##VIDEO ID:t9pnElKbVbM## for [Music] for [Music] hey he hey hey he he [Music] [Music] [Music] please take your seats the meeting is about to begin remember to speak into the microphone as this meeting is being recorded for public record please stand by we are going on air in 5 4 3 2 1 good afternoon and welcome to the November 25th 2024 meeting of the land use and sustainability Committee of today's meeting of the land use committee will be conducted in a hybrid format with members of the committee physically present in the commission Chambers at Miami Beach each City Hall and staff and members of the public appearing either in person or virtually via Zoom to participate virtually members of the public may dial 888- 47544 N9 and enter the webinar ID which is 85599 23037 pound or log into the Zoom app and enter the webinar ID which again is 8505 9923 037 anyone wishing to speak on an item must click the rate hand icon on the Zoom app or star9 if participating by phone Mr attorney let's do a a roll call to establish Quorum sure um commissioner Dominguez present commissioner Suarez is absent Vice chair bot here chairman Fernandez preson we have a quorum thank you and we welcome also commissioner Rosen Gonzales joining us today for items on the agenda and in the audience we have not only commissioner Joseph magazine but the junior the official Junior commissioner of the city of Miami Beach Capri hi Capri hi Capri um with that Mr director are there any changes added to today's agenda yes and uh Mr chair we're going to be using the agenda that printed with today's supplemental agenda so from this agenda um there are three items under future items that have been deferred since the original publishing of the agenda last Thursday and they are I item 20 which was to discuss the development of design guidelines for alternate railing designs for non-contributing buildings within historic districts and a possible amendments to the city's historic preservation ordinance to allow for the administrative review of such new railing designs this is being uh move to a future date uh item 21 which was the discussion of potential amendments to the Land Development regulations of the city code and the comprehensive plan regarding allowable uses and development regulations within the 40th Street residential sing family overlay applicable to religious institutions this is also being moved to a future date and then finally item number 22 which was a referral to the land use committee to discuss an ordinance increasing fines and penalties for frequent code violations that affect residential quality of life this is being uh deferred to a future date on the uh agenda that was uh published uh as part of the supplemental today item number three uh regarding future programming of the West Lots is being deferred to a future date item number four which are incentives for property owners to restore and rehabilitate historic residential apartment buildings in the Flamingo Park neighborhood is being deferred to a special meeting uh for historic preservation items item number five to discuss the implementation of a consent agenda for L use board meetings is being deferred to a future date um item number uh a number seven discuss incentives for property owners to restore and rehabilitate historic residential apartment buildings in North Beach is being deferred to a special meeting for historic properties and lastly item number 14 uh which is an ordinance to create F height and setback incentive for non-transient residential uses on properties fronting Sixth Street in the cps2 zoning district is being deferred to a future date all right and and so those items number four and seven since they relate also to recommendations from the ad hoc historic preservation Review Committee that we convened we're going to take all those recommendations together uh at a special meeting of the land use committee with that uh we're going to be take we're going to be taking items number 16 17 and 18 uh out of order at the beginning of the meeting commissioner Bon just um for the items that the items that um moved to a special meeting to be discussed all as one things that are currently listed as future items would they be pulled out and put into that special meeting as well if there are any that are relevant uh yeah I'm happy I'm happy if there's there's any any related item to recommendations from the ad hoc committee that we convened I'm happy to consider it there the intent is to for all the recommendations that came out of that ad hoc committee that reviewed our historic preservation ordinance to consider them all together at that special land use committee yeah cuz like 24 I don't know if it was reviewed by the ad hoc committee but it sort of falls into the same bucket of what we're trying to do so it might be useful to Sure yes yes it 24 that makes a lot of sense I I I do believe item 24 should be part of that special uh meeting commissioner so uh Mr director Les's L's uh let's note that and that is item 24 under the supplement agenda correct yeah both under the originally printed agenda and the supplemental which are the incentives to restore and rehabilitate buildings on Collins Avenue and Washington Avenue between Fifth and Lincoln thank you commissioner bot uh with that is there a motion to set the agenda oh we'll move it okay it's been moved by commissioner Bond second by the chair and we can show that by acclamation the agenda has been set um I'm going to just take agenda agenda item number 16 out of out of order this is an item I had placed on the agenda for the installation of wave finding signage to Ocean Drive from the entrance of the city uh at at the MacArthur cway towards um towards towards this part of of the city to um to truly enhance our visitor experience often times because of the change of traffic flow our visitors um at times end up lost trying to get to Ocean Drive and our public works department uh actually was able to proactively work on this I see we have our Public Works director here uh Brad concisely just tell us what you were able to accomplish welcome your mic is not on thank you welcome yes good afternoon chairman Fernandez fellow Commissioners um as part of the city's ongoing program um that we've been doing uh this particular item was included in it and I am happy to report that all the signs have been successfully completed and I will share pictures uh with the group as well um but it's all done and just as is in your particular item so great thank you so with that we can show this item as completed thank you for for getting those signs installed I don't know uh Nick are there any members of the public wishing to speak on this item no there are not there's not any any discussions from the table from the from the de on this item seeing none we can move on to item number 17 uh let's introduce the item Mr director okay Mr chair item number 17 is discuss amending the Miami Beach resiliency code to wave or reduce historic preservation board application fees for additions Renovations and Rehabilitation of single family homes within local historic districts or individually designated historic sites commissioner Rosen Gonzalez this is your item your Reck you're welcome to introduce him okay um so for example if you live in most places in mid Beach and you want to change a window you do not have to go in front of the historic preservation board but we have a couple of single family neighbor single family home neighborhoods in Miami Beach where if they want to do anything at all they have to pay this added fee in order to go in front of the HPB and um I understand why they might be upset about that so I would like us to help them and encourage them to you know improve their homes by not charging them to go in front of the HPB and this would apply to Palm View there's a you know some historic single family homes um on Alton and there's a small single family home historic neighborhood near um Flamingo Park you know which one I'm talking about so I don't know how you feel about this but I think it would be a great incentive for single family homeowners thank you commissioner and I and I truly align with with the intent of this item especially with our historic districts and our individually designated sites it makes sense if we want to preserve these homes this is a small way and I think it's a nominal cost to the city a nominal cost to the city could at times be a big cost to the homeowner so I commend you on the spirit of this item uh are there comments from the dayas on this item commissioner B recognized um I I I like the idea excuse me I like the idea this to make it easier um would this be any home any single family home in a contri in a any contributing single family home in a historic district whether or not that home has been designated historic single family homes within locally designated districts but whether or not they are individually designated as historic is that right I don't believe the uh referral contemplates contributing versus non-contributing but if that's something that you wanted to add you could certainly add that no I mean I just think we don't want to um I think it's anybody who's in a single family in a historic district whether or not they are designated already as an individual site and I also like the fact that this is not um dispensing with the review process um it is there's still an opportunity to review it's just making it a less onerous burden for the the residence if I'm understanding this correctly um do you have any hesitation on this no we were um as we indicated in the memo it likely will be fairly di Minimus at least in the next couple years based upon the number of applications we've gotten but it's something that we would recommend in favor of and if the committee's in favor of it you can send it back to the commission for a referral to land use or for the for a referral to the planning board and and I must say that that even though it would not apply to individually designated sites within the historic districts the fact that it would apply to any home uh in a in a in a historic district is important because it helps us preserve the character the overall character of these districts even when the individual properties are not Des designated themselves uh is there a motion on the item Mr chair if I could just make one clarification yes you recognized thank you it it does also cover individually designated single family homes so it's so it's anyone right well but outside correct outside individually designated homes outside of districts that's right yes yes but is there a First a motion on the item okay the item has been properly moved and second members of second by commissioner uh Dominguez are there members of the public wishing to speak on this item commission yes welcome thank you Daniel Calo with Miami Design preservation League this sounds like a great idea to encourage um single family homeowners of historic homes and I but I did want to mention that if you do want to change a window you actually don't have to go to Historic preservation board and that there's an administrative review process that's one of the many things that people get wrong and why we have so much uh information out there but yeah but anything like a big addition that uh with a significant demolition would require going there so I just want to make sure that this wouldn't apply just a demolition because um that would probably have the unintended consequence of and and this would actually apply Mr attorney correct us if we're wrong for additions Renovations and rehabilitations but not for demolitions is that correct that's right yes thank you so much any other members of the public wishing to speak on this item any on Zoom no no okay the it has been moved and second s sorry there is uh now there is Mitch novic welcome Mitch you have two minutes to speak Mitch please unmute yourself you have two minutes to speak there you go okay good evening everybody Mitch novic this sounds like a great program I think it should be expanded to Historic districts such as the Flamingo Park neighborhood to include multifamily buildings uh where Property Owners if they should seek to change Windows or do any modifications their feed to death thank you thank you so much any other members of the public wishing to speak on this item okay seeing none uh by acclamation we can show this item recommended back to the city Commission yes okay with that uh let's move on to the next item Mr director number 18 okay Mr chair number 18 is consider amending the city's Land Development regulations to require a 67th vote of the city commission prior to the adoption of any increase in a property zoned height commissioner Rosen Gonzalez this is your item you're welcome to introduce so things that are mutually exclusive but at the same time not like Love and Marriage lawn order height and density you know horse and carriage horse and carriage you see um you know every time on an agenda most of the time that I see um f I also happen to see height in many cases and because we applied the six SS to the F and I think that's working pretty well because you know things pass when they're good projects when you know when everybody agrees to them but I do think that having this conversation at at the commission and including um the height is the correct thing to do because the two of them kind of coexist as I