insurance that you would have to go out to the private sector and you'd have to get that insurance every single year; otherwise, you'd be in default of your mortgage. This is coming. I have been in a number of meetings on behalf of the City, as well as my law practice, with institutional investors and banks that I represent, and they're starting to think this way. These questions are starting to get asked in real estate deals. I can tell you that a year ago, I didn't get the questions that I get today. And one of the more important questions that's coming out today is lenders are not only asking, "What are you as a developer going to do to your property in terms of to make it resilient?" but "What is the City or the County where your property is located going to do in the future so our collateral is protected? " So I encourage you to support the idea of our 40 -Year Risk Assessment Plan, because it's one way of addressing the risk and helping people understand what this City is going to be doing in the future. I think it should be a focused approach. We know that there are other issues that deal -- that the City has to deal with, but this plan should be basically focused on risk. So, at some point in the future, I'll be back to give you an idea of what our outline of what our plan is. I certainly want to address any questions that you may have, but I would like you to think, going forward, about some funding for us to be able to hire outside resources to help us create this plan. I would now -- If there are any questions about what I said -- if there aren't, I'd like to introduce Frances Colon, and she has a report to make. Or is that -- Albert, are you going to go next? Frances? Okay. Frances, and then Albert Gomez will be discussing some issues related to zoning. Do any Commissioners have any questions? No? Okay. Frances. Frances Colon: Good afternoon, Chair. Very briefly, just wanted to introduce myself as the newest member of the Sea Level Rise Committee. My name is Dr. Frances Colon, and I joined the committee as a scientist, as an expert in environmental and scientific Policy; spent over 11 years in the Federal Government, working on science and environment climate change issues. I have now the pleasure of working on these issues here at the local level, in one of the places that the world is watching so closely, so I'm very honored by the Mayor's appointment. And I look forward to working with you, Commissioners, and the committee, and our Chief Resilience Officer as we continue to define our work. One of the things I hope to bring to the committee and to you is my extended scientific networks at the Federal level, across the country, in other countries that could be good partners with us. A lot is changing very fast on us. The estimates of what is coming is changing very fast, but we have very good data and information to use, so I hope to bring that to you; bring you the best information so we can make the best decisions as we continue to define what this committee works on in terms of resilience. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. City of Miami Page 58 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Albert Gomez: Good afternoon, Commission. First and foremost, I'd like to bring up an agenda item that we've been bringing back and forth and discussing at the committee, which is to bring forward the relationship a little tighter and a little stronger with the Biscayne Bay Marine Health Summit. We put a resolution forward last year to support this summit, and it passed. We had a very successful summit. It was held at FIU (Florida International University). We had over 220 plus stakeholders from State, Federal, and local agencies, as well as community members, professors, scientists that brought an action plan together. We basically have a score card piping through Miami -Dade County for the Biscayne Bay. We have a partnership initiative ordinance being put forward through the County. We're looking for the City to take more of a prominent role in that, and as a function of that, we've gotten pretty much a green light from the Steering Committee -- which one Steering Committee member, Steve Sams, is here -- basically, to have City of Miami host the summit this year. It'll be in September. We already have the agenda item up for our next Sea Level Rise Committee to pass as motion, so it'll probably be coming to you by July with details on budgets, etcetera, from last year's summit. We had University of Miami that have already agreed to participate from a university institution as the primary university sponsor, to give another university an opportunity beyond FIU. So I stress, please, bring your support forward on that item. The second item is an agenda item that I brought forward that has passed on motion, and it will be probably brought forward to next month's Commission meeting, which is a resolution for the creation of an ordinance to institute adaptation action zones or districts as an approved American Planning Association flexible zoning technique, enabling for the amendment of the Miami 21 Code, via Commission ordinance, in support of advancing resilience and transformative change through mitigation and adaptation techniques in areas most at risk to the effect of climate change, sea level rise, title events, and storm surges. And this was something that came up to my attention based on identifying the City of Miami's GIS (Geographic Information System) development pipeline tool. In looking at that tool, I saw close to a billion dollars' worth of private investment being permitted and being arranged, and/or in different stages of development. And one thing that was very stark is where our CRO (Chief Resilience Officer), Jane Gilbert, is pushing hard to harmonize sea level rise projections, and pushing the bar on public projects; private doesn't have that requirement. And things are getting approved on the private level based on our standard Code right now, which does not designate any particular sea level rise ordinances or details to meet the risks and threat that we currently are feeling. I was looking -- the Planning & Zoning Department are bringing forward very positive, low -hanging fruit for the Code to be modified, but in doing so, that is a -- somewhat of a step-by-step approach, and other zoning issues would come to bear on a property -to -property basis, and that's why I wanted to see if we could bring forward a more flexible tool for us to look at a broad range of zoning and Code changes that could be brought forward for this particular --for whatever particular property we're addressing. The Adaptation Action Zone would bring that forward. I am in discussions with the Zoning Department right now. Jeremy is in discussion with me, as well the Building Department, to try to see if we can harmonize the motion to make sure that everybody's on board and everybody can support it. So just keep an eye out for that. And I -- if any of you want any questions or anything like that with regards to that, or want to meet in person to find more information about it, by all means, let me know; I'm readily available, and I could give you more information on it. With that, do you have any questions on that? Okay. On that point, I'd like to see if, based on the comments that we've brought up from the committee, if I can invite Jane Gilbert, our CRO, to speak on some of the subjects that we've brought up. I'd really appreciate it. Thank you. ChairHardemon: If she'd like to. City of Miami Page 59 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Jane Gilbert: Good afternoon. Jane Gilbert, Chief Resilience Officer. Thank you. We've had really -- this committee's been really picking up momentum in terms of its work lately, which is exciting; want to just give you a couple updates from the Administration. First, really excited to be working with the new Manager and his commitment to really accelerating our work in this area, particularly moving forward on some -- our infrastructure investments. We've been working with our new -- our Office of Capital Improvements and identifying some priority projects that we're going to want to -- or how we're going to prioritize those projects with Miami Forever Bond prior to the full Storm Water Master Plan getting completed. Last week we kicked off with our staff this new Storm Water Master Plan process, as well as planning with the Van Allen Institute for a resilient redesign of Jose Marti Park. And in the week of June 4, we're going to be hosting 100 Resilient Cities, with Columbia University, to idents a real signature -- another resilient redesign project for them to work on, and prototyping with some of our residents the product we're developing with the Mayor's Bloomberg Challenge to help property owners understand their risks and make mitigation solutions. So we're excited about that work. As far as the Storm Water Master Plan Group, I -- very excited about the quality of the team and the robust scope of work that we've outlined for them to do. It includes developing a robust system of digitizing and modeling our City infrastructure, and how not only rain water, but ground water, sea water will be interacting with our built-in natural environment, and how it's going to respond to both changing conditions and to different mitigation improvements, whether those are infrastructure improvements or, to Mr. Gomez' comments, to Code or land -use change improvements. It will include very strong coordination, as it needs to, with our other agencies, like the South Florida Water Management District, FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) Water and Sewer District, Army Corps of Engineers, other municipalities. And it will actively seek vehicles for incorporating, using green and open space for its sponge function, for its ability to absorb water and actually cool our City in the process; reusing and storing, slowing it down, making it visible, and then taking all recommended mitigation solutions through a robust, triple bottom-line cost benefit analysis. And what I mean "triple, " that means economic, environmental, and social issues related to it, so very excited about that. One of the issues that Mr. Pathman brought up, the whole issue of risk-based analysis, we are in discussion with that team about whether they're going to have enough robust risk -related data to work into those models, and whether we need to secure other resources to do that. In the -- Recently, 100 Resilient Cities brought Urban Land Institute to reevaluate Miami Beach's Storm Water Master Plan. And one of the big recommendations that came out of that was the importance of incorporating robust risk analysis into all their solutions, including even setting up -- in the -- including even setting up an office where they could, ongoing, look at that risk transfer so that they can, one, better communicate with stakeholders about the cost and benefits of different potential Code changes. That's going to be key. If we're going to talk about changing elevation requirements or seawall requirements, we need to have really robust data and enable them to be able to finance the benefits of those solutions. It'll enable us, as a city, to make more informed decisions about our -- how best to use our limited infrastructure resources in the most sufficient way, and secure other public grants and maybe even private financing vehicles. And finally, it'll enable us to tell a very robust story to our rating agencies about our improved risks results. So I think taking that strong risk-based analysis is going to be important. We are working with the Storm Water Master Plan team to try to figure out what additional resources we might need to fully do that. With that, see if there's any other questions. Chair Hardemon: I have a question, Mr. Pathman. It may be a silly one, but it's a question, nonetheless. For public housing, are -- for instance, does the -- is the County required to have insurance on their facilities that they provide for housing for others? City of Miami Page 60 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Pathman: Well, I can't speak if the County's doing it or not. It would always make sense to have insurance, unless you're self-insured, which the County is, since they have sovereign immunity, but probably self-insured. But that being said, what is happening around the country and at the highest level of the Federal Government, the Federal Government, for the first time last year, insured their own insurance for losses due to sea level rise and flooding, and saved the country about -- I think it was over a billion dollars, if I'm not correct, Jane. So new insurance products or ideas are coming about as a result of climate change universally; or even something that was talked about at the conference, how states can work together -- let's say, Florida and California -- and they cross -insure. So, if something happens in Florida one year, California helps pay for that loss, and vice versa. So it's lots of new ideas coming out as a result of insurance, and how the insurance in the Federal Government for the first time bought reinsurance, and it's something that eventually the City may want to do. I wanted to close with just a couple things. One, we, as a committee, have taken, so to speak, our show on the road. We've been to Shore Crest now; we were at the Jose Marti Park just a few nights ago, and we plan on continuing to do that to hit every neighborhood within the City. The reason for it is we want them -- to let them know that there is a committee that is addressing issues that they're concerned with. We wanted them to know that we want to pass along their concerns to you, and try to address them as best we can in resolutions that we pass. And so far, it has been extremely well-received. We've had very good turnouts at both of the events that we have, so we're going to continue to do that, and wanted you to know that we have outreach, which I think is a first for any standing committee in the City, going out to the community as opposed to having their meetings here. Secondly, and I think one of the most important things you need to consider, is assess first and plan second. Don't make the mistakes that I believe the City of Miami Beach has made, where they implemented pump programs and street - raising programs without assessing first. Last week, the City of Miami Beach residents said, "Don't build anymore" -- "Don't raise anymore roads. " The pump program, I think, has a lot ofproblems; the way it's designed, and how much effluent it pumps into the bay, especially if they add the 70 more pumps that they're talking about. So assessment is key in addressing how your dollars will be spent; whether the program you're being -- you know, thinking about is the right one, and how to best maximize the City's investment into infrastructure. And lastly, I would say to you that you don't plan to fail; you fail to plan, so let's plan together. Let's work on this together. It's a very important issue that our City is going to be addressing. The committee had some great recommendations, which I'll be making next quarter, especially on this risk plan that I mentioned today, but we could use some funding. We're not asking for a lot of money, but a few hundred thousand dollars would go a long way for helping us get the right experts to help us create this plan. And remember, we're only, you know, part time, and we're volunteers. This is something that needs to be worked on around the clock if we're going to do it right. So thank you again, and I appreciate the time. Chair Hardemon: Thank you. So -- it's okay; she's emphatic. It's okay. Mr. Assistant City Attorney, can you read the afternoon session for the Planning and Zoning? Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): Yes, Mr. Chairman. Commissioner Gort: I want to ask a question. Chair Hardemon: Oh, you do? Okay. Commissioner Gort: I'd like someone to come to my office and explain to me how the risk management works and -- City of Miami Page 61 Printed on 07120/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Pathman: What's that? Can you repeat that, Commissioner? Commissioner Gort: You're talking about the -- you going to have the risk management analysis, study, and so on. I'd like to know how do that functions. How does it work? Mr. Pathman: Well, what we're -- Commissioner Gort: You don't have to tell me now. Mr. Pathman: Okay. Commissioner Gort: We can get together. You can come and tell me all that. Also, at the same time, I've been asking for a long time now what plans do we have? I mean, I'm sure we have the whole world looking into all those problems. We got the whole West Coast, East Coast, and the Gulf Coast, who have the same problem, and you have all through Europe and all the -- all over the world. Something has to come up somewhere. Mr. Pathman: Well, there is a lot of stuff out there, and there are a lot of plans. There's already a lot of things worked on within the City and other cities and the County, but what I'm saying specifically is deal with risk. If you don't deal with risk, which is the financial world -- Commissioner Gort: No, I understand. Mr. Pathman: -- the other things won't matter. Commissioner Gort: I understand. From the banking -point of view -- Mr. Pathman: So I'll be happy to meet with you and explain -- Commissioner Gort: -- it's something I'll -- been asking. Mr. Pathman: Okay. Commissioner Gort: What are the risks of your home that I'm going to finance? That's the first thing we're going to be asking. Along with that, we going to have the solution how to do away with the risk? Mr. Pathman: I -- do I have a solution to deal with risk? Commissioner Gort: No. Are we going to come up also with a solution how to deal with the risk? Mr. Pathman: Well, to deal -- Commissioner Gort: Because it'd be very nice if we come up with a plan. The risk that we have, we understand; we know it. How are we going to improve, or how are we going to eliminate that risk? Mr. Pathman: That's the point of this plan that the committee is going to be working on -- Commissioner Gort: Okay. City of Miami Page 62 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Pathman: -- to address that, and it's not something that -- it's going to be a working document, because over the next four years, things are going to change. Technology is going to change. Investment's going to change. Commissioner Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Pathman: Everything. So the idea is to create a plan to show the world, especially the financial world, the insurance world, that we are paying attention to this issue, and we're going to be implementing programming. And so, we need the input from, you know, the Planning & Zoning Department, from Public Works, from the Commission, from the Manager, but to specifically address risk is the key to keeping insurance rates and -- at bay and also to keep banking from worrying about whether or not their collateral is going to, you know, disappear, or whether their collateral will be good in 15 or 20 or 30 years. So we have an outline that we have worked on already; it's going to take a lot of work, but I think it's a challenge that we're up to, and we're going to deliver something to the Commission for you guys to consider. Commissioner Gort: Thank you. Mr. Pathman: Okay. My pleasure. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. Are you on the committee? Unidentified Speaker: Huh? Chair Hardemon: Are you on the committee? Okay. That was a report for discussion for the committee, so I'm not going to allow anyone (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to discuss on that one. QW X76-10i11b*4Is] hIkI:I►Ti 4187 DISCUSSION REGARDING ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL IN Commissioners BAYFRONT PARK. and Mayor RESULT: DISCUSSED Note for the Record: For directive referencing Item DI.2, Please see Item NA.4. Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman, I think we only have two items left; if we could leave my resolution for the end so that the people that have been waiting here for the other item can speak. And I need to make a clarification. The item is listed as a discussion for Ultra Music Festival, when, in fact, it was a discussion for the residents to come to discuss not just Ultra, but all noise coming from Bayfront Park, Bayside, and the adjacent area in front of Biscayne Boulevard. So if we could then go into DI.2 and the discussion, and we'll leave my resolution of the support for the end. Chair Hardemon: D1.2. Commissioner Carollo: Okay, Mr. Chairman? Chair Hardemon: Yeah, you can go ahead. City of Miami Page 63 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Commissioner Carollo: I don't know how many people are here to -- that wanted to speak; I know a lot have left. You know, you've been waiting a long time and -- Unidentified Speaker: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Chair Hardemon: So typically, there's a -- for public comment, we allow two minutes to address this body. This is a discussion item, so it's a little different, but I'll still adhere to that two -minute rule. So if you are a member of the public and you're here to speak on the Discussion Item 2, which is regarding noise coming from Bayfront Park, then you can approach either of the two lecterns. State your first name, your last name; you may state your address, and your opinions. Steven Karski: Yes. Hi. My name's Steven Karski. I live at One Miami, which is south of Bayside Park, so we could hear a lot of the music and everything. And I'm pretty much in sympathy of somewhat regulating the music, the loudness coming out, like no huge ultra -- no pun intended -- no Ultra Lords concerts. However -- and I say this as someone who's purely just a homeowner, no direct interest or anything. I do believe from an economic perspective we should consider at least grandfathering Ultrafest for several reasons: Number one, out of fairness; they've been therefor a while. And number two, they are pretty much global in nature. They have about 20 different venues now. And they're basically free advertising to support Miami for tourism to come in here. Their friends, young kids, could come back with their friends and spend vacations. And if you look at it --I could see it from our pool area -- Ultrafest, they have people from Asia, from Latin America, from -- worldwide that come in; so those two things. The fact that they've been therefor a long time -- I think there have been more recent ones that are very large more recently; but also, out of fairness to them, to maybe grandfather them, and then -- if it is to be regulated -- and then, also, from an economic perspective. As a small business owner, which has nothing to do with hospitality or anything -- my business is out of State -- I would think it brings in, from what I understand, tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars for our hotels, for our -- you know, the workers and everybody in --who are in that area in -- for Miami. Thank you. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Commissioner Reyes: Thankyou, sir. Commissioner Carollo: Whoever would like to come next, each person will have two minutes. And if -- okay, go ahead. Cristina, go ahead. Cristina Palomo: Hi. Cristina Palomo. I'm a resident at 244 Biscayne Boulevard. I also serve on the advisory board of the Bayfront Park Management Trust, and the president of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance. Today I'm here strictly to speak to you as a resident. And if I could ask your permission to address -- not the issue of noise, but impact in general of the large events held in Bayfront Park. Commissioner Carollo: Sure. Ms. Palomo: Okay? So Bayfront and Museum Parks are Miami's premier parks, with 62 acres, and over 2 million visitors per year. While also serving as an international tourist destination, for thousands of residents in adjacent communities, these parks are an integral part of our living space, and they are the playgrounds for our toddlers, where we exercise or walk our dogs, and where kids learn to ride their first bikes. These parks are the only green space we have available. By moving to downtown in the urban core, residents make a conscious tradeoff, living in smaller spaces in exchange for the benefits of city living; easy access to commerce, employment, entertainment, transit, and parks. But what we, as residents, have City of Miami Page 64 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 found is that over the years, access to the parks is becoming increasingly limited. In recent years, the Bayfront Park Management Trust has lost its City funding, and had to rely on an ever-increasing number of events to fund the parks. As a result, Bayfront Park has been closed to the public for weeks and months at a time. And in the first four months of 2018, for example, Bayfront Park has either been closed to the public, or in a state of disrepair for 95 of the 133 days. As of this week, Bayfront Park remains in a state of disrepair, one month after the last major event, the Corporate Run. The green space just north of the fountain is black, and has not been able to re re -sodded, due to the weather. And in other areas where re -sodding has been attempted, grass appears brown and dead. Head north to Museum Park, and you will be greeted at the entrance by a statue that's been missing its marble base for over a year. I am not here today to advocate for or against any particular event, but what is clear is that the volume of events and their impact on the park itself have become too burdensome, and a balancing act is long overdue. So we are here in 2018, as a city, vying for the likes of Amazon, and negotiating a 10 year contract with FI, which will put us on the world stage. And if we want to truly become that world-class city, which Miami claims itself to be, we have to put our money where our mouth is, and make it truly great by investing in our most prominent public spaces. These are premier parks, a testament worldwide to the beauty of Miami. And we, too, like Miami Beach's South Point Park, must have a world-class open space that leaves a lasting impression on visitors from around the world, and gives them something to write home about, no matter what time of the year they visit our city. The parks in their current state do not represent the pride that we must take in our amazing waterfront open spaces, and to continue to treat them this way is simply short-sighted. The residents of downtown urge the City Commission to take immediate steps to restore City funding to the Bayfront Park Management Trust to alleviate this extreme burden of overuse that is clearly unsustainable. Thank you. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Sir, go ahead. Raul Guerrero: Good evening. I'm Raul Guerrero, a downtown resident, and I'm here also to support funding for Bayfront Park. The City Commission created Bayfront Park Management Trust in 1987 to manage -- maintain all aspects of Bayfront Park with the purpose of ensuring maximum community use and enjoyment. Another directive was included: Encourage the fullest and most active participation and cooperation of private enterprise. Perhaps the balance between management -- managing public parks and encouraging private enterprise has been lost. More than a park, Bayfront has become a venue. Turning our parks into venues might have worked in the past, but downtown Miami, the downtown proper, is now a thriving community, accounting for more than 30,000 residents. Like Commissioner Reyes said, parks evolve according to the communities surrounding them. For these reasons, I respectfully request that the City Commission consider restoring funding for Bayfront Park, and in doing so, ensure maximum community use and enjoyment. Thank you. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Benosh, are you speaking? Anyone who's speaking, if you could please just line up at the lectern; it'll save us some time. Thank you. Gene Walton: Commissioners, my name is Gene Walton. I live at 900 Biscayne Boulevard, almost three quarters of a mile away from the fountain at Bayfront Park, the center of the park. Although my apartment is a considerable distance from the center of the park, I am seriously affected by the noise and the lights, and the mega- fests and concerts that rent space and pay for the park. Try watching TV (television) or reading, with a thumping bass outside thick glass doors. Forget about sleeping; you can't. Remember, I'm three quarters of a mile away. For me and my neighbors, City of Miami Page 65 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 it's an assault. Stop this assault and please fund Bayfront Park. "Park" as a definition: An area of land, usually in a large natural state, for the enjoyment of the public, having facilities, rest and recreation, often owned, set apart, and managed by a city, state, or nation." We almost fit that definition; all except the part about "managed by a city. " Why not complete the definition and fund Bayfront Park? This green space is our Hyde Park, our Golden Gate Park, our Central Park. Our park is the very beginning of Miami. It's our "welcome" to the super new city that Miami has become. It is not funded by our city fathers. Why? Why is this park forced to become a sideshow of fairgrounds, and a place that prevents Miami residents from using its spaces for a large part of the year? Why is this park forced to scrounge for money when it's the base of our downtown? Like every other park in the City system, this park, in particular, needs to be funded to maintain it as the premier park that it is; not a patch of grass by the water that can never recover and catch up from the last festival, concert, or event that provides rent. In its attempt to generate revenue, the Park Management recently approved a contract with a cell phone tower company, granting use of 750 square feet of park space in order to install various types of equipment, including cell phone transmitters and a diesel generator; perhaps an act of desperation. This contract demonstrates how far off balance the Park Management has strayed from its original job; managing our public park. You folks can continue to sing the praises of a developing downtown Miami, with brilliant photos of new residential and commercial developments to be built downtown. We're all proud of our city, what it's becoming; the fact that people are attracted to move and work downtown again. They have been for a number of years now, and they'll continue to come for what it offers as long as it maintains an attraction. The continued abuse and pauper -like attitude that you allow is not going to ensure that it stays the attraction it is. It's high time to fund the maintenance expenses of the park, like any other park in Miami, and grant downtown residents and residents of the entire City of Miami full access to our great emblematic park, also known as "Miami's Front Yard," without relying on renting the park to a cell phone tower company, or an endless string of mass events that keep the park closed to the public. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Pedro Martinez: Reverend Pedro Martinez. I live in 50 Biscayne. Thank you for staying late tonight to hear us. Distinguished Commissioners, since the City of Miami stopped providing funds to the Bayfront Park Trust, it had to rely on increasing amount of events in order to support their budget. As you can see on the slide show, the number of Bayfront Park events requiring park closure during load - in and load -out increased from five in 2011 to 12 in the year 2017, with the total number of days from load to load -out --from load -in to load -out more than tripling from 35 days in the year 2011 to 115 days in the year 2017. The lengthy setup and move -out period required by mass events, like Ultra, and subsequent park rehabilitation caused Bayfront Park to be either closed to the public, or in a state of despair for over 100 days in the year 2017. Following completion of the event's load -out process, the park was nothing more than a wasteland; notice the slide. Because Ultra was followed by multiple other events, it took months for the Bayfront Park Management Trust to rehabilitate the park, and turn it into the previous condition. By the way, during rehabilitation of the park, it can be fully closed or partially closed to the community. You can see what the park looked like eight weeks after Ultra; 12 weeks after Ultra; and 14 days -- 14 weeks after Ultra. And things got even worse. During the first four months of the year 2018, Bayfront Park has been either closed to the public, or in a state of despair for 95 of the 133 days; look at the slide show. Basically, Bayfront Park functioned as a park only one month of the year so far. Up to this very moment, rehabilitation of the park has not yet been completed. For weeks at the time, residents can't walk in the park or jog through the park; kids can't ride the bikes, even in the Central Business District. The City of City of Miami Page 66 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Miami needs its Central Park to function as the sign -- as it was assigned; a park to be enjoyed by both the residents and its visitors. The increased number of residents and businesses [sic] owners need a place to relax and to enjoy. Families with children need a place to play in its playground and green areas. Pets and their owners need a place to walk and run. Tourists need a place to appreciate the monuments, bay views and spectacular Miami weather. Let us not forget that Bayfront Park has been built on the birthplace of the great City of Miami. This is the original -- native inhabitants lived and where the first settlers made their home. We speak of global warming and the need of more green areas. Bayfront Park must be part of the solution, not the problem. We need a park to infuse peace and tranquility, and to bless our minds, our spirits, our souls instead of event that is making people's life a living hell. Commissioners, I pray you will accept our request and save Bayfront Park. Please provide the funds to Bayfront Park, and let's stop the prostitution of the park to multiple events. Thank you for listening. Matilda Kalaveshi: Hello. My name is Matilda Kalaveshi. I'm a resident of 50 Biscayne. I am anew mom, so my experience is from a family perspective. So we'll start off from the beginning. The City Commission allowed dozens of developers to build residential communities in downtown Miami, adding billions of dollars to the tax base. Generally, cities that undergo such a change have invested these taxes into the local community. For example, they've constructed pedestrian friendly streets, sidewalks, built schools, created green spaces for the residents, and they have provided protection from chaos and disorder. It has been over a decade since the transformation of downtown Miami to a residential area; yet, we ask, where are the schools? Where are the pedestrian friendly sidewalks; the clean and manicured, welcoming green spaces? And where is the protection from the unyielding noise pollution that we experience every day of our lives? Because downtown has been recognized as a residential district, the Commission must allocate the resources that everyone -- every city earmarks for residential areas. Depriving Bayfront and Museum Parks of funding only guarantees a continued steady decline of resources, and the persistence of the unbearable situations that we endure with the increasing number of scheduled Bayfront venue events. One of these events is the Ultra Music Festival, which literally forces many of us to uproot from our own homes. This year my family and I had to move my three -month-old daughter out of our home. I don't know if you have any kids, but the logistics of moving and traveling with a newborn baby are pretty overwhelming. The stress that it imposes on a baby is heart - wrenching. You add on the financial burden of finding a hotel room, staying for three days, then you're -- it becomes a taxing weekend, not only financially, but also emotionally. But it's just not the -- this event that really disrupts us; it's every event that starts with a setup at the early morning hours; the beeping of the trucks; the pounding of the music that's way above the approved limit; the megaphone announcement; the spotlights in our own -- very own bedrooms that wake us up at all hours of the night. Oftentimes, my daughter has to sleep with her stroller inside our closet, because that's the only place where the noise is not really bad. I don't know if you have kids, but I -- and I don't know if this sounds normal to you, but it's not. Enjoying a restful night of sleep in downtown Miami is a privilege and not a right at this point. Aside from all of these events, we must now add the possibility of Formula One Race through the streets of downtown Miami. This represents nothing but a clear message sent to us, the downtown residents: "You are not welcome here. We do not care about your sanity, or well-being of your loved ones, or your children." Sadly, this is our reality. We are at the mercy of individuals who don't truly understand our fight, because they lack the day-to-day experience of a downtown resident. In exchange for the hefty fee that City of Miami has to pay to host Formula Uno [sic] Race, which includes security, sanitation, and so on, Miami has promised to have the marketing exposure as a global worldwide city; yet, if you look at downtown, it still a desolate and bleak neighborhood. To cultivate a true world-class city, with urban neighborhoods, and better care for the well-being of its City of Miami Page 67 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 inhabitants, the City of Miami must start providing funds for these parks, and we must start being less reliant on Bayfront Park Management. Failure to do so will eventually doom our fate, and doom the fate of downtown Miami as a residential neighborhood. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: You can do it. Dylan Jude: Hi. My name -- wait. Yeah. Vice Chair Russell: Hi, Dylan. Mr. Jude: Hi. I'm Dylan. Well, I like to ride my bike in Bayfront Park, but I was very sad, because the park was closed for a long time, and I couldn't ride it for a long time. Chair Hardemon: Do you want to see Taylor Swift perform in the park? Mr. Jude: Yeah. That's what I need, man. Vice Chair Russell: That is the struggle that we have here. From the mouths of babes, bike -riding versus Taylor Swift. That's what we're dealing with. You're doing great, Dylan. Mr. Jude: Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you; nice job, nice job. We'll applaud for that. (Applause) Vice Chair Russell: That's great. Who's next? Itari Benosh: I'll go next. Sorry. I'll be speaking from here. I was given a very important task of clicking through the -- this presentation. My name is Itari (phonetic) Benosh. I'm a downtown resident, and the -- and a board member of the 50 Biscayne Condominium Association. Many Bayfront Park events generate, as you've heard, a considerable amount of noise that in some cases include late night and early morning amplified noise. Recently, Bayfront Park explicitly authorized the American Ninja Warrior producers to generate noise between midnight and S a.m. Also, many of the marathons, corporate runs start amplified music and announcements well before 6 a.m. It seems as if the Bayfront Park Management is not aware that the park is located in the heart of a residential neighborhood, with thousands of residential units literally across the street from the park. However, the biggest noise offender by far is the earthquake -like cacophony for up to 12 hours a day that Ultra generates in close proximity to businesses and residential properties. Businesses and residents alike are affected as downtown becomes inaccessible and uninhabitable. Urban developer and Architect Bernard Zyscovich, speaking to the Miami Herald, noted that he encourages his 100 associates and staff to leave work early. When they're practicing, the glass in the windows rattles, and the moldings in the windows rattle. It's so loud that you can't hear yourself think inside your own head. Now, please keep in mind, he's just talking about the sound tests that he experienced; not the actual concert. In 2018, Ultra had multiple stages, allowed to generate up to 110 decibels each, up to 12 hours a day. Two of these stages were located right across the street from residential properties, and the resulting combined noise was nothing short of an earthquake. In November 2017, in a meeting between Ultra executives, the Bayfront Park Management Trust Board and downtown residents, the Ultra executives said that they had the world's best sound engineers, and that they can direct the noise away from residential communities. City of Miami Page 68 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 The 50 Biscayne board of directors decided to put that claim to a test. The association retained a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) engineering firm to conduct a study at 50 Biscayne before, during, and after the 2018 Ultra, with noise measurements taken at multiple locations throughout the property, including common elements and private property. We are happy to share the results of that study by request. The study confirmed that the noise vibration levels measured at the residential property significantly exceed multiple standards set by the World Health Organization, the U.S. (United States) Center for Disease Control, and others. A few snippets or highlights from the study: The objective data show that the destructive nature of the significantly intrusive bass sounds can disturb the peace, quiet, and comfort, and consequently, seriously degrade the quality of life, and cause negative health effects for residents. These test results show that the sound levels produced by the Ultra event are high enough and persist long enough to cause hearing damage for residents located at the association's common elements, including the pool deck, and on private property at the 50 Biscayne Condominium. These high measured sound levels consistently exceed the World Health Organization's health criteria at 70 decibels, which indicates the likelihood that the Ultra noise will produce other negative health effects related to hypertension and ischemic heart disease, among other adverse outcomes. And now we're getting to my favorite part. The -- you can see the snippets on the screen. The noise -induced vibration of windows and blinds and other building features, such as light fixtures caused rattling to be noticeable. A comparison with criteria developed by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Association) for the potential damage to housing structures due to rocket take -offs show that the Ultra event can cause level of noise which exceed the NASA guidelines. According to the NASA criteria, these high levels of noise are likely to vibrate nearby building, causing minor damage to the fixtures, finishes, and possibly structure. This was confirmed by observations that the building was perceptively vibrating during the Ultra event. And Commissioner, I believe that you experienced some of that in parts of your tour. Commissioner Carollo: I did. Mr. Benosh: When residents describe the experience as "earthquake, "please take it at face value. That's exactly what it feels like. The results of the study clearly demonstrate that the City of Miami failed to protect property rights and health of its residents. Quite simply, the poor judgment exercised by City officials renders our homes uninhabitable. Furthermore, since the study found that these type of events poses serious health risks, the board of 50 Biscayne is required to share this report with the owners and residents of our 541 units if a similar event is ever considered. The actions of the impacted residents, as individuals, or as a class, may have a catastrophic impact on park and City finances, which would completely erase any monetary gain from such events. We would like to avoid that. We hope that you do, too. Thank you very much. Ken Schwartz: Good evening, Commissioners. I'm very happy to thank you, Commissioner Carollo, for inviting us to speak. We're very glad to be addressing this esteemed board. We're here to talk to you about making Bayfront Park great again. Bayfront Park, unfortunately, has been -- systematically been turned into a concert fairgrounds. Matilda and young Dylan have talked about what it's like for them during Ultra Weekend. In addition, many businesses close during Ultra Friday. And for downtown businesses, it's a substantial loss of productivity, who already deal with clogged streets and unmitigated traffic jams. And while the 3,000 downtown residents account for tens of millions of real estate taxes, there is an added tax on many of downtown residents that nobody addresses, and that is the cost to flee Ultra Weekend, and to seek accommodation elsewhere. It's estimated that 40 percent of the residents will leave. It has cost me three to $400 for accommodations in Broward County. Others, of course, will spend more, and fly out of town. I City of Miami Page 69 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 moved here from Dubai approximately two years ago. Prior to that, I lived in Orlando, across from Lake Eola. Lake Eola is the heart and soul of the City of Orlando. I will tell you that Lake Eola is never, ever closed to its residents, ever. There are those who have said to me, "Well, when you moved to downtown Miami, you should have known about the music festivals. " Well, who would have told me? There's no cautionary note on my tax bill. Do you think it's the responsibility of the listing agents to inform mel The seller, who is required to provide a disclosure, certainly didn't mention it. My real estate agent, should he have told me and put my trans --his transaction in jeopardy? Why would I have ever concluded that a park is not a park for at least one-third of the year? Next slide, please. Our residents -- residences are essentially unusable because of the prolonged noise and vibration. Itari has spent a lot of time talking about that. I actually want you to see the pictures from above. That's our concert fairgrounds. Great shots, by the way; great, great looking images. They're all from Ultra. When Commissioner Carollo and his team toured several of the residences around Bayfront Park on Sunday, March 25, we measured 107 decibel levels that Ultra generated. Decibel -- next slide, please. The decibel exposure time guidelines for that level of sound is between two to four minutes; yet, we have been bombarded for hours and hours, over a three-day period. As a newcomer to Miami, we knew that concerts were all part of the parks programming, as evidenced by the amphitheater. Many of us, including myself, were drawn to downtown because of the open expanse of Bayfront Park, its tranquility, its attraction as an amenity, its views, its makeshift dog park; as a place to meet neighbors, or even the concerts in the amphitheater or American Airlines Arena. But I could never have imagined that for a six-week period each year, our beloved park is converted into a concert fairgrounds, with the construction of four, five, or six makeshift venues, many of which are lined up along Biscayne Boulevard, leading up to the mayhem of Ultra Weekend and then the resulting damage and park closure afterward. This music festival is incompatible with downtown businesses and residential life. It belongs in more remote parts of the City, such as Virginia Key or one of the City's stadium. Please restore funding to Bayfront Park Management Trust for the operation of the park; otherwise, change the name to "Bayfront Concert Fairgrounds, " and see what happens to your tax base in downtown. Your residences and businesses will flee immediately. Downtown should be considered the crown jewel, just as Lake Eola is in Orlando. This is the park where all Miami residents can gather to mingle with visitors, who linger a couple of extra days after their cruising experience; to enjoy New Year's Eve together; the 4th of July together; to visit the sites and attractions that tell the story of Miami's history and development. It should not go to private promoters, who exploit our city park for a quick buck, and we are left to deal with the effects on traffic, noise, safety, and health. Downtown is a crown jewel that should be preserved and restored. Many cities, such as Los Angeles, where I lived for many years, have turned their previously abandoned and dilapidated downtowns into thriving, 24-hour residential and business centers. We implore you to explore public/private partnerships that will create far more value for this city than an annual event that provides a net income of just a little over 700, 000 per event, and leaves a lot of damage in its wake. As we discussed earlier in our talks, we have yet to -- the park has yet to be fully restored exactly two months since Ultra event itself occurred on March 23, 24, and 25. Next slide, please. During the three days of Ultra, the northbound lanes of Biscayne Boulevard are closed, forcing detours through downtown avenues and streets that are not equipped to handle such a massive influx. Thousands of residents are literally trapped in their apartments, or have to escape the City, incurring onerous expenses, as we talked about. It has taken me nearly 75 minutes to leave downtown by car, with detours and heavy police presence; twice as long as a normal day in downtown, especially when the 2nd Street Bridge is up. The next slide, please. Here's a headline to consider: "More Ultra attendees do cocaine than any other festival -goers. " This is a dubious distinction from Miami. According to this article, Tick -Pick, an online ticket marketplace, studied all festival attendees from across the nation to determine what the drug of City of Miami Page 70 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 choice was. The answer for Ultra in Miami was, of course, cocaine. Of the attendees, at 10 major festivals across the country, Ultra's guests used cocaine more than guests in any other festival; nearly 11 percent of Ultra's attendees. Next slide, please. I'd like to talk to you about the net income from Ultra. For all the misery that Ultra brings to downtown Miami, the months of park closure, the amount gained by Bayfront Park Management Trust is laughable. For the 2018 Ultra event, Bayfront Park's net income after all expenses was 742, 000; that's it. Compare that to the tens of millions of tax base in downtown Miami, and growing. This is about the cost of a single unit in downtown Miami, which Ultra has rendered uninhabitable. I'd like to compare Ultra to Lollapalooza event in downtown Chicago. This is -- no other city in the U.S. -- other than Miami -- holds such a disruptive mass event in the heart of its residential community. The only somewhat comparable event is the Lollapalooza in Chicago, which takes place in Grant Park. However, there are many differences that -- in the way that the City of Chicago protects its residents where Miami does not. For example, the end times on the Friday and Saturday of the event, Ultra closes at midnight; and then, of course, there's several hours for the park to empty out after that. Lollapalooza closes down at 10 p.m. The end time for the Sunday night is 11 p.m. for Ultra; not very compatible for families, who have to go to school the next day. And Lollapalooza in Chicago closes down at 9:30 on Sunday. The setup and tear -down period for Ultra, 31 days; for Lollapalooza, 16 days. The number of residents -- residential units within 2,000 yards of the event stage in Ultra, approximately 3,000 residents. In Lollapalooza, there are no residential properties within any reasonable distance being -- Grant Park being relatively remote from the rest of the city. Time limits on alcohol sales, Ultra, no time limit; on Lollapalooza, yes, there are time limits. The net revenue -- again, these numbers are not incompatible. The net revenue is 974,000; when expenses are taken out, that's how we get to 742,000, net to Bayfront Park Management Trust. The net revenue to Lollapalooza, to the City of Chicago, 6 million in 2016. It's quite a difference. So anyway, I'd like to just conclude. Some of the concepts we talked about this evening: Firstly, Museum and Bayfront Parks are in close proximity to thousands of residential units, and are -- and this park is our community's only green space and public playground. This is the only park in the City of Miami that does not receive City funding. How fair is that? The City funding was cut in 2010, and resulted in a sharp increase in the number of Bayfront Park events, and the disruption that they create. The endless string of events resulting in prolonged park closures: Bayfront Park has been closed to the public, or in a state of disrepair for over three months, just in 2018; since January 1, 2018. Many events create unlawful, early morning and late night noise disruptions, including the erection of all those makeshift stages. Unidentified Speaker: And dismantling. Mr. Schwartz: And the dismantling, exactly. Our playground is closed for that amount of time, or nearly that amount of time. There are times where there's a carveout for our playground. The severe traffic disruptions, closing the northbound lanes of Biscayne Boulevard. Trajfic in downtown is never great, but with Biscayne Boulevard closed, impossible. Rampant drug use, resurrecting Miami's image from the 1980s; noise levels that exceed multiple standards are poised for significant health risks to nearby residents. The net income to Bayfront Park Management Trust is around 700, 000, as we said, and it's a fraction of the Bayfront Park Management Trust's annual budget, and a fraction of comparable parks' charge for an event of this size and scale. It's time for the City of Miami to start treating these parks as a city would treat its landmark parks, and start funding them. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. (Applause) City of Miami Page 71 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Would anyone else like to speak on the item? Please come to the lectern. This is your moment. Steven Karski: My understanding was there was only two minutes, and so, I only spoke for two minutes, but just a few things. It's -- Miami is just that; it is a city. It's not suburbia; it's not Dubuque, Iowa; it's not even Coconut Grove, even though Coconut Grove is technically part of the City. But it's -- yes, it's residential, but it's also a downtown city. I've lived in Manhattan. Anybody that lives in Manhattan, who complains about the noise? Unidentified Speaker: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Vice Chair Russell: Please, please, please everybody, we're almost done here. Mr. Karski: Okay, okay, sure. So I say -- and again, I'm disinterested. I get no benefit from Ultrafest or anything, but I do realize, as a small business owner, the economic and the international value of it. They even thank us during the pre -- They acknowledge Miami as being the birthplace of their -- whatever -- "trance" music, or whatever it is. So the thing is -- and I appreciate my neighbor here, acknowledging that he just moved in two years ago, and he did acknowledge the amphitheater, which is there. I mean, this stuff does go on. Music does go on there. And it -- I don't think it's fair for people who move in recently -- and I understand 50 Biscayne. I could see it from my building. They, unfortunately, do get a lot of the brunt. But the thing is, I mean, that there is an amphitheater. You could see it from there. If they -- Ultra fest was there before some of the people who are complaining about it came there. So my solution is -- because I do empathize, I do see the traffic and everything you guys do. I do get -- hear the pounding of the staging of it; at One Miami, we do; at One Miami, we do. So the thing is I would urge -- regulate it, but don't kill it. There are ways -- Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Mr. Karski: -- you could probably, I'm sure, like lower the decibels on the speakers to help them out. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you, thank you. And I'd like to say -- and so -- Sir, have you spoken yet already? John Herzberg: No, I haven't. Vice Chair Russell: Would you like to speak? Mr. Herzberg: Sure. Vice Chair Russell: Please. If there's anyone else who wants to speak, please line up at the lectern so we know what we're dealing with, because every time we get excited that it's over, it's not over. But we're glad to hear you; that's why we're here. This is your chance. You all have waited as long as we have, so we are here to listen to you. Please. Mr. Herzberg: Hi. My name is John Herzberg. I'm -- I live at 50 Biscayne, you know, right -- you know the building, right? And there are many of my fellow residents here. I've been a resident of South Florida since 1972. I moved here from New York, and I lived in various areas, from Surfside to North Miami Beach. I spent a lot time with some houses on Miami Beach, and then in 1999, 1 decided to move over the bridge to come to Miami. I thought Miami Beach was getting a little City of Miami Page 72 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 bit too crowded for my children, and everything else. And -- but we -- you know, we lived in a house a little further up. And then, when I down -sized, I moved downtown. Now, when I moved here in 1972, downtown Miami -- you could take my building, which takes up a whole block right now between Flagler and 1st Street -- I mean, what was there? I don't even know what was there. There was a parking lot; maybe it was a hotel with a few hundred rooms. Commissioner Gort: Radisson Hotel was there. Mr. Herzberg: Okay. Now, the building I live at right now, you know, 50 Biscayne, I mean, that probably brings in, you know, millions and millions of dollars, tax dollars, just that one building. And 10 years ago, it wasn't there. All of Biscayne Boulevard didn't have all these condos and residents. So you have tens of thousands of residents downtown now. It's not a commercial area anymore; it's a residential area. There really -- there's hardly -- I mean, what is there; one or two hotels on Biscayne Boulevard now? It's all condominiums; it's all people -- Now, even younger people are moving in with children, with pets. So we need a park. Like, Bayfront Park's a gorgeous park, it's a waterfront park, and it's been abused, because you keep renting out the venue to not only Ultra, but all these other things that are coming around. I spoke to some people who were recently in town, who went to that big show, and you moved it to Hard Rock. What was that called? The -- Vice Chair Russell: The Rolling (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Herzberg: Right. And I spoke to them. They said it was great; they loved it. They did a great job up there. That's where -- something like Ultra, that's where it belongs. It belongs up in a stadium -- Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Mr. Herzberg: -- in a venue like that. We live here. We -- this is a residential area now. It's not a commercial area anymore. So you have to -- there's tens and 20 -- 30,000 votes down there. There's hundreds of millions in tax dollars down there. So you have to, you know, consider that. And we have a beautiful park, and it should be used for the residents; not for, you know, events like Ultra, okay? Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Thank you, sir. Your time is up. Mr. Herzberg: Thank you very much. Vice Chair Russell: We're going to close the public -- uh-oh, there we go. Elena Botero: Hi. Vice Chair Russell: Have you spoken already, ma'am? Ms. Botero: No. Vice Chair Russell: Okay. Please speak. Ms. Botero: I'll speak real quick. Vice Chair Russell: No, no; take your two minutes. Ms. Botero: Today, I've been here this morn -- I been here since 4, okay? Vice Chair Russell: I -- City of Miami Page 73 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Ms. Botero: So I'll make it very quick, because I know you guys are tired, and we're all tired, too. Vice Chair Russell: 100 percent. Please. Ms. Botero: Okay. I am a resident of 50 Biscayne. I've been there 10 years. The Ultra has been there since 2012, okay? So it's been there six years. This person was talking, said, well, you know, this other guy's been all -- only been there two years. I just happened to get on the website today, and I opened the website of Miami -Dade Parks, and I was looking to see what they say about the parks in Miami, or what a park represents. And it says, "The Power of Parks," okay? And this is a letter by the Director and the Manager, I think, of the parks of Miami, and this is exactly what it says. It says, "We can all identify a park is a place of leisure, where to go when seeking some necessary downtime. But is 'powerful' a word that comes to mind when thinking about parks? It should be, because parks have the power to transform entire neighborhoods, improve the environment, reduce crime, raise property values" -- which is not our case -- "and impact people's lives and their health." This is the web -- this is the page, if you get into the web page of the parks of Miami -Dade, which is not our case, okay? So I just wanted to bring this up to you, because if you look at the parks, this is what a park should be, and it's not our case, okay? Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Sir, you'd like to speak? Raymond Martinez: Yes, sir. Thank you. Ray Martinez, and I'm with Ultra -- Commissioner Carollo: Are you in favor or against noise in the park? Mr. Martinez: I'm sorry, sir? Commissioner Carollo: Are you in favor or against noise in the park? Mr. Martinez: I love music in the park. Ms. Botero: Because you don't live down the street. Commissioner Carollo: You didn't answer her question, right? Mr. Martinez: My name is Ray Martinez, with Ultra Music Festival, and thank you for the opportunity for speaking today. I'd just like a say a few things. As you all may know or may not know, this was the 20th year for Ultra Music Festival. It was founded in 1999 on Miami Beach. The ownership are Miami born, Miami raised individuals that live here in our community. In 2001, 18 years ago, the festival was moved to downtown Miami, and it has moved from -- between Bayfront Park and what used to be called Bicentennial Park -- now Museum Park -- and then back to Bayfront Park. This was our 20th year in downtown. We're not fly-by-night company. We live here in the community. We -- Ms. Botero: Do you live across the street? Vice Chair Russell: Please, everyone. He didn't speak while you were speaking. Please let him speak. Mr. Martinez: We're part of the community here. I was raised in Miami. I worked for the City of Miami for a number of years; for over 20 -something years with the Police Department here. And now, I've been with Ultra Music Festival for four City of Miami Page 74 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 years. Our event -- you know, and we've worked very hard to address community complaints. We've met with the DNA (Downtown Neighborhood Alliance), with Cristina Palomo. There are a lot of issues that we have tried to mitigate over the years. We understand the impact of our festival, but let's look at the positive. We talk about Miami wanting to be a world-class city. Ultra Music Festival is a world- class event. It is the Art Basel of electronic music in the world. Over 27 percent of our attendees are international; they come from other places, other countries into Miami to come to our festival in downtown Miami. Our economic impact in 2017 was $148 million to not only the City of Miami, but to the region in general. It is a big economic boom. We all praise when these major events come, you know, once every 10 years, whether it's a sporting event or not. Well, Ultra Music Festival is here every year, contributing to our community. In 2018, we had over 30 million live stream views around the world -- that's people from around the world -- tuning in to watch Ultra Music Festival in Bayfront Park. On Sunday night, we were the number -one topic on Twitter, in the world; the most messaged item in the world on Sunday night. I mean, these are incredible things that you cannot even pay for the amount of publicity and what it brings to this community. If we want to be a world- class city, we have to embrace music; we have to embrace art; we have to embrace culture; we have to have great sporting events and great sporting teams, and that's what I think Miami is doing with the leadership of this Commission and the leadership of our Mayor, you know, being able to do that and transform the City into a world-class city. We're here. We know we have things that we want to address; things that we can improve on. That's something that we're always working on. I oversee the community outreach within the community. I've always given my phone number, my personal cell number to the residents and whatnot. We do a lot of different things to try to make this, and I've had a lot of the people that are here come up to me and say, "Ultra has really improved over the years. They've done a better job," you know. We've addressed a lot of the issues that were problems in the past. So with that being said, I just wanted to say, you know, we're here. We have been in this community for a long time. Some of the assertions that were made in the PowerPoint are completely without merit. The newspaper article about the survey that was done, it was a completely unscientific survey, and if you actually read the article, you would see it very clearly. You know, that's not to say that, you know, there aren't drugs in our festival or any other festival, or any other event that takes place in our community. Just down the street in Overtown, we have a drug epidemic Chair Hardemon: Hey, hey, hey. Mr. Martinez: -- that the City is really -- Chair Hardemon: They use drugs at -- what do you call it? -- all the buildings downtown, too. Mr. Martinez: -- everywhere. You know, that's a societal issue; it's not a music issue; it's not a festival issue. That's a societal issue. So I appreciate the opportunity to speak. But anyway, just in closing, I thank you for the opportunity. We are here to address the concerns. We look forward to a continued partnership with the City and downtown Miami for years to come, and we want to make sure that we put on a world-class event for this world-class city. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman? Ms. Botero: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Vice Chair Russell: Please, please, please, everyone. Please. No, you've made your comment; and you spoke as well, sir. Please. City of Miami Page 75 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Unidentified Speaker: Can I just say something? I'm just giving him a hat, that's all. Vice Chair Russell: We don't need to revive, we don't need to revive. Chair Hardemon: You've recognized, Mr. Vice Chairman. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. As the Commissioner of District 2, first, I will put on my "Save Bayfront Park" hat. (Applause) Unidentified Speaker: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? Vice Chair Russell: Because I believe that, of course, our goal is to save Bayfront Park. And you're looking to save it because you feel you have lost it, and you are the residents of the district. Unidentified Speaker: Yeah, we did. Vice Chair Russell: I'm your district Commissioner, and I could play "good cop/bad cop" all day long with the chairman of the Trust, whose job is to make that park function and pay for itself and enjoyable, and I can say, "Well, it's out of my hands, because I'm your district Commissioner, so I really don't" -- but it's true -- I actually don't have the ability. I've gone to Capital Improvements; I've gone to the Parks Department. They said, "No, it is out of our purview. What happens in that park is up to the Bayfront Park Trust." And normally, these complaints that you would bring should go to the Bayfront Park Trust, who manages the contract with Ultra; who manages the number of events and schedules everything and maintains that park, and uses that money as a good steward. I'm glad you're here, to hear from you that there is a financial shortfall, because perhaps the myth has been that this park is fully self-sufficient and it doesn't need help from the City, because it takes care of itself, and if you walk around and you see the things that need fixing that aren't getting done, you recognize it's not. So I would like to make a motion right now, with the support of my fellow Commissioners. In the last Commission meeting, $6 million of park impact fees were allocated. I'd like to take the $2 million of park impact fees and put them toward Bayfront Park. (Applause) Chair Hardemon: So -- Vice Chair Russell: That's a motion. And it can only be used for capital improvement expansion. It cannot be used for repair; it cannot be used for maintenance. But it can -- combine that with the $2 million that was sent over from the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) just a few months ago. There is a good pot of money to work with. Combine that with the reserves within the Bayfront Park Trust. But again, I do not have the ability to manage where that money goes once it is in the Bayfront Park Trust's hands. So is -- that's my motion. I don't know if there's a second, but I would like to see that money spent properly that way. Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): I -- Chair Hardemon: So -- there's a couple things. I mean, you didn't tell us the rules about whether or not you could make a financial -- you know -- things like that? City of Miami Page 76 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Vice Chair Russell: In the last meeting, $6 million were allocated on the fly. Chair Hardemon: But that was during -- it was -- that was on a budget. It was during a budget hearing. Vice Chair Russell: But those items were not noticed. Chair Hardemon: It was a budget hearing, so it's a little different. And Kevin, Kevin Kirwin -- you don't have to come to the microphone; I'll just say it from here. I think it was the last meeting -- Were you there, Mr. Casamayor, when I tried to make --? Well, I think we acknowledged that we had a budget shortfall in something, and I was talking about that $2 million -- well, it was really I million. We were using I million of it for an expansion of a park that we have in the City, and I was told that that $2 million was for park acquisition. So the $6 million that was allocated during the budget hearing was for park acquisition. Commissioner Carollo: Four of it was. Chair Hardemon: Right. Commissioner Carollo: Four of it was. Chair Hardemon: Four of it was? Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Commissioner Reyes: Four; and two for -- that's going to be used to the re -- I mean modeling of -- Commissioner Carollo: The remodeling. Commissioner Reyes: Shenandoah. Chair Hardemon: Remodeling. Okay. So I just know that the -- and I'm saying this to say this, Mr. Vice Chairman: I spoke with -- what was --? It was before -- It was my last briefing, I think, right? Or somewhere around that I originally asked them to look into -- it was about -- there was a shortfall of approximately less than a million dollars for a turf field that was already -- that we had already put in. Well, one -- how many millions of dollars we put into it? -- one point something? Please, help me out, y'all. And I had a negative response to that, so I -- and we haven't seen our Budget Director here yet, so I'm still wondering what's going on. You're recognized, Mr. Kirwin. Kevin Kirwin: Mr. Chair and Commissioners, Kevin Kirwin, your City of Miami Park and Recreation Director. I believe the shortfall was $950,000, out of a $2.6 million budget for improvements at Hadley Park that included synthetic turf, bleachers, lighting, and everything that goes along with that field. Chair Hardemon: Now Ultra is one of those organizations that'll just give us that money, but, you know, we're not going to have too many of those. Ms. M6ndez: So what I would ask if it could be a directive to bring it back the next Commission meeting to be able to find that and allocate it appropriately. Vice Chair Russell: Okay. If -- it cannot be done as a pocket? Ms. M6ndez: No. City of Miami Page 77 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Vice Chair Russell: And why were the two in the last meeting not pockets if they were not noticed and not on the agenda? Ms. Mendez: Were they within the budget? Wasn't it -- Vice Chair Russell: It was during the budget meeting. Ms. Mendez: -- like, wasn't the whole budget before you? Commissioner Carollo: This item -- there was a budget before us, yeah. Ms. Mendez: And then monies can be technically moved around -- Vice Chair Russell: Right. Ms. Mendez: -- and people could come -- Vice Chair Russell: And the Mayor co-sponsored that item, so that -- It was a separate motion from the budget, though, right? Commissioner Carollo: But you got me confused, Commissioner. Are you giving the $2 million to the park, or now are you giving a million to the park? Chair Hardemon: Well, I want a million for a park. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Chair Hardemon: But it's not -- Commissioner Carollo: You were going strong at first, 2 million. Vice Chair Russell: That's what -- I am. Commissioner Carollo: Now you're going back and you're taking a million away right away. Vice Chair Russell: I never said that. Commissioner Carollo: Well, okay. So your motion stands? Vice Chair Russell: Yes. Commissioner Carollo: All right. The only thing is -- and I want you to understand this, okay? By giving $2 million to Bayfront Park just for capital projects, you limit us when you don't have to. That money could be used for a lot of other things that we have to do there. The -- there's a tremendous amount of dollars. In fact, the majority of the dollars that we spend on Bayfront Park are for the everyday use of monies that we got to spend to -- for the upkeep of that park. So if you could be so kind as to just amend your motion that it could be used for the upkeep -- Vice Chair Russell: I can't. Commissioner Carollo: -- of the park -- Commissioner Reyes: It cannot, so -- City of Miami Page 78 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Vice Chair Russell: It's park impact fees. But it should relieve the pressure. It should relieve the pressure on the need for -- Commissioner Carollo: No, but park impact fees can be used for that. Fernando Casamayor (Chief Financial Officer/Assistant City Manager): No, sir. Commissioner Carollo: Yes, it can. Mr. Casamayor: Park impact fees cannot be used for maintenance. It can only be used for expansion. Commissioner Carollo: Expansion, that's part of the maintenance many times in the park. Mr. Casamayor: What I ask is that you give us the opportunity to review our impact fees. As we are doing projections for what our impact fees are looking like going forward, we're already seeing a slowdown in our impact fees coming in, as we have in the past. What -- Commissioner Carollo: Well, look, you guys keep saying that, but it's a lot of money coming in. I'll second the motion. I'll take it as it is. You have $2 million that you're putting in for Bayfront Park, right? Vice Chair Russell: That's right. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. I second the motion. Vice Chair Russell: That's park impact fees. Commissioner Carollo: I -- park impact fees. I second the motion. Vice Chair Russell: Can we do it in the moment? I need that legal interpretation if we can do it in the moment. Ms. Mendez: Not today, not today, be -- Vice Chair Russell: Because it's a pocket item? Ms. Mendez: Because it's a pocket item that has a fiscal impact, you would have to declare that it's an emergency. I mean -- Vice Chair Russell: It's not an emergency. These folks might feel it's an emergency. The park might feel it's an emergency, but it can wait. Commissioner Carollo: There we go. Ms. Mendez: No, but it could be a directive -- Vice Chair Russell: It can wait two weeks. Ms. Mendez: -- to bring it back. Commissioner Carollo: He's offering 2 million, and now, you know -- I don't know. Vice Chair Russell: It'll be up to the Bayfront Park Trust to decide whatever they want to do with it. City of Miami Page 79 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Later... Commissioner Carollo: If we could go back to this item and finish it at that. Look, I -- the problem with Bayfront Park Trust -- and I want to be very clear -- is not just the funding; that's one aspect of it. The problem with Bayfront Park Trust is that we, as an elected body, have to make a decision as to how much activities we really truly want there or not. If it's going to be a park throughout most of the year, like it should be, or is it not? And those are issues that ultimately lie within the Commission. The fact of the posturing that was done before of asking the City Attorney to put a motion to do away with the Bayfront Park Trust, this ain't going to accomplish anything. That means that influence peddlers and lobbyists only have to concentrate on five instead of nine, so that's not going to resolve the situation you have there. So I don't want you to go home to think that's going to make it any better or not. What it does is that it's tit for tat; that because I gave you the opportunity to come and talk about all the issues you told me, because this is just not about Ultra. The complaints that I had the day that I put this up was about Bayside and noises that are coming from there; that I believe Code Enforcement is looking at a lot of that. It had to do with other events that were there; and, of course, it had to do with the biggest one -- Ultra -- also. So it was a combination of everything that was up. And because I had the audacity to give the opportunity to speak so that we, as a body, could discuss this in a professional manner, what I get is a demagogue resolution that we're going to do away with the Trust. "So you, Commissioner Carollo, will not be Chairman"; not to mention that they never wanted me to be Chairman, and that was the only vote that voted against me being Chairman to begin with. So these are the games that go on up here. And your ultimate solution is not if you have a Trust, if you don't have a Trust there; it has to do with the City fathers of the City on how do we direct what we really want there, because ultimately, you know, the buck stops here. We could do away with boards; we don't have to do away with boards; we could send a message to the board. Each of us names people, and as a whole, we have people there. I -- you know, I would need the support of this Commission to decide how much do we want there; which are the events that we want there; which are not. For instance, Formula 1. This is another event that I believe that this body, as a whole, is leaning towards bringing in for the future. I have no idea -- nor any of us here really do -- of how much of an impact noise -wise it's going to make. Definitely, it's going to make an impact for you in one of the areas that was brought up here, street closures in downtown. But as far as noise, you know, I don't know. What I do -- at least I believe I know -- is that you're not going to have music, you know, sounding off at night, because that's just races. You hear the -- and it's going to be during the daytime hours. But the rest of it, there has to be a conscientious professional discussion made as to what events do we really want there, as a whole, and how many. How many days of the year is reasonable for the premier park in Miami to be closed or not to be closed? Do we want to make it as to what one of you stated, a concert hall in the park, or not? I do know this -- and I was extremely fair in what I did during the three days. I visited inside Ultra, outside, different buildings all over the place, and this is what I found -- and I think I expressed that during one of the Trust meetings. Inside Ultra, when I went, the security was as best as anyone could try to do it in a group as large as this. I really went there thinking that I was going to be finding a bunch of doped up kids falling all over each other. That wasn't the case. I mean, I'll admit it, it's not my, you know, place to go and spend time. I was there only for the reasons that I've stated here. I promised I was going to do a fair job in analyzing it. So they were running, as best as anybody can, a good security -wise concert inside the park. And for the most part, everybody there was well behaved, you know, and so on. Whether people had drugs or not, I mean, who knows? I mean, you can't tell by looking at some people. You might be surprised as to who might be involved in drugs, so I can't talk about that. What I can talk is about that people were well behaved, and the security was proper. Inside the place, it -- the City of Miami Page 80 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 music -- I thought I wasn't going to be able to speak to anybody, but you were. You were able to speak to people. It wasn't like, you know, when you go some -- to some of these lounges or places that you got to be shouting at each other; it wasn't like that. But that's why I also went to many of your buildings; to the ones in front of Museum Park; to the several in front of the main part of Bayfront Park. The buildings closer to Museum Park, while there was some noise level, once you closed the doors -- at least in the time of day that I went, in the afternoon -- it wasn't unbearable inside, because you shut most of the noise out. But the ones right in front -- and, you know, I had one of my staff members that was measuring the noise level with, you know, a professional gadget -- it was extreme. We did measure anywhere from 104 to 107; I think may a few might have reached close to 110. And even with the doors closed, you could hear that constant, you know, banging, and the thugging [sic], and that boom, boom, boom, boom. And I told the Ultra people after that, that, "Look, you have to do something with that," because if I lived across -- if any of us lived across, we would be screaming louder than you guys that are here. Chair Hardemon: Free concert. Commissioner Carollo: And -- well, yeah, if you like that all that time. Chair Hardemon: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Commissioner Carollo: So it's a decision that has to be made up here, because at the end of the day -- and this I guarantee you -- it comes up here, it's not going to be about the money. It's going to be who gets lobbied, and who wants to give in to bring Ultra, to bring this group or the other, and it's not going to be about the dollars and cents. So whether you have a Trust or you don't have a Trust, your problems are not going to go away. It has to be in a final decision that's done with the City. Ms. Botero: Why don't they move somewhere else? Commissioner Carollo: Well, look, that's -- Ms. Botero: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Commissioner Carollo: -- yeah, but that's one main event; that's the one that you had the most problems with, but there are others there, too; and others that want to come, or come back. Ms. Botero: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Commissioner Carollo: So, in essence, what I'm saying is that you asked that you wanted to be heard. I felt that even though I'm not your district Commissioner -- you didn't vote for me -- that I'm also a representative of the whole City, like I was for many years, because, truly, this term that I came back, it's the first time that I ran by district. All the other multiple times that I got elected -- three times, Commissioner; and twice, Mayor -- it was citywide. So I feel that I have an obligation to all of you, even though you're not in my district. But this is not about getting to Commissioner Russell, or embarrassing him, or anything like that; no, not at all. So I don't know why he took that attitude. This is about that you have a right to be heard, like you wanted to, to this body. And we have an obligation to analyze this, as a group, to see how we're going to go forward; not just with Ultra, but with Formula 1; with all the other groups, including Roaring Loud, that I hear that they're looking to come back, and many other groups, because I, for one -- Ms. Botero: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). City of Miami Page 81 Printed on 07120/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: Listen, and I'll tell you -- Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Chair Hardemon: -- this is a discussion item. We typically don't allow public comment on discussion items. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Commissioner Carollo: So, you know, we appreciate you all coming and giving us your opinion about this, and especially during this time of night, and all of us are -- you know, we're all away from our families at this point, except for the young man that was here; past his bedtime. But besides that, you know, I think we had a fair opportunity for you all to express how you feel about it. But it's not an actual item that's on the -- before us right now. So, you know, if all hearts and minds are clear, I'd like Commissioner Carollo to withdraw his second that was made on the original motion that was on the floor. Commissioner Carollo: I'm sorry. Chair Hardemon: There was a second to a motion to direct the City -- or for $2 million or something like that. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. It was -- yeah. Chair Hardemon: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Commissioner Carollo: Well, they -- the maker of the motion walked away, so -- Chair Hardemon: But the Clerk would like for me -- Commissioner Carollo: -- I'm assuming -- Chair Hardemon: -- he would like for me to -- Commissioner Carollo: -- I was -- withdraw it, because I'm assuming that when he left, he withdrew it, so. Chair Hardemon: So but other than that, then there is no other business that's on the agenda. Commissioner Carollo: Not that I know, Chairman. Commissioner Reyes: Oh, there's no motion to (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? Chair Hardemon: No, there's -- Commissioner Carollo: No. Chair Hardemon: -- nothing. There's nothing that's on the agenda. Ms. Botero: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Commissioner Gort: Move to adjourn. Commissioner Carollo: No. That would -- but look, that -- City of Miami Page 82 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Ms. Botero: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Commissioner Carollo: -- but -- no. But let me explain this to you, Elena. The 2 million is -- Ms. Botero: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Commissioner Carollo: This is not a -- look, we have 4 million -plus in reserves, or something to that neighborhood in the Trust right now, okay? And if they really want -- you know, if the maker of the motion really wanted to give the 2 million he owes from the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) -- that he's been holding it back -- would have duly made contract -- over $6 million that haven't been given for the Museum Park site, okay? So let's stop playing the games. And this is one that I'm bringing up at the next Commission meeting, and I'll bring it up to CRA, and if -- because one individual wants to break the contract, then we're going to end up in a situation where one entity of the City is going to have to challenge the other entity of the City. So because the Trust, that also has Museum Park, should not be responsible for all the expenditures that we have to make there into the future. There was a contract made between the County, the City, the CRA, for 30 years, 2 million a year for the Museum Park. So can someone really be serious by offering this 2 million for Bayfront Park, but they're keeping 6 million already away from Museum Park? Anyway, I thank all of you that took so many hours of your time for being here, and I thank my colleagues for staying and hearing you. Thank you. There's a motion to -- Chair Hardemon: There's only one other issue. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Yeah, there is. I'm sorry. Yeah. END OF DISCUSSION ITEMS City of Miami Page 83 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S) Chair Hardemon: So at this time we're going to open the floor for public comment. If you're a member of the public and you'd like to speak on any of the remaining items, now is your time to do so. So if you're a member of the public, which means that you're not a party to any of the items that are left on the agenda, you're allowed to come speak at the lectern. State your first name, your last name, you may state your address, and then which item it is that you're here to speak about, and then approach any of the two lecterns. You'll have two minutes to address the body. Vice Chair Russell: Nobody wants to speak? Chair Hardemon: Seeing no persons that want -- Vice Chair Russell: They want to speak. They want to speak. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Vice Chair Russell: Just being shy. Chair Hardemon: You're recognized, ma'am. Can you give it to the Clerk, please, City Clerk? He'll pass them out for you. Vice Chair Russell: Hi, Deryn. Deryn Cowdy: Hello. Elvis Cruz: Commissioners, will we be allowed to give testimony at the specific item, or do we have to do all the public comment now? Vice Chair Russell: Wait for the Chair, please. Mr. Cruz: Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: From what he said so far, he's asking for anyone to speak now who is not a party to the item, but I'll let him clarify. Deryn, please continue. Ms. Cowdy: Oh, hello. Good afternoon. My name is Deryn Cowdy. I'm a resident of Morningside for the last 20 years. And I'm here today to support the historic designation of our park. The argument for delaying this designation is in order to allow for more design concepts from the design team that are currently employed by the City, AECOM (Architecture, Engineering, Consulting, Operations, and Maintenance). This company have already met with the residents and the local community on several occasions, and have heard from them that they would like the park to remain basically as it is in terms of the layout. Joe Webb has been very clear that he will proceed upon public consensus. And most of the users of the park have asked for the pool to be reopened and for the loop road to continue. You're looking at a survey that we wrote while I was the Chair of the Park Committee last year. It was written by the whole committee. It took us a very long time to write it. And then, we sent it out to the entire community of Morningside, because we wanted to canvass Morningside, as well as having heard from the wider community of park users. The survey states -- I think both the questions that you have underlined or highlighted -- that we -- the -- most of the residents prefer to keep the park the way it is. So I am here to support the designation, and I think that most park users want, or City of Miami Page 84 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 what they would like, is a long-term, clear-sighted, and well funded maintenance plan with the goal of preserving a green and beautiful public park with a long and vulnerable history. On a personal note, I can't understand why anyone would tear up what is currently a beautiful park. It's been therefor a very long time. Many people love that park and have very fond memories, myself included. I brought my children up there. And I think that the other --just in leaving, the other element that we have to consider is, of course, sea level rise, which we've all just been hearing about. I -- personally, I believe historic designation will be an addition, a positive addition to the efforts we're going to have to make for sea level remediation. Thank you very much -- Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Ms. Cowdy: --for your time. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Mr. Cruz. Mr. Cruz: I'm still waiting for a ruling on whether or not we'll -- Vice Chair Russell: You're welcome to speak now. And if the Chair wants at the time, you can speak again. We'll see. Mr. Cruz: Okay. I got to set up a PowerPoint -- Vice Chair Russell: But it's a two -minute now. Mr. Cruz: -- so I'll defer to the other speaker. Vice Chair Russell: This one's a two -minute. Stephen Pearson: I'm Stephen Pearson, 9050 Southwest 69th Court, Miami, Florida 33156. I'm here on the issue about the historic designation of Morningside Park, and I'm speaking to strongly support that designation. Its a great park. There's few parks that are urban parks in the City of Miami anywhere close to the size of this park. And the types of changes that have been discussed are really, in effect, trying to privatize that park. It belongs to all the City of Miami. It belongs to all the taxpayers. All the taxpayers' monies go into supporting this park. And I grew up three houses away from it. I learned to swim in that pool that is now dilapitated [sic], but I urge you to keep thepark; it's a great park. And like the lady before said, it needs more maintenance work, but it needs to be an asset available, in a realistic way, to all citizens. Vice Chair Russell: Sir, so you're just on 69th, north of Morningside, correct? Mr. Pearson: No. I live down south now. Vice Chair Russell: Oh, okay. I thought you gave -- Mr. Pearson: I work at the University of Miami -- Vice Chair Russell: I'm sorry. I misunderstood. Mr. Pearson: -- and it'd be a long commute to be -- Vice Chair Russell: But when you do go to the park, you take the car is what --? Fine. City of Miami Page 85 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Pearson: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Who else would like to speak? Please feel free to stand up and line up so we can save a little time at the lecterns. You can use both lecterns, and we're going to alternate so it goes quickly. And try to keep your comments to two minutes, please. I know you have a lot to say, but you'll hear a beep when you get down to 30 seconds, and that's about time to start wrapping it up and getting to the point. And if you've heard someone else say your point, certainly no need to repeat, but you're here to say whatever you like; we're here to listen. Thank you. Lucius McSherry: Hi. I'm speaking on the park as well. My name is Lucius McSherry, and I reside at 440 Northeast 53rd Street, in Morningside. I'm a daily user of the park. I'm here to ask the Commission to uphold the Historic Preservation Board's decision to protect the park. The Morningside neighborhood and park enjoy a beautiful history and design. There are gems in this ever-changing city. The City is not -- the park is not an ordinary gem. Our Historic and Preservation Board decided it should be designated a historic gem. The HEP (Historic & Environmental Preservation) Board isn't alone. We have 2,100 signatures that believe the park should be historic, including 200 signatures from Morningside residents. Sarah, did you pass those out? For the record, the petition reads: "We, the undersigned, love Morningside the way it is. We want it historically designated and do not want it redesigned. We want to keep the basketball and tennis courts, playground, softball field, swimming pool -- please fix and reopen -- the scenic loop road, with convenient parking next to the soccer area, palm garden, picnic area, boat ramp, launching for motor boats, beach volleyball, et cetera. " Commissioner Russell, it is clear your constituents want the park to be protected and the design to remain intact. I have read the appeal that a small group from my neighborhood wrote. It is clear to me that they have a goal in mind when they request the loop road and the pool to be left out of the designation. Their goal is to limit access to the park from people outside the Morningside neighborhood. The loop road includes 149 parking spots. These spots are mostly used by people from outside of the neighborhood to visit the park during the week, and especially during the weekends. People from our community unload food, tents, toys, games, tables, coolers, babies, you name it, for parties and barbecues every single weekend from these parking spots on the loop road. Most homes in our neighborhood now have swimming pools. So the pools have been used primarily by people from outside the neighborhood. Without the pool and without the loop road, people from outside the community will not have an opportunity to visit the park, like they do now. So I'm asking to please protect the park as it is right now. Thank you very much. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Rodrigo James: Good afternoon. My name is Rodrigo James. I live on north -- 570 Northeast 70th Street, in Palm Grove. I moved specifically to that area because I like what was going on in terms of the character of the neighborhood, the schools right around the corner; I can walk the -- my daughters to school. We like the Tow- line area of Palm Grove. We saw what was going on in places like Edgewater, where they were destroying these historic homes and building these huge high-rises, and I didn't want that for my community. I'm against the building on Northeast 67th Street, because it is totally out of character with the neighborhood, and we want to keep our neighborhood low -lined, and I'm scared that this is going to have developers cherry picking pieces of noncontributing homes in our neighborhood and building these high-rises or these large buildings in our neighborhood. All right. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. So you're here on PZ.4, correct? City of Miami Page 86 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. James: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: That's 67th Street. Mr. James: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Mr. James: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: And if you could, when you come and state your name, please let me know which item you're speaking on so we don't have to use the context clues to figure it out. Thankyou. Sarah Hayter: Hi. My name is Sarah Hayter. I live at 440 Northeast 53rd Street, in Morningside. I'm hereto speak on PZ. 5. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Ms. Hater: Commissioners, historic designation is legally determined by the criteria enumerated in Chapter 23 of your Code. The appellants are seeking to postpone the designation in Morningside Park so that changes can be made to the park that might potentially compromise the property's historic integrity. This is not permissible under Chapter 23. The appellants question keeping the swimming pool and the loop road. I don't know why anyone would be in favor of taking away public facilities that the public has enjoyed for over 64 years. Please recognize the appeal for what it really is: an attempt to diminish is public's access to and usage of this public park. The park serves far more people than just the residents of Morningside, which is why over 2,100 park users signed the petition that I distributed to you to historically designate the park and preserve the facilities that the appeal wants to take away; 200 of the signatures are Morningside residents. And when the Morningside community was surveyed directly about the park, as Deryn mentioned, strong majorities of 58 and 65 percent called for keeping the loop road and frying the pool. Now, the current board, the MCA (Morningside Civic Association), who campaigned on the slogan of preserving the past in this appeal, are opposed to what the majority of Morningside residents want, as demonstrated by the survey. Please do not be fooled into accepting that their desires are representative of the residents of the entire Morningside community. Commissioner Russell, this is a no -brainier. Legally, the HEP Board has followed the law by designating the park historic. Politically, you have over 2,100 people signing the petition, 750 online, in favor of the designation, and the immediate neighbors of the park in support of maintaining the pool and the road. Please do the right thing. Please do what the law says and what the people want. Please preserve the park. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Sir. Michael Loveland: Hi. My name is Michael Loveland. I live in Palm Grove. My address -- need my address? Vice Chair Russell: You don't need it. Mr. Loveland: Okay. I'm here today about PZ.4. I'm against the new development of this property. I moved to the neighborhood almost 20 years ago now. I moved therefor the character of the neighborhood. We're not against development; we're just about smart development, and I really don't feel that this project is appropriate for its location, and I would hate for it to start setting a precedent. We fought long City of Miami Page 87 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 and hard to protect the neighborhood. It's changed a lot over the last 15, 20 years, and we're moving in a great trajectory. It is a historic district, and this project is also abutting another historic district, the MiMo District. And I just think it's ill - situated, so if you would please -- We've already been to the HEP Board, and now we're here pleading for your help to help us protect the neighborhood. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. And if I'm not mistaken, you are the artist who created the chiki huts -- Mr. Loveland: I am. Vice Chair Russell: -- for the Omni Park, from the chain link fence that surrounded the park? Mr. Loveland. Yes, that's me. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Mr. Loveland: Yep. Mary Foehrenbach: I'm Mary Foehrenbach. I live at 655 Northeast 55th Terrace. I've lived therefor 50 years, and I support the designation. As you probably know, Frederick Law Olmsted is the father of urban parks in the country, and many of his ideas are incorporated in the design of Morningside Park, and I think we should appreciate that. Now, I know people think we need to be modernized, and they probably would like to modernize me, but I think there are certain good things, you know. We all go traveling around to see the architecture and the wonderful sites of Europe, but we have many of them in our own country, and some of them are our parks. Frederick Law Olmsted took a wasteland in New York and turned it into the crown jewel of this country's parks. He got his ideas from England; I'm sorry to say, but this has spread throughout this country. There are marvelous parks in California, the Golden Gate Park. He designed a park in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, he wasn't alive when Morningside was built, but his ideas are there. I think that sea rise presents some problems for us, and I don't think the Historic Preservation Board would ever let us destroy what -- anything new that's built. I think we should be careful spending the City money. I think what the park really needs is it needs a good landscaping to bring it back to its original beauty. That also presents some problems, because the sprinklers used to run all day, almost every day; now we cannot do that. We have to think, but there are many things that we can do. Thank you very much for listening to me. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Sir. John Calkins: My name is john Calkins. I live in Morningside. I'm also a member of the board, but I do not speak for the board. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that historic designation does not preclude making changes to the park; is that correct? Vice Chair Russell: Yes. You can get a Certificate of Appropriateness to make changes. Mr. Calkins: Okay. Well, I think making significant changes to the park should be difficult, because the park has been therefor -- well, I've lived in Morningside for 40 years, and it was well-established before I got there. So I don't -- I do not think that historic designation is a problem. I think historic designation is fine, as long as -- If someone comes up with great ideas for improving the park, and there is significant consensus around that, well, then, I think that's a good idea, but today, that hasn't City of Miami Page 88 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 happened. And if it can still happen with the historic designation, I think the park should have a historic designation. Thankyou. Anita McGruder: Good afternoon. My name is Anita McGruder. I live at 90 Northeast 42nd Street. The City's Historic and Environmental Preservation Board has found that Morningside Park meets the criteria for historic designation. As a residents of District S and the Historic Buena Vista East neighborhood, I urge you to vote to keep the historic designation of the park, to help preserve the unique qualities of the park, as well as making the improvements needed to make this green space available -- continue to be available to all residents of the City of Miami for years and generations to come. My mother and I moved to Buena Vista East more than 45 years ago, about two/thirds the time that the park has been in existence. During that time, I raised two children. Unlike some areas of the City, the residents of Historic Buena Vista East and surrounding communities don't have a park within easy walking distance of our neighborhood. It is Morningside Park that has always served as that open green space, just a short drive away, where my family and I enjoyed picnics, played tennis, and took walks. My children took swimming lessons in the pool there. More recently, my grandchildren have attended summer camp there several years ago. And I'm deeply troubled to learn that a few residents of Morningside neighborhood have appealed this historic designation or to remove the loop road and ostensibly remove access to the park and its many amenities to all of the citizens of the City of Miami. I ask you to please deny any appeal to delay the historic designation at Morningside Park. Vice Chair Russell: Ma'am, just for a clarification, you said removal of the loop road would remove access to the park from those who don't live in the neighborhood. How -- could you clam what you mean by that? Ms. McGruder: So, my understanding is that removal of that road, which would -- which also provides access directly to those recreational areas of the park, would also eliminate the numbers of parking spaces therefor those of us who are coming from outside the neighborhood. Vice Chair Russell: Yes. Okay. Thank you. Ms. McGruder: Yes. Stephen Sams: Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Commissioners. I'm Steve Sauls. I'm a retiree. I'm here as a community citizen. I'm president of los on the Bay Condominium, on 62nd Street and the bay;; also known as Martin Luther King Boulevard. Our buildings span 62nd to 61st Street. We cross the street and we're in Morningside. Since retiring from FIU (Florida International University), I've turned my attention to my immediate community, which means trying to have a healthy Biscayne Bay, American Legion Park, from overdevelopment around it, and looking and taking -- nurturing, and being supportive of Morningside Park, where I walk frequently. I ride my bike there. I probably walked on every single street in the neighborhood many times. I walk into the park frequently. I've never seen there be a traffic issue. I think it's wonderful to see many nationalities playing soccer there, playing basketball there, boating there. It seems to me sad that the pool is a -- rather, in a state of neglect. I personally learned to swim six years old in a public pool, and I'd like to see more robust development and use of that pool. So I know that my friend and neighbor, Jane Gilbert, is very concerned about resilience and sustainability. And I frequently report and post when I see the bay overlapping the seawall there; and I know, long-term, we, as a community, need to address these issues very comprehensively. We need to assess it so that when my building addresses those issues, the streets are also addressed, but in the meantime, I just want to express my support for the historic designation; that these are part of the City of Miami Page 89 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 treasures that make our community worth living. They provide coherence to our community, and maybe they -- maybe we should be talking about how can -- this can be part of strengthening the overall fabric of the community so we just don't build islands in our community, but we build an integrated, socially integrated, economically integrated community from, say, 36th Street to 79th Street, and east to west. Thankyou. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Sir. Peter Wagner: Good afternoon. My name is Peter Wagner. I'm a resident of Morningside neighborhood; I have been for 18 years. I live in a historic home, and I try to maintain its historic character. I'm here speaking on Item 5, about the historic designation by the HEP Board. Historic designation assures the present and future residents that the park remains in existence and displays its MiMo (Miami Modern) heritage. The park does not need a do -over; it needs an adequate maintenance budget. The historic designation increases the opportunity for outside funding, which will help the maintenance expense. I'm requesting that you please deny the appeal of the historic designation. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Spencer Bartram: My name is Spencer Bartram, speaking on Morningside Park. My wife and I and our children live approximately a block northwest of the park. We live in a historic home also, and work hard to preserve the home to its historic standards. We are opposed to the historic designation of Morningside Park, as we believe that some level of renovation of the park might be warranted to bring it up to the standards of parks in surrounding cities. And I'd encourage you to think that dynamic cities oftentimes include dynamic public spaces also. Thank you. Rachel Furst: Good evening. My name is Rachel Furst. I live at 570 Northeast 57th Street. I'm a resident of Morningside. I serve on the MCA Board. I live in a historic home, which I treasure. I'm a daily user of the park, myself and my children, and I love Morningside Park, and I -- yet, I am a proponent of the appeal. I do not think historic designation at this stage was appropriate, and I'll tell you quickly why. It's not to deny access. I don't want to see fewer parking spaces in Morningside Park. I don't want to make it harder for people to drive their cars to access the park. I drive my car to access the park sometimes. It's just that I'd like to see more thoughtful -- possibly more thoughtful parking spaces; maybe a more thoughtful road, maybe not; maybe more basketball courts, maybe not; continued soccer games, of course; maybe more picnic spaces. I'm a proponent of the appeal, because I take issue with the process by which historic designation was accomplished. The City was in the midst -- the City Parks Department was in the midst of approaching a possible renovation of the park with a thoughtful, studied approach. They had engaged AECOM, and they were working on what I thought were exciting, thoughtful, considerate plans to possibly improve Morningside Park. HEP designation interrupted that process and shackles it. So I'd like to see the park renovations, or whatever it is -- redesign maybe, maybe not -- but I'd like to see that power vested back in the City Parks Department. I'd like to see that process continue in conjunction with sea level rise experts and other experts who are best poised to tackle these issues. Thank you. William Robertson: My name is William Robertson. I've lived in Morningside for -- since 1978 -- 40 years. And during my early years in the neighborhood, Iran in the park daily. As time passed, I slowed to walking, but that's allowed me an even greater appreciation of the park's design. In order to protect this unique connection of paths, roadways, open space, greenery, and bayshore, I urge the Commission to uphold the HEP Board's historic designation of the park. The park's design allows City of Miami Page 90 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 for maximum public access, as it should; not only for the physically fit, but for those who just want to sit and enjoy a respite from the City or gather with friends and family for a picnic. The road through the park has its critics as being inconsistent with contemporary ideas about park design, but I don't think all the people who will be in the park this holiday weekend would agree with the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ideas. They will appreciate the road, and the dispersed parking areas make it possible for children, parents, and grandparents to enjoy a day at the water's edge with comfort and ease. The Goody Clancy Parks Master Plan, prepared for the City, says, park design should, quote, "strive for a sense of place and individual character. Special landscape, historic, or cultural element should be identified and preserved. " Morningside Park meets these criteria. By upholding historic designation, you will not only be protecting the design from the past, but a human experience in the present. Isn't that ultimately the point ofpreservation7 Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Naomi Burt: Good afternoon. My name is Naomi Burt, and I'm a resident of Morningside. I live on 555 50 Terrace, which is the south side of the park. I'm here to oppose the designation at the moment. I have moved to Miami three years ago, and I did a lot of research to move to the right place to raise my kids, and Morningside was it. Most of it was because of the park and the access to the park; I walk and I drive to it. Since I moved to Morningside, I have served on the Architectural Review Board. I'm an architect myself, and I'm well aware of how to preserve architectural gems. We do that every month when we go and do the review of each house that is going to go for application. I don't seethe park at this moment is closing the possibilities to abetter self. There are so many options. We're not denying of the loop or the pool. It's just too rushed to designate it at the moment. Well-designed, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) research and involvement in education with all the residents is the most important. There is so much gossip going on and some misunderstanding about having the park private, and so many other things that just telling our residents and the City -- because it's a City park -- is the best way to approach it and move forward, so education. And just please postpone the designation. Thankyou. Alan Danvers: Good afternoon. My name is Alan Danvers. Thank you for listening to us. A great city is defined by its public spaces, and we can't claim to be a global city without them, " said Mayor Suarez, in his State of the City Address in February. I agree wholeheartedly, adding only that great public spaces, without public access, are not public spaces at all. Due to poor public transportation in Miami, the removal of the loop road and the 145 associated parking spaces would severely limit park access to anybody not resident in Morningside. 86 percent of the park's parking spaces are accessible only by the loop road. Acorn, the park planners, hosted two public and well -attended town hall meetings in June and October last year. They did not recommend the removal of the loop road, the parking areas, or the swimming pool. The appeal before you is the personal wish of eight individual residents of Morningside; the neighborhood consists of 449 households. At best, the MCA Board supporting these appellants represent -- if they were unanimously elected, which, of course, they weren't -- 30 percent of Morningside. Actually, it's more like 15 percent of Morningside is represented by this board. Over 200 households are more like -- almost like 50 percent supports historic designation. Popular support is definitely not -- sorry. Popular support is most definitely on the side of historic designation. Designation should not, however, be decided by popular vote. The studies necessary for the potentially historic designation were called for in the Miami Parks and Public Spaces Master Plan of 2007, so this is not something new. 10 years ago, the Master Plan asked for a study of the historic designation of the park. That plan -- that study was presented. The HEP Board City of Miami Page 91 Printed on 07120/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 checked it. They've accepted it. This is not the time to be postponing any further. We're in 2018. Thank you for your consideration. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much, sir. Tom Domac: Good afternoon. My name is Tom Domac. I'm a resident of Morningside. I live at 675 Northeast 52nd Terrace. I live directly across from the center of Morningside Park. My living room is 60 feet from the fence line. I see everything that's good and bad going on in Morningside Park. Today, the park is beautiful, pristine. It's being well-maintained by the maintenance staff that's there. The park serves to provide a Zen -like retreat for all of City of Miami residents who use it. It is open to all colors, ages, creeds, and financial statuses, and provides a safe, quiet access to Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean for boaters. One of the issues for the park is the lack of will to provide funds for maintenance and staff for the pool over the last seven years. A more recent issue: a dark cloud has descended over Morningside. This group of aggrieved appellates [sic], who have taken over the MCA Board, they believe all Morningside residents are behind them without any actual evidence. I voted against them in a recent election, along with a lot of other Morningsiders. Yes, they were elected, but they haven't won the hearts of the neighborhood; nor do they own the park. All they've done is create a hostile environment in the neighborhood, like I've never seen in the 20 years that I've lived there. The agenda of wanting to tear down the pool and remove a loop road, the main access for the park, reflects one obvious thing: the desire to prevent access to Morningside Park for City of Miami residents and voters; thereby, keeping them out of our neighborhood. Morningside Park is the property of Miami; population, 417, 650, according to Siri. This group makes up .0036 percent of that population. I implore you to do the right thing. Provide and keep the historical status in place for Morningside Park, and keep the park as it is for all residents of Miami, and not be swayed into rash actions by this .0036 percent group. Vice Chair Russell: Sir? Vice Chair Russell: You're on 52nd Terrace, correct? Mr. Domac: 52nd Terrace and 7th Avenue. Vice Chair Russell: And so, you look right at the fence? Mr. Domac: Correct. Vice Chair Russell: So one of the -- and this is just a personal question to you. What are your feelings about the fence? I know our Parks Director has an idea of open parks that look more like your backyard than a caged area. What are your -- do you think the --? Mr. Domac: Okay. Since -- The fence provides a primary security perimeter for the park so they could close it at night. I was there with the old fence, and there was holes in it. And we had a lot of homeless; we had a lot of gang activity; we had a lot of drug activity, especially along the waterfront of the park, and they could get through the open areas of that fence quite easily. When they put in the new fence -- and now they can lock the gates at night, and they can close the main gate for the vehicle access -- there's hardly anybody that gets into the park at night; though, I will say, "hardly. " Chair Hardemon: I was about to say, my grandmother -- City of Miami Page 92 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Domac: I've been there at 2 o'clock in the morning and seen cars loop -racing on the grass out there in the soccer field. Chair Hardemon: My grandmother told me that fences keep the honest honest. Mr. Domac: Correct. Vice Chair Russell: But the reason I ask -- and -- because I'm a bit enamored with the Parks Director's concept, and the aesthetic and the open inviting nature. Kennedy Park, Peacock Park, Merrie Christmas Park, none of these have fences, and none of them have the crime and homeless and issues. We have Park Rangers that visit them. They're well -lit at night. Is there a fear that if the fence came down that there would be -- that all these things would start? Mr. Domac: Okay. In my opinion -- and I've worked in some different theaters that required security -- that if you take the fence down, you're going to have to have a security force in the park at night to maintain the calm. Now, it's a toss-up. The fence is not that objectionable. It doesn't look that bad. Like you said, it's 60 feet from my living room. So that's my opinion. I mean, you know -- Vice Chair Russell: I was just curious, the logic behind it. Mr. Domac: -- I think it would be (UNINTELLIGIBLE) discussion. Vice Chair Russell: I just noticed in -- The document we received, I believe from Deryn, was a informal survey that showed 83 percent of the residents surveyed wanted the perimeter fence left intact, and I just wondered what your position was on that and why. Mr. Domac: And like I said, I think that's a primary security defense. It -- And, you know, the other thing, the loop road, too. I think there were some questions here earlier. I don't know if you got them answered correctly, but the loop road serves the boat ramp, the picnic areas, and the soccer field. Vice Chair Russell: Yeah. Mr. Domac: You can't get to those areas, unless you want to walk a half a mile through grass, and today, I can't walk more than 200 feet through grass, so. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: So you say, get rid of the grass? Mr. Domac: Hm? Chair Hardemon: No. (UNINTELLIGIBLE). For the record, that's a joke. You know, the -- Mr. Domac: I get in my car and drive there. Chair Hardemon: Yeah. The record doesn't capture sarcasm. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Be careful (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you know. You're so correct. Chair Hardemon: Sir, you're recognized. City of Miami Page 93 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Commissioner Carollo: You might be accused of something. Chair Hardemon: I know. Right. You're recognized, sir. Mr. Cruz: Commissioner, I need the control room to put my PowerPoint on the screen. Maybe other -- the other speaker could go ahead while they do that? Chair Hardemon: Okay. You have a two -minute PowerPoint? Mr. Cruz: Yes, sir. Chair Hardemon: Okay. You're recognized, sir. Steven Wernick: Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, Commissioners. Steve Wernick, address at 2501 Swanson Avenue; speaking on PZ.5. I'm here as a City resident, but also in my role -- past chair of the Waterfront Advisory Board for three years, and I ended my term at the end of 2017. And so, I'm here, not as a resident of Morningside, but to express some concerns about the designation of a 42 -acre citywide park by the Historic Preservation Board, and what that might mean in the future, and what it might prevent us from doing in the future, citywide. Morningside already -- pretty known to be vulnerable to flooding, sea level rise after Hurricane Irma, even heavy rain events. In 2016, this Commission -- and Commissioner Russell, I think it was your item -- a resolution that asked our Waterfront Advisory Board, as well as the Sea Level Rise Committee, to look at a climate change report by the University of Miami; look at recommendations to bring back. And in looking at what Copenhagen and other cities around the world, who are really ahead of us in tackling some of these big issues -- and you've heard about it earlier today. I mean, one of the things they're doing is green and blue strategies with parks, which might actually enhance the utilization of parks, but at the same time, injecting some storm water mitigation, natural shoreline strategies. There are things we're going to need to do in our largest waterfront parks at some point and time. It might not be today. It might be in the future. So I think the Historic Preservation Board taking the initiative as an applicant to designate a park like this and to make all future decisions go through that board, which does not have criteria for park planning, does not have criteria for sea level rise, is not the right venue -- is not the right tool, in my opinion, and it would set a bad precedent. And I think some of the issues that you're hearing could be dealt with in other ways. I think this is a process that pits folks against each other. And in fact, the Waterfront Advisory Board was not given any kind of presentation, even though it was a citywide waterfront park, and the board chair for the Historic Preservation Board knew that that was something that the board wanted to see and made sure it did not go for that presentation; did not want to inject any kind of recommendations into the process. So wanted to leave you with that information. Thankyou. Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir. Judy Clark: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Chair Hardemon: Can you pass that to the Clerk, please? Can you give it to the Clerk? Can you give the document to the Clerk, if you will? Yes. Thank you. Take that lectern. Ms. Clark: Hi. My name is Judy Clark. I'm a resident of Morningside. I just want to say, I got kind of tickled when I came in here today, because I'm here about historic preservation, and I see Commissioner Carollo and Commissioner Gort; just missing J. L. Plummer, and I'd be back in a historically designated time frame. So City of Miami Page 94 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 I'm here to advocate for the historic designation. Morningside's a wonderful park. The Morningside area is a wonderful neighborhood. I bought my house because it is in an historically designated district. I think it's important that Miami, with all of its razing and rebuilding, maintain as much as possible of how Miami came to be. It's so really nice to have a small little step back in time. The other parks in the other neighborhoods that have been designated historic; for instance, South Beach. This is one of the most desirable places in the nation, and part of that is because of its historic designation. People continue to buy and live in our area. Historic homes are always in demand, and there are, in my opinion, no drawbacks. You may have to go through an additional set -- an additional administration process, but that's the only thing. Everything else that you want to do, including in the park -- the issue of rising water and any improvements that need to be made to the park can still be made. Historic designation does not prevent that. You can always live in a historic area, maintain it, and improve it. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. Ma'am, you're recognized. The gentleman probably has your original photo, if you'd like it back. Oh, it's passed around. Robin Porter: Robin Porter, 122 Northeast 43rd Street. I'm the President of Buena Vista East Historic Neighborhood Association. I just gave the County -- City Clerk a copy of the letter. I'm not going to read it all to you, but I'm going to go ahead and summarize, because it's a little lengthy (UNINTELLIGIBLE) some things that have come up recently that I'd like to add. The Buena Vista East Historic Neighborhood Board and neighbors voted to be in opposition of the appeal of the historic designation. We area neighborhood that does not have a park. We're not served by the City Parks Master Plan. And so, many of our neighbors use this park for various reasons, and to take away a loop road or any portion thereof would make it really difficult, if not impossible, for much of us to access it. We don't understand the issue with historic. Historic does not preclude renovations or updates, to say nothing of maintenance. We go through this on a regular basis as a historic neighborhood, and you can do things in a historic context that don't violate the spirit of the designation. The removal of the loop road would be crucial for us, because that actually does disperse the vehicle traffic. We don't find in personal experience to -- it to have been terribly heavy. Removing the loop road would deny access to the Kayak ramps, to the swimming pool when it eventually, hopefully, does get fixed, as well as the boat ramps and the soccer fields. Picnics would become really difficult for those who'd have to schlep all their things extended distance. We're concerned about parking overflowing into surrounding neighborhoods, and that's an issue for us, as well, in Buena Vista East, so we feel Morningside's concern about that. And we are advocating for green space. We'd like the park to have its historic designation and deny the appeal. Thank you very much. Chair Hardemon: Please. Gail Meadows: My name's Gail Meadows. I live at 6011 North Bayshore Drive, Miami, 31337. I have here in my hand an unrecognizable Miami Herald from ages ago, 1979, about Morningside Park. This is long before many people were paying attention, but the architecture critic says, "You want to live in Miami? Live near Morningside Park. " So there you have it. Commissioner Carollo: What year is that? Vice Chair Russell: '79. Ms. Meadows: 1979. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, but do you have an exact date? City of Miami Page 95 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Ms. Meadows: Yes. Chair Hardemon: I was 24 then. Ms. Meadows: Most people in here weren't born. Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner Carollo had been a Commissioner for three years now. Ms. Meadows: March 25. Commissioner Carollo: March 25, okay. Ms. Meadows: Yeah. It's a lot of space. Commissioner Carollo: That was six months before I got elected for the first time, at 24. Ms. Meadows: So fast forward to 2007. That's the year that you, the City fathers, paid Goody Clancy, of Boston, a planning and preservation firm, to come up with a master plan for the City's parks, which is on the City's web site. So therefore, if you look through pages 149 through 158, you will find you don't need another plan. It says your park should have open spaces, grouping of trees and palms, designated roots, easy access, a sense of place, and all sorts of other things. Morningside fits that very short bill there. On April 1, Easter Sunday, had you driven through, you would have seen wall-to-wall picnickers. It was a sight to behold; should have been photographed. And all those factors contributed to all those families coming into that park. You've heard a hundred times, 21 people have signed this -- 2,100 people have signed this petition, asking you to uphold the HEP Board's designation. Nothing was rushed about that. Dr. George has been in the neighborhood I don't know how many times doing his study, and appeared before the Morningside Civic Association Board a couple of years ago, at least. I was at the meeting. I don't remember the date. Tradition and history are mainstays of this neighborhood, of urban neighborhood's diversity, and a manageable scale are irreplaceable virtues. When Raymond Plummer -- far too old for any of you to know -- a landscape architect in the Parks Department -- became the Parks Superintendent, designed this park, it was the City's first to allow automobiles inside. And what did he have to say about that? "It served a crying need." It still does. You come in with your picnic basket, you park out on the street, and you tell me how long it takes you to walk to those picnic tables. It is a really bad idea to even think about removing that road. Please uphold the City Code. Please keep the historic designation, and please deny this appeal. Mr. Cruz: Thank you. Elvis Cruz, 631 Northeast 57th Street; PZ.5. Commissioner Russell, sea level rise is not a reason to delay historic designation, because designation allows changes for public health, safety, and welfare, like wheelchair ramps or flood protection. Miami already has four historically designated waterfront parks at sea level: Legion, Virginia Key Beach, Lummus, and Mary Brickell, and 27 other waterfront parks at sea level. The City will protect all their parks from sea level rise. The appellants questioned Morningside Pool because it needs repair and is on the bayfront. The City's recent engineering study found Morningside Pool can be renovated at about half the cost of anew pool. The pool meets the criteria for cultural and social history. Countless children learn to swim in Morningside Pool. Morningsiders enjoyed many family pool parties there. Here's Miami City Hall, which is historic; is 18 years older than Morningside Pool; needed repairs, and was fixed; is closer to the bay; surrounded on three sides by the bay, City of Miami Page 96 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 and has a basement. A bayfront location does not preclude historic designation. The loop road allows the public to enjoy family picnics, church congregation picnics, birthday parties -- this was a Sweet 16 Party -- UM (University of Miami) Medical School picnics, a memorial service, and even weddings. Many families hold their most important life events in the park, all possible because of the convenience of a loop road, which also provides security and handicap access. But the appellants oppose the loop road and ask for a delay so the AECOM Plan can be finished. That plan is based on public input, which includes over 2,100 petition signatures, asking for the park to be designated. Keep the loop road and fix the pool. The official Morningside survey showed 58 percent for keeping the loop road and 65 percent for fixing the pool. And so, the first two drafts of the AECOM Plan call for the loop road and the pool to stay. Here is the first draft. Here is the second draft. The appellants want to delay the designation so the AECOM Plan can decide something that the AECOM Plan has already decided. Morningside Park needs protection. A dumpster corral was built on the bay; a cargo container was put next to the softballfield; a walking path was added, blocking the drainage. The City has allowed things in parks that it regretted later. A public review process is a good thing. This designation is not premature. It's overdue by about IS years. Commissioner Russell, the question before you is whether the park meets the legal criteria of Chapter 23. The HEP Board got it right. Please uphold the legal criteria of Chapter 23 and keep the historic designation intact by denying this appeal. Thank you. Rob Pollock: Good afternoon. I'm Rob Pollock. I'm a heavy user of the park. I live in a historically renovated house, about two blocks from the park, and I'm against the historic designation; couple reasons. I had the survey presented to me with such a shrill and inflammatory manner, I thought I can't possibly sign this. Whatever the contents said was one thing. The people presenting it tome said, `Do you realize that's going to begone, that's begone, that's begone?" I said, I can't really buy into that right now. " I'm not against people -- actually, I am for people using the park. I am for people swimming there. I am against limiting factors that would hold our hands as we head forward. The maintenance could -- easily better, if the park didn't flood all the time. Well, why is it flooding all the time? You have to look and take an overall plan. This was designed -- I don't know -- 50, 55 years ago. The world has changed since then. I think there's better ways to run this park in the future, and I think the historical designation of it would tie our hands. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir. Sarah Helen Sharp: Good afternoon. My name is Sarah Helen Sharp. I am speaking as Vice President of the MiMo Biscayne Association. I live at 636 Northeast 70th Street. Procedurally, I know this is the public remarks portion, but I wanted to submit the official transcript from the HEP Board meeting to the Clerk. I've got a courtesy copy for Mr. Fernandez, who represents the developer. In addition, I would like to submit copies of the newspaper articles that are referred to in the appellate brief. Again, I've got a courtesy copy of all of those for Mr. Fernandez. One of them is actually from the architect's own web site. I'm giving these to the Clerk for the record. I also have received additional letters; one of which, actually, was a form of an email to Mr. Hardemon, opposing the development, and wanted to submit those to the Clerk, and I've -- again, I've got courtesy copies for Mr. Fernandez. Chair Hardemon: Describe the email again. Ms. Sharp: The email, Mr. Hardemon -- Chairman Hardemon -- I'm sorry -- is from Schiller Jerome. Did you get it? It was just yesterday. City of Miami Page 97 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: Yeah, I believe I did get it. Ms. Sharp: And another one from Robert John. In addition, another member of the Minto Biscayne Association, Mr. Jorge Planas, couldn't be here today. He's got graduation ceremonies for a niece and a nephew. He apologizes for not being here. He's actually apart of the team that formed Miami 21, formulated it, and he is a designer/architect/developer. He has written a letter opposing the development. It's an interesting letter. I don't want to subject you to the whole thing; it's quite long. It -- he says that the height is -- while it's easy to understand that the height is too much, the most important thing is that the ground floor isn't activated. Under Miami 21, there's supposed to be a living, breathing connection between the pedestrian area and private development. He talks about how there are three different frontages --first, second, and third -- and how this doesn't follow Miami 21 in that respect; and therefore, closes off the building from the pedestrian right-of-way. The last thing is, as Vice President of MiMo, I've been approached -- kind of a zike heist - - over the past week; people have been coming up tome and saying, `It's not enough for us to do something in our neighborhood. We can't go parcel by parcel. We need to be part of a bigger group. " And my mind started racing. You know, how will we structure something like that? How would we effectively represent the broader community? Who would participate? When would we find the time to meet? How will we choose what to focus on? Why would we have any authority to do any of this? I realized we don't need to do that. We're already doing what we as good citizens should do by being alert to changes, both good and bad, in our communities. We spend a lot of time being good citizens; holding meetings, reviewing ideas, trying to reach a compromise that benefits everyone. In the matter of this case, we've also spent a lot of money fighting to keep affordable, logical housing in our neighborhood; trying to keep a building that is in very good shape and enables the members of our community who have lived therefor a long time to stay put, or at least try and make sure that if it is replaced, the new building will still enable our neighbors to stay in Palm Grove and will not subject them to a building that looms over their homes. So I submit that we are doing our jobs. And I also submit that when you talk about something larger that represents the broader community, we're really talking about you, our elected representatives, who truly represent all of us. I respectfully submit to you, our City Commissioners, to do this work; to pursue the relief afforded to you under the General Obligation Bond, voted on in December -- November that gave you a hundred million dollars to pay for affordable housing; to fulfill the goals of Miami 21, which calls for providing a wholesome, serviceable, and attractive neighborhood with historic preservation, preserving neighborhoods, historical resources, and the natural environment. Please send this back -- plan back to the HEP Board with instructions that it be compatible with the neighborhood. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. Ms. Sharp: Oh, I'm sorry. We also have -- can I have the copy? Can you give me the copy? -- letters from people who live in Palm Grove, who weren't able to be here today. I know it's really impressive how many people showed up for Morningside Park. Palm Grove is a little bit different. We've got teachers, firemen, people who work at Costco. And even though you have a system now allowing for public remarks at the beginning of the day, the middle of the day, it's still hard for working people to come here and participate. So at any rate, I've got some additional letters from residents of Palm Grove that were collected by Mr. Bob Powers, supporting new development in Palm Grove, but opposing this particular plan. I've got a courtesy copy for Mr. Fernandez, and I will submit the originals to the Clerk. Thank you very much. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. What's the HOA assessment in -- City of Miami Page 98 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Ms. Sharp: I'm sorry? Chair Hardemon: What's the HOA assessment in Palm Grove? I know you -- there's a number of units available for purchase, but -- Ms. Sharp: I think it's voluntary. Is it voluntary, the HOA assessment? Is it $25? Bob Powers: Yes. It's a -- Chair Hardemon: Oh, I'm sorry. No, no. I mean in the Palm -- Mr. Powers: How many people? Chair Hardemon: -- that's the right term -- in the Palm Grove Tower. The assessment that they actually pay to -- Ms. Sharp: That's Palm Bay. Chair Hardemon: Palm Bay. I'm sorry. I mean, Palm Bay. Ms. Sharp: Yeah. I'm sorry; I don't live there. Chair Hardemon: Yeah, I don't either. Ms. Sharp: So I don't know what the HOA is. Chair Hardemon: I meant Palm Bay. Sir, I'd like to recognize the Reverend, Commissioner Richard Dunn. Welcome home, sir. Richard Dunn: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and to fellow Commissioners. I am a long-time, 25 plus year resident of District 5. However, Morningside tweaked my interest for several reasons. Years ago, my brother -- Chair Hardemon: Suspend the timer. Mr. Dunn: -- brother's godfather, Bill and Helen Smith, who were Anglos, lived in the Morningside area. Our church at the time -- I was Presbyterian. New Covenant Presbyterian Church was on -- which is on 43rd Street, Northwest 12th Avenue, where my parents are founding members -- would have an annual summer picnic at the Morningside Park. Yes. Yeah. And we would have -- Dr. Irvin Elligan was the pastor at the time, who's also deceased. I'm dating myself a little bit. I'm glad to still be here though. And so -- and, of course, father Jay Kenneth Major is a resident of the Morningside area, who mentored me down through the years. So I have some very fond memories of Morningside Pool and Park. We would go there for that annual picnic. I'm also a proponent of pools. I've been -- for many years had some ups and downs with swimming, because many times, African Americans did not have the opportunity -- or would not take advantage of the swimming safe -- water safety instructions, which is so vitally important. So I would certainly support the historic designation for the Morningside Park and Pool, based on sentimental values and reasons. I know -- again, as I stated, I'm a resident of District 5; however -- a proud resident with my Chairman, Keon Hardemon, serving as our leader -- however, it is just to the east of where I live. And so, I would love to see this remain as is, because we've been able to take advantage of that park and pool for many years, and I would like for others to be able to continue to do so. It's a beautiful place. It's historic. The greenery is -- it's a wonderful park, and it brings back some very fond memories. City of Miami Page 99 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 So I would ask you, Commissioners, Chairman, to consider supporting keeping the historic designation for Morningside Park improvement. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir. Seeing no further public comment, I'll close the public comment at this time. All right. Ladies and gentlemen, first, I want to ask, is there a --is the applicant for PZ.6 present? Is the applicant for PZ.6 present? Mr. Garcia, have you seen the applicant for PZ. 6? Mr. Garcia: The individual listed as the applicant is Ms. Iris Escarra, and she was here earlier. I'm not sure if she's here at present. Chair Hardemon: She's representing the applicant. Mr. Garcia: That's correct. Chair Hardemon: That's correct? Mr. Garcia: Yes, sir. Chair Hardemon: I know she hears us talking about her. Mr. Garcia: I think someone has stepped out to fetch her, but I believe she's here in the building, yes. Chair Hardemon: So then, I'll assume then her client wouldn't be here. Is -- her client is not here. Is the client for PZ.6 present? Okay. PART B: PZ - PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S) Chair Hardemon: But can you read into the record, please, the afternoon agenda? Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): Yes, Mr. Chairman. We'll now begin the Planning and Zoning items. PZ (Planning and Zoning) items shall proceed according to Section 7.1.4 of the Miami 21 Zoning Code. Before any PZ item is heard, all those wishing to speak must be sworn in by the City Clerk. Please note, Commissioners have been briefed by City staff and the City Attorney on items on the agenda today. The members of the City Commission shall disclose any ex parte communications to remove the presumption ofprejudice, pursuant to Florida Statute Section 286.0115 and Section 7.1.4.5 of the Miami 21 Zoning Code. Any person may be heard by the City Commission through the Chair for not more than two minutes on any proposition before the City Commission, unless modified by the Chair. If the proposition is being continued or rescheduled, the opportunity to be heard may be at such later date before the City Commission takes action on such proposition. The Chairman will advise the public when the public may have the opportunity to address the City Commission during the public comment period. When addressing the City Commission, the member of the public may first state his or her name, his or her address, and what item will be spoken about. A copy of the agenda item titles will be available at the City Clerk's Office and at the podium for your ease of reference. Staff will then briefly present each item to be heard. For applications requiring City Commission approval, the applicant will then present its application or request to the City Commission. If the applicant agrees with the staff recommendation, the City Commission may proceed to its deliberation and decision. The applicant may also waive the right to an evidentiary hearing on the record. The order of presentation shall be as set forth in Miami 21 and the City Code, providing that the appellant shall present first. For appeals, the appellant will present its City of Miami Page 100 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 appeal to the City Commission, followed by the appellee. Staff will be allowed to make any recommendation they may have. All persons testifying must be sworn in. The City of Miami requires that anyone requesting action by the City Commission must disclose before the hearing anything provided to anyone for agreement to support or withhold objection to the requested action, pursuant to City Code Section 2-8. Any documents offered to the City Commissioners that have not been provided seven days before the meeting as part of the agenda materials will be entered into the record at the City Commission's discretion. If any Commissioner thinks the documents supplied to the Commission less than seven days before merit a continuance, the item may be continued by the City Commission. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. Are there any items that need to be continued, withdrawn, or deferred? Francisco Garcia (Director, Planning): I believe so, sir. Chair Hardemon: Can you tell us what they are? And state the action first and then the item. Mr. Garcia: Of course. The items -- and I'll go quickly through the list of the items that are presented for your consideration for deferral. They are items PZ.1, PZ.7, PZ 8, PZ. 9, and PZ. 10; in particular, item PZ.1 -- rather -- Commissioner Carollo: Francisco, I'm sorry; can you start from the top again? Mr. Garcia: Absolutely. So the items for your consideration for potential deferral are items PZ. 1, PZ. 7, 8, 9, and 10. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. 9 and 10 are which ones? Are those the ones on 7th Street? Mr. Garcia: No, sir. The items that you're referring to between 7th Street and 8th Street, Southwest, are items PZ.2 and PZ.3. Commissioner Carollo: 2 and 3. Mr. Garcia: Yes, sir. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Who is asking for PZ. 1, 7, 8, 9, and 10 to be deferred? Mr. Garcia: I'm happy to address that, sir. As pertains to Item PZ. 1, the request is that it be indefinitely deferred. We, the Administration, are asking for it, because the property in question is not in compliance, and until compliance is achieved, the item cannot be heard by the Commission. We've advised the applicant accordingly, and they are aware of it. Commissioner Carollo: That is correct, Francisco, and -- Mr. Garcia: As pertains -- Commissioner Carollo: -- what I do ask your department is to make sure that that same rule applies to everybody, because, as you know, in my district, there have been some that have snuck by, so it should be the same for everyone across the board. City of Miami Page 101 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Garcia: Absolutely, sir. What I wanted to add then to that effect is we, to some extent, rely on there being an active violation on site, but we will certainly redouble our efforts to ensure compliance. Commissioner Carollo: Well, I'm glad that I had the opportunity to show you the active violations on site. Mr. Garcia: Very well. Beyond PZ. 1, which I've described as being proposed for indefinite deferral, we have at present Items PZ. 7. In that particular case, I understood that there is a request from an abutting property owner that that item be deferred to June 14, and that request is acquiesced to by the applicant as well. So there being no objection, we recommend that there be a deferral to June 14. Commissioner Carollo: The applicant asked for it to be deferred? Mr. Garcia: No, sir. An abutting property owner -- Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Mr. Garcia: -- wanted additional time to investigate the item. So the request is from the abutting property owner, but the applicant is acquiescing, so they're not opposing it at present. Commissioner Carollo: So they're agreeing to it? Mr. Garcia: That's correct. Commissioner Carollo: Do we have from both sides anyone here that can speak to it? Ms. Escarra: Hi. Good afternoon, everyone. Commissioner Carollo: Hi. Ms. Escarra: My name is Iris Escarra, with offices 33 Second Avenue. I'm the applicant on PZ.7. The neighbors reached out to us and asked us for a little bit more time to be able to review the application, and we agreed to it, so long as it's deferred until June 14. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. So be it. You're sure on that? Ms. Escarra: I already gave my word, so I'm okay. Commissioner Carollo: Okay, that's fine. Mr. Garcia: As pertains to Items PZ.8 and PZ. 9, those are companion items, and these two are amendments both to the Miami Comprehensive Neighborhood Plan and to the Zoning Ordinance, and would have been before you on first reading; however, these two are companion items to Item FR.] in the regular agenda, which was continued earlier this morning indefinitely as well -- Commissioner Carollo: Right. Mr. Garcia: -- which is why we're proposing that they be indefinitely deferred. And lastly, Item PZ. 10 is also being proposed for an indefinite deferral. This pertains -- this also an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance, and this is for lot diminishment City of Miami Page 102 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 regulations, which, it is our position, need further vetting with the community, and it is not ready for your consideration at present. Chair Hardemon: Are there any other items that need to be continued, withdrawn, or deferred from the --? Commissioner Carollo: Yes. The items that were in my district, Francisco, on 7th Street -- Mr. Garcia: Yes, sir. Commissioner Carollo: -- which items are those? I think they were two companion items. Mr. Garcia: PZ.2 and PZ.3. Commissioner Carollo: 2 and 3. That's what I have here. I -- Is the representative of the applicant here? I know that you have been very patient with your client through this process, and I truly appreciate that. And for the record, I've met with her and the client. They were very transparent with the information they gave me, what they're trying to do there. I'm trying to come to a final conclusion that would be good for the City and for your client, both. Based upon my conversations with the Planning Administrator, I really would like to ask you to be patient for one more meeting; that we could defer this. And after I meet with the Planning Director again, if we come to a conclusion, then I will gladly meet with you again, and we could all meet with the Planning Director, myself, and see if this could move forward. Ines Marrero: Very well. If I may address -- Commissioner Carollo: Yes. Ms. Marrero: -- the Commission? Good afternoon. My name is Ines Marrero. I'm the attorney for the applicant. Through the Chair, respectfully, of course; it's at the pleasure of the Commissioner of the district. We've been waiting for some time, but one more month to make sure that your concerns are addressed, that we have an opportunity to flush out whatever questions are, is properly appropriate, and I don't even have to ask my client to know that we agree with additional time for it. Commissioner Carollo: I thank you; express that gratitude to your client. Ms. Marrero: Yeah, I will. Thank you. Commissioner Carollo: And I'll say this on the record: that your client was refreshing, compared to some of the small group of people that want to buy up property and do things in Calle Ocho and Little Havana. He was a refreshing individual; answered all my questions; didn't play any games of what he really wanted to do, so I -- you know, I have a good feeling about him -- Ms. Marrero: Well, thank you. Commissioner Carollo: -- and I'll say that on the record. Ms. Marrero: I'll let him know. And we're more than happy to wait. Commissioner Carollo: That the rest, it has to be strictly on a business level with the City of Miami, and it entitles -- really looking from 27th to 4th Avenue -- how we're going to do everything else. City of Miami Page 103 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Ms. Marrero: Understood. Commissioner Carollo: Okay? Ms. Marrero: We -- Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Ms. Marrero: -- agree to the deferral, without any issues. Commissioner Carollo: I appreciate it. Thank you. Ms. Marrero: Thank you. I don't think people were sworn in. Chair Hardemon: Well, I didn't -- you're a little different. I mean, everything you say is supposed to be true. Ms. Marrero: You trust me too much. Chair Hardemon: Right. Commissioner Carollo: You're an officer of the Court. Chair Hardemon: Right, exactly. Ms. Marrero: Yes, I am. Chair Hardemon: So you don't have to be sworn in -- Ms. Marrero: Yes, I do. Chair Hardemon: -- technically, but -- Ms. Marrero: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: --are there any other items that need to be continued? Because PZ.4, S, and 6 is the only thing that's left on the agenda. Mr. Garcia: Not at present, sir. Chair Hardemon: Seeing none, is there a motion in accordance? Commissioner Carollo: Okay. PZ -- yeah, to defer all these that we said, right? Chair Hardemon: Correct. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, there's a motion and there's a second. Vice Chair Russell: 4, 5, and 6? Chair Hardemon: So there's an indefinite deferral on PZ.1, a deferral on PZ.2, a deferral on PZ. 3, a deferral on PZ. 7, PZ. 8, PZ. 9, and PZ. 10. Mr. Garcia: If I may, Mr. Chair? Chair Hardemon: So what's left is 4, 5, and 6. Go ahead. City of Miami Page 104 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Garcia: IfI maybe date -specific -- Chair Hardemon: You can do so. Mr. Garcia: -- in the -- as pertains to some of those. I believe I heard the Commission motioning to continue Items PZ.2 and PZ.3 to the June 28 Planning and Zoning agenda? Commissioner Carollo: Yes. Mr. Garcia: And in addition, I believe Item PZ.7 was specifically to be deferred to June 14. Commissioner Carollo: PZ.7 and 8, correct, are combined. Mr. Garcia: PZ.7 on a stand-alone basis, sir; and then 8, 9, and 10, as the Commissioner correctly stated, would be indefinitely deferred. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Any further questions? Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor of the motion, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Hardemon: That motion carries. Mr. Clerk, can you swear in those who will be speaking on items -- well, those who will be -- yeah -- testing, speaking on 4, 5, and 6? Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Thank you, Chair. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. If you'll be speaking on any of the remaining Planning and Zoning items, may I please have you stand and raise your right hand? The City Clerk administered the oath required under City Code Section 62-1 to those persons giving testimony on zoning issues. Mr. Hannon: Thank you, Chair. Chair Hardemon: Great. City of Miami Page 105 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 PZA RESOLUTION 3181 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department of ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING WITH CONDITIONS AN EXCEPTION Planning FOR EXTENDED HOURS OF OPERATION, PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 4, TABLE 3 OF ORDINANCE NO. 13114, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, AND CHAPTER 4 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, TO ALLOW A BAR, TO OPERATE FOR EXTENDED HOURS, IN A GENERAL URBAN TRANSECT ZONE (T4 -L) FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 5300 AND 5310 NORTHWEST 2 AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED IN EXHIBIT "A"; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION TO: Indefinitely Defer RESULT: INDEFINITELY DEFERRED MOVER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner SECONDER: Keon Hardemon, Chair AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PZ.1, please see "PART B: PZ - Planning and Zoning Item(s)." PZ.2 ORDINANCE First Reading 1675 AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department of ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 10544, AS Planning AMENDED, THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP OF THE MIAMI COMPREHENSIVE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, PURSUANT TO SMALL SCALE AMENDMENT PROCEDURES SUBJECT TO SECTION 163.3187, FLORIDA STATUTES, BY CHANGING THE FUTURE LAND USE DESIGNATION OF 1.05± ACRES OF REAL PROPERTIES AT APPROXIMATELY 2124, 2126, AND 2130-2132 SOUTHWEST 7 STREET AND 2109 SOUTHWEST 8 STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA FROM "MEDIUM DENSITY MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL" TO "RESTRICTED COMMERCIAL"; MAKING FINDINGS; DIRECTING TRANSMITTALS TO AFFECTED AGENCIES; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION TO: Continue RESULT: CONTINUED MOVER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner SECONDER: Keon Hardemon, Chair AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes Note for the Record. Item PZ.2 was continued to the June 28, 2018, Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting. For minutes referencing Item PZ.2, please see "PART B: PZ - Planning and Zoning Item (s). " City of Miami Page 106 Printed on 0712012018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 PZ.3 ORDINANCE First Reading 1676 AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department of ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING THE ZONING ATLAS OF ORDINANCE Planning NO. 13114, AS AMENDED, BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION FROM "74-L", GENERAL URBAN TRANSECT ZONE -LIMITED, TO "75-0", URBAN CENTER TRANSECT ZONE - OPEN, FOR THE PROPERTIES LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 2124, 2126 AND 2130-2132 SOUTHWEST 7 STREET AND 2109 SOUTHWEST 8 STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION TO: Continue RESULT: CONTINUED MOVER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner SECONDER: Keon Hardemon, Chair AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes Note for the Record. Item PZ.3 was continued to the June 28, 2018, Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting. For minutes referencing Item PZ.3, please see "PART B: PZ - Planning and Zoning Item (s). " PZA RESOLUTION 3705 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION Department of GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY THE PALM GROVE Planning HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD, BOB POWERS, ALISA CEPEDA, AND THE MIMO BISCAYNE ASSOCIATION BOARD (COLLECTIVELY, "APPELLANTS") AND REVERSING/AFFIRMING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD'S APPROVAL WITH CONDITIONS, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-6.2(4) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, AN APPLICATION FOR A SPECIAL CERTIFICATION OF APPROPRIATENESS FOR THE DEMOLITION OF A NON- CONTRIBUTING STRUCTURE AND THE NEW CONSTRUCTION OF A FIVE -STORY MULTI -FAMILY RESIDENCE, WITH A ROOFTOP TERRACE, LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 571 NORTHEAST 67 STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITHIN THE PALM GROVE HISTORIC DISTRICT. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0226 MOTION TO: Adopt with Modification(s) RESULT: ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S) MOVER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner SECONDER: Keon Hardemon, Chair AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes Note for the Record. For additional minutes referencing Item PZ.4, please see "Public Comment Period for Planning and Zoning Item(s)." City ofMiarni Page 107 Printed on 0712012018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: Okay, so we're going to move into PZ. 4. PZ.4 is the first item that is on the agenda. That is the HEP (Historic and Environmental Preservation) Board decision appeal of 571 Northeast 67th Street. This is what we will -- well, this is what we're going to do. Lowell Kuvin: Hi. My name is Lowell Kuvin. I represent the appellants in this particular matter. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Are you putting on any testimony? Are you calling anyone? Mr. Kuvin: I am --I'm (UNINTELLIGIBLE) not going to give any testimony. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Are you calling anyone to put on testimony? Mr. Kuvin: I am. I'm calling three different individuals. It'll be Dr. Paul George as our expert witness -- Chair Hardemon: Okay. Mr. Kuvin: -- as well as Alisa Cepeda, which is the Chairperson of the MiMo (Miami Modern) Board, and then there -- Chair Hardemon: To give facts -- fact -- to give factual testimony? Mr. Kuvin: Yes. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Mr. Kuvin: And then Bob Powers, who is the President of the other board that's -- Chair Hardemon: Okay. Is the appellee here? Are you calling anyone? Ben Fernandez: Only our project architect and, perhaps, the owner of the property to speak as well. Chair Hardemon: Okay. So this is what I would like to do: I would like to put some time limits on the length of the presentation. Mr. Kuvin: Sure. How many -- how long would I have? Chair Hardemon: Now, it makes it a little bit difficult, because you are calling witnesses. Many times we don't have people that actually call witnesses, so what I'll do is this: I'll allow you to call your witnesses. I'll allow you to put on the testimony. If I think you need to kind of speedup, I'll let you know. And then I'll do the same thing for you on --for the appellee. So I'll just kind of --I'll handle it that way. But what I'll do first is I'll allow you to give an opening statement; that will be two minutes. I'll allow the appellee to give --I'll give you five minutes. So I'm not going to allow you to go over five minutes. Mr. Kuvin: Very quick. I'll be -- Chair Hardemon: I'll allow the appellee, as well, to give a five-minute opening statement, and then you'll be able to put your case in chief on; let you call up your witnesses; you'll be able to cross-examine, if you so desire. And then, when the appellant has put on their case, I'll allow you, as the appellee, to put on your case, if you will, and then we'll have some closing arguments; three minutes, three minutes; City of Miami Page 108 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 I'll allow the City to opine on the issue, and then we're going to move forward and hopefully come up with a decision. Mr. Kuvin: Absolutely. Chair Hardemon: Is that fair? Mr. Kuvin: Absolutely. Mr. Fernandez: Fine. Chair Hardemon: All right. You're ready for your opening statement? Mr. Kuvin: I am. Chair Hardemon: Five minutes. Mr. Kuvin: Thank you very much. Good morning. My name is -- Chair Hardemon: Clerk's Office (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Kuvin: Good afternoon. My name is Lowell Kuvin. I represent the appellants, who are Bob Powers, Alisa Cepeda, as well as the Palm Grove Neighborhood Association, and the MiMo Biscayne Association Board. On January 2, 2017 -- I'm sorry -- 2018, Resolution HEP Board 3-3166 passed by a vote of 4 votes to 3. Having submitted a brief that explains our position on all of the issues we are appealing today, I just wanted to make sure that you review that. That's an in-depth, as well as a cite to many of the different laws that support our position. Today I'll be calling an expert witness, and I'm sure you're all familiar with him. His name is Dr. Paul George. Dr. George will give you a brief history of the Palm Grove and MiMo Districts, and why it's important to have affordable housing. This project, as designed, is specifically designed to allow for a living space area, as well as office space in -- within the same unit. The current configuration of the building is for middle-income families. The new building is not designed for middle-income families; it's designed for -- and I quote the designer, Dean Lewis' testimony from the HEP Board meeting, that this building is designed for high-end rental professionals. Dr. George will also review and give you his opinion regarding the aesthetics of the surrounding neighborhood, and how the scale and the size of the subject development will impact the neighborhood. I will go over several different areas in our brief that deal with both Miami 21, as well as the Code of Ordinances, Chapter 23, and that's really about it. I'm going to allow opposing counsel (INAUDIBLE) like to -- Chair Hardemon: So the heart of your argument is going to deal with scale, and if you will, how the building itself --? Mr. Kuvin: There's basically two areas that are important to this appeal. First is the scale of the actual physical building itself, and the second is the design of the building itself. So as -- on the current property right now, there's a single story. I believe it's either a five- or seven -unit building that is there for middle-income families. Chair Hardemon: You don't have to make it -- you don't have to tell me now, but scale and design; scale and design, right? Mr. Kuvin: And the -- important to know is that they're proposing a five -story building. So we'll talk about scale. City of Miami Page 109 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: Understood. Mr. Fernandez: Thank you, Mr. Chair, Commissioners. Ben Fernandez, 200 South Biscayne Boulevard. I'm here on behalf of the appellee, Interstate Development, LLC (Limited Liability Company); as well as Interstate Deerfield, the owner of the abutting property. I'm here defending the approval of your Historic & Environmental Preservation Board that considered our application; considered the revision that we made to the plan, reducing the height of the original proposal, and voted to approve the project. That is your expert board. They are very familiar with the Palm Grove and the MiMo historic neighborhoods, as I would say that the lion share of historic Certificates of Appropriateness come from the Upper East Side, especially these days. What is finally happening is that Biscayne Boulevard and the abutting neighborhoods are flourishing and redeveloping, and that is something that should be encouraged by this Commission. It's something that we're trying to pursue. I will say that what we'd like to communicate to you is that just because you live or are within a historic neighborhood doesn't mean that zoning becomes inconsequential. Zoning is something that needs to be considered when you're in a historic neighborhood, together with the historic character of the area. And what I mean by that is that if you have two vastly different zoning transects within a neighborhood, you cannot consider projects on them on the same basis. The massing and scale of each type of development has to be viewed independently. And so, we've made every effort and accommodation to make our project, which is a T5 project, compatible and consistent with the neighborhood, but it has to be understood that this is a TS building; this is not a duplex, and Palm Grove is comprised entirely, practically, of duplex and lower density homes, with the exception of a few taller buildings that were built under -- before the Palm Grove Historic District was created. And with that, I'll close my argument. Thank you. Mr. Kuvin: And just to respond to that, I think, based upon -- Chair Hardemon: No, no, no response. No response. Mr. Kuvin: Okay. Chair Hardemon: You can call on your witnesses and put your -- Mr. Kuvin: I'll call my first witness. Chair Hardemon: Exactly. Mr. Kuvin: I call Dr. Paul George, please. Chair Hardemon: You can take this lectern, doctor; you can take the lectern to the - - as a matter of fact, I'll do better. You can stay there. Counsel, you can take the microphone. Mr. Kuvin: Would you like me to question the witness or would -- Chair Hardemon: I would -- Mr. Kuvin: -- or would --? Chair Hardemon: -- if you want to put on some testimony. Paul George: Want to just present a narrative of an overview of the history and historic designation of the neighborhood, if I could. Thank you. Paul George, City of Miami Page 110 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Miami. Palm Grove is an unusual local district, a district designated as such in 2009, for, I think, several important reasons. A, " it's filled with history. It's part of the old Lemon City neighborhood. It's part of the old Little River neighborhood. It's part of the old Bayshore/ -- today's name -- Morningside neighborhood. Its properties further exhibit a wide range of design themes, emblematic of the City of Miami's architectural styles for nearly a century of building booms and busts. Its first subdivision, for example, was laid out in 1921. It's affordable, as Miami real estate goes. One of the few in -city areas that remain within reach of the middle class. It is the neighborhood that has drawn diverse residents since its beginnings, from black and white Bahamians to Hispanics. Chair Hardemon: Counsel, one -- I'm sorry. One second. Mr. George: Sure. Chair Hardemon: Counselor, are you fine with him being tendered as an expert, or do you want to cross-examine him on his expertise before he provides any further testimony? Mr. Fernandez: I do have a couple of questions on his expertise. Chair Hardemon: Yes. Can you --? You can ask those questions now -- Mr. Fernandez: Yes. Chair Hardemon: -- before he continues. Mr. Fernandez: Thank you, Dr. George. Welcome. Of course, I know all about your expertise as a historian. I would just like to ask you, do you have an architectural degree? Mr. George: I don't. Mr. Fernandez: Do you have any sort of expertise in architectural history? Mr. George: I serve on -- practically speaking, yes. I've served on the City's Historic Preservation Board for four years; two years as Vice Chairman. I've been on the County's Historic Preservation Board now for over 20 years. Mr. Fernandez: Understood. But you do not have an academic degree in architecture? Mr. George: My Ph.D is in history, Urban American History. Mr. Fernandez: No, in architecture. In architecture. Mr. George: Urban American History. Mr. Fernandez: Understood. Chair Hardemon: Thank you, counselor. Mr. George: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: You can continue. City of Miami Page 111 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. George: Thank you. It's a neighborhood that's drawn diverse residents since its beginnings, from black and white Bahamians to Hispanics, including waves of immigrants into a neighborhood and city noted for its high percentage of newcomers. In fact, many of its long-time residents and homeowners are Haitian - Americans. It possesses two historically important main streets: Northeast 62nd Street; on its eastern flank, Biscayne Boulevard. So Palm Grove remains a richly cosmopolitan neighborhood of diverse families, financially, ethnically, racially, and age wise, living and interacting with one another. It possess a decorated school, several houses of worship, walkability, a high level of safety. Historic districts are special places that could lead to a wonderful renaissance of the subject neighborhood; can enhance property values; bring community to its residents; can lead to and can create a sense of pride and place, not only to those who live there, but also the City they reside in, and it can bring property tax reductions through tax credits for restoration work on property. This proposed project with the six stories obviously goes against the intent of the Code, while its location within the block itself of one- and two-story homes will make its presence even more jarring. Further, the building's height, which can rise to 55 feet, as provided for in the Certificate of Appropriateness, clashes not only with the human scale collection of buildings comprising Palm Grove, but also those of the adjacent MiMo Local Historic District, which is capped at 35 feet. We were promised, with the adoption of Miami 21, that the big buildings would not proceed north of Northwest/Northeast 36th Street. Additionally, the plan for the building leaves little setbacks on the sides of the buildings and none in its rear. I understood that T5 designation could work for a structure at the edge of a block, but not one within the block itself, such as the proposed building at 571 Northeast 62nd Street would represent, if built. If all of these apparent contradictions to the fabric of this historic district are not enough, there's another. This building, should it rise on Northeast 67th Street, could open the door to other behemoths in a neighborhood that is astonish in the harmonic heights of its building spread over a vast area, and that harmony has added greatly to the high level of interaction between residents and the prideful -- or their prideful sense of place. Even more consequential, perhaps, is the fact that it could send the price of housing, both property prices and rental rates, skyrocketing, and all of this in a city that now is among the costliest to live in in the United States; and such a possibility in a neighborhood that has been more accessible, more affordable than other historic neighborhoods, whose success in recent years has showcased gentrification, and the resilience of a City often held up to criticism for its threat to affordable housing. This historic neighborhood, with structures spanning nearly 100 years in buildings that bear, among other styles, that of the bungalow, Mediterranean, streamline moderne, AK (phonetic) Art Deco, and Florida ranch style would be adversely impacted by a building more than twice the height and scale of all others in the district. I think the City needs to revisit the COA (Certificate of Appropriateness) awarded by the HEP Board for a proposed building at 571 Northeast 67th Street. Thank you. Mr. Fernandez: Mr. Chair, I have one more question for Dr. George. Chair Hardemon: Let's see if he has any -- Mr. George: Sure. Chair Hardemon: -- Do you have any direct for him? Mr. George: I'm sorry? Mr. Kuvin: I actually don't. Chair Hardemon: Not you, sir City of Miami Page 112 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. George: Oh, okay. Chair Hardemon: No? Mr. Fernandez: Dr. George, I just have one question. Mr. George: Right. Mr. Fernandez: You said that the building is six stories. You understand that the building that was approved was five stories? Mr. George: Five stories is some kind of a terrace then that represented -- Mr. Fernandez: Well -- Mr. George: -- at least a portion of a -- Mr. Fernandez: -- and you understand that the subsequent submittal that we've made is for a four-story building? Mr. George: I've heard that, yes. Mr. Fernandez: Okay. Thank you. Mr. George: But it still would leave it towering, more or less, over the other buildings in that area. Mr. Fernandez: Thank you. Mr. George: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you. Counselor, you can call your next witness. Mr. Kuvin: I just have a quick question. Is -- someone just mentioned a subsequent filing for a four-story building. I'm not aware of that, nor is it apart of the record, or was it apart of the HEP Board hearing. Chair Hardemon: Maybe it will be a part of the record when he gets to his case in chief, but let's continue on with yours. Mr. Kuvin: Okay. I'd like to next call Alisa Cepeda, who is the President of the MiMo Board. Chair Hardemon: Now, you will need to direct the President of the MiMo Board. Alisa Cepeda: I'm sorry? Chair Hardemon: Not you. The -- Counselor, you will need to direct her, so whatever questions that you have for her that you wanted to put on the record, it'd be good for you to do that. Mr. Kuvin: Ms. Cepeda, can you tell me your current position and how you're involved in this particular matter? City of Miami Page 113 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Ms. Cepeda: I am a resident of the Palm Grove neighborhood. And, as Mr. Kuvin stated, in January, I took over for Ms. Debbie Stander as the President of the MiMo Biscayne Association. Mr. Kuvin: And as the President of the MiMo Board, as well as a resident, have you had the opportunity to speak with other residents, as well as the MiMo Board, and are you able to represent the MiMo Board today as a party participant in this particular appeal? Ms. Cepeda: Yes. This project actually predates me becoming president. I was a member of the board, and there is a letter of opposition that was included in the original record. It's been included again today, and -- I mean, we have discussed this at length, yes. Mr. Kuvin: Okay. And can you tell us what your position is as the President of the Minto Board -- supporting the MiMo -- I mean, the -- being a representative of the Minto Board, can you tell us what their position is on this? Ms. Cepeda: The MiMo Board in specific, because these are two different organizations. Palm Grove is the neighborhood and MiMo is the commercial historic district. The MiMo Board was concerned about the backside of the building; "the bad side," I guess you could call it; the, you know, kind of side of the building that faces the alley. Actually, it's giving its back to Minto, which is the City's only historic commercial district. So we're not sure, you know, how this building comes up. There's a 35 foot height limit on Biscayne Boulevard, and this building will tower over that 35 foot height limit, so you will see the backside of the building from Biscayne Boulevard. And that was kind of the greatest concern, is that this is the -- kind of service side of the building -- that now faces this City resource. Mr. Kuvin: And is there any height restrictions in the MiMo District that you're aware or Ms. Cepeda: Yes. Mr. Kuvin: And what is that? Explain that to us. Ms. Cepeda: During the Miami 21 process, to the best of my understanding, the 35 feet was placed; there are TDRs (Transfer Development Rights) given for that, but, you know, there's a 35 foot height limit, that you cannot build over 35 feet. Mr. Kuvin: And you, yourself, are -- Mr. Cepeda: I actually have this -- Mr. Kuvin: -- an architect or an engineer, are you not? Ms. Cepeda: I am neither. I am an owner of an engineering company. I have this; I have one for each Commissioner, if they would like them. I have one for Mr. Fernandez and the Clerk. Could I --? Thank you. Mr. Kuvin: And what I'm holding up here is a representation. Do you know where this representation came from? Where was -- who authored this? Ms. Cepeda: Yes. That's something that I did quickly in my ojfce just as a visual. Let me see if I can get the microphone over there. Chair Hardemon: You can pass --you can -- City of Miami Page 114 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Ms. Cepeda: I could borrow that real quick? Chair Hardemon: Go ahead. Ms. Cepeda: This building is just a box. It's just a placeholder. It's at 55 feet. This building represents 55 feet. It has five-foot setbacks all the way around it. It's on a 50 -by -120 lot, which this would be, more or less, the same size as what he's presenting. I didn't want to, you know, try to redesign his project for him or use his different characteristics, so I just used a blank box to kind of hold the place, but this is what will happen with all of the different low scale things in the neighborhood. The one- and two-story buildings that we have now will be dwarfed by this all the way around. So I can't imagine that, you know, this house would be very happy with this towering over it. Mr. Kuvin: And is there a concern regarding not only just the height of the building, but how it relates to the MiMo District right next door? Ms. Cepeda: Absolutely. I mean, we have this hotel, which is a historic hotel, and this will overshadow it tremendously. Mr. Kuvin: And is there an issue with stepping or -- that should be addressed; or that, in your opinion, of being the MiMo Board President, a concern of them dealing with the height of the building compared to the heights of the other buildings in the area? Ms. Cepeda: How I always understood T5, and how I read the Code, and what I take from it is, is that T5 should be at the ahead of a block, or it should be out here, and T5 and the height and the density should be here, not back here in a neighborhood. So out here, I wouldn't have an issue with, and I don't think too many other people would either, and you would step back into the neighborhood, and that, I understand, would -- you know, that's how I see it and how I would expect it to work, but that's not what the 35 feet has done, and that's not what we have, as this condition right now that we, you know, in our lifetime, will probably have to live with. So you have low, and then you have the opportunity for height, and it's back down in the neighborhood, and that creates quite an odd condition. Mr. Kuvin: And can you tell me if the building next door is historically designated, or is it a contributing building? Ms. Cepeda: This building here in your packets that I gave to you, this building is absolutely historically contributing; it was built in 1925. There is common ownership, from my understanding, of the building, so they were aware of that. Mr. Kuvin: And can you describe this next picture for me, please, exactly what we're looking at? Ms. Cepeda: Sure. This is Northeast 5th Avenue, this is 62nd Street, and this is looking east. So this is the actual neighborhood of Palm Grove, and you are looking towards the water. And this is what now the residents and the neighbors will see. Mr. Kuvin: Is there anything else you'd like to add? Ms. Cepeda: No. I just, you know -- I'm, you know, kind of confused as to how we ended up with this building. And, you know, as we all are living in Miami and, you know, trying to earn a living here and, you know, raise our children, we know that there is a housing crisis. And I understand that there is six units that exist now. We City of Miami Page 115 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 have a one-story building with six units. This building is now -- I'm not sure --four, five, six stories -- I have lost track of that -- only has six units. So the community's not getting anything for the height, the massing, the density. We are staying with the same amount of units. We're raising the price of the units to maybe 25, 2800. I don't know what market rate is for a rental like this, but we're taking away perfectly good housing stock that somebody can afford in Palm Grove and replacing it with something, in my opinion, that is high-end luxury that, you know, I don't think we need right now. Mr. Kuvin: And subsequent to the appeal being heard today, have you -- when was the last time you received any plans or drawings from the developer on this project? Ms. Cepeda: The week of the last Commission hearing, which was April 24, I believe; correct me if I'm wrong. I think that was the last Commission meeting. I haven't received any updates. Mr. Kuvin: And was that a four-story building or was that the continued five -story building? Ms. Cepeda: It is at 55 feet. Mr. Kuvin: Okay. And why is that important when we mention 55 feet? Ms. Cepeda: Because Biscayne Boulevard is at 35 feet, so this towers over Biscayne Boulevard. You have two more stories over Biscayne Boulevard. Mr. Kuvin: Okay. Thank you. Do you have any direct? Chair Hardemon: Counselor, you have any cross-examination? Mr. Fernandez: Yes, I do. How are you, Ms. Cepeda? Ms. Cepeda: Good. Good, Mr. Fernandez. Mr. Fernandez: Thank you. Ms. Cepeda, you mentioned that you have an engineering degree; is that correct? Ms. Cepeda: Absolutely not. I am the owner of an engineering company. I have two degrees: one in Criminal Justice and one in Public Administration. Mr. Fernandez: Thank you. And can you tell me, that rendering that you prepared, is that to scale? Ms. Cepeda: It is to scale, but as I mentioned, it's just a placeholder building. Mr. Fernandez: Does that rendering take into account any fenestrations, open spaces, upper level setbacks that our building has proposed? Ms. Cepeda: No. As I mentioned, I didn't want to get into redesigning Mr. Lewis's project or adding or taking away things, so I used it as a placeholder building, and it has five foot setbacks, and it's 55 feet high on a 50 -by -120 lot. Mr. Fernandez: Okay. Thank you very much. Chair Hardemon: You have one more witness; is that correct, sir? City of Miami Page 116 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Kuvin: Yes. I'd like to call Bob Powers, who is the President of the Palm Grove Historic Neighborhood. Robert Powers: This is to give you an idea of the neighborhood you're talking about. This is a -- this map is produced by the City of Miami, by the Neighborhood Association. This is Morningside School. Chair Hardemon: Can you give him the microphone so he can speak into the microphone? If he -- Mr. Powers: This is Morningside School; and the property in question, this is the hotel that Alisa was talking about, and this is where the new building is going to go, right there. The reason why we did this, gentlemen, is so that you can see the whole layout of the neighborhood. I think then you start to get the true breadth of what wants to happen there. So essentially, this entire lot will be built upon. Mr. Kuvin: Mr. Powers, as the President of the -- Mr. Powers: Palm Grove Neighborhood Association. Mr. Kuvin: -- yeah, Palm Grove, are there any other buildings that you know of that are 55 feet in this particular area? Mr. Powers: Unfortunately, there's one that got in under 11000, and it's literally across the street from me. My home -- the reason why I'm part of this. This is my home, four -unit building. And right here on this vacant lot, they built a five -story building with 10 units. The starting price for rent in that -- on that building is $2,700 a month, and it goes up from there, so that's far from being affordable. My home, I have a -- Chair Hardemon: Would you like to use (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? Mr. Powers: Yeah, I would love to use that. I like these things. No, I won't. I don't want to make you nutty. There you go. Chair Hardemon: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Powers: The other way. All right. So -- I'm sorry. I just have to get -- I have to get myself oriented, gentlemen; pardon me. So, this is my home; it's a four -unit building. I bought it in 1999, and I live there. The five -unit building is -- the five - story building is built right here. They no longer can use this pool, because of the shade, because of the way the building is oriented, and it should never have been built, but there was very little that we could do about it at the time. This building, built `47, and I've owned it since 1999, and my rents are about -- the high end of my rents is $1,300 a month for a thousand square foot apartment. Mr. Kuvin: And in relation to the entire neighborhood, do you know of any other buildings that are that size in this particular (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ? Mr. Powers: No. That's the only one. I think need that. That's the only one that's that size, and I know pretty much -- I'm the one who did the photography for this whole historic district. So I photographed all 548 properties, so I pretty much know them all, including the -- Mr. Kuvin: And as the President of the Palm Grove Association, have you discussed this matter with the residents that attend your meetings? City of Miami Page 117 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Powers: Certainly. As a matter of fact, Mr. Loveland and Rico James both sit on my board and have been long-time members of the homeowners association. We have 62 paid members of that association, which is pretty good for a neighborhood association. We have 548 property owners. And when we went for historic designation, which was a three-year period, to do -- a three-year process -- correct me if I'm wrong, Michael -- we didn't have any dissension, so everybody was on board for this whole neighborhood. It's the largest historic district in the City of Miami. So we had no dissension from anybody when it became a historic district. And that little piece of that T5 was therefor use, not for height. It was never about the height; it was about use, because we had a number of places -- As a matter of fact, where the former Mayor, Diaz, used to show up -- used to come to our meetings for MiMo -- because I was the Vice President of the MiMo District for about three years -- we used to meet at a restaurant. And the reason the T5 was put there was so that restaurant could have parking behind it, because he had a number of residential lots where the houses had been knocked down to put in parking. So that was T5. So there's this area of T5 that runs behind MiMo that has been -- something that I know that Mr. Francisco Garcia knows -- is an anomaly that needs to be addressed, but we never looked at it as (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ever going to be a height issue there. That was always there for use for, you know, restaurants and for parking and therefore, and so forth. Hope that answered your question. Mr. Kuvin: And Mr. Powers, in your meetings, what is the general consensus regarding this particular development that's taking place? Mr. Powers: People aren't happy about it, because there's three or four other locations in the neighborhood where they could do the same thing. Rico has a house right next to him. He could end up with this right next to his house, too, because that's a noncontributing property. There's a number of noncontributing properties that fall into the T5. And once again, I have to tell you -- because one of the arguments is going to be that we haven't sought remedy sooner -- nobody ever knew that that T5 was ever going to be used for anything other than ancillary use; in other words, parking or an extension to one of the buildings that was already there. Height never came into that mix. I know that our -- because Mr. Garcia knows this, because this was always something that we had talked about. I mean, this is not something that's a new topic and -- that the -- that we had brought up. So, I mean, nobody in the neighborhood is interested in having a big building there -- I mean, not that I'm aware of -- that lives there; that lives in the neighborhood, there's nobody that's interested in it. Mr. Kuvin: And do you have any --? Were there some letters that were signed that you wanted to submit? Mr. Powers: Actually, we -- yes, we do. We do have that. These letters are all letters when we went through our historic designation. There is -- how many are here, Alisa? About 300? 250 signatures for a historic designation, so if there's any question about the nature of our historic designation, please let this belie that, because there wasn't. And I'll hand these in for the record. The other thing that -- Go ahead. Mr. Fernandez: No, it's okay. Mr. Powers: The other thing is that -- I want to bring to your attention is that when we did the -- when we came before the HEP Board, the HEP Board did a few things that were a little odd. They tied some of the conditions to their pro -- to the project at 571 to 563, which the owners of 571 also own. The problem was we were never noticed that they were going to be hooking the two of them together for 563, so there's a little bit of a -- there's a problem therefrom a procedural issue, as far as City of Miami Page 118 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 I'm concerned, because essentially -- and I had to make notes. You know that I don't like to use them. I know you know I don't like to use them, but I had to, because we're now giving testimony that can be refuted. So procedural due process was denied. The City has requirements for changing the zoning and the use of property. The application requires providing notice to surrounding homeowners and relevant homeowners associations. No notice was provided that 563 Northeast 67th Street would be discussed at the HEP meeting, or that 571 Northeast 67th Street would be considered in relation to 563. No one was prepared to make any arguments regarding 563. And by the time the property became subject to a debate, public comment had closed, even though that doesn't stop me from saying anything, because I challenged that, and I --that wasn't --I wasn't allowed to speak on it. The two -- number -- the second issue is the agreement departs from the essential requirements of law, because it is vague and calls for future conditions for implementation -- implementing the contract; meaning, what they had proposed and --from the HEP Board. As the developer said repeatedly, the plans were not final, but the plans that the HEP Board based their concessions on are not the actual plans. These plans also still need to be approved by PZAB (Planning, Zoning & Appeals Board). They need -- they include variances for parking and setback. The environmental resource staff still has to approve the safeguarding, removal and replacement of trees. A lot can happen during this process. Who knows what the neighbors will end up living next to? And number three, the agreement also departs from the essential requirements of law, because the concessions obtained regarding the neighboring property at 563 Northeast 67th Street have no public benefit. So it's -- 563 is a contributing historic structure, so nobody could knock it down anyway. All right? So concessions offered at the hearing can become binding and permissible if there is still some benefit to the public at large. The concessions cannot solely benefit the property owner. The developers agreed not to build higher than a T3 on 563 Northeast 67th Street, ostensibly creating a step-down transition from the building proposed for 571 to the rest of the neighborhood, but at 563 was a contributing structure, so we're not gaining anything. They already couldn't do anything there, because it is a contributing structure. This is -- was of no benefit to the public, because there is no chance, absent some extraordinary natural event, of demolishing or building above the contributing structure at 563. It also ignores the transition from 571 to the east side of the development, where there -- no transition is provided between 571 and the two adjacent empty parking lots, and then MiMo. In addition, the agreement provides that the owner retains his TDR rights. So what they did in that meeting was, you get to keep your TDR rights on 563; and you also get to keep your TDR rights for 571, which they're knocking down. So I don't know how you do that, but that's what they said. So the -- so no concession, at all, was made. How can a concession that involves the giving up of nothing be argued to provide public benefit? The truth of these concessions only benefit the developer by allowing them to build what they want on 571 Northeast 67th Street. And that concludes what I have to say about that. Thank you guys for doing that. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. And I will provide these to the Clerk. Chair Hardemon: Counselor, do you have any cross-examination? Mr. Powers: I'm sure he does. Chair Hardemon: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Powers: Oh, okay. So I've been asked to put the petition language into the record. Can I do that? Chair Hardemon: He'll do it for you. Mr. Powers: All right. You get to do that. City of Miami Page 119 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Fernandez: Mr. Chair, I don't have any questions for Mr. Powers. However, I would like a follow-up question to Ms. Cepeda, if that's possible, since she's right there. It's just one brief question. Chair Hardemon: You -- I mean, you had an opportunity to ask her earlier, and you did not. Unless he calls her back, then -- If he calls her back, then I'll give you an opportunity to recross. Mr. Fernandez: Very good Then I would just like to introduce for the record an email to Ms. Cepeda from April -- Chair Hardemon: Can you not do that --? Not just yet. Let's make sure he's finished with what he's doing -- Mr. Fernandez: Absolutely. Chair Hardemon: --and then we'll go there. Do you have any further witnesses that you want to call? Mr. Kuvin: I do not have any further witnesses. Would you like me to defer to opposing counsel? And then he can -- Chair Hardemon: Correct. Mr. Kuvin: -- do his case, and then I can do my closing statements. Chair Hardemon: That's correct. Mr. Kuvin: Thank you. Mr. Fernandez: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: It's your show. Mr. Fernandez: Mr. Chairman, I would just like to introduce for the record an email to Ms. Cepeda, enclosing the four-story solution that I'd like to pass out for you now, and I will explain in just a moment. It's a package of emails -- Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Mr. Fernandez: --between (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Chair Hardemon: Thank you. Mr. Fernandez: Mr. Chair -- I'm sorry. Well, we did provide them, and we provided them also to Arva and we provided them to staff and to you. Mr. Kuvin: Here's a copy of the email ofApril 25 -- Mr. Fernandez: Here you go. Mr. Kuvin: -- and April 26 -- 7th, excuse me. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) email (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? Mr. Fernandez: No, not that. I did -- I made -- emailed the plans to you, the 45 foot solution. City of Miami Page 120 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Kuvin: When? Mr. Fernandez: Well, a couple of days ago. Mr. Kuvin: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). So is the issue moot then? Mr. Fernandez: No, the issue is not moot. The plans have been submitted to staff, and we've communicated them to your clients as a potential solution. In any case, we're going to submit them now -- Mr. Kuvin: Well -- Mr. Fernandez: -- and you've known about it. We've been talking about it for two days, at a minimum. Mr. Kuvin: I would object to anything that has to do with any mentioning of any plans or any updated plans, because, A, " that's not what the appeal is regarding today. The appeal is regarding the plans that were submitted to the HEP Board. That's what our appeal is. And so, I guess opposing counsel (UNINTELLIGIBLE). - Chair Hardemon: Is the appeal to the Certificate of Appropriateness? Is that what the appeal is to? Or is the appeal to the plans? Mr. Fernandez: He's saying -- Chair Hardemon: No. I'm asking you. Is the appeal to --? Mr. Kuvin: From what I understand is that there were additional plans submitted to the HEP Board on May 22, two days ago, regarding this. And then they're now -- Chair Hardemon: No. Mr. Kuvin: -- prepared to argue that those plans are actually -- Chair Hardemon: Counselor, my question to you, is the appeal to the Certificate of Appropriateness for the -- Mr. Kuvin: Correct. Chair Hardemon: -- demolition of the property, or is the appeal to the actual plans that were submitted? Mr. Kuvin: To the Certificate of Appropriateness. Chair Hardemon: And the Certificate of Appropriateness is, then, what we're going to be deciding our question upon then, correct? Mr. Kuvin: Right. Chair Hardemon: Okay. So any additional plans that are submitted go beyond the Certificate of Appropriateness. Would that be true? Mr. Kuvin: Any plans that were submitted would be outside the scope of the Certificate of Appropriateness; that is correct, because the HEP Board never considered those plans. City of Miami Page 121 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: Okay. So -- Mr. Fernandez: I got to object to that entire line of object -- or comment. This is de novo review. Chair Hardemon: It is. Mr. Fernandez: This is a brand-new view, and we can submit anything as a proposed solution in order to reach a compromise, which is what we've attempted to do on several occasions with the appellant. If they want to say that they're not aware of this proposed solution, well, that's fine. We have emails in the record that show that we've been in communication, and we've explained the 45 foot height limitation. The emails say that there's an attachment there. My client has spoken directly with his -- one of his appellants about the 45 foot solution, and come back with a counter offer to us. So we're prepared to speak about this as a compromise. Chair Hardemon: Well, I'll deny his objection, and I'll allow you to move forward. Mr. Fernandez: Thank you. I would just like to go over briefly some of the background, as they did through some of their witnesses. First of all, this property, as you can see from the image on the monitor, is -- Chair Hardemon: I want you to be aware that if you're not putting on witnesses, I don't want you to use this time as a closing argument time. Mr. Fernandez: Okay Chair Hardemon: So if you're putting on -- Mr. Fernandez: Then I will put on a witness. Mr. Lewis. Chair Hardemon: Can you -- counselor, can you give him the microphone, so he has a hand-held microphone? Mr. Kuvin: I gave him a microphone and I kept a microphone. Chair Hardemon: Oh, you have another one. Okay, great. Mr. Fernandez: Mr. Lewis, are --you are the project architect, correct? Dean Lewis: Yes, sir. Mr. Fernandez: And can you briefly explain to the board what your past experience is with the MiMo Historic District and the Palm Grove Historic District, briefly; how many projects, etcetera? Mr. Lewis: We are working and have worked on over a dozen projects in the MiMo District and a number of historic districts in the City; downtown, Flagler, Palm Grove, MiMo, and including the historic Vagabond and others. And this is a particular site that I'd like to move right into. And just to put in parenthesis, I also serve on the -- I co-chair the Urban Development Review Board, so I'm very familiar with urban scale and impact. That's part of our role, compatibility. The HEP Board more than considered this application. It had a couple of months to review it, because, due to technicalities, was returned and continued over vacation time. What you're looking at here is the HEP -approved project, with the height limitation required to the roof at this point of, as you all know, 55 feet. Okay. Now, we have subsequently offered further reduction. As you can see, our proposed project City of Miami Page 122 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 originally was here at 60 feet to the top of the roof deck. The pink zone that you see shaded here represents the entitlement of T5 up to 81 feet. So never, from the beginning to today, did we come in over -bullish; on the contrary, we wanted a project that would fit and comply with its transitionary role between two very difficult zones (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Fernandez: Mr. Lewis, you can refer to the monitor to go over the chronology -- Mr. Lewis: Okay. Mr. Fernandez: -- of changes in the plan. Mr. Lewis: Perfect. Thank you. Thank you, Ben. You have a commercial district here bordering with service, alley, parking, noise, and a lot of bad things you're not happy with to the east. Needless to say, our fagade is not a back facade -- and you'll see that in a minute -- facing MiMo; and with the improvements -- and some of the details that we accommodated allowed us to improve that facade and garner HEP Board's approval, one of which was a suspended garden. Here you can see the cross section through the building and the site. We have (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- Chair Hardemon: If you can -- I gave you the laser so you can stand back from the demonstrative -- Mr. Lewis: Sorry. Thankyou. Chair Hardemon: -- so that you won't block it from the Commissioners. Mr. Lewis: Better. The camera, okay. Mr. Fernandez: Dean, can you specifically go over -- Mr. Lewis: Yes. Okay. Mr. Fernandez: -- the initial submittal, the 30 --? Mr. Lewis: Our initial submittal at 60 feet, as I initiated, okay, 25 percent less than T5 allowed. Then our approval was at 55 feet, which we agreed to, taking out afoot from each level down to 55; 32 percent less than T5 allows. And finally, our proposed project, which I personally put hand-in-hand in Mr. Lowell's possession, and I redrew the project in the meantime in an attempt to reach a compatible compromise with the appellants over the past two months; emails will prove that; documents hand -delivered to staff since April 27 -- Chair Hardemon: Can you --? Mr. Lewis: --originally at April 25. Mr. Fernandez: Mr. Lewis -- Mr. Lewis: And this is that solution here, where we literally dropped the building down an entire story, removing one of the lofts; another focal point I want to remind us of. We're not here doing typical standard flats with side yards facing five feet of - - with windows facing five foot of side yards on either side. Chair Hardemon: Counselor, can you have your witness -- Mr. Lewis: Understand that -- City of Miami Page 123 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: --backup? Mr. Lewis: Okay. Excuse me. Chair Hardemon: I can't see. Mr. Fernandez: Dean, can you explain -- Mr. Lewis: This is the typical -- Mr. Fernandez: -- the setback changes, as well? Mr. Lewis: Right. Two errors in the original testimonies, one of which was, it's a six -story building; it's not a six -story building. It was proposed five and approved at five. We're herein proposing today as a compromise four stories, illustrated here, by removing this loft level in the cross section. Our setbacks are not zero, even though TS authorizes zero side setbacks and zero rear setbacks. We're five on the west, up to level one; and at level one, I set back another 20 feet; another 20 feet, for a total of 27 feet, 9 inches, to offer a very compatible setback here to our historic neighbor. All right? So that's a pretty good compromise. I mean, we're going like this, and now we're going like this. So I have a hard time seeing where this is not being adjusted to its context, and -- Mr. Fernandez: Mr. Lewis. Mr. Lewis: -- let me remind us of this front setback also. We had a three-foot projection allowed by waiver through Miami 21, which enabled us to have a five foot rear setback. We've eliminated that, as suggested by a few, including staff, to zero -- excuse me --two feet on the rear and a full 10 foot setback on the front. And our first story is not devoid of active use. We have an enclosed lobby. We have a reception pedestrian plaza; it's covered; it's open space. Open space is still active use space. And we're aligning even better with our neighbors further to the west over here; as you can see, this setback here next to the historic house and its entry porch. Mr. Fernandez: Mr. Lewis, are you -- Mr. Lewis: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) go into style or (UNINTELLIGIBLE) answer some questions? Mr. Fernandez: -- aware of any other expert architects in this area that are supportive -- Mr. Lewis: Sure. Mr. Fernandez: -- of a 45 foot height to the main roof deck? Mr. Lewis: Yes. We asked a professional opinion of Allan Schulman, who -- Mr. Fernandez: And his letter's in the record now, correct? Mr. Lewis: Yes, sir. Yes, sir, it is. Mr. Fernandez: Thank you. And his opinion is? Mr. Lewis: He fully supports the 45 foot height to the roof deck. City of Miami Page 124 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Kuvin: Can I -- I'd just like to object. Is he going to be offering the opinion of somebody else as an expert -- Mr. Lewis: No. It's in writing right here. Mr. Kuvin: --for this particular project? Mr. Lewis: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) letter. Mr. Kuvin: That would be hearsay. Mr. Fernandez: It's -- he relied on this letter -- Mr. Lewis: Right. Mr. Fernandez: --from an expert that has written many books on MiMo in the area. Chair Hardemon: So -- Mr. Kuvin: I don't have a problem (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Chair Hardemon: -- I'll -- Mr. Kuvin: Will that gentleman be here for me to cross-examine? Chair Hardemon: -- sustain his objection, but if you have in the record -- that you supplanted in the record -- if you have it, you can discuss it at your closing argument. Mr. Kuvin: Okay. Mr. Lewis: Lastly, to remind everybody, we do have a T5 zoning directly to the west; we have T5 zoning all eastward; and T5 zoning, these double lots, northward and southward. We're not on the fringe. We are on the edge of Palm Grove, which is where the height was preferred and recommended to be placed by the Palm Grove appellants, themselves, for many years. And then the last point I'd like to make, and remain available for further questions, is Miami 21 has been in place since 2006, 2006; H years. Chair Hardemon: 2009. Mr. Lewis: 11 years. The -- excuse me -- historic district has been designated 2006 in MiMo; and 2009, Miami 21 came forward. In all that time, even with the 35 foot height limit that came about with extreme objection from the MiMo constituents at that time, I mean, extreme -- and there's written documents in the history. 55 was -- 53, 55 -- Alisa will testify to that. She says, "Well, that train has come and gone. " Well, actually, it's probably the better choice of the two; and many professionals, including DPZ (Duany Plater Zyberk), who wrote Miami 21, originally recommended it. It was a political down -zoning. It was a political decision for certain factors and issues; hence, the TDR mechanism; it came forward, which I helped foster to bring some means back to these historic property owners to recover and restore their buildings. That being said, Palm Grove --back to the point --had 11 plus years to recommend the change in the zoning, modem the T5, or ask for a height restriction across the whole district. They did neither. So I find it entirely disingenuous; particularly this illustration down here, which is totally out of scale, and, you know, it has nothing to do with Miami 21; it doesn't fit required footprint City of Miami Page 125 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 limitations of coverage, height, setbacks, or anything. So you got to take it for what it's worth; an attempt to discredit what we feel is a very appropriate, proportional, and HEP Board -approved, and a panel of professionals' argument of compatibility; hence, the Certificate of Appropriateness that was issued. And we recommend and urge you to uphold the decision of the HEP Board, which is at 55 feet. And if, in exchange, the appellant is willing to accept what is, by far, a very substantial compromise, we still hold to that 45 reduced full -story height, 10 feet lower -- Mr. Fernandez: Thank you. Mr. Lewis: --so long as they allow the building to function properly. Their counter was, "Yeah, we'll give you 45 feet, Mr. Lewis, but that's including everything." Well, buildings don't work that way. Buildings have fire stairs to an accessible living roof terrace. We're entitled to that under Miami 21. We're entitled to an elevator override above a height limit in any location in the City. Height limits are set to the roof deck; then you're allowed parapets; you're allowed up to 20 percent of the roof area to project above that height limit, which we're well within. We're at 12 percent with our two fire stairs and an elevator. The trellis is an architectural feature in the center of the roof that has no visual impact on the immediate street, because you can't even see it; and it's light, it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) air, it's metallic, and it allows for shade, greening, vine growth; everything that activates a roof, so. Mr. Fernandez: Thank you. Mr. Lewis: Let me stand by. Mr. Kuvin: I have some questions (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Fernandez: Sure. Mr. Kuvin: Mr. Lewis? Mr. Lewis: That's a 'yes" answer, I think. Mr. Kuvin: Let me just ask you some questions. Can I borrow the pointer for a second, if you can you come over here? Mr. Lewis: Sure. Mr. Kuvin: Just -- So in -- this is the same picture as this picture right here; is that what you're saying? Mr. Lewis: No. You, perhaps, missed that. Mr. Kuvin: What does this picture represent? Mr. Lewis: This picture represents what was approved by the HEP Board, which has two-story lofts on this level, two-story lofts on this level, and approved at 55 feet to the roof. This -- Mr. Kuvin: Let me just -- let me -- Mr. Lewis: -- illustration -- Mr. Kuvin: That's fine, that's fine, that's fine. Mr. Lewis: -- well, this illustration -- Citv of Miami Page 126 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Kuvin: So let me ask you a question. Chair Hardemon: Let him answer the question. Mr. Kuvin: Let me ask you a question. Mr. Lewis: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was compromised at 45 feet. Mr. Kuvin: Let me ask you a question, please. Chair Hardemon: Counselor -- Mr. Kuvin: So my -- Chair Hardemon: -- counselor, let him finish his response. Sir -- Mr. Kuvin: I -- but the question -- he did, he did. He answered it. And -- when he said, "This was not the same as this." Chair Hardemon: --are you finished with your response? Are you finished? Mr. Lewis: Yes, I think it's clear. That's the HEP Board -approved, and that's our proposed compromise to everybody who it's been circulated to, including Minto, including Palm Grove, Bob Powers personally, Alisa Cepeda personally, as well as the Commission and City staff. Mr. Kuvin: How many floors does this building have? Mr. Lewis: How many floors? Mr. Kuvin: The one that was approved by the HEP Board, how many floors? Mr. Lewis: Five stories. Mr. Kuvin: Five? Mr. Lewis: Five stories to the roof deck, yes, sir. Mr. Kuvin: And does that include the rooftop terrace? Mr. Lewis: You're implying that the -- a rooftop terrace is another story; it's a terrace. It's at your level of feet with a parapet. It's not an additional story. You do have staircases -- two -- required by Code; and an elevator override, also required and approved by Code, in accordance with Miami 21. Mr. Kuvin: And are people able to go up onto the roof area here? Mr. Lewis: Yes, sir. Mr. Kuvin: And so, it's a useable space, right? Mr. Lewis: It's living, useable roof terrace -- Mr. Kuvin: Okay. Mr. Lewis: -- which was highly commended at all levels of (UNINTELLIGIBLE). City of Miami Page 127 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Kuvin: So it's another story? Mr. Lewis: No, it's not another story. Mr. Kuvin: It's another floor, correct? Would you agree with that; it's another floor? Mr. Lewis: It's an accessible roof terrace. I mean, I don't know any other way to put it, sir. Its not another floor. Mr. Kuvin: And when -- Mr. Lewis: Even if I didn't have access to the roof, counselor, I'd have the roof. Mr. Kuvin: How many -- and how many floors are in this building, the one that you're proposing to fix? Mr. Lewis: It's a four-story structure -- Mr. Kuvin: Okay. And does it also -- Mr. Lewis: -- as opposed to five. Mr. Kuvin: -- have a rooftop terrace? Mr. Lewis: Yes, it does. Mr. Kuvin: So it's five stories, right? Mr. Lewis: No. It's four stories, with an accessible roof terrace. I mean -- Mr. Kuvin: And this particular picture, when was this particular drawing authored? When was it authored? Mr. Lewis: That was included in the April 27 transmission of documents to everybody listed previously. Mr. Kuvin: And who sent those documents? Mr. Lewis: I personally delivered them, hand-in-hand, as well as by email, April 25, April 27. Mr. Kuvin: You personally hand -delivered them to whom? I'm sorry. Mr. Lewis: Hand-in-hand to you. Mr. Kuvin: Tome? Mr. Lewis: You received the 24 -- you received the four-story, 45 foot height solution; not this particular rendering. This rendering was -- Mr. Kuvin: That's what we were talking about. Mr. Lewis: -- illustrated -- Yes, but, like I said, April 27, it was circulated to everybody, MiMo side, member -- We have emails in exchange, you know, (UNINTELLIGIBLE). City of Miami Page 128 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Kuvin: Let me just ask you. Let me just -- Mr. Lewis: Sure, please. Mr. Kuvin: -- say. Since we don't want to all be here all night, if I ask a particular question about this picture, please just answer the question about this picture, okay? So -- Mr. Lewis: Yeah, of course. Mr. Kuvin: -- was this picture ever delivered to me? Mr. Lewis: Yes. Mr. Kuvin: When was it? Mr. Lewis: Via your appellant --your client. Mr. Kuvin: And who sent it to me? Mr. Lewis: I did. Mr. Kuvin: No. Wait one second. "To me," meaning my office, the attorney for these appellants. Were they ever delivered to my office? Mr. Fernandez: They were delivered to the City. Mr. Lewis: I don't know. Ben -- I copied Ben on everything and -- Mr. Kuvin: Did you email my office -- Mr. Lewis: -- except correspondence -- Mr. Kuvin: -- with these pictures -- with this picture, sir? Mr. Lewis: No. I'm not in communication with your office. I'm in communication with the appellants. Mr. Kuvin: So the answer would be "No "; you did not email me this picture? Mr. Lewis: That would be correct. Mr. Kuvin: Okay. And do you have an email that shows that this attachment was included in an email to my clients? Mr. Lewis: Yes, of course. Mr. Kuvin: Okay. Can you show me that, please? Is that the email that we're -- that I'm holding in my hand? Mr. Lewis: Let's see. This is the April 25 transmittal, not the April 27. You have an April 27 transmittal as well, which -- Mr. Kuvin: Can I -- do you have a copy of that email? Mr. Lewis: I'm sure we do, yes. Yeah. It was -- City of Miami Page 129 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Fernandez: Yeah. Mr. Lewis: -- the same submittal to the City, also. It's on record (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on the file with the City (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Fernandez: And we -- Mr. Kuvin: That's not what I asked you. I'm asking you if you have a copy of the email. Mr. Lewis: Here's the attachment. Mr. Kuvin: Okay. Well -- Mr. Lewis: Here's a rendering of the front cover. Here's a rendering (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Kuvin: Okay. Mr. Lewis: Here's the roof side. This is the south staircase, as illustrated here. You have the front -- this view perfectly illustrated right there. Mr. Kuvin: So you don't have a copy of the email. You have renderings that you have on your phone. I mean -- Mr. Lewis: This is a copy -- Mr. Kuvin: -- Counsel, you're -- Mr. Lewis: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Kuvin: Let me just ask you a question. Your counsel found it important enough to print out the May 22 email. Is there a reason that you didn't find it important enough to print out the other email that showed that these particular drawings were actually sent to my clients? Mr. Fernandez: I think that's argumentative. He stated that he's met with your client -- Chair Hardemon: Do you have an objection, counselor? Mr. Fernandez: -- to show the renderings. I'm sorry? Chair Hardemon: Do you have an objection -- Mr. Fernandez: I have an objection. Chair Hardemon: -- to this line of questioning? Mr. Fernandez: I believe that's argumentative. Mr. Chair, I would say that that's argumentative. Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman? City of Miami Page 130 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: Well, he's being -- he's not necessarily being argumentative; he's clarifying, so I will not sustain that objection. But do you have any other objection to his line of questioning? Mr. Kuvin: I just want to make absolutely sure, because when my clients get up here and testify that they say they never received these drawings, I just want to make sure that you have the email that shows that you actually sent it to them. Mr. Lewis: Well, we (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Mr. Kuvin: So you don't have it on hand? Mr. Lewis: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I'm sorry. I have a digital proof of the evidence and everybody copied thereof. Commissioner and staff, they're all in possession of the same document. Commissioner Gort: It was submitted to the City. Mr. Lewis: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and it was submitted to the City, MiMo. Mr. Kuvin: Let's move on. Mr. Lewis: Trust me. Mr. Kuvin: I have -- Mr. Lewis: I think we -- Mr. Kuvin: -- I'm holding in my hand -- Mr. Lewis: Yes. Mr. Kuvin: -- what your attorney has handed to me as the HEP -approval letters. Have you seen this before, Mr. Lewis? Mr. Lewis: Yeah, the support letters. Ah, perfect. Yeah, these are all the support letters that I referenced earlier in my testimony that we received in favor of the project; numerous, multiple owners, as well as abutting. Mr. Kuvin: Isn't it true that you -- there's a letter in therefrom a person that resides at 563 Northeast 67th Street? Can you point that letter out to me? Mr. Lewis: Do you want to show me whatyou're (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? Commissioner Gort: May I ask a question? Mr. Kuvin: No, I don't have the letter. I just -- Chair Hardemon: Counselor? Mr. Kuvin: It should be in there. Chair Hardemon: One second, counselor. Commissioner has a question. Mr. Kuvin: I'm sorry. City of Miami Page 131 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Commissioner Gort: My understanding, the plan that was approved by the HEP Board is this one up here, right? Chair Hardemon: No; the one below. Commissioner Gort: The one -- Chair Hardemon: Correct. Mr. Kuvin: This was the one that was approved. Chair Hardemon: Counselor, can you put the -- this rendering -- this demonstrative on this -- can you -- Mr. Kuvin: Yes, sir. Chair Hardemon: -- place this demonstrative on this easel, please? Mr. Lewis: For comparison, yes. Chair Hardemon: Now you can see them side by side. Mr. Lewis: Yes. Thankyou. Commissioner Gort: Which one is the one that was approved during the meeting of the HEP Board? Mr. Lewis: This one. Commissioner Gort: Okay. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: You can continue on with your questioning. Mr. Kuvin: So is there a letter from the next-door neighbor, 563 Northeast 67th Street that was -- that you read into the record at the November 7, 2017 HEP Board hearing? Mr. Lewis: I'm sorry; I don't recall. We have the hard copies here. Mr. Kuvin: Okay. You did -- do you remember reading that into the record on November 7, 2017? Mr. Lewis: I didn't read all the letters, personally. I read a few of them. We have copies -- Mr. Kuvin: Okay. Did you read the one from 563 Northeast 67th Street? Mr. Lewis: Like I said, I can't. -- I-- let me look at the letters and-- I can 't recall. Mr. Kuvin: Did you read the one from next door? Mr. Lewis: Now, there's four next doors. Mr. Kuvin: I'm talking about the one -- Mr. Lewis: To the west, north, south, east and --? City of Miami Page 132 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Kuvin: -- the property right next door, directly west. Mr. Lewis: West. Yes, I think did read --that's Lisa Richberg's letter. Mr. Kuvin: So you did read that one? Mr. Lewis: I think I did put that on the record verbally, as well. Here it is. No, that's Shane Graber, 571. These were submitted, also, to staff. Anyway, is there a question, other than that? Mr. Fernandez: Mr. Chair -- Mr. Kuvin: Did you read the 563 letter? Mr. Fernandez: -- is there a relevance to this questioning about what was done at the HEP Board? It's in the record. Mr. Kuvin: If I could get the answer, I could move ahead I would love to move ahead, but I just need a 'yes " or a "no. If Chair Hardemon: Now -- Mr. Kuvin: You didn't? Chair Hardemon: -- the objection was relevance to the line of questioning. If you can tell me where the line of questioning is going, because if not, I'll be inclined to grant his -- Mr. Kuvin: I'll bring it up in my closing argument; it's not a problem. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Then the motion to relevance is granted. Mr. Kuvin: Does the record reflect that you did read the 563 Northeast -- Mr. Lewis: I thought -- Mr. Kuvin: -- 67th Street into the record? Mr. Lewis: Yes. Mr. Kuvin: And at that particular time, do you remember informing the HEP Board that the person who owned that particular piece of property also owned the piece of property where the building was going to be built? Mr. Lewis: It's actually not the same person. Mr. Kuvin: It's the same entity, though, isn't it? It's -- or a similar entity, right? Mr. Lewis: I think you should pose the question to the owner, who's here, present, because I don't -- Mr. Kuvin: But you were the one that rendered it. Mr. Lewis: -- know all the details of that (UNINTELLIGIBLE). City of Miami Page 133 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Kuvin: And didn't it come up in the next meeting -- and didn't it come up in the January 2 meeting that -- didn't the next-door neighbor own the property, both -- owned both properties, just through an LLC? Mr. Lewis: There's -- yeah. There's an affiliation of ownership, and we didn't hide that. Mr. Kuvin: Okay. But you didn't inform the board that the next-door neighbor was the person that actually owned it? Mr. Lewis: Yes, we actually did. That's why we came -- Mr. Kuvin: In the January 2 (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Lewis: -- to accommodate and accept a compromise in the development and entitlements of this neighbor in the HEP Board approval. I may put that on the record again to remind the Commissioners. "Ownership agreed to not develop this property to its full TS potential in exchange for the approval of this building at 55 feet, which ownership agreed to. " That's also part of the approval. Mr. Kuvin: Would you agree -- Are you familiar with Chapter 23, City ordinances? Mr. Lewis: Yes, I am. Mr. Kuvin: And would you agree that this particular building is in a historic desig -- historically designated neighborhood? Mr. Lewis: Yes. Mr. Kuvin: And would you agree that Chapter 23 would then also have to come into play? Mr. Lewis: Chapter 23 is in play, and that's why we're here. Mr. Kuvin: Okay. So you admit -- Mr. Lewis: That's why we went to the HEP Board. Mr. Kuvin: -- that Chapter 23 is in play here, correct? Chair Hardemon: Asked and answered. Mr. Kuvin: And I have one more question for you here. Mr. Lewis: Sure. Mr. Kuvin: What is the height of this building right here, if you can tell? Do you have any reason to believe that that's not SS feet? Mr. Lewis: Absolutely. That's totally out of scale. Here's why: Right here, we have -- let's assume we have approximately nine, ten feet, floor -to -floor for the abutting three-story building here. Okay? So this is only at the halfway mark. So I would suggest that that's probably closer to six stories than five; but again, it's not to scale. This is Google Maps. It's very hard to work with Google Maps in a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) block. It's a brick -- I already testimonied [sic] on that, if you can -- City of Miami Page 134 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Kuvin: Okay. But, I mean, this is a six -story building, right; this one right here that was approved -- Mr. Lewis: No, it's five stories. Mr. Fernandez: Asked and answered. Mr. Kuvin: -- with a rooftop terrace? Mr. Lewis: It's a five -story building. Mr. Kuvin: Thank you. Nothing -- I don't any (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Lewis: Okay. Chair Hardemon: Counselor, do you have any more witnesses that you'd like to put on? Mr. Fernandez: I would like to put on the owner. Nicholas Richberg: My name is Nicholas Richberg. I reside in Miami. I'm Vice President of Interstate Development Entities. Mr. Fernandez: Nicholas, can you explain for the record, when you purchased the property, you know, why you purchased it? Give me the history of your acquisition, your initial acquisition of the adjacent parcel and your development expectation. Mr. Richberg: Sure. I wasn't expecting to speak today, but I wanted to just dispel the demonizing term, "developer." We are a very small company. We're just a family. And the property next door, the historic property next door, was selected by my wife and I. We actually are very familiar with the Palm Grove neighborhood, and care deeply about it, and that's why we selected that house, and are spending quite a bit of money to restore it. I grew up five blocks away, so I'm very familiar with the neighborhood, and care very much about the neighborhood, and this street in particular. And we wanted to continue to improve the street, which is why we decided to purchase the property next door, because we felt that 67th Street, in particular, was one of the, frankly, uglier streets in Palm Grove. There's -- I remember an email from Mr. Powers some time back, where he actually stated that, himself,• that 67th Street needed quite a bit of improvement. So we decided to -- my wife and my father-in-law and I decided to purchase, also, the property next door, which it's been stated that it's six units; it's not. It's four units. The existing building is four units. It's two one -bedroom units; one two-bedroom unit, and a studio unit. And we're actually trying to create more housing, because this can hold six to eight units, this new compromised building, so we actually could as much as double the available housing. And actually, I'll say just -- we're also very sensitive to the idea of displacing residents. The residents of that building, the long-term residents, had been displaced already by the previous owner, who had bought it as a flip, and he poorly and illegally renovated the units, and displaced it by raising the rents. So those -- the people that are there -- there's only two occupied units at the time, and they're not original unit owners. If we had owned the building, we would have dealt with it very differently; but, unfortunately, the previous owner just displaced those people. Mr. Fernandez: Thank you, Nick. And when you purchased the property, were you aware of the fact that it could be developed for commercial purposes? City of Miami Page 135 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Richberg: It's the reason -- yes; it's the reason that we purchased the property. You know, when you stand on the other side of -- like I said -- the demonic word, "developer, " you realize we don't -- the people who buy the properties don't set the prices for the properties. Properties in the neighborhood are very expensive, and, you know, the way that we justified the purchase price for the property to help beauty the street was understanding the zoning and understanding what we would be able to do in terms of creating additional housing on the space. Mr. Fernandez: And why did you choose not to do commercial when you -- You understood that commercial was one of your options. Mr. Richberg: Sure. Mr. Fernandez: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) commercial on this. It's a -- Mr. Richberg: But actually, because part of the reason the street is so ugly right now is because you have all those -- all of the multi families just have street parking. They've -- head-on parking into all of the buildings. Mr. Fernandez: Did you think residential would be more compatible than commercial? Mr. Richberg: Residential, I thought, would be more compatible. I thought it would be nicer to have a residential building than to have a comm -- I mean, why would anybody prefer a parking lot over this? It's a bizarre parking; that you'd rather have a gravel pit -- Mr. Fernandez: Okay. Thank you. Mr. Richberg: -- in terms of improving the building. Mr. Fernandez: Thank you. Mr. Kuvin: Have you ever met my clients? Mr. Richberg: I have not met them, though -- and actually, I wish that I had, because I know quite a bit of negotiations about this building have gone on. Mr. Kuvin: Have you ever gone to a MiMo Board meeting? Mr. Richberg: Not MiMo, but this building is in Palm Grove; and actually, having owned property in Palm Grove since 2015, I've never been made aware of or been approached by a Palm Grove Neighborhood Association. We were not even aware there is a neighborhood association, except for the fact that Mr. Powers actually supported the project next door, and all we have is just personal disappointment; that maybe he has a personal -- Mr. Kuvin: Have you had -- Mr. Richberg: -- issue that is driving this. Mr. Kuvin: -- have you been to the -- to a Palm Grove meeting, as well? Mr. Richberg: We were never approached by or were aware of any kind of Palm Grove Association. I don't know if they're elected. I don't know what the -- Mr. Kuvin: Any notice? City of Miami Page 136 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Richberg: -- there was -- never been notice to ownership when we purchased in 2014. Nobody -- I don't know who's a member. I don't know anything about it. Mr. Kuvin: Were you aware of the MiMo in Palm Grove (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? Mr. Richberg: I'm aware of MiMo. I'm not aware of any association in Palm Grove. But we're not owners in MiMo, so I would never have been receiving -- Mr. Kuvin: Did you ever reach out to MiMo or Palm Grove and say --? Mr. Richberg: Well, we don't own property in MiMo. Mr. Kuvin: Let me just finish my question, please. Mr. Richberg: Yeah. Mr. Kuvin: Did you ever reach out to them and ask them that you'd like to go to one of their meetings --? Mr. Richberg: I can't reach out to people I'm not aware of, sir. Mr. Kuvin: Are there -- is there -- are there common entities that own the two adjacent properties that --? Mr. Richberg: Yes. As I said, we're a small family that owns a number ofproperties in South Florida, and we own the house next door, which we're renovating, because it's historic; and this building, as well. Mr. Kuvin: So your family owns this property, as well as this property? Mr. Richberg: We own the property -- well, they're associated entities within the company, yes. Mr. Kuvin: How long have you owned both of those properties? Mr. Richberg: The historic property was acquired about three years ago, and this building was acquired about a year ago now. Mr. Kuvin: Thank you very much. Okay, that's it. Chair Hardemon: Any further witnesses? Mr. Fernandez: No further -- Chair Hardemon: Sir? Mr. Kuvin: I'd just like to recall Alisa Cepeda real quick, please. Chair Hardemon: Very limited redirect. Mr. Kuvin: Ms. Cepeda, did you receive an email from anyone on -- recently -- that showed this particular rendition here? Rafael Suarez -Rivas (Senior Assistant City Attorney): I'm sorry; did you respond on the record? City of Miami Page 137 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: She did respond on the record -- Mr. Kuvin: Okay. Chair Hardemon: -- and the record didn't reflect it, because she wasn't behind the microphone. Ms. Cepeda: No. Mr. Kuvin: And have you ever received this rendition? Ms. Cepeda: I -- honestly, I don't believe so, but I honestly can't tell you, because it doesn't have dates, and it doesn't have height markings on it, so that's just a rendering. Mr. Kuvin: The plans are here. And on this particular drawing -- just one more time -- did you offer this drawing? Ms. Cepeda: Yes. Mr. Kuvin: And how do you know that that building is to scale and it shows that it's 55 feet tall? Ms. Cepeda: As I said, it was just something quick done by myself for example purposes. This is not a rendering. This is not -- it is a 55 foot massing. It's just a blank building for example purposes. Chair Hardemon: Is your microphone on? Mr. Kuvin: And do you have any -- Ms. Cepeda: I have it on. Chair Hardemon: The flat -- the button, push it up. Ms. Cepeda: I think we're good now. Thank you. Mr. Kuvin: And do you -- You offered this particular picture, correct? Ms. Cepeda: Yes. Mr. Kuvin: And how did you know that that building was SS feet tall? Ms. Cepeda: I used a basic scale. I measured -- I mean, just -- Mr. Kuvin: And what do you do for a living? Unidentified Speaker: Excuse me -- Ms. Cepeda: I am a project manager. Unidentified Speaker: --we can't hear you. Chair Hardemon: You might have to hold the microphone closer to your mouth. Ms. Cepeda: I am a project manager. City of Miami Page 138 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Kuvin: Sorry? Ms. Cepeda: I'm a project manager. Mr. Kuvin: Okay. That's it. Thank you very much. Mr. Fernandez: Excuse me. I have some for Ms. Cepeda. Mr. Kuvin: He'd like to ask you questions. Mr. Fernandez: Ms. Cepeda, are you saying this evening that you are not aware of our offer to reduce the height of the building to 45 feet to the roof? Ms. Cepeda: I am aware of your offer to reduce. Mr. Fernandez: Are you saying that you learned of that only recently? Ms. Cepeda: I have had numerous conversations up until two Saturdays ago with -- Mr. Kuvin: Yeah, speaking in my office. Ms. Cepeda: --Mr. Lewis. Mr. Fernandez: When did you first learn of the 45-foot-to-the-roofline offer? Ms. Cepeda: The key to what you're saying is, is that it's to the roofline. Unfortunately -- Mr. Fernandez: Well, that is the question. Ms. Cepeda: -- it's not a simple trellis that's on the roof. Mr. Fernandez: Its -- Ms. Cepeda: Its not a simple trellis that's on the roof. Mr. Fernandez: -- not an argumentative question. That's the subject of debate for us. The question is: When did you hear of our offer of 45 feet to the roofline? Ms. Cepeda: Well, I'm not sure, to be quite honest with you, because all I received were things -- hand -drawn things of this nature. So I don't know what to do with things like this, because it's not a full set of plans, so. Mr. Fernandez: Are you the President of the MiMo Association? Ms. Cepeda: I am. I stated that. Mr. Fernandez: Is Ms. Avra Jain one of the members of the board -- Ms. Cepeda: She is a board member. Mr. Fernandez: -- on MiMo? Did she discuss with you our 45 foot offer and our proposed negotiations? Ms. Cepeda: We have not discussed it. It was not discussed at the last meeting. Dean copied her -- City of Miami Page 139 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Fernandez: No. Did you personally discuss it with her? Ms. Cepeda: I have notpersonally discussed it with her. Mr. Kuvin: She just -- Can you allow her to finish, please, Ben? Thanks. Chair Hardemon: That's correct. Ms. Cepeda: I have not personally discussed it with her. She was copied on emails, and she responded to emails from Mr. Lewis. Mr. Fernandez: And did you attend a meeting at Dean Lewis' office where this compromise was discussed personally? Ms. Cepeda: I've attended two meetings at Dean's office. Unidentified Speaker: Here's the email to -- Mr. Fernandez: It's okay, it's okay. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. All right, counselor. I will allow you to have your -- Mr. Kuvin: No, no, I'm -- Ms. Cepeda: Can I say one thing real quick? Mr. Kuvin: Sure. Chair Hardemon: You have a question that you want to ask her? Mr. Kuvin: Do you have anything else you'd like to add? Ms. Cepeda: Yes. I'd like to add two more things, please. We have asked on numerous occasions -- Unidentified Speaker: (UNINTELLIGIBLE.) Chair Hardemon: Can you go to the lectern? That might help you. Ms. Cepeda: I'm sorry; microphone challenges. I've asked on numerous occasions, dating back to November, to speak with ownership. I was told that Mr. Lewis has the power of attorney, and it wasn't necessary, and they did not want to speak to us. We have tried numerous times to reach out to ownership. So him not being aware of us is not our fault. I have asked on both MiMo's -- I asked them to please come to MiMo, and asked them to please come to Palm Grove. We've had Mr. Lewis come to Legion Park and make a presentation where he promised ownership would be there, and they did not come. Chair Hardemon: Thank you. Ms. Cepeda: Thank you. Mr. Lewis: I'd like to say something. Chair Hardemon: No. City of Miami Page 140 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Kuvin: Mr. Powers, please. Chair Hardemon: That's not how this works. Mr. Powers: Yes, sir. Mr. Kuvin: Mr. Powers, I'm going to show you a drawing, and I want to know if you ever received an email or in any way seen this particular drawing before. Mr. Powers: That one I saw at Dean's office. Mr. Kuvin: When did you see this drawing? Mr. Powers: That would have been two Saturdays ago. But it's a drawing. Mr. Lewis: But you saw all the plans, also. Mr. Powers: Well, I -- you know what? It's a drawing. Chair Hardemon: Listen, listen. Mr. Powers: I saw a drawing, and I asked for a set ofplans, and you weren't willing to give them to me. Chair Hardemon: Sir, sir -- Counselor, you need to get control of your witness. Mr. Powers: I'm just saying. I'm just saying. Mr. Kuvin: Did you receive an email from Mr. Lewis or anybody else with these particular drawings orplans (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? Mr. Powers: No, no. They went to Sarah; Sarah and Alisa, I think, got them, but I never -- Mr. Kuvin: How do you know that they got them? Mr. Powers: Well, I don't know what they got, because I never saw them. Mr. Kuvin: Okay, that's it. Thank you very much. Mr. Powers: You're welcome. Chair Hardemon: Is there any cross-examination of him, or was that sufficient? Counsel, any cross-examination? I wouldn't think so. Mr. Kuvin: Did you want to --? Chair Hardemon: No. You closed -- He doesn't want any. Mr. Kuvin: Okay. I'm good. Chair Hardemon: So for you, it's your closing argument. Mr. Kuvin: Please. City of Miami Page 141 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: I'll give you your -- How many minutes did I give you for your opening? Mr. Fernandez: Five. Chair Hardemon: You only took a few. Mr. Kuvin: I just need five. Chair Hardemon: Five minutes. I'll give you five minutes. Mr. Kuvin: There are basically two issues today. The main issue is the massing of the building on the property, and whether it should be allowed. Dean Lewis admitted that Chapter 23 is in play here. We agree that, also, T5 is in play. But you can't reconcile -- you can't allow this particular Certificate of Appropriateness to exist based only on a T5 designation on the particular piece of property. This particular neighborhood was historically designated in 2006, and it was very important for the neighbors, as well as -- you've heard the support and the amount of effort that went in over the three-year period to have it historically designated. Chapter 23 is in play here, and they admit that it is. That's really the reconciliation of what needs to happen by this Commission today; is to say, 'Are we going to allow to just say T5 and not worry about Chapter 23?" Some of the important comments that were made by the board members that voted against the Certificate of Appropriateness are very important, and I'm going to read several of them. Mr. Friedman said, "Members of this board" -- who were on this board in 2009 -- "sat through the intermediately" -- "interminable meetings" -- I'm sorry -- "until midnight to go through hundreds of properties in Palm Grove to give birth to the Historic District. The constant mantra of the residents was, 'We want to protect our neighborhood from encroachment of more tall buildings. "' For that reason, he said, "I cannot support it. " Chair Hopper said, "Yes. That's really, really troubling. Miami 21 notwithstanding, there's no way I could support the intrusion of something so large into a historic district. The project is good, but there is no way I could support the intrusion of something so large into a historic district, Miami 21 and zoning notwithstanding. That's all I have to say; perhaps something has more" -- "someone has more. " Mr. Kali (phonetic) said, "Right. What's interesting about this is that we're setting a precedent here, and this sort of gateway to the neighborhood, because it is the line that runs along parallel to Biscayne Boulevard. It's an important" -- "it's an opportunity with that phase." And what Mr. Kali was talking about was that this is going to set the precedent for the entire neighborhood. "If you are going to allow tall buildings into our neighborhood like this, and this is arguably a six -story building, and they do not disagree, and they agree that it is going to be 55 feet tall -- that's what the Certificate of Appropriateness says -- that you are then going to allow the next property down the street with a non-contributing building on it to be demolished and another building put up and another building, and another building." Mr. Traggis (phonetic) said, "I like your contortion of how you're describing the architecture. This is something you said that has everything that has been done architecturally to keep the building in small scale as possible, and I would argue to the contrary. I would argue the fact that you have -- a two-story volume of space is bulking and building up. The fact that" -- "on that. I guess it's on the west side. You pulled the building back. Your floor plate on the floor plan is 40 percent of the lot. Your floor plate is smaller; only 30 percent of the lot. You could get the same 11,000 square feet in three stories. However, they don't want to build three stories. What they want to do is they want to build a six -story building, which arguably is going to raise the price for everything in that particular neighborhood. These are going to be rental units, and the guesstimate is, is that they will probably be rented out for anywhere from 2,500 to $3, 000 per month." Again, Igo back to Dean Lewis' testimony at the HEP Board hearing, which he said, "This building is City of Miami Page 142 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 designed for high-end rental professionals." We listened to Dr. Paul George tell you about the history of the neighborhood; about who lives in the neighborhood; about what's been going on in the neighborhood. We have teachers living in the neighborhood. Teachers can't afford to live in these buildings. We have young professionals who cannot afford to live in these buildings. This is exactly why my clients are asking that this building be scaled down; that it fit the neighborhood; and that it be proper; and that it not be the monstrosity and built to almost zero lot lines that it is. So we ask you that you overturn this Certificate of Appropriateness; either decide exactly what would be appropriate today, or to remand this back to the HEP Board, with instructions to limit this building in height to 40 feet. Thankyou. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. I have a question for you. On this dais, we fight for people who are of lesser means to be included in developments that are built for people with greater means. My question to you is, do you believe that people with greater means have the right to move in neighborhoods with people with lesser means? Mr. Kuvin: I'm sorry. Do I believe that people who --? Chair Hardemon: People with greater means, greater economic abilities have the right to move into neighborhoods -- Mr. Kuvin: Absolutely. Chair Hardemon: -- that have people with lesser means? Mr. Kuvin: Absolutely. But I believe that they -- and given the HEP Board and some of the statements made by the HEP Board members is that they can get the exact same square footage out of three stories on this particular building. There's no reason that someone who has -- of means needs to move into a neighborhood and to then basically flex your muscles, bully yourself, or maybe put on a larger suit to then take up the space of the person sitting next to you in the seat. Chair Hardemon: Thank you. Mr. Kuvin: Everyone should have their space. Chair Hardemon: Counselor, five minutes. Mr. Fernandez: Thank you. You can see from the image on the --let me just begin the way I began earlier, which is that this is really not about historic preservation. This is an issue about height, and it's a zoning issue. What you've heard today is really about zoning, and we submit to you that when you assess a Certificate of Appropriateness, you have to take into consideration the underlying zoning. You cannot just apply it across the board, over a duplex zone, as you would to a TS zone, such as this. It's understandable that there are going to be some restrictions in place, but this property has been zoned for multifamily T5 use, 65 units to the acre, for over 40 years. Today, it's designated restricted commercial. It's zoned T5 -L. You can see the proximity to the Biscayne Boulevard Corridor. And it's important to maintain some density along the boulevard. You already have restrictions on the boulevard in T6-8, so you'll never be able to achieve a significant density increase there. This T5 -L area between the duplex area and the boulevard was designed to accommodate additional density. If you just take all of the residents out of this principal corridor that you have in our city, you're going to have --force them to go somewhere else. There needs to be a balance. Everything can't be historic, and everything can't remain the way it has been for 40 years. There has to be an evolution, and this application is about that evolution. This is the Zoning Ordinance City of Miami Page 143 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 that was in place before Miami 21, and it designated the property as "O." "O" had an unlimited height. So for years --for over 40 years, the forecast was that this area would develop with increased height. This is the building at 66th Street, not more than 350 feet away; one block away; can see the distance separation here. It's 356 feet, approximately, according to Google Earth. It's -- it is a true six -story building - - six and a half. What we're proposing today is not six stories. What we're proposing today is not five stories. What we're proposing today is a four-story building. We've gone over the reductions and the accommodations that we've submitted to the neighbors. We're at a 45 percent decrease over what would be permitted by right under T5. This is an example of another six -story -plus building that abuts MiMo at 64th Street, existing. This is an example of how T5 is a commonplace zoning transect abutting T3 properties. This is Coconut Grove, near the Metrorail Station. You'll see that it isn't just at the head of a block. Many times, you find T5 -O further in from a block. In the Upper Eastside, off of 79th Street, you find an example of the same compatibility between T5 and T3. In Little Haiti, around --just west of this property on 62nd Street, you find examples of T5 abutting duplex zones throughout that area; and Allapattah, as well; and even Silver Bluff, just down the street, along US 1. You can see the encroachments of T5 along the US I Corridor into T3. And many -- there are many buildings in those areas that co- exist just fine with T3. The project that we proposed to the HEP Board and that was approved was based on design elements from the building immediately across the street; what you see in front of you, here. The octagon window geometry, the corner glass windows, the tan bronze and colored banding, and the decorative linear slots and bands are all design cues that were taken from the area. Of course, we're not going to replicate a two-story building in a T5 zone. There has to be a reasonable expansion, and we think that 45 feet where up to 81 feet could be permitted under the Zoning Code is very reasonable. And finally, I would bring to your attention again a letter from Mr. Allan Schulman, prominent architect in the community and expert on historic preservation in MiMo that states that 45 feet is extremely compatible and appropriate in a T5 -- abutting a T5 -L -- I'm sorry -- in the Palm Grove neighborhood. Unidentified Speaker: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Fernandez: Yes. Also, I'd like to point out that at the hearing in January, there were comments made by some of the members in attendance and some of the appellants that clearly indicate that this is just about height and about down -zoning. Mr. Cruz asked the board to consider a motion to down -zone the property, to take it down to T3, maybe T4. The -- this is really not about preservation; it's about historic prevention. Mr. -- Chair Hardemon: Your time is -- Mr. Fernandez: -- Rowen (phonetic) also indicated -- Chair Hardemon: -- concluded, but I can see where you're going. Mr. Fernandez: You can see where I'm going. It's in the record. Chair Hardemon: Yes. Mr. Fernandez: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: So, first of all, thank you, gentlemen, for putting on the witnesses and the testimony the way that you did. I think it made things go a lot smoother, and the board could understand clearly what is before us. Now, as you stated from the very beginning, this is an appeal from a request for a special Certificate of City of Miami Page 144 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Appropriateness for the demolition of a non-contributing structure and the construction of a new five -story multifamily unit; that was the appeal. I did not hear much of any testimony in regard to the Certificate of Appropriateness for the demolition of a non-contributing structure. Now, the first witness that you put on, you talked about the history of the area, I think, which is all well and good; however, he does not have a -- as was -- The cross-examination shows that he's not an architect. He doesn't have any significant architectural, learned skills that would provide him with the ability to talk about, really, the special Certificate of Appropriateness for the demolition. And what I find to be interesting in the record is that the recommendation of Warren Adams, the Preservation Officer, was actually just a continuance. They -- the staff recommended continuance of the applicant's request as it's found to be inconsistent with Chapter 23, the Preservation Office Historic Design Guidelines and the Secretary of the Interior Standards, and Miami 21 Code. But the recommendation was just simply for a continuance; it wasn't for the denial of the Certificate of Appropriateness for the demolition. Now, the board decided that the Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition should move forward and allow the demolition of this. And the reason I'm talking about this is because that's specifically what this is about; it's about the Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition. This board talks a lot about -- and I'll transition into this whole zoning issue -- that it's somewhat not relevant, really, to what's happening, but I think there's an underlying tone that we probably need to discuss. This board, just earlier today, talked about property rights and how we don't want to trample on people's property rights. And from the testimony that I heard today from the property owner, as well as from the architect, was that this particular parcel is zoned T5 -- T5 -L, I believe. Mr. Fernandez: Correct. Chair Hardemon: T5 -L allows you to go five stories high. The record showed that - - the testimony was that not only is that property, the subject property T5, but the parcel that is also in similar ownership to the -- that'll be to the west of it -- Mr. Fernandez: Correct. Chair Hardemon: --is also T5. Mr. Fernandez: Yes, sir. Chair Hardemon: The property that is to the east of it is -- I can't remember the exact zoning, but it may be -- Mr. Fernandez: T6-8, so it's a more intense zoning. Now, the property to the west of it that is in similar ownership is one that is -- that property is a historic contributing property, which means that they will never probably get a Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition. However, they are allowed to sell the air rights to that property. The property that is the subject property is not contributing; and hence, why the lower board granted the Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition. Now, I find it to be moving that someone who has the property right to develop a parcel of property within his -- if you would -- well, within his right, without asking for any variance or anything of that nature, is willing to make a sacrifice of its height. The first sacrifice that was noted on the record was limiting it to, I believe, five stories. The confusion with the five stories is that when you actually convert it to actual feet, you're limiting the amount of height that you're going in feet, but there's still that five stories. And then, a further compromise is being made to limit it to four stories, to a property that is willing -- that -- and as I understood, the testimony was that, that's 45 percent of its full development capacity. The design of the building is the design of the building; that can change from day to City of Miami Page 145 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 day. The zoning is really what's most important; what the developmental rights are for the zoning. However, as I understand, if this approved and modified, with some conditions, the condition can be that there's a limit of the height at 40 -- at four stories, which is 45 feet tall. Mr. Fernandez: To the roofline. Chair Hardemon: To the roofline. I understand that a terrace can go on top of that roofline, but the actual building will be at 45 feet. Now, when I bring all this together, this is the issue: I've always said that where there's an extremely high building next to a lower structure, such as a single-family home, I never like to see it. I see it in Spring Garden; I've seen it in other places. I fight for it not to happen in other spaces. I'm against it even when it comes to affordable housing. I don't like to forsake property owners with a large building, even for affordable housing, because the person who lives next door does not have the ability, I believe, to really enjoy the privacy in which they previously had it, and the property the way they previously had it, because you built now an eight -story building next to a single-family home. Our zoning, though, especially where they're trying to accomplish a lot of bonuses -- and I've seen that a lot with affordable housing, when bonuses will go higher and higher, and higher. Here, this is not someone who's saying, "I want bonuses." This is not someone who's saying, "I want to go very high. " They're saying -- they're not even saying, "I want to develop to my full developmental capacity." They're saying, "I purchased a property that I want to develop to the zoning. But for a" -- well, not even -- well, "but for an appeal at this point, but they're" -- the Historic Preservation Board, which is supposed to be determining whether or not a property is contributing or non-contributing, whether or not those things are -- I mean, talking about that issue -- that is being now -- being kind of like transformed into a way to trample upon the development rights of something that was actually granted. So had this been a contributing structure and you were trying to appeal the decision of a contributing structure that said that there was a Certificate of -- there was not a Certificate of Appropriateness that was determined for that property, this would be a completely different story, because we would be talking about, "What is --?" -- "Is it contributing? Is it non-contributing?" and discussing it in that realm. But that's not what's happening here. All the testimony that I've heard has all been about zoning and height, and that part is really not what we're here for. Mr. Kuvin: I'd just like -- Chair Hardemon: It's difficult. Mr. Kuvin: Can I just -- Chair Hardemon: Let me finish. It's difficult, because every person that got up that spoke against or for this appeal, I really do respect. But I also believe that where you have a compromise that is being presented, and a property owner is within his right to do what he's asking to do that those are very moving things, because he could develop a higher capacity or structure than he's actually presenting to you now. So what that shows me, that the property owner is acquiescing to the neighborhood, but the neighborhood is abutting an area that is allowing for more intense zoning. So the prop -- the appropriate thing to do if there was something that was appropriate, if -- and I can't tell you how I would vote in the future, but is to -- The fact of the matter is that these properties that are abutting these residential neighborhoods have a higher density usage; and so, you would need to down -zone -- Mr. Kuvin: If I could just say something on that point? And they've talked about 45 feet, and we've discussed 45 feet; however, the problem is, is that where does that 45 feet count? That's basically what this is all about. So -- and -- City of Miami Page 146 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: And as I understand, the 45 feet -- Mr. Kuvin: -- and so -- Chair Hardemon: -- I'm not sure I'm correct, and I'll ask staff about this. The 45 feet would be to develop part of the building. It does not include the terrace; is that correct? Francisco Garcia (Director, Planning): I believe I stipulated thus far it would be to the top of the roof slab. Chair Hardemon: Right. And so, if they were developing the five feet building that was proposed, was -- initially was how many feet? Mr. Fernandez: 60 feet initially. Chair Hardemon: And then it would have been -- that would have been to the roof slab. That means that a terrace would have been above that -- Mr. Fernandez: Correct. Chair Hardemon: -- almost 60 feet; is that correct? Mr. Fernandez: That's correct. Chair Hardemon: Okay. I can't imagine that you would have a terrace that's going to be 20 feet tall. Mr. Kuvin: And -- Chair Hardemon: Oh, I'm sorry. Mr. Kuvin: -- actually, this was discussed today. This was discussed today before this hearing. And what was discussed was (UNINTELLIGIBLE) are we going to this point here at 45 feet, or are we going (UNINTELLIGIBLE) overall building at 45 feet? So, if there is a resolution passed today, I would ask that it would be -- that the overall height that us non -architects, the people who don't have to explain it out to say, "Well, this is this, and then we'll get this, and then we'll get an extra 20 percent on the roof for this, " but then ends up to be 55 feet. So what I would ask is that if there is a resolution today that it would limit the entire height of the building at the top -- at the most top of it to 45 feet. Chair Hardemon: So you're saying -- Mr. Kuvin: And I think that would be a fair compromise. Chair Hardemon: -- the fair compromise would be that the terrace -- I'm sorry. Is it a trellis or a terrace? Mr. Fernandez: Trellis. Chair Hardemon: That the trellis be limited to 45 feet, the top of -- to the top of the trellis? Unidentified Speaker: That's exactly -- City of Miami Page 147 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Fernandez: Yeah. Chair Hardemon: That's exactly -- I understand. Mr. Kuvin: This part would be 45 feet; not this part. And then you get to add on the hair, and you get to add on everything else. Chair Hardemon: I --okay. Mr. Kuvin: Sothis point here. At the highest point of the building would be 45 feet. Chair Hardemon: Now, but the trellis -- and I'm asking this question of -- the trellis would not be the entire length of the building. Mr. Fernandez: Of course not. Chair Hardemon: The trellis would be a small part that is -- certainly, it shouldn't -- I wouldn't think -- and I mean, I'm no architect. I don't pretend to be one on television. And so, I'll ask the question of our staff. Are there design standards for the trellis, and can you explain what they are? Mr. Garcia: There are, sir, and they are typically designed to address this issue. And so, the stipulated design standards are: In order to allow access to the rooftop and presuming that an enclosed staircase or elevator, as the case may be, would have to rise beyond the roof slab, there is a provision of an additional 10 feet to allow for that enclosure; that protrusion beyond the roof slab. That would be for the enclosed area for -- again, either a staircase or an elevator. And there are additional standards that provide for eight feet beyond the roof slab for trellises or any other shading devices, which is what a trellis is. So if that were to be applied to this project and if that were to be reconciled with what I think you've heard the applicants propose, there would be a 45 foot limit to the roof slab. In addition, it might be stipulated that it be four stories so that no additional stories are carved in. But beyond the roof slab, there would be a provision for an additional 10 feet for the enclosure by staircase, if that's the case; an eight foot, at maximum, trellis or shading structure. Mr. Fernandez: Mr. Chair, if I may add -- and, Francisco, you can confirm -- the trellis area, as I understand it, is also limited to no more than 30 percent of the roof area. So we're not talking about a trellis that covers the entire roof. It's a small subset of the roof area, and the way it's designed, it's on the east end of the building, away from the residential neighborhood. So we're really talking about an accessory use you would have on most, you know, urban buildings. Mr. Kuvin: I just want to point out that this (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was the offer that was made prior to this hearing today. Do you remember that (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? Chair Hardemon: Prior to the hearing? Mr. Fernandez: I didn't talk to him about that. Mr. Kuvin: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) offer that was made, 45 feet to the top of the trellis. Mr. Fernandez: No. No, that was not the offer that you made, and I didn't discuss that with you. Mr. Kuvin: You and your client refused to. City of Miami Page 148 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Fernandez: No, I did not. Chair Hardemon: All right. Well, those are not facts that's on the record. So at this point, you know -- would you like to ask questions? Vice Chair Russell: I just -- I do. This -- Chair Hardemon: But I understand that this isn't the -- Well, go ahead. I'll let you. Vice Chair Russell: Just to clarify, because the printed drawing shows 45 at the corner -- the parapet or whatever it is -- the corner of the top of the roof, and 55 at the top of the trellis. But then hand -drawn in is the 45 at the top of the trellis. Mr. Kuvin: That was my offer from my client today before this hearing. Unidentified Speaker: He wrote -- he drew that. Mr. Fernandez: That's their offer. Vice Chair Russell: Oh, you drew that? Okay. Unidentified Speaker: Yeah. Vice Chair Russell: That's what I want to understand. Mr. Kuvin: And that was my offer today -- Mr. Fernandez: That's not our offer. Mr. Kuvin: --to settle. Vice Chair Russell: Got it. That's what I wanted to know. Mr. Kuvin: That was my offer to them to settle. And that was the last drawing that my clients ever received regarding this. We never received the other drawings. Chair Hardemon: So having heard all the facts on the record, having heard all the arguments, you know, I'm certainly satisfied with the explanation that our staff provided regarding the issue in the height, and the offer that was made from the appellee of a 45 foot height limit to the structure; and then, whatever Miami 21 allows; which, as you beautifully described, the eight feet for whatever elevator shaft that there may be, because that's according to the Code; how you bring an elevator up; as well as the eight foot height limit on the trellis. And additionally, beyond the 45 foot height of the structure, but the restriction to four -- it was four living stories - - or living units -- well, not living units, but floors. Mr. Fernandez: Floors. Chair Hardemon: So we don't want you to add an -- additional units to add to the density of the area, but -- and part of the reason I'm willing to do that is because the way that I see it is that there have been a tremendous amount of concessions that were made in something where the applicant actually has a right to do what they're doing. And but for the Historic Environmental Preservation Board, which just -- which is not on the record, but earlier in today's meeting, there was a significant amount of discussion about that board. And here we are with a decision that they made that was actually in favor of the applicant; albeit, it was a very close decision, City of Miami Page 149 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 but it was a decision, nonetheless. And so, what I'm asking as Chairman, is a motion in accordance with what was put on the record; what I stated on the record. Commissioner Reyes: I'll move it. Chair Hardemon: So I'll take that as a motion from Commissioner Reyes. I'll second it as the Chairman. Is there any further discussion about it? And so, to clarify it for the attorneys, that would be a -- it would be a modified -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: For example, you could be -- Chair Hardemon: -- modify -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: -- a motion to -- you're denying the appeal, but, however, you are modifying the special Certificate of Appropriateness that was issued by HEP, and you're modifying it with the following conditions of 45 feet, four stories in height, additional 10 feet for elevator or stairway, as stated; eight foot maximum trellis, not exceeding 30 -- whatever conditions the Commission would want. Chair Hardemon: Well, and I also want to be clear for the record that whatever conditions that the HEP Board placed that I did not say on the record, that they also be -- that they also apply to the applicant. You're recognized, Francisco. Mr. Garcia: Thank you. And may I suggest -- because I believe this is the intent -- that it also be subject to the plans submitted by the original applicant, as presented to you today? Chair Hardemon: Correct. Mr. Suarez -Rivas: That's an excellent point. And hopefully, the plans by Dean Lewis, submitted today, are signed and sealed, and do have a date that Mr. Fernandez can tell us now. Mr. Fernandez: Yes, they do. Chair Hardemon: Are there any other comments from the board? Seeing none, all in approval -- all in favor of the motion, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Hardemon: All against? The motion passes. Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): As amended. Chair Hardemon: As amended. Mr. Suarez -Rivas: As amended. And Mr. -- I just want -- Mr. Fernandez, did you put those plans into the record? Because -- Mr. Fernandez: Yes. Mr. Suarez -Rivas: All right. And they're dated and signed and sealed, and --? Mr. Fernandez: Right. Mr. Suarez -Rivas: Right. And give us a copy, as well, please. City of Miami Page 150 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Fernandez: We will. Chair Hardemon: If you can clear the demonstratives, please, so that we can get ready for the next --? Mr. Fernandez: Thank you. PZ.5 RESOLUTION 3706 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION Department of GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY JAMES ROSENBERG Planning AND OTHERS, AS LISTED ON THE APPEAL LETTER FOR AYES: MORNINGSIDE PARK ("APPELLANTS"), AND NAYS: REVERSING/AFFIRMING OR MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD'S APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OF THE FINAL EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC RESOURCE FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 5215 NORTHEAST 7 AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITH THE FOLIO NUMBER 01-32190230010, ALSO KNOWN AS "MORNINGSIDE PARK." ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0229 MOTION TO: Adopt with Modification(s) RESULT: ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S) MOVER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes NAYS: Russell Note for the Record. A motion was made by Vice Chair Russell, seconded by Commissioner Carollo to deny the appeal filed by James Rosenberg and others, which FAILED by the following votes: AYES: Russell /NOES: Hardemon, Gort, Carollo and Reyes. Note for the Record. Without objection, the City Commission granted intervener status to Tom Domac, pursuant to Section 7.1.4.3(d) of Miami 21, for Item PZ.5. For additional minutes referencing Item PZ.5, please see "Public Comment Period for Planning and Zoning Item(s)." Chair Hardemon: So PZ.5, that wasn't -- I guess you got a dry run on that, so I think we know where we're going. So the appellant -- is there -- who is the appellant for PZ.5? Who is the --? Unidentified Speaker: James Rosenberg is the appellant who signed the agreement. Chair Hardemon: Okay. So the appellant is here? Unidentified Speaker: Yes. City of Miami Page 151 Printed on 0712012018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: And -- well, it's really -- the City is the appellee? Who is the appellee here? Francisco Garcia (Director, Planning): I'm sorry? Chair Hardemon: The City is the appellee? Mr. Garcia: No, sir. Chair Hardemon: No. It's just -- so who --? Mr. Garcia: The Historic & Environmental Preservation Board in this case, but we're certainly happy to provide testimony, as appropriate. Chair Hardemon: So the Historic & Environmental Preservation Board is the appellee? Mr. Garcia: They are the ones who issued the resolution, yes. Chair Hardemon: They sponsored the resolution? Mr. Garcia: That is correct. And -- Chair Hardemon: Are they here? Mr. Garcia: Well, I'll explain briefly. The City -- The City's Preservation Office put forth a designation report, which the Historic & Environmental Preservation Board took and added on to. The appeal before you today is to the designation, as voted on by the HEP (Historic & Environmental Preservation Board) Board, which is not, incidentally, what the City recommended -- the Preservation Office recommended. We are here on behalf of the City to answer any questions pertaining to the merit of the application, the original report, et cetera. And we can also represent to you what the reasoning and the logic of the HEP Board was when they took that decision. We're here to represent them, as well. Chair Hardemon: So you are representing the HEP Board? Mr. Garcia: With the help of the City Attorney's Office; yes, sir. Rafael Suarez -Rivas (Senior Assistant City Attorney): We will assist in the Historic Preservation Officers here, as well as the Director. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Robert Hartsell: Mr. Chairman, Robert Hartsell. We had applied for party status, the neighbor across the street. Chair Hardemon: I don't -- Mr. Hartsell: And we submitted that on the record. Chair Hardemon: When was that submitted on the record? Mr. Hartsell: Probably about two weeks ago. Unidentified Speaker: On behalf of the appellant or --? City of Miami Page 152 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Hartsell: On behalf of the appellee, the City, yes; strange, but, yes. Chair Hardemon: So you live across the street? Mr. Hartsell: Yes. Chair Hardemon: And -- Mr. Hartsell: My client does. Chair Hardemon: -- who is your client? Okay, the well-spoken gentleman from earlier, right. So 60 feet from your fence --from your living room -- Mr. Hartsell: That's abutting. Chair Hardemon: -- that's abutting the park, correct? And so -- and I just want to be clear on the record, so -- Unidentified Speaker: You want a picture? Chair Hardemon: No, I don't need to see a picture. I can picture it in my head, all right? Do you have a fence, or does the -- only the park have a fence? Unidentified Speaker: No, no, no. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Got it. So 60 feet away from this subject property is your client. Mr. Hartsell: Tom Domac. Chair Hardemon: And you want to enter -- to help defend the Historic Preservations [sic] Board's designation? Mr. Hartsell: Yes, Mr. Chair. Chair Hardemon: That's correct. Okay. I think that's pretty clear. I don't think we have to -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: I mean, he's 60 feet -- he clarifies as abutting, and I think that the earlier testimony was to that effect; that he is extremely proximate to the park. And under Renard versus Dade County and other laws, I think that this particular person does qualify; yes, sir. Chair Hardemon: Okay. So I'll allow you to stand in. Mr. Hartsell: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chair Hardemon: All right. Give me one second. I want to -- Elyah Stiers: Mr. Chair -- Chair Hardemon: Yes, sir. Mr. Stiers: -- can I voice an opposition to that, or --? Chair Hardemon: You can, but I think it's pretty clear; but, please. City of Miami Page 153 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Stiers: Well, the -- Chair Hardemon: You may change my mind. Mr. Stiers: -- under the -- Section 7.1.4.3(d), an intervenor shall mean a person whose interests in the proceeding are adversely affected in a manner greater than those of the general public. So in this case, it doesn't necessarily put the intervenors in any different position than the general public. In this regard, they're seeking to intervene in the decision that, by their own admission in the documents they filed with the City Commission, they agree with. So their interests have not been adversely affected, and they have no greater or lesser position than any other member of the general public. Chair Hardemon: Now, I do find it to be interesting that you say that they don't have any interest that is greater or lesser than the general public. That is -- Mr. Stiers: And the general public is represented here today. Chair Hardemon: Counsel, can you tell me how your interest would be greater or lesser affected than the general public? Mr. Hartsell: Sure. That often comes up in land use matters. It would -- Under his definition, his client wouldn't have standing, because if you applied that, their interest is no different than that of the general public, and the general public is the park; then there would be no standing. Typically, that standard comes -- it's very similar to the language of 163-32-15, where they say, "You must have an interest greater than that of the general public. " And, of course, if -- to find that as that interest being -- and I'll give you an example -- that interest being -- You might like football, all right? And -- but you watch it on TV (television). But those people that actually go to the games and spend resources of money and go to the field, buy the jersey, they have an interest that's higher. Okay? That's how the courts have interpreted it. Here, you have an abutting land use owner, which is now -- what your Code is saying -- that's close enough. That's the requirement. This is a person that walks and uses that. Yes, general public can do it. But do they do it? No. He actually does it. What happens to that park affects him, because he can see it. It's 60 feet away from his front window. When he walks out the door and there's a change to that park, he sees it. The general public does not see it when they walk out the park [sic]; that's the difference. Chair Hardemon: How would you respond to that, counselor? Mr. Stiers: Mr. Chair, proximity does not confer the status they're seeking to achieve. Again, they're traveling under the rules that allow landowners to intervene when a municipal act adversely affects their property rights. In this case, the result benefited them, by their own words. They're seeking to intervene in an appeal when they support the original decision. It's just an improper use of this vehicle. This -- the general public is represented here today. We heard comments from the general public. The City HEP Board is represented here today. To allow additional intervenors to pile onto the original decision to, you know, potentially, you know, serve as parties advocating against our appeal -- you know, you're adding parties after the fact. It's like adding plaintiffs after a judgment is rendered. Chair Hardemon: So can you help me? Explain this: He made a comment that you wouldn't have standing if you didn't have some sort -- The way you explained it, he said, "Look, you wouldn't have standing. " Can you address that comment he made? City of Miami Page 154 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Stiers: Well, I have standing as an appellant, a member of the public whose rights are, you know, affected by this park, as any other member of the public could file an appeal of this HEP Board designation. It's a different standard. I'm not traveling under the intervenors code. I'm not traveling under that section; they are - - or attempting to. Chair Hardemon: So -- but my -- but then, my next question -- and I would agree with you there. But when you say that for an intervenor status, they have to have an adverse effect, would you say that the outcome of this could or could not have an adverse effect against his property rights? Mr. Stiers: Well, by their own admission -- again, the documents they filed -- they support the original decision, okay? The HEP Board had hearings. They could have, you know, moved to intervene at that stage. This is after a decision has already been rendered by the HEP Board, which they support, and which they feel, you know, supports their interests. Now that we're at the appellate stage, they're now moving to intervene after the die has already been cast with regard to the decision. Chair Hardemon: So I'll -- certainly, it's interesting. I will tell you, though, that, you know, I'm moved that you would say, "Look, they don't have an adverse effect" -- an adverse interest, really -- 'yet." But I think that's the thing, 'yet." If this doesn't go the way that they want it to go, then they would at that point. Mr. Stiers: Then they would. Chair Hardemon: And so -- but I'll allow them to intervene simply because there could potentially be an adverse effect to the property; even though, right now, as you put it, this is not on the record; this was in public comment that his client stated that there is a benefit to what the HEP Board decision was. So I'll allow it. Mr. Stiers: Very good. Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman -- Chair Hardemon: Yes, sir. Commissioner Carollo: -- I just have one question before we proceed. Chair Hardemon: Yes. Commissioner Carollo: Francisco, does the Planning Department have any position on this? Can you enlighten us in any way on it? Mr. Garcia: Certainly, sir; glad to. The Preservation Office prepared, as required, a report, which it presented to the Historic & Environmental Preservation Board. As described previously, the report presented by the Preservation Office recommended designation of Morningside Park, but did not go as far as the board's designation ultimately did. The board's designation travels beyond the original recommendation in a few particulars, and they'll be described here today. For instance, to give you an example, they included the buildings themselves; whereas, the original report did not do so. So there are significantly discrepancies between the original report presented by the Preservation Ojfice of the Planning Department and the resolution that the HEP Board ultimately adopted. What I had said previously in response to the Chairman's question is that we are prepared to -- both to present the HEP Board's resolution, for it to stand on its own, with its own merits; and the City Attorney's Office, who also represents the City at the HEP Board City of Miami Page 155 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 hearings is here to do so, as well. And beyond that, to the extent that you wish to know what our professional recommendation was at that point in time, we're prepared to do that, as well. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Would it be appropriate, Mr. Assistant City Attorney, if we would make a motion for approval as originally the City's Planning Department presented this? Mr. Suarez -Rivas: It could be as a matter for the Commission to consider since you can modem -- you can affirm what the board did. You can modify it; that is, alter it or change it, and/or, you know, you could reverse it, or whatever. So it would fall within, to me, the modification that you are, for example, going -- adopting the original designation report prepared by staff, as opposed to how the board altered it, for instance. Yes, that's -- Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman, I am willing to make a motion right now to approve the original staffs recommendation, as presented. Chair Hardemon: Well, I think -- well, first -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: And that may -- but you want to -- Chair Hardemon: --first -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: -- a hearing of -- Chair Hardemon: Right. Mr. Suarez -Rivas: --you know. Chair Hardemon: We have to -- because of this -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: Right. Chair Hardemon: -- as a -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: Quasi-judicial hearing. Chair Hardemon: -- an appeal, quasi-judicial -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: -- you need to, you know -- Chair Hardemon: Well, I'll let you say it and then -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: No, no, no. That maybe very well what the Commission wants to do in its wisdom, and it may be very well inappropriate, but you would want to -- Chair Hardemon: Put some facts on the table. Mr. Suarez -Rivas: -- go through the hearing and hear the facts. Commissioner Carollo: And -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: However -- Commissioner Carollo: Absolutely. City of Miami Page 156 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Suarez -Rivas: Right, yeah. Commissioner Carollo: We're not going to vote on it until everybody -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: Yes, yes, correct. Commissioner Carollo: -- express themselves. Mr. Suarez -Rivas: Correct, yes, yes. Commissioner Carollo: Now, if I hear something that -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: Right. Commissioner Carollo: -- could move me to change my mind, then maybe I'll, you know, take back my motion. But -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: Right. No, no, exactly, exactly. Commissioner Carollo: --everything that I read so far -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: No, no, you're -- Commissioner Carollo: -- and what little I've heard -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: No, no, the -- I understand. Thank you. Commissioner Reyes: I have a couple of questions about this, because I heard about the designation. Chair Hardemon: Well, let -- before we ask questions -- Commissioner Reyes: Let -- no, no, but just in order to make sure what it is. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Commissioner Reyes: You see, what it entails, you see. Chair Hardemon: But that's what I'm saying. The thing is this -- Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Chair Hardemon: -- if we allow them to speak -- Commissioner Reyes: Okay, fantastic, fantastic. Chair Hardemon: --they'll put those facts on the table. Commissioner Reyes: Great, great. Chair Hardemon: Right. So -- Commissioner Reyes: Great. Vice Chair Russell: I don't believe that we should second the motion at this point, as it might weaken on appeal. City of Miami Page 157 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: There's no motion. Commissioner Reyes: No motion. Vice Chair Russell: There was a motion. Did he withdraw it? Chair Hardemon: No. I'm just saying there's no motion that's on the floor for us to consider. We want to hear the facts -- Vice Chair Russell: I agree. Chair Hardemon: --presented by the appellant and the appellee. Vice Chair Russell: But I believe there is a motion on the floor. Chair Hardemon: He made a motion. There is no second to the motion in order to consider it -- Vice Chair Russell: That's my point. Chair Hardemon: -- just yet. Commissioner Carollo: There is no motion on the floor right now. Chair Hardemon: Okay. So there's no motion on the floor. Commissioner Reyes: As of now. Chair Hardemon: It's clarified. So this is what we're going to do: The appellant, please take the lectern -- or counsel for the appellant. You are the appellant? James Rosenberg: I am. Chair Hardemon: Right. I need the counsel for the appellant. Mr. Hartsell: I'll serve as counsel for the appellant. Chair Hardemon: Oh, you're not counsel for the appellant? You're just a well- dressed, handsome man that knows the law a little bit. Okay. Commissioner Reyes: Looks like an attorney. Chair Hardemon: So there is no counsel -- I just want to be clear. There's no counsel for the appellant? Mr. Hartsell: I am one of the appellants. Chair Hardemon: You are one of the appellants. Mr. Hartsell: One of the appellants. Chair Hardemon: That is perfectly all right. Mr. Hartsell: -- that happens to be counsel. City of Miami Page 158 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: That is perfectly okay. Okay. So this is what we're going to do: We're going to allow you to have a five-minute opening, all right? You all can share in that if you'd like, and work it out. Mr. Hartsell: Right. Chair Hardemon: And basically, in the opening, what you're doing is telling us what facts you're going to put on the record. You're telling us what decision you're asking us to come to, okay? Then the opposing counsel -- one second. Unidentified Speaker: That's him. Chair Hardemon: I'm sorry, now that -- well -- Unidentified Speaker: We're fine. Chair Hardemon: --no. You intervene. Mr. Rosenberg: Intervenor, yes. Chair Hardemon: Right. You are an intervenor. So as an intervenor, you're going to tell us what you're going to say in your five minutes. You're going to paint the picture of what facts you want to put on the record. You may very well want to call your client to put some facts on the record; and so, that's what you're going to do. During those five minutes, you're just telling us what you -- what the game plan is for; this is what's going to happen, okay? Mr. Stier: Sure. I'm very familiar. Chair Hardemon: Then I'm going to come back to the appellant, and you're going to put facts on the record. You can do that through calling testimony. You can do it yourself. You can put facts on yourself. I'll give you that flexibility, okay? But they're going to be limited to the facts, all right? You're going to put those facts on. Then the appellee is going to do the same thing. The City, of course, you're going to be allowed to be in this process. And then you're going to have a five-minute closing argument, which is telling us, now that we've heard all the facts, this is what you want us to do; and then, you're going to do the same thing. So this shouldn't take us very long at all, as long as we follow the steps, okay? And so, right now, what I'm going to allow you to do -- You have a question? Mr. Stier: Well, Mr. Chair, I just want to make sure that in the course of -- Chair Hardemon: Can you speak into the microphone? Commissioner Gort: You got to speak in the mike. Mr. Stiers: I'm sorry. Mr. Chair, I just wanted to make sure that in the course of presenting our case, our appeal, we have other folks who are going to speak. There's -- we've broken down our case into different sections, but we will certainly try to move things along as quickly as possible. Chair Hardemon: I'll allow you to do that. Mr. Stiers: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: In your case in chief, you'll be able to do that. City of Miami Page 159 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Stiers: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Okay? It's just the same as you calling on witnesses. You don't have an attorney representing you, so I'll give you the flexibility to kind of put the information on. But if you -- you're taking too long, you're going too far, you know, I'm going to move you along. Understood? Mr. Rosenberg: Understood. Chair Hardemon: Opening statement. Mr. Hartsell: Oh, Mr. Chairman, I had one question about your directions. The appellee here -- or the appellant here is James Rosenberg. I don't believe that's James Rosenberg. Mr. Rosenberg: I am James Rosenberg. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. But he can't be represented by an individual under Florida Bar rules. Chair Hardemon: No. So he's not being represented by the individual. I'm going to allow him as -- I'm going to let him -- he is the appellant. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. Chair Hardemon: Right? So what I'm saying is that he can put on information. He may want to call witnesses. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. Chair Hardemon: I'm going to let him call witnesses to help support his case. Mr. Hartsell: Absolutely. Chair Hardemon: And that's -- I think that's fair. Mr. Hartsell: That's appropriate, yes. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Thank you very much. Mr. Rosenberg: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chair Hardemon: You're very welcome. Mr. Rosenberg: So I am James Rosenberg, so I appreciate it. Chair Hardemon: Glad to meet you. Mr. Rosenberg: So I can make the argument very, very simply. The argument today is not about whether historic designation is good or bad; that is not why we are here. This is not about whether the loop road is good or bad; whether maintaining, repairing a pool is good or bad. The appellants are here because we have an issue with the process by which the City and the Historic Designation Board arrived at the conclusion that it did. So we are exclusively and solely focused on the process. You can be in favor of the concept of historic designation and vote to approve the appeal. So I'll just repeat that. You can be in favor of historic designation and approve the appeal based upon the arguments that our team will set forth about the process that City of Miami Page 160 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 was conducted to arrive here. First and foremost, we believe there was a failure to engage in a transparent and open process; that the designation decision was achieved in haste, and that there was no proactive outreach to the community to engage as many stakeholders as possible before arriving at the conclusion that was made; number two, there was lack of adequate consideration to sea level rise. We've seen no evidence in the process of reaching out to all the expertise within the City and outside as part of the decision-making process in arriving at its conclusion; three, we believe there are significant failures in the merit of the historic significance of some of the things that they have noted in their decision; fourth, that the decision, in and of itself, will lead to wasteful use of dollars applied to buildings designated historic that we will support that do not have historic significance; and fifth, that the historic designation, in and of itself, has not taken adequate consideration of public safety. So again, to conclude, this is not about whether historic designation is good or bad. And the opponents will come and they will share why historic designation is so good; why the loop road is great; why reparation of the pool is great. And those opinions are good opinions or bad opinions. And they are opinions, but they are not relevant to this case. Our case is exclusively and solely focused on the process that was arrived, and it's our argument that you should vote to approve the appeal. Let's restart and start the process again in a way that could be done more thoroughly and more comprehensively. Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir. Mr. Hartsell: Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, I think I can -- looking at that argument from a lens, I think I can break it down into two things. They're arguing about the process; whether they had due process. And I think that our evidence is going to show that the City has been engaged since 2014; that the historians have been engaged since 2014; that Morningside, the neighborhood district, has been a historic district -- the first neighborhood historic district in the City of Miami, okay; that that is parcel -- the park is part and parcel of that historic neighborhood. And, in fact, they're working on moving the south side of that Morningside neighborhood into an historic district. It would make one combined bunch of -- one combined unit of historic relevance. Okay? This has been going on since 2014, and the evidence will show that you had not only one -- there's a process -- HEP Board meeting, but two HEP Board meetings; both of them duly noticed. They have to be duly noticed. My client received notice, written notice. Mr. Rosenberg received written, as required by law. Mr. Rosenberg didn't appear to either one of those meetings; didn't bother. So if he's interested and wanted to be part of the process, he should have showed up, and perhaps he could have convinced the HEP Board of his plight. Then if you look at the rest of these, these are not considerations. Sea level rise is not -- not -- a criteria under the HEP Board approval. It's not something the HEP Board is allowed to consider when they do it; they can consider it later. What we're doing here with the HEP Board is once it's historically designated, it doesn't pull the parcel off the map and say, "You can't do anything. " As testified earlier by Mr. Cruz during his public comment, there is nothing to stop this HEP Board from approving flood prevention or crime prevention or buildings, and if something needs to be done, all it is, is giving it an extra tier of protection because of its historic sensitivity. Now, your witnesses will testify -- the City will testify that that's true. This is just a level of protection. It's nothing -- if they want to change the loop road or if they want to change the pool and it turns out the pool can't be rebuilt, and they need to move it or take it out, that can happen. It just needs to go through the extra layer of protection, because of its historic significance. So when this Commission is looking at this and looking at the competent substantial evidence, we're not looking at process. We've already dealt with the due process issue and how it was done. When you look at the merits of this case, you look at the criteria that's required. That criteria is spelled out in the staff report; the City will testify to it. That criteria is met, and that's the only thing that we're here to determine; that they meet the City of Miami Page 161 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 criteria; that they have substantial, competent evidence. And you'll hear from Dr. Paul George that says -- that wrote the initial report; he gave it to the City; the City rewrote the report. And they all came to the same determination that this is an important site; that this has historic -- high, substantial historic relevance. If you look at the rest of these, two, three, four and five are irrelevant to what we're discussing. They're not criteria that should be considered by you or the HEP Board. These are criteria that come later, when they go through zoning or building permits, and that type of thing, when they go to change the site. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. Mr. Garcia, now, who are you going to be presenting first? Are you presenting from the Historic Preservation Board first or are you going to present it from the City's perspective first? Mr. Garcia: I would suggest that it would be appropriate first to fulfill our role in terms of representing the appellee, the Historic & Environmental Preservation Board, by sharing with you the exact text of the resolution of the HEP Board and its findings, and then perhaps entertain further questions regarding some discrepancies between the report presented by the City and the action taken by the HEP Board. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Warren Adams (Department of Planning): Good evening. Warren Adams, Preservation Officer. And this was the resolution, as approved by the Historic Preservation Board: A resolution of the Miami Historic & Environmental Preservation Board, pursuant to Section 23-4 of the City Code of Ordinances, approving the final evaluation of local designation as a historic resource for a property located at approximately 5215 Northeast 7th Avenue, Miami, Florida, with the Folio Number 0132190230010, also known as Morningside Park; attaching and incorporating herein the final evaluation of local designation report as Exhibit "A"; further incorporating the findings in the analysis attached and incorporated herein as Exhibit "B, " as amended. One: The paragraph from the final evaluation for designation report found on Page 14, Sub -Section 6, having the language as to why the building should not be designated would be deleted. Two: The paragraph from the final evaluation for designation report, found on Page 15, Sub -Section 7, second paragraph that makes reference to evaluating the consequences of flooding and sea level rise, and the Parks Department not being required to make it sea level or flooding changes, subject to review by the HEP would be deleted; the result being that any future planning with regards to the site, the buildings and the roadways will all come back to the HER Three: The definition of "buildings to be designated" would be buildings dating from the 1950s, including the swimming pool. So, effectively, what that means would really be that any alterations to the park, whether it's the buildings, the landscape design, or the flooding works would all have to be reviewed by the Historic Preservation Board. Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir. From the staff perspective? Mr. Adams: Sorry? Chair Hardemon: No. I'm talking to staff now. Francisco or --? Mr. Garcia: At this time, I would yield to the City Attorney's Office in case they feel that any additional information should be provided to further substantiate the actions taken by the HEP Board. Chair Hardemon: Well, this is opening statement. He really put on evidence, I mean, but, you know, I take what I got. But I just want to know, is there -- I want to City of Miami Page 162 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 know from your perspective, from the Planning Department, what it is that you expect to say with -- in regard to this appeal. Mr. Garcia: Well, this is certainly, as you well know, a de novo hearing for your consideration. What I would very much like to do -- and I suggest to you, unless I'm told otherwise by the City Attorney's Office -- that there is no incongruity between the two. We are respectful of the HEP Board's decision, as appropriate, but we would also like to put into the record what our original recommendation was, and the reasoning for it, if you'll allow it. Chair Hardemon: Right. If you could -- Mr. Suarez -Rivas: This is a de novo hearing. The Commission can certainly hear both matters; articulation of the HEP decision and any staff difference or staff recommendation from the HEP decision. He is a professional. He's an expert in historic preservation. Chair Hardemon: Right. But the preservation -- you have a -- you all had a different staff. Francisco Garcia, you had a different position than the HEP Board and what the HEP Board took, so I want you to tell us what it is that you're going to tell us later about that position. Mr. Garcia: And that is what Mr. Warren Adams -- Chair Hardemon: You're going to use him to do that? Mr. Garcia: Precisely, because it is he who authored, in the end, the report that was presented to the HEP Board by the City. Chair Hardemon: Got it. Please, sir. Mr. Adams: Okay. Chair Hardemon: So now you have a different -- you're wearing a different hat. Mr. Adams: Yes. The original -- Chair Hardemon: What hat are you wearing now? Mr. Adams: Yes. The original recommendation report stated Morningside is a public park space that serves the Upper Eastside community. Any work undertaken to the significant features of the landscape plan, including the curvilinear circulation system, the tidal wake, the canal and the palmentum, and any work that affects the canopy trees or specimen trees; any work that is undertaken to the seawall constructed from the house and hotel caudal of blocks, and any new construction that may have an impact on the original landscape plan will be subject to review by the Preservation Office. Any work undertaken to the structures, the playground equipment or recreational elements will not be subject to review by the Preservation Office due to serious concerns regarding the increased risk of flooding to the site and buildings, as outlined in information provided by the Parks and Recreation Department, and the potential future loss of the park; any flood prevention work undertaken will not be subject to review by the Preservation Office unless it substantially affects the original landscape plan. So my recommendation was based on the fact that it was the landscape plan, and the way out of the park that was significant; whereas, the individual buildings, which appear to be standard municipal and park -type buildings would not be designated. The most important building there was the two-story cabana building and the swimming pool, which had City of Miami Page 163 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 long since been demolished. Newer buildings have been introduced into it. Some of the existing historic buildings have been altered. And we've also found that the 1950s buildings from this park are almost identical to buildings that are found in Virrick Park and Riverside Park. This suggests that these buildings were a standard municipal -type building, which the City put into parks, and not specifically designed for inclusion in the landscape of Morningside Park. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. So at this point, I'll allow the case in chief. So, please, sir; you can begin. Mr. Stiers: Thank you. Members of the City Commission, thank you very much. My name is Eli Stiers. I'm an attorney at my own firm, Stiers Law P.A. (Professional Association), in downtown Miami. I reside at 509 Northeast 57th Street, in Miami. I -- currently the vice president of the Morningside Civic Association, and the chair of the City's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. But I am here in my individual capacity as a resident of the Morningside community, where my wife and I live with our two sons in the City and we are very proud residents of the City and we are invested in its future, and we care very much about this park and its future. Let me begin by setting the stage for the legal basis for our appeal. As Commissioners can see --first like to address the failure to engage in a transparent and open process in which this designation was achieved. The merits of the designation will be addressed later; I just want to stick to process. Our appeal evolves -- by the HEP Board -- evolves from an abuse of power by the HEP Board, and our opposition centers on a lack of transparency in the process by which Morningside Park was designated as historic. This overreach was particularly notable in that it occurred in direct contrast with the open and transparent process by which our City Parks Department had stewarded efforts to improve this park by developing a general plan. The process had begun many months ago, and had involved multiple public meetings, various stakeholders, including not just the Morningside community, but other residents in other communities; park planners; engineers; sea level rise and resilience experts; the Capital Improvements Department, et cetera. Unfortunately, the Parks general plan process, which was years in the making, was short-circuited when a small group of outspoken historic preservationists, well known in the City took it -- and well known in our neighborhood -- took it upon themselves to distort the historic designation process, and use it as a weapon to further their agenda, excluding the will of the people, and handcuffing the City's ability to provide the best possible park for the residents of Miami; and I mean all residents, not just Morningside residents. So addressing notice, in my reading of the City Code -- and counsel's statement was correct; notice was technically given in this case. The HEP Board did comply with the notice requirements. But we would argue that those notice requirements are woefully inadequate for a large city asset, like this park; a 42 -acre waterfront park that is used by hundreds of thousands of Miamians. Section 23-4 provides that proposals for designation may be made to the board by any one of its members, the Mayor, the City Manager, resolution of the Planning, Zoning & Appeals Board, resolution of the City Commission, the property owner, resolution of the County Historic Preservation Board; resolution of any organization that has been registered non-profit corporation in the State for at least five years, and with a recognized interest in historic preservation, or the Preservation Officer. In this case, designation was proposed by Dr. William Hopper, chairman of the HEP Board; and, as it so happens, a Morningside resident. Dr. Hopper was assisted in his effort by fellow Morningside resident Elvis Cruz, who gathered, by his count, signatures, hundreds of signatures on a petition. I believe they said that they have 2,100 signatures now on the petition. But I urge the Commission to look at this petition, because it has many problems. You'll see signatures from not just non -Miamians, but non -Floridians on this petition. But armed with only this petition, with no further inquiry, and a report from Paul George -- the significance of which will be addressed by my colleague, Mr. Holtzman -- the HEP Board engaged in the bare City of Miami Page 164 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 minimum of public notice, and I mean the bare minimum. They convened a meeting in a way that is, unfortunately, permitted under the Code. Notification requires only 10 days prior to the meeting; at which the board will consider the preliminary evaluation, the owner -- which, in this case, is the City -- shall be notified by certified mail of the board's intent to consider the preliminary evaluation of the property. And that was achieved in this case, and on October 3, 2017, the HEP Board voted unanimously to approve preliminary designation of this city park, this city asset. Now, as most of you know, when the HEP Board grants preliminary designation, it is a fait accompli in most circumstances, and they eventually almost always vote for final designation. Thereafter, on January 2, 2018, a second meeting was heard, and preliminary designation was approved at a time when many were on holiday vacation, January 2. The final vote was held to designate the park as historic, essentially rendering all future control over this park to the HEP Board. At this final meeting, the City's Parks Director, Kevin Kirwin -- who is here today, and you could ask him -- told the HEP Board that there was no rush to designate; that to follow the Parks Department general plan, and allow it to catch up, because it was already months in development at this point in time. Director Kirwin also urged caution to address sea level rise considerations. Those recommendations were ignored by the HEP Board. The City's Preservation Officer, Mr. Adams, spoke as to his recommendations. He recommended that the park be designated historic, but not the structures themselves. That recommendation was ignored, as well. At this final public hearing, public commentary was taken, and opposition and supporters were evenly split; nevertheless, designation was not postponed, and the recommendations to proceed in a thoughtful and collaborative manner, taking into account the legitimate concerns of all stakeholders were ignored by the HEP Board, and the conditions proposed by Mr. Adams were rejected. The resolution, as amended, as just read into the record, designated both the park and the structures -- many of which were built in the 1980s/1990s -- recommended that these structures be designated as historic, and recommended that any changes to the park borne out of sea level rise or flood control would also be subject to final decision and overview by the HEP Board. So throughout this process and leading up to this final vote, there was zero outreach in the community by the HEP Board to the community of Morningside or to any other Miami community, for that -- to that point -- regarding its intentions to designate this public resource as historic. Mr. Hartsell: Could I just object for a second? I think we're in a narrative, and this is all hearsay; that this is -- he's -- has -- he's got to have a witness to testify to what was going on -- Mr. Stiers: I believe -- Mr. Hartsell: -- and this was not -- Vice Chair Russell: I'll overrule it. It's okay for him to say this. Mr. Stiers: Okay. My -- I believe the Chair did say that I could introduce evidence myself, so. And there was also zero notice given to the Morningside community by Mr. Elvis Cruz, who was acting as the president of the Morningside Civic Association at that time, unfortunately, and did not let his neighbors know that this was coming before the HEP Board. So while the HEP Board technically met procedural notification requirements, there was this rush to secure designation over a three-month period of time that met the letter of the law, but not the spirit of the law. As you know, a historic district, the designation of a neighborhood, multiple homes, the Code requires far greater notice. The Code requires that there actually be outreach. The Code states that the HEP Board shall conduct outreach involving all relevant homeowners; both ascertaining their level of support by resolution or vote. The Code also states that the HEP Board, in consideration of designating a City of Miami Page 165 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 neighborhood as a historic district shall publish notice by first-class mail and by published notice. We would submit that notice requirements for a 42 -acre public park which affects hundreds of thousands of Miamians living with -- within just a few miles -- demands far more notice than that which is required for a single residential structure or building project, which is essentially the notice requirements that were complied with in this case. We would thus liken designation of this city park to designation of a historic neighborhood or district, requiring far greater notice and outreach than was actually technically required in this case. We found it ironic that the appellants -- as the appellants, we had to give more notice on our appeal than they --the HEP Board had to give for designation. We had to mail out notice to all residents within 500 feet of the park; and the City had to notice everyone in Morningside, as well. And we are the ones directly affected by their actions. So going forward, the City Commission should consider amending this portion of the Code for assets like parks, because current requirements -- simply inadequate. In addition -- and most alarmingly -- the HEP Board's overreach occurred without consultation among the many other City agencies and stakeholders with viable interests in deciding this park's future. For example, there was no notification given by the HEP Board to the Parks Advisory Board, of which I am the chair, and whose purpose is to provide oversight recommendations and review over City parks. There was no notification given by the HEP Board to the Workforce Advisory Board, as mentioned by Mr. Wernick, who was chair of that board at the time, whose purpose is to review and make recommendations to the City Commission regarding waterfront issues; and specifically, waterfront land owned by the City, such as this park. There was no notification given by the HEP Board to the Sea Level Rise Committee, which clearly has a role in making recommendations to the City Commission regarding City -owned land at risk to sea level rise. In contrast to this process is the Parks Department, which again had begun a collaborative process in consultation with residents, stakeholders, and professionals in design engineering, sea level rise, et cetera. So we have the HEP Board essentially operating in a silo, ignoring or outright disregarding input and advice from City officials, residents and professionals with expertise; and many stakeholders, who can enrich this process, and who have a legitimate stake in the future of this park. The reasons are obvious; this was a strategic move to railroad designation through as quickly as possible. Before anyone could realize what had happened, the train had already left the station. Given these recent actions taken by the board, do we want the HEP Board being the ultimate arbiter of what is best for City parks in this community? Do we want the HEP Board deciding the future uses of this park; not just the design, but the uses? Do we want the HEP Board making decisions with regard to sea level rise, sea level rise mitigation or shoreline hardening of this park or other City assets? And perhaps most importantly, do we want the HEP Board to have the ability to force the City to spend millions of dollars -- of tax dollars -- to rehabilitate historic structures with limited historic value when the City has so many other pressing needs, including transportation, affordable housing, et cetera? This is far too much power to give to this board, and there is potential for the creation of a slippery slope if this designation specifically is upheld. You can ensure that a designation frenzy will be upon the City if we signal to the HEP Board and their historic preservationist allies that they can easily and clandestinely seize control of City assets in this fashion. Indeed, you can already see this history repeating itself with the recent attempt to designate the south side of our neighborhood as historic by the HEP Board; again, with very little notice. So, you know, I reference the fact that we have neighbors who have taken this on -- and I don't mean to pick on my neighbors. They are my neighbors, and Mr. Cruz, specifically, I admire his passion. He's an advocate; many issues that he and I agree on. But I use him as a symbol to caution other communities when the HEP Board acts at the behest of one individual, or one small group of individuals, without taking into account everyone's interest. Many of us have jobs, we have families, we have young children, we have obligations. Should we be forced to police the HEP Board to find out if what they are doing is affecting City of Miami Page 166 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 our community? So in conclusion, the appellants believe that the HEP Board has overreached and abused their power; or at the very least, are being bad stewards of the power they've been given by this community and by this board. The HEP Board should not be used as a weapon to stifle improvement of our precious City parks and resources. Unlike the HEP Board, we seek to engage in a transparent and open process. We seek to empower the Parks Department and the various City agencies and professionals to engage in a collaborative process to ensure not just that Morningside Park is improved, but that it is still there in 50 years. I seem to have lost my -- there we go. I'd like to show, for example, the fantastic work that's been done by our Parks Department under current Director Kevin Kirwin's stewardship. Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Stiers -- Mr. Stiers: Regatta Park -- Vice Chair Russell: I'm sorry, Mr. Stiers. Mr. Stiers: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: If we could go back just a little bit, because before we get into this next phase of -- Mr. Stiers: Sure. Vice Chair Russell: -- your discussion, I wanted to get very clearly for this board what you feel is the process violation to the Code, because I heard a lot of how the Code should change or what is -- may not be fair or might be too powerful, or might not be high enough of notification, but of the existing Code on which is the limit of what we are able to make a decision on today, what violation was made in the notification process and the outreach process? Mr. Stiers: So, Commissioner, I believe I stated that I do feel that they complied with the letter of the law, but not the spirit. And my appeal is to equity. What they have done is they've violated fairness in the notice requirements. They have treated this 42 -acre waterfront park that is enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of Miamians with the same notice requirement that you would -- that would be required for a single residential structure or a building, as we recently saw in the previous item. So the notice requirement should be heightened. There should be more outreach. There should be more that is required and asked by this HEP Board, because two meetings with no public outreach is simply inadequate and insufficient for an asset of this size and this importance. Vice Chair Russell: Okay. And I may agree with you there on notice changes that need to be made in the City, honestly. People feel that things surprise them all the time. But what I just wanted to get on the record here is whether or not there truly was a process violation, and it doesn't seem that you are alleging that there was an actual technical process violation. Mr. Stiers: I cannot make that statement. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. And so, please continue with -- Mr. Stiers: Yes, sir. Vice Chair Russell: -- the other points to your case. City of Miami Page 167 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Stiers: So I just wanted to show the fantastic work that's being done by our Parks Department by Director Kirwin, under his stewardship. And many of this -- these projects have come before the Parks Advisory Board. Here's Regatta Park, another Bayfront City park; beautiful work that's been done there. Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Park, its beautiful new playground; Gibson Park, its new swimming pool and community center. We are looking to empower the Parks Department to take the reins in deciding the future of Morningside Park; not the HEP Board. We see these efforts, and we trust the process. We trust the City to make this park the best it could be for everyone. And more importantly, we seek to have the community engaged in this process; to have full-throated participation by all residents so that we get a park that serves the needs of Twenty -First Century Miami, because right now, we have a park that is -- serves the needs of a 1953 city, which is when it was built; different needs, different times. We may disagree with those that favor historic designation of the park, and we recognize that they have a seat at the table, too, and they demand to be heard, and they demand to have a seat at the table in this process, and we're hopeful that whatever is decided by the Parks Department and whatever is achieved for the future of this park that it preserves its historic character, but also improves upon it. And we're going to show you a rendering that we have done at our own expense. It's an idea as to what this park could be in the future. It's not "the" idea; it's not our recommendation. It's just a suggestion. We never got to that point. We were never shown options as to what the potential for this park could be, and we will never be shown those options right now, because the City has been hamstrung. They've been shackled by the constraints of the HEP Board. Mr. Hartsell: Object to this point on relevance. We're now at a point where we're looking at other parks. We're discussing something they drew up, which was not drawn up by the City, or even consideration, and what we're supposed to be determining here is a single point. We've already got past whether they had process. It's whether the designation meets the criteria. This is not part of the criteria. Whether they have potential drawings are not part of the criteria. If we go into that, you know, I think we're more comfortable there, or we'll be here all night. Vice Chair Russell: That is true; it's a fair assessment. I'm kind of curious myself, but the Parks Department also has plans and designs and things. So the question is whether or not historic designation is precluding these things from happening. And, of course, despite designation, any proposal can come back to the HEP Board for a Certificate of Appropriateness to alter any historic structure, and they could grant or deny that. But I -- you know, for the sake of potential appeal, or who knows what, I'll allow it. I would like to see the recommendation of what you're suggesting, and I -- please, this is indulgence, because this is getting to be a very long day, and we have a whole other park to deal with. Mr. Stiers: Understood, Commissioner, and thank you for your indulgence. I would just also like to just put on the record, before I forget. I'd like a standing objection to any comments by the intervenors. I mean, I think I voiced my opposition before, but I want to continue -- I don't want to object every time their attorney comes up and speaks, but, you know, we object to their involvement in this process, and I'd just like a standing objection, just for the record. Vice Chair Russell: That was noted. That was noted. Mr. Stiers: Thank you. Thank you. So I'll conclude. And just to address your point specifically, Commissioner, by saddling the City's Parks Department with -- and not just the Parks Department -- sea level rise, resilience concerns, capital improvements -- by saddling them all with historic designation at this time, before the project is shovel ready, before anything's been finalized, you're adding layers of City of Miami Page 168 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 bureaucracy. And the folks who drove this train are notorious for filing lawsuits every time the HEP Board does not act in a way that they agree with, or further their agenda. So that's my response to that point, as to whether HEP Board designation has any effect on changes to the park. But regard -- Mr. Holtzman is going to address the merits of designation. In closing, I ask the City Commission, grant our appeal. Allow the process which had already been begun to conclude. And with that, I'll turn to Mr. Holtzman. David Holtzman: Thank you. Members of the Commission, my name is David Holtzman. I live at 590 Northeast 59th Street. I'm the vice president of development for Dacra of overseeing the redevelopment of that neighborhood for the past 18 years. I've also renovated five historic homes in the Morningside neighborhood and the Bayside neighborhood for myself, and I'm very familiar with the historic designation process. I'm also the current president of the Morningside Civic Association, but I'm here speaking to you today as a resident and as an appellant to this appeal. I wanted to first start with some of the fundamental issues with a designation, and the important place to start is with sea level rise. About a year and a half ago, the Parks Director came to us and explained to the neighborhood sea level rise is real, and it's coming, and that he and his department were dedicated to dealing with sea level rise; not only in Morningside Park, but throughout the neighborhood. We don't have to wait for sea level rise to come over our seawall, or for king tides to see the flooding in the neighborhood. We're seeing it with rain events, like we did this last weekend, and significant flooding throughout the neighborhood. I wanted to take a moment to introduce as an expert witness the City's Chief Resilience Officer, Jane Gilbert, who is also a resident of Morningside, and I wanted to give her an opportunity to speak to the significant flooding issues that we are dealing with in the neighborhood. Jane Gilbert (Department of Resilience and Sustainability): Sure. Thank you. Jane Gilbert, Chief Resilience Officer; and, yes, a 15 -year resident in the Morningside neighborhood. Morningside -- We have many low-lying waterfront parks in the City. Morningside is one of the more vulnerable ones. You can see -- I saw this flooding this past weekend. It also doesn't drain well, because it has -- it's basically built on certain soils that don't drain well; it's kind of muck. So it's critically important to do a full vulnerability assessment of this park, and design future landscape that it -- that we can respond to the services that the broader resident community has asked for in terms of access; in terms of all the different services they want in the park, but make sure that we can do it in such a way that we can improve the drainage of the park for years to come, because it's currently not able to deliver the services that the residents want. Vice Chair Russell: If I may -- and I'll direct -- Ms. Gilbert: I guess the only other thing I wanted to say is a policy consideration that we need to think about long term that this brings up around that balance between historic preservation and our changing climate. Vice Chair Russell: And that's what I'm about to go toward, which may be a very similar vein to before; something we can look at and change. But from what we're dealing with today, my question to the Planning Department and to the Legal Department is -- Let's use the analogy of a potentially historically designated home that is in a low-lying flood water area. Can that risk -- should that -- does that risk, under our Code, factor in any way on the HEP Board or the Preservation Department's decision to designate or not designate that home? Mr. Garcia: No, I believe that it doesn't, and I'll invite my colleague to chime in on that. But I think some of the issues that are being discussed presently are -- go City of Miami Page 169 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 directly to the merit of the individual features of Morningside Park, and whether or not they, themselves, are historic. In other words, if they were historic -- if there is a finding that they are, indeed, historic -- then an argument can be made that they are worthy of preservation, and we should be very careful about how we treat them, resilience issues notwithstanding. However, if they are not properly designated as historic, because the merit is not there, in that case, to simply designate them makes no sense. Vice Chair Russell: But currently, there's nothing that keeps us from being able to designate a property because of its potential risk to flooding, for example? Mr. Garcia: I believe that is correct, but I will defer to Mr. Adams. Mr. Adams: Yes, that's correct. But obviously, we want to protect historic properties, so once they are designated, we will assist owners in any way we can to make it possible for them to protect their property. And the park can be treated not really as any differently from a house. We want a park to continue to be used. We want a park to adapt; we want a park to be safe from flooding. So obviously, we want to protect our historic assets. So the original recommendation in my report was to allay the designation of the significant landscape, but allow the flexibility to make sure the park is still there in 50 years by addressing flooding concerns and any structural concerns in the building. Vice Chair Russell: Right. And that's why I made the analogy, because perhaps historic designation doesn't preclude us from making flood prevention and sea level rise mitigation down the line. Please continue. Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman? Vice Chair Russell: I'm sorry. Commissioner. Commissioner Gort: Can I ask a question? Parks Department, my understanding, you been working according to the -- what -- that's testified in here, you have been working on a plan to do some changes in the park itself. For how long have you been doing this? Kevin Kirwin: Good evening, Mr. Chair and Commissioners. Kevin Kirwin, your City of Miami Park and Recreation Director. We've been working on this process -- sorry, I don't have the exact dates. It's been about 14 months. Vice Chair Russell: Yeah. Commissioner Gort: 14 months. The question is did we have public hearing so people could come and find out and give you their ideas of what should be done in that park, and they have public hearings? Mr. Kirwin: We have had several, sir. Commissioner Gort: Okay. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Please continue. Mr. Holtzman: Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Yes, Commissioner -- Commissioner Reyes: May I -- City of Miami Page 170 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Vice Chair Russell: -- Reyes. Commissioner Reyes: -- ask a question? Does the -- all those plans that you have, by this park being declared historic precludes you from improving the park the way it should be? And for example -- and this is the question that I want to ask, you see. I believe there is kind of a slippery slope here when we declare a public park, you see, historic, because population changes, you see. The population that now believes that that park could be historic and lives in Morningside. I know the park, and I love it. The park is beautiful, and I been there hundreds of time. Population changes. There are certain needs. Let's say that now in 20 years, 15 years from now, a lot of young families move to the areas, and there are a lot of children in that park. And then we have to build -- I would say playgrounds. And as it is now in certain parks that we -- now, soccer, it is very popular. And you know, you are being asked to build soccer fields there. That park being declared historic, and there is certain changes that have to be made, what will be the procedure? Do we have to -- do they have to go to the HEP Board? Mr. Kirwin: Commissioner Reyes -- Commissioner Reyes: I mean, say that the answer is 'yes. " My question is, why the HEP Board? Who in the world elected them? You see, I think that we -- Vice Chair Russell: We appointed them. Commissioner Reyes: Well, you appointed it, but the people elected its. Vice Chair Russell: Right. Commissioner Reyes: And I think that if something is going to happen, is going to change, you see, if we have -- because this is very, very dangerous. The Commission Vice Chair Russell: I can answer your question, Commissioner Reyes. Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir. Vice Chair Russell: So the recommendation of the department was that the recreational portions not be subject to HEP Board review. The HEP Board elevated it to say, "Even those parts do need HEP Board review. " Commissioner Reyes: Then what part of the park is historic? I mean, what is the use of declaring it historic? Vice Chair Russell: Well, I would like to let the appellant finish. Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir. Vice Chair Russell: And I'm look -- what I'm looking for is to hear the merits of why Mr. Holtzman: Sure. Vice Chair Russell: -- historic preservation is invalid in this case. And then, we're going to look towards what solutions we have on this appeal to grant or deny, and what flexibility we can create, because I really honestly believe there is something here for everybody. I really believe this is a war amongst -- within a community on City of Miami Page 171 Printed on 07120/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 what may happen to this park, and I believe there is going to be a solution. I would like you to continue though, please, out of fairness -- and this is a quasi-judicial setting -- so that you can make your full case on -- and there may be a very meritorious position on why this should not be a historic park. Mr. Holtzman: So I'll get to that right now. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Mr. Holtzman: Dr. Paul George is a expert in his field. I don't question his credibility in any way, shape, or form. But we do question and suggest that he overreached in his analysis. There is certainly significant relevance or historical storylines that are associated with Morningside Park. Notable individuals have bought and sold that property prior to the park's inception. Many notable developers, politicians, and other early citizens have lived in Morningside. Mayors of Miami participated in concepting [sic] in the ultimate development of the park. Raymond Plummer, who was the landscape architect and the Superintendent of the Parks Department designed this park. But there have been many notable -- and including these people -- that have had impacts citywide, and we are not looking at designating the entire City of Miami -- although there may have been some discussion about that earlier today, so -- that there are notable people that have been involved and shown in the presentation doesn't necessarily make this park historic. There are some interesting elements of the park, though. Dr. George pointed out that the Halcyon Hotel, which was demolished in the late 1930s, the foundation stones from that hotel were brought in and are making up about 20 percent of the shoreline. They came before the park, but, you know, they make up the seawall, and it's an interesting element. The -- his report goes on to, you know, to suggest that there were some pop -- celebrity moments in the park -- Muhammad Ali filming -- seen from a film he was involved in; the sequel to the movie, "Cocoon, " also shot some scenes in the park. But, you know, again, these are not necessarily historical elements. These are, you know, certainly interesting moments that have happened in the park. Dr. George, in his report, outlines that and makes the comment that the Plummer design is almost completely intact. Unfortunately, that is not necessarily the case. The size of the park is the same. A lot of the layout is the same, if you look at aerials, and I'll show you that here in a second. You'll see that there are certainly elements of the park that are intact and original. But the canal and tidal basin are obscured by mangroves, which were not originally in the park, and they failed to provide their original function of park drainage. The palmentum is not well maintained, but it can be better, and it has an important place in the park. There was a hibiscus garden in the original design that was never replaced after Hurricane Donna in 1960. There's been major tree canopy loss throughout the park that hasn't been replaced. The pool cabana structure is gone, which was the singular architectural element in all of the park buildings, whether the ones that were built in the '50s or the ones that were built, you know, in the '80s or '90s; that is gone. The original park community building is gone, as well. I wanted to take a moment to talk now specifically about the structures, and in doing so, I wanted to bring one other expert up. Terry Riley is an architect in Miami, well known throughout Miami and New York; was the director of the Perez Art Museum and, you know, he'll certainly explain a couple other things, but I've asked him to come here today to speak regarding Morningside architecture, modern architecture. Terry. Vice Chair Russell: And the purpose will be to show that -- why these structures are -- do not merit -- Mr. Holtzman: These structures do not have the historical merit that has been suggested in the -- in Dr. George's report, and has been supported by the HEP staff report. City of Miami Page 172 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Vice Chair Russell: Please. Terence Riley: Terence Riley, 168 Northeast 43rd Street, Buena Vista; just a -- really a short block from Morningside. Actually, let's leave this one on right now. Mr. Holtzman: Sure. Mr. Riley: Thank you, David, for inviting me into the lion's den. I guess I should have brought my armor. I had -- I thought I was just going to give my opinion here. I am an architect, a practicing architect. I'm formerly the chief curator of architecture and design at MOMA, the Museum of Modern Art, in New York. And in addition to writing -- designing buildings, I've written numerous articles and books on modern architectural history, from Frank Lloyd Wright to Phillip Johnson. So I'm here principally to address the buildings, the architecture of Morningside Park, dating, like myself, from the mid-1950s to more recent decades. I think David's characterization -- It's not just the two-story cabana; it's the cabana, the pool decks, and the pool. They were one thing, one design, and it was the heart of the whole project. I don't know why it was demolished, but to say what is left is historic when it's actually been terribly, terribly treated is wrong. The pool is not, in itself, important after you take away the --this very important civic gesture. This was built just after Norman Giller's New Yorker Motel, which, I think, is the next image, and just before Robert Law Weed's General Tire Building; now the Andiamo Pizza on Biscayne Boulevard. In the mid-1950s, these buildings were setting a very high standard for the Upper Eastside in terms of architectural significance. None of the remaining structures have anything close to that level of quality, none of them; not one of them. I'm not saying this because they're not fancy, they're not historic, they don't have decoration. After all, this was a period in history where architects were designing buildings that were functional, practical, and noteworthy. The nearby 1964 Lemon City Library stands out as yet another fine example of modern functional design. The reason I oppose any protection for the remaining structures in the park is actually twofold. First, they are totally ordinary. I think the pioneers of landmark legislation would be shocked to know how far we have come from saving Grand Central Terminal or the Miami Marine Stadium to talking about these very minor, very insignificant buildings, really. And that brings me to my second point. We haven't really saved the Marine Stadium, have we? I believe it is essential that we realize that our preservation resources are limited and may become even more limited as we deal with sea level rise. Land -marking the toilets and pump houses, et cetera, that currently exist in the park creates an unwarranted and open- ended financial commitment on the part of the City and the taxpayer. One final observation: I think it's really ironic that this beautiful park, as it was, was designed by the head of the Parks Department; and now, when the Parks Department is undertaking a major effort to deal with the City's parks, it gets kicked to the HEP Board instead. I think that's ironic. So I urge you to vote in favor of the appeal. Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Mr. Holtzman: Thank you, Terry. There are several other designated parks: Simpson Park, which I've shown a picture here, is designated, because it's a hardwood hammock of significance in Miami, and in the center of downtown Miami. And Virginia Key Park, also a designated park, Virginia Key Park's an interesting comparison to Morningside. It has a number of '50s era utilitarian buildings that are as unimpressive as most of the buildings in Morningside. It does have this wonderful carousel building that's been restored, and it's certainly something that does not exist in Morningside any longer. But Virginia Key was designated because it has a social history in Miami that Morningside Park does not share, and I just City of Miami Page 173 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 wanted to, you know, make the point that these -- again, these '50s era utilitarian buildings are not worthy of designation. And to be specific about the pool, because the pool has become a big issue, Morningside Park has had a pool since its inception. Morningside Park should have a pool, but whether it should have a pool that is below the flood criteria; that is the foundation shell of what was once a grand -- or certainly more grand architectural structure -- is the question. And this is a financial question, as well. The City has just released earlier this week -- and we were able to get a copy of it -- its estimates for -- and budgeting -- for parks throughout the City, and I was able to look. There are a couple of parks that have older pool structures that are not operating like Morningside's park right now. Virrick Park and Curtis Park are both -- some more pictures of our pool structure here, but let me get to the slide. So -- and these are the numbers that came out of what I got from the Park Department's information. Virrick Park is a 80 -by -35 -foot pool. To demolish the existing pool and build a new one, $4.1 million. Curtis Park, a little bit larger pool, same thing; demolish an existing pool and build a new one, $5.1 million; that also, though, includes money related to the cost for the boat ramp, and they weren't broken out in the budget, so I imagine the pool cost itself would be sub -- or below S million. Morningside Park was also estimated to demolish and build a new park, and the numbers there: $4.3 million. There have been engineering studies that have been done on both sides of the equation that -- about whether the pool building, the existing pool building can be saved. The Parks Department sent -- had its own engineer -- or had a third party engineer go out, do a visual inspection, and come back with an estimate report to fix the pool and get it back operational. That's $4.9 million. So what you have here is some -- you know -- is a scenario that doesn't make sense. Yes, Morningside Park should have a pool, but it shouldn't have -- you know, the City should not be spending $5 million to restore a pool with an unexpected life span that is below the flood criteria, and that will have a year -after -year maintenance cost far higher than a new structure that can be built. And again, these are estimate numbers. Vice Chair Russell: Understood. Mr. Holtzman: I'm sure these numbers will change, but that could be built, in theory, for a million dollars less that is built at flood criteria and above -- Vice Chair Russell: Got it. Mr. Holtzman: -- that meets ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). The last thing I'd like to talk about, and then I will conclude, is the petition in this area. You've heard about it tonight. You've heard in the public testimony that there are 2,100 signatures on a petition. That petition came out and was a surprise to many people in Morningside, myself included. I've been on the board or on committees for the last five years. I pay attention to what happens in the neighborhood. I had no idea that this petition that came out last spring was even in existence. When the Parks Department, in its general planning outreach, scheduled its very first meeting, that petition was presented at that meeting, and that petition is -- you know -- it was suggested that we love Morningside Park the way it is; it should be historically designated. This is before the Parks Department made a single presentation, got any feedback from anyone in the community about what is the potential of this park. So this group has already made up its mind -- Vice Chair Russell: Understood. Mr. Holtzman: --that -- Vice Chair Russell: And I'm sorry to interrupt you. City of Miami Page 174 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Holtzman: Yeah. Vice Chair Russell: I just wanted to ask a question of the Legal and Planning Department, please. Is a petition any required part of a historic designation? Mr. Suarez -Rivas: If I understand, a petition signed by -- Vice Chair Russell: A public petition; a number of signatures needed for any portion of it? Mr. Suarez -Rivas: No, no. The on -- not so -- Vice Chair Russell: So whether -- where those people are from is irrelevant to the merits of whether or not we can designate this historically; whether there's a petition or not at all -- Mr. Garcia: That's correct. Mr. Suarez -Rivas: That's correct. Vice Chair Russell: -- is irrelevant to whether or not --? Mr. Suarez -Rivas: Has no bearing, sir. Vice Chair Russell: Okay. Mr. Suarez -Rivas: Has no bearing. Vice Chair Russell: So -- and I apologize to interrupt. I just -- and I get your point. I understand your point that the community had made up its mind in your opinion, and that influenced things. But what I wanted to get to is, is there a legal basis for that petition being entered into the record here that would sway this board to say that designation is inappropriate because of this petition? Mr. Holtzman: I'm not an attorney, so I can't give you a legal opinion -- Vice Chair Russell: Got it. Mr. Holtzman: -- to answer your question. So -- but what I will do is give you, you know, the --you know -- our research into this petition. Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Carollo. Commissioner Carollo: To put the question of the petition to rest -- Mr. Holtzman: Sure. Commissioner Carollo: --I'm going to give you Joe's legal opinion -- Mr. Holtzman: Okay. Commissioner Carollo: --and I'm usually right. Mr. Holtzman: Happy to -- Commissioner Carollo: It doesn't matter either way. City of Miami Page 175 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Holtzman: I know. I agree. That's my point. Commissioner Carollo: To make you feel a little more relieved, some 20 years ago, the last time we had a petition for strong Mayor, I will tell you why it was thrown out by the County. 43 percent of the signatures were fraudulent. So I'll leave it at that. Chair Hardemon: Well, I don't want to say this, but I will: We got to move along. Mr. Holtzman: I will wrap it up in two minutes. Commissioner Carollo: Please. Mr. Holtzman: Just on the point of the petition, we feel the same way about it. We feel that, you know, there are clearly people that have signed this petition that feel strongly about historic designation, feel strongly about the park. There are people that signed this petition from North Carolina, from outside the City of Miami, outside Dade County, outside the State. And while the question of the petition may, you know, seem somewhat benign, we know -- and there was some testimony in the public session -- that people were told -- you know -- unfortunate and -- you know -- unnecessary stories about things that were going to happen in the park; what people wanted to do, what they wanted to take away and limit access in order to garner those signatures. So we believe a lot of that petition was ill gotten, at best. The final thing that I would like to leave you with today is your -- you know, we're from Morningside. You're hearing, you know, a number of Morningside voices today, but we know that the concerns that we have about this park are -- go well beyond the borders of Morningside, and in no way do we believe that this park is only for Morningside. It is for the community at large, and that was the point that, really, I was trying to make, which is that this failure of outreach, this failure to engage the larger community and what is possible in this park -- it's a failure, even if it's not codified that way. This park deserves a lot more. And we can certainly look at this park and understand the way it was in the '50s, but plan for the next 50 years on it. If we only look at this park as a historic resource instead of a park -- parks are for people -- need to look at it with the professionals that design parks; that live and work in that world, and have the rest of the brain trust of the City of Miami; the Resilience Departments, the -- you know, the Parks Advisory Boards -- you know, all of the -- you know, all of this brain trust that the City has. That all needs to come together, and at a pure level, in our opinion. And, you know, we'll hope that you'll support our appeal and allow us to take a much longer look at this. The last thing I want to say: A park is different than a historic residential district, and it's different because the only agency, the only group that can effect change in this park is the Parks Department. It's not, you know, a building next to a single-family home that's imminent in construction. There is no rush to designate this park. The thing that serves the City the best is for everyone -- the community at large, staff, the departments, various boards -- to come together and really think, "What is the best thing for this park for the next 62 years of its life?" Thank you very much. I'd like to introduce Marc Billings, who will show you our plan. Marc Billings: I'm going to be quick. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Mr. Billings: I'm going to be quick, and I got the good stuff. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Mr. Billings: I got the drawings. Well, so I'm going to go to this one first, just to see the current design -- the park. Cool. So just to make sure the rest of these slides City of Miami Page 176 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 make sense to everybody. On the left-hand side is north; the right-hand side is south, which is 10 acres. That's the south side. The baseball diamond and tennis courts, that's the north side. So the north side has power -- okay? So you can play sports at nighttime in the north side. That's very important, because the park closes at sunset for all of the -- by the way, I'm sorry. I didn't introduce myself. My name is Marc Billings. I'm a resident of Morningside, 5960; married, two kids. And I'm a board member -- ex president of the board for the last couple of years, but today as a personal resident only. So the south side close -- shuts at sunset, but the north side, because it's got power, allows us as a community to play sports at nighttime, and they're very, very heavily used. And so, some of the ideas that we're going to toss out here -- Basically, because the design process of the City got stunted, because of the designation, all the confusion, we said, "Oh, my God. There's so much fear that's been tossed out about this design." There's -- somebody said that they fear that the soccer stadium is going to be built at Morningside Park. We're like, "Come on, that's not going to happen," right? There's a lot of fear that's out there, so we're going to dispel all that fear; hopefully put a few ideas in the public space. On the right-hand side, the 10 -acre area, so it's a drive-in park, right? It was designed in the '50s when drive-in movie theaters and drive-in burger joints were cool. And so, you got this big loop around the park in the south side. Don't worry, there's going to be plenty of parking in the park; that's absolutely not an issue. But can you imagine getting back 10 acres of usable space in a park? There's no way that any of us -- Miami is at the bottom 2 percent of green space per capita in the country. We're Miami, come on. We're an outdoor city. It's a 42 -acre public park, 42 acres. 25 percent is lost to a bathroom and parking lots. We could do better. We could do better. That's all we're asking; let's just do a little bit better than what we're doing. So I'm going to go back. One of the key issues that we've raised is safety. This is the actual picture -- I'm going to go back to that one; one second. That slide is out of order. This is the last one. Wait. I'm sorry. That's last weekend, okay? That's last weekend. Come on. You're going to tell -- Chair Hardemon: Is that a self -driving car? Mr. Billings: I fear those even more than humans. This is in Morningside Park. You're going to make an argument that cars should be driving around playgrounds? I mean, texting and driving? I mean, it doesn't make any sense. But don't believe me and don't believe this car crash. How about -- also, let's start looking at the greatest park in the world, Central Park, right? This is Central Park. That's how it's been forever. Boom. Central Park; no more cars. No more cars; Central Park, right? Blasio just announced it. The entire city is thrilled, right? Boom. People running around, activating. Come on, this is a no-brainer, a no-brainer. But we do have to make sure that this access issue is a hundred percent handled. There's absolutely no concept of reducing access, absolutely not. So take a look at the park as it is right now. Fantastic. Here's just a very rough idea. I mean, I am not an architect. We did crowd -source these ideas from hundreds of people without a bunch of architects working with us; just some basic, basic, basic concepts. First of all, the tennis courts, that's already in process. The Parks Department is putting in new tennis courts. That's fantastic. Commissioner Carollo: This is going above and beyond. We don't need any of that. Chair Hardemon: I would agree. Mr. Billings: What's that? Commissioner Carollo: We -- this is not really part of it all. I appreciate it, but we need to end this. City of Miami Page 177 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Billings: Is that it? Commissioner Carollo: We have other people that have been waiting patiently. Vice Chair Russell: I think I'm going to make the motion whenever he's done. Mr. Billings: Hey, I've been waiting for -- I've been doing this for five years. Chair Hardemon: No, no, no. Mr. Billings: Five years. Chair Hardemon: So I -- so the point is that this is not -- it's not relevant to the decision-making right now. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Chair Hardemon: So that's -- I think that's what the Commissioner is saying. I said it in my head -- Mr. Billings: Say again? Chair Hardemon: -- but I always work at the behest of the board. So -- Mr. Billings: All right. Chair Hardemon: -- what we're going to ask is that you -- Commissioner Carollo: That's the only point we're trying to make here. Chair Hardemon: -- if this is all that you have to present, I think we've seen enough from your presentation. Mr. Billings: Okay, if that's the will of the board. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much, sir. I appreciate it. Mr. Billings: Okay. Thank you. Commissioner Carollo: You've done well. Stop while you're ahead. Chair Hardemon: We have a saying for that. Mr. Billings: I take your advice. Thank you, sir. Chair Hardemon: All right. So I guess that will be the conclusion of the facts that you're going to put on as the appellant. Now we're going to go to the appellee. Well, you -- actually, in the opening, you really put on -- everything on the record. So at this point, it's discussion amongst the board members. Vice Chair Russell: Fair enough. Commissioner Carollo: I do have one quick question. Chair Hardemon: Well, I want to give them a closing argument. I've got to give them a close. City of Miami Page 178 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Commissioner Carollo: Wasn't that the closing argument? Vice Chair Russell: I felt like it was. Chair Hardemon: They did -- they spoke a lot. Commissioner Carollo: Well. Chair Hardemon: Did you have an opportunity -- you haven't had an opportunity to close. I'm going to give two minutes for you all to close. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Chair Hardemon: So I'm going to allow the appellant, the gentleman that started this whole conversation. Commissioner Carollo: Can I just ask one question before they begin? George Paul Unidentified Speaker: Its "Paul George. " Commissioner Carollo: -- who engaged him? Who brought him in? I know his name has been given that he gave the report, but who asked him to do the report? Mr. Paul? Mr. Stiers: Yeah. Hold on. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Mr. Stiers: I was going to call him as a witness. Commissioner Carollo: Who engaged you --? Paul George: Commissioner, I'm Paul George. I began to work on a historic survey of the southern part of Morningside about five years ago. I was brought in by a committee interested in considering historic designation for the area that's not part of the -- designated. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. What was the committee's name? That's what I'm trying to find out. Mr. George: Elvis Cruz was one of the people involved, but there were also other people involved that asked me to be part of this. Long story short: At that point, the park was being considered as part of that. Commissioner Carollo: That's fine, and I appreciate that. But I just wanted to find out, because I heard your name. Mr. George: Right. Commissioner Carollo: We've known each other for a long time. Mr. George: Right. Commissioner Carollo: I didn't know who had brought you in. Mr. George: Right. City of Miami Page 179 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Commissioner Carollo: Was this a paid job that you had, or was it voluntary? Mr. George: It was a paid job, but the park thing was not. That's something I did myself. I lag so much on the survey work that, just on my own, I decided to -- because I love the park, and I thought it was really important. I thought it was so typical of the mid -1900s park, I wanted to get it designated. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. All right. Mr. George: Okay. Commissioner Carollo: That's all needed. Mr. George: Okay. Thanks. Thank you. Commissioner Carollo: I think the Chair -- Chair Hardemon: No. We're going to do a two -minute -- I'm going to give two minutes to come to a brief conclusion; make your final ask of the board. Mr. Rosenberg: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So in conclusion, to repeat how we introduced, the question in front of the Commission today is not whether historic designation is good or bad. The question is whether the process followed the intent of the regulations. Given the significance of the asset, a 42 -acre waterfront park, was the intent of the regulation and the transparency and the outreach that the regulation was designed, was it adhered to? Did it consider all the merits, all the aspect that everyone today has presented in its consideration of the historic significance of the elements that has qualified under the designation? And does the designation in and of itself prevent quality use and safety for the residents of the City today and for future generations? So we respectfully request that the Commission approve our appeal to the historic designation. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir. Mr. Rosenberg: Thank you very much. Chair Hardemon: Is there any other closing argument? Mr. Hartsell: Mr. Chairman, I would -- we haven't put on any witnesses yet. We would like an opportunity to at least call a couple witnesses. I mean, they went on a narrative for about an hour or two hours now, and we'll make it quick, but I think we need to -- Chair Hardemon: I thought that you put on your case. Mr. Hartsell: I didn't put on one witness, and I haven't cross-examined any of them. Chair Hardemon: Well, you had the right to. Would you like to cross-examine any of those witnesses? Mr. Hartsell: I would like to cross-examine -- Chair Hardemon: Are you going to? City of Miami Page 180 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Hartsell: -- the appellant, yes. Chair Hardemon: The appellant himse . Mr. Hartsell: Actually, each of their witnesses, with a couple of short questions. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Mr. Hartsell: If the appellant can -- Mr. James Rosenberg? Mr. Rosenberg -- Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Excuse me, sir. Todd, do you have the portable mike, since they have -- their attorney --? Chair Hardemon: He's not an attorney. Ms. Mendez: He's not? Oh. Chair Hardemon: No, no. He's just well dressed, nice haircut; moral support, that's it. Mr. Hartsell: Hi, Mr. Rosenberg. A couple questions. Did you attend any of the meetings before the HEP Board? Mr. Rosenberg: I received no notice in the mail about those meetings. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. Did you look in the newspaper? Did you -- How long have you been doing this project? Mr. Rosenberg: In today's age, most people actually don't read the newspapers. They get the news online. So I did not see a notice. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. So nobody told you that there was HEP Board meetings going on? Mr. Rosenberg: No. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. Vice Chair Russell: If I could, Mr. Chairman. I believe we did establish -- and their side even did admit that there is no technical process violation of notification; and so, I don't know that we need to go into that back and forth at all. Mr. Hartsell: If their counsel will conceded to that, I'm fine with the process. Chair Hardemon: They don't have counsel, so it's up to us. Mr. Hartsell: All right. Mr. Rosenberg: I would like to state that I received very adequate notice from the City of Miami when they did the community outreach about seeking input for park recommendations. Mr. Hartsell: Did -- And right now you live in a historically designated neighborhood, correct? Mr. Rosenberg: Correct. City of Miami Page 181 Printed on 07120/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Hartsell: And is your house historically designated as part of that neighborhood? Mr. Rosenberg: I don't know the answer to that. Mr. Hartsell: Is -- Do you have any trouble doing any innovations on your house; putting burglar alarms, sprinklers, water fountains, tile; doing improvements at your house? Mr. Rosenberg: I wouldn't have anything to compare to as to whether my process was troublesome or not. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. Have you ever had a different house, or is this your first house? Mr. Rosenberg: Have I ever had what? Mr. Hartsell: Have you had another house, or is this your first house? Mr. Rosenberg: No. My previous house was in Biscayne Park. Mr. Hartsell: Have you made any improvements to this house that you're in today? Mr. Rosenberg: I did have a permit, correct. Mr. Hartsell: You didn't have a permit for it? Mr. Rosenberg: Did I what? Mr. Hartsell: Oh, you did get a permit? Mr. Rosenberg: I have had permits on my current house. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. And did you have to go the HEP Board to get those? Mr. Rosenberg: I don't know the answer, to be honest. I defer to the contractor on that. Mr. Hartsell: But you live in a historic neighborhood and you're able to get permits and do general work on your house to make renovations, that's right? Mr. Rosenberg: I do live in a historic neighborhood. I have done renovations on my house, and I have done permits. Mr. Hartsell: And you're a member of the MCA (Morningside Civic Association), right; the -- what does that stand for? Mr. Rosenberg: I'm the appointed chair of the parks committee. Mr. Hartsell: The parks committee? Mr. Rosenberg: Correct. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. And what -- The parks committee would be this park here, right? Mr. Rosenberg: Correct. City of Miami Page 182 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Hartsell: Morningside Park? Mr. Rosenberg: Correct. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. So you're the chair; you're in charge of the whole committee for that, for --? Mr. Rosenberg: Correct. Mr. Hartsell: Okay, the association. And how long have you been chair for that? Mr. Rosenberg: Approximately since January, mid-January. Mr. Hartsell: This year? Mr. Rosenberg: Yes. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. And as part of the analysis on what was supposed to be done with the park, did you have a survey done? Mr. Rosenberg: Have I --? I have not conducted a survey of the park. Mr. Hartsell: Did the MCA provide any surveys; make any surveys to test the waters of the neighboring people? Mr. Rosenberg: The prior administration and the prior parks committee did conduct a survey. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. And did they want to restore the pool? Mr. Rosenberg: They -- there was an answer that said if the pool cannot be repaired, I think 60 percent of the community wanted it to be removed. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. And if the pool could be repaired? Mr. Rosenberg: A majority said that they would want to keep it. Mr. Hartsell: But 66 percent of the residents said -- Mr. Rosenberg: Right. The question was -- Mr. Hartsell: -- they wanted it repaired -- Mr. Rosenberg: Yes. Mr. Hartsell: -- if it could be repaired, right? And, in fact, you've seen an engineering report that says it could be repaired, right? Mr. Rosenberg: In fact, the MCA president at the time sent an email saying that it could be repaired for $200, 000. And subsequent to that, we got a report that the repair cost was $S million. Mr. Hartsell: Right. And that's not something you would pay for, but if -- Did they ever --? What they want is a -- If it can be rebuilt, they want the pool rebuilt, correct? City of Miami Page 183 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Rosenberg: In my subjective opinion, since a survey is subject to subjection, interpretation, I -- Mr. Hartsell: It's just 'yes " or "no." Yes, they -- Chair Hardemon: Can you allow him to answer the question, please? Mr. Rosenberg: I think the majority of this community wants -- would benefit from a pool. I think that's the overall result. Whether it's that particular pool I think is subject to interpretation. Mr. Hartsell: And a similar amount of people also wanted a loop roll -- loop road, too, right? Mr. Rosenberg: Could you repeat that? Mr. Hartsell: The loop road? Do you know what that is, the loop road in the park? Mr. Rosenberg: The loop road, correct. Mr. Hartsell: And a significant amount of people -- a majority of people wanted to keep the loop road in that survey, correct? Mr. Rosenberg: Correct. Mr. Hartsell: And that survey was given to all the residents in the Morningside neighborhood, correct? Mr. Rosenberg: Correct. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. So it's not just Mr. Cruz that wants the park to be saved; it's a majority of the people in the neighborhood that have actually filled out a survey that said they want that park fixed? Mr. Rosenberg: And they filled out the survey that said they actually wanted more green space. So the question was never asked, "If you could get more green space and maintain the same parking space, would you still want the loop road?" That question was not asked. Mr. Hartsell: They did ask to -- in that same survey, they asked if they should take out the sidewalk, which caused flooding on the softball fields, and the majority said, yes. " Chair Hardemon: Counselor, I will tell you that what they say is not relevant to our decision-making process at all. Mr. Rosenberg: Right. Vice Chair Russell: I'd like us to move on, because we've established the petition and the survey are not relevant to the decision of the HEP Board, nor this board. Mr. Hartsell: All right. I have no further questions for Mr. Rosenberg. If I could get Dr. Paul George to the stand. Chair Hardemon: This is a witness that you're calling, correct? Do you have a microphone? Do you have a--? City of Miami Page 184 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. George: Yes. I got one here. Chair Hardemon: Make sure you turn one on and allow him to take the stand. Now, is -- this is going to be an expert witness -- Mr. Hartsell: Yes. Chair Hardemon: -- as I understand. And he's going to be talking about the historical significance of the park, itself? Mr. Hartsell: The park, yes. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Mr. Hartsell: And the criteria for -- Chair Hardemon: Okay. Mr. Hartsell: -- designation. Mr. George: Thanks so much. It'll be brief. We talked a lot about process here. The -- when I filed that designation report, I based it on, again, the City's Code and how the park met that particular Code; that's the basis for what I'm doing here. And I'm going to make this real short, but just to review, and I've got a full-blown designation report I've already put together. But just as a summary, I wrote this preliminary report for Morningside Park because I believe it's an outstanding example of mid -Century park design with its various landscape design amenities, as well as its original 1953 buildings. Chair Hardemon: But now, let me stop you for a moment. Mr. George: Sure. Chair Hardemon: Because you've already been shown to be an expert in history -- Mr. George: Right. Chair Hardemon: -- but you stated that you don't have any advanced studies in architectural design. Mr. George: No, but I know the history of the neighborhood. I know the history of the park. I mean, the park is more than just architecture; it's a living place. But for the last 65 years, people have come together; people have swam; people have planted hibiscus bushes. I mean, as an historian -- Chair Hardemon: So let me ask you, because I'm struggling with -- and you're the expert here -- Mr. George: Sure. Chair Hardemon: -- so I'll ask you. You know, I struggle with the whole idea of historic designation of a park, right? I struggle with this idea, but I'm open-minded. I let people try to convince me of things that I may not have thought in the very beginning. And so, when I think about it, to me, if it's not a building -- I understand the concept of historic structures. And then, there was some testimony that the structures on this park are old, but they're not significant; they're really not anything special, right? And so, it makes me wonder then about parks. So what makes this City of Miami Page 185 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 park historic? So I -- there's a -- we have the Barnacle Historic State Park, right? That park is historic, because I believe the first structure, the first home built in Miami -Dade County rests on that park. Mr. George: Well, it's the oldest home on its original site in all of Dade County, the Barnacle. Chair Hardemon: Right, exactly, exactly. Mr. George: 1891 to 1908 -- Chair Hardemon: There we go. Mr. George: --two parts of it. Chair Hardemon: So -- okay, I understand. They made this area a park, and they preserved that space. And you go to other states, for instance -- because there's not a lot of them as I've seen in Florida. There's a place called Red Clay State Park. This is in Tennessee. Tennessee actually has a few of them. Red Clay State Park, 263 acres. It was formerly used as cotton and pasture land. And it was the last seat of the Cherokee National Government before the 1838 enforcement of the blah -blah - blah -blah -blah. That seems pretty historic, right? There's something about it that makes sense. There's another park, Royal -- Port Royal State Park in Tennessee. It was one of the earliest colonial communities and trading posts in Middle Tennessee. It was first settled in the 1780s and was along hunter camp as early as 1775. Fort Pillow State Park in Tennessee, it was -- well, I don't want to click into it. There's a Seminole Canyon State Park, a historic site. Early canyon dwellers left clues to their lives on the stone walls of the Seminole Canyon. So I see all these different things. I'm like, "Wow, this is pretty significant." What makes this park different from Manor Park, which is Charles Hadley Park? Mr. George: From whatpark, Commissioner? Chair Hardemon: From Manor Park, which is Charles Hadley Park. Like, what makes it historic? Mr. George: Well, I went to the criteria, and the criteria begins with age; 50 years. Well, it's over 50 years of age; that was one criteria. Secondly, you had a pretty prominent landscape architect who designed it. I thought that was real important, too. I thought the whole idea of who had owned that property or who had dealt in real estate in the property years before it became a park is important; George Merrick, among others; NBT Roney, among others. I thought about Perrine Palmer, the great -great-grandson of Dr. Henry Perrin, for whom Perrine is named, he was a Commissioner and Mayor at the time that the idea for this park was being pushed forward. I thought that was important, also, so I'm assuming that. And then, also, I looked up Virginia Key Park, and I said, "The utilitarian structures that are in that park that are part of the designation as an historic site, historic structure, in part, are very similar to the ones in Morningside Park. " So why would it be okay to have those considered important for designation; whereas, the 1953 structures in Morningside aren't. I just saw those as part of the same thing; they're public institutional structures. Those are the things when we -- And I love your citations and your love for history, but Miami, as a city, is only 120 years of age. And Morningside itself is only developed beginning in 1922 and '23. But to give you a little more historical perspective, that park was part of what was Buena Vista. They were very briefly a town from 1924 until 1925. It had incorporated that particular area, among other parts. So I thought that on a local basis, given how old we are as a community, that park met a lot of criteria. The swimming pool is something people City of Miami Page 186 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 enjoyed. The fact you drove a car through the park to picnic toward the rear of the park where cars were all the Zen and the craze. By the 1930s, it was seen as something that people did; something commonplace to maybe parks. So those are the criteria that I used under the City's Code, Chapter 23, to make the argument that this park was historic, or deserved to be judged as historic. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much, sir. Mr. George: Thank you. Commissioner Carollo: Well, under those criterias [sic], I guess the HEP Board could designate me a historic Commissioner even though -- Mr. George: Well, you got to be 50 years as a Commissioner. Commissioner Carollo: -- some who were here might like to make me pre -historic. Commissioner Reyes: Don't push it. Mr. George: You may stick to that (UNINTELLIGIBLE). In 50 years, then we can do it. Vice Chair Russell: Do we need further closing on this thing? Commissioner Reyes: But I want to take -- I mean, sir, you see, you were talking about Virginia Key that was declared historic. Mr. George: Right. Commissioner Reyes: But Virginia Key has -- I mean, deserve to be declared historic because of that history behind it, and it was -- Mr. George: It has a tremendous history. Commissioner Reyes: -- when I first got here in 1959, that was the Afro-Americans' beach. Every -- that's the only place they could go and swim. Mr. George: Right. Commissioner Reyes: You see, that does declare it historic. Mr. George: No, right. And— Commissioner Reyes: But by the same token now, we have a park in my neighborhood in Flagami that was built, I would say, in the -- probably in late '90s or -- I mean '40s or in early '50s, which is -- was an -- a park. I mean, why don't -- declare that historic, too? Mr. George: Well -- Commissioner Reyes: You see, to me, I'm -- I agree with you, Mr. Chairman. A park is a public place. It's a public place that changes with the community that lives in that area. And you're going to have different needs as people move, because, you know, you believe that -- you are a historian. You believe in the movement of population, you see. Some people move around. Mr. George: Sure. City of Miami Page 187 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Commissioner Reyes: You believe on that, right? Mr. George: Of course. Commissioner Reyes: Well, that is true. So some other people are going to come in with different needs and with different ideas or with -- and the park has to serve that population. By declaring it historic, we are limiting the park; we're limiting completely of what that park can do. It's a public place; it's not a building that was built by -- or like this building here. This is a historic building. Bacardi is a historic building, you see. Centro Refugio and the Liberty Tower -- Freedom Tower -- Mr. George: Freedom Tower. Commissioner Reyes: -- Freedom Tower is historic. And we have plenty of buildings that deserve to be historic. Why are we going to go after our parks, too? Commissioner Gort: Let me just bring one point. Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir. Commissioner Gort: Drivers in the 1930s are a lot different than the drivers today. Commissioner Carollo: Another historic Commissioner just spoke. Can I make a motion, Mr. Chair? IfI could --? Vice Chair Russell: I'd like to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) have some discussion on the item before we make a motion. Chair Hardemon: Well, well, well, I just want to be clear. I just want to make sure that the appellee has had an opportunity to put on his case in chief. He's put on -- he's done some cross-examination; he's finished with that. He put on his expert witness. Is there any other witness that you would like to put on? Mr. Hartsell: There's a couple more questions I just had to -- Chair Hardemon: That you have of him? Mr. Hartsell: --ask him. Chair Hardemon: You didn't ask him about -- Mr. Hartsell: I didn't get to question -- ask him any questions. Chair Hardemon: -- one question. You actually sat down. Mr. Hartsell: Actually, I was trying to get out of you guys' way so you can -- Chair Hardemon: Okay. Mr. Hartsell: -- talk to him. So I have a question. Do you know how many -- are there any other designated parks? Mr. George: Well, there's Lummus Park; there's -- in downtown Miami, there's Simpson Park, which we mentioned earlier; there's Virginia Key Park we talked about; there's Legion Park, which was recently designated, and that was one of the catalysts for me wanting to designate -- or get designation. I thought that the City of Miami Page 188 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Morningside Park story was more significant because of the amount of people and diversity of people it served than Legion Park, which received designation recently, among other parks. Mr. Hartsell: So it's not unusual to have a park designated as -- Mr. George: Its not unusual. Mr. Hartsell: -- especially here in the City of Miami? Mr. George: Including Miami; yes, I have. Chair Hardemon: Can I ask you --? Mr. Hartsell: And did anybody else agree with you in your determination that this should be dedicated? Any other professionals agree with you that this should be designated? And is it in compliance with the criteria that they City of Miami has? Mr. George: Well, I thought it met the criteria; and apparently, the Preservation Board did, too, because they approved that bid. Mr. Hartsell: How about any of the -- Chair Hardemon: They approved that what did? Mr. Hartsell: -- planners that are with the --? Chair Hardemon: They approved that what did? Mr. Hartsell: I'll bring it out through my next witness, so. Chair Hardemon: No, I just want to -- They approved that what did? Mr. George: I'm sorry? Chair Hardemon: You were asked -- Mr. George: The designation that we talked about earlier about Morningside. I mean, it took -- Chair Hardemon: Oh, Morningside. Mr. George: -- Morningside to push this process further; yes, of course. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Mr. George: Yes. Commissioner Reyes: Make a motion. Vice Chair Russell: I'm ready to -- Mr. Hartsell: Thank you. Vice Chair Russell: -- whenever it's appropriate, Mr. Chairman, but I need to do Jennings first. City of Miami Page 189 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Hartsell: One last question: In your professional opinion, was the criteria that is enumerated in the Miami City Code met when this park was designated as -- with historical significance? Mr. George: I believe it was, and it's in my report that I wrote. I spent a lot of time with that, in fact. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. Chair Hardemon: Is there any other witness that you'd like to put on, counselor? Mr. Hartsell: I'd like to call Warren Adams. Chair Hardemon: Now, I assume you're going to be asking him questions, and not cross-examining him, correct? Mr. Hartsell: I'll be asking him questions. Chair Hardemon: Okay, good. Mr. Hartsell: Direct. Mr. Adams, did you take part in the approval of -- or the analysis of the designation report submitted to you by Dr. George? Mr. Adams: Yes. Mr. Hartsell: And what was involved in your analysis? Mr. Adams: Reviewing the information contained in Dr. Paul George's report; undertaking research on my own, and obviously, site visits; and then, based on that information, coming up with my recommendation. Mr. Hartsell: And you did your own analysis when you looked at the designation report? Mr. Adams: Sorry? Mr. Hartsell: You did your own analysis when you looked at the designation report? Mr. Adams: I used some information from the designation report, and then did my own analysis based on that information. Mr. Hartsell: Did part of your designation, you made the conclusion that Morningside Park is a significant example of a historically -- historic design landscape in the modern style that is -- also incorporates elements of American romantic style, and has significant historical value? Mr. Adams: Yes, I did. Mr. Hartsell: Why does this park have significant historical value? Mr. Adams: My interpretation was that the park had significant historical value because of the designed landscape; because of the layout and the curvilinear road system, and the man-made elements of the winding canal, the wake, and the island. So my interpretation was this was significant because of its planning, because in the past, when the park was first designed, the majority of the reports that I read were commenting on the fact it had active and passive areas, and it had -- you know -- significant layout, and that's actually what all the discussion in the past that I saw City of Miami Page 190 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 was about, and that's what I based my recommendation on; the design of the landscape. Mr. Hartsell: And do you think there's anything important that -- anything significant about -- that it's inside the Morningside Historic District? Mr. Adams: It obviously has some relation to the district, but it is not actually included within the Morningside Historic District; it is adjacent to it, but is not included within it. Mr. Hartsell: And do you know if they were able to determine whether -- if anybody did any studies on whether the pool was reparable; do you know that? Mr. Adams: If it was -- sorry? Mr. Hartsell: Reparable. Mr. Adams: I have not really been party to any structural reports. Mr. Hartsell: As part of your analysis, did you also prepare a staff report? Mr. Adams: Yes, I did. Mr. Hartsell: And as part of your staff report, you compared your analysis of the designation report, and you compared it to Miami -- the City of Miami Code, correct? Mr. Adams: Yes. Mr. Hartsell: And did you come to a conclusion as to whether the Morningside Park met all of the criteria within the designation criteria, as required by the City of Miami? Mr. Adams: My conclusion was it met two of the three criteria outlined by Dr. Paul George. I did not agree with the fact that it's related to significant individuals, because I believe someone owning the land and then selling it on is not a sufficient reason to designate a site; otherwise, we would be designating probably every property in the center of Miami. So I do not believe that is a strong enough recommendation; however, I did agree with the other two. Mr. Hartsell: Right. And it was your analysis -- your conclusion that this park, since it met two of those conditions, those criteria that it should be designated? Mr. Adams: Yes. Mr. Hartsell: And then after the HEP Board meeting, you prepared a final designation report, correct? Mr. Adams: I prepared the final report after they had reviewed the preliminary report. Mr. Hartsell: And in the -- at any time, did you incorporate the buildings into your analysis? Mr. Adams: Yes. I actually visited the park on at least two occasions, and I looked at each individual building and I photographed the buildings, and then I completed City of Miami Page 191 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 my analysis on those buildings, and -- based on my background and my knowledge and my professional opinion. Mr. Hartsell: And what was your opinion? Mr. Adams: My opinion was that these were standard municipal buildings, examples of which can be found in other City -owned parks, which suggested to me these buildings were not specifically designed to fit within the landscape of Morningside Park. And I also felt that these buildings may have had some minor mid -Century modern elements, but these elements that were referred to were louvers and glass blocks. Now, when you look at restrooms and changing rooms, and utility rooms, of course, these buildings are going to have louvers and glass blocks. These are functional elements to give ventilation and privacy; they are not necessarily elements of design. Mr. Hartsell: And do you have an opinion as to whether the loop road had any historical significance? Mr. Adams: The loop road had significance in terms of the park was created when the automobile was on the rise and when people were taking family day trips out to parks, so I felt that that had significance in the landscape planning; and, however, my recommendation was not necessarily that park -- that automobile was continued to use that road. And in my opinion, as long as that landscape plan is protected, whether that road is used for walking or biking or not necessarily cars, my interpretation was it's the plan that's significant and not necessarily the individual uses. As we've seen, the park has changed over time, but it still retains significance. And what we want to do is ensure that the park continues to change over time while retaining its significance. Mr. Hartsell: And do you know whether the boat ramp could be used without the loop road? Mr. Adams: I'm not a boater, but I would assume it would be difficult to use without a loop road. