Balance of Master Plan Tipping Toward Increased Height & FAR in North Beach & Away from Affordable Housing Options & Preservation in Town Center
What can we say except OMG! And ugh.
If you haven’t heard the latest, Mayor Levine reconvened the North Beach Committee to take a look at the Master Plan recommendations—you know, the thing we spent all that money and time on building consensus around last year—and forward suggestions for Commission review and vote.
A motion passed to expand Town Center, which would mean a larger area with increased height to 12 stories, and another to increase FAR (density) within the expanded area.
Although these suggestions were part of the Master Plan, they were balanced alongside support for local historic districts (we lost the Tatum Waterway), a commitment to bolstering affordable housing options and adherence to the detailed guidelines in the plan (which are currently being debated) for the proposed North Beach conservation districts.
Take a look at our scorecard below for more about the recent actions of this North Beach Committee to see what these seven “representatives” are up to:
Scorecard from April 6th
North Beach Committee Meeting
Wait a minute… Didn’t we all agree as a community, along with the professionals and experts at Dover & Kohl, to a limited height increase in Town Center as long as the proposed local historic were adopted as proposed (we lost Tatum Waterway… so far) and affordable housing options were integrated? And didn’t we also agree—again with the professionals—that a FAR increase should be balanced against these protections for the character and diversity of our neighborhoods?
Oh, FYI, the Committee also vetoed the concept of inclusionary zoning in Town Center, which would have required developers to include mixed-income units and encouraged a variety of affordable options (like micro units) for residents.
One positive recommendation was the unanimous support of a historic preservation fund that would provide grants to property owners to help restore or adapt MiMo structures. Sadly, however, a motion to support finding options for how best to preserve historic structures on 71st failed. This would mean the possible loss of the iconic parabolic arch (NBNA’s trademark!) on 71st.
Folks, it’s time to reach out and show up. Why are parts of the Master Plan getting implemented while others are intentionally undermined and denied? Many in the community consented to concessions they would not have otherwise agreed – because they were promised something in return. Wasn’t that the foundational compromise of the plan? The North Beach Committee needs to hear from us. The Commission and Mayor needs to hear from you (current and running). Let’s begin a dialogue regarding what are sure to be hotly contested issues. See easy to cut and paste email lists below.
Join residents on Thursday, April 27th from 8:00AM to 11:00AM at the Normandy Golf Club when the North Beach Committee will propose changes to the Conservation District ordinance.
Given the motions thus far, we fear these recommendations will not favor clearly expressed resident concerns regarding parking, space between buildings, height and the maintenance of the character and scale of our neighborhood.
If we don’t begin to ask questions and voice our vision, we are allowing 7 handpicked residents to determine the future of North Beach even though hundreds of residents and stakeholders worked side-by-side with Dover & Kohl to hammer out a balanced, compromised vision of the North Beach of the future.
Current North Beach Committee Members Contacts
Margueritte Ramos, Nancy Liebman, Betsy Perez, Brad Bonessi, Daniel Veitia, Carolina Jones & Kirk Paskal
rperez4bullseye@aol.com;carolina@twincribz.com;daniel@urbanresource.com;margmiami@gmail.com;Nanlieb@aol.com;brad.bonessi@gmail.com;KPaskal@gmail.com
Current Mayor & Commission Contacts
Philip Levine, Mickey Steinberg, Joy Malakoff, Michael Greico, John Aleman, Ricky Arriola, Kristen Gonzalez
johnaleman@miamibeachfl.gov;joymalakoff@miamibeachfl.gov;kristenrosengonzalez@miamibeachfl.gov;michaelgrieco@miamibeachfl.gov;micky@miamibeachfl.gov;rickyarriola@miamibeachfl.gov;philiplevine@miamibeachfl.gov
Commission & MayorAL candidates Contacts
Dan Gelber, Michael Grieco, Micky Steinberg, Daniel Kahn, Mickey Steinberg, Zachary Eisner, Robert Lansburgh, Joshua Levy, Rafael Velasquez, Michael Gongora, Adrian Gonzalez, Cindy Mattson
dan@dangelber.com;michael@griecolaw.com;danny@kahnceptgroup.com; micky@palmprop.com;zackelaw@gmail.com;rclmgt@gmail.com;jlevypglaw@gmail.com;rv@rafaformiamibeach.com;Michael@michaelgongora.com;agmb305@gmail.com;cmattson@eeoconsultants.com