speak to different developers around town they don't just want the F they also want the height and they don't really want the height without the F you know sometimes somebody will say I want Hy but somewhere better embedded in there there's also the F so I just think that it's um good government it's higher threshold as we grow higher and higher we've already granted um sign you know different height increases at the last meeting density increases um for this you know transient to residential use but anything else coming before us would have to pass that six sth threshold and I also think it will give um developers and and and some pause and say okay this a pretty significant threshold if I want to do this in Miami Beach and you know and and and we would have to really Buy in what does that mean it means that they will have to do significant community outreach and get compliance from all of the the neighbors and you know the different you know if it's in a historic district from from different groups and I think it will go a long way to better projects at the end of the day because when sometimes when you do hold a 100 Community meetings to get a 500 Story Tower you end up with a unanimous vote because you've done a 100 or 200 meetings and even then residents across the city you know there was outcry but you know there was also I think it was 200 Public meetings at least that's what the developer of this of five Park said and by by the way where it started out and where it ended up with canopy Park and you know all of these you know and the crosswalk that's finally being built and all of those things were there because of those Community meetings and because you know um be be because actually at the time it was it was really a question of height but when it's good when you know when somebody offers all of these things then you do gain consensus or at least six sevenths vote I don't know how you feel about that thank you Commissioners there are members of the day is wishing to speak on this item commissioner Bond I think it was 200 meetings walking barefoot in the snow uphill in both directions you know I I I like the direction this my concern is you know we have a generally fairly unified commission right now um my concern is in the not to distant paths we've had very divided commissions and I worry if um you know we can generally talk things out on the day with the configuration of people we have elected now um I'm my reservation is that if you if you have a very divided day is with personalities that don't want to hear each other just you know have refused to hear each other um which I hope doesn't happen again at least during the next seven years um I I worry that we might set ourselves up for being you know sort of at an impass on everything all the time and not being able to move forward make things better um whether or not forward means passing something it just you know I I don't know if we would I I don't know I I like the idea but I have reservations so so so on on that Mr attorney is there a limit on height increases that can be contemplated at the moment the the the charter has a restriction prohibiting a variance of greater than 3 feet so the city commission can amend the maximum height for a zoning District as a legislative matter but no variance for height can be granted by the land use boards for more than 3 feet for more than three feets which is why we've ended up with these with these taxt amendments that's right I think you know I I I think it is a well-intended piece of of legislation I think that there's times when you see areas that have been depressed that need support you know we've we've we've in the past have used it as as a tool we're going to be this I mean I'm sure I'm sure as part of the devil conversation I'm sure we're going to have to look at ldr amendments that that might contemplate height and that going to be a tool that we're going to be able to use to save not save bring back hopefully um you know a a property that we lost um you know I think about about the discussions we had with the Stanton Hotel yes it was a height increase but it was a height increase because of what was asked of the developer to to to um as as part of the process uh Mr amoney to correct me if I'm wrong but it was as a result of feedback from the historic preservation board that we ended up with a height increase before before us is that correct correct and so and and so in essence was there a height increase there was a height increase but it was as a result of feedback from from the historic preservation board and that height increase ultimately helped us preserve a historic property that otherwise the property owner could have demolished as of right because of the preemptions adopted by the state of Florida with the unsafe structures act and with and with such a dangerous statute existing in Tallahassee if we can use height increase nominal height increases as an incentive to preserve historic assets then it's a tool that we should we should have available and I'm concerned that as our colleague mentioned um making it so restrictive as a 67th vote could um could could get in the way especially with a different type of commission where we're not as a line commissioner Rosen Gonzalez well I'd like to point out that the Stanton passed with the 67th vote it passed and apart from that there's not very many times that a height increase comes before us without an added F increase here is what I would like to ask would you consider moving it to commission with no recommendation so that we can have this is a very important conversation so that we could have the conversation with all seven of us present just so that and it might never get called or you know it might take months for it to get called but but let's have that conversation because I I would tell you that when it is okay and there's consensus then it did pass you know and it passed with the six sevens um there were several height increases along Collins Avenue West Avenue these midle they all passed with six sens so when something is moderate and when it's an incentive that the majority or the the super majority of the body feels is correct um it moves forward as you can see you know I that's why I don't understand you know and and by the way as I'm looking at the agenda every single time you have the F you also have the height you know so I you know but maybe maybe there's you know massaging with you know maybe there's added f with a reduced step back and no height you know but like so so what I would also point out is you know not every parcel is the same and so there might be instances where you might need through the review process greater buffer between properties and the way you achieve greater buffer between properties I'm just using this as one example while still allowing people to use their f is by allowing them to go higher so you may have greater setbacks to reduce certain impacts you may have you know you may don't you may not want a building to be as close to the neighboring property so you may say okay the setbacks are going to be bigger but the build but the building has to go higher but in order for them to to achieve you know their ability to to to use their property rights without taking away property rights for from them in a way that could make us vulnerable then to litigation and so I think I I think that that's something I so I can't support this today the way that this is written I don't I I don't think that this position says well I think it takes away flexibility from us I can I suggest that maybe um you you continue working on this a little bit and maybe separate out projects that would have a historic Redevelopment component so if it's somebody coming with a brand new development and they just want height and increased density increased height that would require a six sevens vote if it's somebody who is trying to give us what we want which is to protect and reinvigorate a historic property and we're using it as a way to incentivize that protection that could stay at a 57 vote so in the historic district commissioner So within the historic districts 57s and new project 67s for the height or or or even if it's outside of a historic district but it helps us preserve uh a a his a designated site or or or property of architectural significance even if it's outside of a historic district like for example with the well the Stanton is part of a historic district but there's you know um five Park your bike your mic five Park was not is not um did not preserve an existing contributing structure in any way and it got tremendous additional F and and height and but there are other projects and there's there's one coming on West AV that would get tremendous additional height um not contributing to any significant any historic um preservation effort but there are other projects coming down the pike potentially on you know let's say on Washington or or the doville or um that are asking for that in in exchange for preserving or reconstructing in some cases a contributing a very important contributing historic structure so to me they're not they're not equal and and 57s is not nothing by the way 57s is already pretty pretty significant yeah but like for example I'm five Park had there been a six seven we could have gotten a way better project but they had the five votes solid you know what I mean and at that point you know to go against something that you know already is just going to pass on principal when there were so many meetings I think that if you would have had that threshold I don't think you would have gotten the 500 foot Tower you wouldn't have they would have had to bring it down and I think our residents would have been very grateful because I have to say the one thing that I've never heard is how much I like the tower on Fifth Street nobody has ever ever said that to me me um you know people enjoy the park fine but all I hear is grief about that so if if that would have been if that was your motion if that was your motion I would move it with what you just said to the I'm ready to take that yes I'm ready to take what I can get on this and I haven't heard from commissioner JZ but if that would be your motion you guys would all support this for new projects I would I think that would be a great I would support a conversation about it with with the commission if it were bifurcated completely new versus um New and rehabilitating historic I would I would that that's a conversation I would um I could extend to the bigger commission I I I'm not sure that I would support it at the end of the day but it's a conversation I'd be interested in having okay so is that a motion sure so it's a it's it's a motion to have a conversation at the city commission but it's an amended language right so to maintain the 57th for brand new no 67 I'm sorry six7 for 67th for brand new and 57th to be able to use as a historic preservation incentive correct okay okay so that's the motion moved by commissioner bod second it's been second second by commissioner Dominguez so your water okay I'm uh okay did you get that can show that something going here I'm not sure I like I like it I think it's I think that that was a good compromise where you're trying to go yeah and I do think that you know projects come before us it's good to have that I would like to see because this this is a very significant piece of legislation I would like to see a draft of this a draft of this ordinance come to the land use committee so we can review it because this is a significant amendment to our ldrs uh so so so I'd like to see this come to our committee and before we move on to the next side I'd like to open up the public uh the floor to public comment if there are members of the public wishing to speak on this item uh you can approach the podium or raise your hand on Zoom Daniel welcome yes hi Daniel Calo um I wanted to mention one issue is a confusion about the F increase even we've heard elected officials say well now it requires 67s for f and height increase and so I do think the public does already think that's in place and so that's why I think the the idea made sense to make it across the board uh but it'll be interesting to see uh to analyze this potential uh further as long as we're not encouraging incompatible new development within historic districts because that kind of goes against the idea of trying to keep that low scale but you know hopefully it'll keep that in mind in your discussions so can I ask one question so so Tom could we develop something based on what commissioner bot said as a referral back to land use and we'll bring it to the so I'm not bringing it back to L use I have to bring it as a referral to the commission again I I would suggest that that that there will be a discussion I before the item comes back as a referral to the commissioner I think I think commissioner Bond what she mentioned was to have a conversation at the full City commission with with with the rest of our colleagues um so perhaps a discussion item would be most appropriate uh then you but you wanted it back here in land use discussion item it could be a discuss take action where we discuss what's being proposed here and then and then that draft of the ordinance if it passes there then the draft ordinance language will come back here so it could be finessed do we do discuss take action on an ordinance That's goes into an