how do you feel hey hey hey 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 morning and welcome to our commission meeting of April 23rd 2025 um I'm going to actually turn it right away to our city clerk to give any instructions before we get started morning everyone during this hybrid
commission meeting the city commission is physically present in the commission chamber at Miami Beach City Hall 1700 Convention Center Drive third floor the public may attend the meeting virtually however members of the public who wish to attend the meeting or provide public comments in person may appear at the commission chamber to participate or
provide comments virtually during the commission meeting the public may join the meeting by visiting the Zoom app on their smart device or on the web at zoom us or by telephone at 3052241968 again 305224-1968 the webinar ID is
813 92857671 pound again 813928-576771 pound members of the public wanting to speak virtually on an item during the meeting must click the raise hand icon if using the Zoom app or press star 9 on the telephone to raise
their hand please note that the Zoom link webinar ID and telephone numbers provided for this commission meeting are static and do not change from meeting to meeting thank you mayor thank you and uh before we get started I'm going to ask to lead us in our invocation Rabbi
Nissim El Nave of Temple Moses of Sphartic Congregational Florida he works with in North Beach works with Rabbi Daniel Hadar thank you for being here good morning mayor Commissioners it's a real honor to be here
libon master of the universe we stand before you with gratitude and humility seeking your presence and blessings grant us wisdom in our thoughts clarity in our speech and compassion in our actions may the work that's done here
today bring you honor healing to our world and unity among all people provide our tremendous mayor and the fantastic Miami Beach commissioners with the strength and wisdom to continue to
pursue initiatives that bring wealth harmony and prosperity to this beautiful city and to all our communities almighty God bless those who lead with integrity those who serve with dedication and
those who seek truth and justice may peace and hope guide our steps amen thank you thank you thank you appreciate your your words of inspiration that hopefully will carry us through the day and beyond i'm actually going to ask uh
if you don't mind uh I see our fire chief our police chief and really any fire and police who are here who'd want to come up and uh maybe do a group uh pledge of allegiance i I would I would love that see if you guys can do this in uh in unison work so well together so uh let's
see if we can do it here to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with justice for all
nice i I I got the idea as I uh was driving to city hall yesterday and I saw a police car uh leading a couple of fire trucks to uh to wherever they were going commissioner Fernandez thank you Mr
mayor uh as we start our meeting I just want to ask uh that we consider just a moment of silence in memory of his holiness Pope John Paul pope Oh my goodness pope Francis my mind went to my childhood to uh John Paul uh but to Pope
Francis who the spiritual leader of uh Catholic faithfuls uh around the world and a true symbol of humility of uh a man who stood for the voiceless and who really embodied uh the spirit of service
regardless of faith of service uh and so I'd appreciate a moment of silence of course thank you thank you Mr mayor thank you M commissioner Fernandez so I uh let's think we're ready to start our Sutnik half hour it's
called the Sutnik Hour because we do a half hour for lunch but uh thank you David Whitaker Commissioners Mr manager staff that we work so closely with uh of course David Whitaker with the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor Bureau i have a very special guest i'm going to yield in
a moment uh but every chance I get I want to thank you for your support and leadership to make this an amazing place to live work and play but because of that it's an amazing place to visit so thank you for your leadership thank you for your support of your convention and visitor bureau we're so excited about
what's happening across the street with the now this accelerated construction you know it's funny uh my guest and and and really we're honored to have him here he's traveling around the country he's the president and CEO of US Travel kind of the national body uh and they especially work with us in in Washington
on things that are whether it's border security visas and some of the headwinds that our national brand is dealing with and Jeff's going to talk about that u but uh you know we know that international visitors are so important to us here uh and and although they're
only 30% of our of our 20 plus million roughly six million they are and that's 30% in Georgia by the way and their their their spend is about half so they spend twice as much stay twice as long so you know we know how important international visitors are how important
international events are we're collaborating with you on FIFA in a couple of years all the big major international events including the major health and fitness event that you're leading so international visitors are so important to us and it's a big big part of our brand identity around the world and it's a big big part of our economic
engine so it's great pleasure that I introduce he's visiting us from Washington DC with his staff let me have uh you meet Jeff Thank you David i appreciate it uh Mr mayor commissioners thank you so much for the opportunity to join you here in Miami Beach as David mentioned I lead
the US Travel Association a DCbased organization that is focused on increasing travel to and within the United States uh typically you would say that that's a relatively easy thing to do what else would people want to do rather than come to the United States travel around the United States and we
actually do have some great things some tailwinds working with us coming out of the pandemic the desire to travel the desire to create experiences and memories has never been stronger it's never been greater you see that in your numbers right here in Miami 27 million visitors uh including here to Miami
Beach more than 20 billion dollar in spend people have wanted to travel you throw on top of that some of these key events that David referenced uh we've got the World Cup coming in 26 America 250 we've got the Olympics coming to America we've got event after event
after event which creates ample reason to travel unfortunately right now however we're beginning to see a pullback in travel in March European travel to the United States was down 17% latin American travel to United States was down 10% canadian travel to
the United States was down more than 10% asian travel which was already down 50% from pre- pandemic slid even further right now a perception seems to be forming around the world that perhaps the US doesn't want people to come here
there's articles running overseas fears of being detained or otherwise discouraged from getting into the United States we have to address these misperceptions these misperceptions have a sneaky way of becoming the reality that people believe we have to address
this the criticality of these international visitors to Miami Beach to Florida to the rest of the country uh is absolutely certain for our nation my ask of each of you is to really champion the role that visitors play here in South
Florida in Miami Beach the importance of domestic travelers the importance of international visitors we have a really concerning trend right now that we have to address and your support is appreciated thank you thank you we're going to call our first virtual
caller Lisa Napolitano please state your name address and you have two minutes go ahead please and good morning Lisa Napolano homeowner Sophie over 20 years i have no conflicts of interest to disclose
the absence of opposition to this proposal and the refusal to acknowledge opposition are not the same i'm here this morning to let you all know there is in fact opposition in North Beach Mid Beach and South Beach i sent you this
morning over 250 signatures of residents on a petition against this project our primary objection concerns the height and the proposed amendment to our zoning laws the proposal to build not one but
two 400 ft towers is by definition overdevelopment an overdevelopment in North Beach is not a private affair it has ramifications for all of Miami Beach a dangerous precedent will be set that opens the floodgates to other highrises
across our island and rewards demolition by neglect with special zoning we all know it's entirely possible to build a profitable hotel condo development at 200 ft the FAA and Aman to mention a few
and buildings in Surfside are examples in closing we do not entrust the enforcement of our zoning laws or the protection of our island's character and natural beauty to developers we entrust it to you our elected representatives
many of whom campaigned on platforms of inscale development approval of this project is a betrayal of that trust for that reason I and over 250 other Miami Beach residents strongly urge you to
deny the proposal thank you thank you so much sir go ahead state your name address and you have two minutes good morning Mayor Miner commissioners city manager thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today my name is Randy Haulingworth and I am
honored to have the opportunity to possibly sit on your historic preservation board uh I have been a proud homeowner in the Collins Waterfront Historic District now for 25 years and in that time I have become very actively involved in the community
i sit on the executive board of the Mid Beach Neighborhood Association i am also on the executive board that oversees the public spaces group and I'm also the president of my condominium here in Miami Beach professionally I bring more
than 30 years of experience as a landscape and urban designer both in Florida and around the world i have a undergraduate degree in landscape architecture and a master's degree in urban design from Harvard that um has given me the privilege of helping
developments around the world work on projects that balance growth and contextsensitive historically aware design before making Miami Beach my permanent home I lived in Tampa and I served on the historic preservation board there for two years that gave me a
lot of um gave me a lot of background on collaboration and how important that is also on the importance of local voices and the challenge and reward of protecting a community's historic identity while allowing for thoughtful
evolution i view preservation not as a way to freeze time but as a framework for meaningful progress miami Beach's layered architectural history from art deco to Miami modern architecture and post-war modernism is a cultural asset and an economic driver our buildings
don't just home us they say us they say who we are i believe the role of the board is to protect what makes Miami Beach distinctive while helping grow it wisely and sustainably i would be honored to contribute my time and expertise to that mission thank you for
your time i appreciate your vote thank you so much our next speaker is Alex Micah go ahead sir state your name address you have two minutes hello uh my name is Alex Ma i live here in Miami Beach and I'm here today to ask
you to vote no on resolutions C7 AE C7 AV and R7H i know that politics for some people can feel far away from our day-to-day lives but these resolutions matter and these resolutions don't help people who actually live here they are about
funneling money into Israeli bonds recruiting foreign business from the occupied Palestinian territories and pressuring a local theater to change what movies it shows right none of this fixes things here at home and none of it addresses things that we actually need
as a community so we have real problems right here in Miami Beach rents are out of control small businesses are struggling flooding gets worse every day every year uh why aren't we talking about those issues why is our city
commission focusing on an entirely other country's politics instead of helping the people who actually live here these are not neutral proposals these are political they are harmful they are not what our community stands for
and to speak on Israeli bonds they are a risky investment and they don't even follow our city's own rules not only that but they support an apartheid government that is actively committing genocide against the Palestinian people creating special programs to attract Israeli and Jewish owned
businesses sends the wrong message miami Beach is beautifully diverse why are we playing favorites let's support all of our local communities and as for O Cinema I can't believe we're going over this again but we go
there for films not for filtered political messaging this city government has absolutely no place in telling artists what kind of stories they can or can't share we were literally trending thank you sir your
time is up next please state your name mr mr cler can you list me as a co-sponsor of C7 AE on the Israeli bonds and C7AV on attracting Israeli investments by Commissioner Magazine thank you thank you yeah please add me as well
good morning mayors and commission um thank you for um hearing this item uh I'm here to support um item C7AM um quick thank you to Commissioner Dominguez for being the champion for um this Reef Park project and all of the co-sponsors Fisher Magazine Tanya Bot uh
and David Suarez and the rest of you all for being so supportive of this item brings me much joy to talk about this space um just last weekend we had a little window in amazing weather um and we saw many threatened bonnet head sharks clustering in um over these
endangered corals is a very magical moment as well as about a a 6-in seahorse free swimming which is the one of the first ones I've ever seen in my life this is 500 ft from our shore um next to the busiest beach in the United States and the busiest section of the busiest beach in the United States um
the GMCBB who spoke earlier we have a letter of support from them for this project and when we talk about tourism and the diverse way to bring people to our city ecoourrists are an incredible option divers like to um go diving early
in the morning um stay at nice hotels have a fancy dinner and then go to bed at 10:00 because they need to get up to do the next sunrise dive so these are lowmaintenance high-spend tourists that are here to enjoy what makes our city unique and special to us that other cities really cannot compete with this
area is incredible um it's defies logic that it exists and we're just so excited about the community support we had over 100 people at our latest coral reef happy hour which um the mayor and commissioner Dominguez spoke at um we have over 3,000 signatures on our um on
our petition and letters of support from environmental organization and political leaders across the state um so thank you for um having this item on the um commission today and come diving with us sometime so thank you all thank you i'm sorry I didn't catch your name i'm David Breezer okay
our next our next virtual speaker is Johan Moore please state your name address and you have two minutes good morning johan Moore 717 Jefferson Avenue uh I call both to uh object to
some items and to support some items uh the items I oppose are in fact uh R7H uh which continues to meddle in O Cinema's uh internal uh uh autonomy uh
C7A uh which would more worthily and municipally usefully uh read uh to critically evaluate the alleged benefits of the current bond purch policy uh which solely permit Israel bonds uh and
no others i also object to C7AV though to the extent that the intention is to incentivize Palestine's Jewish occupiers to consider the United States as a preferable and safer alternative uh I am
supportive of that inclination i want to thank Commissioner Fernandez for C40 uh in support of Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association's request for speed humps i also want to support C4D
Commissioner Fetinandis bike share stations in new developments uh I'll say that on behalf of sustainability committee we think that is an excellent environmental idea uh I am somewhat surprised to see R5V
uh on the agenda but if that is simply uh in the spirit of Commissioner Fed on this moratorum which I believe you passed last time on utility bill increases uh to discuss how to best have increases not be regressive then that is
maybe an appropriate uh item and I was unclear on the mayor's R5 A is that intended as an antidote uh to those increases uh and finally I call to object to C7 your time is up um there is
a long line of people so I'm going to cut it down to one minute because we're not going to get to everyone and I want to and there's a lot of people online so if you can make your comments in one minute I appreciate that either just regarding the last caller we don't have time nor is it the place to go into uh
Middle East uh history and the history of Israel and the surrounding uh uh Arab nations but uh I'll just note that I object to the phrase Palestine's Jewish occupiers as a a very offensive false and anti-semitic remark
go ahead sir hello um Patrick Brushik here i live at 1754 Meridian Avenue right across the street from Fight Park i'm here in support of the reef project that we've been talking about and I wanted to thank all of you guys for supporting this this project as well this is opportunity for the city to
celebrate its natural ecosystem it's very in line with the uh blue zones meeting that we just had you know making Miami Beach healthier and safer for everyone to come and visit and and for those of us who live here to enjoy um this effort isn't just about protecting the reef it's also about protecting the
people that want to go visit the reef the snorkelers the scuba divers the paddle boarders so this is just making our city safer and uh offering another ecoourism uh opportunity for us to celebrate um and uh just this last
weekend we we're talking about uh we saw sea turtles seahorses dolphin we didn't see dolphins last weekend but we'd see them out there regularly so I also work in the tourism industry and we know that times are uncertain so we hope that as the city is considering potentially
tightening its budget that this is important for us to celebrate so thank you thank you uh our next virtual speaker is Karen Rukus karen please unmute yourself state your name and you have one minute please yeah my name is Karen Rukus i'm at
1039th Street can you hear me okay yes go ahead please let me get it okay um last a couple years ago we got rid of the waste or trash brokers which was a good thing but and then we went of course directly with the two waste
management companies that uh service South Beach last year we had a 6.5% increase and this year they were wanting to increase us by 20% so our fee would be 20% higher this is ridiculous
and it has to be solved hopefully by this commission uh commissioners looking at single haulers for the entire um uh South Beach uh area uh thank you very much for your time thank you so much please go ahead hi uh good morning
commissioners uh thank you Commissioner Dominguez uh for your support on C7AM and also the co-sponsors Commissioner Suarez Bot and Joe Magazine thank you um as I said um I'm a Miami Beach resident and a frequent diver
snorkeler of Miami Beach and also part of the Women's Water Collective which is a local community of women that share a deep love for the ocean and water sports um we've spent countless hours diving right off the shore here in Miami Beach just a short bike ride from my apartment
um and we often do this at sunrise and see incredible biodiversity out there i've seen species on our shores that I haven't seen in the Florida Keys um in Fort Lauderdale Palm Beach Mexico and Bonire including guitar fish which are
um really cool ray looking guys that uh sleep on the bottom floor burfish that have these spiky like yellow spikes and um yeah we appreciate your support thank you thank you so much i did that was C7 AM and I'm listing
Commissioner Fernandez as and Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez give me I'll do it right now thank you please go ahead i'm going to call the next virtual speaker is Franklin Perez mr perez state your name address and you have one minute
hi my name is Franklin Perez i live at 598 Carrian Woods Trail of Veto Florida do not vote for outrageous resolutions R7H C7 AE and C7AV miami Beach's mayor is once again trying to impose his support for Israeli
apartheid through these three resolutions that supports continued censorship at the O Cinema funds genocide through the purchase of Israeli bonds and encourages discriminatory business policies such as favoritism for Israeli owned businesses enough israel
is a Jewish supremacist apartheid state that has been committing ethnic cleansing human rights abuses and now genocide against Palestinians for 76 plus years stop supporting Israel stop giving it weapons stop giving it money and condemn it for what it is an
apartheid and genocidal state that has murdered 186,000 plus Palestinians in Gaza vote no on outrageous resolutions R7H C7 AE and C7AV thank you goodbye i think any
reasonable reasonable person watching this meeting your use of the words aparthide genocide supremacist and then 76 plus years you just basically said it all you just said that the Jewish state should not exist that Israel should not exist that's where your angle is from
that's where all these comments come from there are people who do not believe unlike every other group of people throughout the world whether you be Italian in Italy Cubans and Cuba but there are people who really don't believe that Jewish people should have a state in Israel and you just literally
explicitly said it so thank you for that i appreciate at least your honesty okay good morning my name is Stacy Oler King and I am an ocean advocate from Miami i'm also speaking about the reef and again thank you everyone for your
support this is so exciting um I think I'm the only non uh sponsor at this point and I was at that meeting which was very impressive so please add me i don't I don't want to have to stand out perfect well we know that the past couple years Miami Beach has worked hard to change their reputation and the
reasons that people come here and to make this a safe place and welcoming and we know that diving generates about a billion dollars annually in the state of Florida 12,000 jobs $250 million in wages and when you ask online um forums where can I dive in Miami people say
there isn't any place to go they say Lauderdale by the Sea Lauderdale by the Sea Blue Heron Bridge Blue Heron Bridge what we can do today can change that this is a community building and legacy building moment when looking forward you can imagine like the breakthroughs on
the coral reefs that are going to happen you can know that you had a part of this someone seeing their first stingray while diving you had a part of this and this is such an important moment for all of us so thank you all of you for your support thank you our next virtual speaker is
Goind go please state your name address and you have one minute good morning my name is Govin Schwastv i'm a resident of Miami Beach speaking in opposition to C7 AE which maximizes a risky and harmful investment into Israel bonds miami Beach's own investment
policy exists to keep our budget safe and helps create returns that can be invested into our community israel bonds clearly fail to comply with principles in this policy and puts our taxpayer dollars at risk one of the policy's three main investment objectives is the liquidity of capital but Israel bonds
cannot be touched outside of their maturity date and so are completely illquid they're also risky moody's S&P and Fitch have al all recently downgraded them to the point where they don't meet our policy's minimum credit rating thresholds for other investments making an exception for Israel is a slippery slope that could lead to future
budget deficits and even tax increases as a city we should increase investments into products like the Federal Home Loan Bank which supports affordable housing development instead of investing into a foreign government thank you thank you go ahead please state your name address
and you have one minute please i'm Donna Neville i live in North Beach i oppose all three resolutions related to Israel i'd like to note that something is clearly wrong that a number of today's resolutions at a Miami Beach commission meeting are about support for Israel
first of all based on comments at commission meetings and in resolutions I'm not sure that the commission really understands that Judaism and Israel are not one and the same the Jewish people have a long and rich religion and culture while Israel is a nation state rooted in an ideology Zionism that is
responsible for expelling and dispossessing the indigenous Palestinian population from its land and homes many of us love being Jewish myself included and are deeply opposed to injustice which is why we don't support a nation state when it's been enacting in
unfathomable violence on the indigenous Palestinian population that has lived in Palestine for centuries that's why we are deeply opposed to any resolution that supports more investment in Israel bonds that will go toward furthering injustice and brutality and finally we
live in a beautiful multiffaith multi-racial city time is up time is up thank you so what's interesting is that Israel increasingly has good relations with many of its Arab neighbors there are over 500 million Arabs who live surrounding less than 10 million Jews um
thank you so much gaza not even controlled by Israel for over 20 years but yet uh people still have your your your comments and you're entitled to them but uh but that's why I'm going to keep correcting the facts uh and also when I
deem it uh hate speech because hate speech is not going to be allowed in this form whether it be against any group racial against black people LGBTQ community and certainly not against Jews so our next virtual speaker is Amanda amanda state your name address and you
have one minute amanda please unmute yourself pj let's go to Sarah de Roses sarah unmute yourself hi good morning uh this is Sarah de los Reyes uh please vote for
C7A this marine reef and park and marine conservation area and hope that we get something like that in Sanser Harbor that we get our waters here to be nice and clear and also please vote for R5Z prohibiting floating structure used for
rent and secure all the vessels in our water thank you thank you so much go ahead please okay uh yes uh good morning uh Mayor Miner commissioners and city manager and everyone uh my name is Sandra Gasola and I live at 7451 Harding
Avenue i'm here today to speak um in support of an item that's going to be discussed later on which is the Deville project uh I as a North Beach resident of 32 years with my family uh I support this project uh I think it's going to be beneficial to that specific area and to
North Beach uh because ever since the original Deville um vanished uh businesses in that area have um had a decrease in income and are struggling and there's not as much um activity foot activity of people uh as I used to
witness when I lived in the original Deville because I lived there for three years and I saw a lot of people uh with their families uh and uh there was much more activity and now there's less activity and so I think that this project is something that should be
supported and should be approved and thank you thank you so much our next caller is Genevieve Claus please unmute yourself hi my name is Geneva Claus and I am here today to urge the commission to vote no
on C7 AE C7 AV and RH7 miami Beach has an obligation to invest in affordable housing transit or healthcare among many other pressing issues miami Beach should leverage its investments to generate returns that benefit our residents
without violating international law or the right of the Palestinian people to live in freedom and with dignity in their homes when you send our tax dollars to be invested in war you should remember that you should remember Pope Francis's words "Let the weapons be
silenced war does not solve any problem it only sews death and destruction increases hate and multiplies revenge while I do encourage the city to invest in small businesses I'm perplexed and concerned by the measure put forward to specifically encourage investment in
Israeli owned businesses why are we encouraging foreign business ownership from one specific place in Miami Beach we should all be encouraging businesses from all of our diverse communities in the city the city is continuing to play a very risky legal game although R7A
might not seem as apolog please state your name address you have one hello commission uh my name is Ariel Ramos i've uh I live currently in 73550th Street in the Lake View neighborhood and I've been at that I've
lived my whole life in Miami Beach i've been at this house for 40 I own the house 44 years and it's gotten to the point where it's a critical stage now that the flooding uh within just solely the last year we're getting water inside
the house i've talked to a commissioner magazine about this and uh and after 40 four years it's like unbelievable that all of a sudden the flooding is at a critical stage and I'm here per the consent agenda item that we really need
for you guys to do something in the short term but definitely in the long term we need something seriously done because I mean every all our neighbors now are getting not only water in the backyard in the front and the street it's really really bad but now as I
stated water's coming in through the front and through the back thank you so much our next virtual uh caller is Chris Urati please unmute yourself you have one minute hi good morning commissioners chris Gerardi resident at 645 Michigan Avenue thanks
for hearing me today i'm another resident that's in support of item C7 a.m about protecting this incredible coral reef that we have off of South Beach i just want to stress that there's a real return on our taxpayer investment in funding this initiative you might be
aware that healthy reefs act as a natural barrier to protect our shores this ultimately leads to less expenditures on beach restoration projects due to erosion and storm damage as well as less dam damage to our adjacent buildings and properties and as
you've heard from others today this really provides a great opportunity for us to invest in responsible ecoourism opportunities and really take advantage of this flagship attraction that we have in Miami Beach which is our great beaches and our great ocean so I want to thank you again for supporting this item
C7 have a great day thank you Mayor we have gone now 30 minutes uh people are waiting online so obviously we'll we'll end um sorry your your name but we'll we'll end there but we'll give the to give them a minute okay so blue vest will be the last
person speaking thank you so much and I will So let's go ahead please you have one minute state your name and address wonder Jamon 8305 Cresby Boulevard i'm here to
oppose the do project for many reasons number one the developer owes a lot of money to the city and now it's asking for approximately six million to be reduced to 15,000 number two there's some in place
that the city never took care of went to sleep for so many years that is called negligence thirdly it should have never put been put in the agenda without this settled the money and the leans
fourthly it was kicked to the planning board which they both they're recommending it to the body and they are lobbyist for the developers um I also have reservations with Commissioner Bat she's also a
Northbeat resident and you turn drummer and cheerleader for the developers on the last thank you so much so ma'am I I'm asking all of you to please vote no on this project i I have more to say but it's all time commissioner Bot
um I have very many very good reasons uh for why I'm supporting what could be a transformative project for all of North Beach um I don't have the time to dis to discuss it here but if anybody would like to get um those reasons laid out
I'm happy to share my email address with you please feel free to reach out to me it's Tanya miam beachfl.gov i stand behind my my decision and I stand behind my support of the project and I did not support the Ross project
but those comparing those um situations are apples and oranges so if somebody wants to have a conversation with me where I'm not eating up the commission's time I'm happy to do that thank you our next virtual speaker is Ken Barnes please state your name address and you
have one minute pj let's go to the next person with a Go ahead Mr barnes uh let's go to the next person with a screen name of Waffa please go ahead good morning my name is Waffa Mason i live at
66 21 South 57th Street i'm here to speak a out against the city of Miami Beach resolution to censor O Cinema and to call attention to a border pattern of reproession and political alignment that
was that we as a community must reject oma has long been um cultural concentrate a speak a space for independence voices bold ideas and meaningful dialogue the city attempts to censor this institution is not just an attack on the theater it's an attack on
the right to free expression when government officials decide what art is acceptable we all lose and let's be clear this is all happening alongside the city's vocal support for the Israeli government even as the global outrage
grows over in Gaza more than 70,000 plus Palestinians have been killed entire neighborhood flattened and basic human rights trad thank you so much your time is up hi I'm Helena Crystal and I live in 770
West 50th Street in Miami Beach Florida um I am proud to be a third generation Miami Beach homeowner and I want to begin by sincerely thanking Commissioner Fernandez for initiating the Lake View resolution and I'm so grateful to all our co-sponsors and for the entire commission for taking the time to fight
for our community our block on 51st Street west of Cherokee doesn't have a single storm drain when it rains water flows from the crown of the street directly onto our properties flooding driveways sometimes entering garages like mine and sometimes even intruding in our homes creating real concern for
families trying to protect their most valuable asset which is their home this uh consent agenda will help to alleviate our flooding bring the water to the Delaware drain and protect our homes from future water intrusion uh we're ready to work with the city on long-term
infrastructure improvements but right now we respectfully ask each of you to just vote yes on this consent agenda item and I have my entire block here on the second row in full support so thank you all so much for what you do for us thank you our next virtual speaker is I
think has a screen name of iPhone aj call the next person please nina go ahead please hi my name is Nina and I'm a resident of um South Florida and I am speaking out against resolutions C7E R7H and C7AV
um I think it's important after hearing everybody's interest in investments in the city to refrain from investing in Israeli bonds to refrain from trying to mute O Cinema from sharing the truth and I'll also add that um the mayor continues to defend Israel and defend
apartheid when in fact um Gaza is occupied by land air and sea we are also seeing uh a genocide happening to the Palestinians and we as uh residents of Florida and as America we should not be open to investing in that um if you just
look at what happened in Easter thousands and thousands of Palestinian Christians were prevented from going to church and praying during Easter so it is not a Jewishonly state it is a it is a state that is important to all three of the main monotheistic religions and no one should be prevented from praying
there and no one should support that thank you so much go ahead please by the way I feel like I live in an alternate universe so here here's here's the facts so you have a situation where Israel literally uh leaves Gaza by the way Israel didn't even control Gaza in the West Bank until 1967 it was controlled
by Egypt and Jordan so for 19 years the world didn't say a single word the UN didn't pass resolutions against Egypt and Jordan like they do against Israel now but that's that's besides the point israel vacates Gaza over 20 years ago israel's army literally forcibly removes
the last remaining Jews there's no Jews in West Bank and Gaza there's no openly many things in West Bank and Gaza because you know why you wouldn't survive many people in this room would not be alive would not be alive if they were there that is a fact that is a fact
so when you talk about aparthide on October 7th 2023 kamas literally in a in a full-scale military attack that was filmed by the way they filmed it so the proof is all there gaza Ga Israel was allowing allowing me
increasingly allowing workers to come in by the way there's a border of course there's a border countries have borders and that Israel had a border but they were allowing workers in money was flowing in from other Arab nations but Israel was attacked please let me finish
is when you run and get elected office you can speak as long as you want to november please sergeant I give the respect for the people who speak but I'm going to counter I'm going to counter hate speech when it comes this way
i Oh by the way you know what's funny by the way la at the last meeting we had a number of individuals and it doesn't matter by the way Jewish Nazis were doing their jobs too nazis were doing their jobs too all of you not opposing genocide wow we literally just heard in case
people didn't hear that Nazis were doing their jobs by the way that's literally what the speaker who was asked to leave think about that the Nazis were doing their jobs so think about when these people are coming here and saying genocide and aparthide you have people who who really believe that Nazis were doing the job
that's what we're dealing with here it's that and that's why I keep intervening because this is not this is not a normal debate about policy which I welcome not in this commission meeting this is not the place for it but not hate speech anyway I I what I wanted to say it doesn't matter by the way you notice
a lot of the callers come in they say they're from South Florida don't even live here at least you at least you live in North Beach uh uh but by the way I I have verified not that I tried people came with me many of the speakers who came last time and said oh by the way I'm Jewish and I only mentioned it because it doesn't really matter doesn't
matter if you're Jewish not Jewish this is an issue that affects human kind and that's why our commission takes the strong stance because it's a strong ally of Israel of of America one of our strongest in the world but people came up here and said they were Jewish and
they're not people lie because they're trying to make a point and that's that's even sadder than anything i'm sorry hello everyone my name is Jacqueline Bonia i am a community advocate and I'm the executive director of Urban Paradise Guild we are an environmental
organization and we're here to support agenda item C7 um AM and so right here in your front yards you have this valuable asset that helps with storm surge but beyond that is a great economic engine um it stimulates the
local economy and I'm very excited because there's all these thriving endangered species there it's also very exciting to know that this is going to create access for people to come worldwide to come visit Miami Beach and for you guys to be leaders and to leave
a legacy project for generations to come um you know I know some other people have stated some of the species but when we have natural endangered and threatened species it is something to boast about it is something beautiful and um I'm just here to support that and
um thank you very much our next virtual speaker is Robin Jacobs go ahead please good morning Robin Jacobs as chair of the convention center advisory board I haven't yet had the opportunity to bring
the specific item that Palm View requests to the full board due to late notice however our board has consistently recognized the Miami Beach Convention Center as a vital driver of our local economy our global image and our quality of life pride Park is a key
part of why Miami Beach Convention Center is so attractive to major conventions we're able to book flying events like Adobe where we see hotel rooms filled restaurants bustling shops thriving and citywide revenues rising these events support the entire city not just the immediate neighborhood around
the N Beach Convention Center in fact 90% of the economic benefit from these events is felt outside the convention center district when we can't book these events that benefit evaporates and what we get instead is a rise in drive-in traffic attendees will add pressure to our roads and parking we need a balance
that is why Pride Park flexibility is so important it was part of the $600 million investment our residents voted for thank you so much Jacobs next please good morning my name is Adam Saber a Jewish resident of Miami Beach at Tenton Lennox speaking in opposition to C7AE and I first want to start by correcting
the gross mischaracterization by the mayor as to the speaker who was just ejected and what she was saying you know mayor and everyone else here on the gay knows that she was not saying that the Nazis were doing a good job she said that what the Nazis were doing please don't interrupt me sir what the Nazis were doing is just following orders and it resulted in one of the greatest
atrocities of our lives i would appreciate it if his fellow chamber members and the fellow commissioners would speak to the mayor and do not let that stand i stand here because a few weeks ago the bodies of 15 emergency workers were pulled from a mass grave they were shot in the chest back and through the head thrown into the ground alongside their ambulances a UN worker a
UN uh truck and fire truck crushed and mangled the perpetrators identity of this atrocity is not in question they were executed by the Israeli military a vote to maximize that were murdered a vote to maximize the city's investment thrown in ovens woman raped mr clark I'm
just going to ask for an extra 30 seconds so I can complete without being interrupted by the mayor i don't grant it you can have the exact time you were allotted okay a vote to maximize the city's investment in Israel bonds is a vote to support that atrocity and countless others like it they are war bonds unrestricted loans to a foreign government well some on this day may
believe that such atrocities are necessary evils or perhaps even just necessary many in the city do not our next Thank you our next virtual speaker is Mr uh as Mr city Clerk am I a sponsor on this item or I will add you if you're
not thank you please add me as a sponsor on the both items notice the more we hear the more we keep sponsoring our next virtual speaker is John Hutton mr hutton you have one minute say your name and address good morning commission my name is John Hutton i live at 541 Collins Avenue and
I'm speaking support of C7AM i'm speaking on my on my behalf as well as on behalf of Reef Line which strongly supports this marine conservation area for all the reasons the other speakers have so eloquently
stated this uh reef project will not only preserve this national treasure but also will enhance safety um for not only the natural reef but the refine structure so thank you thank you go ahead please
good morning my name is Francisco and I live in North Beach i want to speak against R7H last month the motion to defund and evict O Cinema didn't go well fortunately Mayor Miner withdrew it it's really sad that the city is interfering with O Cinema's programming again it's
disappointing that Miami continues to promote itself as a global art capital when the truth is that a lot of these cultural institutions fear government interference politicians are not film programmers however if you want O Cinema to screen a documentary with an Israeli point of view I strongly recommend No Other Land an Oscar-winning documentary
by four directors two of them are Israeli i would like to close with a quote by one of my favorite political filmmakers Costa Gabris whose underrated film Hannah K is very relevant right now he once said this "Cinema doesn't exist in order to solve society's problems all we want is to tell stories we point our
finger to what we don't like but it is for the people to make their own decisions." Thank you thank you thank you our next work by the way by the way it's it's the institution's choice to ask us for money which we have generously granted
our next virtual speaker has a screen name of iPhone please state your name address and you have one minute hi my name is Karolina Buladd i live at 2939 Indian Creek Drive um I have two two quick comments just want to express
support for C7AM this is a great project and I want to echo what others said about the importance of protecting our reefs to help prevent beach erosion um I also am opposed to R7H whatever one thinks of the the Israeli Palestinian conflict i have a lot of concerns when government begins meddling in what a
movie theater can show i understand they receive uh government funding but this is the same thing that's being played out with universities i I just don't think that we should be the government city commission should be dictating what a movie theater shows thank you thank you next please state your name address
one minute please good morning uh my name is Sam Van Leer TW 1020 Northeast 90th Street i am president and founder of Urban Paradise Guild uh we fight climate crisis and protect South Florida so uh I'm here to
speak in favor of C7AM the Miami Beach Reef and thank you so much Commissioner Dominguez and all the sponsors for your support uh this is a visionary step that can unlock a new economic engine for
South Florida we have over 3,000 signatures on uh the petition and of those 49% are from Florida 46 from the US and 6% are international and this has just so much value to the community i
also have 27 letters of support which I'll present and this includes letters from state senators and representatives the county mayor uh and the Greater Convention and Visitors Bureau Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau among others they recognize this so
thank you thank you so much our next virtual speaker is Karina karina state your name address and you have one minute hi uh thank you so much my name is Karina Sata i live at 855 Avenue in
South Beach i'm here to speak against agenda items R7H C7 AE and C7AV so I've had the privilege to attend some commission meetings before and I've heard from multiple commissioners that you all have described your jobs as to
ensure that our taxpayer dollars are being used responsibly and also to the best of our community as residents so I'm asking as a resident to please do good on your promise and do not use our tax dollars towards any sort of war or to sponsor Israel thank you so much go
ahead sir state your name address you have one minute go ahead hi I'm Spencer Roberts i live at 411 Northwest 43rd in over on the other side of the uh estuary i'm a scientist and ecologist at University of Miami i wanted to thank
the commission for their support so far toward the uh uh establishment of Miami Beach Marine Park um as we know uh our reef is a stunning and fragile ecosystem home to hundreds of species many of them endangered it's a story of resilience and recovery rising from the sediment it
was buried in a decade ago but there is nothing to legally prevent this from happening again noical charts still designate our jetty as a spoil dredge area so uh what we need is our uh we need the federal government to recognize this and we also a need to uh protect
this habitat from the threats ongoing threats of anchors fishing i really want to ask the commission to address the illegal fishing on the jetty and to establish a no take pered area uh get it recognized by the federal government thanks thank you our
next virtual caller is Isaac Hoffman go ahead please my name is Isaac Maurice Hoffman i'm a Surfside citizen at 9141 Proud Avenue and a proud Jewish man i'm calling in support of O Cinema not because I take issue with Miami Beach's support of Israel but because I take issue with
censorship at Florida State University where I'm currently a student in addition to the tragedy we just suffered we have been suffering odious censorship attempts on our local cinemas trying to stop us from playing harmless procre films like Rocky Horror Picture Show and it breaks my heart to see similar censorship back home no matter from what
angle we're better than this we don't need to be telling movie theaters what they can or can't play just because we disagree with their ideology from the left from the right from the center i just don't think it's necessary and I think that we need to take a look in the mirror about this thank you go ahead please state your
name address one minute hi everyone um my name is Bean uh my real name is Hill Blacket um I live here on the beach but I also uh own a home over in the city um the reason that I'm here uh is to
oppose the three Israel related resolutions um originally I wanted to really speak in particular about um uh this um sorry this resolution related to
attracting Israeli and Jewish businesses um you know this just seems way out of step with like the whole idea of what American liberal democracy is about it's about pluralism it's about a space for
everyone and so if the city is saying we especially want to attract businesses that are owned by members of a particular ethnoreigious group or a particular national group that to me just seems insane and way out of step on
the other hand thank you so much our next virtual caller is Wayne wayne go ahead please state your name address and you have one minute i wasn't going to speak but I have to get rid of the Orwellian speak of the of some of
these members in in the chambers and on phone um the Hamas Hezbollah Assad Iran Russia uh combination has killed 1 million Syrians
and Lebanese and displaced 70% of the population tens of millions in the last 20 years alone 70% of the population they're going to do the same to Israel and we've seen uh a half a dozen holocausts not just the Nazi Holocaust
you can look at the uh uh you look at the Holocaust and the Zars of Russia you could look at at the Spanish Inquisitions you could look at thousands of years of Holocaust from the Jews and we are the second uh uh dispora of of
Jews in the world United States and Israel and I will lend my life to both countries with honor thank you so much hi good morning my name is Marcela Nolla i'm a Miami Beach resident for 27 years
i'm here in support of item C4 C4F sponsored by Alex Fernandez and Commissioner Tanya Bot thank you all for coming to our uh Commissioner Fernandez Rosen Gonzalez Magazine Bot Dominguez for coming to our my home the other day
to meet with our neighbors to see what our issues are i really appreciate it since our visit you actually did a a lot of great work with enforcing the illegal parking because it has allowed for better flow through of traffic it's a little less uh dangerous because a lot
of people were going double down a one lane street so it's actually made a huge uh impact on the quality of life on our neighborhood and I'd like to continue pursuing that with this new memorandum and creating a special taxing district for our neighborhood thank you
we're going to continue with the in audience members because everyone who was originally online on Zoom has spoken so keep it okay go ahead sir uh Ricardo Dunin uh Bernie president 3542 Flamingo
Drive being there for almost 20 years about three years ago I got involved with my neighbors talking about this special taxing district uh I can say uh no uncertain terms that most people in um support it makes a lot of sense
because no it's Flamingo D is like an island nobody has business to be there unless they live or they're visiting a lot of traffic concerns uh getting traffic on Pine Tree worse security of
people uh there's no traffic actually in rush hour uh on the other direction people cut if there is an emergency vehicle to come in uh they cannot come in uh there's uh safety concerns on crime so I think that's a great idea and
I'm here to support it thank you very much thank you i'm sorry which item okay starting hi Alice from South Beach good morning everyone thanks for your time i'm here because I love Miami Beach so
much so that my friends call me the mayor but I'm worried about what direction the city is heading in especially with the introduction of resolution C7 AE AV and R seven all of which put foreign interest above us here in Miami Beach i had a different version
of this speech that had a bunch of numbers trying to appeal to the ethics of sending $20 million overseas 10% of our city's total investment portfolio but I realized it doesn't matter because you're not listening last month you withdrew one resolution only to
reintroduce three that are focused on the same foreign power why move on we need help here please please thank you mary Michelle Southwest Ranches one minute to defend the Constitution and the laws of this land one minute to
speak against authoritarian control but yet the autocrats can go on and on adnauseium when they have the microphone but you know what i don't even need a minute because the only thing that needs to be said is that this mayor this council does not serve the city of Miami Beach the state of Florida nor the
United States of America they serve Israel a foreign country and an entity that has parasitically infiltrated every level of our government you sir and your band of portray pretenders are traitors to the United States and the Constitution and God willing one day you will be tried for treason not excluding
the minions that do your bidding all of whom swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution but are willingly choosing to surrender our country to an internally invasive coup by a foreign power thank Good morning my name is Cat i live in
North Miami Beach i'm here to object to three resolutions C7 AE AVR7H that together reveal a city government that is obsessed with promoting and protecting Israel rather than serving the needs of Miami Beach residents on top of that city officials are
intimidating O Cinema again sending the message that if you don't align with Israeli policy that you cannot exist here what a disgraceful precedent elections are coming up you were all elected to serve Miami Beach not the
interest of a supremacist project oceans away thank you thank you Mayor that concludes Sutnik okay let's get to the consent agenda yes Mayor so the following items have been
separated from the consent agenda you have a list in front of you with them uh Mayor Miner is separating C7BB commissioner Dominguez is separating C7 AU commissioner Magazine is separating
C7 AV and C7 A commissioner hang on a second hang on a second av and which ones a Victor C7 A Zebra okay commissioner Vice Mayor Suarez is separating C7
AU and C7 C you may not have C7C since it was done after we copied the the paper you have in front of you but Commissioner Suarez C7 AU and C7C may I have a motion to approve the consent agenda excluding the separated items and and excluding the addendums
which will be heard after five commissioner Rosa Gonzalez I will make a motion to approve this but I would like our consent items to be called today mayor I'm asking you very kindly to please call them because I see that you pulled your a schoolyard project that is very important and I don't want that to
be delayed that is very important for the risk residents of North Beach Biscane um elementary we've worked years for that so I'm not sure why you pulled it um I would ask you now to not pull it because there's going to be another year before it moves forward but residents and children and families are going to
suffer because of that so I I will move this item but I would like you to immediately call that item please well we will we will hear it today i'll also ask this body and I think we've gotten a little bit away from it on some items we we need to say our statements go back everyone gets a couple of times to speak
but sometimes we've been going five six times around we We really need to move on from items it makes it hard for me we're trying to get through as many items as we can and we're getting bogged down uh we have some major items today we're going to spend a lot of time on but we got to get through them but I will call the item today yes because otherwise working families are going to
suffer because you pull this item so I just want to make sure that it gets hurt today because the trend has been that you pull certain items and then they don't get heard well I'm I'm advocating for a bunch of our workingclass families in North Beach and I think that pulling this item there's nothing positive
that's going to come about it except for children and families that are going to not get a beautiful park um on a fow piece of land and it just seems to me that there's something political about it it's not right it's totally a positive item and I just want to understand what's happening with you
pulling this item so please call it um hopefully immediately following the consent agenda which is normally how we run things thank you for the editorial um I need a second please i'll second i have a motion by Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez a second by to move the mo to
move the consent agenda yes sir yes second by Commissioner Suarez this is for the consent agenda excluding the uh the pulled items and excluding the addendum all in favor please say I i any opposed hearing none the item the
consent agenda excluding the separated items are approved 70 it's called C7 AU c7 AU is approved Doville fines and lawsuit settlement it was separated
by Commissioner Suarez and Commissioner Dominguez two people pulled me and David letter Dominguez uh thank you so uh this item has to do with approving the Doville fines and the
lawsuit settlement and I have been speaking to a lot of people in North Beach i've also spoken to the development group and one thing that's really important and of concern for the people in that area is um that they're not displaced from their homes and some
of their buildings are older and they worry that this uh new level of development um uh will be a factor in potential gentrification so in having discussions I would like to uh propose that 30% of the fines that are collected
go to a fund so that buildings up in North Beach whether it's Abbott or Byron Carlile um areas north of 73rd Street can apply for a grant if their buildings have elevators that aren't functioning
or uh reertification issues so that um that fund can help Um can I I'd like to speak about the Commissioner Suarez thank you um so the reason I pulled this is because I I'm more concerned about the condition of
the property um and PJ if you could put up the empty lot picture please okay um this is what the current site looks like uh at the the Doville site and as
you can see you've got some I guess some weeds on the top right corner um PJ you can put it down and and if you could please put up code section 14-501 okay if you could kind of zoom in to the
highlighted section that'd be great and for those of you who are watching uh let me read it to you this is section 14-501 maintenance of vacant lots after de demolition of structures intent it is intent of this
section to regulate an improved or unimproved lot that has become vacant or the ground has been left in disarray or excavated due to demolition of a structure on the lot and to implement regulations to a or one ensure the lot
is rehabilitated in a parklike experience okay you can put it down PJ thanks so this is this is one of the big problems with this project is that the owners of this
property the MLS have used this tactic to get the residents of North Beach beaten down and feel disenfranchised they are taking advantage of the collective exasperation of the community
um it's funny because the MLAs know exactly that leaving the vacant lot like in that condition was going to play right into the psychological advantage of their playbook
um I I I was I'm the only one who went to the city manager with this code section and asked "Why are we not finding the property for making sure that this isn't a park-like experience?"