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. So overall, in your professional opinion, does the designation of Morningside Park as a historical site meet all the criteria? Mr. Adams: As the City's oldest existing, intact, designed landscape, then yes, I believe it does. Mr. Hartsell: All right. I -- thankyou very much. I appreciate that. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Sir, can you go back for one second? Just (UNINTELLIGIBLE) cross-examining questions I'll allow. Mr. Rosenberg: Were you aware that there was opposition to the historic designation at the time that you made the designation? Mr. Adams: Yes. Mr. Rosenberg: Were you told that the historic designation had full support by the Morningside community? City of Miami Page 192 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Adams: I don't believe I was told that everyone in the community supported it, no. Mr. Rosenberg: Okay. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Sir, do you have anymore witnesses that you'd like to put on? Mr. Hartsell: Yes; just one more. Commissioner Carollo: Got to stop sometime, Mr. Chair. Chair Hardemon: Look, he has a right to put on witnesses. Listen, we've come so far. What you don't want -- This might be going in his favor. I don't know where this is going, but I do know that we don't want -- we do not want an appeal based off of not allowing one witness that could have had some sort of testimony that would have been what would have moved all of us to decide one way or the other, so I'm going to allow counsel to put on his last witness. Mr. Hartsell: Thank you. The gentleman from the Parks Department. Mr. Kirwin, correct? Mr. Kirwin: Correct. Mr. Hartsell. Mr. Kirwin, can you tell me if there's a historical designation, do you lose control of thatpark? Mr. Kirwin: I don't know if I'm the best person to answer that. I don't want to get out of my swim lane. However, from what I understand in the Code, we still need to take everything back to the HEP Board to get approval. Mr. Hartsell: Right. And then after the HEP Board, you still have control of the park, correct? Commissioner Carollo: These are leading questions that are -- Why is this being asked of him? Mr. Hartsell: I mean Commissioner Carollo: -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) answer. Mr. Hartsell: -- your control of the park is one thing. I -- define "control of the park. " Who is responsible for the upkeep, let's say, of Virginia Key Park? Mr. Kirwin: That's an historic -- Mr. Hartsell: The Parks Department or the HEP Board? Mr. Kirwin: Virginia Key Park -- Mr. Hartsell: Yes. Mr. Kirwin: --Historic Park? Mr. Hartsell: Yes. Mr. Kirwin: That's the Historic Virginia Key Trust Park. City of Miami Page 193 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Mr. Hartsell: And do you -- does it -- part of the Park Department? Mr. Kirwin: It is not. It is a separate trust of the City. Mr. Hartsell: Are any of the historical parks part of the Parks Department? Mr. Kirwin: Simpson Park, Lummus Park. Mr. Hartsell: Okay. And they're still under your control; yet, you just have one extra layer of protection for that park from the HEP Board, correct? Chair Hardemon: Its a leading question. Mr. Kirwin: They're still under the purview of the City of Miami Park and Recreation Department, which I am the Director; that I have the fiduciary responsibility to ensure that it's managed and maintained, correct. Mr. Hartsell: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Mr. Russell. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. I'd like to make my Jennings disclosure. I'd like -- couple of comments, and I'd like to make a motion. Are we at that point? Commissioner Carollo: Well -- Chair Hardemon: Have you got your two -minute closing? Mr. Hartsell: Yeah. I'll be --I can probably wrap it up really quick. Commissioner Carollo: Mr. -- Chair Hardemon: You have two minutes. Commissioner Carollo: --Chairman, ifI may? Chair Hardemon: Two minutes. Commissioner Carollo: No, no, no, that's fine. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Commissioner Carollo: But I want to be clear that I've been wanting to make a motion for some time. Chair Hardemon: Yes. Commissioner Carollo: Commissioner Russell said that he did not want me to until he would have some further discussion. Now I hear he wants to make a motion right after that. Vice Chair Russell: No. I had said I want to make the motion; that's what I said. Commissioner Carollo: Exactly. And the only reason you cut me off before from making a motion was because of his request to have additional discussion time. City of Miami Page 194 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: Well, I will say that part of the reason I wanted -- part of the reason --well, I'll put it this way: The reason that I wanted us not to place a motion in the beginning was because I want -- Commissioner Carollo: No, no, I understand that. Chair Hardemon: -- wanted facts on the --for us to consider that were brought forth by the parties that are involved; that's the -- that is the only reason. And so, now we're at this point, and we're at the last little part of it where this fine gentleman is going to have two minutes to tell us why we should rule in his favor. Mr. Hartsell: I'll do it in one. Chair Hardemon: That's even better. Mr. Hartsell: Two arguments in the appeal -- in the grounds for the appeal. One, process. We've already got done. There wasn't a process issue. Testimony, laymen's testimony on all the merits, nobody addressed the criteria -- not one of them -- the criteria that's in your Code. The Park met the criteria. You heard that from your own historical resource ojficer. You heard it from Dr. Paul George, who knows more about Miami than probably anybody. You heard it. That's where -- expert testimony, that's where substantial competent evidence comes from. They met the criteria for the approval to make that park -- and if -- designate that park historical. And if we don't like that, if we don't like making parks historical, then that's something we change in the ordinances. But we can't hold -- we can't change the standards now because we don't like what the result was. Chair Hardemon: Thank you, counselor. Your one -- Mr. Hartsell: We could change the rules later. Thank you. Chair Hardemon: -- minute has expired. You want to be recognized, as well? Mr. Garcia: Please. And I'll be quick; just to offer a somewhat independent perspective from that offered by the intervenor. You have heard, certainly, from my colleague, Warren Adams, Preservation Officer that there are criteria that are met, and those criteria, when were considered by the Preservation Office, yielded a report, which, as described carefully in his testimony, yielded two outcomes. The use of the park is historic; certainly, I don't think anyone argues with that. And the site - planning components of the park certainly qualms as historic. And I think those of us who have looked at the park can agree with that, as well. The report furnished by Mr. Adams on behalf of the Preservation Office to the HEP Board makes it very clear that resilience issues are paramount, and they should be properly addressed and excluded from purview by the Historic & Environmental Preservation Board, and I wanted to make that clear in our testimony so as not to confuse the fact that where there are actually criteria to designate this land as a historic resource for the City of Miami, they do not include some of the items contained in the report presented by Mr. George -- Dr. George -- including the buildings, including all the other elements that would become a constraint in terms of the City rendering this facility safe for all its occupants. Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. You already had your two minutes. Commissioner Russell. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. I'd like to make the following Jennings disclosures: That my staff met with Elvis Cruz regarding PZ.5; my staff met with Arthur Rosenberg; my staff and I met with Eli Stiers; David Holtzman, as well. This City of Miami Page 195 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 communication has not swayed me in any fashion, and I continue to be as impartial about this item as I was prior to the communication. My disclosure will be made as part of the record. Thank you. People designate historic structures and properties for two reasons: Either they want to save it, because they love it; or they want to stop what they're worried about is coming. And I have to be honest that I'm in opposition to historic designation just to stop development. I believe in historic designation to preserve what you care about. And I think, out of everything that was said here tonight, Francisco made it the most perfectly clear of what we are trying to preserve here. And even Warren Adams said very clearly of what flexibility we're trying to create. And we can discuss this, but the motion that I would make would be to deny the appeal, especially based on the notice and procedural part of it. But I also do not believe that they proved that there was no merit and that the HEP Board made their designation in error. However, I would like to make some changes, some alterations to the HEP Board's decision, because I do believe that the department got it right in certain parts where I do not want the HEP Board to be weighing in or overreaching and slowing down potentially things that the City should be able to take on in their own function, and those would have to do with sea level rise issues, flooding issues, playground equipment, and recreation equipment. I believe the City should be able to go in and replace a playground without going to the HEP Board. As for the structures, I believe that the entire park should be designated, but that the structures should be non-contributing, and that's different than not having them to be part of any designation. What this means is that when there is redevelopment of a pool, of a building that it -- the design will go to the HEP Board, and that it will have to fall within a vernacular or a style that is amenable to that community, because Historic Morningside does have a style and does have a history that should be respected, but I do not believe that those are contributing structures. And beyond that, I do believe in the design that the loop road, as a shape and architecture within the park is important to be preserved. So that's my motion. It's a denial of the appeal, with some changes to the HEP Board's decision. This would allow the Parks Department to continue planning and designing any changes to the park they wish. And on the parks that are not mentioned that I precluded before would go to the HEP Board, and the HEP Board would weigh in. But we can still have the best amenities for our residents; a pool that's worthy of kids to learn to swim; and access for everyone from that community, and the entire City of Miami. I do believe that this compromise will preserve what's important, but allow us to redevelop what we should, and that's my motion. Commissioner Carollo: I will second it for the purpose of discussion and moving ahead quickly, even though I'm not going to vote for the motion. So it's seconded to go to a vote. I think we've reached a point in the City that we have to gain a hold of our city back. This point of trying to name anything and everything that's not historic "historic, " it's got to come to a stop. There was an example I was told today in the morning session, that I was not here, from residents of the other extreme part of the City in Coconut Grove, complaining of what's being done to them; that they can't even repair or sell some of their properties because of that. So the fact that we want to hold historic something that in any which -way you cut it, it's not -- And I was leaning originally to go the route that Commissioner Russell said here, but after hearing from the other side and really spending the time here, and analyzing the -- what I was hearing, I'm convinced that they haven't proved their point. Just because you bring someone that's well known -- I like him -- to give you an opinion, that's an opinion. The other side could have gotten and brought other people if they would have had sufficient dollars. All that I've heard are opinions of why it's historic, but the facts are that I didn't hear any that meets, to me, the criteria. You know what's historic? You go downtown and go to the Olympic [sic] Theater; that's historic. You look at that Freedom Tower; that's historic. I could go on and on in places that are truly historic. But this is an abuse of the terminology of "historic, " to try to say that this is historic. And when I'm hearing someone tell me that it's historic because City of Miami Page 196 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 of the loops of the road, my God, I've heard it all. So for someone, like I said before, and I think three of us here meet that criteria that, based on what they said here, is also historic, I am going to be voting against this. And I'd like to call the question so we could have a vote on it. Vice Chair Russell: Is there a second for the calling of the question? Commissioner Reyes: I'll second it. Vice Chair Russell: There's a second to the calling of the question. Is anyone --? Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): The motion, calling of the question, is not necessary, ifyou think, you know, the body is ready to vote, so you -- Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Vice Chair Russell: No, I don't know that. I don't know if anyone else has a comment to make about the subject before we vote, so that's why I was waiting for a second on the calling of the question. Mr. Hannon: Understood. Commissioner Gort: No, I'll make a comment; I'll limit it to what it is and -- Vice Chair Russell: Although before we get in -- so -- well, because the question has been called, there's been a second, all in favor of calling the question -- Commissioner Carollo: Commissioner, which way do you want it? Do you want it (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to speak a minute? Vice Chair Russell: He would like to speak a moment. Commissioner Carollo: I will withdraw it so he could speak. Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Commissioner Gort: Virginia Beach, I know well; Simpson Park, I know well; Legion Park, I know well, also; and Lummus Park. They were declared historical for different reasons; especially the Legion Park. My problem is, I think, unfortunately, this is a problem between the neighbors. There's two different type of thought. My question to the Parks Department is how long have you been working in this, in the plans for the park, what you want to do? All of a sudden, we talked about that the Park Department is planning to do something, which I'm sure they've done some beautiful jobs throughout the City. All of a sudden, they go to the historical side, and they wanted to declare it historical to stop it. And you said it before. We had other developments that have been stopped, because they were declared historical. They went to court, and they won it, and we got -- they got them back. Sothis is one reason why I would not be able to support you on this one. Vice Chair Russell: But this doesn't make -- it won't stop the Parks Department from redeveloping, though. Commissioner Carollo: Chairman, should we call the question, then? Commissioner Gort: Why not let the Parks Department go ahead to development; then we can do that. City of Miami Page 197 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Commissioner Carollo: Okay. I -- Commissioner Gort: It might be a lot easier. But this is got to be a public hearings [sic] with -- everyone has to be part of it. My understanding is the Park Departments [sic], I was told, had public hearings where everybody was able to go and talk, and give their opinion to the Parks Department. And my understanding is the design -- and correct me if I'm wrong -- your design of the Parks Department was according to the information you received from the public. Mr. Kirwin: Correct, Commissioner. Sir, I promised I wasn't going to talk long, but I have to get these things on the record, and it's answering the Commissioner's question, ifI could, sir. Chair Hardemon: You can answer the Commissioner's question. Mr. Kirwin: So just for the record, so everybody understands, the planning process was started to address sea level rise to save the park. I stood over there before and I said, "My fiduciary duty is to save your parks, and parks for City of Miami residents, which I am one." Commissioner Carollo: And you've been doing a good job, Kevin. Mr. Kirwin: Thank you, sir. Morningside Park, according to our CRA (Chief Resilience Officer), is the park that's most threatened by sea level rise and the impacts of sea level rise. The 2000 -- and this is just fact from what I heard today -- the 2007 Goody -- Clancy Park Master Plan, the system -wide Master Plan, did not address sea level rise at all. The 2012 Storm Water Master Plan -- 2012 -- did not address sea level rise. Our process is a resident -driven process, and that's why I'm getting back to your question. Everybody has stood here and said, "Well, the Parks Department, Kevin, it's his design," it's our -- no. This is a resident -driven design. All we want to do is take input and then come to some type of consensus, which is hard, and then save the park; that is it. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: Thankyou, sir. Commissioner Carollo: Call the question. Vice Chair Russell: But I was very clear that flooding and sea level rise would not apply to this historic designation; that it would not go to HEP Board; that the Parks Department and CIP (Capital Improvements Program) could do everything they need to do -- Chair Hardemon: Mr. Vice -- Vice Chair Russell: --to save the park. Chair Hardemon: -- Chairman, I'm getting a call of the question and a second to call the question. I know we got it before; there was some unreadiness before. So all in favor of calling the question, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Hardemon: All against? All right. So that motion passes to call the question. So now we'll call the question to the motion that is on the floor that was presented by City of Miami Page 198 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 the Vice Chairman. All in favor of the motion that was presented by the Vice Chairman, say "aye. " Vice Chair Russell: Aye. Chair Hardemon: All against? Commissioner Carollo: No. Commissioner Gort: No. Commissioner Reyes: No. Chair Hardemon: That motion fails. Commissioner Carollo: If I could make a motion then? Chair Hardemon: Doesn't matter; it fails. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. If I could make a motion? Chair Hardemon: You can make a motion. Mr. Hannon: Chair, no -- I'm sorry. Commissioner Carollo: All right, a motion -- Mr. Hannon: I need to note for the record -- so it's 1-4; only one Commissioner voting in favor and four voting "no"? Commissioner Carollo: Yes, correct. Mr. Hannon: Understood. Commissioner Carollo: The resolution I would like to make is a resolution of the Miami City Commission granting the appeal filed by James Rosenberg and others, as listed in the appeal letter, for Morningside Park, appellant, and reversing the decision of the Miami Historic & Environmental Preservation Board's approval, pursuant to Section 23-4 of the Code of the City of Miami, Florida, as amended, of the final evaluation of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) designation as a historic resource for the property located at approximately 5215 Northeast 7th Avenue, Miami, Florida, with the Folio Number 01-32190230010, also known as Morningside Park. Commissioner Reyes: I'll second it. Chair Hardemon: That has been properly moved and seconded. I have a question. So if this motion is granted, then the HEP Board will reconsider -- do they reconsider, or --? Mr. Suarez -Rivas: No. This is a -- you would be reversing the HEP Board, and this is the final decision of the City. It's the decision of the committee [sic], as an appellant body, listening to this appeal. So, no, because the motion -- Chair Hardemon: So it's just that it -- so it doesn't send it back down to --? Mr. Suarez -Rivas: No, no; it does not. Appeals will be directly to the City Commission, and, you know, the appellate decision of the Commission is the final City of Miami Page 199 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 decision of the Commission. Appeals from decision of the City Commission shall be made to courts, as provided by the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure. So this is it; this is final City action. You're the appellate body. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Any further discussion on the motion on the floor? Commissioner Reyes: Call the question. Chair Hardemon: Seeing none, all in favor of the motion, say "aye. " Commissioner Carollo: Aye. Commissioner Gort: Aye. Commissioner Reyes: Aye. Chair Hardemon: All against? Vice Chair Russell: No. Chair Hardemon: The motion carries. PZ.6 RESOLUTION 3995 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department of ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE CLOSING, VACATING, Planning ABANDONING, AND DISCONTINUING FOR PUBLIC USE A PORTION AYES: OF A PUBLIC SERVICE EASEMENT OF APPROXIMATELY 0.11 ACRES (OR APPROXIMATELY 5,082 SQUARE FEET) OF LAND WITHIN THE LIMITS OF APPROVED TRITON CENTER TENTATIVE PLAT, NO. 1817, LOCATED BETWEEN BISCAYNE BOULEVARD AND NORTHEAST 5TH AVENUE AND BETWEEN NORTHEAST 78TH STREET AND NORTHEAST 79TH STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA, PURSUANT TO SECTION 55-15(C) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, AS MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED IN THE ATTACHED EXHIBIT "A"; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0225 MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner SECONDER: Keon Hardemon, Chair AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes Note for the Record: For additional minutes referencing Item PZ. 6, please see "Public Comment Period for Planning and Zoning Item(s)." Chair Hardemon: Seeing that the client is not here, the Chair would like to entertain a motion to approve the item, PZ.6. City of Miami Page 200 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Commissioner Reyes: Motion to approve? Chair Hardemon: Yes. You'll have to make the motion; I'll second it. So I'll take the -- Ms. Escarra, did -- your client isn't here. Is your client here? Iris Escarra: For PZ.6? Chair Hardemon: Correct. Ms. Escarra: No, he is not here. Chair Hardemon: No. Okay. Commissioner Carollo: The Chair was asking if your client was willing to give anything to the City before we take action. Chair Hardemon: I did not say that, but -- I know. No. The -- I just want to know -- I didn't know that they were represented by counsel. Ms. Escarra: Yes. Chair Hardemon: But now I know who the counsel is. Ms. Escarra: Yes, yes. Chair Hardemon: So -- no, but the Chair would entertain a motion -- Commissioner Reyes made a motion to approve the item; the Chair is willing to second the item. Ms. Escarra: Oh, thank you. Chair Hardemon: Is there arty further discussion regarding this item? Commissioner Carollo: There is. I don't want you to think that because I'm going to vote for this one that you're going to getaway with other future ones. This one is very different, because I've never seen anything like it. It goes right in the middle of the property in a "T" and -- Ms. Escarra: There was actually a building built on it already. There was a Salvation Army there years ago that got built on it. Commissioner Carollo: And it's all unimproved. There's no roads that have been built or anything. There's gravel and --so that's why you're getting my vote in that. Ms. Escarra: Well, I appreciate that very much. Commissioner Carollo: And hopefully, what you do there will provide more than sufficient taxes dollars for the property you're getting. Ms. Escarra: Thank you very much. They're actually redoing the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Services) building -- Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Ms. Escarra: -- so it's very cool. Chair Hardemon: Seeing no further discussion, all in favor of the motion, say "aye. " City of Miami Page 201 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion carries. Ms. Escarra: Thank you very much. Chair Hardemon: You're very welcome. PZ.7 RESOLUTION 4029 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department of ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE CLOSING, VACATING, Planning ABANDONING, AND DISCONTINUING FOR PUBLIC USE A PORTION OF A STREET OF APPROXIMATELY 0.185 ACRES (OR APPROXIMATELY 8,067 SQUARE FEET) AND MEDIAN AREA OF APPROXIMATELY 0.044 ACRES (OR APPROXIMATELY 1,939 SQUARE FEET) WITHIN THE LIMITS OF APPROVED SANDPIPER VILLAS TENTATIVE PLAT, NO. 1872-B, LOCATED BETWEEN SOUTH VENETIAN DRIVE AND BISCAYNE BAY, ON THE WEST SIDE OF SOUTH VENETIAN COURT, ON BISCAYNE ISLAND, MIAMI, FLORIDA, PURSUANT TO SECTION 55-15 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, AS MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED IN EXHIBIT "A"; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION TO: Defer RESULT: DEFERRED MOVER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner SECONDER: Keon Hardemon, Chair AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes Note for the Record. Item PZ.7 was deferred to the July 14, 2018, Regular Commission Meeting. For minutes referencing Item PZ.7, please see "PART B: PZ - Planning and Zoning Item(s)." Citv ofMiarni Page 202 Printed on 0712012018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 PZ.8 ORDINANCE First Reading 3698 TO BE INDEFINITELY DEFERRED Department of AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Planning ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 10544, AS AMENDED, THE MIAMI COMPREHENSIVE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, ("MCNP") BY ADDING A POLICY TO THE FUTURE LAND USE ELEMENT OF THE MCNP TO ACCOMMODATE A RESIDENTIAL DENSITY INCREASE WITHIN TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT AREAS UP TO FIFTY PERCENT (50%) WHEN NEW DEVELOPMENT TRANSFERS UNUSED DENSITY FROM A CONTRIBUTING HISTORICALLY DESIGNATED SITE. MOTION TO: Indefinitely Defer RESULT: INDEFINITELY DEFERRED MOVER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner SECONDER: Keon Hardemon, Chair AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes For minutes referencing Item PZ.8, please see "PART B: PZ - Planning and Zoning Item (s). " PZ.9 ORDINANCE First Reading 3110 TO BE INDEFINITELY DEFERRED Department of AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING Planning ORDINANCE NO. 13114, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY AYES: OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, MORE SPECIFICALLY BY AMENDING ARTICLE 3, SECTION 3.3, ENTITLED "LOTS AND FRONTAGES," ARTICLE 4, DIAGRAM 9, ENTITLED "RESIDENTIAL DENSITY INCREASE AREAS," AND ARTICLE 4, DIAGRAM 11, ENTITLED "TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT," TO PROVIDE OR TO ALLOW FOR THE TRANSFER OF RESIDENTIAL DENSITY FROM HISTORICALLY DESIGNATED SITES TO PROPERTIES WITHIN TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT ZONES; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION TO: Indefinitely Defer RESULT: INDEFINITELY DEFERRED MOVER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner SECONDER: Keon Hardemon, Chair AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes For minutes referencing Item PZ.9, please see "PART B: PZ - Planning and Zoning Item (s). " City of Miami Page 203 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 PZ.10 ORDINANCE First Reading 3001 TO BE DEFERRED Department of AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING Planning ORDINANCE NO. 13114, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, TO AMEND APPENDIX A, ENTITLED "NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION DISTRICTS", REPLACING SECTION A-2: "VILLAGE WEST ISLAND DISTRICT AND CHARLES AVENUE (NCD -2)" AND SECTION A-3: ENTITLED "COCONUT GROVE NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION DISTRICT (NCD -3)" WITH NEW REGULATIONS, STANDARDS, AND GUIDELINES FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE COCONUT GROVE NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION DISTRICT; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION TO: Indefinitely Defer RESULT: INDEFINITELY DEFERRED MOVER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner SECONDER: Keon Hardemon, Chair AYES: Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes For minutes referencing Item PZ.10, please see "PART B: PZ - Planning and Zoning Item(s)." END OF PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S) City ofMiand Page 204 Printed on 0712012018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 ►yia►viWkel:7_1►IoZdel►v�I►vi1619101►I;I:�&i1111NI►yi61 CITYWIDE HONORABLE MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ 1NI►1lZ01;r@]11VIVA 19141111NILy, 1.1 City ofMiami Page 205 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 34017619:71"ril COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT ONE WIFREDO (WILLY) GORT END OF DISTRICT 1 ITEMS City of Miami Page 206 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 IYAN17619:110 W VICE CHAIR KEN RUSSELL END OF DISTRICT 2 ITEMS City of Miami Page 207 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT THREE JOE CAROLLO END OF DISTRICT 3 ITEMS City of Miami Page 208 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT FOUR MANOLO REYES END OF DISTRICT 4 ITEMS City of Miami Page 209 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 31IN17619:7["IN CHAIR KEON HARDEMON END OF DISTRICT 5 ITEMS City of Miami Page 210 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 1aw1ljtill NAIE 61WiTA1107ki1 END OF FUTURE LEGISLATION City of Miami Page 211 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 NA - NON -AGENDA ITEM(S) NAA DIRECTIVE 4223 DIRECTION BY COMMISSIONER REYES TO THE CITY Office of the City MANAGER REQUESTING THE CREATION OF A Cierk NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING DIVISION TO REVIEW THE CITY OF MIAMI'S PLANNING AND ZONING CODE, MIAMI 21, IN REGARDS TO THE DENSITY ALLOWED IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS. RESULT: DISCUSSED Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman? Chair Hardemon: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: We seem to be setting a world record for this meeting so far. I'd just like to make a recommendation, because we do have a CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) meeting, but it was mistakenly scheduled for 12:30 instead of 12; normally, we'd take it up right at the break. My recommendation is we take an early lunch and link that CRA meeting when we reconvene at whatever time the board feels appropriate, whether that's 2 or 3, and go from there. I can't make it come early, and we're not ready for it now. Chair Hardemon: Right. So the recommendation, board members, from the Vice Chairman is that we take a lunch break at 11 o'clock, and then I guess we'll return at -- two hours is 2 o'clock. Vice Chair Russell: Two hours is I o'clock. Chair Hardemon: Or -- I'm sorry -- two hours is I o'clock. Vice Chair Russell: Then we could do the CRA at that point. Chair Hardemon: Is that something that's desirable amongst you all? Commissioner Reyes: Yes. And we're going to get the pocket items and everything afterwards? Chair Hardemon: You have a pocket item? Commissioner Reyes: Yes, I have a pocket item. Chair Hardemon: Can you have them pass it out, please? Commissioner Reyes: Yes. Can you make copies of this? Yes. Chair Hardemon: We can try to take care of it before we -- Commissioner Reyes: You see, while you receive the copies, you see, I'm very much concerned about the density that is allowed by Miami 21 on, you see, neighborhoods that they are single-family homes, you see. I have seen projections and future developments of buildings that are going to be 12, 15 floors high, and that has City of Miami Page 212 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 created a concern among my -- by my residents and myself, because there's a bunch of things that we have to take into consideration, so -- high density, the traffic, and everything that it is going to be affecting those neighborhoods, you see. And what I would like to create -- ask the City Manager to create, I would say, as a Commission or -- we have to analyze or revisit Miami 21 in regards to the density that is allowed next to residences -- I mean, or neighborhoods that they are single-family homes and that they are residence. And some sort of -- just like the NET (Neighborhood Enhancement Team) Offices, you see, that we -- we have to -- my opinion is that we have to revisit that, because it's going to create undo harm to those people that live next to it, particularly next to those neighborhoods. And it is a directive that I want to ask the City Manager to please take action on it. Emilio T. Gonzalez (City Manager): Sir, we'll take it for action, and get back to you as soon as possible. Commissioner Reyes: And -- I mean, with the Planning Department, and see what -- how can we protect the integrity of the neighborhoods, you see, that abut t these areas that abide because of Miami 21, they're allowed so much density. Mr. Gonzalez: Yes, sir, will do. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Commissioner Reyes: All right? Chair Hardemon: Right. So I guess it's just more of a directive. Thank you very much, Mr. Manager. Commissioner Reyes: Its a directive to the City Manager. Chair Hardemon: Okay. Commissioner Reyes: You see. NA.2 DISCUSSION ITEM 4224 COMMISSIONER REYES CONGRATULATED CITY ATTORNEY Office of the City VICTORIA MENDEZ AND HER STAFF FOR A FAVORABLE Cierk RESULT IN THE CASE OF VILLAGE OF KEY BISCAYNE V. CITY OF MIAMI. RESULT: DISCUSSED Commissioner Reyes: Another thing, now that I am -- I have this opportunity, that I have the microphone open, I want to congratulate the City Attorney and her staff for the decision that we obtained with -- regarding the lawsuit that was presented by Key Biscayne, and as -- I'm real glad that the judge threw the case away, and we did not relinquish our sovereignty, you see. Thank you very much. And that I think that will be -- it's a message to other people that want to sue the City of Miami: that we're going to fight. That's what we have the Law Department for. Chair Hardemon: So, Mr. Vice Chairman -- Vice Chair Russell: Yes, sir. City of Miami Page 213 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: -- our meeting for the afternoon starts at 2. I don't anticipate that the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) meeting will take a very long time. And so, I was trying to find a way if -- you got Commissioner Gort saying, "Come back at 3. " Vice Chair Russell: We do need four. Commissioner Gort: Don't we have anything --? Vice Chair Russell: Most of the CRA items are four-fifths, so we do need a four so. Chair Hardemon: You -- I'll defer to the statesman from the first district. Commissioner Gort: No, I don't have any problems. Chair Hardemon: What time would you like to come back? Would you like to come back at -- Commissioner Gort: I don't have any problem, but -- Chair Hardemon: -- 2 o'clock or 3 o'clock? Commissioner Gort: -- I can always use the time to do something, but it's nothing that -- we don't have any business to come in front of us or any --? Chair Hardemon: We have -- Vice Chair Russell: Planning & Zoning. Chair Hardemon: -- we still have the Planning & Zoning items, and that's why, if we come back at 2 o'clock -- Commissioner Gort: Yeah, because Zoning's going to be very short, too, but -- Okay, I don't have any problem. Vice Chair Russell: So you want to do the CRA at 2 and then roll right into PZ (Planning & Zoning)? Chair Hardemon: That probably makes good sense. Commissioner Gort: Yeah. Chair Hardemon: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: So if someone could just put a notice on the window, if anyone shows up for the CRA at 12:30, that it's being moved to 2 p.m., please. And then one last comment, Mr. Chairman. I know we have a lot of items that we're looking toward the referendum for, a lot of lease deals and property issues. There was an item on this agenda having to do with Jungle Island, which is a City property, and I know that they're trying to get onto the August referendum -- August ballot. I would be -- and I recognize why the Manager pulled the item; there is a lot that needs to be put together. Perhaps, it wasn't ready for today, but in order to give it a chance, I'd be open for the Clerk to circulate whether or not there can be a special meeting, because I think that would be necessary at this point. If it's not in this meeting, in order to get on the August ballot, there would need to be a special meeting; is that correct? City of Miami Page 214 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Yes. But you can have the discussion now, so -- Vice Chair Russell: I -- you'd have to look at everybody's calendar, so -- Mr. Hannon: Okay. Vice Chair Russell: -- I'd be open for you just to -- Commissioner Reyes: Excuse me? Vice Chair Russell: And Commissioner Carollo's not here, so. Commissioner Reyes: Yeah. But do we need a special meeting, or can we decide in the ballot? Vice Chair Russell: Oh, you mean take it up today. Well, I think there's still more homework to be done. And I spoke with the Manager about this ready [sic], and the reason he pulled it today is he's not ready to go today; it's not ready for today, but I'd be open to reconvening. Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): The only thing about the special meeting -- and Todd can clarify -- it would have to be in anticipation of a June 7 deadline, and he could clarify all that. Mr. Hannon: The deadline is June 8, so the meeting would have to be held before June 8, close of business. Vice Chair Russell: Before June 8, all right. Ms. Mendez: Hopefully, before that. Vice Chair Russell: I'm sort of worrying about -- my kid's graduation is around that. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) my only conflict, so I got to check on that. And I expect we want to make sure Commissioner Carollo's available as well, so I'd rather not set the date here today, but allow the Clerk to circulate. Commissioner Gort: I have to tell you, I have a conflict between 4 -- the 4th and the 7th. I'm going to be out from 4 to 7, June 4 to June 7. Vice Chair Russell: So the 8th is the deadline? At what time? Ms. Mendez: The 8th is the deadline, but the reason why I said June 7 is because I have to draft or make any changes based on what you decide, so I was hoping the 7th; but, yes, the 8th is when it has to be turned in to the Elections Department. Vice Chair Russell: What time? Ms. Mendez: The time, Todd? Mr. Hannon: Before 5. Commissioner Reyes: We have it in the morning, so you'll have time to do it. Vice Chair Russell: It looks like it'll be the 8th, but I got to make sure I don't have my kid's graduation. Let's see. Just one quick moment. June 8. Commissioner Gort: The 8th? City of Miami Page 215 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Vice Chair Russell: Possible. I'll wait. I'd love for Commissioner Carollo to have input on that as well, so -- Mr. Hannon: But just so I have something to work with -- Vice Chair Russell: Tentative, June 8, in the morning. Mr. Hannon: Got it. Ms. Mendez: And -- Vice Chair Russell: And it could not be before the 4th. I mean, after the -- between the 4th and the 7th, because Commissioner Gort's not available. Ms. Mendez: And Mr. Hannon, could you confirm with the Elections Department that they will accept something from us that late on that date? Because in the past, they've been a little odd with us. Just so that they don't go crazy setting a date on the 8th and then the Elections Department tell us, "No. " Mr. Hannon: The information I've been given is no later than Friday, June 8, 2018, but we can confirm that. Ms. Mendez: Thank you. Chair Hardemon: All right, meeting's in recess until 2 o'clock. Vice Chair Russell: All right. NA.3 RESOLUTION 4220 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO ISSUE A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Commissioners and ("RFP") FOR THE OPERATION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") Mayor TROLLEY SYSTEM TO INCLUDE THE PROPOSED FLAGAMI TROLLEY ROUTE AND OTHER ROUTES WITHIN THE CITY WHICH MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR FEDERAL FUNDING SUBJECT TO ALL APPLICABLE FEDERAL PROCUREMENT GUIDELINES AND REGULATIONS; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO MODIFY THE EXISTING AGREEMENT WITH THE CURRENT OPERATOR, IF POSSIBLE TO COMPLY WITH THE CONDITIONS AS STATED HEREIN, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0227 MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner SECONDER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes ABSENT: Russell Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Chairman, I want to present this because -- a resolution that -- City of Miami Page 216 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: All right. So we're closing out our Planning & Zoning. Commissioner Reyes: I have a resolution that (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Chair Hardemon: Right. There's a pocket item resolution that's being presented by Commissioner Reyes. Commissioner Reyes: Yes. And I have a --and I'm sorry for trying to force this in, but this is very important for the trolleys that this resolution have to be passed today. It is a resolution of the Miami City Commission, directing the City Manager to issue a Request for Proposals -- RFP --for the operation of the City of Miami -- or City trolley system to include the proposed Flagami Trolley Route and other routes within the City which might be eligible for Federal funding; subject to all applicable Federal procurement guidelines and regulations. Commissioner Carollo: Second. Commissioner Reyes: Further authorizing the City Manager to modem the existing agreement with the current operator, if possible, to comply with the conditions as stated herein -- Commissioner Carollo: Second. Commissioner Reyes: -- in a form acceptable to the City Attorney. Commissioner Carollo: Second. Commissioner Reyes: Second by -- Chair Hardemon: Any further -- well, is there anyone from the public that'd like to speak on this item? Seeing none, I'll close the public hearing. Any further discussion from the dais? Hearing none, all in favor of the item, say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion carries. Commissioner Reyes: Thankyou. NA.4 DIRECTIVE 4225 DIRECTION BY VICE CHAIR RUSSELL TO THE CITY ATTORNEY Office of the City TO DRAFT AN ORDINANCE SUNSETTING THE BAYFRONT PARK Clerk TRUST AND ALLOWING FOR BAYFRONT PARK'S BUDGET AND MAINTENANCE TO BE MANAGED BY THE CITY OF MIAMI. RESULT: DISCUSSED Note for the Record. For additional minutes referencing Item NA.4, please see Item DL2. Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Ma'am, ma'am, I need you to speak on the microphone. Elena Botero: Are the venues going to be the same? City ofMiami Page 217 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Vice Chair Russell: Are the -- what? Ms. Botero: I mean, what is it going to change? Vice Chair Russell: This -- that is completely up to the Bayfront Park Trust. Ms. Botero: Well, are we there? Vice Chair Russell: If this doesn't solve your issue -- Ms. Botero: Uh-huh. So what do we do? Vice Chair Russell: -- what you're asking for is to take your park back, to have more say in how many events go there; to see that it become a city park. Ms. Botero: Exactly. Unidentified Speaker: That's why we're here. Ms. Botero: That's why we're here. Vice Chair Russell: In that case, I will direct the City Attorney right now to draft an ordinance to disband the Bayfront Park Trust and resume it as a part of the City of Miami Parks System -- Ms. Botero: Mm-hmm, I think it's good, yeah. Vice Chair Russell: -- so that it can be managed by the Parks System -- Ms. Botero: Yes, yes; that's what we're here for. Vice Chair Russell: -- managed by the Events System; managed by this Commission Ms. Botero: Exactly. Vice Chair Russell: --to be held accountable as the electeds that you voted for -- Ms. Botero: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: -- in your district and others -- Ms. Botero: Yes. Vice Chair Russell: -- and the budget can be managed within the City versus a lower board handling it, just as -- We've been looking at so many lower boards that manage our assets and manage our monies, and we don't have the say-so at this level -- Ms. Botero: Mm-hmm. Vice Chair Russell: -- I'm asking the City Attorney to draft it, and we'll bring it up at the next agenda -- Commissioner Carollo: And you know why -- City of Miami Page 218 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Vice Chair Russell: -- and it may have opposition. It may not pass. Ms. Botero: That's what we need. Vice Chair Russell: But that is my -- Ms. Botero: And also, another -- Vice Chair Russell: -- it's not even a motion; it's just a directive. Ms. Botero: -- issue that I have -- Vice Chair Russell: It's over. Ms. Botero: -- very quickly, very quickly. Commissioner Carollo: No. It's -- Ms. Botero: After they dismantle the venue, they start at 12 o'clock taking everything apart so we can sleep, because -- Commissioner Carollo: -- we -- Ms. Botero: -- I called the police and they said they can't tell them to stop, because they have some kind of -- Vice Chair Russell: You got it? Thank you. Ms. Botero: -- I don't know what it is. NA.5 RESOLUTION 4226 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION Office of the City SCHEDULING A SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING ON Clerk JUNE 8, 2018 AT 10:30 A.M. AT MIAMI CITY HALL, 3500 PAN AYES: AMERICAN DRIVE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, FOR THE PURPOSES OF 1) ABSENT: DISCUSSING AND TAKING ANY AND ALL ACTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE MODIFICATION OF THE LEASE BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI AND ESJ JI LEASEHOLD, LLC., INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA AND 2) DISCUSSING AND TAKING ANY AND ALL ACTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO CHARLES HADLEY PARK, 1350 NW 50 STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA. ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-18-0230 MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner AYES: Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes ABSENT: Russell City of Miami Page 219 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: There's only -- the only -- there's only one other issue. The other issue that we had -- Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Has to do with June 8, right? Chair Hardemon: -- has to do with June 8. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. I'll make a motion. Mr. Clerk, do you have it; if you could read it? Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Yes, sir. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Mr. Hannon: It's my understanding that earlier on in the day, there was a discussion regarding a special City Commission meeting -- Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Mr. Hannon: -- to be held on -- and bear with me for just a moment. Chair Hardemon: June 8. Mr. Hannon: June 8. According to Commissioner Reyes, Commissioner Gort, Commissioner Russell, they were fine with June 8, preferably in the morning; maybe 11 o'clock, 10 o'clock, but they were available all day when I made the rounds earlier today, so -- Commissioner Carollo: What was the best time for everybody? Mr. Hannon: There was a preference for earlier in the day, so 10:30. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. So I make a motion then for having that special meeting on June 8 at 10:30 a.m. -- Commissioner Reyes: I second that motion. Commissioner Carollo: --for the purpose as stated. Chair Hardemon: It's been proper -- it's -- Mr. Hannon: City Attorney -- I'm sorry, Chair. It's my understanding that we need to call the special meeting for a specific purpose, so it'll be to discuss Jungle Island. Is that sufficient? Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Is that the only item that you're interested in discussing? Chair Hardemon: I believe it is. Ms. Mendez: Because you won't be able to add anything else after that. Commissioner Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE.) Ms. Mendez: Yes, he checked with the County; we're good. City of Miami Page 220 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Chair Hardemon: And I'll just -- for the record, I'm scheduled to be out of town on that day. Commissioner Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE.) Chair Hardemon: I'm just telling you. But the majority of the body is scheduled to be here, so that I'm not going to, you know, obstruct this organization from moving forward. I may -- Commissioner Carollo: So any other day --? Chair Hardemon: -- end up finding my way back here; it just depends on how bad everything turns out before we get to June 8. Commissioner Carollo: Sure, yeah. Chair Hardemon: Sometimes, you know, your presence is not needed; and sometimes, it really is. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Chair Hardemon: So we shall see. Commissioner Carollo: Your presence is always needed. Chair Hardemon: We shall see, so. Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Chairman? Chair Hardemon: Without any further discussion, all in favor of the motion, say "aye. " Mr. Hannon: Chair -- Ms. Mendez: I just -- I wanted to remind everybody that whatever is going to be voted on, on that special meeting on Jungle Island has to be by a 4/5ths. Commissioner Carollo: Right. Commissioner Gort: Yes. Ms. Mendez: So if for some reason, only three people show up -- Commissioner Carollo: See, your presence is always needed. Unidentified Speaker: I hope it's needed. Commissioner Carollo: Before we finish, then, would you like to include -- and I think we have the time -- the 900 plus that you needed for Hadley Park for that meeting? Chair Hardemon: That would be kind of you, wouldn't it? Commissioner Carollo: Huh? Chair Hardemon: Kevin Kirwin would like that. City of Miami Page 221 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 Commissioner Carollo: Well, that's included for the meeting. Okay, we're -- Mr. Hannon: Sorry. We do have a motion and a second on the floor for the special meeting; public hearing, real fast, since it is a resolution. Chair Hardemon: Well, we want to amend the meeting or -- Commissioner Carollo: I'm going to amend the resolution -- Chair Hardemon: Oh. Commissioner Carollo: -- to also include no more than a million dollars for Hadley Park for Parks and Recreation equipment. Chair Hardemon: Is there--? Unidentified Speaker: New park improvements. Commissioner Carollo: Park improvements, okay. Commissioner Reyes: I move that -- second. Mr. Hannon: I'm sorry -- Ms. Mendez: It's an allocation, a resolution allocation -- Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Ms. Mendez: -- on that item and on Jungle Island. Those would be the purposes of the meeting. Commissioner Carollo: Those would be the two -- Chair Hardemon: So I -- Commissioner Carollo: --subjects. Chair Hardemon: --like how you sweetened the pot to make me come. Mr. Hannon: And if we just have a quick public hearing before the -- Chair Hardemon: Is there anyone from the public that'd like to speak on that -- well, it's not -- I wouldn't imagine -- it was just -- Mr. Hannon: I believe both of them are resolutions. Chair Hardemon: No. Ms. Mendez: Well, they're -- Chair Hardemon: We're just placing --we're placing things on the agenda for later. Ms. Mendez: -- both things are going to be placed on the -- Mr. Hannon: Oh, on the special meeting. Ms. Mendez: Yes. City of Miami Page 222 Printed on 07/20/2018 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 24, 2018 ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Reyes: Yes. Ms. Mendez: That's what we're talking about; just the special meeting. Mr. Hannon: Okay. Now I got it. I'm sorry. Ms. Mendez: The special meeting was just two items. It's late, it's late, don't worry. Mr. Hannon: Okay. Ms. Mendez: That's all that was. Chair Hardemon: The mover and the seconder agree to the amendment to the motion. All in favor of the motion, say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Hardemon: All against? That motion carries. The meeting is concluded. Goodnight. The meeting adjourned at 10:38 P.M. City of Miami Page 223 Printed on 07/20/2018