ordinance it's an ordinance so it's not a discussion item it's a you mean you want to discuss the ordinance why don't I put it through as a referral before and if somebody doesn't like it they can pull a referral I I think I I'll pull it myself let's Okay this is a major piece of policy and I think this is a major piece of policy that I think we we should get input from all of our colleagues on um so I would suggest putting putting it as a discussion item so it's clear that this is something that's going to be discussed um to together with a with a referral perhaps um because you at times you know something like this you know what if it doesn't get pulled well the thing is okay first of all I could do a discuss take take action but I mean I could also I mean put it on this a referral back here I mean it's not really going anywhere except back here but I have to bring it to the Commission in order to hear it here again so you want to hear this we can keep this item open uh so that you can bring back um so that you can bring back an ordinance so that we can with the feedback you've received here after you have the discussion at commission that might be the cleanest process keep this item open so that after we have the discussion at the full commission you can bring back an ordinance for discussion let me recognize the City attorney I think that's a good idea Mr chairman because under the new committee rules the land use committee is required to transmit its recommendation before the item can be referred to the planning board okay so so let's keep the item open here so that you can come back to us with an actual draft ordinance and before you do that we can have a discussion perhaps at the December 11th City commission meeting where we can get input from the rest of our colleagues okay so we're going to draft an ordinance for discussion at the commission meeting and then also we're going to have the discussion here that's so much discussion Alex it's not that complicated it's a major piece of policy and with that we're going to move on to the next item okay sorry okay good stuff thank you so Mr chair just to confirm on this item we're going to move it to the city commission to discuss the six sevs for new construction and leaving 5 sevens in the historic district and then we'll keep this as an item deferred to a future land use date so that that legislation can be discussed yes and and and before we move on to the next item let's open up uh to members of the public wishing to speak on this item Mr attorney is there anyone on Zoom yes we have Mitch novic Mitch you have two minutes good evening again Mr chair referenced the state preemptions moments ago uh the clock is ticking uh regarding the statute of limitations our former City attorney recom o opined not to challenge it we need to protect Miami Beach's home rule in our zoning right rights and I would ask this new commission to reconsider that thank you thank you any other members of the public wishing to speak on this item seeing none uh Mr attorney let meet uh uh later this week before Thanksgiving of course on the issue of the preemption okay thank you thank you commissioner thank you thank you guys have a Happy Thanksgiving Happy Thanksgiving all right Mr director let's call item number one okay Mr chair item number one is discuss potential incentives to convert co-living and transient units to apartment apartments in the north beach TCC District commissioner bot uh We've sponsored this item to together you like to present on the item um you know what I'll let you do the honors uh right well uh our our intent is to consider incentives to convert cing and transient units to apartments in the north beach TCC uh District um Mr director from what I gather you know we can't we can't truly convert in essence our hands are tied as Commission bad has stated um correct Mr chair and also given the type of construction that these co- living units are it's exceedingly difficult to make the construction changes that are necessary in order to convert them and and and the greatest concern of course that we had is that short-term rentals of of units are allowed within this District um and and that that's you know that's what we were seeking part of what we were seeking to address having actual uh units available for our full-time residents as as opposed to as opposed to uh transient uh short-term rental units um and it's it's an unfortunate situation but commissioner Bond you recognized thank you um of the um projects that have co-living units have they all pulled their permits yes uh in order for any of the existing co- living projects to be eligible they had to have had obtained a permit by October 1 of last year 2023 any previously approved co-living units that did not obtain a permit by that date lost their eligibility and what is the next Benchmark if they they've now had their permits for a year um if they haven't started construction by a certain date is there is there an opportunity to cut the cut that short that window short as well if the permits go into abandoned status or they expire which takes how long it can take um years um it really depends upon the project um if a project does the minimal amount of work needed to call an inspection and further the permit then the permit can be extended if there's a Governor's state of emergency extension a permit can be extended so um in those instances where a project um purposely abandons their co-living units say to build something different then at that point those co- living units would go away is there can we do a survey of the permits that are open and see where they are and determine if there's any possibility that some of these might fall out of compliance yeah although different permits are in different phases some of these are nearing completion others um because again it was projects that obtained a building permit process number by October 1 so um they have as much time as the final order which in most cases is extended by the governor to obtain their full building permit and then after they obtain a full building permit then they can and have a certain amount of time to get the construction going so they'll vary but in terms of which ones may never move forward that's a lot more nuanced and difficult to put your finger on let me ask a question as now I'm going to go back into the conversation that we were having earlier on the policy on height height and F and all assuming there's a pro we have um 529 permits for units units within within this District that are currently permitted uh allowed to be used as transient co- living units could we we could we not work on an arrangement with the property owner let's say where if they want to do another prop project somewhere else in the city that we be able to give them incentives you know let's say height let's say they need height uh at another site that we could say well listen your height is tied or they voluntarily profer I say to to to not have these units in North Beach as transients in exchange for hide on another property is that something that we can legally do Nick I think an arrangement like that would require the the Cooper ation of the of the property owner with the you know with a permit to construct a co- living project if if you know I think it would be um I think it'd be up to one of those Property Owners to to propose something like that and then that piece of legislation would need to be evaluated by by planning um like any other right but there is a world where I mean the city this commission has adopted incentives for the conversion of of transient development so that's something that you all could consider okay who owns those some I mean I I believe it's it's only a handful of groups who own these uh these units up in North Beach is that correct there there's a couple of projects that are owned by the same developer um but the others are different owners which are the larger developers that hold these interests in North Beach um the ones with the larger number of co-living units which would be um 7118 Collins um 7125 Carlile and 409 71st Street and who wants that I would need to verify who who the actual ownership entity of that is those three are those three are um the same owner or uh no they're just their larger developers I believe that uh 409 71st Street and the carile project are the same or similar developer but I believe that the Collins Avenue project is a different developer and one of them is uh is is Cresent Heights correct I believe okay and that's I I think it's important for us for us as a city you guys as staff um to keep that in mind as we might get interest from from this property owner on projects that they might be interested in doing in other parts of the city remind them of of our desire to convert these transient units into non-transient units um and perhaps you know there's something that could be accomplished commissioner B your thoughts on this I see your wheels you know I I like that idea of of swapping things out I it again the devil's in the details because until we know what they're proposing because they might say sure I'll make it non-transient but then I want an extra 40 stories W you know absolutely not yes um so yeah I'd be interested in having those conversations and seeing if there's any any appetite for you know doing a little horse trading um not on the days but you know as as they start looking at other projects if there are people who are um you know continuing to work throughout the city but I don't want to take power problem in North Beach and vo it onto somebody else's neighborhood so I'm I'm a little bit Leary of that you know if it it would be great if anybody wants to engender Goodwill any of the developers want to engender Goodwill and say you know what I I'm not going to make this project um a short-term rental project it will be unusual co-living spaces for retirees or you know people in their first jobs couple roommates whatever you know that that would go you know make a little bit of a dent on in our attainable affordable housing crisis um and so again without voting our problem elsewhere but you know this is a a national shortage a national crisis and if none of the developers are hurting for money let's just put it that way so if they want to do the city they claim to love a solid this would be a good place for them to show that yeah to make some Goodwill with W with the city and and and I would say I would venture to say you know co- living is a form of zoning that very Progressive cities like ours have embraced to specifically address the issue uh that uh that that you are addressing commissioner bod of affordability um our challenge in Miami Beach is that Co living has been perceived to be to be tight not just perceived like realistically with what we have in front of us with transient units and that is the concern of our city when the co that's that that that has been progressively embraced for affordability is now becoming a business model for transient in andout tourism uh coming into our our city and um and and we want to be able to to figure out how we can keep these as as full-time units yeah I mean look I I'm all for trying new things in the quest of trying to solve issues but the problem is that these units were all approved in a big flurry and um and with short-term rental and if we wanted to do this properly we would said you know let's try one project maybe in the South Beach area where we've got people on with limited means but who might share work schedule of being barbacks or whatever who who might be able to be roommates or um near Mount Si um where we know that that people are not spending a ton of time at home because they're residents and and and um on fellowships and stuff and so put these projects to test them in areas where they might be likely to succeed but that's not what was done these are hotels by another name and that's what was done and so you know we are cleaning up as we've been trying to do for the last year other decisions that were made before us and so should we conclude this item should we keep the item open what do you think I think probably conclude because if you hear from anybody you can bring it back to us and um but we should we should have a list of who these property owners are yeah who are the principles of these entities we know one but there's others so that so that as they come forward to you as a planning department for other projects in the city there you know we are wise in our opportunity to try to find these conversions back to full-time residences that we desperately want to encourage in our city with that are the members of the public wishing to speak on this item seeing n in person are there any via Zoom Mr director okay with that uh We've concluded this item item number two top okay Mr chair item number two is expedite the opening of the Baywalk and move the development of the Baywalk up on the Geo bond prioritization list and present the Baywalk plan to the lusc committee all right commissioner Dominguez you have been the champion of our Baywalk uh you're welcome to introduce your item thank you um so this is a an item to ensure that the Baywalk is uh completely connected and there are different parts of the pro of the Baywalk that are currently in progress and I'll let David uh give us an update update on that welcome David Gomez director of our Capal improvements Department