Correct and so um I was I was met with uh sort of a well sorry we we didn't know and for three years this lot sat in this condition in a gravel pit when our city
administration should have enforced the code and left it in a parklike experience and so when I look at this settlement agreement which I have right here and it's on page believe it's page
seven under section seven look in here it says unccured violations at the hotel property failure to install sod violation remains open and owner shall remain liable for curing the failure to
install sod violation with any fines that may occur within five business days of obtaining a an affidavit of compliance and payment in full of any then outstanding fines and interest with respect to the failure of sod in violation the city shall record a release of lean with respect to the
failure of sod violation the city acknowledges that the owners have commenced to cure the failure to install sod violation and the owners agree to diligently pursue the cure of these violations to ensure that they have been completed by or before December
31st okay again December 31st so that's seven months away so this agreement right here states that they have until December 31st to put it in a park-like experience appearance why are we doing
that why Eric why are we saying that they can have another seven months to leave it a hole in the ground with just gravel um where it's already been 3 years like this so um what what I
suggest we do with my colleagues okay is part of this agreement let's put some real teeth in this and ask the developer and the MLAs to um turn this
empty lot into a park-like appearance with irrigation sod grass and and possibly if if they really want be a great benefit to the community public
access I mean we don't necessarily know when this project if it gets approved is going to commence um let's let's require in this settlement agreement that they finally bring the property into compliance
within 30 days okay uh I think it's very simple let them come back on the next reading with a site plan and let's uh finally get this area irrigated sorted and looking
beautiful so I don't know how my colleagues feel about that i I certainly don't think that giving another 7 months to making it look like an eyesore is good i I think uh Mr martin can do a great quick project to make the the
property um look like a park uh until then and um I think now that we have an agreement that they're going to uh sign and I understand that there's already monies and funds in the escrow i don't see why
we shouldn't you know hold tight put some teeth in this and make sure that the area is looks good until if and when the construction starts commissioner Magazine yeah thank Thank you Commissioner commissioner Bot thank you Mr mayor thank you Commissioner Suarez uh I'm fully supportive of improving the
conditions of that uh immediately in fact how I originally got involved in politics um was my wife at the time was pregnant uh with our daughter during Zika and we lived right across from a mud pit that was five parks so I
understand um the toll that that can take on people living next to a site like that so I'm fully supportive i probably uh would draw the line at providing public access because I'm just thinking about a liability uh perspective and even if we would um push
that whether that could come back to us at all but I wouldn't you know extend that liability to any property owner so I'm going to be supportive of cleaning up this site i think it's righteous for the community i'd like to I'd be happy to work with you or any of the other
colleagues of um not just doing this for this specific site but uh better mandates all around town for some of these uh properties because you know when we respect our architecture our public rights of way um that should also extend to properties that uh may be
vacant and not moving forward in the uh forthcoming weeks months or perhaps even years commissioner Bot then Commissioner Rosa Gonzalez um so if anybody has been to uh the Dobill site recently you'll know that it is actually sold it is
currently actually solded um I can't speak to the irrigation if there are additional things that can be improved um you know that's a conversation I would definitely entertain my understanding um is that it is going to be that way until the shovel hits the ground it will be usable i think there
may be legal implications about providing um access to the beachwalk but I would certainly be very interested in having those conversations Mr manager to figure out if there's a way to to make um some some access available because I think that's a great idea um but it's
you know it's curious that there's grandstanding about a mud pit that was already rectified and so I would like today for us to be moving forward on facts and not um conjecture or incorrect information because I don't think that
serves the body well at all um and also I do believe there's a motion and a second for Commissioner Dominguez's uh suggestion and we should probably Well I don't I can't predict what my our colleagues are going to say so I'm I'm having everyone speak we'll pull them up
but Commissioner Rosa Gonzalez I'm so glad that you brought this up because it's part of some legislation that I passed a while ago where you have to have fencing and lighting and improve areas that are vacant and the developer is sitting here in front of us so
hopefully he can speak on improving this area good job good job Commissioner Suarez thank you Mr mayor i I just want to clarify i don't expect the area to just be soded commissioner Bod the code requires that the lot is
rehabilitated in a parklike appearance not just saw a parklike appearance that's what our code currently suggests and that's this is exactly what I'm asking for is that the developer bring this into a park-like
appearance in the next 30 days bring back a site plan with an irrigation plan and make sure that the place or that the lot looks beautiful not just soded okay I want to just bring it into code uh and this is going to sit dormant for a
little bit if this gets approved up to possibly 5 years so let's get this right now and let's make sure that the lot is beautiful and not just soded just very quick I just want to add that I mean I don't know what the insurance
liabilities are and if it is going to be a few years I would have no problem if you wanted to have I don't know if public access is possible or not let us know i'm I'm speaking um but I think listen I think this is a great initiative i passed legislation like
this because it was because we do have unsightly vacant lots across the city and if it is going to be five years I think this is a positive policy so let's hear from him as he's standing here and see what he's willing to do mr mayor speak i just have a question thank you i have Commissioner Bach Commissioner
Suarez then Commissioner Fernandez all right so we're going to do what you just said earlier we're going to do multiple rounds before people get a first round that is fair commissioner Fernandez so I just I just want to know just just for the record because I went I you know I wanted to see the conditions of the property since since we were approving
this i even saw uh palm trees uh in installed there uh so I just want to know you know what is your intent uh with with with the property uh if it's going to be empty i saw grass and I saw palm trees are you going to open it up
to the public are you going to keep it irrigated as the commissioner the vice mayor is is mentioning because at the end of the day um you can develop a beautiful project but if that's the earth down the road in the meantime our residents are dealing with a nuisance and we need to ensure that it just
doesn't stay green today and that the palmstone just stay beautiful today but between today and the delivery of a project that it doesn't go back into being a nuisance uh commission mayor commission yes sir commissioner Bach Commissioner Suarez
then we'll turn it over to you yes sir um Vice Mayor Suarez you can call me Commissioner thank you i agree with your premise that it should have been rectified years ago and I applaud your holding the city accountable for other sites like this
should they occur because it should not have happened it should not happen and it should not happen in the future it is currently soded and with palm trees and if there can be more done to make it open to the public and to ensure that um
the the grass is green and and and safe and clean and wellmaintained I am all for that i support this item my point is that what you showed is a picture from I don't know six months ago a year ago now it doesn't obiate the fact that that
condition was that way and should not have been i agree with you my point is if you're going to say this is what it looks like that is not what it looks like now so can we just please deal with the facts yes the facts are this plot this this lot has been dilapitated for
three years okay excuse me i Let me finish this back and forth one at a time this lot has been dilapitated for three years it is it they may soldered it for a month and then it gets into that condition after a month because there's
no irrigation what I'm saying is we have an opportunity now through a settlement agreement to require them to bring it to a park-like appearance that's going to stay a park-like appearance until such time if a project is approved and they
begin construction and Mr city attorney if we ask for public access and the city can control the land or or maintain the land can we indemnify the developer uh from any liability issues
at the project i would not recommending providing indemnity i mean that is something that the city can do but it's not an ordinary course of action to indemnify a private party um that might be one of the public benefits that the developer could offer
is to allow for public use um but I understand there may be liability concerns that prevent that so uh is that is that is that a function of getting insurance yes okay so look I mean again guys uh I
think we all know the developer and the MLAs the MLAs uh are asking for a doubling of everything at least let's get them to make this a look it like a park okay uh have access maybe
even make it a park for the next uh five years until they begin construction um and then require them to get insurance for liability i mean that's the least they could do commissioner are you are you making a motion what's your form of redress here i would like to have I
would like to make a motion so in the next hearing the developer brings back a site plan for uh a park with beach access or with with public access uh and uh until such time that construction
if approved starts i would second that david mayor uh commission uh thank you so much for uh allowing me to speak today i'm uh I'm really uh honored to be put in this
place to uh really uh change and and and revitalize North Beach this property uh uh should have been a park you know uh this property uh you know was in bad condition uh last year fourth quarter uh we started designing it we actually uh
hired a landscape architect uh we uh sub you know worked engineering submitted plans uh we got our permit in March uh and we immediately commenced uh uh uh turning it and complying to the uh codes Commissioner Suarez that you're that
you're requiring uh irrigation palm trees sod fencing gating uh as it relates to the public access which is something that you know I'd love we'd love to do um I just got to study that a little bit um before uh next meeting uh
to understand kind of uh you know just the liabilities and and and what what exactly because you know doing a lot of the community outreach uh I don't know if you know but we're we're going to be providing two public access uh to beachwalks uh to to connect to the beach and uh some of the residents are a
little concerned uh with what happens some of the residents are concerned with uh what happens at night in those areas and those types of things And so uh I'd like to study that with the design team but uh but definitely uh by next commission I'll I'll I'll I'll solve uh
I'll solve the uh public access but definitely complying with the code uh we're paying 100% of the fines not a penny less uh and uh and appreciate the comments and uh and we will address it thank you sir thank you sir again again just to be clear you know I think there
needs to be a site plan presented to us next commission with with irrigation commissioner Dominguez has a motion and there's a second um as amended so let's repeat the motions because we So I have Oh go ahead i have two
proposed amendments and both have been uh made a motion and seconded the first one is Commissioner Dominguez's 30% grant for the neighborhood just to be brief and the second one is and that was Commissioner Dominguez and Commissioner Fernandez second that and then there was the bring back site plan with irrigation
and access to the next meeting and that was motion by Vice Mayor Suarez seconded by Commissioner Bot okay so there's two motions on table so let's deal with the first motion the 30% um I like it in theory my concern right now and the reason why I'm hesitant to support it is because we're really talking about a
couple of million dollars right and we're I appreciate your thought you put into it but it's kind of it's the first time I'm hearing it and I think it's a big decision and I think I'm just I I I need to know more about it i would I would recommend the friendly men a referral to finance so we can uh discuss
it more but again I'm supportive if you're willing to to do that yes okay so let's call that vote so this is a referral to finance um for the 30% grant for the neighborhood if we could do so by acclamation it will be referred to FK
to the next FK meeting okay so all in favor please say I i no one opposed the item is referred to FK for the 30% grant great we have a second motion as Commissioner Suarez you want to read the motion the second motion was to bring back a site plan uh that includes
irrigation and access to the public and it was made a motion by Vice Mayor Suarez seconded by uh Commissioner Bot so all in favor of amending the resolution uh with that I any
opposed hearing none the item is approved as amended including a referral call so we're back to C7 AU um okay so just for the record the settlement agreement will come back for a second reading at the at the next
meeting is that what it is we didn't we didn't vote on C7 AU correct i just want to clarify that yeah we we haven't I'm I'm I'm turning back to C7 i guess there were two intervening motions uh now we're going to discuss so AU is now being discussed as amended
with the Well I think they have to my two separate motions hry go ahead no I believe the the intent is for the developer to come back with an amended de uh settlement agreement that includes these terms um we can still discuss the
settlement agreement but it will come back again based on this amendment well that's going to change because right now we have an item on to discuss the development agreement and I'm not going to support the development agreement without a signed sealed settlement agreement well we can we we
mayor if I may uh perhaps we bifurcate out of the settlement agreement a a separate settlement agreement that doesn't involve the fines meaning the the fines will be paid well we can sign the contract today but
we'll have a separate settlement agreement that we can start for the empty lot if I may what we could do is incorporate that into the development agreement as an additional public benefit no no i I I don't want to do that i want to make sure that this this
area is taken care of regardless if this project moves forward or not well then the better vehicle would be in the settlement agreement can we have two separate settlement agreements we're only settling a certain number of claims i mean there's there would be no consideration for that benefit unless we
segregate we could segregate the hotel from the garage settlement but the idea was to to settle everything in in one shot well M well um Mr martin you have your team of lawyers here I see the the Burkow and Larkin law firm do you want
to take five minutes and and get with them because I think public access is is going to be um a big sticking point for for for me and and the community and and possibly your entire project thank you Commissioner Suarez um we will
uh we will uh work uh prior to the next commission to provide uh city administration with the public access that we think is you know works well from an insurance perspective and use perspective uh we uh we are here to move
forward uh and and pay every single fine that exists on this property or any other um and so uh the development agreement is is only today being heard for first reading so really the development agreement hopefully if if it
were to pass would be able to sorry go to second reading uh in May so prior to that we could solve mayor uh we could solve the uh solve the public access and and have it all negotiated and signed prior to the to the second reading so we could do two settlement agreements uh
one for the fines one for the public access and we could all uh we could all uh uh sign them uh prior to the the second reading uh of of the DA if that's okay with you and through the through the mayor if if you're willing to do two
separate agreements I think this the settlement agreements should be heard voted and approved before any sort of zoning or development agreement is approved from here understood are you willing to do that what what what I what I think is uh you know Commissioner
Suarez we've uh we have a uh you know we've been through a a year process here and uh and we would love the opportunity to be able to move this project forward with your permission uh my recommendation and and respectful
request is that if we could uh have these two settlement agreements uh be resolved by by the next city commission meeting but please allow us to at least for first reading uh resolve the the development agreement uh and and and
discuss it and deal with any terms there that may need to be modified or changed prior to the next uh uh commission meeting uh I'm simply say I'm simply asking if you are okay with resolving both settlement agreements before any development second reading is is heard
and voted on or zoning or comprehensive plan is voted on sir yes sir but I I need to find some penalties resolved before we vote on the development agreement no 100% so we need to resolve that now commissioner Rosen Gonzalez um I and this is apart from your
agreement i do agree uh with the mayor and commissioner Suarez that the fines need to be settled but isn't that on the agenda right here isn't that the item that we're hearing right now yes ma'am so we are going to pay because I got a stack of public benefits well it's not really a public benefit it's just doing
the right thing um that you were going to pay six is it $6.7 million in fines it's 6.3 so 100% of the fines so 100% of the fines and have are they up to date on their property taxes also because I had heard that they were not paying their property taxes property taxes are
up to date and were paid this March okay so the property taxes are paid and we're getting the fines my question is um if we're voting on on the fact that they're paying the fines when are the fines being paid so we've wired uh $3.15
million to the city's escrow account and then the remaining $3.15 million would be uh uh uh uh uh funded as part of the uh uh settlement agreement approval is there any way to show goodwill that we
could settle that today today please the community is going to get really angry if we vote on this agreement without paying the fines that's that would that would be my ask if there's any way you could wire the money today and you know I think that's
important def defin uh we we uh in good faith prior to having the settlement agreement we we wired 50% of the fines we will after approval of the settlement agreement wire the remaining uh 50% of the fines yes yes commissioner yeah and I just what I'm reiterating is that we
have that portion at least signed today before we vote on development agreement commissioner Fernandez yeah and I just want to echo what you're stating uh because we need the assurity before we vote on anything to send anything to second reading that we have that completely and I just want to understand
you're saying not just 50% you want 100% of the funds today i didn't say that uh I'm actually comfortable personally with the way it's been done i just want to make sure there's a an agreement that's signed that we're going to get a 100% of the funds before the second reading
correct have that signed and we need that signed today is what you're saying before we vote on the development i 100% agree with you it's what the community long deserves and Mr mayor I I just asked our city attorney if he can draft something very quickly for a settlement
agreement for the lot for the empty lot then I'd like him to sign today okay um if that's possible because since since it's already since I'm assuming since this was noticed and the settlement agreement has been on the agenda we're just simply going to
bifurcate this section to here's an idea um one of the items that is not being released is the failure to sad and that is not being released so we can set up a separate settlement agreement that would
require what you're requiring and thereby release that remaining violation if that's something that is acceptable to everybody can I just say something i think getting the settlement agreement with the fines and everything included is important because I want to have the
fines done and this is if you're saying what you're saying is you want to wait to get the fines no you want to bifrocate i'm bif why do you want to bifurcate so that we can get paid today okay so I I would like to have a settlement i'd like to have two is that why we're not getting paid today so
we've we've funded the 50% uh a commissioner and commissioner i'm I'm not sure I I could really uh make $3.15 million wired today i have to work on that uh but I the intent was that after this meeting prior to second reading and
with all due respect it should have been paid long time ago let me let me let me let me bring this home what I what what I'm saying and I think we're pretty much in agreement is we need a signed agreement you've escroed the money i'm comfortable with the way is you're going to send the rest of the money before the development everything is finalized but
you're bringing a new motion today which you you have the support commissioner Suarez you have the support here but that's going to we need to draft that for you to sign and that's coming back at the next meeting we need to finalize and that's why we're talking about bifrocating we need to finalize the settlements and fines today and I think we're all in agreement that's why I
don't know where we're going back we're all in agreement on this and I'm and I'm simply saying that that second settlement agreement for the empty lot and the irrigation public access should be signed before any final decisions are made on a zoning matter or a developer
agreement agreed but I think the difference is you're saying before anything is finalized what we're saying as a body here today I think we're all in agreement is before we're not even we're not even finalizing we're at first reading on development we haven't we're saying that has to be done today today the settlement the fines which you're in agreement yeah so we'll prove that and
and sign that my only my only question is if you could please allow us to to move forward with just the first reading of the development agreement not the overlay or anything else because we have a second reading but if we could move forward with the first reading of the public benefits I would respectfully see
if we could do that that that again that's fine i said the final hearing or the final decision is made and I'm asking you here today okay because you're on the record are you okay with signing a settlement agreement for
bringing this lot into a park-like appearance public access lighting irrigation before any final decisions are made on your development agreement or zoning matter yes Commissioner okay thank you
so do we Okay so do through the clerk do we need to and city attorney do we need to strike out section seven uh and bring that into a different settlement agreement i I don't want section seven in here
uh signed by us when we're going to have a separate what what I would recommend is get this signed and we prepare a new settlement agreement that supersedes as to that paragraph this settlement agreement and we have that and bring it back to commission so that it could be
heard and approved prior to the second reading of all the other items correct okay i just want to make a note and uh as as as I'm proud of this commission that we're going to get to 6.3 million and this has nothing to do with you David Martin but it's disappointing this
number should have been way higher and I'm just going to take a minute to explain the tortured history here because we had a lawsuit way before you were involved in which we were not issuing fines or penalties for a couple of years and I had been working with several city attorneys before you to try
to change that and couldn't get anything done so I brought an item i actually drafted it myself i actually drafted my own i even had somebody in the city call me and they said in 30 years they've never seen a commissioner do what I did i said I'm very proud of it then because I brought my own resolution and what happened to to bring the fines and
penalties in the interesting world of politics after two years of not issuing fines and penalties i lost the vote but the next day we amended the complaint just as I had written in my resolution to amend to fine and penalties so that's why we have the 6.3 million but even with that the special master actually
put it on hold for a couple of years after the demolition and was saying well the the the the property is de demolished so we put the fines on hold for about two years when it shouldn't been and that finally the city went back and started getting the fines again but
we lost another five six million Rick about three I think three sorry three million um so it's unfortunate this number 6.3 million is as good as that it is that we're getting it um should have been doubled and uh I think that was u a
a failure of of many that it didn't happen so I think we as a body I think this commission is very watchful of of our budgets and our and our monies and hopefully these mistakes that were made many years ago before most of us were even involved in in in politics won't
happen again so uh we have a motion so we have no motion at this time okay so well it would be a motion to approve the settlement agreement um and that we will Well the the settlement
agreement won't be amended there will be a separate motion to bring a new settlement agreement to address the park access irrigation etc so we should do two motions so so there's going to be two separate settlement agreements and that I I have an issue with there being
two set separate settlement agreements there should be one settlement agreements i I agree with with the spirit of what's being said but it should be one settlement agreement i don't understand why i feel like they're two separate issues though right
one is the fines and penalties and the other one is the uh Not really it's this I mean to be honest I I I kind of agree with Commissioner Fernandez that that it really is just one settlement agreement that's why it's already in the settlement agreement on page seven um on
section seven and you know I I I c I certainly would like to make sure that this place that this lot first of all the fines obviously get paid which they should have been already uh and make sure and
ensure that this is uh this lot is is in a completely different state uh in a couple months because as it as it stands they have until December 31st to re begin fines meaning like they're not required under this contract they're not
required to bring it into a park-like appearance what are you proposing Commissioner Fernandez is that I'm proposing exactly what Commissioner Suarez is saying that uh that these conditions be incorporated into section seven of the of the
existing amended of the existing um settlement agreement and that we approve that as as amended but I need the city attorney just to guide me on that well we could approve it as amended and then we will have to paper it i mean we could do that yeah we do that all the time don't we
yeah explain that process we amend things and then afterwards we when you say paper it can you uh define that meaning the document that is before you is not the final document because it has to be amended so we will need to work on amending it and then it'll get signed
when is that um as promptly as reasonably possible following this commission meeting yeah here in lies the problem following the commission meeting which means the settlement and fines that we're discussing and I have no doubt uh that the uh that that David and
his team are working in good faith still I I I have I have a mind frame that that needs to be signed before I consider development agreement so now we're at a standstill if I could but we get two cracks at seeing this development agreement right
so we put it in motion today and if the fines aren't immediately settled and the property isn't brought up to current standards then we simply don't move forward with the development i made a public commitment first of all myself I happen to believe it but I also made a public commitment and a newsletter that gets sent to a lot of people that I
would not support this project until the fines and and penalties are signed sealed and delivered and and I'm going to stick to that mr by the way also you know remember let's not forget that the majority owners are the MLS and for whatever reason we may not be able to
control any sort of interdeal that they uh have already agreed and signed into and there is a risk that they just walk away and they don't pay these fines you know so if I may um what if we approve the settlement agreement but direct
there to be an amendment to the settlement agreement so that way the mayor gets the comfort that he wants that the settlement agreement as is approved and then Commissioner Suarez gets what he wants which is before second reading we incorporate the amended terms into the settlement
agreement we sign the amendment i'm I'm comfortable with that commissioner Rosen Gonzalez um what's holding us up from signing the settlement agreement what is are there areas where we have some discrepancies still is there any way that we could we have the agreement
prepared what What are the issues that are sticking there's none so why don't we just sign it i mean I know I'm just I just want everybody to be happy because I want all of us to work as a team on this so maybe if we have this agreement
are you willing to sign it today and then just have us take the vote later on in the afternoon is that a problem so that we can just get it done that would satisfy the mayor it would satisfy Commissioner Suarez and I think that it
would put us in a great place moving forward and hopefully everybody could get behind the agreement if that's okay with you David yeah and that's what we're trying to resolve because Commissioner Suarez has has made an amendment which we're all in agreement with but that's kind of holding it up whether we can get we can't get that
done the amendment is going to take a little time to draft why is it going to take a a little time to draft i think it's a couple of lines of language nick you couldn't get that amendment drafted lickickety split lawyers make a lot of money for a reason everything takes time i mean look it's
it's 10:00 a.m right now i would like to get this done today but I want to make sure that everybody here is happy commissioner Suarez the mayor I myself also feel like it's important to have it signed um do you have any objections to this i I'm just I want us to go together
you know unanimously with this that's really important because I think that this you know the the litmus test on this is is this good for Miami Beach and I really believe in my heart of hearts it is but I also recognize that the Muelos have been horribly bad actors and
you know David stepped into this and is finally making the Muelos change the way we're acting and I think we need to recognize instead instead of a vilification say okay look they're finally going to pay their fines they're
going to beautify the lot they're going to open the beach access um they are going to start to listen to Miami Beach whereas the Muelos haven't so David Martin coming into this situation has changed the Muelo's
behavior which I think is a really positive thing don't you Commissioner Suarez un look I if you're telling me that you're going to allow a precedent set where a de a a property owner can can poke the eye of Miami Beach for
years let a let a community get dilapitated with 4 acres of of non-compliance uh of of of a hole in the ground and all of a sudden you have this night and shining armor David Martin uh come in and save the day and if that's the
recipe for getting a doubling of F and height I don't want to set that precedent no I don't think that's it i think it I think it's kind of the opposite i think when someone's trying to actually turn something into a park
like you asked for just think about this okay when you're getting what you want okay and by the way changing bad behavior and then instead of saying "Okay this is really good for Miami Beach," trying to somehow create a
vilification i don't think that that's nice or or correct or good for our morale as a city or for the neighborhood or for any of these efforts what would you have would you have us continue let's just take the alternative okay
from what you're proposing you're saying after all of this Wait wait wait the city just got How much do we get in property taxes i mean I'm sorry in fines uh uh I know it's it's over a million dollars it could be two but I it's between one and $2 million oh
six we got the 6.3 million in fines and we're we just got the property taxes paid millions of dollars okay so these are good things are they not Commissioner SW wait wait wait wait wait the alternative question i'd love to get
I would just like to finish this the alternative to what you are proposing is to leave it as is and the Muelos will continue to do nothing wait wait wait um we will have gotten half of the fines
which is a beautiful thing but only because David Martin stepped in so wait wait wait i would like to understand okay if you kill this deal what is your alternative what is your vision here and and maybe because here's here's what I
think um will happen and this is one of the reason we lost our right to a referendum vote and that was very sad it was very it was a sad day just listen for Miami Beach because the residents could no longer weigh in on
these can I respond and when I sat with Steven Ross in 2022 and I looked at him and I said "Are you going to rebuild the Dobville Hotel?" Because I don't know about you but there's one thing that I know and that's that the residents of Miami Beach love the Dobville they love seeing the
arches they love that property that is something that we as a community are emotionally connected to everybody remembers going to the Doville so if you if if you destroy this and we don't
get the Joe bill back what is the alternative because I think you've asked me question no no no no just listen because please get to the motion we have no I have the floor and I'm allowed to speak and I haven't even gotten to 5 minutes yet and everybody else can go on as long
as they want but I I just I don't understand the alternative vision i find this to be obstructionist possibly political but I don't think that that's you because I think you're more mature than this and and I think that maturity and I'm going to say it one more time
the litmus test here is will Miami Beach be better for this if we go with your proposal and I don't know if that's true i don't think so okay uh thank you uh you've asked me a couple questions i think those questions are more appropriate for the development
agreement item that's going to be before us i think to get us in good standing and to move this particular item along with the settlement agreement can you can you bring us into proper standing Mr city Attorney into proper standing so where are we at
right now well where we are is we have two alternatives one is to execute the the agreement as is and come back with an amendment to address your concerns and then there was a second idea floated which is to draft the language during
today's meeting um to try to come back later this afternoon that those are the alternative approaches and I would like to again be very clear with all my colleagues with the developer and everyone
watching are you comfortable And are are you going to be okay with a a second possibly a second settlement agreement that brings your empty lot into a park-like appearance with public access irrigation
uh and make it look like how is it how it should based on the code before any final zoning hearing uh is heard or development agreement is heard yes sir
before any final uh uh overlay in any final development agreement any second reading of both yes sir okay again just so everyone who's here is clear the developer here is willing to bring this into a park-like appearance
um with lighting irrigation have a of a have a site plan and that's going to be approved before any sort of developmental uh final votes are heard is that correct yes sir but I'm we're really going back
and forth at this point we're we're kind of circling around really what's at the issue here is Commissioner Fernandez wants one settlement agreement we had originally it seemed like we were heading in the direction to bifrocate because I want and I think we've heard from others as well that I want today
signed sealed and delivered a settlement agreement that resolves the fines and penalties i'm agreeing with you i want that resolved too so how do we city attorney how do we resolve this now the direction to my my direct my direction my suggestion would be that we sign the agreement as is and that we prepare an
amendment and bring it back for the second reading of all the various items um and that way you will get the comfort before you actually get to the second reading and I and I have my colleagues blessing that that settlement agreement
needs to first be heard and signed and agreed upon before any final vote on a zoning matter or a development agreement so and and if I may through the mayor that's the amended settlement agreement does that the amend an amendment to the settlement agreement yes and that I
think that I think is fair and it and it makes sense i just want to also just state for the record you know we're and I and and I hate to put it this way but you know it's you know the word vilification of David Martin and
all that was was used and that we're rewarding you know bad bad actors which you know in part you know it might be true but David is here to deliver something positive for the community but
let's not forget this is the same exact conversation we're going to have later today with the homeless shelter and the precedent that we set with this vote i I I think it's it really is a precedent that we set with this vote not about
about today's own meeting about rewarding bad actors bad actors not just that you know that are negligent with the conditions in which they maintain their property and destroy historic icons and expose residents to nuisances
on their property but precedents that of individuals who then bring in homeless individuals to create a homeless shelter and then that then we reward them with a $20 million payout um in a strong armed zoning decision to our city and so I
just want to put it for the record what we're discussing now is no different than what we're going to be discussing later and that the president that we set now with our vote uh we need to remember for the issue that we discuss later in the day
wait can I ask one more question commissioner Rosen Gonzalez um David how much have you paid toward the fines half of them $3.15 million i mean I think I think Commissioner Suarez
is $3.1 million is a lot of money he's already paid do you think he's willing to give up that money is that what you're saying that he's just going to trick us i'm trying to understand where you're coming from here why you I'm
willing to sign the agreement today i would like to see all the fines paid today but I think that deposit 3.1 million is something positive i don't know i'm trying to ask any questions well at least let me answer okay thank you um so today I'd like to make a motion to amend the uh settlement
agreement to come back before any second reading of a development agreement or a zoning amendment or a zoning hearing uh in relation to this project you need a second i I I would need a second on that
rick just repeat it one more time just to make sure I got Sure um he would like to bring back an amendment to the settlement agreement that will incorporate the park like requirements under the code and the condition of the motion is that that will be heard and
approved ahead of the second hearing for the development agreement or for the comp plan and LDR amendments and not just the park-like experience it's also with irrigation and lighting can I can I just lighting question you say vote and approve there's obviously no guarantee
that will be approved um is that I'm just saying is that legally is that something you can do that you can require an approval before hearing another item we're doing it with fines he could require that be heard right now he could require that the item be heard he cannot require that you don't listen
to another item he just wants his item but you said in your when you said the amendment is that it will be heard and approved i just want to make sure i misspoke that it be heard and voted on okay that's why I asked for the clarification thank you by the way this is be heard and a motion can be made obviously it'll depend on a
second whether there's a second and voted but that's the intent and and just and just to you know just to be clear here we're not asking the developer for anything other than what is already required and codified by our city it's in our code it's in our code that the
developer has to maintain the property in park-like conditions and now that the uh amendments the future amendment that hopefully this body will consider and approve in a future uh in the next meeting before uh the second hearing is
that is that that language just ma be made part of the settlement agreement just for extra teeth but it's no different we're not requiring anything different than what's already required in the code that it be maintained in
park-like conditions that it be green that be maintained green clearly to be maintained green if you don't have if you don't have irrigation you can't maintain it green and you can't maintain the trees the beautiful trees the beautiful palm trees and by the way they're tall palm trees they're not just
like flimsy little palm trees they're beautiful palm trees actually thank you for that um you can't keep them alive without irrigation and so I don't to me it's very consistent with what is already required in in the code and putting it as part of a future amendment
to the agreement uh makes sense for exert and of course other than the public access sure overall I think this is even better we're getting five years of a park in a couple of months the property
looks much better than it did before we got half of the fines and we're going to get the rest of the fines shortly so I think that this is a great deal before us i think you're getting I think we're all
getting everything that we want so I'm ready to vote on this okay let's bring it home what is the mo What is the actual motion because it changed a few times okay we have two motions the first motion is to approve the settlement agreement that is on the agenda
second i heard Commissioner Suarez Vice Suarez make a that original motion and Commissioner B seconded I think okay so we have a motion to approve the settlement agreement by Commissioner Suarez seconded by Commissioner Bot
let's call a vote all in favor please say I i any opposed hearing none the item is approved 70-0 that was motion one and motion two is to bring an amendment to the settlement agreement to incorporate the park-like requirements
including irrigation lighting and a site plan and that that item be heard and voted upon before considering the LDR comp plan amendments and the second reading of the development agreement so okay sorry to sorry to be a stickler but heard and obviously subject to a
motion and a second will be voted upon subject to a motion yes so may I have a motion on that one second so Commissioner Suarez yes on that one vote so a motion by Commissioner Vice Mayor Suarez seconded by Commissioner Fernandez on the second
motion all in favor please say I i any opposed hearing none the item is approved 70 okay so just confirming that this settlement agreement the first one that we uh relating to the fines and penalties will be executed today yes
okay eric what else we have uh and we have and the yes from David okay r 7B boy r7b b as in boy yeah r7b is North Beach
Oceanside District Doville Development Agreement r7b it is a public hearing okay so um why don't you tee this up Rick why don't you tee this up i already read it so
so we'll tee it up um David if you and Tom could could approach the podium um this is a development agreement for um the public benefits that have been profered by the team that is looking
forward to developing the um the project and David if you could walk through the details absolutely good morning David Martinez assistant city manager um so as the manager stated we're here to consider
the first reading of the developer agreement associated with this development that we've been discussing uh the matter includes um a series of uh proper public benefits public benefits include
uh the partial reconstruction of the original uh to replicate the original Doville uh hotel pedestal construction of a hotel the um inclusion of 150 parking spaces at the uh related garage
property associated with with the Doville Hotel the construction and opening of two beach access pathways to connect to the beachwalk on the north and south side of the property as part of the
development it includes providing $7.5 million of uh funds towards the uh development of the the city's Byron Carile theater um housing project it
includes up to $250,000 to design and develop a triangle pocket park near the property $400,000 in infra in infrastructure funding for studies and other needs that
the city has in North Beach uh $40,000 towards Biscane Beach Elementary upgrades and repairs of some of their infrastructure assoc uh potentially associated with the Park View Island Canal
situation uh and of course we've already discussed uh the settlement of the fines um this I this developers agreement as well know is is tethered to uh uh amendments to the land development
regulations and also to a comprehensive plan in order to establish the proposed overlay and um this is the first reading this item that if if if it is moved today it would be heard on second
reading in conjunction with the LDR and the comp plan amendments in May uh following the discussion we just had with uh on the settlement uh Tom anything you'd like to add um the only thing I would add is that the companion
um LDR and comp plan amendment items which are I believe R5D and R5E are going to be open and continued to the May 21st meeting the applicant has agreed to that there have been some updates to these ordinances uh regarding
the number of units for hotels as well as the number of residential units the height in the revised LDR amendment has been reduced from 400 ft to 380 ft um and then there have been some other minor adjustments to the resiliency
standards and the and the floor plates these will be included in the uh second reading ordinance um on May 21st if the development agreement is approved to first reading and as David mentioned this is being done so so that the final
adoption of these two amendments would coincide with a potential final adoption of the development agreement okay thank you that's an important piece of I'm glad you mentioned that so uh anybody watching if you didn't grab that today we're going to vote on the development agreement uh
that's a first reading needs a second reading May 21st the LDR amendments were approved last month and will be brought back simultaneously next month as well so uh they'll be concurrent and so nothing is final today but this is part of the uh process commissioner Suarez
thank you Mr mayor um so I like everyone else on this day is I you know I only found out about this developer agreement Friday night okay um you know I was surprised to see that full-on negotiations with the developers
lobbyists and our city staff and legal was was taking place uh with full signature pages ready to go um you know I I think there's something
fundamentally wrong with our staff and administration and going into negotiations with developers and their lobbyists without any sort of direction or parameters uh uh from the city commission
um with with a deal such as important as this because the what you can ask um Eric when I saw this come in I was like where did this come from and and uh I I was certainly unaware of a full-on development agreement between the
administration and and um and the developers taking place so I asked at the time you know as soon as I found out about this draft I asked to send all relevant uh drafts of the agreement and
any and all corresponding messages or emails to uh that relate to this agreement and I found some pretty interesting things um and I'd like to
put one particular email up on the screen uh PJ if you could put the the Michael Larkin emailing directing staff email and so what I want to shoot everyone to first realize is on March
this was sent on March 12th okay that is a week before our last city commission meeting and it says as we meet with the elect this is from Michael Larkin as we meet with the elected officials in preparing for first reading there have been requests for public benefits for
North Beach while I wish these requests came earlier you have to deal with the hand that you are dealt i think that a development agreement is the best vehicle to have these benefits flow to the city we need to have the DA and our overlay legislation be considered
together at the April 23rd city commission hearing this will be a second reading of our overlay legislation and the second required hearing for the DA under the Florida statutes the not the notice requirement is 7 days it is a published notice requirement the city
takes additional step of sending a mail notice to owners within 375 ft of the property associated with the DA at the option of the city commission one of the two required hearings can be held before the planning board based upon the foregoing we have
asked Commissioner Bot to make a motion at the March 19th city commission hearing to place the Doville DA on the April 8th planning board agenda she has agreed to do so the second required hearing will be on April 23rd 23rd before the city commission it seems the
obligation under the DA will be funding different improvements in North Beach we will not be responsible for constructing any improvement or granting property to the city in other words as far as DA's go it will be rather simple i would like to know what you all need from us in order to meet the foregoing notice
requirements i presume the latest it would be advertised in the Miami Herald on March 30th with mailed notice being sent on March 28th we can provide a current mailing list today a DA is not an ordinance so there is no title to be published i think for 500 Alton a long
summary of the DA was published we are happy to have a Zoom call at your earliest convenience to further discuss logistics of meeting the notice requirements okay you know a few things about this email from their lobbyist that really
stuck out to me um a it's clear that their lobbyist is directing our city administration to do what to do and how to do it and when to do it i see it's also very interesting to see that one of