you're welcome to Mr chair Commissioners good afternoon um as commissioner Dominguez mentioned and we are pushing along to get uh the bay the Baywalk system open the developer is responsible for two portions of it one is the section behind uh from 10th to 12th Street behind the madrin and the mirror door that section is under construction it's approximately 60% the last time I looked I would have guessed it was a little higher than that because of some weather uh issues they are looking at a January completion for that section the other portion that they're responsible for Designing and construction is the pedestrian bridge we've been working closely with them trying to get everything results so that they can begin as as we reported last month uh they were doing some exploratory digging to confirmed locations of underground utilities that has been completed uh at this time the only permit pending so that the city can move forward and issue an ntp is the approval of the lane closure from fdot um and the developers here to give us an update on where that is in the process David I have a question uh so earlier today uh the City attorney and I met with um someone who talked about grants that could potentially be available for pedestrian bridges that are connecting bayw walks are we using any grants for this the only funding for this is goob funding so there might be opportunity um we could talk offline about that but the person that we spoke to was very excited about the pedestrian bridge and um thought that we could get grant funding uh if we qualify we're happy to look into it so at our June meeting um actually at our July 24th meeting um there was an item on the agenda where the developer agreed to a specific timeline uh for progress of of of the um of the pedestrian bridge where are they with that timeline that they committed to earlier this year no they're sign significantly behind schedule they're sever months behind schedule even though even though they have committed to maintaining the completion date um there's no way that anyone can maintain a completion date if they are so significantly behind schedule and so I need to understand why it is because it's going to be soon 5 years that this developer was granted the extra F from the city and a promise was made to the residents of this city that they would have a bridge and in on on May 1st on May 1st this committee passed a motion regarding that schedule and so and so you know I need who's here from the development team to to to speak to us and give us any assurances that that the public is going to be getting what they were promised you want to go for Hector Hector with Tera and Associates welcome um so I'll yeah go ahead um we we for at least the past um I I I've lost track of how many months now um we we have been working very closely um not only with the city but with fdot um also their their County permits and state permits that that we have to get um and and there's been a huge effort in terms of um just the coordination efforts with the Florida Department of Transportation um they're very sensitive to lane closure analysis Etc um extra activities have been taken because of sensitivities of the utilities in the location so extra Explorations that are normally done have are being performed just to make sure um we Define where everything is and we've been working very closely with the city there's a a lot of permits that that we have worked through and gotten with their help um that weren originally aware uh something we were aware of back in August so um basically we're we're going through a lot of due diligence that that if the city were doing the project by itself they' still be doing um but we're doing a together cooperatively and we're very close to the end so we're in it's been about 5 years that this was promised to the public Mr attorney at the May 1 meeting of this committee we passed a motion um that that that the mayor and City commission considered the timeline and the benchmarks provided uh for for these two projects clearly one of them is significantly delayed when discussing any future Grant grants or development agreements with this developer does this developer have any pending grants or development agreements with the city um there is an affiliate of this developer that has a pending Grant agreement okay and how much is that Grant agreement for 75 million plus interest $75 million of the taxpayers dollars that that that the affiliate developer has before the city and I made it very clear on May 1st I made it extremely clear that I could not support anything else unless these commitments were held up to the public because the public has been waiting now for nearly five years they got the F they got the tower I think they're delivering the units but the public hasn't gotten their Bridge and guess what the developer is now getting an extra 75 million dollar from the taxpayers to me it's it's unconscionable it's unacceptable and I'm sorry that you're that you're that you're having to come here and represent the developer and and and give face to to us on on their behalf on this situation but Mr attorney I want a letter to the to the city manager reminding him of this motion of this Committee of the commitments that were publicly made by the developer and urging him urging the city manager not to sign that Grant agreement until we're made good until the public is made good on the promise made public having to do with with a pedestrian bridge are there any comments from the deas well I don't want to combine the two we've just went gone through a lot of hardship with that um Redevelopment project we're in a good space and it's separate and different from this one um so I want to treat it as such they have other projects coming down the pike in Allison Park in North Beach um if you want to look at Future projects and perspectively hold the accountable for that I'm fine with it but not for something that we just went through so much to pass yeah I I share my colleagues concerns about lumping them in together um you know the the the project for which the grant has just been finally um secured after weeks of unintended conf consequences that could have made it blow up have long reaching very significant positive effects for the city millions and millions of dollars will be thrown off every year as soon as this project comes online as soon as baring any unforeseen circumstances 2027 those funds could be earmarked to be used specifically for Workforce affordable attainable housing projects and to link link these two and I and I share your frustration um and I hear how passionate you are but to link these two things to um to send a very strong message to the developer ends up putting our residents our most vulnerable residents at further Jeopardy because instead of sooner rather than later having funds with with which we can acquire property and start talking about joint ventures or whatever to build Workforce housing we will be delaying that further and possibly blowing it up for good and I am not willing I will not be supportive of that at this time and you know other projects there's not just one developer involved with this Bridge Project and everything that came along with it and so I don't want to um shoot the messenger I hear here and I understand and I share the frustration with how long it's taking and it's insane that it's not done yet and I do remember that meeting in May where we had a very clear directive that that we needed to get assurances because anything further would be under consideration but this convention center Hotel was too important to the city coffers and to our residents and to our future to to protect us against any future downturns um to link it to this bridge thank you commissioner theair i i i i i respectfully disagree with with with my colleagues I think we need to be strong uh in in our in our message listen the county wanted a bridge in exchange for for for the for the agreement the county is getting a bridge for for for for the brid line nothing to do with the city of Miami Beach something helping another municipality Aventura uh they're getting a bridge over biscamp Boulevard what does that have to do with our residents what does that have to do with the need for Workforce housing in the city of Miami Beach what does have to do with with a with a convention tourists to I see you can be seated thank you you can be seated thank you uh what does that have to do with a convention tourism coming into our city the bridge has to do everything with our City the bridge in our city that's to serve our residents that's a promise that was made long time ago and we held up our part of the promise we held up our part of the promise they got the F and they got a grant agreement and now they're coming forward with another development I hear you guys I disagree with you guys commissioner Dominguez this is your item uh the item I guess will come back next month it will come back next month and um in the meantime I'm also going to sit with the uh City attorney and uh the grants person and David to see about potential grants for um any parts that are not funded yet and also uh the pedestrian bridge thank you and are the members of the public wishing to speak on this item seeing none in person none on Zoom we can go ahead and continue this item to next month thank you item number six okay item number six is uh discussion regarding possible amendments to chapter 54 entitled floods article two entitled resilience standards for title flood protection to enhance enforcement mechanism mechanisms for Public Safety and quality of life thank you uh commissioner Dominguez this is an item we're sponsoring together if you'd like to introduce the item I'll let you do it thank you commissioner I know right right my colleagues are making me work extra today um this is an item that commissioner Dominguez and I um are sponsoring together it it's it's originated because of the challenges that we've experienced in uh in pal viw specifically uh that was the uh that was the impetus for for for this item and it asked uh for for for the administration to explore amendments to the code that would enhance shortterm term and long-term enforcement mechanisms to address the uh Public Safety and the quality of life uh concerns being related to tital flooding um and I'd like to recognize our resiliency office to walk us through uh some of the focus areas that are being uh identified as part of their recommendations good afternoon commissioner Lindsey PR assistant director of the environment sustainability Department the existing seaw wall ordinance provides the city enforcement ability to address overtopping and also require elevation requirements in chapter 54 floods The Code Compliance department is currently enforcing that ordinance and it's predominantly driven by complaints and proactive king tide inspections when a violation is identified a property is issued a warning notice and during the 2024 king tide season 45 warning notices to properties with seaw wall walls that were over topped were issued the city's setting as a low Barrier island with porous Limestone Bedrock makes us vulnerable to such flooding challenges the city completed a sea level rise vulnerability assessment in September of 2024 through the resilient Florida grant program to identify and prioritize over 67,000 city-owned assets that are vulnerable to such flooding one of the key vulnerabilities uh identified in that report is at the west or Bay Side of the island is at risk of flooding due to the low elevation of its seaw walls staff explored the possibility of requiring Property Owners to implement temporary measures such as the instulation of flood barriers to be effective the ground surface behind the seaw wall has to be able to support the weight of the barrier stable enough to prevent it from shifting and also be void of cracks that would allow water from flowing underneath a site specific suitability assessment may be necessary for such measures staff also evalu ated uh the Improvement of coordination among City departments this includes creating a one-page document for Code Compliance officers to hand out upon issuing a warning notice it can be located online once complete and we could also work with the neighborhood Affairs division to provide them to Neighborhood associations currently the ordinance requires that property owners initiate seaw wall repair or improvements within 60 days of receiving said warning notice however demonstrating such progress can be a little vague therefore the administration recommends in addition to the 60-day requirement to demonstrate progress adding a six-month requirement to submit a building application for a building uh permit at the city of Miami Beach as well as to durm furthermore staff has encountered projects where the existing seaw wall does not meet the code required minimum elevation of 4 feet navd when the applicant is doing less than substantial repairs at that point they would then be required to take on more substantial repairs and meet higher elevations and spend more money on Seawall repairs therefore to avoid this we would recommend adding potential exemptions but only for um maintenance work such as spa and crack repairs things such as a footer or rip W um these exemptions would only be considered as part of the building permit process if a seaw wall was found to be in violation of other areas of the ordinance such as over topping it would not apply there and they would still be required Ed to go to the higher elevations it would also be recommended to require applicants to submit an itemized cost of construction or a copy of the contract we've seen that um many times the work is estimated at $299 per linear foot because $300 per linear foot requires more substantial improvements so having that included as part of the building permit process would streamline and make enforcement uh a little bit easier we were also asked to research the potential for the city to take on private properties that were uh neglecting their seaw walls and causing flooding on our rights of way additional research would need to be conducted with the city attorney's office to determine the feasibility of such policy that would enable us to uh for excuse me perform this work on private property and also potentially issue leans on said properties so these are the short-term solutions that you have just enumerated correct there is another section that are the long-term Solutions um and uh and and then some Public Safety related considerations but let's just quickly go before we proceed into the long-term Solutions go through the shortterm uh Solutions um so so you mentioned one of the things that you mentioned um was to create a one-page document for Code Compliance to distribute to property owners listing the requirements of of the ordinance yes right now what type of of information are we providing to these Property Owners right now they get a violation and that warning notice identifies which part of the code they would be in violation of and then tells them to submit that progress within 60 days it doesn't outline the common next steps or perming FAQs and this would would in essence help them take the next steps to repair their seaw walls we believe so yes okay and together with that you mentioned to demonstrate progress within within 60 days uh of of obtaining proposals from a seawalk uh contractor in addition to the 60-day requirement for a permit yes that's correct so right now the language is a bit vague and just as to demonstrate progress and so that could mean hiring an engineer having plans um but it doesn't actually enumerate the steps such as actually submitting for permits so we believe by adding a six-month requirement to submit uh permitting applications to the building department as well as Derm would streamline the process and help them meet the later time frames so from the moment of receiving a violation or a warning a warning so from the moment of receiving a warning after those after receiving that warning they would have 6 months to file a permit application to our building department or to Durham correct and the 60 days they need to show 60 between the warning and the six months within 60 days after getting the warning they would have to show proposals from a seawalk contractor correct or something like hiring an engineer to determine what um possible outcomes would be possible for their property okay and these and just and just to put into context this would be in circumstances where there is tital flooding that is affecting the public right of way correct so so so so in essence because of the impacts that this is having to public property to the ability for residents to go through a neighborhood or the ability for you know people to walk on a sidewalk or to use their bicycles on public rideways because of that flooding being caused by a damaged seaw wall we are T we would be taking these these steps to setting these these guidelines and setting these benchmarks in essence yes to ensure that there is compliance with these uh with these improvements correct it could also improve water quality because over topping and undermining of a seaw wall um you never know what's on a property and there could be fertilizers or soil um mixing with the Waters of the bay okay so I think you know the one-page document for Code Compliance officers that's a no-brainer I think is that would be a good and informative tool that would help educate the public that might be very overwhelmed when they hear having to make improvements to a seaw wall setting these benchmarks again with what we've experienced in other neighborhoods that a property owner is aware of deficiencies in their SE one and just sit on those deficiencies not caring to the impacts that that's causing on the public right of way this to me these benchmarks seem to me to be very much uh appropriate in in the mission of of protecting our Republic right of wayte um the temporary measures and the insulation of uh of of flood barriers explain to me explain that to me a a little bit better I know I know this is something the city has looked at most recently we considered it as part of of uh Pond View uh we didn't go out there and install an actual an actual flood barrier but we were able to make a mock flood barrier per se what would be the requirement uh under under what staff is proposing so here it would be very sight specific so individual property would have to demonstrate that the barrier that they would be proposing for their property can withstand so the C the existing Co would have to withstand the weight of the proposed barrier and so there would likely be an assessment period with whatever they'd be proposing to ensure that there would be no additional overtopping there wouldn't be any settling of that barrier and then also no voids underneath where water would potentially come up from the bottom so this would allow the property owner to install a temporary barrier it would but it would have to be very sight specific in case the weight isn't um in case it doesn't settle properly behind that seaw wall and right now right now they're not allowed to install these barriers they can if they would like we can just enumerate it more clearly in the ordinance I see okay so putting it as an option placing it as an option okay and then on the um issue of the city coming in and making repairs how much time does the city attorney's office and staff need in order to further discuss uh and study the possibility of the city coming in to repair these private seaw walls that are causing public flooding nuisances I think um if the the next land use committee is is in January I believe so I think that would that would give us time um you know there are two main issues one is obviously the city taking on the liability of Performing uh these kinds of improvements on on private property and and and also the the uh the exposure to the city of just just as a matter of cost right but from my perspective you know unless intrusive matters to a neighborhood we do it with graffiti with we do it with overgrown grass we go into the private property and we conduct the work and then we build and we lean the property owner if if necessary we we take it to a lean when it comes to this that is a public flooding nuisance I don't understand why we wouldn't to me it seems like if we do it for smaller things that aren't as as concerning to the safety of a neighborhood this is the type of thing we should actually be doing it on and so I'd encourage staff to to to work on this I'd like I'd like for you all to come back to us with actual policy for these recommendations I think I I I think you've done great work here uh I think we need to start with the short-term Solutions I think we can continue this item to next month to uh speak on the long-term Solutions but I think in the short term we need to be very much focused hyperfocused on the shortterm Solutions those are I think we have about seven locations in the city correct me if I'm wrong staff I think they're about seven locations on in the city where where code has identified public flooding nuisances uh in addition to those over over in Palm View uh so I I think you know this is pretty good uh work you've put together and and uh be great to see actual policy tied to these yes commissioner us thank you and uh Lindsay I really appreciate everything you and I talked about it also earlier um during my briefing and it was very impressive all the details uh like vice mayor Fernandez I would like to see policy as well um when we had the sunshine meeting we did a a walk through in Palm View it was frightening to see what was happening to the public right away because private properties were not taking care of their uh seaw wall and um in that area the city's seaw walls have already been done so it was also um positive to see that we got our our segment completed yeah and and one of the things that we should definitely include in that uh one-page document is the grant programs we have available in the city uh that can help uh our residents uh with this commissioner B so I I love this I think you you guys uh thank you for taking the initiative I'm sorry I wasn't able to be on that walk with you at the last minute but I um with your permission would be happy to jump on as a co-sponsor um but I question for you Lindsay so um obviously North Beach on the west side has a huge issue here as well and um I see time and again um Street ends Dead ending into a seaw wall that may be secure but there's a gap between the private wall and the city-owned property how is there something that can be put into here to I mean this might not be the right place for it but what how are we addressing that if somebody's private sea well is sufficient but because there's a gap I mean I see it on parkw island I see it on Bay Drive I've Seen It All Around um we do see that consistently where one property has elevated their seaw wall they don't have flooding concerns but then a property next door is over toped and still affecting their properties or or it might not be over top but there's literally you know six or eight inch um so that's something that we can work on um we can contemplate that with the public works department to see what's possible there if there are retaining walls that are options um but if it is private properties where that Gap would be they would be H they would have to be targeted as part of the uh CA wall ordinance so I would I would kind of bifurcate it then and say add into this with your permission um where there's a gap that that should be addressed as here here as well um and then a separate I guess a separate item or a separate direction for administration to do a survey of where there are gaps in the city because what I don't want is for us to be um um ensuring demanding that private residents maintain their property and alleviate this but we're not doing anything you know like if I spend $100,000 to fix my seaw wall but the I live next door to the a street end and there's a gap on the city owned property I would be pissed and so I don't want that to be the case um so those would be my my thoughts all right uh with that I we can have this item come back uh next month yes and I'd also like to note it was a dual referral to Public Safety so it'll be at Public Safety next Monday as well great Monday yes Monday wonderful all right great well thank you so much uh great work with that let's introduce item number number n okay item number nine is the um discuss potential upgrades for Alton Court from 8th to 17th Street all right and I see our Public Works uh and our transportation department are here uh welcome gentlemen uh please feel free to introduce this item welcome good afternoon again chairman Fernandez fellow Commissioners this item is back and it's kind of getting uh life again thankfully um from a few years ago to discuss potential upgrades for Alton alley Court from 8th Street to 17th um from the public works perspective perspective uh we reviewed the uh costs that were provided uh last time for this particular item and updated them for resurfacing um sidewalk repairs and striping uh when dealing with potholes and cracks that could affect uh safety and rideability uh as well as signage um and from the other perspective Transportation we'll take the other piece as it relates to uh additional striping as it relates to Transportation type functions and I'll then let Jose talk about his piece as well thank you Brad good evening Mr chair committee members Jose Gonzalez Transportation director and intt parking director so from a transportation Mobility um perspective uh our role is really to to provide the striping needed the way finding signage needed for cyclists to know that this Alleyway is available for their use uh we want to draw people for example from West Avenue over to the alleyway so there's some wayfinding signs involved with that and uh striping you know striping of the pavement uh as well so the main thing is really to to make the alleyway uh bikable if you will uh right now there are a lot of potholes there are a lot of issues that can be addressed through a uh minor beautific ification of the of the alleyway in order to make it attractive for cyclists and micromobility by the way as well all right great well thank you so much Jose uh so this was an item that um that I had first introduced back in 2022 um was it 2022 Jose I believe so yeah 20 202 um and we decided to put it on you know the sideburner for for for a while but I truly believe that the uh potential upgrades could really be positive uh for West Avenue especially during during the phase two construction it really could give a great alternative for pedestrians and cyclist um as well as just