my commissioners is taking explicit direction from developers lobbyist on legislative tactics of ramming this through as fast as possible even bypassing two committees for the city commission to weigh on this
agreement down to one i also find it very concerning that developers lobbyist is even offering a mailing list today in that email to get their project approved as quickly as possible also they're discussing how our
legal department can send out notice requirements i just think it's very concerning seeing an email from a lobbyist who by the way has recently created an ethical dilemma for the last project he represented is now directing our administration and
even an elected official to do his bidding this really undermines the public trust and the integrity of the process my next concern is the actual agreement itself
let me ask everyone in this room including those of you who are in the audience and who are watching how do you know that this agreement is a fair deal to the residents of Miami Beach let's be clear at this point we're selling zoning
we're now in the business of selling F and height to developers which by the way I'm totally against and if we're going to be in the business of selling F and height to the highest bidder wouldn't it seem prudent to know
exactly what the best deal is you know how do we know we're giving what we're giving away is actually valued at what is the additional value in dollars that we are giving away to the MLS is it 300 million is it 500 million
shouldn't we know what we're giving away before signing a deal i can already go on the record and say that multiple nearby property owners have already come to me with with plans in place that request
for basically the same zoning enhancements that we're about to grant to the MLAs they have not been shy about these requests even since 2022 and so PJ if you could play the uh the
Doville Larkin video please so good afternoon michael Larkin 200 Southeast King Boulevard here representing the other two owners in this overlay the owners of the north the principles are Diego Culminero and Charlie Porchetto the owners of the south are Ira and Joel Susman and their
family they own the Sherry Frontac Hotel the greatest benefits of this legislation are not equally applied to all owners within this overlay and that is simply not fair the increase to a maximum of 4.5 F and the increase of 375 ft in height is reserved for those lots
in excess of 150,000 square feet the only lot within the overlay that meets this standard is the Dovo Hotel assemblage the lot owned by Charlie Diego to the north does not the Sherry Front property does not only the Dovel Hotel assemblage meets this standard the inclusion of the Sherry Front Knack
within the overlay would give them the ability to construct a new building on the vacant lot which would ease their financial burden of maintaining the historic Sherry Front Act accordingly we respectfully request that you incorporate these changes in your recommendation to the city commission concerning this overlay as a matter of
fairness it is essential that all three owners be treated equally and that the overlay not just favor one owner thank you pause it Petri so it's clear that these other property owners are going to come to
us and and request basically the same zoning and what I'm saying is if we're going to create this precedent this monumental precedent in North Beach by rewarding the most egregiously bad actors in Miami Beach with a golden
parachute shouldn't we at least have a better understanding of what value we're giving them a dollar value when I ask Well let me ask you Tom what is the value of what we're giving away right now in dollar amount
uh I don't know we haven't Okay thank you uh so you don't know um but when I look at this developer agree this development agreement this is what I see i think it's on
page nine of where it starts i see um $7.5 million in cash from the Byron Carile or for the Byron Carile which by the way I don't even know how that happened um not sure why the Byron
Carile is getting $7.5 million when we have flooding water quality and infrastructure problems in North Beach um I also see as part of this public benefit a small grass swale being labeled as a park i think that's kind of
funny um I also see 150 parking spaces on paid public parking that we have to be tasked for maintaining and pay for um I also I think Commissioner Gonzalez Rosen Gonzalez pointed this out um I think it's hilarious that the fines
being paid is labeled as a public benefit in this developer agreement think let that sink in for a second fines owed to us for some reason now is a public benefit ridiculous um and and by the way remember Five Park everyone who was
always against Five Park and who consistently says that you know they can see it from a certain section of of North Beach five park public benefits was just shy of hund00 million in public benefits okay and and the Doville
project is double the size of five park these these these public benefits in this development agreement don't seem like much the ones that city staff has has negotiated um so considering the potential ramifications of this project
in North Beach having staff negotiate this in the shade is a bad look for public trust so what I suggest we do is we defer this development agreement to land use and finance and really iron out the details
of exactly what a real public benefit is how and not only that but I think we should also hire an economic real estate consultant to tell us exactly in in value how much we are
giving away with these proposals so is again is it is it 100 million is it 200 million if if we're going to if we're going to be granting half a billion dollars in an extra profit certainly $7.5 million to the
Byron Carile and and a couple other these little ancillary projects doesn't seem like it's a fair deal so I think we have a great opportunity to negotiate this deal in the sunshine at a
committee where it's more appropriate than a city commission meeting and discuss exactly what what is a public benefit i want to know when I walk into a negotiation what is it that I'm giving away i I I certainly would like to know
and who knows maybe I'll be convinced that if If the public benefits are better than this maybe I'll vote for it maybe I'll maybe I'll be okay with the project but right now I I don't think a
$7 million swale 150 parking spots and and a few other smaller projects are are worth potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in in in sale of an F and height so you know look
we're this is going to set the bar for zoning in the area let's get it right let's make sure we're getting the best deal possible for the neighborhood and so I I'd like to see if my colleagues are okay with referring this to a
committee so we can actually iron out know exactly what is a public benefit know how much we are giving away a in in an extra height and and f because like I said they're going to come back to us not they but other
property owners are going to come back to us and they're going to want to say hey we're we're we want the same thing at least let's get a good precedent where we're getting the best deal possible and we know what we're giving away commissioner Bot and Commissioner
Rosen Gonzalez um since my um character was impuged in your presentation I would like to just state for the record what I did and why I did it um people may or may not know that I fought like hell to try to get
the Doville um saved from the the demolition box or whatever that little plunger is that you use i guess it's probably digital now um I worked very hard i put together a dossier on the Melos so you don't need to lecture me on
the notion of them being bad actors were it not for David Martin coming in to um take over part of the ownership of that parcel we would be sitting with a mud pit still and probably forever more so the fact that we are rewarding terrible
actors with a pot of gold is a very inconvenient truth it's one that doesn't sit well with me or with anybody else I'm sure but they own the land and that is the fact so let's take that out of the story um what I did was to make one
of the two required public hearings um one at the planning board as opposed to at commission where it would be vetted and discussed and anybody who wanted to weigh in on it could do so the goal was to move this process along and nothing
else it was purely to move this process along because we've been sitting looking at this derelic building which the Murllos said on the record that the only thing they wanted was to get it demolished because it was an eyes sore and a and a um an albatross around their
their necks and and do something that is good for not just the North Beach neighborhood but for the entire city of Miami Beach um so yeah I did suggest uh or or take the suggestion that um it should be moved to the a public hearing
at the planning board um I did that on the record and then after having done that um uh I talked to the city manager i might I might be conflating my my um my
timing so forgive me if I'm not 100% accurate on this because I didn't anticipate to be called out um for doing something that you're portraying as incorrect which is delightful but anyhow so it was it was in a conversation with Eric um it was suggested that maybe it'd
be a better way to go to have um the commission have um two opportunities rather than one opportunity in the planning board and so that's what we did so if I made a mistake I made a mistake to assign any kind of
um shady manipulative tactics which is what you are doing is comical and I just simply read an email Commissioner Bud i I simply read an email where it says that they requested that you make a motion right
but you you read an email that you selected out of I don't know how many and highlighted a few words out of that email so don't tell me it was just oh I'm just reading an email you are making suggestions that people who are not collect uh paying close attention to are going to glom on to and that's fine
that's how you operate and that's I'll let the email stand as far as I will let the record excuse me no I'm letting you finish thank you i will let the record stand for who I am my integrity the mistakes I do or don't make and the values I do hold and the goal that I
have to move this project forward which is no secret because it is the right thing for Miami Beach it is the right thing for North Beach we are talking $330 million going into the CRA that is an enormous
generational game changer for North Beach and you know what if some people don't like this or some people don't like that look I don't love the height i'm not psyched about the height either but I will not let the perfect stand in the way of the good and if you want to
ascribe malicious motives to that go right ahead because that is a bunch of BS and anybody who knows me and knows who I what I stand for and how I operate know it so have at it my friend commissioner Rosen Gonzalez
um Tom a few months ago Commissioner Suarez sponsored a sweeping F item across all waterfront buildings with no public benefit at all
is that correct that F increase was across several districts wasn't it um I don't recall that ordinance Commissioner yes it was if I could say the public benefit actually if I'm recalling this
correctly was turning transient usages into residential usages okay so we called it transient uses to resident uses but there was zero dollar benefit and you upzone the entire street wait just so clear Washington Avenue i have the floor right now so what I'd like to
point out here is that I don't think that Commissioner Bot deserves to be attacked when we were negotiating serious public benefits when you yourself sponsored sponsored sweeping F that we
have no control over with no public benefit so I would like to set the record straight there that when you would like to negotiate something um it doesn't seem to matter but because Commissioner Bot did all of a sudden it
was vilified just wait a second i'd like to respond to that wait a second i'd like to respond to that i have the floor secondly I think the big public benefit that's being missed here is the recreation and replication of the
Doughville which nobody wanted to do steven Ross said to me to my face "I'm not doing it i'm putting all the F into luxury towers yet because David Martin worked with the community and understands how much the Doville means to the community he's agreeing to
replicate something that I have to be honest I don't think he wanted to." And I think that he could have just turned that into more luxury units which I think would have been more profitable but that's the big that's the big 100 mil how much is how much is it costing
David to rebuild the dovill and the pedestal and the arches so that when people drive by it doesn't look like city is sunny Isles it actually looks like Miami Beach which I think is the big public benefit which exceeds hund00 million by far how much is that costing
you so I I'd like Wait wait wait i have the floor i I did not say one thing while you were speaking well it has to go through the mayor i'd like to No over 100 million what over 100 million over a hundred million so in addition to that we're getting the fines paid we're
getting the money for the Byron Carwell we're getting the infrastructure we're getting the 150 million parking spaces and you want to know something i would prefer that we never have to vote on these controversial items but I will say one thing by getting the Doville back that for me is the biggest biggest
public benefit because I know that tens of thousands of Miami Beach residents really miss they were so upset when the Doville was demolished and we're getting that replication and replication is not easy and it's not something that anybody wanted to do but you will drive past
this project and see that Doville pedestal that hotel re-imagined more beautiful and prosperous and that is a public benefit so that's so I would say that and and by the way these are these
are not easy items to vote on but I think to say that there's no public benefit is wrong secondly I don't understand what negotiation took place um behind closed doors but our charter
does say that the CEO who is our city manager has the right to make these negotiations i I feel like we've been dealing with the Doville now since 2017 so here we are eight years later
it's been eight years and we have turned down every bad negotiation and this is the first time that anybody has been able to work with them oros and bring us a semblance of something that's going to
work i don't know how you feel about that but I don't think it's fair to pass sweeping F and by the way um these F increases that you would like across the center of our city that you have
sponsored and then deferred that is also disingenuous because you have the Carolon next door which is very high the Koa which is higher even so we have a precedent of building larger buildings
on the waterfront and keeping the interior small so that when you are in these buildings you have this kind of sweeping view of Miami Beach and you can see the water so I am willing to even
consider some of the Washington Avenue and Lincoln Road F increases something that I said that I was never going to do before if they are low enough and if we negotiate public benefits but let's all work together instead of being
obstructionist instead of putting instead of vilifying this board who's trying to do something right i think that leadership and I'm I'm telling you this from an honest good place let's stop this
nonsense and um because when it works for you the f increases okay but it doesn't work for commissioner bot or like then then she's evil so I think that this process of as we look at these developments okay
may I respond now we we should be rational and I'm going to say one more i'm going to say one more time i think that Miami Beach is going to be better for this thank you Commissioner Suarez thank you
um appreciate that Commissioner it's it's funny watching you come full circle on a few items um okay well let me let me uh address some of the points so my F uh incentive for Washington Avenue is
not driven by developers i don't have a developer coming to me and asking "Hey we really want you to redevelop Washington Avenue there's there's no there's no financial incentive." That's actually not true you actually met with
two developers you met with David Martin himself and you met with Michael Conrad and you created this legislation well I'm not going to allow him to lie i did not let Commissioner Suarez interrupt you have a floor i don't have a developer coming to me
and saying "Hey I really want to update my property on Washington Avenue." There there's you can look do a public records request there there is no there is no developer coming to me and saying that I want to redevelop my property on Washington Avenue there's that it is
coming from a D this is And by the way this is how zoning should be done it should be done from the commission down what let me finish that's not true either because I know one developer who called me that you went to and and he said "Commissioner Suarez is working on
the upzoning on this item." Okay but I mean if he's going to lie right here to my face I can make a PowerPoint too i don't think you're going to like it but I can But I'm not going to i'm not going to i don't think there's any purpose for it i don't think that we need to vilify each other and frankly I can think of
three developers right now that you called specifically to upzone on Lincoln Road and on Washington Avenue do we I don't want to name them because honestly I don't want this kind of negativity appear on the deis please can I finish now without interruption please thank you okay
when I when I first originally adopted or thought of the Washington Avenue plan that was my idea david Martin didn't come to me and ask me "Hey I want to I I've got a property on Washington Avenue and I want to develop it." I went to him
i went to him and I asked him "Hey what would make this work?" Okay i also went to Michael Comra on Lincoln Road i said "What would make this work?" They didn't come to me they're not coming to me for help on on
a specific site zone project that they want such as like the Doville i'm I want to create a community i'm not trying to give a jackpot to owners of the Doville there's a huge difference between that okay um and and
by the way I'm glad you even brought up Washington Avenue because at that same very meeting that we discussed it you went on the record and you said "I'm a no on any F height increases from here on out so don't come to me for any more F height increases." Okay so I'm not
allowed to change my mind ever is that what you're saying that we're just black or white negative positive there's no gray that's That's not fair either i'd like to finish some of your other points that you brought up okay and I noticed you mentioned that
building the Doville the replica of a Doville is a public benefit and and and Tom now that you're here okay in your opinion what percentage of the Doville is actually going to be
created the the code amendment specifies a partial reconstruction not a full replication okay and based upon some modifications that they're proposing to the tower in terms of setbacks and update when you take into consideration
the totality it's probably about 60% what was that 60% 60% so So we're we're we're having a 60% replica which I don't that's significant so I I I I don't think that
building a hotel is a public benefit i just don't I don't I don't see that i think the way our commission has been the direction our commission has been going is we want less hotels in Miami Beach and so I mean I can understand that if we built affordable
housing okay a as a public benefit that could be a public but you're we're saying that you build a profit generating machine as a public benefit i I'm sorry i I I I just I fundamentally disagree with that idea it's a profit
machine and it's to me it's the Doville is gone it's been demolished it's not coming back having a 60% replica it is coming back but having a 60% replica is not it and and if we're going to start
changing the um preservation for for replicas on Miami Beach imagine the precedent that we're going to be starting to set with that so look uh again I I don't want to get too far off topic i I'm simply saying we're
going to be giving them a lot potentially a lot of money in this developers agreement if we if we go through with this F and height increase and all I'm saying is let's find out what the actual value of that incremental value is
let's just find out can you know Tom have we ever hired a economic real estate consultant to to determine what value uh an increase is going to to be for the city or or for the developer in
in the past we have done that for certain land use items give me the one that last one that comes to mind the last one that comes to mind was when we were developing the town center core regulations in 2018 we have specific regulations that speak to mandatory public benefits if you go above a
certain height and we hired a consultant to come up with a value for those public benefits and and may I remind my colleagues that later today we're going to also be hearing another item on 1250 West where they're going to be requesting a significant amount of height i mean I certainly would like to
know what the value is i I want to know what we're giving away i want to know if this is a good deal or not let's have a consultant tell us if this is a good deal and I think the the most proper place to do this is at committee
commissioner Bot sits on both land use and and finance along with myself uh Commissioner Magazine is the chair of finance commissioner Fernandez is the chair of land use let's get this right i mean look we we we have an opportunity
to make sure that we get the maximum amount of public benefit for uh for this city and more importantly we're setting a precedent we're setting a precedent for what the sale of zoning is and so uh I think this is reasonable i'm not
trying to be difficult again I was elected to think things differently all right i I'm not I'm not I didn't get elected to look at pretty pretty presentations on a screen with a with a rendering and say "Wow that looks
great." No I I want to make sure that the dollar and cents makes work makes I want to make sure that the values that we're giving away is an actual public benefit to the city it's a fair point Commissioner Bot then Commissioner Fernandez and Commissioner Rosenales you know I I think um the businesses who
are on life support or have closed since the Doville um went out of business let alone was demolished um would be very curious to think that having a hotel uh as their economic driver doesn't matter i think that's shortsighted and not
understanding the character and of the dynamic in that part of North Beach it's 150 commissioner Commissioner Fernandez nothing thank you Mr mayor so I just want to bring back this conversation a little bit and I want to
begin by acknowledging the sensitivity of this conversation and not just about what what's being proposed to be built but about the sensitivity of what was lost is the Duville wasn't just a hotel
it was a landmark of our city an internationally renowned landmark That was a community memory it was a symbol of Miami Beach's history where architecture where music where culture
even politics collided in one extraordinary place and for too long now thanks to the negligence of really bad property owners that we don't need to get into that history that cornerstone of Miami Beach
has sat empty it's been fenced off it's been deteriorating it's been a daily reminder to the residents that live right there of both what was allowed to happen the negligent demolition by neglect and what we've been struggling
to reclaim and that loss wasn't just architectural to our heritage in Miami Beach it's emotional to the neighbors who live there and who I'm proud to represent and that's why I've been
passionate about advocating for preservation and when the Duville was in danger I led legislation I think it may have been supported by by Mayor Miner at at the time we were on on the commission
to amend our city code to require replication when historic structures were lost due to due to demolition by neglect we created the presumption we codified the presumption that replication would be required when
there's demolition by neglect as a direct response to what happened at this very same site and it's not only because I felt strongly about it but because the residents and the neighbors asked for
this legislation what happened then after we passed that legislation the state of Florida passed the Resiliency and Safe Structures Act preempting our local authority and
preempting our ability to enforce that code removing our power to enforce that vision of replication when demolition occurred so today this project brings something
rare a chance to voluntarily undo the effects of preeemption for once we have the ability to work with a private partner unlike what's often said Miami Beach doesn't work with private partners
so let's go in and preempt them we have the rare occasion today to voluntarily undo the effects of that preeemption a moment when local control and historic replication can actually prevail and this isn't just another
development it's a chance to honor our past to do right by North Beach and to restore a space that was once a centerpiece of our city so we've seen the toll that the that the
loss of the Deville has taken in North Beach and Commissioner Bod you were just mentioning the impact that that empty lot has left behind and it's more than just an eyesore it's stifled
growth it's dragged on property values it sent a signal that investment in this community is risky but it doesn't have to stay that way and this project represents that turning point it replaces blight with
beauty it replaces memories with momentum and private gain with public benefits all while reaffirming the value we fought for when we passed our replication ordinance
and some will just say that this just is a rehash of the Steven Ross referendum that voters rejected and I think this is different because Steven Ross and other colleagues have said it
and I'll say it too he disliked the Doville he not only rejected to replicate the Duville he was passionate about not replicating the Doville he did not like or appreciate the architecture and so this is a very
different situation and so you know we all are familiar with the public commitments being being done here a replication of the original Duville and its Miami modern architecture access points to the
beach contributions to the Byron Carile to the cultural center a new pocket park on 67th Street infrastructure improvements not just at Biscane Beach Elementary where we need those uh infrastructure improvements to restore
water quality in Park in the Park View Canal but broader system improvements in in North beach we're getting 150 public parking spaces where we critically need them that's double than what had originally been proposed
and I thank the developer for agreeing to to to double that and these aren't speculative promises there are enforcable commitments that reflect real investments not just in our city in
North Beach that has felt overlooked and those are the words of the residents they're not my words the residents of North Beach have felt overlooked for a long time and these are enforcable commitments back to those residents so before I ask some questions of the
developer I want to ask some questions of our of our planning director for the record I want to ask you a little bit as of as of right development potentials there because some would say why reward
the property owners and I think this isn't a reward to the property owners this is a reward to the residents that have been suffering there because I want to know what could the property owner build as of right on that site under today's current
zoning they would be permitted because the property is zoned RM3 to build up to a 3.0 F which would equate to roughly 500,000 square feet for the property with a maximum building height of 200 feet they would also be permitted to
construct a mix of residential apartment and hotel uses okay and so you said f about 500,000 square feet would be okay for in let's put that as an example
to uh to to our residents so as of right if we reject this and we say we don't want the public benefits we don't want the cultural investments we don't want the investments in our infrastructure we don't want the parking spaces we don't want anything we just want them to do as
of right let me just ask you this they would be able to build those 500,000 square feet park that everyone complains about how many square feet is five park approximately 570,000 square feet so
they would be able to build something as intense as Five Park but the public would get nothing in return for that right and I think that's important to understand and approximately how many
hotel rooms or residential units could be built here as of right as of right you know without this development i believe that they could build close to 530 residential apartments based upon the current
maximum allowable intensity and based upon the average unit size requirements of the code and I think they could get somewhere between 8 or 900 hotels if they did only hotel so they could do eight or 900 hotels a density of about
500 units in a building as intense almost as intense as Five Park with no benefits to the public and that's supposed to be a penalty to whom it's a penalty to whom
to me it's a penalty to the community who is not going to get the benefits and is only going to continue lining the pockets of the negligent property owner who allowed this historic site to fall into the disrepair that that it's in and
I just got a few more points to to make Mr mayor so please indul indulge me you know I also want to acknowledge what we've heard uh from many in our community and that's the desire for a park on this site and that which
reflects something deeper than a preference for a green space it reflects a longing for beauty for safety a longing for belonging actual belonging in in a part of our city that has felt neglected for too long and today thanks
to the leadership of Commissioner Suarez we've already made progress on that front before the project is even built uh the community will have the benefit of a beautified space a publicly accessible um hopefully publicly
accessible I hope uh space on the empty parcel and that's meaningful the public will have this green space uh and that's and that's great but what's even more powerful and what this development agreement delivers is
something more lasting and so I just want to ask some questions of the developer so you are committing to a replication of the Duville one of the most important things about the Duville was the iconic lobby
can you speak to me on how the Deville's iconic lobby is being authentically replicated through the mayor uh David Martin uh uh I uh you know we engaged Alan Schulman
uh who's uh one of the most prominent uh historic preservation architects in Miami Beach and uh and he him and his team have uh gone through all available documentation from microfilm plans photo photographic video evidence uh and all
other resources that accurately uh uh outline the shape the flow the materiality the feel of the iconic original Deville lobby these will be reconstructed to create a new lobby that matches the original to put this in more detail uh the areas of of reconstruction
include uh the original historic configuration of the lobby including the precise outline of the historic oval shape the flow of the lobby into adjacent areas like the raised lounge area the foyer to the dining room and the check check-in and elevator areas
steps to the raised lounge a dining foyer along with the original railing systems uh lobby columns with the projected wood fins uh baroque style floating cloud ceilings uh distinctive floor patterns a mix of white marble tile inlaid with diamonds of black
Italian marble terrarazzo and carpet grant stair to both the ground floor and the mezzanine with adaptations for code compliance cut stone wall behind the stair gold mosaic tile finish lining the grand stair and tile finish on the pier adjacent to the grand stair zigzagging
rose marble wall on the east side of the lobby with its distinctive diamond shaped panels lobby desk area decorative stone panels above the lobby desk and elevator lobby glass current walls facing Collins Avenue on the west on the exterior well I think we got the point
it's a very authentic and detailed replication as to the scale and as to the MIMO elements the sweeping MIMO elements uh myo elements that are being preserved and reinterpreted in this
reconstruction um and so to me that's a landmark destination but I don't want this space to serve only those staying at the hotel because from what I gather you want to do something very high-end a very luxury
hotel here yes uh we we will be limiting our our uh our hotel density uh to up to 200 with a target program of only 150 hotel keys uh so what type of hotel are we talking about here a very high-end hotel okay so that's you see to me I
think that the replication is great it's great to be able to enjoy the view of the hotel but you just mentioned a sweeping reinterpretation of what was there in in the past that I
believe should only be should not only be enjoyed by those who can afford to stay in that hotel if we're doing a public park there for people to enjoy for five years once you build over that public park the public should continue
to have access to that lobby to that space that was part of our architectural heritage and I don't want it just to be for people who can afford to stay in the hotel and I don't just want it to to be for people who can afford to to dine at
the restaurant so I want to know if you would profer and covenant that this 15,000q ft historic replication of this massive and historic lobby will be open and accessible to the public and not
just in spirit but in a legally enforcable term as the first privatelyowned public space in Miami Beach yes okay we also are are there's two things that we're doing okay so I just want to when
you say yes I just want to make sure that you understand what what I'm asking for yeah I do understand sir uh Commissioner and I I want to just reference not only are we uh open to to uh having the uh public access the lobby and and appreciate the lobby and putting this in the covenant that you are going
to keep the space open that if the public wants to be able to walk through this that if tourists want to be able to enjoy this landmark lobby that they don't have to be staying in that hotel that this is just like New York for example Trump Towers trump Towers and
everyone and I use that because everyone knows the iconic uh Trump Towers um that's that's a privatelyowned public space unlike other buildings that you don't have the right to go into the space you're willing to keep this open so that the public a Miami Beach
resident a tourist coming from out of town anyone can go into the lobby take pictures be seated there enjoy the space the same way that they could do before it's constructed in the green space uh yes Commissioner we'd love to coordinate
that with the city administration uh but yes yes sir okay even the gardens excuse me even the gardens so we're we're also dedicating a half an acre so the property is around 3.8 acres uh we're also dedicating a half acre of
of beachwalks so basically this will be the only project that will be dedicating uh uh two beachwalks one on the north end and one on the south end which is around 20,000 square feet it's almost a half acre of the entire property and that will also be open to the public so
that's significant so after the project is built the public won't just walk past another building they will walk into historic replicated architectural space a place of culture a place of civic
pride a place of public meeting for the heritage architectural heritage open to everyone in Miami Beach residents and tourists in perpetuity so while we might not get a traditional park here we got
something more rare a beautifully designed interior civic space born from the DNA of the most iconic of landmarks that we've had in this city and legally protected as a place the public can
always access and enjoy and so that that I think is something that's significant but I want you to go farther i'd like for us to go one step further because access is only the beginning the goal is invitation
you have I'm sorry sorry you have a comment no I was talking to Steve okay Mr mayor yeah invitation is the goal i don't want just people to feel like they can go in there i want them to feel invited to go into this space into this
landmark space and so would you commit to incorporating a museum or an exhibition space within the replication one that tells the story of Miami modern architecture and something that
highlights how we are how architecture in Miami Beach in Miami is adapting to climate resiliency and sea level rise something that the that invites the public to go in there to
experience this lobby as a true public benefit and not only experience the lobby of this historic renovation but that truly honors Miami modern architecture and the culture of architecture in North Beach
yes sir i have a I've been having Alex Schulman work on a on on the on plans uh that I could show today of of what this space could look like sure that would be great i I would appreciate that
mr mayor I I Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez and Commissioner Suarez sure commissioner Fernandez you did a really good job of explaining why that hotel is a public benefit and I just want to echo a few of the comments and I think that this is something that Commissioner
Suarez would appreciate sunny Isles at one time we called it Motel Row and what it was was a series of small motel that were extremely kitschy and that was and they all had you know stuff outside you
had like the colonial inn with horses pulling carriages you had the camels at the Sahara the Aztec the sphinxes at the Suez the dunes the castaways i don't know if everybody anyone ever ate at Christine Lee at the Thunderbird Coral
Seas the Driftwood Wiki and you know what happened sunny Isles as they developed did not respect or require that any of what their historic nature of any of their identity in their
development so what did you get you got a very cold corridor of glass towers this is not that we in Miami Beach have demanded that we continue our historic
preservation which is why having the Doville there even at 60% and by the way what I would say the changes are are positive changes like the old Doville it had no terraces this hotel he added terraces which is a great thing so he
improved upon it what I'm trying to say is this is actually helping histo it's a it's a historic preservation project and these projects are not easy to do um renovation and replication are both
extremely expensive and the fact that we're going to have that golden staircase that golden staircase is famous around the world open to the public I can't wait to go to that oh by the way Sunny Isles was built by a Miami
Beach architect Norman Giller most of those hotels were designed by him but can you imagine had they done what we're doing here Sunny Isles would be a completely different place with an identity with their true identity and they're going to hate me for saying this but they really messed it up they messed
it up by just giving away the baby with the bathwater how can you imagine if the rascal house was still there and the restaurant was still there with a tower you know built over it i mean that would that would be a Sunny Isles that a lot of us would want to go to as is right
now sorry to say this but I barely ever go to Sunny Isles i really don't so what we're doing is creating a public space like you said and then you said one other thing you know you've come full circle well I'll tell you why I've come full circle because as I fought these
referendum referenda excuse me and as I became this obstructionist what happened the developers went directly to the state and they got rid of our referendum requirement um there is an
egregious law that I have some thoughts behind um in Tallahassee uh that has preempted us even further and we've lost the ability um to even appine on many zoning rights
so what am I doing well I'm not just saying this is black and white and being divisive i'm trying to get to a place where we can preserve our identity work with people compromise move forward do
what's best for that entire neighborhood that is in desperate need of the economic engine you know you don't think of these small businesses and I mentioned this before and I'll mention it again when Athens Juice Bar closed I real after 80 years in business I realized that the neighborhood was
really in peril and frankly I think that it's going to bring a lot of prosperity to that commercial district because as people seeing the Doville being rebuilt I think they're going to begin to invest in the businesses and because of Commissioner B
and myself who came up with this code compliance um ordinance so that code compliance really holds these buildings accountable um I think that's why uh this is important so I don't want to be
preempted sometimes I wish maybe I wouldn't have fought as I mean I'm not I don't regret the fights but I regret the rights that were taken away from me because of the fact that I refused to compromise and I think that's what today
is about commissioner Bot said it very nicely she said it's not perfect it's not but who is and what is is anybody perfect raise their hand if they're perfect so this is a compromise
where everybody walks away and you get something and you're a little disgruntled about something else and that is where I'm trying to lead us today and so we're getting Motel Row we're getting the Doville and that's a very special thing and that's why I'm
supporting this frankly okay i promise Commissioner Sz and then uh then Commissioner Magazine but we got to bring this home for a vote uh we're almost at noon uh and Commissioner Dominguez but uh I think everyone knows where they are and let's just uh bring it home commissioner Suarez I think just
I want everyone to be mindful of again the precedent that we're setting okay um you're basically saying that any property owner on the beach can demolish their their their hotel and say and
leave it vacant for 5 years in in a dilapitated condition and say if you don't give me this I'm going to leave it like that that's the precedent that we're saying we're going to be giving them a doubling
of of F and height and by doing this we're saying that we're going to reward bad behavior i think there's something wrong
with that i think there's something very fundamentally wrong with that and by the way there's nothing stopping David Martin from building the Doville as a right what's stopping him what's stopping him right now from building the Doville as a right okay he's What did you say it was
$und00 million to rebuild about about 100 million more how much uh when you look at the uh the hotel like a round number yeah yeah uh when you look at the hotel uh there's there's a lot of area it's like a round number i know you know
because but there I just want to be careful Commissioner i don't want to say anything wrong i apologize uh but I think you said 100 million it's way over 100 million Commissioner it's could could be close to uh uh over 200 million but I I don't want I don't want to reference thank Thank you i I just want
and I want my colleagues to know I got my you know handy dandy calculator here okay right now as a right you can build 500,000 square feet of of of area okay so I'm going to do 500,000
now obviously there's common areas there's lobbies so you you you subtract 15% of that commissioner Commissioner if I could finish please if I can finish times 0.15 to to uh times
085 that's 425,000 ft of sellable land now when I asked the director of sales of the Paragon I asked him "What is the average square foot value that you're selling right now?" And that is the closest comp to
the area and he told me it's $4,500 a square foot when I take $425,000 times 4500 that's $1.9 billion let me finish David that's $ 1.9 billion dollar okay
is that right now if you're telling me that the hotel is going to cost you I don't know $200 million and I don't know I'm assuming the the price per square foot for your residential towers is going to be around I don't know $7 $800 a square foot at
the high end all in that's a lot of money that's a lot of profit okay and this is exactly why I'm saying and requesting that this go to a committee and we hire a political consultant to tell us exactly what we're giving away i mean look real estate consultant I
assume you mean yeah real estate consultant now look it's it's clear that it's clear that my colleagues think that the Doville is a public benefit great everyone you know we all we're all entitled to our opinions but at least if we're going to be giving
away something that is going to be in tremendous amount of value let's find out what that value is and then negotiate something that's above and beyond just a replica of of a hotel we could be getting so much more and
another couple points that were were brought up okay i I and and and the developer has said "Well look we can build 577 square foot uh I'm excuse me 577 units at the
Doville site okay which would be quote unquote intense." But what most people fail to mention or realize is that the average square foot of those units would be get this less than 800 square f feet and if it's less than 800 square f feet what is
that by definition that's attainable housing attainable housing on the beach for all of our talk up here that we talk about affordable housing attainable housing here we are saying we're going
to allow ultra luxury $4,500 square foot units being sold when we're not going to say that affordable housing has a component and and and live local look I don't like live local but if this was a live local
project at least we get affordable housing in the project and by the way the Doville had 538 units before it was demolished so adding 577 residential units I don't think
that's necessarily a bad thing also the threat of having a thousand hotel units you know what you you know what size every hotel unit would have to be it'd have to be 335 square ft david Martin's not going to build 335
1,335 foot units uh hotel units on the beach that's ridiculous he's not going to do that it's just economically not feasible and and by the way if he did that would be a real economic driver that would that would that would be a
real job growth for for Miami Beach so if you wanted an economic driver that's what it would be um and look and I'm not trying to be difficult okay and I understand
that and I'm not sure look I I I think things in a different way okay i want to know i want to see what the value is in what we're giving away is it is it 100 million is it 200 million is is it more
at least let us negotiate what's the best interest for the public now if there's six of you that want to say "Look we don't care we just want the Doville back and uh seven million seven half million dollars for uh the Byron
Carile." then you know that that's up that's up to you guys but I I think we have an opportunity to get a lot more uh this is going to set a a certainly a precedent in the neighborhood we're going to be talking to later today about another project that that that's going
to be offering a public benefit and we don't really know what what value we're giving away they're dictating the terms obviously on what on what the public benefit should be and I don't think that's appropriate i think we should dictate what the public benefit terms are e Eric
uh how timeconuming it is to get a valuation so valuation is challenging on a couple of different levels because appraisers typically don't like to deal in the nebulus they would prefer that you give them a piece of property and
say what is the value of this particular p piece of land i can tell you that I spent months going through this process when we negotiated Five Park um at the end of the day what we determined on Five Park was in that neighborhood the F
was worth about $300 a square foot um if you wanted to apply an escalation factor and say that the F is worth $500 a square foot then you're talking about $200 million worth of value in what
we're providing an additional F to this particular project i mean there's a proposed project i mean that's not something they could give a a reasonable valuation on so there's a lot of nuance to that and and it would be very difficult to get somebody to come back
and give you an exact number obviously we're we're all talking nebulous numbers in in a range um and at the end of the day the one thing that stuck with me of the consultant that came in and looked
at Town Center in 2017 was that they felt that the the appropriate level of public benefit was somewhere in the 20 to 30% of value added for development incentive and so
at the end of the day I'm always looking at it from the perspective of what value are adding to the particular property in this particular case it's additional F and it's the height but you've got to take away from that the things that we're dictating that they have to do the
replication of the pedestal is not the highest and best use for this particular development team no I get it it does resonate with me though because and I'm not saying I'm going to hold it up but I just um I had the same questions and I never really got an answer you probably have an answer but you're probably not
but also I'll turn it to you if you're willing to disclose to us what your calculations say you know commissioner Suarez mentioned uh the Paragon uh and one of the big things that I think uh is the gating issue really guys with this proposal and this project is that we are not adding 400,000 square feet of
residential area uh we're basically replicating the Doville which was 400,000 square feet of that Doville the actual room square footage is around 130,000 square ft so imagine all these areas that may be restaurants etc but
there's a significant your common area factor you use was 85% which is maybe more 80% in Miami Beach the way the F's calculated for residential yeah for residential this project's around 25% so basically 75% of the area is in that room square footage so when you look at
that and then the cost to rebuild that the cost to build the basement parking for this project it's only 200 was it 200 square ft of hotel and pedestal well the hotel was 200 feet and the pedestal was 150 square so so the hotel's around
200,000 square feet but of which 120,000 square feet of that hotel is actually room square footage the rest of it is all these uh let's say common areas and areas that were to be to be faithful to to the Doville replication so when you
look at the cost to to build that it's a liability on the ledger the asset it you could argue is 120,000 ft of the of the hotel but but in essence it's not residential it's not Paragon if we were to be able to add 400,000 square feet of
residential F uh Commissioner uh I I I understand your perspective okay but we're not we're building over 275,000 square feet of area that is not residential that's not even hotel and so that's an important ledger because when
you look at that liability that cost that drains the project plus the underground parking that we can't build vertical parking because we're replicating the hotel so so we're building over 200 parking spaces that are underground so you hold on so you're
telling me that the reason why we need to double the height from 200 to 380 ft and double the F from 3 to 5.5 is simply to build a replica so there are two reasons for it number one
is just so it makes economic sense to build a replica it the the the the uh Doville replication is is a is a liability to the redevelopment of this project today and you know what i
totally understand that and I and I agree with you and I agree with you i'm just at a loss okay that I've knocked on over 5,000 doors and one of the biggest concerns that people tell me is that we
don't want overdevelopment it wasn't I want the Doville back commissioner let me finish it It wasn't I want the Doville back i just don't want to see Miami Beach turn into Sunny Isles or have these tall glass towers commissioner and if it was up to me I