even outside of the phase two construction if you give me the opportunity to ride on a street whether it's protected or not where you have thousands of cars as opposed to an alley where if it's cleaned up if it's lit if it's beautified you might encounter a slow moving truck once every few blocks or or or or or you might encounter a parked truck it really gives us the opportunity for placemaking ultimately um and so and and so this is something that I think really just would get this great area of of public right of away enhance it uh Beyond its beautification but be a place be be an opportunity for Place making and and and Community um staff what is it that you need from us today to help this move forward money funding no okay the funding the funding to do this for this pilot project how much funding do you need for the pilot Pro I believe it'll be up to 400,000 not to exceed not to exceed $400,000 okay and and the pilot program you were mentioning includes lighting um includes regrading of the streets includes signage right it'll install temporary pavement striping it advisory signage along the alleyway as well as different access points on side streets obviously advising the motorists of the potential uh presence of pedestrian bicyclists and Micro buity Devices traveling in both directions of the alleyway and that includes you know way finding signs to help bicyclists in way and would that also include let's say at the intersections at the at the intersections where where Alton Court let's say where Alton Court crosses 10th Street 13th Street with the with the pavement marking uh continue on those cross streets yes yes they would and there would be signage as well both signage and striping and the the approaches to the alleyway concrete approaches is to the alleyway would need to be um you know re uh just rehabilitated that's that's built into the cost because what what happens is since those alleys are very old a lot of trucks go in there the concrete um approach to the alleyway is all ripped up and it has holes and crevices and whatnot so the con that that part of the sidewalk would have to be uh upgraded as well okay all right uh colleagues uh questions comments on this item I I love this item and just if you allow me one quick sidebar on this yes Brad lighting you need so I've I've been working with Brad and Jay on um an item for um the alleys behind between Ocean Drive and Collins so and it's a little bit different from this but are the alleys that we're talking about here the Alton um Alton Court are they do they the same issues that the alleys that we've been looking at have where they kind of sink into the middle and there puddles and there there um dumpsters and they're kind of mangy looking in general I wouldn't say it's all like that I think there are obviously that some may have that but I don't think most of them have that issue to that extent as we looked at the other ones that we had looked at okay but but I just want to clarify one thing um chairman Fernandez on this because you had said something and I need I mentioned I said Li lighting and lighting actually lighting I you know lighting actually we worked with FPL a number of years ago and we were able to get the new uh lights the new modern lights installed on on Alton Court um the entire stretch of Alon Court actually I was still on the police citizens Relations Committee I was a chair of that committee at at the time when we were able to do that so it just it just came out okay um so maybe we can talk offline so it's not to divert the the committee but I I do want to see how we might be able to dovetail I don't think we need to go all the way to what this is doing um because we have Ocean Drive right there and that is a whole pedestrian um you know there's the beachwalk and then there's a bike lane there so I know those are cost specifically for this but if there's an opportunity to dovetail some of the cleaning up of you know the mess on the west on the east side that ties into what you're doing for the east side then maybe we can find a way to do that that we can definitely take a walk what's that we can definitely take a walk we'll take another walk I'm good with walking and and and let me just well let me recognize commissioner Dominguez and then I'll just follow up with some questions I was just going to say that uh this is a very creative approach and with the West Avenue Phase 2 coming down in the next couple years it's going to be very messy down there and to have protection in the alley I think is fantastic so great job keep it up and um under to my next colleagues all right uh thank you commissioner so I just I just have a question right now of course um Alleyways are used for trash collection is there a schedule in which uh trash collection uh occurs in those Alleyways trash collection and also deliveries clearly you know you've got you know Trader joer you have Whole Foods on the southern end of it uh so what are the schedules for those deliveries I mean it's I mean I it's very hard to tell you about specifics to trash because every business has you know different levels of service some of them can be three days a week some of them can be five days some of them can be seven it really depends on the nature of the business um that's there I mean so it's it's hard but I would tell you more of but we don't have an actual schedule a time frame during which uh trash is picked up from those we don't because they're all they're all um by private contract so I don't know what business owner a what his schedule is or business owner C or what we don't we have no idea because we're not a party to those contracts and could we work um with with um with these haulers on a schedule as it relates to those entities along Alton Court I mean I think we can you know perhaps maybe talk to the business owners more so about it I think that that would probably be a better approach than necessarily the haulers because if they're if the business owners we franchise them huh we franchise them well we we hold we we we give them licenses yeah but if we have um you know per se if the schedules are similar for some of the businesses in the alley you know we can maybe kind of coordinate those efforts together with some of the business owners um but we can certainly curtail the holler's behavior in the alley that's something we could do without the business owners um help I'm sorry could you repeat that we can curtail if the haulers are not not behaving you know the way they're you know going through the alleys and making a mess or whatever they're doing in there that's you know not in line with what we're trying to do we can certainly you know curtail their behavior we don't need the business owners to do that okay all right all right any other comments on this item no are there members of the public wishing to speak on this item hello everybody you can come over here haven't really spoken since in the new building new office yet hello Julie isacson I reside at 8505 Street Miami Beach been here for 32 years anyway regarding I think this is a fantastic idea I ride the alleys all the time with C bike and also my own bike and um as I they were first addressing Alton Road Court I was thinking in my head CU I didn't realize that commissioner bought had already been addressing the alleys between Ocean Drive and Collins so what my my qu I just wanted to add is to possibly consider or is it possible to consider to keep Vehicles other than service Vehicles out of the alleys as well because a lot of the a lot of cars try to take detours going through the alleys and part of the purpose of having having what they're doing what they're proposing is for safety of the bicycle of people or pedestrians to perhaps so maybe it could be considered to restrict non commercial or non- delivery non-essential vehicles from being on those Pathways and then maybe could expand it to other alleys beside the two that you're already working on thank you wonderful thank you Julian good to see you and I'm going to ask staff to look into that I do know some some multif family buildings do have their garage entrances from the back but perhaps a way to address some of what you're mentioning is maybe we can Implement um some some traffic coming uh in the the alleyway to discourage detour traffic um because I know like sometimes I and I will admit to this sometimes if traffic is too bad had on Alton Road I will detour on on Alton court and uh and it's and it is uh it it is convenient so so I'll I'll ask staff to look into ways we can discourage that vehicle traffic from going in there I thank you for that I I think it's actually worse on between ocean and Collins because a lot of Cruisers people that are just cruising for no reason decide the cruise there once they realize they can't go on to Ocean Drive I don't think it's quite as bad on on Alton court but thank you Julie be great thanks again and to see everybody Happy Thanksgiving thank you Happy Thanksgiving any other members of the public wishing to speak on this item no one's on Zoom no one on Zoom with that I'm going to close the public comment so uh I'm happy to entertain commissioner a motion um referring this back to the city commission with a favorable recommendation so that we can explore the funding so moved all right it's been moved by commissioner B second by the chair and we need yes and we need commissioner Dominguez so that we can do a vote because otherwise it's a vote with yeah we can't vote yeah we need commissioner domz for a vote all right okay all those in favor eery yes yes okay so yes all right with that let's go on to item number 10 which is a discussion item okay Mr chair um item number 10 is a discussion regarding monthly updates on the geobond beachwalk reforestation project all right um so so this is an item that I placed on the agenda um just to keep us in the loop I want to to receive uh regular updates on the Project's progress and and just you know understand the direction that the city is going in with this certainly we've received a lot of feedback um especially um as it relates to the fact that the beachwalk hasn't been generally a very shaded area um and so it's it's and so we have segments of the community that certainly want to see shade on on certain areas of the beachwalk and then other segments of the community that very passionately feel um you know that we should be working on Dune restoration as opposed to um working on forestation of of of the beachwalk there truly hasn't been any public policy discussion on this uh I believe staff uh initiated this applied for our grant we may have approved the grant uh very benignly on a consent agenda that we didn't realize at least I didn't realize was going to trigger this uh this this bigger project and so and so I wanted to give staff the opportunity to present to us to give us their Vision um and tell us where they are with the implementation of this so welcome thank you good afternoon once again Commissioners lindsy practices and director of environment sustainability the geobond beachwalk forestation project is being carefully planned to enhance one of the city's foremost assets the city already has established canopy coverage in some beachwalk sections as you mentioned this project intends to continue some of that filtered canopy coverage Additionally the project will go to furthering our goals of increasing city-wide canopy coverage from 17 to 22% the project is funded by both a $1 million US Forest Service Urban and Community Forest Grant and the 2018 geobond this is to plant approximately 600 trees along the entire 7 Mile Beach Walk the grant funded portions are located from 1st to 23rd 29th to 41st and 71st to 87th based on the federal government's climate and economic Justice tool the Grant application was approved by commission as you noted and then subsequently the city commission approved the purchasing of the trees in July of 2024 the community outreach included a letter to commission 16,000 postcards updates to a project website notices and also a detailed planting map that allowed residents to see what the proposal was at the initiation of the project and they could zoom in and see what specific trees and locations were proposed at that time presentations were also provided to Neighborhood associations the city's Urban Forester will spend the next several months addressing that feedback and meeting individually with property owners and associations Who provided feedback several properties have already been contacted but we will also be contracting with a public information officer the purchase order for that Pio was issued last week so we intend to start developing the scope and working on scheduling those meetings following this week which is Thanksgiving week City staff is reviewing the planting plan and we're considering the feedback regarding species selection requested distribution and also the planting design strategic tree placement to avoid conflicts with sheds has been the utmost importance in this project we will also not plant trees adjacent to associations that alert us that they do not want trees some residents as part of this project have reached out regarding the health of North Beach Oceanside Park trees uh in the Dune area um the project was initially reviewed by City staff at the one-year warranty phase and the project close out and all trees were deemed healthy at