would rather have you build as a right residential build residential but I I I certainly don't agree saying that we're going to double the hype double the F simply to recreate
a a hotel i I just I to me I fundamentally and and I know that you're put in a tough position because you just said it's a liability on the project you don't want to build the breed to build a Doville you're doing it because look obviously you're going to make a lot of money on it right and that's great
capitalism I'm a capitalist hurrah okay but what I'm saying is I think there's fun something fundamentally wrong by saying we're going to change our zoning code we're going to change our comprehensive plan simply to recreate a
hotel and from what my planning director says 60% look I know it's going to be beautiful i know it's going to be a lot better than what it was before okay but I just have a fundamental problem with agreeing to something that
basically says I'm going to uh change all of our zoning laws simply to rebuild a hotel i I I just I don't know i And you know and I think you can still do that i still think you I'm under the
impression that you can still rebuild a hotel and then put a fabulous project for residential on the beach um you know I think doubling the height is egregious it's going to be fronting Collins Avenue i don't I think once this
gets built people are going to say "Who approved that?" And they're already doing that for Five Park okay people don't want to see those type of buildings and and we're getting two of them five park's one this is two and look I understand that you're in a position right now where you want to get
this project done and I get it David like okay i I I understand but look I I I have a fundamental issue with w- with rewarding bad behavior and then making it seem like a
like a building a hotel is a public benefit i just I I just can't get around that that sort of philosophy i mean I am the most anti I'm the most anti-shortterm rental transient use guy
I guess up here i I I I campaigned on it and I I I think we need less hotels i think we need more residential especially if you can build 577 residential units at at 700 ft where by
definition that's going to be attainable housing so again I look I I think just to bring this home I think it's prudent that we get the public benefits right i want to know what the value is this is not uncommon and different municipalities the city of Miami does
this they they have an economic real estate consultant wouldn't everyone here like to know exactly what we're giving away i mean look maybe not exactly but you know a ballpark figure maybe within $50 million give or take i think that's prudent i think that's that's reasonable
this project looks like it's going to go forward okay at least let's make sure we iron out the details we set a good precedent because once those other neighboring property owners come to us and say "Hey look we want the same thing." At least we can say "Look we got the best deal out of this and they're
not going to come and say to us well we're going to demolish this hotel we're going to leave it here for 5 years and then we're going to wait till a new commission comes by and the neighborhood is blighted again." I think it's a good point on the valuation let we haven't heard from Commissioner Magazine or Commissioner Dominguez yet so let's do that yeah I actually think a lot of what
you're saying uh rings true uh how we get there maybe I I differ a little bit um but we should be quantifying essentially what we're giving away um and just by observing the morning and the last year and a half since I've been
up here and uh the last 10 years since I've observed city hall I I do think it's probably better placed in the hands of professionals rather than with us i think we ultimately sign off on it um but what I'm envisioning is we're just essentially giving a green light to
negotiate the development agreement is that correct it's not like we're approving so this is first of two hearings and part of the reason that I asked very nicely and forcefully that this come to commission for two hearings
is for this exact feedback and this discussion and reparte about what is it that we believe is in the best interest of the community to be able to move forward with this important project i
mean this is at the end of the day a very important project um it's one of the largest aggregations of beachfront land in the city and it really is one that I especially want to make sure we get right yeah so since the where I'm
coming from I I agree with some of the things that you're saying a lot of the things that you're saying about wanting to quantify this this becomes a little more uh challenging even compared to uh the deal that we'll look at later today because there is that intangible factor about restoring the nostalgia of the
Duvall that I'll be honest two years ago I didn't appreciate and now speaking with the people that I represent and hearing the community come out and support I have a greater appreciation for wanting to see uh this historic tribute here um but that's certainly not
unquantifiable right so uh I'm going to vote to move this along but I agree with a lot of your points Commissioner Suarez that as part of this and I hope our city manager and staff is going to be working on this hears me loud and clear i want a
more comprehensive analysis i don't want to point to this pie in the sky and say "This is kind of what we're giving this is what we're getting." Um this isn't rocket science right we we don't have to be exact but we're not recreating the
Black Scholes bottle or splitting the atom we're putting numbers to paper here and they have value this uh we don't have to get to the exact dollar figure but let's get in the same ballpark and that's what I would like to see when this second reading of the devel development agreement comes back because
I agree with my colleague um we're not in the business of just giving away things for free especially if we can't even quantify what we're giving away so as part of moving this forward I do want to see that more comprehensive analysis and understand exactly what we're giving and what we're getting yeah as I I have
Commissioner Dominguez as as I mentioned I agree with that i we're giving away a lot um and we should know what that valuation is are you willing to share what's your calculations are yes sir before our next meeting yes sir okay real quick before you go on what blended
average very back of the envelope blended average construction cost uh so costs include land hard cost soft cost finance finance cost i would say 1500's a approximate term yeah probably but just to be clear when you said you're
willing to share what I was referring to is what the um increase far the valuation of what that constitutes right right yeah uh Commissioner Dominguez uh thank you uh I do agree with the sentiments that's that have been set up
here about uh finding out what the valuation is and um but as Commissioner Magazine mentioned I do think it's important to move forward commissioner Fernandez you mentioned uh the importance of the replication because that prevents future places from
neglecting and knocking down historic properties i think that is very valid and also important i'm excited about what uh the developer has done with the replication i think as of right you can build 977 rooms and it's come down to
200 which I think is great for the intensity not to be uh as big uh for that particular area for the residential uh I think in our last conversation it's 140 yes yes 140 and we're allowed to
build 573 and for the aesthetics uh I also appreciate that uh the planning department worked with you to make it two separate towers as opposed to one block i also appreciate the setbacks that you've taken into consideration uh
particularly when it comes to your neighbors and the shading um for the area you're redoing the beachwalk and two access points for the public on either side uh there's money going to the CRA and um people have also
mentioned my colleagues have mentioned the Byron Carlilele uh so all good info um in the earlier discussion on the Doville I mentioned how North Beach residents um north of 73rd Street are
concerned and are looking for aid in their buildings so there is an item going to uh FK that's been voted on and if there is any chance of getting monies from CR here uh I would also be
interested in reviewing uh funding to help North Beach residents uh that live north of 73rd Street um as well I want to hear public comment we they've been waiting patiently and then we'll come back to the deas so please approach the the podium you
have two minutes please state your name and address please it's on so please uh anyone anyone who wants to come up please come up because we're going to in about a minute if there's no one whoever's last online will be last um and then uh also do the same for Zoom so
we know so Mr mr mayor may I just ask no no because I have other commissioners have asked to speak as well so everyone's been heard several times i just have one question for the developer actually I've only been heard one time and I asked you to speak first that's true by the way I'm not going to cut you up but this is what's happening and by
the way we have specific item it is a big item but it's also we're we're rehab by the way the last 30 minutes has mostly been rehashing the same information that was already said so I'm trying to be patient but we're repeating ourselves i just just got one more question for developer and then I'm going to let you go Commissioner Fernandez because fair is fair
david if you don't mind let's assume that you don't get the approvals for this okay do you have a plan B for the site we would build a a residential condominium you So if you don't get Let me Let me
just get this clear yeah if you don't get the approvals for this you're going to build a residential condominium as of right i I would have site so we would be building up the residential condominium we there we need the F to be able to
replicate or build a hotel okay thank you Commissioner Fernandez and so I just want to know from Commissioner Suarez so I just want to understand so you don't favor the replication because I think I I think uh when the voters voted
down the the Steven Ross plan it was in large part because there was no homage to to the Duville there was and we asked him we begged Steven Ross do something to honor the Duville and he flat out
told the community absolutely not i'm not going to do that i'm gonna bring Frank Garry frank Garry rejects the idea of replicating anything having to to do with the original DU bill and that is that is what the voters voted down and
so and so I just want to know do you reject the idea of there that there should be a replication of this project i I I reject the idea of rewarding bad actors and but that's not my answer that's not my answer that's not that
that's not my question my question is not whether you you accept the idea of rewarding back bad bad actors none of us do you're asking me do I if I the hand Yes the hand that I'm given is do do would I support a doubling of height and
F to replicate a building up to 60% of what it used to look like no all right so state your name address give your payments of course my name is Miranda and I live at 6725 Harding Avenue 375 ft
from the garage property i'm here to ask the commission to consider further improvements to the existing public benefits and public notice requirements i want to raise serious concerns about the process surrounding this project specifically the lack of timely and adequate public notice the hearing
notice was postmarked April 11th and received on April 15th the developer agreement did not become available until just last Friday April 18th only giving the public and commission Passover and Easter weekend to review this document this is a 40page agreement this is not
an isolated issue and notices for key meetings have arrived with barely a week's notice making it difficult if not impossible for residents to participate meaningfully secondly the public notice was only sent to residents and businesses within a 375 to 500 foot radius that includes three to four
residential buildings my building with 32 apartments the one across the street with 14 and one other maybe if it qualified for the square footage with 115 units leaving the public with about 161 people to come speak on this with little notice while I'm happy this
project will bring some public benefit to the table I'm disappointed with the scope of the benefits while the community will receive a new beach access point greatly improving the accessibility at 67th it comes with limited hour accessibility and I hope that the commission considers something outside
of sunrise to sunset in addition I encourage everyone sitting here today to review section five of this developer agreement and the developer public benefit obligations in a time where North Beach is seeing rapid overdevelopment we cannot settle for minimal public benefits in exchange for
allowing multibillion dollar developers to build denser buildings this is a huge privilege the city is considering giving to the terror group and must properly be valued and I hope the city considers improving the benefits provided to the proposed park and infrastructure
improvements to properly justify yet another giant development thank you thank you our next uh our first virtual public speaker is Ivonne Andre ivon unmute yourself please thank you very much good morning my name
is Ivon Andress and I'm speaking to this morning on behalf of and representing the interests of the Sterling Condominium Association located at 6767 Collins Avenue at the request of the association's board of directors to express their strong support for the proposed redevelopment of the Doville
site to the association the public benefit of this development is taking a parcel that has lied derelic in a state of disrepair and getting it built as Commissioner Bot said this development is the right thing for North Beach the association association is concerned
that as it currently sits the site has been a blighted abandoned space that attracts loitering and creates serious safety concerns for nearby residents the proposed project presents a tremendous opportunity to reverse this decline by activating the site with worldclass
architecture vibrant public spaces and thoughtfully designed residences the project would restore ute safety pride and economic vitality to the neighborhood it would transform a dead zone into a walkable welcoming destination that benefits all of North Beach the association supports the
development and looks forward to this muchneeded revitalization coming to fruition we thank you for your time and dedication to the Miami Beach community and the association appreciates your leadership and consideration today thank you thank you next Charles Ortiz 6725
Harding Avenue i'm here today to speak against the current version of the developer agreement between TMG67 communities and the city of Miami Beach hoping to lead to further public benefit tmg 67 communities aka Terara Group aka Terror World Investments aka at least 50
other Shell LLC's is a major international developer i want everyone to keep this in mind how large a developer is while considering the following concerns the purpose of the agreement is to rebuild the Deville with a higher denser structure the trade-off agreement promises public benefits in the forms of partial reconstruction of
the hotel beach access parking at the garage site funding for the Carile Theater which is probably the best thing on that list and the development of a triangle park alongside infrastructure improvements my concerns are as follows page 11 Biscane Elementary infrastructure improvements any benefits
a good benefit but with a 40k figure slapped on it seems like a drop a drop in the bucket for sewer infrastructure page 11 resolution of existing fines i think we discussed that one so we're good page 12 Triangle Pocket Park quite arguably the worst benefit on this agreement the park has a development and
construction cap of a measly 250K this includes aggregate hard and soft costs which I'm not a lawyer but soft costs normally include planning design and management aka potentially an excuse machine i'm willing to bet that they will spend close to if not the whole
250k before a single nail is hammered remember folks we're talking about an international dozens of shell companies developer uh with more money you could possibly imagine and we're trading double the height double the densities for pennies on the dollars commissioners I know what we all want what's best for
Miami Beach i've lived here all my life we must not bend a knee at another superdeveloper coming in and changing the law to their benefit setting a very dangerous precedent to this community and I ask commission to value the density increase as a precious resource for this community thank you thank you
thank you our next virtual speaker is Rick rick state your name address and you have two minutes thank you my name is Rick Corbero i reside at 733 Ocean Terrace in North Beach um my
concern is basically due to height and the increase in density um as someone who's been affiliated with uh Miami Beach for over 60 years I look back uh as one of the previous speakers has said at how Miami Beach used to be and how
development has affected Miami Beach and with Miami Beach being approximately 10 miles from the Hallover Bridge down to uh Government Cut with two major thoroughares which are Harding and Collins running to it i just would note
that the area in question is three lanes wide on um Collins Avenue going north with a turn lane uh just north of the uh proposed site and if we develop to this density I just question are we going to be able to move in Miami Beach i look
back at B Harbor i look at the Oceanana development i look at the St reges i look at the expansion of the Bal Harbor shops all necessary for the commercial development of our beloved beach but look at what it's done it takes half an hour to get from Hallover Bridge through
past the 96th Street um intersection now and can we take this kind of intensive development if we put all these restaurants shops there how are we going to get north how are we going to move around in our beloved community also the height what does height do um to
sunlight um and our enjoyment of the beach particularly afternoon when the sun passes behind the building so those are my main concerns and I was one of the voters who voted down the proposal last time and I would vote it down again because I don't think the area can take
any more intensity thank you thank you next please go ahead sir you have to reset uh hi good morning Robert Rosenthal um I love living in North Beach there's no place that I would rather live uh the conflict between uh uh uh preservation and
development is centuries old and in this case the Doville replication I would argue is actually better than a renovation would have been better construction materials better technology you have a new and improved and smarter and more sustainable building
$330 million $330 million in community development revenue is transformational and I know we talk a lot about the FAR here but this is low density right 140 uh uh apartments where there could have been uh over 500 uh 200 uh hotel rooms
where there could have been over 900 uh I would argue that that's responsible restraint and a pretty strong precedent for the uh for the future but the thing for me is uh to vote no at this point begs the question uh commissioner what's your plan B uh it's easy uh to vote uh
no it's not so easy to come up with an alternative solution i haven't heard one to those who are suggesting they want to vote no to punish the Mllos whatever the punishment is to those of us in the community who voted for you and we appreciate all the work
that you do and your support a tennis uh uh I mean a temporary park that's new from today really after 3 years a temporary park that's going to get built at time and expense uh and then destroyed how about we just cut to the chase and start building the doville
There's not even you haven't even agreed on any criteria for what makes a temporary park acceptable to your standards let's just get to the construction it's transformative it's money it's life affirming and the vast majority of the residents in this community the people
who voted for you and who support you are in favor of thank you again for your time and your service and your support mr mayor if if I don't mind responding to the last caller no no no no no no this is public comment and by the way we I just want to let No no no no no i've
been very very lax in letting this go and it's an important item but it's public comment time and I want to hear from the public our next speaker is Renee Jewelry Store go ahead please please unmute yourself
PJ let's go to Sandra Kaza never finish you can say anything bad about I know yes uh yes good morning uh Mayor Miner commissioners and everyone uh my name is Senator Casola and I live
at 7451 Harding Avenue and uh I uh support this project because I think it's going to be beneficial uh to that specific area and to North Beach in general um I think that uh the people that are
involved in this project have good intentions uh they want to comply with what is asked of them uh regarding paying the fines and now with the suggestion that uh Commissioner Suarez has uh mentioned about doing the park uh
so I think they have uh good intentions and goodwill uh to comply with everything uh that is asked of them in order for this project to uh be uh approved and and I hope it is approved because I I think it is going to be
beneficial i think it is going to um because that area definitely needs uh something it's missing something and it's been missing something ever since the original Deville was demolished and the businesses in that area you know
have struggled uh and they definitely need uh something to help them and and I think this project would help them and it would uh increase uh people uh again going to that uh area like they used to
before uh because when I lived in the original Deville I used to see a lot of people in the area because obviously there were tourists but there were also people that lived in the Deville and uh and you used to see a lot of people all the time you know going to the beaches
and going to the local businesses going to the local businesses and and consuming so I think that uh so I think that uh the project is I see it as something possible thank you so much your time is up go ahead sir state your
name address my name is Alfred Fiola i uh own the uh unit at 1903 um um col I'm sorry at Sterling i'm a land use attorney and redevelopment person who's gone through many billions of dollars in
my 50-year career i also build and develop did so down here for five years um and extensively still am in four cities in New Jersey i've had a lot of experience in major redevelopment projects particularly waterfront 3,000 unit project involved in 11 years on the
Asbury Park waterfront 20 blocks Atlantic City Jersey City shadow studies windsharing um all of the issues that this project involves we're missing the details you're going down a very slippery slippery slope when you talk about what
you're giving to the developer here in my opinion maybe he's too humble to say it the F here is really not a giveaway to that extent you're either going to have the hotel or you're not going to and he's going to build a right i wouldn't build 500 units i built 250
units in a block building across closer to the ocean than he's doing less light less more shadows on the beach we've met with him we've looked at the shadows he's doing an underground garage i built the 465 car underground garage in water
it is expensive why is he doing it no portier no walls along Collins like we have at the Caroline there's an enormously wellplanned expensive project you set up a scenario that we build the hotel therefore the F has you're not
giving him what you think you're giving him you're really penalizing it don't blow this excuse the expression ladies and gentlemen not lawyerly like i know the project well i wouldn't do 120 units in two tall towers no way none of my
developers would extra load extra windshare what do you got down here hurricanes enormous cost tens of millions of dollars to do 60 units of to get more light thank you very much please approve it thank you our next virtual speaker is David Sharps
david unmute yourself please pj let's go to Melissa hi um good afternoon commissioners and mayor um I'm a north uh Normandy Isle resident for 25 years and
um I know something's going to have to be built there i mean I like I've been listening to guys talk about it all day i think the biggest issue for everyone is the height and the density um and I'm a no for that if they I think they can
build but does it have to be at that height can it I I'm just against the height and the density we have a lot of infrastructure problems in that area it takes 30 minutes on a weekend from Norman Deal to get to Collins i mean I don't think we can handle the
infrastructure but I'm a I'm obviously something has to go there but I don't think that it needs to be that that tall and I don't think we should give it away thank you thank you go ahead sir hi my name is Brad Benessie um 7330 Ocean
Terrace and I've been a resident since 1999 um I just want to say thank you all um this is I just want number one I am 100% my husband and I are 100% behind this project of David Martin he is a stand-up guy he's he's reached out to
the community we've discussed many things i called this week his amazing assistant Veronica and I said "Veronica I'm concerned about the taxes and the fines." And she said "We're taking care of that." I said "Great check." So you guys just say yes i'm with the gentleman
peel off the red tape we don't need a park i'll tell you what we need we need for that garage to get open tomorrow we need the garage open tomorrow if that's going to be something that's put into this record that we get that open next week because you're taking down the 72nd
Street parking we have no parking that's one thing number two uh Commissioner Bot your integrity is second to none and I have worked with you on many projects and I appreciate you going to bat for us and I know you were struggling with the height thank you for I'm so happy that you're behind us with that number two
the suspects you don't talk to the suspects about anything until they finish their project they have no reason to they they have had a half baked project and I don't want to hear anything from them until they finish what they're doing so that's one thing they contacted me and if if they're if
we're talking about codes and and then they have to be held accountable for that horrible stretch of land that they've had empty for a while so um I just want to say that I totally and the benefits you know the benefits are like the restaurants you know we we talked about a pure vita or um a mot you know
we want that here we want things like that so this this project is amazing we 100% support it and please just write down the lord let's get this done today thank you our next virtual speaker is Richard Zaki unmute yourself
Thank you my name is Richard Zaki i'm a Sterling Condominium owner at 6767 Collins i'd like to first reiterate the positive comments of our board of directors and my great neighbor Alfred Faela who just spoke and made a lot of
sense he knows what he's talking about so the Doville some might see it as a reconstruction as just bricks and mortar or something more complicated because of its past but really it's about rebuilding a piece of Miami Beach's
vibrant history letting that iconic spa spot remain dormant would be like leaving a blank page in the city's history re-imagining it for the future honors its past while adding a fresh chapter
it's not just a hotel it's a landmark to be reborn so I support this project strongly and looking forward to the uh commissioners approving this project thank you very much thank you go ahead
sir i guess I should say good afternoon i was going to say good morning but good afternoon um my name is Sam Laton i live at 6515 Collins Avenue two blocks south of the subject property i'm here to speak in favor of the property uh for a number of reasons many of which I've
already um addressed to all of you in letter format and I'm not going to spend a lot of time enumerating them here today what I am going to discuss is the two issues that seem to be coming up regularly which is height and infrastructure as it relates to height there are comparisons to being made to
Sunny Isles i did some research on this thing called the internet and in Sunny Isles has 20 buildings and nine developments where buildings exceed the height being proposed by Terara it's nine developments and 20 buildings and several buildings have multiple several developments have multiple buildings in
them the shortest of these buildings is the Chateau Beach Residence at 449 ft and the tallest is the Estates Aqualina at 672 feet so comparisons to Sunny Isles when we're talking about a 380 uh
feet height building really are like comparing apples to oranges i looked at the same thing when it came to the city of Miami Beach in the city of Miami Beach there are 13 buildings between Sophie and North Beach that exceed the height being proposed by Terra those buildings include such as Five Park
which talked about today the Aoya the Green Diamond the Blue Diamond um all of which are about 500 ft um the Caroline which is 397 feet tall the uh Satai which are 386 feet tall and so the assertions to compare this to Sunny
Isles and somehow this is going to lead to additional development beyond what's included in Miami Beach today are simply false as it relates to stress on infrastructure f and height are used as proxies to uh the amount of people who actually occupy a site what really
matters is the number of people will be in the buildings and I think that we talked about today the fact that this proposal is about half of what the Doville was and will be about a quarter of what the uh ability actual right would be which would create a lot more
density thank you our next virtual speaker is Gail Durham please unmute yourself well my name is Gail Durham i live at 1504 Bay Road i'm against the increased height in F at this property um you know for many
reasons you know this thing about paying the fines he promises to pay the fines if his upzoning is approved that's not a legitimate negotiation that's not that's that's not negotiating in good faith i'm very disappointed that commissioners are
falling for this um this height is just the beginning if this is approved soon there will be more towers proposed and approved i promise you it's what's happening on West we told we were told there was only going
to be one tower at Fifth and Alton and now we have towers proposed at 7th Street and at 12th Street and it's just going to go on and on um we're also told at North Beach that the cure the savior of North Beach
was going to be Ocean Terrace and then the savior was going to be the 200 foot approved upzoning now this this development is going to be saving North Beach you know where does it end um I'm very disenchanted um with this commission if they vote for this project
thank you next please uh James Russio uh principal and manager of Sushi on 7330 Ocean Terrace i uh uh support the Dovville project i think the design is uh done in a very tasteful and genuine manner and
as a small business owner I am afraid of what will happen if this is not approved we're going to have we we do currently have many vacant spaces that are yet to be developed small businesses like myself and many
others that I know cannot stay afloat with the current density that we have at this time thank you this has to pass our next virtual speaker is John uh Sutter
uh yes good afternoon my name is John Ser i've been a resident and homeowner for 33 years in Nor Beach 5600 condominium um yes uh I I can't believe uh seeing
some commissioners uh taking sides with developers against the the the uh the living standards of of the Miami Beach residents i mean the the hotel was built in 1957 so that is gone it's
almost 70 years so um how this high-end hotel benefits the residents are they underline the residents how these high-end hotel benefit the residents I haven't heard one making sense reason explaining
how I've been witnessing huge opposition to the F and height of the tower being proposed that is the key point the height so um I speak for a lot of people I believe
so uh we we have a question about the F and the height of the project finally thank you to Commissioner Sare for standing up for what is right for the residents and not taking side with the developers thank you thank you so much
next please hi Christina Sosa resident at the Carolon uh I've lived in um North Beach for 20 years i'm here to support this new uh development this type of project is what we need in the community with the key point of being low density uh the developer plans to build
significantly less units than allowed this new proposed development is in scale with the North Tower carolon and the Aquoia um various local businesses are suffering since the devil closed it's very sad to lose Athens Juice we would always go there um on my
daughter's birthday she's here today and um it's just it's sad for our community to see it going down the sooner we have this new development in this location approved uh new businesses can open the local businesses can thrive and um thank you very much and I support this new
development thank you our next virtual speaker is Melania Ferris please unmute yourself alan hi yes can you hear me yes go ahead hi yes my comment is a reoccurring theme
and basic concerns that are raised particularly about community notice timing interactions with city personnel where optics are questioned despite good intentions right talking height increases all of these things that
really do affect the community so my comment is I urge the commission to address the root cause and look at the lobbyist look at the lobbying practices if there's a common thread in individuals or companies behind these
projects I really urge the commission to look at the root cause of what's causing confusion and divisiveness in the neighborhood where it's struggling to have everyone get on board with any project um and I do echo Gail's um comments as well thank you very much for
your time sorry go ahead hello my name is Anthony Styso and for the last 24 years I've lived at the Sterling Condominium 6767 Collins Avenue where I currently serve as a member of the board of directors i
completely support this project as do my other board members as well uh this is exactly what the neighborhood needs and for all the reasons that you've already heard parking flood control jobs and prosperity for local merchants some of
some of which are my good friends uh the CRA the low density tells me that it's not going to be a traffic problem it's not going to be a stress on infrastructure and I think we're lucky to have a project that's low density like this i don't think we're ever going
to get better so most importantly it will revitalize North Beach and this is something that's good for the city it's good for the neighborhood and it's good for everyone here so please warmly welcome our new
neighbors the way I will thank you our next virtual speaker has a screen name of Cohen's iPhone please unmute yourself um hi yep can you hear me yes go ahead can you hear me okay great um my name is Susan Cohen and
I reside at 6899 Collins Avenue and I speak in favor on this project um I have lived in North Beach since 2007 and have truly watched my neighborhood go from bad to worse when other neighborhoods in Miami have prospered people have mentioned traffic and infrastructure
again what can currently be built on this land would be far worse from a traffic infrastructure standpoint um this high-end hotel benefits the residents because it'll bring vitality to our neighborhood it'll give other businesses a reason to want to come into
my neighborhood um I think as a resident a high-end hotel will have a huge benefit for all of us so I again I've said this over and over I beg of you to vote yes to this project um and also considering you know consider the CRA
money that this project will be bringing in i know Suarez mentioned you know affordable housing or whatever but that does nothing for my neighborhood it does nothing for the businesses it does nothing for other people that live in the neighborhood to be bringing in jobs
so please vote yes to this project thank you go ahead please hi Janet Silverman i live at the Carolon uh 6899 Collins Avenue i'm on the board and myself and our whole board is in favor of this project i want to reiterate my neighbor and friend Susan Cohen's
comments she just spoke on Zoom um we all believe most of the people that I've spoken to in the building all believe this is good for the neighborhood having a you know people say there's no public benefit to a hotel we're going to have restaurants that the public can go to we're going to have a beachwalk that's
expanded we're going to have the plaza in front of the hotel the sidewalk plaza that's going to be created that is going to be for public benefit we're going to have the gardens that are going to be for public benefit um we're going to have the ballroom where hopefully somebody like the Beatles may play again
um we're going to have all of these things that are all public benefits I believe so I don't understand how the hotel is not a public plus it pays homage to our history which you spoke eloquently on and is it's it's true i mean seeing that sign I used to go to
the Doveville when they had the art fair for Basil there and like walking into that ballroom and that entrance way even in its dilapidated spa state at the time was special and it can be again and to say that it's only 60% recreated the
developer was going to build the whole thing exactly as is but the Sterling or as I understand it certain neighbors asked him to make the setbacks larger so he accommodated them so the only thing that's missing from the you know call it 60% versus 100% is that it's an extra
floor and a little narrower um from you know east to west you know so everybody's trying to get accommodated and you know to take more delay at this time some of the points you made were good maybe we should value some of the public but the the what we're giving
away but to take another whatever six months to do it it just or however long it's going to take we need this project and we need it to be approved and move forward now thank you our next virtual speaker is David Sharps
yeah armando Bumar from Nor Beach armando's next 7710 Avenue and most of you know me and we we know for for years so basically this is this
I support the bill project because the property has been vacant etc the the neighborhood has been suffering etc all of us know that this project will help small business we know that too and plan
include the real community benefit etc i mean this is what everybody says erh I really do support the project because I do believe that that will create
uh well-being for our community and I think that we cannot stop progress i have seen that many many many times and the other thing is from the bureaucratic point of view because I am
dealing with other commission in the city of Miami and this is not besides the point but this is the reality sometimes we tend to overemphasize in legal issues if you ask me and this is
public record i got $4.3 million stock in the city of Miami commission that check have been placed from the government from federal government and we are still discussing
for fixing three of my business there from a program so what I what I really urge you that please take a decision on this one and one way or the other one I do I am
for the project but one way or the other one let's get this thing moving moving and let's get progress going on thank you our next virtual speaker is David Sharps please unmute yourself
david unmute yourself please let's go to David Son okay I'm unmuted go ahead i'm unmuted thank you sorry about that been trying to get on for a bit um first of all good afternoon thank you for giving me an opportunity to speak and all the time and effort that
the commission is putting into this i I listened with a different perspective today as the issue of assessing value came up and I think that's a very slippery slope for the commission to get into and I say that because if you're
going to assess value you must then consider risk and this is what developers do they take the risk so when you do that I would encourage you to understand that uh any developer in today's market is going into unchartered
waters based upon levels of expenses never seen before and the economy as you know is not static comps are at historic highs and I ask is this sustainable so the developer is taking all the risk but you want to assess value based upon
current numbers you just can't do that without assessing risk so what are you going to do to assess risk when the developer is putting up all this money and you want to just see what you're
giving away you can't do it you can't do it it's not fair to the developer to just assess value i do caution the commission in the sense that we don't want to disincent development in this modern day when expenses are as high as
they are and the risk is the highest it's ever been there is no guarantee terror will even get 3,000 a foot we haven't seen condo prices at this level and they haven't been sustainable for that matter and we've also being a native of Miami seen condo crashes
before what credit will you give this developer for taking all this risk and I asked the commission if you are going to go down this slippery slope of of determining value then you better understand what risk is i'd like to
finish thank you go ahead sir good afternoon commissioners and honorable mayor uh my name is Rick Tolshi i'm an owner at the Sterling 6767 Collins Avenue i'm also the vice president of the board you've heard many
of my colleagues and you've heard from our uh attorney uh we are in full support of the project i don't need to repeat everything that's been said we've all heard all the arguments being made pros and cons i just want to state a few of the points you know right now the way
the site is it's been abandoned it attracts homelessness drifters it's got unsafe conditions um my family and I we no longer take evening walks we don't we don't patronize the local businesses it's we don't feel safe out there anymore in the
dark uh it is not an environment that our residents and neighborhood deserves if this project doesn't move forward the site will remain vacant and an eyesore for many years in fact even if this was approved today it's not
going to break ground for two years so imagine if this developer abandons this project it may be a few more years before the next guy will come and then it's going to be another few years when is this going to stop kicking the bucket down the road for the next commission or
the next uh authority um you know with this uh vacant uh eyesore for years it'll continue to drag down property values discourage investments and need a way out our community sense of pride and security uh again the quality of life
the redevelopment will not only bring back vitality to the area but will significantly improve the quality of life creating safer streets new public spaces more walkable areas better overall experience for the residents especially like those at the Sterling as
well and don't forget the $388 million in CRA investment will directly help address infrastructure expanded public services thank you our next public speaker virtual is David Ston
hi this is David Ston 20 plus year resident of North Beach and president of the Normandy Fountain Business Association um I support this project because of the good that it will do for our business community i was a brickandmortar business owner when the
Doville shut down and it had a devastating effect on the community that still hasn't completely recovered from um the addition of the hotel which has you know been discussed as not being a real public benefit the Doville is not
just square footage and and and and a platform it is a a icon of North Beach and those hotel guests were to the business community um and I I feel like it's so important that we
restore the Doville for for the reasons of nostalgia and the benefit of it being an iconic landmark and also the hotel is important to the economic health of the community so I support this project thank you go ahead
ma'am ma'am go ahead hi wonder Jamon 8305 Crispy Boulevard as you all guys know I uh oppose this project even from the beginning it doesn't make any sense uh first of all
we should not be making any compromises with an individual or individuals that have played with the city for such a long time why do this for them it's going to cause others to
follow suit first and foremost um Commissioner Suarez just played uh or short an email uh stating how Commissioner Bat um was in touch with this people but there's there is she
right now maybe you could hear her herself how she says she's against the project she's against the far she's against the height but then an email comes through and right now she's voting for it and this is what I'm here for this is wrong yes
the email was there yes I have you on video and you even said I'm going to step in because this is against the something that could transform the step in but regardless uh Mayor Mina she this is a problem I'm having I'm
having that people are changing for different things we have to be fair not only to Terara but we have to be fair to the others now the other ones that are coming after Terara is gonna they're going to ask the same thing and what is going to happen to North Beach this is
the problem i'm completely against it and you guys know it they could build whatever they want they have to bring it down there is no problem they could bring it down what their profit is theirs not for our residents and Commissioner Bat you live in North Beach
uh I'm going to actually allow Commissioner Bot to respond to you because you keep respond and by the way we don't you've done this before we don't come up here and attack officials by name i'm not I'm not attacking her i'm saying you can make your points without doing that okay very good but
this is basically I feel that she aside from all of them I have no problem with all of them even if they vote yes but I do have a problem with because she lives in North Beach so thank you for pointing out that I um voted against the Steven Ross project
when I was on the planning board and I would do it again i'm curious where you got that cute little video clip because what you don't show in that video clip is the fact that I asked the um attorney who claimed that he was not representing the Ross project um and then the next day or two days later said that in fact
he was if the um uh the Ross project was a signed deal it was not um it was not a signed deal and then I asked a follow-up question which was is the Ross project deal
uh contingent on getting the F and I did not get an answer to that so yeah I voted against that project i voted against a project that was not respectful to the process i know one of our um audience members has uh raised uh
questions about outreach and I have a a response ready to to share with her about the multiple um outreach opportunities there have been over the last number of months uh I don't have them at my fingertips but I'll be responding and if anybody else wants that information I'm happy to send it as
well i also um really had a hard time with the fact that when Stephven Ross and Frank Garry met with MDPL um they asked specifically about any part of replication of the hotel or homage to the Doville history not just about the
music which Steven Ross dismissed as irrelevant but the historic um nature of the hotel and who spent time there and the value of the history to the city and to the country and Mr gary actually was interested in doing something not a
replication necessarily but paying some homage to the to the um the Doville site and Mr ross shut him down there was no outreach to the community there were virtually no public benefits there was a staritect which is very exciting i love
Gary's work um but yeah I did vote against that project and I would vote against it if it were presented to me today i'm supporting this project and I will continue to support this project as I have enumerated in my emails which I shared with you Miss Jamon as as you
requested which lists many many many reasons to support this project so if you want to hold me accountable for voting down a terrible project which I'm proud to have done and supporting an excellent project which I am going to be proud to do feel free our next virtual
speaker is Renee Jewelry Store that's our last virtual speaker correct everyone else was not there last virtual speaker Renee yes this is Rene Paris Jewelry Store
6608 Collins Avenue guys uh we've been in that location right across from the Duville for the last 65 years and after the closure of Duville I and the other six business owners in front of the
project have suffered and I've heard a lot of comments you know and a lot of opinions you know about the project but I haven't heard any other alternatives and what we're worried about is there's going to be a lot of
businesses that won't last that won't be able to survive while the naysayers and the people against the project are getting their their their their choices and deciding which project they want to
turn down so it's very important we have a good offer we have a great developer who cares about the community and cares about our history so for the greater good I and the six businesses in front of the Uville
project we support David Martin's project and thank you mayor and the city commission for all the good work you're doing let's get it together guys because a lot of businesses won't survive while people are stuck on their own
opinions thank you very much go ahead please i think that'll be our new slogan let's get it together guys i like that good afternoon i'm Andy Ashtani i live in the caron um I really want to thank every single one of you for being here
you guys do a great great job and you know it's it's it's fun to see different perspective but at the end of the day I think we got to get this thing done i keep looking out my windows and I see people doing drugs in that area and u it's it's not a pretty sight um so I
think at some point something needs to get passed and move forward and I think time has come um you know the guy's a standup guy he's doing a park mr fernandez just negotiated a museum uh
you know there was 500 there was 500 uh buildings units there before and now we're doing 125 so the traffic is not an issue the height I already I'm on the beach every day i get the shadow from the north tower so what's the big deal
another shadow it's not it's not a huge objection but I do appreciate um Mr suarez's comment about what's the value what are we giving away but I don't want to take another six months studying this thing because I know how the studies goes um also we're having a museum you
know we're having beach accesses we are having gardens he's allowing people to go in and enjoy the facility and look at the Doveville so the traffic is not an issue because it's actually less than what it was and it increas increases the values of the properties that we have so
um I think we should uh move forward i really thank every single one of you for being here and thank you for your time okay um I guess I'm going to bring it home j Bolt 733 Ocean Terrace um I'm fully in
support of this project for um the the comments made in sport but I also am sensitive to those who are against it or have problems with it and I understand the emotions that running here um what I'm seeing here that things like F and
density and infrastructure and parking is like a little bit throwing left and right and I think we can do as as you can do probably as a commission better to explain what density is versus FI so that the community understands it and
that just it's a higher tower doesn't mean there's going to be more people living there um in addition nobody really understands CRA right people complain about infrastructure through CRA money which is a blessing for North
Beach um part of the infrastructure can be you know uh redeveloped in in a good way uh I I you know you guys are spending a lot of money on the spring bring up break of a spring break right we should just put a
little bit of money start to communicate what CRA is and what CRA can do for our community but you can say like hey there's going to be $330 million being put into North Beach it goes overhead i talked to board members and others people don't get it yet we need to do a
better job of of of of communicating what it is and what it does to our community and what is practical to Thank you thank you okay thank you all i'm very confident we all know how we're voting so I would highly implore all of us to vote let's call the vote i would just like to
say one last thing Mr mayor um because one of the callers was was mentioning me and said "What's my plan?" It it's not really my plan as far as the site is concerned i asked the developer just now and on the record if he doesn't get this
approval what his plan B and he told me that he's going to build a residential building there so there is a plan um and then if you want to talk about timeline based on the developer agreement right here you got 18 months for zoning
applications then you have another 18 months uh for a final approval of a COA by the city's historic preservation board and then you probably have another two years of permitting it's another five potential years before
you see anything that goes into the ground and so that's why I wanted to get the the property in a park-like appearance as soon as possible because this could sit for the next five years potentially with no construction i mean
just look at the convention center hotel right outside of here it's been sitting there forever uh and yet it was approved many years ago so um look I I I just want to reiterate that we don't have to move
forward with this upending our zoning laws and codes the developer has just stated that he's going to build something there i'm sure it's going to be a very beautiful project as of a right but if everyone up
here really wants to double the allowable height and and an F to to remake a hotel that's going to be to the benefit of the property owners and the developer uh that that's
that's that's your decision to make that's certainly not going to be mine so um I'm ready to vote let's call the vote um I will say I would like to discuss with you David in between uh assuming it passes today and and our city manager some of the timelines on on I think I
think there we can shorten some of that um so I'd like to do that also I'll just say that I I there was some comments made about the development agreement coming out Friday and I am sensitive to that i'm not going to hold it up it is first reading but in the future I'd like to I'd really like that to be done when
the agenda comes out not Friday it was literally Good Friday right uh and and and Passover uh it's not it's not the best look are we going to hire economic real estate consultant i would like I'd make the motion to to to at least between first and second reading for a
economic consultant to be hired and give us a value on what is the incremental uh change that we're giving to the developer potentially so yes I've already instructed our team to reach out
to a couple of consultants to see what we can get and bring back some some additional information for your consideration okay okay let's call the vote and the item is amended to include the uh public
access to the lobby and to include uh the museum space uh for for the Miami modern architecture just want to make sure that it's we will include that in the next draft of the DA okay sure commissioner are you moving the item i don't have a motion
moved by Commissioner Fernandez sure seconded by Commissioner Dominguez all in favor of the item as amended please say I i anyone opposed hearing none the item is approved 70 can
can I just take uh one moment Mr mayor well uh I agree with a lot of the things Commissioner Suarez is saying i don't agree with uh the conclusion and I think actually year and a half or two years ago I perhaps would have um but I'm not
saying this lightly or kidding i I do want that economic analysis of what those benefits are and I I do want to say that uh going against the grain like that takes a a large degree of courage um so while I I don't agree with the conclusion you ultimately reached I give
you credit for uh having the courage and strength to go against the grain may I I I just have to announce to finish the item the second reading public hearing is May 21st it will be heard at 9:22 a.m and the public hearing will take place here at city hall at the commission
chambers at the next commission meeting i want to be sensitive to my colleagues is 1:30 meaning 38 minutes enough time for lunch can people do that well then so 145 let's be back here okay 1:45 we'll be back for Sic 145
please stand by we are going on air in 5 4 3 2 1 thank you welcome back to the afternoon sutnik half hour uh if anyone wants to come speak go ahead sir okay good morning can you
hear me yes good morning mayor and commissioners i want to thank you all for being here and I want to thank you for listening to me for a second my name is Captain James Derby i'm a member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary i anchor my boat at Sunset Harbor for free in front of the police station i've
developed relationships and friendships with a lot of the police over the years that I've been there i think it's very unjust and uh just radical that you have cut off land access um to the voters we we can't take our tenders to shore and get groceries and this and that and now
um morality is leading legislature and they're going to Tallahassee trying to change bills proposed bills that will severely limit the anchoring it will make me homeless i am presently not homeless i have a boat where I live on my girlfriend lives in Coral Gables i go
there often um but you know I'm nervous to be up here speaking in the first place it took a lot of courage for me to get up here and talk to you guys in the first you you people in the first place i've been studying the politics in Miami Beach for a long time i feel that the LGBT gay community has beautiful rights
and they they can fly their flags where they need to and they have a presence in Miami there's cats living at your uh city hall the city hall downstairs smells like a a litter box to be honest with you but we're protecting cats yet we're killing sailors i am a a master
captain actually I just had my birthday on uh Good Friday and I celebrated my 61st birthday and I am a 200 ton master captain today because I studied and took tests what I'm asking you please is to return the public's um dock that you
took away with bulldozers and put a big barrier in front of it um took it away by force basically i don't know who approved that or how it got taken away but it got taken away we built it ourselves we were forced from Perie Avenue around till I can dock my boat at
Dade Canal that got taken away and then we went up to let me finish we went up to the public there's many many issues and I have many uh complaints i don't want to criticize your government right here and now but I would like that the active cruising voters in Miami Beach get access because
it will be an embarrassment if you ever tried to do an America's Cup race here or this that the other the world is looking at you and many of the places in the world that are much more prestigious and much more wealthy than Miami Beach allow access for everyone on any socioeconomic level
our next virtual speaker happy birthday thank you our next virtual speaker is Gail Durham mr durham go ahead please m Durham please unmute yourself pj let's go then to Kenneth Barnes mr my name is Ken
Barnes i live in Miami and Mayor Miner I am 99% Ashkanazi Jew miami Beach's leadership is increasingly focused on international alliances that have little to do with the lives of the people who live here
the city commission elected to serve this diverse and vibrant community is instead directing attention and resources toward foreign political interests while pressing needs at home are neglected needs such as affordable housing public safety infrastructure and
climate resilience the priorities of Miami Beach are backward the commission is promoting international political and economic agendas having little to do with the lives of Miami Beach residents including Israel bonds the money of which is used
for Israel's crushing and inhumane war in Gaza where is the compassion the compassion that the world rightly extended to the Jewish people after the Holocaust must not now be denied to others experiencing oppression and
devastation to selectively extend empathy is to portray its very meaning miami Beach is 18% Jewish which makes it multicultural multithnic and multi-religious why does Miami Beach want a special initiative to attract
Jewish businesses more than others when we should be working to attract business from all our communities including minority owned businesses they are ignored while international political agendas take center change equally disturbing is the city's
censorship of O Cinema a cultural institution known for screening bold independent diverse films that the city would attempt to control or limit what stories can be told is a reminder of the tools the Nazis used to express Jewish
voices in film and is historically ignorant and morally indefensible miami Beach does not need more posturing more censorship more symbolic alliances it needs leadership rooted in integrity empathy and equity
thank you sir the city must recommit itself to serving it sir go ahead state your name address joseph Magazine uh thank you for your time commissioners and uh and mayor i'd just like to speak to something um that's going to be uh in
front of you this afternoon about the Bikini Hostel i've been living in this area for five years and the place has always been a nuisance bar i mean every time you turn around there's cops there there's complaints there's drug activity
serving underage uh drinkers i I don't know what you have to do to lose your license down here but recently um there were situations where there were people on premise there at the Bikini Hospital selling selling drugs you got a bar right next to where the uh homeless
people are trying to rehabilitate themselves i just don't think it's a a good environment for the people to live here or um or to the homeless people themselves and everything um I walk by that place all the time i walk by with
my uh grandfather my uh my granddaughter uh she gets cat called uh I see women walking down the street with their uh with their babies and they're walking across the street because they don't want to walk uh across and in front of
the uh the bikini hostile um that's all I wanted to say and uh I really uh hope that you can do anything possible uh to get uh move them to a uh to a spot other than a residential neighborhood thank you again thank you for your time
all right next by the way it's one of my my biggest disappointments since I got elected that not only has the homeless trust moved these individuals to an a completely inappropriate location that every elected that I have reached out to that
I believe could help or at least try has utterly failed to do so our next virtual speaker is Andrew P please unmute yourself state your name and you have two minutes hi there i'm Andrew Portoy 920 Meridian Avenue can somebody just confirm that
they can hear me go ahead sir yes okay i am uh calling in to request the unlocking of the Soundsscape Park restrooms throughout the daytime the intersection of Washington Avenue and Lincoln Road specifically serves seven
county bus lines and four city trolley lines it is met with the foot traffic of Lincoln Road and Washington Avenue as well as the convention center the Xoworld project has their display right by the instruments on Lincoln Road uh and their mission is to bring equity
through through through clean water and and I think the people all around the city residents like myself and other people struggling included would just enjoy a nice place to use the restroom and wash their hands thank you so much for all the work done to the Pride Park restrooms uh to Commissioner Alex Fernandez as well as city manager Eric
Carpenter and all the SM SFM staff keeping it clean it goes the longest way being able to go out and wash my hands and go to the bathroom when I'm walking around the city thank you so much thank you next please anyone else on the audience pj let's go to Mike mike please state your name address and you have two
minutes um my name is Mike Dorsch i live at 13:30 West Avenue i'm here to advocate against the 1250 West redevelopment um I have uh I regret not being able to
attend in person today i did write a comment on the site uh yesterday or day before but um I I just don't think we need a tall slab of a building uh that's supposed to be an architectural uh breakup of the boring slow quote boring
um Miami Beach skyline uh the the the building that's been proposed is way too high um it will destroy the affordability of many residents in the west uh west
side removing 239 people and replacing with a thousand with a 100 absentee uh wealthy owners is not going to do much for business in the local area and I know all of my neighbors um are against this project viciferously and I hope
that uh the city council throws it to the ash heap where it belongs thank you thanks please hi my name is Brad Benessie 7330 Ocean Terrace um Mayor Miner this is for you uh we met one night and we were talking about your very first project this in the big picture of everything this is a small
thing um the lighting that you did on 41st Street looks great you know when I go down through Surfside I see it all lit up and we had discussed going from 63rd to 75th Street and and doing that whole line maybe for Christmas when you talk about the business end of where the
business is happening Blossoms Burgers and Shakes Saison that is the heart of the band show there is so much activity you know we've lived here since 1999 we absolutely love it there and and the people you could see the change that's happening there so to elevate you know
to the the trees and to make it give it that appearance when you go through Surfside I I love it it just it's a it's a good feeling it looks like everything's happening and it really is happening you know so come to Blossoms and come to Sushi Beachi i I uh it's the best in town i swear we have the best owners so but if we could think about
doing that I I'm putting it here now officially but I asked you in a private I I think there's an item on that right yeah uh but to 75th I think it was to 75th okay thank you because I I had brought an item Normandy fountain was something that I had brought several
years ago which and now I brought to extend it to Collins but then I believe one of my colleagues Thank you Commissioner Bot and I think there's a number of co-sponsors so thank you for that to so we'll uh I think it's a great idea terrific thank you appreciate it thank you our next virtual speaker is
Alan Lavine go ahead please you can you can hear me now yes my name is Alan Lavine i'm a Miami Beach resident i'm speaking to C7AV a resolution that purports to give
um uh special treatment for Jews and Israelis with regard to um business uh uh possibilities uh there's I'm a civil rights lawyer and I don't see any memorandum accompanying this
resolution um so it's not clear if the commission has consulted its lawyers but if you do they'll tell you that this resolution proposes a plan of affirmative action and such plans are presumably illegal unless they are
designed to remedy past discrimination nothing in this resolution or any other document indicates that Jews or Israelis have been discriminated against in setting up businesses in the city of Miami Beach in the absence of such
evidence this resolution is patently unconstitutional which will subject the city to costly legal action that it can afford if this resolution is passed but all of you know that singling out
Jews and Israelis for special treatment is unlawful so why are you thinking of doing it it certainly has the appearance of pre-election pandering to an important voting block thank you thank you seeing
no one else here in the audience I'm going to call Alan Troy Wright please unmute yourself hi yeah hi this is Troy Wright uh executive director of the Washington Avenue Business Improvement District you know a couple of weeks ago uh the Washington Avenue
Business Improvement District held a productive and business focused meeting exclusively for Washington Avenue businesses and property owners uh this was more than just a conversation about spring break it was a unified effort to explore real solutions that improve our
bottom line and position Miami Beach as a safer more welcoming and prosperous destination as you can imagine they had a lot to say and um concerned about our future however the conversation was positive i feel like I'm preaching to
the choir um however the good news is that we're all attending the same church so with that said everyone aims to make Miami Beach and Washington Avenue a better place for locals businesses and tourists we all know that due to many reasons spring break had gotten out of
control and in particular during CO and after CO it reached a point of frustration for everyone therefore we commend the city for doing a great job in taking action so what do we do now it's not that difficult like every other question that has to be solved in order
to get a positive solution we take all of the positives and priorities and plug them in so I'm not here to complain at all about what happened at spring at spring break but just to be concerned about what do we do now because Washington Avenue business owners feel
like they have taken one for the team business owners want enough security to operate their businesses and to know the plan months in advance along with positive messaging from the city many of these owners have invested their whole savings to operate on Miami Beach
particularly Washington Avenue so now their future is in your hands thank you very much thank you our next speaker has a screen name of Zoom user please state your name address and you have two minutes please unmute
yourself pj let's go to Keith Marks hi Keith Marks um continuum on South Beach Miami Beach i don't want to talk about the specifics of um 1250 West which I've written you all about i want to talk
about something that just it concerns me and I understand it's a difficult situation but we have just jumped the shark with public benefits when we consider rewarding height and far for
handling a social problem that the city itself cannot get a handle on yes you guys started by pulling the 1% tax right or wrong and the homeless trust reacted and they put homeless
people in an inappropriate place but the solution to social issues and homelessness is not to reward height and far by buying out the property and turning it into a park has anyone talked about where these homeless are going to
go into the new park you're building it is it is perverse and we have what how many other dumps can people who own it say "Gee I'll contract with the homeless trust since they're
city can't seem to deal with them." And then they'll put homeless people there and some developer next to me will buy us out for twice commercial value i hope you really look at this from a big picture from a social picture and say
this is wrong it is perverse public benefits buying out homeless shelters no the hostel should not be a a a a uh shelter how about you figure out a way through good governance to talk to
the county and talk to the uh homeless trust and don't offer them a h 100,000 by the way thank you sir your time is up i apologize no one else in the audience wishing to speak if so I'm going to go to Remma Ghard
yes hi my name is Remma Gard i am a resident at 1345 West Avenue um which is located across the street from 1250 West um I have previously spoken to I have emailed the mayor the commissioners
about my discontent about the Bikini Hostel um I am opposed to the overlay district i think it is very vague uh I don't understand what it means about certain public benefits uh I think this
is not well explained i have a feeling that it's very strange how this overlay is connected with the Bikini Hostel being there i'm very uh concerned about this um I feel like there's some foul play
that is going on so I encourage the commission to uh not proceed with this thank you thank you so much the next speaker is Omar Jimenez mr jimenez unmute yourself go ahead hi good afternoon omar here from the
Parkview Island Sustainable Association i'm calling in regards to the Biscane Beach Elementary playgrounds expansion item that was pulled from today's agenda um that's a little disappointing because there's been a lot of work put into this um amazing progress that we've had
recently on this item um by different committees and the overall community we really want to see this happen and we just don't um understand why it's being pulled um I'm also calling in support of Commissioner Fernandez's item
C7AQ directing the city to work with the school board and Biscane Beach Elementary on an urgent inspection and remediation of the school's storm water and sanitary sewer systems it's imperative the city continue working fast to resolve this
issue um with the current bacteria hotspot that was found inside the school property this is not something that can wait in fact it's currently stopping progress on the years of work and advances that had been made uh in recent
months so we ask that the commission please continue working diligently to address these issues thank you pj let's call Zoom user please state your name address and you have two minutes
thank you uh city commission this is Carrie James of 1330 West Avenue i apologize I'm not there in person but uh at this later hour I I have to travel um my uh my statement is as follows um I'm opposed to the 1250 West
Avenue project and the continued push to reszone uh our neighborhood miami Beach is under constant pressure from developers to monetize every inch of this island we are not Edgewater we're not Bickl we're not even my former neighborhood south of Fifth we're our own unique community this push to
increase far and build taller towers along the bay is about one thing profit first was 450 ft almost triple the current height then 330 now we're saying "Hey what about 300 why not keep it as it is like its sister neighboring developments like Monad let's not be
distracted by so-called enhancements if improvements are truly needed the city already has the power to act without trading away our skyline without trading away our character this is about more than one building if we break the moratorum now how do we say no to the
next one citizens of Miami Beach keep focus and vote sorry I think we lost you oh go ahead oh sorry i'm sorry where did you lose me
i just want for a second yeah go ahead yeah continue i'm sorry it's a minute so I'll just restate it but I'm opposed to the 1250 West Avenue project the continued push to reszone the Alton Road Gateway miami Beach is under constant pressure from developers to monetize
every inch of this island we're not Edgewater we're not Bickl we're not my former uh lovely community of uh south of Fifth we're unique we're our own community uh here on West this push to increase far and build taller towers along the bay is about one thing profit
first it was 450 ft almost triple the current height then 330 now hey what about 300 why not keep it as it is or like its neighbor there at Monet thank you so much our next caller is Nick S
go ahead please Nick please unmute yourself then let's go ahead can you hear me yeah go ahead Yes I was um calling in to speak about the 1250 West Avenue proposal and I'm um I live on West Avenue i've been in Miami Beach for
about since 2002 so I've seen the growth of the West Avenue area and it really seems that this building um the increase of the height is going to be really really bad for parking for traffic and for the residents that live in this neighborhood and I extremely urge each
and every one of you to please consider keeping it the height that it is right now or significantly lowering it to something that's around 1 terrace thank you for your time thank you next caller is Rosalie Thompson okay this this is Rosalie Thompson i
live in Mid Beach and I just wanted to say that I'm annoyed with the additional fees that are added to restaurant bills i I I I would I am not opposed to a mandatory gratuitity but um all of these
additional fees um are very annoying and uh we're starting with a very high bill to begin with and then we add a mandatory gratuitity and then there are all these miscellaneous fees and uh it really takes the joy out of uh going to
restaurants particularly in South Beach and I'm starting to avoid them because of it thank you so much uh mayor that concludes Shnik okay let's call um thank you everyone oh yes uh Commissioner Dominguez
uh thank you Mayor i just wanted to acknowledge that uh this week is National Volunteer Week and we have an amazing team of volunteers that are under the uh fire department and Chief DNA's umbrella and uh staff is here
Irene Valins and her team are outside and that's to celebrate C community emergency response team they do an outstanding job the team is there for emergencies or high impact weekends for special events and I'm actually a
certified C member as well i took the course about a year and a half ago but thank you for all of your service thank you for everything that you do Irene and team and everyone that's a C member we really appreciate it thank you
let's call um R5 A B and C yes sir r5a's Ocean Terrace MXZ zoning district change to CD2 LDR overlay it is an ordinance of the mayor city commission of the city of Miami Beach Florida amending chapter 7 of the Miami Beach Resiliency Code entitled zoning districts and regulations article 3 entitled overlay
districts at section 7.3.6 Six Ocean Terrace Overlay to amend the Ocean Terrace overlay regulations to clarify the regulations applicable to properties that were previously zoned MXE we'll continue to apply to properties fronting ocean terrace and providing for clarification repealer submobility and effective date that is uh second reading
public hearing the item requires 57's vote that was item R5A r5b is an order of the mayor city commission of the city of Miami Beach Florida amending the future land use map of a comprehensive plan by changing the future land use category pursuant to section 2.4.1 4.1 of the Miami Beach Resiliency Code and
pursuant to sections 1 163.3181 and section 163.3187 Florida statutes for the MXE mixeduse entertainment district in North Beach located along Ocean Terrace between 73rd and 75th Street and which is comprised of less than 10 acres from the current designation of MXE
mixeduse entertainment to the future land use category of CD2 commercial medium intensity and providing for inclusion in the comprehensive plan transmitt repealer servability and effective date this is a second reading public hearing the item require 47 vote it is R5B and finally R5C is an order to
the mayor and city commissioner of the city of Miami Tro amending the official zoning map zoning district map reference in section 7.2.1.2 2 of the Miami Beach Resiliency Code Entitled District Map Pursuant to section 2.5.1 entitled changes to zoning district boundaries reszoning by changing the zoning
district classification for the MXE mixeduse entertainment district located North Beach along Ocean Terrace between 73rd and 75th Street which comprised of less than 10 acres from the current zoning classification of MXE mixeduse entertainment to CD2 commercial medium intensity and providing for codification
repealer servability and an effective date this is a second reading public hearing the item requires 57 vote it is item R5C hi Tom good afternoon Mr mayor any change between first and second reading no changes on any of the three uh between
first and second reading can you summarize in less than 30 seconds what the changes are again sure it's uh a zoning map and comprehensive plan future land use map to change the current zoning and future land use designation from the affected properties fronting
ocean terrace from MXC to CD2 and then there is an LDR text amendment to reference those changes within the ocean terrace overlay and just to say in layman's terms it basically changes the name alone none of the uses or
development regulations change it is a public hearing i see no one in Zoom and no one in the audience have a motion i make the motion call the vote i heard a motion but I think you hear the second uh Commissioner Magazine
so on all three items R5 A B and C vice Mayor Suarez commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes commissioner Bot yes commissioner Magazine yes commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner Fernandez yes
mayor Miner yes motion carries items R5 A R5B and R5 Z C Z C Z C Z C Z C Z C Z C Z C Z C Z C Z are approved r R seven A R seven A is a public hearing ocean terrace development agreement
that's the shortest uh title you've ever had um I can go ahead and tee this up Mr mayor um as noted in the commission memorandum the original development agreement was entered into on July 31st of 2019 and it pertains to the Ocean
Terrace development which includes both a private development within the private property on the uh west side of Ocean Terrace as well as the construction of a public park within the Ocean Terrace rightway and eastward of Ocean Terrace
the park is nearing completion and the um developer has proposed to amend the development agreement slightly by removing the current requirement for providing at least 75 hotel units striking that so that they would have
the option of doing more or all residential and they've also agreed by covenant to restrict the residential units within the new tower as part of the development agreement to being non-transient uses and any rental period
would have to be no less than six months in one day this is a first reading and the administration recommends approval at first reading i'll make a motion second public hearing it is a public hearing i see no one in Zoom and I see no one in the audience no we got one we have one
okay yeah jr Baldigan 7330 Ocean Terrace since I emailed all of you with my concern on this topic um it seemed probably to speak today uh I was I've been a center bay board member on and off for the last 12 years involved with
the ocean terrace holding project in 2021 all parties including the city aligned kind of around key three key goals historic preservation activation of of the ocean front and economic re revitalization my concern sends around
the last goal uh reducing number of hotel rooms and limited parking risk undermining the project's ability to support local businesses fewer hotel rooms mean less consistent food traffic limited parking would only combound that issue yesterday Senate chair proactively reached out to me he shed a lower room
count reflects the need for larger room footprints i have worked in the hotel industry so that makes sense actually that's a good rationale however that underscores the importance of parking again in North Beach with fewer hotel guests we will need more visitors from other neighborhoods to sustain North
Beach retail and restaurants i was reassured though by Sandro yesterday that the project does include valet parking for outside visitors that kind of accessibility is critical to keep food tracking through food traffic flowing to the area so after my talk with Sandor I fully support and I'm
excited about the proposed changes at first reading on a broader note I urge the commission to keep parking central to the revitalization of North Beach potentially through impact fees or maybe even future North Beach CRA funds we cannot we cannot let limited access become the weak link in the goal of
economic revitalization in North Beach thank you thank you mr mayor members of commission good afternoon Nissan Casen representing Ocean Terrace Holdings i'll just be very very brief uh the what the gentleman just said is a pretty is an accurate
recount of the conversation what we should understand is what's happening is the residential tower will now be bound by a uh covenant which will prohibit short-term rentals inconsistent with the goals and wishes of this city there'll be another component which will be the
smaller condo hotel building the historic Broadmore will also is being retained and that component will likely be a hotel so what we're doing is reducing the required number of hotel rooms uh and at the same time putting a
restriction on the pure residential units so that they can't have short-term rentals and I also welcome all of you to go up to Ocean Terrace and see the streetscape phase one is a year ahead is complete in essence and see the
magnificent job that has been done thank you there is no one else requesting to speak if so can who was it i I could I didn't hear it who made the motion again second motion by Commissioner Magazine
seconded by Commissioner Fernandez call the vote so on R 7A all in favor please say I i anyone opposed item is approved 70 the record second reading public hearing is scheduled for May 21st at 9:25 a.m and
it will be heard here at the commission chambers at the next commission meeting r7f R7F is wave bid PSA with Yes i'm sorry i apologize yes r7f wave bid PSA with pave mobility enforced
non-payment at four parking lots the item requires a 57s vote commissioner Bot um this is a a very simple project it's a test pilot program not a test pilot program it is a pilot program to test um what could be
transformative um um technology that would require that would capture people who are not pay currently paying their their parking fees as they are supposed to do so residents would not be um penalized they would just be build for the parking that they are supposed to be
paying and um for non-residents they would I correct me if I'm wrong but I believe they would get a ticket for not having paid um there'd be a phase in period where there's education and warnings so everybody would know um that the system is changing but this seems like a win-win for everybody we spent
gosh this was one of the first things we talked about as a commission in this iteration we spent a good chunk of time talking about where the lots would be how many lots there would be we arrived at this number and these four specific lots so unless anything has changed I would like to make a motion to move it
we have a motion do I have a second second motion by Commissioner Bot second by Commissioner Fernandez this is not a public hearing all in favor i anyone opposed hearing none the item is approved 70
R7F thank you let's go to R sevenJ r7j is approved grant 5,000 for Center for Folk and Community Art R7J commissioner Dominguez um okay so this item was to allocate
monies to uh Dena Stewart and Stewart Stewart they uh do interviews and um marketing for our city and have done so for decades they previously received a grant from the state of Florida uh for $25,000 when we as a commission approved
the 1 million arts and culture grants as a funding gap to uh all of the places losing money I checked to see uh with Lette if there was any money left over and there was $17,000 so the 5,000 isn't new money
being allocated it's coming out of the 17 remaining dollars 17,000 from the arts and culture and I had it on consent at last uh meeting and uh Commissioner Suarez pulled it
commissioner Suarez do you wish to be heard i believe this is supposed to be sent to finance um for any Maybe that hasn't passed second reading it hasn't so Can we send this to
finance and discuss it properly there instead of wasting our time here can I call the vote and see if I get it because it's been sitting around for a while there's it's not new money it's money from the $1 million that we had left over and I think that the couple
has met with everybody so with that I move the item i'll second just procedurally uh Rick was was this referred because of the D rally this did not need to be referred it's a grant it's not a sponsorship
we have a motion in a second head call the roll all in favor please say I i anyone opposed no motion passes 61 r seven R sevenK r7k issue refunds to
residents charge for non-resident $30 flat parking commissioner Rosen Gonzalez oh yeah this is an old item about refunding any resident that was charged the $30 who who deserved the resident rate during spring break i'll second me
as a co-sponsor so I I just have a question because um this has all been done and the parking folks are just here i don't know if they still are but um I'm not disagreeing with the item but I think we've already handled it so why are we voting on this people there were a lot of people before we did address
the situation that actually paid the fee that were angry and now they just get their $30 refunded which is a really great gesture because I think I'm not disagreeing with that no it wasn't um completely rectified okay okay i have a motion and a second all in favor please
say I i anyone opposed passes 70 that was R7K let's call C7B it's approved North Beach CRA funding for Biscane Beach Elementary Schoolyard
project it was separated by Mayor Miner yeah so my my question I guess was so Eric this was this is a million and a half dollars the funding correct and my and my question was I I know it's it's uh Commissioner Bots's item i know I
think maybe others worked on it as well my question was this is a school board property have tell me about the negotiations there are they contributing have efforts been made where where are we with that it's obviously a significant expenditure and they should
be sharing in it so this is a trust for public land project um and I would love for our parks team to talk a little bit more about what they've been doing up until this point and I see Leslie has walked in too she's been involved um but
my understanding is that this is the city taking over the financial responsibility for finishing out the project soon so this is well the funding I guess is commissioner bot's item but this is an
item that uh Leslie Dr rosenfeld and I have been working on for years with the land for public trust and it is an item that is communitydriven we specifically looked because what the trust for public land does is they come in and they try to find pieces of land um that are
attached to schools that are not being used and then they go through an intensive community process where they hold community me the community the kids and the parents and the surrounding neighborhood all votes on what they want so that's what this is about and what happened was we got this beautiful plan
for a park dr dr rosfeld was able to negotiate with the school board and allow for us to um to create this wonderful recreational facility that is not that that was not available and uh we have to fund it and there's money from the CRA but the impact of this $
1.5 million is going to affect thousands and thousands of people not only will the students of Biscane Beach Elementary have access to this wonderful facility that we're building but the entire surrounding neighborhood will also have access when school is not in session so
what we've basically done is created a tremendous park where there was nothing no I'm supportive but you're comfortable that we've made every overture we can to the school board to get Good afternoon i just would like to clarify that the property is jointly owned by deed by the
city of Miami Beach and the school board uh per the deed the access to the property is for the exclusive use of the school during school days during school hours and then it is for the use of the community after school hours and on the weekends it is a jointly owned pre piece
of property per our arrangement with the school board we have the ability as do does the school board to improve the uh property itself us by notifying the other entity the other partner of our intent to do so and then seeking uh
their input and all applicable uh permissions and um and permits just to be clear are they contributing anything to this project because this is our initiative and it has been our ask uh and we partnered with the trust for public land uh to develop the uh concept
uh this this initiative is ours we've not approached them for any contribution because it's our desire to improve the property and by the way you voted for this in 2022 I don't know if you remember and we had it at committee we heard it at committee at neighborhoods in 2022 I believe you were on the neighborhoods committee so that's what
this is this is the realization of many years of hard work yeah no I'm supportive i don't know why it's people think just because you pull an item I'm not going to be supportive i just had questions about it and this is the only way I can do it are they is the school board going to be using the property during school hours absolutely it by
deed the property is theirs to use exclusively the 180 school days during school hours just curious why if they're going to benefit as well there was it doesn't seem like there was an effort made to get them to contribute they've been involved a um in the process with
us and the trust for public land in coming up with a concept and a design uh we did seek some assistance from the trust for public land in identifying potential contributors we even approached the uh chamber of commerce board uh however as of as of today uh we
have not had any uh specific sponsor uh to support our initiative i I again I'm I'm voting yes today i I don't know why I'm just being clear about it i it just what I'm hearing is there was no effort and tell me if I'm
wrong there was no effort to at least try to extract funding from the school board who's going to benefit greatly from this as well that's so sure have you dealt with the school board in terms of funding any funding that we need from the school board right now
school any funding that we would ask from them right now really needs to go to the infrastructure that is polluting as you know Park View Canal um we are actually speaking with them right now and Leslie is working excuse me Dr rosenfeld is working on an agreement
because what we are going to need to do is have them pay to fix their outfalls which are polluting large bodies of water across North Beach so if they are going to contribute funding um I would say that that is where we should really ask them for the funding in terms of
this they did not ask for it it's just a grassy field we're transforming it for the neighborhood for the children of Biscane Elementary who are all Miami Beach residents and families and this is just like a winwin and it was very difficult it's not easy to get these agreements signed how long did the
agreement sit at MDCPS before we were able to get it signed it takes a year like literally so the fact that we were able to do this where we have the money in the CRA and this is like a serious impact like you are going to transform an entire area by the way Commissioner
Fernandez has a tremendous item too and I believe Commissioner Bot who the walkway item who is sponsoring that is that Commissioner Dominguez i'm sorry okay and by the way I want to sp co-sponsor that too i don't know if you've gone up there um but there's a
beautiful walkway and we are probably going to be funding that as well so we're beautifying the whole area we're trying to clean up the water on Park View in this area and it's time that we spend some that we invest in North Beach the way we need to the way we've invested across South Beach yeah and I
haven't been uh and and thank you for your work on this and and Commissioner Bot for bringing this item so uh again I'm not It sounds like a Monday morning quarterback i'm not trying to be and just bigger issue and it's not even this project specifically because I don't know all the specifics and and maybe uh
pushing the school board would not have uh made a dent at all i'm just saying in general uh there I there's been a number of not a number but there's been a few items that come to mind that we we are we're we're basically pulling pulling all the weight when there's other
partners involved and they're not contributing and I just think we need to be proactive in trying to get their fair share and not just assume that we um our budget is finite mr mayor I I promise Commissioner Dominguez and Commissioner Fernandez and I would like to co-sponsor
this item please so um my I'm supportive of this item yes absolutely i still would encourage uh discussion and an ask with the school school board because my understanding is the 1.5 million will deplete the CRA
account will there be any money left for other items yes my understanding is that there's 1.9 million in the CRA capital 400,000 would be left so there'll be a small amount left but this will take the majority of
it okay so if any um thing that the city can do and at least making the ask to the school board uh to contribute something given that they use it so much would be great but I am supportive of this item commissioner Fernandez thank you mr mayor I just need some
clarification explain to me how this item ties into the um the outfall of Biscane Beach Elementary that's something that I know is important that we need to address because of the persistent elevated levels of bacteria
there um so Mr manager if you could just explain to me how this item is assisting with that i don't know that there's any nexus between this item and that item they are different agreements with the school board each one is separate and each one This is the one that has taken
years to do your item is traveling separately as is Commissioner Dominguez's item on the waterway three different interlocals and this one is passed and we need to move forward okay got it i'm sorry i thought there was something else and that which would have been great but okay i wish listen
if we could add something easily that would be an ideal situation but this is a large red taped bureaucracy and we cannot but if we you know if anything's possible if we could do that infrastructure work we're not touching it actually we had this conversation we
decided that let's do the park we're doing the walkway getting it cleaning it up and we're funding most of it by the way but you know the CRA will fund it so I just want to um clarify Y that um the in the CRA meeting we discussed up
to $1.5 million we also discussed that it didn't need to be paid tomorrow all at once it would you know monies as needed and the CRA fund is not a finite item at this point um the CRA is currently funded or proposed to sunset
in 45 205 and um the development that has been approved by prior commissions the 13 buildings in the 8 by6 block um radius will start coming online as of this year and that will put money into the CRA the increased home values that
we're seeing in North Beach as people move that will put money into the CRA the Doville development will be putting 330 million dollars plus into the CRA so this is not us using up all the CRA monies this is us using the CRA monies
for precisely the kind of beneficial uh neighborhoodwide communitywide uh project that will benefit anybody who's in North Beach and really frankly anybody in Miami Beach at all um so it is exactly the kind of thing that we should be working on and it would be
great if the school board would be able to to um contribute towards it and I encourage us exploring that option but given my um limited experience with them on the Rose Cottage I would not hold my breath so I'd like to move this oh cool sponsor
is that a second yes okay call the vote this is on C7B i have a motion by Commissioner Bond second there by Commissioner Fernandez all in favor please say I i i anyone opposed the item is approved 70 thank you all uh let's call R5F and R5G
together mr mayor if I could um there's a companion item to that last one that is the CRA do we want to knock that out while we're on that item is that CRA one yes so going to use the restroom we are we
are recessing as the city of Miami Beach commission meeting convening as a North Beach redevelopment agency North Beach CRA we are listening to item one accept uh allocate funding for Biscane Beach Elementary Schoolyard project and North Beach CRA1
have a motion make a motion i'll second have a motion by Commissioner Bot seconded by Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez uh Commissioner Steinberg is absent all in favor please say I i motion is approved i will ask but I assume that
Commissioner Fernandez is a yes he just stepped out so 70 so we are now reconvening as the city of Beach Commission meeting thank you Heather back to R5 FNG yes sir
r5f is an ordinance of the mayor and city commission of the city of Miami Beach Florida amending the city of Miami Beach's year 20 240 comprehensive plan pursuant to expedited state review process of section 163.3184 subsection 3 Florida statutes amending housing element of goal H1 entitled equitable
community objective H1.1 entitled creation and/or preservation of workforce and affordable housing by creating policy H1.13 pertaining to a housing impact statement providing for codification repeater transmitt and an effective date r5f is a second reading public hearing
r5g is an order to the mayor and city commission of the city of Miami Beach Florida amending the code of the city of Miami Beach so part B entitled Miami Beach Resiliency Code by amending chapter 1 entitled general provisions article two entitled definition section 1.2.2 entitled use definition that's subsection 1.2.2.1 2.1 entitled
residential by creating a definition for housing impact statement and by amending chapter 2 entitled administration and review procedures article 5 entitled resonings and redevelopment approvals at section 2.5.2 two conditional use at and 2.5.3 design review to amend the
planning board and design review board application requirements and review criteria to include a housing impact statement and by amending article 8 entitled variances to amend the board of adjustment application requirements and review criteria to include a housing impact statement and by amending article 13 entitled historic preservation of
section 2.13.2.7 2.7 Issuance of a certificate of appropriateness certificate of to dig certificate of appropriateness for demolition to amend the historic preservation board application requirements of review criteria to include a housing impact statement and providing for clarification repeal
servability and effective date this is a second read public hearing the item requires a 57th vote that was item R5G hey Tom um this is actually uh Commissioner Fernandez's items and co-sponsored by Commissioner Magazine yes thank you Mr mayor i'm so proud to
introduce this housing impact statement alongside my uh my my sponsor Commissioner Magazine this ordinance ensures that any development proposal coming before our land use boards whether it be the planning board the historic preservation board the BOA the
DRB must include a housing impact statement a clear standardized assessment of how that project will affect housing availability the supply of housing the stability of housing in Miami Beach and why is that important
because too often tenants are invisible in development decisions displacement happens quietly one building sold one rent hike at a time until longtime residents are priced out of their homes or bought out of
their communities or just simply demolished and pushed out and this ordinance proposes to change that it brings transparency to the table it forces us to ask will this project reduce affordable housing stock will it
accelerate displacement of longtime residents will will it make it harder for working families for seniors or renters on fixed incomes to find housing in Miami Beach and for the first time developers will be required to disclose
whether they are voluntary voluntarily taking any steps to mitigate those housing impacts whether by preserving units or by contributing to affordability or or supporting tenant stability that alone is I believe is a
culture shift it prompts developers to think ahead and consider the broader consequences of their projects not just for investors but for the neighbors who live in Miami Beach to together and so while this housing impact statement
doesn't dictate outcomes it ensures that the real human cost of development especially on renters is no longer forgotten about it makes it relevant and it gives the policy makers on this day whether it be us or our land use boards the public information we need to guide