that time we also conducted a field survey foll following that project close out in October of this past year and found 38 completely dead trees at that time we scheduled a reinspection for later this month later this month which began on November 22nd we believe that we will cont uh conclude that evaluation this week the follow-up inspection on the severely declining trees um determined that there are several declining trees that were not evidenced in the October walk through through this month we'll uh provide the following assessment points including completely removing dead trees uh that were not identified in the initial October uh walkthrough and also reviewing the remaining trees for future viability by a thirdparty arborist lastly we will conduct an assessment of the beachwalk canopy in South Beach where they have a successful ecosystem and find design best management practices applicable to the remaining beachwalk sections as part of the North Beach Dunes uh evaluation we've identified some planting strategies such as using sea grapes and silver buttonwoods which have shown to be harder and not as um susceptible to the harsh Coastal environment grouping trees into smaller groupings to encourage trees to protect each other and also protecting viewsheds installing smaller trees initially they'll be able to better adapt more quickly to the harsher environments and also longer watering and establishment periods the anticipated new project date for planting is the spring of 2025 which would coincide with the rainy season but again it would only conclude or begin excuse me uh once this uh community outreach period with the association continues um and the first phase of the plantings would be in areas adjacent to city-owned properties and we're committed to providing these monthly updates to land use great thank you uh G to recognize commissioner bot um so thank you for putting this on the agenda I um I know we've got a lot of residents who have a lot of concerns I think you've addressed them um in in large part both between some of their the conversations you've had and then reiterating it here I do have a a few questions specific to the north beach areas um you said the warranty period was about a year long correct so for the the future trees that are going to be planted will we have a longer warranty Pro program because if there are if it's normal for you know whatever percentage to die off in the first year because that's just the cost of doing business then it must also be normal for an additional X percentage to die off between year one and two as you as we've seen because you said there were another 38 trees I think um and so do we have a warranty period that will cover that eventuality for this project going forward the one-year warranty period is standard but we can consider elongating that to include additional die offs um but what we also are seeing is certain tree species have done better than others and so so if we reduce the initial proposed planting pallet to include things like sea grapes and buttonwoods there's a higher likelihood of survivorship so the um the approval for the funding that happened this year have you have you bought the trees yet no we have not okay so there's time to you know because I think there were you know like a dozen different um Flora types that could be included so maybe it'll go down to two or three that are super successful and that um most residents feel more comfortable like serr I think nobody has any issue with sea grapes anywhere um although they don't provide shade but you know that it I don't think those are contentious um and then you mentioned something about a longer planting and watering period for new new um plantings was the was the initial effort in North Beach done under you know what we think is best practice and it didn't turn out to be because they are extenuating circumstances that are unique to that area or um um why why didn't we give sufficient time the first time around did we you versus what we're going to do the second time around I think there are many lessons learned we've learned a lot about the salt spray shearing off species like Gumbo Limbo so taking those Lessons Learned for this project is important we do like to keep the dunes as a natural system as much as possible so the trees on the east side of the beachwalk did not include um watering the way that the trees on the park side did but as part of this project we would require watering trucks to come out more frequently for that extended period so when we put this together um did we look to other coastal cities who have taken advantage of these grants or done it on their own dime to do this kind of um planting effort whether it's reforesting or foresting for the first time um because it seems like I I have a I won't say all the way to a black thumb but it's it's not a bright green thumb so so I'm not casting aspersions at all but it seems like um these are things we should have known about had we talked to other coastal cities and been prepared for so can you just walk me through a little bit of how it happened last time and then how we're going to not have it happen that way again for the next time yeah so the planting pallet at the time was using recommendations from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the institute for regional conservation that provide recommendations for specific areas for Coastal hammock zones um which this area of the dunes on that western side of the dunes Eastern side of the beachwalk would be um so those are the planting pallets that we considered and in practice all of those recommendations should work um but again there are Lessons Learned with every project and that can include um different um characteristics of North Beach versus South Beach we have similar trees in South Beach that are doing well so evaluating sites specifically and learning about Shear um when we were talking to The Institute for regional conservation they noted that sear grapes act as a wind buffer for a lot of other species and so you'll see about five feet below a sea grape everything else is sheared off from salt spray and wind and so those are important lessons to consider moving forward with this project and um for those um either buildings or individuals who remain really concerned about um their viewshed or it's not an appropriate use of funds is there is this also in addition to trying to provide shade obviously sea grapes will not provide shade but um does it help with the overall desire to um cool the temperature of the city as a whole I mean it's a little bit weird because you're on the ocean where there's radio Breeze and a large body of water water to help cool the temperatures a little bit I mean in the ideal world we would get an equivalent Grant if we could figure out what to do about parking but to Forest um this the side streets of North Beach and other you know parts of um you know South Shore near the community center um you know where there are tree deserts really and and it gets very hot there's no Breeze we haven't figured out the the the how the intersection between parking and and tree canopy but is this supposed to have environmental um effects benefit benefits in addition to just shade can and can you talk about that a little bit there are they can provide sand trapping within the dunes especially these native species that we're proposing especially the smaller pallet that we're we're now considering which is the sea grapes and buttonwoods and there are possibilities and potentials for sea grapes to provide shade if they're trained as trees a lot of what you see currently in the dunes are those being cultivated at a hedge likee formation but you can have larger sea grapes that can provide shade um but it is a harsher environment we don't expect them to be 75 feet tall right um so that's something to consider and I would say that in regards to the entire North Beach um planting proposals there are three items at the finance and economic resiliency committee that contemplate some of those um issues okay but yes and in terms of the urban heat island effect this would be important for cooling the city as a whole okay okay thank you thank you commissioner um so I'm just gonna express my concern uh is that I I believe this could yield a substantial change in character on on the beachwalk I feel that's that's my uh personal feeling I I I think the Beach Walk is a an it's like the beach you know you don't go to the beach seeking shade uh if you want shade on the beach you you take an umbrella you you know you take a cap you know it's kind of the same thing with with with the beachwalk I think that there are areas of the beachwalk nodes uh that that might be appropriate for there to be perhaps a little bit more coverage you know but it's very intermittent not not creating now uh a canopy necessarily over over over the beachwalk I have received complaints from individuals about having to do with views from their properties um and reparan rights as well Mr attorney what reparan rights do condomin s have uh with the beachwalk uh and and how and how would this in any way intrude with that well based on the research that was done by some of the members of my team we came to the determination that that the city could in fact plant uh based on the information that was provided in terms of the height of the trees and what impact it might have but I I also heard uh Miss pra mention that if there is a Condo building that does not wish to have trees planted in front of it then the city will will not be planting trees in understood yes I understand that but you know some buildings may choose not to have it uh others may not oppose oppose it but if there's a reparan right let's say it doesn't it wouldn't it wouldn't hold them back from in the future litigating against the city if in fact that right exists well the the conclusion that we reached was that based on the information presented the city could proceed there is always a risk of litigation um when people will file a claim whether or not they're successful uh you know is sometimes dependent on what judge uh is is hearing the case but but we felt comfortable that the city was within its rights to to to proceed but I I think the the more prudent approach is that if there is a building that doesn't was wish to have trees planted in front then that's the better way to do it yeah uh and that's and that's uh that's that's generally where where we're um aligned with is most certainly no building that doesn't want this should have this in front of them uh very very superficially I think we have a defined character for the Beach Walk The Beach Walk is it's a very sunny outdoor place kind of like the beach and I think you know introducing a a substantial amount of canopy uh could be detrimental to that character um that's that's that's my feeling I think I think those dollars could be better used in um in in doing uh Dune restoration or could be better invested in actual neighborhoods where individuals are living that lack uh that lack that canopy that they've been desperately asking for and we've heard it from North Beach North Beach has asked us for for for tree canopy to lower the temperature of some of these areas that are just so covered in concrete and asphalt that it's very hot for them and my preference would would be for us to focus our energies in those areas where people are living where they don't have Tre right now as opposed to focusing so much on on planting on on on on the beachwalk I'm going to recognize commissioner Dominguez thank you and uh I want to thank Lindsay and the department and City administration because um we have received a bunch of requests from residents and uh feedback and criticism and you've been very accommodating and we've really listened and that um is so important so know that in certain Pockets like South the 5ifth there's not going to be canopy and specific buildings that had requested it and then just today we got something from the Allison Park neighborhood association um and I think I copied you on that email so um you know continue with the listening but overall I think the tree canopy is great before I lived in Miami Beach I lived in Coconut Grove and um it felt cooler there because of all of the shade and the trees and um I'm hoping we can get some progress in Miami Beach as well I have one question yes commissioner B um Lindsay is there any flexibility in where the grants are used so for instance if you buy a million dollars worth of trees or whatever and use 75% of them along the bre beachwalk where people want them can the 25% of them be used someplace else in the city in in North Beach in neighborhoods that are desperate for she tree canopy sorry the mic turned off um so the application was for the specific areas in that climate economic Justice tool so it outlined the specific streets where it be applicable we did request a million dollars for the beachwalk specifically so that's what the grant says today when we initially put this out for procurement the grant funded portion came out to just under $500,000 so we would have had $500,000 left over to utilize we would have to approach the grant um funding source to determine if an amendment to the grant is possible to either use in different areas or take whatever's left over from the beachwalk and utilize in the other EJ communities okay um so maybe that's