smarter and more balanced growth so with that I'm proud to move this item that puts people ahead of developments and that protects the very fabric of our community thank you Mr mayor i'll second it and please have me as a co-sponsor commissioner Magazine
thank you Commissioner Fernandez for your leadership proud to uh co-sponsor this with you i think this is very complimentary to some of the um anti- hotel ordinances that we had on uh for years I would sit there at the HPB and
see time and time again people's homes being turned into hotels and lobbyists sitting there in front of the HPB would say "Well that's not part of their purview." And it was never told that
people were losing their homes in favor of hotels right and while we may or may not have an ability to stop that this will at least put that front and center because I know when I would call in and urge from an emotional perspective to
the HPB when I'm sitting on the other side of that day is those things matter right it it was something that the lobbyists there would almost try and keep from the HPB to say well we're really not sure what the existing
structure is of course that wasn't true or um things of that nature this puts that front and center where if people are being displaced uh let's be up front and center about that so thank you for your leadership on this thank you Commissioner and thank you for joining
me as a sponsor in this at the end of the day members of these boards and us need to be aware if our decision has a direct impact on someone's housing we need to know that before we we take a vote and if the developer is willing to
take a voluntary measure to mitigate that housing impact but something that needs to be considered or at the very least nudge the heart of that developer a little bit to get them to consider it because ultimate ultimately their job is to make profits but our job is to look
out for those residents who have called Miami Beach home thank you Commissioner Magazine for joining me well better late than never uh you've inspired me so uh I'd like to be added as a co-sponsor as well let's call the vote thank you colleagues
this was a I'm sorry this was a public hearing yes it is i see no one in Zoom and no one in the audience just for the record we're adding Commissioner Bot Magazine Miner and Dominguez as co-sponsors uh I have a motion by Commissioner Fernandez a
second by Commissioner Bot may I call the RO on both items yes this is on R5F and R5G commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes and Abby as a co-sponsor too thank you
commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner Bach yes commissioner Magazine yes vice Mayor Suarez Mayor Miner yes motion carries the items are approved r7f R7G
R5H R5H is an orders of the mayor city commission of city of Miami Beach Florida amending the Miami Beach resiliency code by amending chapter 7 entitled zoning districts and regulations article one entitled general to all zoning districts by amending section 7.1.5 entitled unit size that's subsection 7.1.5.2 to entitle unit size
standards by modifying the minimum lodging and hotel unit sizes citywide by amending chapter 7 entitled zoning districts and regulations article two entitled district regulations by amending section 7.2.4 entitle RM1 residential multif family door intensity at subsection 7.2.4.3 entitled development regulations
RM1 by amending section 7.2.5 entitle RM2 residential multif family medium intensity at subsection 7.2.5.3 entitled development regulations RM2 by amending section 7.2.6 6 entitle RM3 residential multif family high intensity at subsection
7.2.6.3 entitled development regulations RM3 by amending section 7.210 entitle CD1 commercial low intensity district that's subsection 7.2 10.3 entitled development regulations CD1 by amending section 7.2.11 entitle CD2 commercial
medium intensity district that's up section 7.2.11.3 entitled development regulation CD2 by amending section 7.2.12 2.12 entitled CD3 commercial highintensity district that's subsection 7.2.12.3 entitled development regulations CD3 by amending section
7.2.13 entitled mixeduse entertainment district that's subsection 7.2.13.3 entitled development regulations MXC by amending section 7.214 entitled North Beach Town Center Core District TC by modifying subsection 7.2.14.4
4 entitled development regulations TC to modify the minimum lodging and hotel unit size of modifying subsection 7.214.6 entitled Town Center central core TCC district by removing micro hotel as a permitted use along with associated references by amending
section 7.2.15 entitled performance standard districts PS at subsection 7.215.2 entitled residential performance standards districts RPS to bonify the minimum lodging and hotel unit size by amending subsection 7.2.15 2.15.3 entitle commercial performance
standards district CPS to modify the minimum lodging and hotel unit size and providing for codification beer servability applicability at an effective date this is a second reading public hearing the item requires a 57 vote is R5H thank you i think I made this joke but in all seriousness maybe
we should lobby Tallahassee to uh be able to shorten those titles um Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez uh co-sponsored by Commissioner Suarez and Magazine yeah this is a very simple item that would rid us of hotel micro units in Miami Beach and across Miami Beach we
were going from 200 feet to 335 ft as a minimum hotel room size so I think this is great i think people we already have some micro units on the books we don't want to create micro hotel units or build them across the city um especially with everybody being so concerned about
density uh increases and so I with that I move the item yeah thank you uh Commissioner when you were running for election uh a few years ago um came into me and my dad uh as we were standing outside and talked about
starting to restrict uh the usage or number of hotel rooms and proud that we're doing this together i never thought you know if you would have told me that day I would have said uh um I wouldn't have thought so uh but very proud for this when we
talk about uh any city has to grow but I think we don't focus enough on how we grow here in Miami Beach and uh one of the things I'm most proud of for this commission is our focus on realizing that the way we're growing uh there was a time and place for that i think we've
matured as a city and we're changing our direction uh but that doesn't just happen organically it takes actions like this so appreciate the sentiment here and look forward to implementing commissioner Suarez so Tom thank you for for the Thank you Mr mayor tom for the
record what is the minimum hotel not hotel size now and what will it change to and what what districts does this cover uh this the subject ordinance uh applies to all zoning districts in the city that allow for hotels currently
uh in most districts the minimum unit size for hotel units is uh 335 square ft however 15% of the units can be between 300 and 335 square feet also in a number
of districts there are some carveouts that allow for 200 foot units 300 foot units as well as micro hotel units this ordinance removes all that and other than contributing buildings in historic districts which those existing buildings
can stay at 200 square feet per unit all other hotels would now have to be 335 square feet so where the Doville site what is it currently what is the minimum hotel currently that's zoned RM3 and currently uh 85% of the units would have
to be 335 ft 15% of the units could be between 300 and 335 ft so this this ordinance only touches on the 15% correct it moves that from 300 to 335 to 335 got it so that's across the board
now it's only 335 ft minimum correct with the exception of contributing buildings in historic districts okay thank you let's call the vote i need a second uh also it is a public hearing i see no one on Zoom no one in the audience so I need
a second please i'll second commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Dominguez yes vice Mayor Suarez yes commissioner Magazine yes commissioner Bach yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes air minor yes motion carries the item is
approved that was item R5H r5i r5i is an order of the mayor city commission of city of Miami Beach for amending the Miami Beach Resiliency Code by amending chapter 7 entitled zoning districts and regulations article 2 entitled district regulations by amending section 7.2.4 entitled RM1
residential multif family low intensity that's subsection 7.2.4.2 entitled uses RM1 and by amending section 7.2.5 2.5 entitled RM2 residential multif family medium intensity at subsection 7.2.5.2 entitled uses RM2 and by amending
section 7.2.6 entitle RM3 residential multif family high intensity at subsection 7.2.6.2 entitled uses RM3 and by amending section 7.2.10 entitle CD1 commercial low inensity district at subsection 7.2.10.2 entitled uses CD1 and by
amending section 7.2.11 2.11 entitled CD2 commercial medium intensity district at subsection 7.2.11.2 entitled uses CD2 by amending section 7.2.12 entitle CD3 commercial highintensity district at subsection 7.2.12.2 entitle uses CD3 by amending
section 7.2.13 entitled mixeduse entertainment district at subsection 7.2.13.2 entitled uses MXE by amending section 7.2.14 entitled North Beach Town Center Core District TC at subsection 7.24 2.14.2 entitled uses TC1 TC2 and by
amending se section 7.2.14.3 entitled uses TC3 and by many subsection 7.214.6 entitled Town Center central core TCC standard district PS a subsection 7.215.2 entitled residential performance
standard district RPS by amending subsection 7.2.15.3 2.15.3 entitled commercial performance standards district CPS by referencing the hotel approval process established under section 2.7.2 and conforming the regulations for each respective zoning districts to reflect that the approval of a warrant
by the city commission shall be required prior to the review of land use board application or building permit for a hotel suite hotel apartment hotel or hostel subject to exceptions and subject to the procedural requirements and review criteria in sections 2.7.2 and providing for codification repealer
shabbouti at an effective date this is a second reading public hearing the item requires a 57 vote is item R5 I thank you Ralph yeah thank you magazine thanks Ralph i think that might have been the worst one ever that that very well could have
been um I just got off my soap box about uh the the hotel and the direction where we're going in the city so before getting back up there Tom I'll just hand it over to you about what we're achieving here sure um Mr mayor members of the commission as you may recall um
earlier this year you adopted a hotel approval process ordinance that now requires all new hotels with the exception of oceanfront properties to obtain a commission warrant before either converting an existing building to a hotel or developing a new hotel
this particular ordinance is a companion to that and specifies in each zoning district that requirement so substantively it doesn't change it it just basically clarifies in each zoning district table that a warrant is
required at first reading when this was approved um on February 26 the commission agreed to add uh some applicability provisions that were similar to the applicability provisions that were included in the original ordinance we have updated the ordinance
for second reading to include those um and with that we would recommend adoption of the ordinance and this is a public hearing tom is this where we also give carveouts to some of the property owners yes can you can you give me the names or the
addresses of those properties please sure um the within the ordinance these were properties there was one property that one one applicability section was properties fronting Washington Avenue um that have an active land use board
application that was for the project at 15th and Washington for the Haden Hall the second one was for properties fronting the west side of Collins Avenue between 77th and 79th Street that's a residential building that is a residential building correct and they
wanted that was just an empty lot 77th Street oh I thought you said Collins no between 77th and 79th that that is an existing building and they want to do a conversion and but it's just a single structure there the property owner came and it was just like
a single structure correct and they're but the different one was down the south yeah and then the last one was for properties fronting the west side of Collins Avenue between 13th and 14th Street that was for the That's the residential building correct that that's the Alam correct okay
um and how many residential units are there now in the Alamac i think that there's over 40 i don't have the exact number but it's all residential it's a big building is this the one where Barbara Hulini lives
barbara okay yeah so look I guys I I think I made a big deal about this at the last meeting i don't think we should be making a carve out for a piece of property that right now is a residential building and I don't think we should be giving a special right to not come
before us and say "Hey uh they don't have to come before us if they're going to uh turn it into a hotel." Um I I I I if we talk about displacing people who are on a fixed rent income um and displacing it for hotel use this is
a perfect example of why we shouldn't be doing that and I I I'd like to make a motion to remove that property from uh the second reading can I say something Rosen Gonzalez oh
first of all we all know Mel Schleser and we all know his commitment to not kick anybody out onto the street that's number one but number two imagine that this was your property just if he sells it if he sells it to someone and they then they decide to kick him out we're
powerless well here's the thing the thing that differentiates our country the United States of America from any other country are property rights and you can't take them away from people who own a property with a certain right he chose to turn it into
residential but he also has a right because those are his zoning rights now he can become and I suppose some sort of non-conforming use i'm not sure how this will affect him but these are rights that he had and if this was your hotel um and you had these property rights and
you made a decision at one point to make part of it residential but you had the right to a hotel um I would not take it away from you because I would recognize your property rights and as a body here we have to recognize that we're a community that advocates for our
residents but also understands that when people purchase property and do business in the city of Miami Beach we're going to balance uh those rights and recognize them and work with both and you can't punish someone who hasn't done anything by changing his property rights
i mean you you know and by the way sometimes I when we've done this we're doing that to everyone else we're changing everyone's property rights to everyone else except someone who knows Mel Schlesinger like I you know I'm sorry just because uh you
know everyone here may know the guy i understand he's a long-standing uh citizen but I don't I don't understand why we're giving special carveouts to certain people why even pass this in the first place um look I I think the direction is clear we don't want to see
we don't want to displace people he said if you gohead homes for hotel use like and and and making a special exception for this specific property I think is a bad bad idea it's a bad look okay so here's what he's going here's what he said he said
you know if you did this then you know he would just turn it into short-term rentals which are in essence ins without inkeepers so when you don't work with people sometimes they work against you yeah because you have male sorry you
have egos involved here okay on many levels gonna remove the gender from it uh but that's fine he could if he wanted to make it short-term rental um as his building as the owner of that building
he has those rights and um you have residential units there now i'm not necessarily worried about Mel Schlesinger i'm just saying who he sells it to might be a problem right and so look I think we're not saying you can't do that it's just simply saying that we're preempting from from coming
before us if he sells the if he sells the property and and we don't give this car out he going to come to us and then we can approve it it's as simple as that i don't see why we're making a special exception for someone and why are we why are we in the business of passing this if if the intent is what we're trying to
do which is exactly what what what we're trying to prevent uh which is converting residential use to hotel use but we're saying just because of this person and your relationship with him we should give him a a special deal if he passed this he would just become a
non-conforming use if he wanted to he could but that's fine but right now that's fine he could go out tomorrow and change his use if he wanted or turn it into short-term rentals but I don't think this is how we how we treat long-term investors in the city of Miami Beach because guess what they're going to be afraid of this type
of bullying and people are going to hesitate we already beat everybody up in the building department it is so hard to get permits and CEOs and good businesses that want to make investments and on top of it we're trying to take away people's property rights i don't think it's right
especially when he came here he said goodwill he came here he said he would give everybody advanced notice that he has absolutely no plans at any point in time of removing any residents that are living there he said he's not even planning on selling it but he's concerned about his rights and I would
be concerned too but this is what this legislation does this is exactly what it does this is what it's intended to do and so why are we giving them a carve out Commissioner Dominguez um so this was rehashed at first reading already there are hotels in front and on either
side of this property it's only what's fair uh Mel Schleser came and spoke he's not here right now for uh items to be put pulled back from him without him here to defend himself and um I think we should move the item
have a motion do I have a second and I I'd like to finish my I'd like to finish my thought mr mayor thank you Suarez the whole point of this legislation is to prevent this sort of buyout that
happens where you have a residential building 40 people living there and all of a sudden they're giving 30 days notice 60 days notice a short period of time under a year why would we want to give this carve out to someone who who's most likely going to just sell it to an
investor whose sole purpose is to make profit not care about the people living there and this is not excuse me this is not going to stop them this is simply going to let it come before us and let us decide why what's the problem we're
doing it to everyone else it's the It's the most equitable thing to do hold everyone to the same standards don't give a special car because he's your friend it's literally a hotel he purchased a He purchased a historic hotel that did that too it is in the
middle of a historic district okay there's a lot of people that did that too so what yeah that's fine but why are we making a special exception for him there's other people with the same sort of situation it doesn't make any sense Kristen it seriously it shouldn't be that way we shouldn't be making
exceptions for for people in the no in in the political insider because anybody because he it's a it's a special exception because most of the people who bought historic hotels have them as hotels right now at one point in an economic downturn he turned it into residential but that doesn't mean that
he doesn't have his property investing in a historic property i'm not in the business of people who invest in our community especially who come before us here we passed laws we've passed laws with me on this commission that is that has
incentivized uh transient use commercial use to residential why why is this any different the whole point of this particular law is to do that so why are we making an exception for one guy i I just don't understand that that's that's
that's these bans result in problems all the time i had one person the two lovely ladies from I Love Liquors when we banned liquor there all of a sudden they wanted they needed to move next door and they couldn't it became a huge thing then we had the grosser from uh North
Beach and when we when you banned um all sorts of or someone else banned you know uh nicotine products and here they have this liquor license okay that they've owned for a while of a sudden they wanted to change something and they were stuck in a non-conforming use where they
had a liquor license unaccompanied by an so these bans result in um it's not a ban in becoming kind of a dangerous place to do business because you purchase property and then you don't know what the city is just going to drop on your head and by the way I think that
if you wanted to do anything with this I mean if Commissioner Dominguez if we didn't have the votes today then I think that we should do public outreach hold a meeting make sure that every single property owner who is potentially losing their rights understands that and um and
and do some more outreach if you want it that's the only thing that I would agree to but I'm ready to vote for this today then let's defer it and do exactly that nick let's bring us home if I may mayor just to help provide some clarity the the ordinance sponsored by Commissioner Magazine that the commission adopted in
December included the same carveouts that you see today these carveouts are not new the purpose of this ordinance is to clarify the regulations for each of our zoning districts which is why the title was so long is because this amends each of our zoning districts to reflect
what the commission already adopted in December so so these the the carveouts that you see the applicability clauses were already approved by the city commission in December sorry if I could please sorry but we voted uh it was a divisive vote right
where it's not as if that was included in the legislation that was almost an amendment it was an amendment actually it was included in the December vote okay okay let's call the vote oh can can we change that by excluding specifically
that property with residential use from this as an amendment not on this measure alone you would have to bring another item but it's already passed though so we can't Can we bring it Lick i don't think you
have the votes i don't think you have the votes today and I don't even know if you would have the votes in in the future um to do it i mean you could but the only thing that's really changed about this item is that I feel like there's something personal with Commissioner Dominguez going on here and
you're not the sponsor sponsor she's not even the sponsor who's the sponsor i just look nothing not everything is always political i I don't I don't have a polit this isn't politics this is about 40 people living in a residential building that one day they're going to see a notice that you have to leave in
60 days i I have a problem with that you should too okay that's what we all campaigned on we don't like that type of behavior that predatory behavior in fact in fact I believe there's an item to address something like that today so I have a big problem with
that and you should too and it's there's nothing political going on i just feel for the people that whenever I see uh on the news station that they they get kicked out they've been living there for I don't know 20 years the the woman who's Barbara Huliniki the one who you got to sponsor to beautify Flamingo Park
lives there if she gets a notice for 60 days is she going to be able to afford to live in Miami Beach still i don't know the owner came before us he said he has no intention of selling he's also 85 years old and you know what and who knows if he's going to sell the property i'd like you to put yourself in his
shoes okay you purchase a property you bought a historic hotel you I'm an elected official and I'm doing what's best for the city of Miami Beach i'm doing what's best for the citizens of Miami Beach and the residents not what's best for a property owner who's looking to maximize profit i don't
understand why all of a sudden you're vilification okay Mr mayor you are the presiding officer and I've said let's go you are the presiding officer of this deis and what I see here is that people are not respecting your role as a chairman of
this city commission as a person who's running this meeting people are speaking over each other one person has the floor the other person interjects when you finally give the floor to someone else then the other person interjects and then people start speaking over each other and it's not fair to the public and it's not fair to us i request that
there be respect on this day to the process we can dis we can not agree on issues and vote against each other but for the dialogue and for the public to understand what's happening we need order on this days and we need for
comments to be through the mayor when the right person is recognized thank you Mr mayor thank you commissioner Rosa Gonzalez i'll just call the vote with this he came in front of us in goodwill he said if he so chose he could turn the property into short-term rentals at any
moment in time that he could want which would not require any regulations like a hotel has i would much rather have a hotel than a short-term rental building um I don't think that he has any
intention of removing anyone at this time but I do respect his property rights and I'm not going to vote against him and not just against him i understand what what you're trying to do i feel like there are people in here and
we could So when we vote on this anybody who has a hotel would just become a non-conforming use correct and continue to be allowed to operate yes when when you vote on this uh new hotels would require initial approval
from the from the city commission okay so the only difference here is that new hotels would require an approval from the city commission that's it through the mayor Commissioner Suarez and let's call the
vote please we know where the vote's going exactly and I'm simply saying why give a carve out to this person to not come before us he chose at one point are you finished commissioner yes if I could Mr mayor Commissioner Magazine Commissioner Commissioner what uh city attorney
clergist is saying is we actually can't amend this on this but if you would want to uh co-sponsor legislation to see if we have the votes to resend that carve out I I'd be happy to uh do that but I don't think that we can do it here commissioner Bot
i think it's bad form for a body to on the second reading after it's been discussed at first reading and been vetted at committee to change the rules of engagement i think it's it's uh not fair to the process it's not fair to people who came to speak for or against
something and uh I think it's it's a concerning precedent commissioner Rosen Gonzalez I would just say that any other hotel in the area will be able to continue on as a hotel but he is losing his property
rights and I agree with Commissioner Bot that he is not even here to defend himself and actually he's not even losing anything because you chose to approve this carveout in December so you've already voted to approve it i invite you at that point to bring a new
item and see if you can convince uh the body to vote against it and see what happens mr mayor Commissioner Suarez and then we're calling the vote so how about we defer this we give him proper time to come before us and then perhaps we can ask him to make an exception for the 40
people that currently live there that they get I guess coveted with the land that they they are are not required to leave if the property is sold you can refer to to the next meeting i'll give him ample time to come back and then hopefully we can suggest that
he uh makes a carveout for the residents that currently live on the property that in in in light of a sale they get to stay do we have a second hey can I just ask a point of sir Mr mayor through the mayor
um could we do that Nick or would we actually have to pass this item and then just have another item the only way to eliminate the carveout would be to remove it from from this item and then a new referral to land use and then to
planning board to repeal the carve out from the first ordinance that would be the only way to do it you you need both uh so it would behoove us to maybe defer if the will of the body is to consider eliminating the carveout you can do that
in this ordinance but that won't Yeah but that alone won't won't eliminate the carve out you would need a new ordinance another ordinance okay commissioner Rose Gonzalez by the way we do have a motion on the table i just want to correct the record about being political it is your item Commissioner Magazine but the amendment to the item happened to be
Commissioner Dominguez's so when there was no amendment you know you voted for it in December with the with the carveout but then when Commissioner Dominguez came forward with a simple amendment that's when you turned it political and that's when it became so this really is not about people for you
i think it's a political recal it's it is what it is uh you're well you were invited to bring back your um amendment at another ordinance at a different time commissioner Suarez thank you Mr mayor and the only reason that came to my attention wasn't because Commissioner Dominguez sponsored an amendment it's
actually because uh Jeff Burkow the lobbyist gave me a call lobbyed me asked me to support this item i told him absolutely not i'm never going to be in supportive of of allowing residents to be kicked out of their their where they
live for a hotel and then and I told him I said "Look not only am I a no vote I'm going to be totally against this and I'm going to be very upfront about it." And that's exactly what I'm doing so yeah I guess if that's considered political sure I'm doing what I think is best for
the 40 people that live there i certainly don't want to see this exception if you want to go ahead and defend Jeff Burkow and Mel Schlesinger to to maximize profit over people that live there I guess that's your prerogative that's certainly not mine uh
so you know through the mayor I'd like to see Nick but if we if we can we carve this out this this uh uh carve out for this property and then we can bring forward something else to address the specific property you you could do that
you would need both okay okay so I would make I'd like to make a motion to do that today to carve out this from second reading and then we can bring back uh another motion that I'll sponsor and I I guess Commissioner Magazine has agreed to co-sponsor uh addressing this
particular property commissioner Magazine you're second motion okay let's call the vote we have a motion and a second it is a public hearing i see no one in Zoom i see no one in the audience requesting to speak we have a request from Commissioner Fernandez to uh restate the
motion it's a motion to amend the current legislation to remove the carveout for the property that was discussed yes which is the third it's the third carveout and so just just understand this was
seconded by Commissioner Magazine and this is Commissioner Magazine's legislation so so the sponsor of the item uh is in essence amending his item i'm not sure okay I have a question commissioner Rosa
Gonzalez how do you feel about this mayor Miner it pulled me over the top when the sponsor of the item agreed to second the motion so I'm going to support that now call the RO call the RO commissioner
Magazine yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes yes commissioner Bont no vice Mayor Suarez yes commissioner Dominguez no commissioner Fernandez yes
mayor Miner yes motion carries the item is approved as amended it is R5 r5j r5j is an orders of the mayor city commission of the city Miami Beach Florida sorry uh back to R5i so that was
an a that was a motion to adopt the ordinance and with the amendment to remove applicability number three pertaining to the property on Collins Avenue and then I we just wanted to confirm that also included a separate referral to land use um in order to
address the applicability section in the previously adopted ordinance correct okay thank you Tom rj is an order of the mayor city commission of city of Miami Beach Florida amending the code of the city of Miami Beach so part B entitle Miami Beach resiliency code by amending
chapter 2 entitled administration and review procedures article two entitled general development application and hearing procedure section 2.2.3 entitled development application submission and review by amending section 2.2.3.5 entitled fees for the administration of land development regulations to provide a fee waiver for
certificate of appropriateness applications in single family zoning districts and providing for repealer codification servability and effective date this is a second reading public hearing the item requires a 57 vote it is item R5J commissioner Rosen Gonzalez
still stewing over the fact that we're getting a short-term rental for the Arizona hotel okay let's see r 5J okay as you know we have the historic Palm View uh neighborhood it is one of the
only single family historic designations that we have most improvements to these homes are administrative approval but at a time where we see sometimes severe flooding in some of these neighborhoods and there is water intrusion into people's homes and garages and they
might want to make more significant improvements the people in this neighborhood have to pay exorbitant fees at the historic preservation board so this item would just wave those fees so that they would have rights to shore
up or improve their home without having to pay um expensive fees how much is it to go in front of the Historic Preservation Board it can run uh upwards of $10,000 yeah so yeah so just because you own a home in a historic district
you have basically a fine of $10,000 so this would remove and wave any of those fees and if anybody in the neighborhood does have some sort of water intrusion and needs to improve their home they would no longer have to pay them so that's the item in essence and uh with
that I move this item i'll be added as a co-sponsor i'll second thank you let's call the vote it is a public hearing i see no one in Zoom i see no one in the audience motion by Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez seconded
by Commissioner Magazine uh Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes vice Mayor Suarez yes commissioner Magazine yes commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Bach yes mayor Miner yes motion carries that was item R5G it is
approved frj is approved let's do um a couple other second readings r5 L and R 7 C go together r5l is an ordinance of the mayor city commissioner of the city of Miami Beach
Florida amending chapter 82 of the code of the city of Miami Beach entitled public property by amending article six entitled name uh naming of public facilities and establishment of monuments or memorials by amending section 82-503 thereof entitled naming of public facilities co-naming and renaming of streets by amending
subsection C1A and C2A to provide additional criteria procedures for the co-aming of streets in honor of an individual who made lasting and significant contributions to the city of Miami Beach community to healthcare philanthropy and art and culture providing sunset provisions thereof providing for repeal of ability
clarification and effective date is item R5L is a second reading public hearing the companion item R7L is what was R7C R7C R7C I'm sorry R7C is accept uh code name 17 street
Norman Braymond Way Commissioner Fernandez co-sponsored by Commissioner Magazine Thank you Mr mayor and I'm proud to be uh sponsoring this item alongside my colleague Commissioner Magazine um in honor of Norman Braymond uh visionary
philanthropist uh in our community uh civic leader and an unwavering advocate for our community he's been a champion for public ethics uh in in throughout Miami date county in fact today there
are term limits in Miami Day County thanks to the advocacy of Norman Braymond um he's advocated for the arts we have Art Bosle uh here in Miami Beach thanks to Norman Braymond uh he's championed education he's championed
healthc care uh we have a new cancer center coming to our community at Mount Sinai Medical Center thanks to Norman Braymond and we have beautiful beautiful art sculptures but most importantly the legacy at the Holocaust
Memorial that Norman has uh has contributed to and his growth is directly attributed to his philanthropic experts has impact in South Florida and in Miami Beach has been profound and farreaching and Nor and naming a street
after Norman Braing Braymond is fitting um not only as a tribute but to honor to honor and to give thanks uh to this uh servant of our community for his lifetime of generosity that continues to shape our city not just in the present
but his legacy will continue to shape our community into the future and with that I'm proud to move uh this item and again thank Commissioner Magazine for joining me as a sponsor commissioner Magazine growing up as a child in Philadelphia I knew Mr braymond uh as
Stormman Norman Braymond he was the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles and I didn't appreciate his impact on the local community here in Miami until I moved here and uh about 3 months after being elected which just went by like a single day I found myself sitting in his
office across from him uh discussing on help blocking yet another attempt for casinos in Miami Beach and in addition to all the uh rightfully deserved accolades Commissioner Fernandez mentioned I'm not sure if there's a single other person that's more
responsible uh for not having casinos in Miami Beach than Mr braymond uh so that goes on to his long lasting list of legacies that we're thankful and grateful for here in Miami Beach thank you we have a Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez
um I've known Mr raymond for many years and he is a pillar of our community he has funded so many initiatives from our Holocaust memorial to starting Art Basle and bringing Art Basel to Miami Beach after traveling there
um years ago how many years have we had our Basel now over 20 years 20 years ago he was in Basil and he saw that fair and he said this would be wonderful for Miami Beach and because he came back and worked with the city started our Basel
uh we then got Design Miami which went to now we have Art Miami and Scope and Untitled and it now because of that first decision not only have we become an arts and cultural destination but Art Bosle has a $1 billion economic impact
um on Miami date county every single year and I think that in itself is enough to merit a street naming um so thank you Mr ramer for all the causes that you've donated to for being a pillar in our community and um I'm happy
to also co-sponsor since we're all co-sponsoring stuff today put my name on it too and I look forward to the uh street naming ceremony commissioner Dominguez thank you and uh
Raf Ralph I'll also co-sponsor this item um Norman Breeman has given so much to this community um he's been very philanthropic uh not only in the Holocaust memorial but in artwork and I think the Mina sculpture that's in Pride
Park was donated by Norman Braymond among other works that we have and happy to co-sponsor this do we have a motion and a second ralph if you would add me to co-sponsor as well i have a motion by Commissioner
Fernandez seconded by Commissioner Magazine call the vote it is a public hearing we're having a public hearing on both items R5L and R7C i see no one in the audience and no one in Zoom is requesting to speak may I
call the role yes on both items R7C R5L vice Mayor Suarez yes commissioner Bach yes commissioner Rosa Gonzalez yes commissioner Magazine yes commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner
Fernandez yes mayor Miner yes both items are approved r5 L R7C r5m as in Michael r5m is a north of the mayor city commission of the city of May Beach Florida amending the land development of the comprehensive plan
pursuant to section 2.4.1 4.1 of the land development regulations by amending the resilient land use and development element goal RLU1 entitled land use objective RLU 1.1 entitled establishment of future land use categories table RLU 1.1 by creating policy RLU
1.118B entitled recreation and open spaces civic and convection center RO-CCC and pursuant to Florida statute section 163.3181 and section 163.3187 amending the future land use map of the comprehensive plan by changing the future land use designation
for a parcel of land located at Pride Park which is comprised of less than 10 acres from the current designation of public facilities convention center facilities to future land use category of recreation and open space civic and convention center ROCCC providing for inclusion in the comprehensive plan
transmitt repeater mobility and effective date this is a second reading public hearing it is item R5M commissioner Fernandez thank you Mr mayor and this is the item that I mentioned at the first hearing
that was the nerdy item uh because it it might appear uh quite nerdy on paper a land use amendment but it's actually about something much more profound it's about protecting the integrity of one of our most cherished public green spaces which is Pride Park right here next to
City Hall in the heart of our city next to the botanical garden pride Park next to the Holocaust Memorial pride Park across the street from from the Miami Beach Convention Center and right now Pride Park under our um comprehensive
plan and future land use map is designated as a convention center facility which means that despite being a park in practice it's only really a park and I say that in quotations because it's not a park under the eyes
of the law and that technically leaves the door open for other uses in the future such as uh potential expansion of the convention center or the addition of other structures such as a garage and
why is that concerning well we know the Miami Beach uh convention center hotel it's on its way to be built but um Mr manager how much parking do we have for the employees at the at the hotel i I don't have that number off the top
of my head i apologize Commissioner well I did my homework and I can tell you there's no parking accounted for the employees of the hotel uh on the site and so this ordinance closes the door on that by approving this this item we are
formally designating Pride Park as a recreation and open space um in our in our in our plans this new designation ensures that the land remains protected as an open space as a park and that any
future attempt to develop anything other than a park would require a vote of the electors is that correct Mr mooney that's correct and that protection matters um and and I think it's it's what we owe this this ordinance ensures
that no one not this commission or not a future commission can use can change the use of this park uh without the consent of the residents and the voters of Miami Beach who were promised a park on that site um so with that I'm very proud to
to move this item i respectfully ask for your for your support because these green spaces um they're more than just green spaces their breathing space in a very busy city like ours and is what was promised to our residents and we need to deliver on that promise in perpetuity
thank you Mr mayor thank you thank you okay thank you uh it is a public hearing i see no one in Zoom and I see no one in the audience requesting to speak may I call the role please commissioner Magazine yes commissioner Fernandez yes vice Mayor Suarez yes
commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes commissioner Bot yes mayor Miner yes motion carries the item is approved that was item R5M r5n r5n is an order of the mayor city commissioner of city of Miami Beach
Florida amending the code of the city of Miami Beach sub part B entitled Miami Beach Resiliency Code chapter 2 entitled administration and review procedures article two entitled general development application and hearing procedures section 2.2.4 entitled public hearing section 2.2.41 entitled public notification by
creating a courtesy notice requirement specific to residential tenants of properties that are subject to a city land use board application providing for codification repeal subability on effective date this is a second reading public hearing the item requires a 57 vote it is R5N
commissioner Fernandez co-sponsored by Commissioner Bot and Magazine thank you Mr mayor and thank you to my co-sponsors uh this is um an item that's about fairness that's about equity and that's about giving a voice to residents who
are often left in in the dark and this measure simply requires that when a property owner applies for a land use change that they're going before one of our land use boards that the people living in those units the tenants receive a courtesy notice about what's
being proposed today only property owners within a certain radius receive notice but if you're a renter even if you live directly across the street from that building or even in that building itself that's being re redeveloped you
may never hear about it until construction comes knocking on your door until you're being told to move out until your lease is not renewed and that's not fair i don't think there should be a distinction in classes as to
whether you are uh land uh a homeowner or a condo owner or a tenant you are a Miami Beach resident you are our constituent you are our neighbor and we are your public servants regardless of whether you're a condo owner or a
tenant and they deserve the same opportunity to understand what's happening in their community they deserve the opportunity to show up and they deserve to be heard by us as their elected officials and the reality is that this ordinance doesn't create any
burden it simply asks that tenants be informed through a basic courtesy notice when a land use board application is filed for the building that they live in or for a building close to where they live in is simply sending them uh a
notice in the mail just how everyone else receives that notice in the mail if they happen to to be a property owner so I'm I'm proud to move this item is about transparency and dignity and it's all about helping people be more informed and make more responsible decisions
about their housing a second and Tom I want to recognize you so sorry that's okay uh Commissioner I just wanted to clarify one thing the ordinance is drafted only applies to the tenants of the building residential tenants it doesn't apply to residential tenants in
other properties like across the street we could add that if you wanted to i would like to amend the item if possible to expand it any if a property owner is receiving notice so should the tenants we
shouldn't be we shouldn't be separating people by class if you are a property owner or not these these are our constituents and these are our our neighbors and so um I think the original intent was to make sure that that those
tenants in the building received the notice but Nick um is it possible under the current title of the ordinance to expand it to include surrounding uh buildings my my first concern is you're talking about tenants of surrounding buildings
yes is that we don't we don't have records of those individuals i I think for the for the tenants who live on the property that are the subject of the application obviously the owner we could rely on the owner to provide notice to tenants uh on the same property but
otherwise I don't think we would have we can work on that and I think I recall you you telling me that because the original intent was for there to be a radius and then we had to shrink it back bring it back so that at least the tenants of that building they're not caught by surprise after a decision is
made that they're being told to move out when there was a public process so thank you for clarifying that call out it is a public hearing i see no one in the audience i have uh m I have two
individuals in Zoom mitch Novik go ahead sir you have two minutes good good a good afternoon getting that echo mitch Novik uh I own a apartment building in the
Flamingo Park neighborhood i was a little confused when I read this now I'm even more confused i could understand giving notice to uh tenants or renters in an apartment building but now you're
asking to notice uh uh everybody you know uh right now all condo owners uh receive a notice if there should be a 24 or 36 unit apartment building owned by a single entity uh that would require 36
uh individual notices to the resident who might uh reside in one e either of those 36 units uh so uh although it wouldn't break me there is a cost implication if that's uh the intent of
this ordinance and thank you for your time Mitch i'm sorry and I and I misspoke it's it only relates to the tenants of the subject application sites when I started the item my intent was for it to apply to the same radius as
property owners my intent was if the property owners are receiving it so should the tenants we shouldn't be differentiating or selecting uh classes of people that got information because of the technicality and the challenges that our chief deputy city attorney just
described to us at committee we we kept it strictly only to the tenants of the building of the subject application site because those are the ones that we can uh reach and so I I apologize to you uh
Mitch and to the public that I that I um misspoke and went to what I was originally my original intent had be had been so I hope that clarifies for you Mitch and our next speaker is Sarah de Reyes hi good afternoon Sarah de los Reyes um
great idea Alex i think it's great but I wanted to ask a question about um sending out to the residential rental people are you sending a a just an address and the apartment number because how are you
going to find out how many different rental people are in the in the in the in the unit most of the time sometimes it's six months sometimes they are year sometimes they are longer but you know you have people that change rental units so that's why I'm asking how are you going to how you do that it's a great
idea i think it's good because a lot of the rentals pay attention to what's going on in the neighborhood and they have you know they give you their input on what you know the neighborhood is because they're living here that's my question thank you Sada and I'm going to um through if I may
through the mayor ask uh Tom Mooney our planning director to respond to that question yes we're we're actually the ordinance requires that the applicant provide a separate set of mailing labels for the courtesy notice as well as evidence that reasonable efforts were
used to identify all existing tenants of the residential building or of the building and so um and which is the same process that we do for the property owners correct well the property owner is much easier because you have that on public record exactly and they will
provide that that's why this will be separate and we will inspect that and we will expect that they will use best efforts to make sure that nonowners are notified that may be a tenant of a unit thank you Sata i hope that clarifies for
you no one new requesting to speak uh so we can close the public hearing at this point okay i just want to put action in a second and and and again this is a result of individuals who are tenants in our city who were
caught off guard after after land use applications were submitted were heard and they found out after that the that the decision was made that something was being considered on where they live and they were stripped of their ability to speak up
for their home and they were stripped of their ability to speak before the people who make decisions in these chambers yet these are our constituents and our neighbors and they deserve that protection and that voice as well thank you Mr mayor thank you we have a motion in a second i do let's call the vote