something to consider is um you know I don't want to force things into where they're not wanted and there are definitely places where they are there are they are wanted so even if it means we might have to amend the grant to re uh redistribute a little bit that might be a good solution to everybody's concerns okay thank you thank you all right um so let's call up item number 11 and um commissioner B you have item number 15 if that item is not time sensitive I'm going to end the meeting after item number 11 and continue the remaining it number 15 is yes uh review current loading requirements and how to mitigate the impacts of loading and deliveries on traffic congestion and quality of life that's not no okay languishing for a long time so we're going to end with item number 11 and then continuing and continue the remaining items for the next meeting okay and U Mr chair before I read item number 11 just to confirm on item number 10 that's going to be continued to the January meeting for the next update yes correct item number 11 is discussed dedicated bus lanes on Washington Avenue all right uh so clearly uh uh our city needs significant improvements on both regional and local connectivity and um and particularly as we look ahead at the zoning of Washington Avenue and what that zoning could potentially look like um what it could uh look like as in terms of residential housing um and housing that doesn't provide for Onsite uh parking um this is a key uh Corridor for South Beach and it's c and it's crucial for for the future of the of the area um and uh and for a long time we've been discussing um how to improve connectivity specifically a dedicated uh bus lane um as part of the bird Network so I'd like to recognize Jose Gonzalez to kind of guide us um where we are at uh with that dedicated bus lane uh it's a concern that I have given the zoning that we're considering for for Washington Avenue making sure that we have the right Transportation infrastructure into works and progressing to accommodate uh the residence that we hope to have in this area absolutely thank you um Mr chair committee members so dedicated lanes for buses on Washington Avenue is a key component of the County's smart plan the Strategic Miami area Rapid Transit plan basically the countywide transit plan for U for countywide Transit countywide Transit plan um the Smart Plan proposes three Bert routes Bert uh stands for Bus Express Rapid Transit so the three are the beach Express North the beach Express Central and the beach Express South The Bert specifically The Bert route that proposes bus lanes on Washington Avenue is the Bert South um The Bert South proposes uh to connect the Miami Central Station that's the station that houses bright line in downtown Miami over and connecting to the Miami Beach Convention Center through the MacArthur Causeway fit Street and Washington Avenue so the County's been working with fdot for several for several years years now doing all the analyses the traffic analyses that are required to repurpose a lane um in order to repurpose a lane there's got to be a very detailed study that fot follows where you have to prove in essence that uh there is sufficient Transit service along the lane and that you're carrying a sufficient number of passengers in order to Warrant repurposing that lane and from a vehicular travel Lane to a bus lane there has to be a a justification if you will so for for some time now the county and the DT have been working together uh on that study that study also looks at the impacts of a repurposing so if if for example Washington Avenue currently has two lanes in each direction if one lane is repurposed if one lane in each direction is repurposed for Transit where were where will those Vehicles go will they go on Collins will they you know how how does that affect the side streets for example so all that is part of that study well hopefully they'll get on the bus hopefully right hopefully there's a mode change and fewer people drive and more people take take the bus once there's a dedicated Lane because the bus then will not be stuck in traffic that's the whole benefit of a bus lane however um unfortunately the county and the dot uh I won't say that they've reached an impass but they they have not yet uh agreed on the the findings and the recommendations of that analysis so fot has recently requested the county to do some more analysis and the County's in the process of scoping out that additional work um in the meantime however this is a very important project for us it's a project that's and I'm referring to Dedicated bus lanes it's in our transportation master plan that that was adopted by the city commission it's also in the art deco Cultural District Vision plan that was adopted by the city commission which is a very important project for us so we're pursuing Grant funds uh we pursued Grant funds last year unfortunately we were not successful but we're going to go ahead and repackage it and reapply to um the state and the federal government for Grant funds to at least be able to advance that that piece of it the Washington Avenue portion of the uh of the Bert of the bird project okay is there any action that you need from the commission or the committee uh not not really Mr chair this is more of a of an update uh the the county is working with us as well we reviewed the traffic study that they you know that that they prepared um but the the issues appear to be between fot and the county so they're trying to iron out those those issues conduct the additional analysis that's required and hopefully you know the find ings and the recommendations will be positive supporting a a dedicated bus lane on Washington Avenue how far out do you think how far out do you think it'll take them to iron out their issues and get these recommendations they have not provided us with a with a timeline so we we we don't know but they've been at this for some time commissioner Bon um so a couple of years ago we had reconfigured Washington pretty significantly to um make dedicated bike lines and improve bus traffic and all that stuff and despite our best efforts I think most residents would say it was not a resounding success how does this how improve on that well this this would in essence repurpose a travel Lane undedicated just for for bus service this would be uh we don't have a dedicated bu we never had bus service on wash dedicated bus dedicated we've never had this would be the first but what would we be doing about parking and and bicyclist or cyclists I mean would are we losing a a parking lane or we losing no we would only we we would only lose a vehicular travel Lane there are no dedicated bike Lanes on Washington so we wouldn't really lose the bike lane we would lose a vehicular travel Lane okay thank you commissioner Dominguez and would we lose it on uh both sides or are there more stops on one side than the other where we wouldn't have to do that on both it would be on both sides on both sides because the the bus lane would be the outside Lane of in each Direction North and South so where the the buses will continue to stop as they are and will this be a pilot or is like what's the intent because I do worry as commissioner bot says what happened with uh the bike Lanes and um the travel times were incredible uh double parking it was a nightmare and I I I think part of the challenge with with the um with the configuration we previously had was that we were using the cars to create a protected bicycle lane and those cars when they were parking they were in essence interrupting the flow of traffic in order to back into a parking space you got a tra a lane a travel Lane where now you have individuals are stopping the flow of traffic as they pull into their parking space the dynamic is a little bit different um because in this case you know what you're what you're doing is you know you're not going to have you're not going to have that situation anymore because you're you're still going to have the buffer of the bicycle lane between the travel Lane and the parking Lane is that correct well there would not be a dedicated bike lane on Washington Avenue it it uh basically the the bus would operate on on what is today the outside travel lane and then when it has to stop at at the bus stop it would just you know pull off and and and stop um where the parking Lane is and in essence that's where the buses would stop on Washington Avenue is where the the the parking Lane is so the parking would remain the bus stops would remain the only difference is instead of two lanes for cars in each direction would only be one plus the other one would be for the bus and and let's say if we if we were to have this because again the goal would be if we if we do eventually have this dedicated bus lane is to be able to accommodate more people traveling in there without a vehicle what type of headways would you would you anticipate one would be able to get by having a dedicated bus lane the headways would need to be very frequent less than 10 minutes less than 10 minutes less than 10 minutes is what fot looks at as a criteria if you will to Warrant a dedicated Transit Lane because and right now what are the headways that we have um I I well we have headways each route has a different Headway right so our trolleys have a certain Headway it's about 20 minutes the buses the County buses each route has a different Headway what fot does is that they put all those headways together they look at all the routes that operate along Washington Avenue and then they see how frequently buses travel there like how many buses per minute and if it meets the the criteria of it's less than 10 minutes then that warrants a a bus lane otherwise it may be um challenging to get F to approve a repurposing of a vehicular travel Lane for a Transit Lane if that Transit service that very frequent Transit service is not there got it all right so uh is there anything that we can do to ex to try to get uh a quicker response from FDT on this uh anything at all that that you know that can help expedite this um no Mr chair we're in constant communication um you know with dtpw um and we've we've offered to help in any way that we can but uh right now they're they're they're scoping out the additional effort so they're looking at what what additional work the county will need to do in order to get fot approval okay so all right any other public comments on this are there Mr attorney any comments on Zoom members of the public wishing to speak on this item no all right and see no one on zoom and I see none in person um I'm happy to let's let's bring this item back in six months okay let's see where we are at uh in six months um you know if anything develops with us over those next six months please update us uh because we are making big policy decisions having to do with density on Washington Avenue and the one thing that I would urge FDT to consider is to consider the the Land Development regulations that we are considering at the moment for Washington Avenue as they studi this it's hard it's hard for us to consider some of these Land Development regulations that do away with parking requirements unless we know that there's going to be this type of dedicated public transportation infrastructure so as policy makers it's hard for me to say yes less pass zoning with no parking requirements when I don't know you know thinking that we're going to have a dedicated bus lane going north and south when I don't know that that's going to exist and so it's it's it's a one one discussion depends on the other and so to the extent that we're going to continue you know these policy discussions incentivizing residential housing on on on Washington Avenue we need Fe back from uh from FDL on the true viability of this actually really being a reality someday of this uh delicated bus lane being a reality that's a very valid point and we'll bring that to ot's attention because we need to make sure they're not just looking at Washington Avenue the way that it is today but also the future Washington Avenue what it may potentially look like May potentially look like and what that means for for Transit and also you can give them my favorite line of plan for the you want to be not the city you are correct and and and and exactly the fact that some of the zoning policies that we are looking at take into account having drop off base uh for for for public transportation they need to know that you know they're just not operating on their own looking at at the street we ourselves in our zoning policy we not only are encouraging micro Mobility but to be able to qualify for some of these zoning incentives Mr money correct me if we're wrong you know some of this also includes incentives for bus bays and and that type of facility correct y all right thank you all right with that um we're going to conclude today's uh meeting uh the remainder of the items are going to be continued uh to our next meeting uh I want to thank everyone who has participated especially the members of the public who who has uh participated in in today's meeting and thank our staff uh thank you uh for your hard work throughout the year you all make a lot of sacrifices to serve our city and help our community grow in a responsible and proper way and we owe you gratitude for your service to our community despite our best keep us on the street thank you have a good night e e