commissioner Bach yes commissioner Rosa Gonzalez yes commissioner Magazine yes vice Mayor Suarez yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Dominguez yes mayor Miner yes motion carries the item is approved
that was item R5 r5 R5O is an in order of the mayor city commission of city of Miami Beach Florida amending chapter two of the code of the city of Miami Beach entitled administration by amending article two entitled city commission by amending section 2-14 thereof entitled meeting procedures and agendas to require that
any resolution placed on a city commission agenda with a fiscal impact greater than 75,000 and seeking a waiver of the required review of the finance and economic resiliency committee by 57 of the vote of the city commission may not be placed on a consent agenda and showing instead be heard as a regular
agenda item and providing for repeal servability clarification and an effective date r5 is a second reading public hearing commissioner Suarez co-sponsored by commissioners Fernandez and Magazine thank you Mr mayor uh Rick if you don't mind teeing this up that's great please sure um at the last
commission meeting this item was heard and there was an amendment proposed so that any item that does not go to the finance committee that is not budgeted must be heard as a regular item so that is the item in front of you today
let's call the vote give me one second i'll I'll make the motion we got a motion by Commissioner Suarez seconded by Commissioner Fernandez it is a public hearing i see no one in Zoom no one requesting to speak in person commissioner Magazine yes commissioner
Fernandez yes vice Mayor Suarez yes commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez i think it's dumb but yes commissioner Bot yes mayor Miner yes motion carries the item is approved that was item R5
r5r take the yes votes when you can get them right r5 r5r is an ordinance of the mayor city commission of city of Miami Beach short amending chapter 46 of the code entitled environment by amending article 4 entitled noise by amending section 46-152 entitled noises
unnecessary and excessive prohibited to remove from the prohibition of the use of loudspeakers type device attached and upon vehicles a carbon permitting the the legitimate use of such devices in political campaigns consistent with Florida Supreme Court president providing for repealer servability
clarification and effective date this is a second reading public hearing it is item R5R this is my item it's actually an administrative item i was asked as is often the case with these type of items cleanup that we have to comply with certain uh state laws that uh I sponsor
him so I'm doing that and Rick uh you take it away our our current uh noise ordinance includes a provision that uh loudspeakers cannot be attached to vehicles um but we had a an exception for um use of such speakers in
connection with political campaigns as a result of litigation um the the case of state vital um we came to learn that we need to exclude that carve out and so this is cleaning up our ordinance to make it consistent with state law that wasn't
our litigation correct no that was not our litigation okay just wanted to make that clear it's but state law litigation okay and that's it anybody want to move i can't move it i'll move it i have a motion by Commissioner Fernandez a
second that seconded by Commissioner Bonn is a public hearing i have Mr novik are you here to speak on R5R yes I am mitch Novik i uh am a 37year resident of the
MXC entertainment district uh also a crime and noiseridden uh district uh I would uh certainly like to see enforcement of these golf carts which are pervasive every day throughout
the day that go by my property with their blasting speakers uh it's very disruptive uh to to to the senses of anybody uh thank you thank you sir i have no one else may I call the
role yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes yes I do i have a motion by Commissioner Fernandez seconded by Commissioner Bot commissioner Rosen Gonzalez is a yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Magazine yes vice Mayor Suarez yes commissioner Bach yes
commissioner Dominguez yes mayor Miner yes motion carries the item is approved that was R5R let's call C7 C c7c is approval of updated conceptual design for the 72nd Street community
complex it was separated by Commissioner Suarez david welcome good afternoon david Gomez director of capital improvements um this item was uh presented to commission actually this was pulled
right yeah you want to speak first about it yeah I just want to get an update from staff i wanted to be public okay this uh this item was uh presented to commission in December uh where we heard some feedback including a request to add a level of parking uh provide pickle or
paddle ball at the roof level of the parking garage and some other items we've done that we've incorporated into the into those drawings we did go out to the community and receive some pretty valuable feedback in terms of preservation of certain trees and some other comments that that have also been
addressed there was a request from commission in December to also look at the demand for this type of facility we did speak to Miami Day County Public Schools who expressed great interest and and a potential for up to three schools that would be interested in in holding
events here miami uh Beach High is also obviously very enthusiastic about it with its programs so we we feel that there is some uh demand for the facility uh and the reason we came back today is we had committed to to come back and and
show you the the revised project before we went to DRB which is scheduled for next month so um are we I'm sorry please commission so are I know that we pass a law that stop the pause and and I want to know where are we with this project
what percent and let's say you come up with a design and we and we don't like it uh where are we with perhaps enhancing the design and and and I'll be transparent this is where I'm getting with this is you know
we're going to be involved in a development agreement with the Doville and you know if we come back with an economic analysis saying like hey look obviously they're making a lot more money than we expect maybe we expect um
to bridge the gap between something that's mediocre or average to something that we were originally promised and then the developer can can fund that cap so I want to be in a position where that's still a possibility if that comes
back in our in the economic analysis um so David can you tell me where we're at as far as percentages go and you know what options do we have as a body sure we through the chair excuse me through the through the mayor the the project
remains just beyond 30% or right around 30% completion of concepts uh that's about the level at which we take them to the design review board to receive their input uh and assuming that everything goes smoothly and it is approved at DRB then we would proceed to the 60%
drawings which is about 3 months out after that and then stop the pause and commissioner Fernandez if you can help me at what percentage does that start to apply where we essentially are the six seventh vote or that we cannot stop the pause does not apply to this project oh
why not it's not an infrastructure project how about stop the pause 2.0 have we done stop the pause 2.0 you have not why don't we bring it back sorry through the mayor so um it's at just shy of 30% okay and
the options that we have how much have we spent on design fees at this point with the change orders and value engineering i don't have that here with me i can get that back to you but is it is probably in excess of $2 million and
if you can remind us and the public what is the total cost of the project as it is stands today total approved budget is just over 101 million with 4.5 being requested for the additional uh level of the parking garage got it okay so the
next stop is the DRV i'm sorry if this gets approved today it goes to the DRV then we would proceed to the next submitt which is the 60% design uh Commissioner Bot Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez um I just want to make clear for anybody who's listening that the
pickle or paddle ball courts that would be on the the very top level of the roof would be subsumed to the need of parking meaning that um during the day when there is not a high demand for parking you could play pickle or paddle whatever
goes that gets decided there um in the evenings and certainly especially during um live music performances at the band shell there will be no sports activity up there it will be used for parking and even if there's not a demand for parking during live music events or any live
events at the band shell um there will be no sports activities because it will compete with um the music coming out of the band shell so I want to make sure that is crystal clear you are correct commissioner i forgive the omission how do you how do you disassemble a paddle
court with glass walls for to replace it for parking on a weekly basis it's being designed so that the the nets and the and the uh barriers are are removable so whenever there's a parking demand or or a higher parking demand they would be taken down and and it would be returned
to parking and correct me if I'm wrong i'm not a professional pickle ball or paddle player but when you play paddle you have these huge glass walls that are very thick very strong very heavy i don't see how you just move them no the there are uh layouts use the glass walls
so it's just the nets we have a couple of temporary or or convertible courts that we use in the city now and that would be the same concept with the difference that in this facility it would be much more decorative in nature in terms of the the dec and I don't know if I necessarily feel comfortable saying
that fitness is less important than a show with the band shell i think I mean if we're going to do that I I I don't know i mean if if there's a community out there of residents who have a schedule that they
want to play their favorite pickle ball game or paddle game and they can't play because there's a show at the band shell uh I mean who who are we to say that you can't do that i mean I think this is a community center it's not the primary
function isn't a garage for the band shell it's for the community activity so I I'm not going to be in favor of that if I may through the mayor speak thank you Vice Mayor um I would be just
as happy to remove the pickle and paddle ball i you know I don't have a strong feeling about that that's an easy thing for us to do we have um uh convertible courts in the city right now there are multiple places where you can play pickle ball paddle ball foot volley volleyball tennis all kinds of sports at
all times of day and night there's one outdoor music facility that people travel from around the country and around the world to to attend events at and if it is a choice between prioritizing somebody's desire to play
pickle ball at 10:00 on a Thursday night on a rooftop in North Beach versus versus um you know interfering with a a a cultural event in a very a a nationally historically designated and
incredibly unique facility i would rather remove um the pickle ball courts if if it's going to cause such consternation because there are plenty of other places where you can indulge your late night physical activity um and sporting desires and I don't I don't um
I have no problem with anybody wanting to to go play pickle ball at midnight if they want to that's that's great but there are plenty of other places they can do things like that that are not adjacent to a very unique uh public amenity and uh and facility so you know
this is I can't even believe we're having this conversation so um Well let let me pick up where you you left off Commissioner again this is a community center this is not a garage for the band shell this is supposed to be a community
center for the residents not a parking offloading facility for the band shell i mean I I don't see why we're splitting hairs here i mean the whole concept of this of this project is to bring the community together not to have visitors
from across the country park their cars so that they can go to the band shell i think you know look if people have a schedule that they want to place fitness and sports um at at at this at this facility I mean you know you're the champion of the blue zones it's all
about walking it's a community it's activity i mean to think that we're going to replace that for cars to park i mean I think that's ridiculous uh so I I I certainly would not be in favor of
making parking spaces be more of a priority to a fitness Sure facility such as pickle ball because if you go to the Miami Beach golf course I don't know man but the that that those courts are always packed they are packed okay and
that's a 20 that's a 365 247 thing uh where you always have courts reserved and that's exactly what we want at this community center but to say that we're going to we're going to prioritize parking spots for the band shell over
community fitness I think that's a stretch clarifying question David Eric do we if it's compat do we have to decide this today i mean it's going to be compatible we could we can make those decisions when it's completed these are operational level decisions that we can
make i I just want to move this project forward and and get it under construction i think we've got very clear direction on what the commission wants to see as far as the the physical plant of the structure and we can work out these operational details later and
that was the goal thank you do do we need to vote on this today no can I say one thing commissioner Bach um you know nobody had actually suggested putting pickle ball on the roof until I did it at the last time that this that was this was brought to the four and I'm not suggesting this is
a parking facility for the bandell for those of us who live in North Beach you will know you will know that there are um there's a lot going on in North Beach there are restaurants there are new stores there are all kinds of new things going on there's a der of parking which
you very well know since you sponsored the pilot parking program to provide more parking we're building this community center which is going to benefit the entire community with a big emphasis on sports and fitness and we are replacing hundreds of parking spots and adding to them now if we don't think
that that is part of the community value of this project to provide parking for residents and visitors to our city as part of a community meaning everybody has something to benefit from right we are not going to hold one group higher
than another you are welcome to indulge in sports activities at any time of day or night but your desire to do so does not preclude the other business's opportunities or the other residents opportunities to find a place to park their car and this is I I don't understand why you're doing this why
you're picking a fight with every single thing today it is absurd and it it's No I I beg your pardon let me just finish this this is What's that just making a joke i'm not picking commission i'm not picking a fight i have I have a
philosophical disagreement with this with this issue we are so aligned in so many things on this commission i mean unless until you change your mind on blue zones you are 100% supportive on blue zones i will not be changing my mind on high rocks and and other sporting events that you are championing
and bringing here i don't understand why this whole day we're only like on our 10th item or something absurd today because they like every single item that has been brought there are these specious arguments going on it's counterproductive and you know we will
decide how we program the roof i will not give up parking because anybody who spends any time up in North Beach knows how important that is and how the fact that one of the things we're we're getting from the Doville which I've been hammering at uh since I got elected is to get that defunct garage up and
running ASAP because we are in such dire need of parking i wish it weren't the case but we are in dire need of parking and so this is nonsense it's been going on all day and it's exhausting i don't I don't if you you asked to speak and I know you want to re rebut but let's
there's this is a nice it's an important discussion but one that we can have we have a couple of years out until this is truly relevant but go ahead then commissioner Rosen Gonzalez Commissioner Bot I I I wasn't elected to just be the status quo I wasn't elected to just tag along and vote with everyone else uh you
know sometimes we're going to agree on things sometimes we're not I I I you brought to my attention that we were going to prioritize or your intention was to prioritize parking over activity uh facilities i I think it's ridiculous to think that you're going to
be able to move paddle walls and glass just for a a band shell show if you can let me finish please thank you yeah I I think that's ridiculous and I'm entitled to my opinion as an elected official to to voice that disagreement and when the time comes to vote on that you know
we'll have a more robust discussion on on the subject and and we'll see how the body feels about moving forward but look I mean like I said you know this is we're we all got elected by the same people uh sometimes we're going to agree
on things sometimes we're not we're gonna you know we may not like the way we do things but this is what makes our city commission robust discussion and and great you know because we're we're we are all different and we think
differently uh I believe you when you say that we're all al we're mostly aligned on on things to make Miami Beach a a beautiful place and the number one place in the world to live how we get there is going to be between the seven of us so um I'm certainly not I don't
wake up in the morning thinking that I can't wait to cause um you know a ruckus on the commission that's that's certainly not my agenda um but I think it's important to you know call out issues when I see them and that's what I
was elected to do commissioner Rose Gonzalez i'm just happy we got the Murtha pool because we were getting that cement pool and I felt like that was going to cause a lot of rooftop problems so I'm glad we got the Mirththa pool as for trying to
get more funding to not value engineer the center at this point I don't want to stop the project but I mean if you were able to negotiate more funding so that we didn't have so much cement in that project and we had more windows or it
was more beautiful like I I do have a problem with some of those walls that are all cement and they look you know like a school i mean I understand that it's a community center but it's not an iconic beautiful one I think with this value engineering so at the same
time time is money i mean we have we don't know what's happening with these tariffs if we wait another month does that mean we're going to pay another two or 3% of construction costs we have to consider all of these things what I've watched here is over time as we value
engineer prices go up so then we get a worse product and we're paying more for it um had I realized what was going to happen in the economy I don't think anybody thought that we were going to have this kind of inflation i don't think 30 days is going to define things one way or another um and their pickle
ball versus parking issue whatever they choose i mean you know I'm I'm all for more parking for the residents more pickle ball all of it uh but I mean if you could get monies to improve this project my my question is okay let's say
we get the money to improve the project now we're going to go back to the value engineer and we're going to say okay now we want to switch x y and z and can we do that I mean like that would mean starting over again would there be like specific areas because if it means that we're going to pay another 5 to
10% possibly even more if we're paying more for aluminum lumber all of these things what is that cost going to be to city we just don't know there's a total unknown so that concerns me a little bit and so I mean I'm going to vote for
this today but if you get some if you get some wonderful number if you get some if you get there's an update there's just an update so it's it's moving forward okay so then look if you if you get that money maybe we could do something else with it there's got to be a way to improve the project maybe add
more windows or something in some areas right so we could add bells and whistles after the fact i'm sure that the DRB is going to have some comments which are going to trigger us to look at specific aesthetic improvements to the property
and there will be opportunities for us to have this conversation absolutely one final question since we're on this update let's say that now you go back to the contractor i mean has he has he committed at that price what if he says to us now it's going to be an additional 15% because we have to include we don't
have a GMP because we don't have a final design this is going to be I have a feeling we're going to be very surprised when we get this back and it's going to be over budget again and at that point when do we say David can you talk a little bit enough
is I like construction manager at risk process har this this project has a construction manager at risk under contract uh as part of their contract right now they are providing pre-construction services so at every submittal including the schematic and
now the 30% they have given preliminary pricing and scheduling and uh as well as constructibility recommendations for the design team so they are assisting along the way we expect that they will continue to be on track during the rest
of the design period the design contract requires the designer to adjust the design if the estimates at each submitt come in above budget so we have that and that's where the value engineering came from early on because we realized that
the estimates that we were getting were higher than our budget so we looked at ways to make it work we are we are comfortable right now that the project we have can be built for our construction budget i would just add this and do not take
this personally because I have nothing against CIPA because this is a very very important project and I know how busy you guys are how many capital projects do you have right now uh more than 50 more than 50 i think one public benefit that we could negotiate it if we so wanted and possibly get a much better
project no offense because government we don't always get the best deals is you could say we could say to David Martin before this next settlement agreement look we have hundred how much do we haveund just over 101 plus the 4.5 that we're asking for okay we have $105 million what can you build us for $105
million on that same site we might get something so spectacular for $105 million that would cost the city $200 million just because of government procurement processes I'm not pointing the finger at anybody but if we were able to get him to do that i think within a year we could have a community
center that is built that is so spectacular not value engineered mirtha pool kit and kaboodleoodle and everything and that I think asking him for his building expertise without the funding I think you would see for $105 million what we
get would be uh spectacular if you can convince him to do that and commissioner magazine maybe you'll speak to him about that and see if you can get it done that would be a win for Miami Beach and by the He's not opposed to it because before you guys started on the log cabin he had committed to rebuilding the
log cabin for you know because I prom I had promised people years ago i know I let's get the community center instead of the lock point is is I mean you guys have started on the log cabin finally so that's great but it could take you guys three to five years to get this done
maybe David Martin as part of the benefit if we give him that budget we get something great in a year if he can go through the city permitting processes which aren't so easy to get through there's a few more complexities than
that Commissioner but we will absolutely have a conversation thank you Eric you got what you needed yes great thank you everyone um Alex Commissioner Fernandez you have a special request yes thank you Mr mayor i'd like to make a motion to reconsider item C7B
c7b is recommendation recommendation include a children's park on Lincoln Road that was approved on the consent agenda all right and if I I need a What do you want i want I want to reconsider i just want to defer it for a
month so that the Miami Beach Convention Center Advisory Board can discuss it they wanted to discuss it they didn't have an opportunity to discuss it so all that I'm asking is uh I'm doing a motion to reconsider it so we can defer it for a month so that they can discuss this
before their before our next city commission meeting park yeah this is the uh No C7BD is on the west side of Pride Park okay hold on c7bd BD
BD well BD was an addendum so it hasn't been heard yet oh oh it hasn't been heard i'm sorry even better even better so at the right time we'll hear it after after There you go thank you perfect
uh C7 AV c7 AV attract Israeli investments separated by Commissioner uh Commissioner Magazine yeah thank you Mr mayor um I separated this myself uh this
is an item I'm incredibly proud to bring and excited about uh since even before being elected one of my key focuses on economic development in Miami Beach and when we talk about not wanting to be the spring break capital of the world what do we want to be and we have seen such
great progress attracting a number of different businesses uh where we are not so concentrated in the hospitality sector we have private equity companies we have technology companies hedge fund companies we have office space that's opening up um in all areas on Fifth Street and Sunset Harbor on Lincoln Road
that's helping us diversify our economy uh just uh last week or two weeks ago we had Israeli Tech Week uh come to Miami and there is such an opportunity in fact uh the United States Israel Business Alliance uh just stated uh Israel
founded companies are increasingly eyeing Florida as a hub to expand their businesses in the US market uh Israeli entrepreneurs are looking more and more at Florida as a viable option to grow their businesses uh in the US as it's perceived as such a safe place that's
pro- Israel and just this morning we heard from our colleagues at the GMCVB uh statistics about domestic and international travel being down which uh send us an even more clear message about our need to diversify our economy something that's been years in the
making so here what I did was uh direct our economic development uh department to work with Israeli based tech companies that are amongst the uh most prized in the world to see if they are able to be extended the same opportunities as any other company
that's coming here uh but give them a bit of direction about this key segment to attract and the vile and the vitriol that we heard leading up to this was it was not only eyeopening but appalling
when people were talking about the O cinema and even the uh Israeli bond investment I I I I could see merit in disagreeing with that but the fact that we're going out here and extending the same courtesies that we extend to other
businesses when we're seeking to attract investment in our city but just having our economic development department have Israeli tech healthcare and finance companies on their radar and attend events like Israeli Tech Week that that
was somehow offensive to people what they were essentially saying this morning was "No they can't come here because they're Israeli or they're Jewish." And that was just absolutely appalling sickening um so that's why I pulled this item because I didn't want it to just go on consent i think we're
all supportive of this and part of being a safe haven is speaking proudly about initiatives like this and I know that we're all focused on economic development we're all looking to be a safe haven for uh our Israeli and Jewish
brothers and sisters and what better way to go out and try and attract Israeli entrepreneurs um or companies that come here and help diversify our economy uh so this is something that I want to pull and discuss and uh I think I'll have support but I I'll leave it to the rest
of you all thank you Commissioner Magazine for bringing the item and and for even pulling it to discuss from my own standpoint I I actually uh spoke on opening night at at Israel Tech Week i I met with the uh basically the founders the pioneers of Israel Tech Week uh I
don't know let's say a year ago when this was just literally a an a u an image of their imagination they wanted to bring here it was so incredibly successful six figures plus representations from Israeli companies
israel known as a startup nation because of its literally disproportionate in a positive way standing in the global uh technology sector i mean you look at public companies on the NASDAQ and and the New York Stock Exchange i mean for a country with less than 10 million I think they're number three in the world
or something like that sorry if I get the numbers wrong it's absolutely incredible and we have an opportunity now because I besides Israel Tech Week and you could see the interest in in companies opening offices here i've had many many companies reach out to me and say "We want to come to South Florida."
And you're you're you're and you're obviously getting that and probably a lot of us are and what's happening is and I can tell you I saw this after I spoke at the opening night of Israel Tech Week many people came over to me and they said you know they know America is supportive but they also see the
images of what's happening at the universities and obviously the media portrays a lot of a lot of negativity so they see that and they see what's happening in New York and California and they hear about Florida and they come down here and they're like "Thank you this is a welcoming environment it's not like this in many other places." And
these are world travel people these are these are highly successful companies and they thank me they thank us as a commission they thank our police because they do feel very very comfortable here so we are we can capitalize on serious capital uh and investments that we are
only going to benefit as a city and as a South Florida region from this so thank you for taking uh the lead on this Commissioner Magazine obviously I'm fully supportive and I believe I co-sponsored as well commissioner Rosen Gonzalez i actually read Startup Nation and I was on a mission to Israel and I
actually met the guy who started Shimon Perez's son Shami Perez and I was there and it was really amazing to see all of these tech companies and how many people are are um investing in them and the healthcare industry too i mean I think that there's a lot of potential so I I
would support this item too you can add me as a co-sponsor too Raphael and um fully supportive of this initiative i'm glad you mentioned the book it actually it's a good read and explains why uh the culture and the education and um the the
way individuals are trained in the Israeli army actually lead to the uh to the to the level of success and entre entrepreneurship um it's actually very insightful call a vote motion i'll second
commissioner Magazine seconded by Commissioner Fernandez and I just want to commend Commissioner Magazine for um for for this item i think the fact that the city of Miami Beach is reaching out to attract Israeli and Jewish owned companies to establish their presence
here is great but that the sponsor of it is someone who is not Jewish or someone who is not Israeli i think it speaks more to the volume and the importance of the of the item of course you know the Jewish community is going to support itself sadly sometimes we see here that
sometimes that's not always the case but you would expect the Jewish community to support itself but when you see true allies and leaders who support the Jewish community who are not Jewish and who want to support Israeli businesses and Jewish businesses sponsor items like this I think it speaks volumes and so I
just want to commend you Commissioner Magazine because you represent those of us who aren't Jewish but who support uh Jewish businesses and you do it with great honor and I want to thank you uh for that i'm proud to support your item thank you
now call a roll yes all in favor please say I i anyone opposed hearing none the item is approved 70 that was C7 AV ralph you in the mood to do the uh atlarge nominations i am we could do
that uh everyone has a sheet on with release number three on it basically we have nominations and we have seats for all the nominees if we could do them by acclamation I can go down the the So we have in Ardan public faces we have
Direlia Lasso has been nominated there are two seats available one nominee may we do so by acclamation for design review board for the category one which is a registered architect uh the individual who was selected by the commission decided not to take the position so Adam Meshberg
was the other individual who was in the running has been renominated there is a seat can we do so by nomination by acclamation uh for the historic preservation board Randy Hollingsworth has been nominated he spoke during sutnick this morning there is a seat
available only one nominee acclamation yes sir senior affairs committee Zanida Gusman has been nominated to the large seat there's one seat available one nominee by acclamation please yes and for transportation parking uh the Miami Beach uh Chamber of Commerce has
nominated their rep Marci Gregorio she qualifies may we do some acclamation if so all the nominees have been appointed great congratulations everyone okay let's do some first reading items
r5p as in Paul yes sir r5p is addressed the mayor city commission of the city of Miami Beach Court amending chapter 58 of the Miami Beach city code entitled housing by amending article 3 entitled property maintenance standards by amending section 58-298 thereof entitled responsibilities of owners and occupants to require property owners of houses and
buildings within the city to provide notice of animal trapping or extermination services and providing for repeal of ability notification and effective date r5p is a first reading public hearing it requires 47th vote commissioner Rosen Gonzalez
i'd like to call this the Alex Dow ordinance the reason that we passed this um he was very concerned about this prior to his passing and uh he called all of us because they were um performing a tenting or extermination of some sort in the neighborhood or was it
a trapping it was a trapping and his cat was taken and they could never find the cat again so it was a cat kidnapping so it's a very simple ordinance that just gives notice before there's any trapping or any major um exterminations in the
neighborhood so with that I would uh move the Alex Dow cat trapping ordinance second public hearing i see no one on Zoom no one requested to speak in the audience vice Mayor Suarez yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes
commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner Bach yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Magazine yes mayor Miner yes motion carries the item is approved the second reading public hearing is scheduled for May 21st that was item R5P
r5q r5 Q is an ordinance of the mayor city commission of the city of Miami Beach amending chapter 10 of the code of city of Miami Beach court entitled animals by creating section 1020 10-20 thereof entitled confinement of animals without sufficient food water or exercise abandonment of animals and providing for
repeal shability cification and effective date this is a first reading public hearing it is item R5Q commissioner Dominguez thank you uh so this came from the animal welfare committee and it simply adds Florida's animal cruelty statute to our city code
it gives our law enforcement personnel and city prosecutors more flexibility when they're dealing with animal cruelty cases and it streamlines enforcement and police will now have the option to arrest and charge someone using our city ordinance which give the gives the case
over to the city attorney and not Miami Dade state attorney's office and I'll move the item second let's call a vote yes sir so by Commissioner Dominguez seconded by
Commissioner Fernandez it is a public hearing no one on Zoom no one in the audience commissioner Magazine yes commissioner Magazine has been added as well as a co-sponsor uh Commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner Bot
yes yes and please add me as a co-sponsor commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes mayor Suarez yes commissioner Fernandez yes mayor Miner yes motion carries second reading public hearing is May 21st commissioner Suarez Magazine and BOD
will be added as co-sponsors to item R5Q um R5S wait Mr mayor Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez um because of due process Mel Schleser is here right now and he wanted to speak on the item so I would like to ask if we could um open it up for reconsideration so he can at least speak
on his property because he wasn't here um and he didn't realize you know what was happening he rushed over uh while he was hearing it on the item and at least he should have the ability to advocate for himself and his property because everybody else is going to become a
non-conforming use except for him he's getting you know punished I suppose by this or he feels like he is and there I think we should at least give him the chance to speak up on his own property he's right
here in the audience so just to be clear so you're making a motion motion to reconsider will anyone second my motion to reconsider so can speak commissioner Magazine's item before we do that Rick and Nick um we'll actually have to put forward entirely new legislation to have
this go forward Mel i believe well you amended one ordinance y so if you're going to undo that then you would have to bring that one back as well but what we discussed earlier is that the original ordinance adopted in December would also have to come back but today
you did already close the door on his um exception for the LDR amendments yes so we'll we'll actually have to hear that two more times correct no this was second reading of that second reading so my motion would be a simple reconsideration to allow for due process
and to allow for the property owner to speak well is any will anyone second this rec okay thank you so let's reopen all in favor of reconsidering on the motion yes on you opposed i just on on on the motion if I could ask a question
yes please okay i'll come up um well we haven't voted no we haven't voted yet vote to approve opening up so to the sponsor of the of the item um you know I'm I'm in favor of opening this up if you're if you know you're open to
changes to what we already adopted if not we have a lot of items and I don't want to delay the agenda if you're not going to be in favor of changing what's for us so I've heard Mel and I spoke with him for an hour and a half and I respect the position that he's in um so
absent hearing new information I can't foresee me changing my vote but I'm only one of four or five what I don't want I I don't mind having Mel speak i I don't We had a robust discussion so I don't want I'm not going to open this up for another hour discuss about him without
him here and directly affecting him and we can make a motion out of I think that he should have I think it's just a simple question of due process and I don't think that any of us are going to vote against due process correct mel if you would like us to reopen the item I I believe there is support here we have to
vote on it but by by the way this was this was a second reading the the the first reading was very contentious i don't see why uh Mel Schlesinger wasn't here to begin with on second reading that's precisely why we have a second reading is so that we can hear these
things if he took for granted that he has the votes for his project that's his fault it's not our fault i have I've I've raised concerns on the first reading i'm not surprising anyone with this and uh the the the due process was there i'm certainly not going to be in
favor of reopening this we have I'm not comfortable doing I'm sorry to if you want to come up I'll give you the opportunity to speak let's hear him speak and then we'll decide whether we want to open it up okay sorry I didn't mean to by the way is this a
four five yeah commissioner Suarez my name is Mel Schleser uh and I've been before the commission for many times before just to get right down to the point uh by restricting the potential use of this
property as a hotel you're forcing both myself and others not so much me but any of anybody else to do it as a change it to a short-term rental the building only has 45 units that's it it has some retail but it's it doesn't bring in much
income 45 units cannot sustain the taxes and now the the windstorm insurance which is about $140,000 it cannot be sustained my my rents are now about maximum highest rent on a two-bedroom two bath overlooking
the ocean is $2,300 i cannot make it on that it just doesn't work so what's happening is again it's not 200 units or 100 units it just doesn't work financially so it's being forced because of this to change it to a short-term
rental if it can't be a hotel at least with a hotel there will be significant capital improvement into the building and you'll probably have a first class hotel there because it's not going to work as anything else but a firstass hotel but if it doesn't if I don't have the option of possibly bringing it back
as a hotel it's going to have to be a short-term rental because it just doesn't work we're losing money it's a different world out there and 45 units financially does not work anymore not with taxes and not with property insurance and not with windstorm insurance and not with flood insurance
and unless the building unless I can change the the rentals and almost double it the numbers just don't work so it's being but but I understand your need to protect your constituents and your residents but this is only 45 units in the middle of an MXE district it should
be a hotel or it should be short-term rentals trying to do the best we can is keep it as a a res a residential property but it again it's just impossible to do it mr mayor Mr m do you have any are you are you this is
important to me this is one of the most important things are are would we be are okay as you convert it to short-term rental because you don't have we have three short-term rentals in a building now are you evicting residents who are currently there well no the as they are moving out if somebody moves out then we
went ahead and we changed it to a short-term rental that's what we've been doing so I I it just doesn't I cannot keep it as a as a rental Man I have never evicted a client a tenant that hasn't paid and as a matter of fact even the ones that haven't paid rent have left voluntarily we did not have an
eviction in that building in all the years that I've owned that building but Mr schleser yes this ordinance simply requires that if you're going to sell this as a hotel they come before the city commission for a for a final vote i don't see what the problem as far as I'm aware of that but there are realistic
issues in in the marketplace that make problems but why are you any different than any other property pardon me why are you any different than any other property this is it because this Well many other properties are not in the MXC district that were originally hotels this was an original hotel in the middle
of the MXC district and only frankly should be a hotel it has every all the amenities of a hotel so to tell us now it's not stopping that it's not again it's not we're not preempting you from selling as a hotel we're simply asking if you do sell the property it has to
come before the city commission and I particularly have a problem with carving out exceptions for special people i think it should apply to everyone it's not for me so maybe if we should after hearing Mr schleser if
there's any people that voted yes that are no is there anybody that wishes to change their vote so Mr mayor I just want to say I have great respect for you this is exactly what happened last
time i spent hours if not days and weeks before meeting meeting with the public anyone who wants to meet with me on something that's important for them i dedicate my life to this city to meet with absolutely every single person that
reaches out to my office and says "This is important for me for my family for my livelihood i need to meet with you about it and this is the same thing that happened last time and and I'm sorry Mel to be to be in this position when you
say it's only 45 units guess what for someone that is their one unit where they live for for someone that is all that they have all that they know and I
just don't see it as it's only 45 units commissioner I'm sorry i have Let me just finish my thought so you know I have great respect i have so many pieces of legislation here to protect
individuals who are facing housing challenges who are facing displacement who are not getting fair notices who are facing displacement for hotels who are not getting their housing approvals on time who are being bought out by
predatory developers we're doing so much to protect people's housing and and and for and for me it that just has such a great weight and so I empathize with you and I feel I I feel your pain but this
happened last time and I and I just asked please next time I asked publicly please next time come and meet with me i need to understand your issue before the vote comes up and don't make the argument on the floor because if not this is what happened commissioner I did
meet with you we spoke personally you and I did meet before the last vote uh I explained to you the situation and you responded to me though I I did do that and the reason I'm pointing out 45 units is not so that you could I could say well we're only throwing out 45 people
i'm saying that because the economics don't work with just 45 pe uh units that's why it's not the people it's the economics that 45 units is not enough units it's not enough depth there to pay a mortgage to pay the taxes to pay the windstore this is why these things are
happening it's not happening because the of of the people or because of a desire to throw people out it's happening because of the realistic economic situation through so through the mayor let me just ask a question of the planning director i just want to understand this
now that I'm hearing I'll speak some of this discussion from the last meeting is coming back to me the property in question is being stated on the record that was originally developed as a hotel is that correct that's my understanding
yes and it was converted to residential sometime in the 80s okay and I think last time when I voted for this that weighed on me because part of that is part of the original use of of of the property it was different than other situations that were before us but that
was a unique circumstance hotel okay and you and that that was not explained earlier as part of this conversation that the original use of this property in the MXC was a hotel so thank you i appreciate that look I think that Commissioner Fernandez and I not that
I'm speaking for him would come around i think it's a question of Mayor Miner because I think that I'd like to hear what he has to say on this because I know that Commissioner Suarez is a no and Commissioner Magazine feels ardently about this so Mayor Miner it's really up
to you and frankly to uh force some the only re I'm okay with it i know that Mel is not evicting anyone who's not leaving on their own he might sell it to someone that does he might sell it to someone that does
he's not I don't think he's going to I don't think he's going to dispute it if he wants to sell the property he has he's got full right to sell the property that's exactly why he's lobbying us not to do this so that he can sell the property without having to tell the the buyer that they're going to have to go through an extra layer step of of a
commission approval process okay so but this is an existential question commissioner Suarez can we force someone who owns a property in Miami Beach that whose business model does not work because of changes in market conditions would you impose that on someone because
you're doing it for the rest of the community the rest of the property but you're making a carbo for one person i'm trying to explain to you that when a business model doesn't work we have to listen and figure out well who's going to subsidize his business model are you so then why are you voting in favor of
this of this ordinance that's going to apply to everyone else because I didn't you know because he was not here to explain this to me and because also I saw you know I I you weren't here Mo and I didn't understand i don't think he needs to be here i I don't think he needs to be here
to have an honest and intellectual discussion it's very simple like the mayor because if the mayor's willing to reconsider it I'm also willing to reconsider it but I would have to hear from the mayor first because I think he's the defining vote on this i mean I'm happy to say it it's
interesting that you need to look to me on on a vote i don't think anybody's changing their vote here so that's that's the way I see it huh i'm saying we just took a vote an hour or two ago i don't think as far as I can see nobody's changing their vote why did you change your vote between first reading and second mayor Mer he
doesn't have to answer to you Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez i'm asking a simple question if there's something nefarious about it I'd just like to understand what's going on he he doesn't answer to you he answers to the voters of my meeting by the way you voted for this yourself in December and then when Commissioner Dominguez brought forward
an amendment you made this political carve out for special people i'm against Dominguez because it was her amendment and I think that that's wrong to be playing around with people's property rights but Mel he is the whole point of this is to change property rights the thing is is that I don't think it's changing anything right now because if
Okay do you have plans on selling this property it may be sold in the future yes i can't say no i have a question Mr mayor it's not going to be It's going to be If it's I can't tell you i mean I'm not going to be 82 i'm going to be 82 years old next week so who knows you
know who knows really but the truth of the matter is again it to in order to change this to a hotel it would take tremendous amount of capital improvement tomorrow it can be changed into a short-term rental is that what you want it's forcing only one way to go because
it cannot be a but this is part of the problem that we have is that you know everybody's advocating for affordable units but even in properties that have a tax basis when well I mean I know you're under commercial appreciation but when did you purchase this property 1988
okay so even a property that was purchased in 1988 in a historic district is having financial difficulties for uh affordable rentals you know the problem is the people living there okay we had this discussion
we gave you the courtesy so let me ask if we if you were going to call the vote i I don't think anybody's changing their vote but if you have a motion to reconsider and we have a second and then we can take the vote again thank you for coming i do appreciate it thank you for allowing me the opportunity no of course um let me just
ask a question please mel yes so are you willing to do some sort of covenant that would protect the long-term uh tenants that you have in that property in the event that you were
to sell the property or something like that i I'm not sure what that means i honestly I don't know what you mean i don't think this is the proper place to put I'd have to I'd have to honestly I it would be not proper for me to just answer off the cuff about the legal implications of of what's being proposed
i just don't I can't say yes or no should we defer it because if you put in a long-term covenant that as um unit owners uh vacate their apartments that whoever purchases it would agree to allow them to stay to stay until they vacate i think that's what commission
vacated or until the lease is up because that's the only problem that until their lease is up until the lease is up of course but the leases do provide that that in certain cases they can be terminated uh I I really don't think it's appropriate now for me to stand up here and say yes to something that I I
really don't know i am I am a school attorney maybe we could defer and figure this out defer I don't think anybody wants to first and foremost Commissioner Suarez I think it's disingenuous to claim that anybody wants to evict anybody we do not nobody up here on this
day except for the voter who's raising his hand in the front row hotel my He's just saying he wants to sell it as a hotel the problem is is that if his business model doesn't work is he supposed to hold on to a losing proposition i mean you have to be realistic idealistically I would say
keep No we can't micromanage the way he runs his business realistically I would say keep the property forever but I think you have to be a rational business owner i we should defer this and figure this out i'll make a motion to defer so it Mel I think you know where I stand but you have six other of my colleagues and and please Commissioner Suarez stop
playing the stop playing the eviction boogeyman cuz nobody wants to evict anybody this is becoming a joke now i'm serious now I'm getting upset one at a time we have literally three people talking at the same time one at a time i want to turn to our city attorney how
are we going to take handle this there was a motion to reconsider that was seconded by Commissioner Magazine so you need a vote on the motion to reconsider and Commissioner Magazine you're the sponsor of this item how do you want to handle this yes I will vote to reconsider once we open that up I
will vote to defer okay let's do that so vote defer to where to next month so first vote is to uh reopen the item if that's the case all in favor of reopening the item i I Anyone opposed
i'm opposed so 61 the item is reopened now the a motion to defer i didn't hear the who made the motion second so this is Commissioner uh Magazine seconded by Commissioner
Fernandez to defer to May 21 all in favor of deferring the item to May 21 please say I i anyone opposed opposed mr suarez is opposed so the item is deferred to May 21
r5s give me one second thank you thank you for allowing me to do this thank you very much Mayor give me one second r5 is deferred i'm sorry which item Mayor r5s as in Sam r5s is an in orders of the mayor and
city commission of the city of Miami Beach Florida amending chapter 7 of the Miami Beach Resiliency Code entitled zoning districts and regulations by amending article 2 entitled district regulations by amending section 7.2.2 entitled RS1 RS2 RS3 RS4 single family residential districts by amending
subsection 7.2.2.2 entitled uses RS to clarify and amend regulations on the commercial use of single family homes and providing for repealer servability cification and effective date r5s is a first reading public hearing it requires 57 vote
mr mr mayor Commissioner Fernandez thank you um so this ordinance uh seeks to protect the integrity of our single family neighborhoods uh by closing loopholes that have allowed commercial party houses to operate uh under the
guise of residential use right now we've we've seen a troubling trend of for-profit event promoters using nonprofits as a mask to host ticketed events in residential homes and they
claim these are charity events but in reality you know they're charging for entry um they're doing advertising on social media they're bringing in crowds noise disruption um all while skirting our uh zoning law
and we're seeking to close that loophole uh Mr planning Director I don't know if there's anything else you'd like to add to to that uh I think you covered it Commissioner Fernandez the only thing I would add is that uh as part of this uh there is a request to wave the zoning cycle so that second reading can be on
May 21st 25 if approved a first reading awesome great so with that I want to thank uh my co-sponsors uh Commissioner Bod and Commissioner Dominguez for joining me in preserving the peace and safety and the character of our neighborhoods and with that I move the
item thank magazine does that mean you're a second yes okay call the vote it is a public hearing i see no one in Zoom no one requested to speak in the audience either i have no discussion commissioner Bach out uh Commissioner Magazine yes
vice Mayor Suarez yes commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes mayor Miner yes motion carries second reading public hearing on item R5S is May 21st
thank you thank you colleagues r5t r5t is an ordinance of the mayor city commissioner of city of Miami Beach Florida amending the resiliency code of the city of Miami Beach by amending chapter one entitled general provisions article two entitled definitions section 1.2.2 entitled use definitions by adding a definition for cosmetic store and by
amending chapter 7 entitled zoning districts and regulations article 5 entitled supplementary district regulations section 7.5 entitled supplementary use regulations section 7.5.2 Two entitle adult entertainment by creating exemptions from the distance separation requirements for cosmetic
stores where adult material constitutes less than 20% of the floor area of the establishment and providing for codification repeatability and effective date this is a first reading public hearing the item requires 57's vote is item R5T commissioner Rosen Gonzalez
um first and foremost anybody who's watching this and sees the title of the item might be a little afraid because you see adult material in cosmetic stores but what we're talking about here is a significant investment in Lincoln
Road and it is how how large would this shop be Lyall how big is the store going to be it's going to be uh 3,000 square feet 80% of this store is um really cool uh
gadgets for um beautifification like little caps that you wear to make your hair grow and red light masks and instead of selling traditional beauty products like creams and things um they use uh technology and it's really it's a
store that's expanding uh you know wanted to go like Midtown other places want them and we're trying to um bring this investment to Lincoln Road but there is a small percentage of the store
20% that does have some female products for pleasure but they are not grotesque and by the way CVS can sell them uh Walgreens can sell them ricky's on Lincoln Road used to sell them and they don't look like large way
you know they look like little They just look like little animals they just look like little animals they're actually really cute like Hello Kitty style and they are not offensive at all and I really think that given given the fact that they are not obscene okay and they
are not sexually explicit and this is a tremendous investment and it's actually a really cool concept i would like um my colleagues to consider this because we have struggling with vacancies i met with the owner of the shop he is a a
tremendous guy and it's not about um it's not about this it's not about this it's about a really cool retail store so that said um I would like to hear how my colleagues feel about this because it's a multi-million dollar investment in
Lincoln Road at a time when Victoria's Secret is about to go dark and we need a reason to go to Lincoln Road and by the way buy a really cool gift and not just that i mean it's not just that there's light there's masks there's all sorts of um beauty products to like
slim and beautify and it's just a new it is the 21st century a solution uh to beauty actually yesterday I did a technological you know facial where they like fuse your skin with these micro needles whatever and they like infuse
salmon sperm DNA into your skin seriously so this is the new solution to uh cosmetics and beauty care it is about using technology and leveraging technology and that is what this retail
location is all about thank you uh Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez um I think I I I think um that's a pretty new low
uh for the city of Miami Beach considering that we have real problems with our city traffic flooding infrastructure and you are sponsoring a bill for adult material on Lincoln Road
this is not a laughing matter i think there is some serious soulsearching that needs to be done i don't know why we're wasting our time on this we have real problems to deal with we should not be promoting any sort of
adult material on Lincoln Road where children where my children are on i think it's ridiculous to even bring this forward it's it's an affront to suggest and to show a vibrator to public
on television i think this that's disgusting i think that's that's that's that's beyond the pale i I don't think we should be promoting any sort of adult material in front of a church uh Mr planning Director oh by the way excuse
me i I have the floor i Excuse me i have the floor i am the vice mayor and I I'm speaking and I have I have a question for the planning director cvs i have I have a question for the planning director commissioner Suarez and Ricky's where you'll have the opportunity to speak
again it's not about I don't want this retail excuse me commissioner I I'm not the one sponsoring adult material on Lincoln Road and he can't focus on a multi-million dollar investment mr planning Director why are we being asked to change the code because under the
code now um stores that sell adult material have a minimum distance separation from houses of worship of 300 feet and from RS and RM districts a distance separation of 300 ft the proposal here the entity is within 300
feet to what of a church and an RM district so it's it's it's next to a church and a residential district correct is that correct and and so we are being asked to change our code to allow adult
material next to a church and next to a residential district is that correct yes okay i for one will never put my name on an ordinance that's going to allow adult material next to a religious institution
next to a school next to a residential district and shame on anyone who votes for this because this is a red line this is a red line for us i understand Miami Beach is we're getting past the party town we're
reshaping our our our image our brand what are we doing allowing adult material on Lincoln Road i don't understand why anyone can just go to a commissioner and say "Hey I I got this great idea i I have these
these these these cool looking vibrators I'd like to sell on Lincoln Road and then you somehow have the idea to say "Yeah that's a great idea i I just I it's just mindboggling to me i mean we have real problems we have to discuss and we've already wasted 10 minutes on
this it's ridiculous let's get to real business that voters care about they don't care about seeing vibrators on Lincoln Road they care about the streets getting flooded they care about getting home two miles that takes them 45 minutes they care about housing they
don't care about this it's a waste of time and that's all I have to say on the subject commissioner Rosen Gonzalez and then let's Okay first and foremost this is about a significant investment this is not it about first of all next door
to Kasa D bombini in Walgreens and CVS they are selling material and let me tell you it's not cute like this it is big and grotesque and it is surrounded it is in every Walgreens every CVS every single church ricky's for many years by
the way across the street on Lincoln Road they can so we're going to reject a multi-million dollar investment which by the way you will never have to set foot in there because you are not a woman so there's a little bit of misogyny embedded in this too because 80% of this
store is purely cosmetic and what's happening here is that I I worked with the bid i met with the store owners everybody else did too and this would be a rejection of an investment based on a
from a from a man who says that we're grotesque women that is what he's saying he's saying that uh we are grotesque by the way I don't see you going after CVS or I don't see you going after Walgreens
but because my name is on this all of a sudden um it is grotesque so for the women out there just wait Mr plowed next to a place for the women of Miami Beach I would like you to know right now okay that Commissioner Suarez
does not really care about you being able to purchase something in this one area and he finds it grotesque that we might want to use technology as cosmetics and there is a very small section in the back that has a certain
kind of material that he finds so tremendously investment so tremendously offensive that he is willing to reject a multi-million dollar investment on a street okay that is full of vacancies so I hope I hope that the women of Miami
Beach um remember this because this is just a male perspective that is completely ignoring okay the reality of the business model and this is just like Mel Schleser somebody's Mel Schleser excuse me somebody's telling you my business model doesn't work but
Commissioner Suarez has an ideal so we are supposed to be forced into voting for his ideal even though the numbers don't work now here I'm trying to attract a large investment along with the Lincoln Road bid some very serious women and a tremendous shop by the way
that is going to bring revenue to this city and actually bring something very cool that I think will attract residents to Miami Beach and that and and because of an ideal you are just going to say no so one of the responsibilities as
elected officials here is that we have to realize that we have to make decisions sometimes that are difficult but that make sense they make economic sense they fill a vacancy it's a bunch of it's upscale a super upscale cool
shop that wants to go they were going to go to the design district and you know what we've brought them back to Miami Beach because we said "Come back here make your multi-million dollar investment here in this cosmetic store because 80% of this store is cosmetics
and because Commissioner Suarez finds something um unpleasing that he will never use although maybe as I start to think about how you're acting today maybe you should your poor do something um no but you can literally go Do you want to move no you
could literally go to the Walgreens okay next to Kasadepini and legally they are selling something called the butt buzzy that somebody showed me today well that's not what this is about that is what Do you want to move the item yeah I mean but but the whole thing is
ridiculous this should not even be a question it should be welcoming this investment well let's see what the body wants why don't you move the item see if you got a second then we'll take the I I would like to ask the playing director what what so are CVS's allowed to sell
adult material next to a place a CVS or a Walgreens would be subject to the current distance separation requirements if they are in fact selling material that meets the definition of adult material so if the Walgreens in question
is they may be doing that illegally well we have that citywide by the way so across the street you could open up that's the whole point on the other side of the street it's allowed do you realize that how about we should pass an ordinance for increasing the
distance separation i mean I don't think we should be promoting adult i think we should be you can bring that next month you want to you want to move it commissioner see if you get the support i I have some questions so what are the safeguards around this right like uh
it's always the proverbial Pandora's box where Commissioner Rosie Gonzalez describes this upscale cosmetic and then in the back this little section they have something for people's personal usages fine not my business right but what are the safeguards in there is it
as I as it was explained to me only a certain percentage of the store could be dedicated to such floor space does it have to be out of view because certainly I don't want to get into some sort of scenario where this is in the front windows where this is visible uh is it
behind some sort of lockbox maybe if we would have the operator I assume you're the operator or the I I don't know yeah I can let me just um address the um in within the legislation itself the proposed exception to the distance
separation requirements would be limited to cosmetic stores retail cosmetic stores and a and a definition of retail cosmetic stores is proposed as part of the ordinance it also states that the um floor area for this is limited that it cannot be visible from any storefront or
from any street further the planning board had recommended that the um ordinance be further revised and I would just need clarification as to whether or not the motion included the recommendation of the planning board that it would be limited to personal
massage devices that's what the exception would be limited to only so it wouldn't be a broader all adult material it would just be personal massage devices and the administration recommended that the um floor area be reduced to 10% of the floor area not to
exceed 100 ft yeah i mean because literally I go into CVS on Alton Road and they are selling these there um so what I would look for is no visibility from the windows right only a certain because what I don't want is this to turn into some smut shop right if this
is a high-end cosmetic can this actually ordinance travel with just this store so if there's some sort of change in ownership or change in use that this doesn't become uh then the legacy of some business that would look like it's on Washington Avenue this is specific to
retail cosmetic stores so in this particular instance if this ordinance is adopted if this retail cosmetic store left this particular exception would leave with it um it would not apply to a future non retail cosmetic store use and
if I if I can interject so you're what you're saying is if it's on Lincoln Road and it's a cosmetic store where young women can shop maybe even pre-teen can go into the store and they see a massage device that we all know what it could look like they could they could
encounter something like that inside the store yes i I look uh you're telling me that you want to open up a cosmetic store where you women of all ages can go in and and then they
see all sorts of imaginable things that could that could take and look I I'm sure the property owner is very well respected but again we're kind of opening up Pandora's box here for anyone to to to open up a cosmetic store and
and sell adult material but you can buy do you know that G Beauty and Sunset Harbor has these products and any woman anybody can walk into any store you can right now walk into Walgreens and CVS and see them anywhere and guess what they're going to be exposed too and
there's no separation required i I just don't want to lose this massive investment because And by the way I have no skin in this game the only reason why I agreed to sponsor this item which I knew that I was going to be beaten up over was because I weighed the good and
the bad and it's not there's nothing bad about it it's 80% cosmetics there is a small section in the back and I think sometimes in order to attract investment I mean if we say no then somebody else is going to go and get the prosperity but what are the general what is the
here i have a few questions what is the what is the projected revenue for this shop like I don't know the projected revenue for the shop by the way Ian Bachov with Acreman Law Office uh registered uh lobbyist on behalf of you're you're in a
tough spot i get it yeah no I was waiting for public hearing but can you answer some of you and Ian could you answer some of Commissioner Suarez's question so that everybody can get behind this investment yes yeah so um my my client is uh Yesa German beauty tech
um they own hundreds of patents on cosmetology technology listen dude I I think I I don't think we have a problem with the company at hand i think what myself and some of my colleagues might have a problem with is what are we opening up what is Pandora's box correct and because when I look at that screen
it says first reading distance separation exempt adult material in cosmetic stores yes that's what I see and you know you can you can paint all the roses in the world about your your your cosmetic company i have a cosmetic
company we don't sell adult material and but we're more concerned about opening up Pandora's box to to something because look it might be good for now in five years from now we have a different commission kind of slips by the cracks and all of a sudden we have young girls
and boys going into these stores all of a sudden all of a sudden they see you know toys for all sorts of things and I'm trying to hold back yes on what we can see because right now it's like you know what Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez held up i I don't even know what that
looked like um but I'm sure I can get a lot more imaginative if you know what I mean okay may I sure and take a moment then I I'm ask Oh no no take a moment then I'm asking the sponsor to to move the item see if there's a second and then we'll call the vote because let's
just let's just call it if I if I may take two seconds the the issue is really how expansive the definition of adult materials is in the city it includes everything and anything that is sexual except with a very slim
exception for birth control and STD prevention devices what my client sells in a very small portion of their store is sexual wellness products personal massagers um there's nothing profane about them they don't look like sex they're not pornographic but could that
change could it could it could it show like a very large dildo you know like uh So we're not changing the requirements for adult bookstores which is that they can't be in the front of the store they can't be sold to minors so they stay in the back where the adults go where the
adults can see anyone can go in the back right you're not asking for identification before going in the back are you but you can also go in the store and you see them and like she said they just look like toys i think I think any any uh adult material store on the beach requires an
identification right you need a show ID to go in um as far as I'm concerned and not that I'm Look yeah I I believe so i don't know maybe why why this there's a distance separation why this location why not find the location that's not
within a a school or religious uh or mix it's based on what's available this is prime spot on Lincoln Road um it it just worked it that the location's hanging to my client um I'll mention it passed unanimously at planning board um these
are products that are on the shelves in every CVS and Walgreens including across the street from churches elementary schools they're already on you you just heard from our planning director that if they're if they are selling it within 375 ft it is illegal commissioner
Fernandez and and yet there's been no complaints in the city it's never come up as an issue in the city that's But there's a big difference between a a CVS on Alton Road then children playing on Lincoln Road where we're potentially putting a new park there across the street from North Beach Elementary
Temple Beth Shalom two other churches Kasa Deamini Church they are across the street from churches currently nobody's once complained and is that because is that because it was before we put in any enacted any sort of distance separation it's because it's become mainstream it
there's nothing at issue with personal sexual wellness it's become the norm it's not pornography excuse me i don't think it's normal for for for incentivizing where children might be on Lincoln Road to be exposed to this i
don't think that's the new normal i'm sorry i I certainly am not going to sign up for that yeah we have a vape shop that sort of uh we changed the rules subsequently but there's a vape shop on 41st near and and we get complaints about it now it's it's they're they're in until they get out and then it'll be
precluded from anybody else but we we do have we do get complaints so I I could see the concerns so I have a question commissioner Fernandez all right so I'm trying to find the middle ground here i like 90% of the store i don't
like the 10% of the store the 90% of the store the cosmetics um it sounds like it's a great addition to Lincoln Road and as my colleague and the sponsor of the item mentioned it will attract perhaps residents who are looking for a
gift and other types of of of products that they may want for cosmetic purposes the 10% is what I don't what I don't want and I and from what I saw this is a sophisticated store it's an elevated store it's not someone that's going to
be displaying phallic uh looking products uh on storeshelves notwithstanding that our job is to legislate in the present thinking about the unintended consequences that could arise in the
future and I just need to understand what protections are there in place should this high-end store sell and someone else comes in and they come in
and they display something that might not be as innocent as uh as as what is being proposed so um we're happy to work on putting in those protections prior to second reading none of my clients products are phallic or pornographic we
would be willing to agree to those conditions we don't want anybody to come in and try and take advantage like you said we don't want to open the floodgates we're looking to bring a great international brand to Lincoln Road to bring their investment to this city as opposed to the design district um and this is one of their products
that they sell and so let me ask you this yes is we I I recall when Commissioner Bond and I when we served on the planning board we had to deal with the issue of the retail fulfillment centers yes um and actually this type of product became
a central part of that conversation and with retail fulfillment center these stores have storefronts they're fulfillment centers but they have storefronts where they can display the products that they sell but it was determined that they wouldn't
display certain products it didn't mean that clients couldn't pick up the product that they had purchased online yeah but it just wouldn't be on display and so what I would what I think would be a fair profound here is certainly I don't want
to see Lincoln Road become the destination for stores looking to display yes and promote on retail adult material however it's part of their inventory if people can buy it and pick it up there without it being on
display I'm fine with that because it's how we've handled other similar issues in the past and there's already a legislative history of us handling this type of material this way is that something uh that that that your client
could uh could consider because it's it's what I will feel most comfortable with and I think it's a fair balance so So they've already agreed that and this is already in the code and this is not being changed it cannot be displayed in the storefront it cannot be displayed anywhere where it could be seen from outside the store uh this is and I'm not
talking about the storefront because children do walk into stores and Lincoln Road and we're and we continue marketing Lincoln Road as as a destination for everyone for adults for the LGBTQ community for elderly but also
families and and we want to be a destination for for families i want families to feel comfortable letting their children into the stores mr planning director haven't we passed legislation and and I should know the answer to this and I'm asking you a question that I don't know the answer to
where we have adult material as a nuisance use that we're trying to phase away from technically under the code and this is in another part of the ordinance and it's and it's been repeated in this legislation is that um these devices
cannot be visible from any storefront nor visible to minors persons under 17 years of age so even in the store they would not be able to be visible that's already a code requirement um so they can't be displayed in the store they can
displayed in a store but that's where it starts to become a little bit more nuanced because they will have to design it in a way where miners would not have access to that part of the store where it would be and so and so and and so and so my question is given that that's already the case why don't you just
treat the store as a fulfillment center for that product so that doesn't have to be in display and it addresses the issue of this ordinance as as an alternative compromise my client would be willing to limit the store to only 18 and up or even check IDs at the door they're happy to do that i I just I just I think I
think that that's that that's unnecessary um if if we if we could find a way is that the type of store we want on Lincoln we don't want an 18 and older only allowed yes so 80% cosmetic commissioner Miner I'm referring to his suggestion
and so if if we could find a way where we can fulfill or you can fulfill the orders that they want to be able to display the product they want people to be able to see what they're buying before they buy it that's the purpose of having a flagship retail store uh and to
put it at the back of the store where you know they won't let minors see them they're not allowed under the code we're not asking to change that they just want to be able to have some floor area in the back where they can be there for the adults right now under the code it's not allowed you said that we understand it
um had we gone in without saying anything nobody probably would have even noticed the same way they're in the Walgreenses and CVS and I think you said G Beauty uh the Target on Fitz Lincoln Road's a little different and maybe Yeah Ricky's NYC had it in the back of their
store and all the stuff there not just little things that don't actually look like pornography at all um but it's been on Lincoln Road it was probably one of the most popular stores on Lincoln Road until it closed for many years um so I'm
just going to make it clear where where I stand based on the feedback I've seen today based on the text messages I'm getting during this meeting and so there's a number of things that we could do i would encourage the
operator I would encourage the operator to have this as a fulfillment center for that product have this as a fulfillment center for for that product so that on Lincoln Road the road that we're trying to just think about what we're trying to do to Lincoln Road we're trying to bring
to Lincoln Road more residential uses so that people can live full-time on Lincoln Road yet where we're trying to have people live full-time i'm all with the cosmetic store but the 18 plus
material you know the more I hear and the more that I see coming in through my text messages the more uncomfortable I feel with it if it's a fulfillment center for the 18 plus product I'm fine with that but when we have it in display
so that so that the people who we hope will move into Lincoln Road and their children or their guests or whatever walk into into into the store and they see this perhaps yours is tasteful but whoever succeeds you might not be
tasteful and and I need to consider that as well well and we are absolutely happy to work with the commission between first and second reading to make sure those safeguards in place well before I vote for this what I would do then is let's send it to land use let's discuss it at land use it's already been there
and at planning board with unanimous approval to get here it got It didn't go to land use it went to planning board i I would mention that this went to planning board with a unanimous approval i'll be willing to send it to land use if that's where you I where you are and
it would be a really sad for us to lose this multi-million dollar investment on Lincoln Road when it's struggling so much and and have another building stay storefront stay vacant because at the back of the store which is mostly
cosmetics there's a small section for women and that what I find odd is I and I hate to say this but it's men voting because I haven't heard from the women but um I I find it insulting almost
because it's a women's mostly it's a female cosmetic store so um I hate to point this out but well but women and wait and and also it's I think this is if the planning board went through this
they had enough foresight i will defer to land use and I would encourage you to look at this from a perspective of um investment um I guess put on your hat and try to approach this from a feminine perspective but I think that
this is something that is actually going to bring residents uh to Lincoln by the way this entire argument that uh there's some boogeyman that you know children are going to walk in i mean you saw what the material looks like it is not offensive at all but the offensive material any young woman could go um
could go online could not just go online and find stuff but sees it on display at every CVS um um in G beauty at Walgreens so uh yes we're going to be punished and honestly you know we can defer this
another month and we're going to lose this investment but this is bad for business it really is and I shouldn't even be having to fight this um I feel like I don't I I I I do feel that um it's wrong to refuse this investment
commissioner Dominguez I have a question for Tom i remember hearing an uproar when an ice cream shop on Espanol Way selling obscene ice cream uh is that still open how did that sneak in um I
don't recall the ice cream store i think it was a waffle store and I think that on that one they were cited because they met the definition of adult material um they were instructed that they had to remove everything that constituted an
adult material um whether or not they did I don't know but they were cited and violations were issued to that and they were advertising in the front i I guess where I'm at with this one is it's already been to the planning board it
received unanimous approval this would have a display in the back the workers at the store could monitor if a child walks walks in they wouldn't be allowed to the back and having full storefronts and the rest of the store's
cosmetics it's elegant uh items um because I saw it um having full storefronts paying taxes I think is important and ensuring that the um store personnel monitors the back uh would be of most important mr mayor
how many square feet are we talking about because what what what I what I'm reading is you know you you guys rejected 10% of the recommendation and you know they they want a serious place of like 600 square feet is that correct
no the the total square footage we're looking at is maybe about 250 square feet would this is the display case it's it's the space of the display cases at the back of the store so the the total size of the store is to around 3,000 square feet 2,800 I believe okay mr
director is that because what I'm reading here is that it's 600 square ft we had what we had recommended what was proposed was what Ian just indicated that it not exceeded 20% of the floor area which in that case with close to
3,000 square ft would be about 600 square ft what we had recommended was that it not exceeded 10% of the floor area uh or 100 ft um so what we're recommending is smaller than what they're proposing so what they're what they're asking for is 600 ft and what
you're recommending is 200 i believe what you're asking for is 250 right we don't need 600 square f feet but we need more than 100 square f feet which is what it would have been limited to under the recommendation look I again you know I know you're in a tough spot and
we have to look forward to the other potential bad actors that that might move in buy your company say we're a cosmetic company and then say and then start selling the most exotic kinds of adult material or massage device i I I fundamentally have a problem with that i
don't want to belabor this issue mr mayor if you want to go ahead and call the vote I I I'd be more than happy to I I would like to refer this item to the Commission for Women and get a recommendation from them and I would also like to refer this item to land use so that Commissioner Fernandez can um
surge any concerns that he has relating to this material i don't think it's going to change anything that is that would be my motion do I have a second on that motion i'll second that okay great so let's call a vote on that is this by the way is this five votes or four
referral the deferral no for this for if this comes back to the commissioner it's five votes to adopt four for a referral this is five votes and I believe that we can get there if we go to land use given that it was given a unanimous recommendation from the planning board i
plan to go to the women's commission with this um I've worked with uh the Lincoln Road bid on this it wasn't really lobbyists that came to me it was the bid saying we can fill this vacancy for this high-end women's beauty store that has a small section in the back so
um I do not want to lose this investment i really have no skin in the game other than to create a reason for people to come to Lincoln Road and fill a vacancy that we currently have so I have a motion we have a second let's call a vote on that and let me present my item to the Commission on Women and see how
they feel about it that's a commission full of women and mothers um that can opine on this and uh anybody who has any concerns can have them heard there we're going to have to go to the commission for women and land use because I don't think if you call a vote that the votes are here without fleshing this out i
think that um I know that Commissioner Fernandez has some questions um Tom how far is this from the church um the church is it's less than 300 feet i'd say probably about 150 feet from the church yeah yeah look look we're here
today let's just see where we're at like just vote on it we don't need to refer this i don't think it's going to change anything i'm getting so many text messages on this against this project people I I I I rarely talk to think saying that this is going to make Lincoln Road look cheap and look I Let's
just vote on it let's just see where we're at we don't need We don't need a motion and a second and we actually have to vote on it are you so I I'm I'm gonna support the referral to committee because I just want to know the unintended consequences of this um you
know putting this type of use near our church it I it bothers me it it really it really does bother me um and I'm sorry okay um because it just opens then
what is it going to be is it going to be alcohol in the future or is it going to be other types of of uses in in the future and when you do it when you minimize the distance separation with the church then in the future we expanded to we open the door to possibly doing it with an educational institution
so Tom let's meet with the interested party let's figure this out because there could be a better way of handling this i'm even getting messages from planning board members who voted for this who are upset uh with this so I think there's there's work to be done
here this is not ready for a vote let's meet with the applicant before this going to committee to see if there is a tasteful way that we can we can uh accommodate this what's the motion okay so we have a
motion to refer to the comm Miami Beach Commission for women and um Commissioner Fernandez's land use committee um and we have a second so let's call a vote on that so on the referral all in favor please say I i anyone opposed opposed so I hear
Commissioner Suarez and I heard the mayor so the item is referred thank you okay let's call R9 R sorry R5 AE and R5 AF oh fine
r5 AE it is an ordinance of the mayor city commission of city of Miami Beach Florida amending the city of Miami Beach year 20 240 comprehensive plan pursuant to the smallcale procedures in section 163.3187 Florida statutes by amending
goal RL RLU1 land use objective RLU 1.1 establishment of future land use categories policy 1.1.7 highdensity multif family residential RM3 to create The Alton Beach Bayfront overlay land use category providing for floor area ratio bonuses for
developments that include certain public benefits and providing for inclusion in the comprehensive plan transmitt repeal ship ability and effective date this is a first reading public hearing that was item R5 AE r5 AF is an order of the mayor city commission of city of Miami Beach Florida maning the resiliency code
of the city of Miami Beach by amending chapter 7 zoning districts regulations article 2 district regulations section 7.2.6 Six RM3 residential multif family highintensity subsection 7.2.6.3 development regulations RM RM-3 to reference modified development
regulations for the Alton Beach Bayfront Overlay further amending article 3 overlay districts by creating section 7.3.12 inside of Alta Beach Bayfront overlay district to create development regulations that incentivize non-transate residential development on lot three block 80 of the Bay Garden
Manor condo according to the plat thereof recorded in platbook 6 page 12 of the public records of Miami day county Florida and providing for codification repealer servability and effective date this is a first reading public hearing item R5 AE requires 57's
vote Tom you've been busy today I have and Ralph you read both the LDR on the comp plan right ae and AF i read those two yes okay so is there another item Tom or No what's that is there a third item or No no there just those two um Mr mayor uh I'm going to go ahead and
introduce the item this actually has two components that are before you and there is a separate referral on the consent agenda that was actually pulled C7 that would be related to this if that um ends up uh being passed this is a
private application um that is specific to a development site at 1250 West Avenue and it involves uh amendments to the LDRs that entail an increase in overall building height from the current height limit of 150 ft to 330 ft an
increase in the maximum allowable F through bonuses from the current uh 2.75 up to 5.75 and it in also involves a relaxation in a number of different setback requirements ments as required by code this particular application
which again is a private application and and the applicant is behind me and they will go ahead and make a more detailed presentation to you this did start at the planning board it was filed directly with the planning board it did go through the necessary steps at the planning board which involved two public
hearings at the planning board as well as a community outreach meeting between the two planning board hearings the item was not given a favorable recommendation by the planning board the planning board transmitted it with an unfavorable recommendation and as indicated um in
the memo the administration has some significant concerns with the overall proposed increase in building height the setback relief and the F increase from an urban design standpoint um because of the fact that we do not have a
development agreement that has been drafted the administration is recommending that the matter be open and continued to a future date um so that first reading if it moves forward could align with a first reading discussion of a potential development agreement we've
also recommended that if it does move forward that there be certain reductions in what is being proposed specifically we're recommending that the overall F if it's going to be increased not be increased beyond 4.75 uh that any building height
increase not exceed a maximum of 300 ft and that the proposal to remove the setback current setback requirements also be removed and that the current setback requirements um remain so with that I'll go ahead and I will turn it
over to the applicant who I believe has a presentation for you thank you welcome good evening or good afternoon uh Melissa Tapenz with law office is at 200 Piscane Boulevard Miami uh before I
begin I just want to put in a disclosure into the record although there's no applicable law requiring this disclosure uh we did voluntarily disclose to the to the city as part of a routine practice associated with redevelopment that we do have a mitigation agreement uh with the
12 um with the um neighboring uh condominium association Bay View Terrace Condominium it's prefer providing additional security during construction cleaning engineering standards and noise mitigation as well as providing for a
crane easement over their site um so as I mentioned my name is Melissa Tapz um I'm here representing 1250 West Avenue Owner LLC a a subsidiary of JDS Development i'm joined by Michael Stern
uh the founder and principal of JDS Development um he's the developer of the Monad Terrace in Miami Beach as well as many other notable projects in New York City and the city of Miami uh most notably the one southside park project uh which is a public private partnership
with the city of Miami that includes the development of a fire station as well as uh a renewal of the largest park in the Bickl area known as Southside Park which is the home of the historic first house first schoolhouse i mentioned that
because I've had the pleasure of rep representing Mr stern on many public private partnerships which is what brings me today to the city of Miami Beach uh we're here represent requesting your approval of an overlay zone that facilitates the development of this exciting new project to replace a
deteriorating condominium uh building with this new building that is much more sensitive and compatible to its neighbors than the existing building on site um with current regulations uh we have navigated the F and amendment
process and listened to community feedback to try to come up with the most meaningful public benefit package um and compromise on the issue of the proposed height and the F the project that we're presenting today um is a building that
is no taller than three of the other existing buildings um in the immediate area it's significantly less dense and will result in the permanent elimination of the Bikini Hostel as well as the completion of the Baywalk simply put
there is no downside to this project for this neighborhood or the city overall the only opposition is really coming from concerned um folks who are concerned about their own views or those who consistently oppose uh reasonable
development proposals at the expense of progress to the neighborhood uh we understand that the administration is recommending that this application be continued today for further discussion on the development agreement and deter determine whether the public benefit offering is commeasurate uh with the
requested development rights it's really important to note that today is simply first reading we have two additional hearings that will travel along with the development agreement proposal and we believe that all the um the development
agreement along with the overlay really needs to align at second reading and that's our intent um the extent of the public benefits do not have to be determined today that is a question for the development agreement the reason why
we're here and really insisting on a first reading today is because the project merits further um consideration on its merits and further time money and effort by the developer and many of the
residents that are supporting this project uh will really is necessary at this point in time due to contractual obligations as well as um many other reasons that we can discuss in more detail tail um so that without a vote
today the opportunity to save the unit owners of 1250 West Avenue from their failing condominium building and eliminate the bikini hostel as well as compete complete the Baywalk with 100% private funding will be lost on the
other hand voting in favor of this project maintains the possibility of striking the appropriate balance between height F as well as public benefits um and if I could get that presentation I can there we go just so we have a
handle how long is the presentation um I'm going to be turning it over to uh Michael Stern in just a moment but I'll say 10 15 minutes we'll be as quickly as we can but I'll take it very quickly uh these are some of the portfolios that I mentioned uh that Michael has done in
Manhattan Miami Beach and Miami um and this is the property that we're discussing um the property that's subject of the overlay zone is 1250 West Avenue we've highlighted the Bikini Hostel site here because as we all know
it's a key part of our public benefit package um and our goal is to eliminate uh this non-conforming use that has really been a plague on the community and this particular neighborhood for a number of years uh prior to
the this being a homeless shelter as it is today with daily feedings clothing donations and hygiene and medical services the property as you you know was a nuisance to the neighborhood as a youth hostel with a 5 a.m liquor license
we feel that our overlay proposal has a lot of merit outside of the generous public benefit package and that's what we would like to walk you through today and with that I will turn it over to Michael sorry thank you Melissa um thank you
everybody uh Mr mayor commissioners city staff uh first of all I just want to say I appreciate the time and consideration not only today but also in the many meetings we've had over the last few months um we've engaged in extensive community meetings and engagement um
I've lost count of how many outreach meetings we've done with stakeholders from uh neighborhood um activist groups to immediate neighbors um all up and down the corridor but particularly our immediate neighbors who will be most affected which is 1228 West Avenue and
Monad Terrace um we've worked very hard to take as much input as we can and we've adjusted our proposal as a result of those discussions if you remember we originally came in with a building approximately 420 ft in height that has now been reduced to 330 feet which is shorter than the building almost
directly adjacent to it and as Melissa mentioned shorter than at least three or four other buildings in the immediate area along the corridor um this is a neighborhood I know very well um I developed Monad Terrace directly adjacent to this which uh directly adjacent to this subject site which has
elevated the quality of the architecture on this block significantly and in a longasting way um I care about the impact I leave on this neighborhood um everybody involved in this project lives in Miami Beach we're not some nameless faceless hedge fund from Chicago or
wherever you want to pick your city um we all live here and I want to also just address head-on a couple of items that came up in the last few days leading up to this meeting uh some of which were mentioned earlier at commission um first of all I want to make it clear that we
have no involvement today nor have we ever had any involvement whatsoever with the operation of the Bikini Hostel or the irresponsible decision to put a homeless population into this residential neighborhood into a facility with no proper support infrastructure um
which is a totally inappropriate use um we found out about it only after it was reported in the media um unfortunately some opponents to the project have tried to uh spread false rumors that we had some involvement of in that and I want to make it clear um that we had utterly
nothing to do with it um we were burdened with this problem by bad actors and if this deal gets approved it will end up costing us tens of millions of dollars we would be thrilled if the city could solve this issue on its own but we are unaware of any mechanism to make that happen um despite I know a lot of
very valiant efforts on the part of the city to make it happen um which kind of leads us to the next issue I want to address um commissioners earlier today referenced another project where long-term bad actors in our city might ultimately get some financial
reward there is certainly some element of that here but that's just a practical reality that we have to deal with sometimes and as another commissioner earlier today said you can't let perfect be the enemy of the good and this project is very very good in the alternative the entire neighborhood is
being punished so we are rewarding maybe a bad actor on some level but everybody else is living with the punishment and that doesn't make any sense this building will be incredibly high quality and will provide robust public benefits that are tangible they'll be immediately felt and will terminate a severe
nuisance and finally complete the long promised Baywalk when I started to develop Bonad Terrace over 10 years ago the Baywalk was supposed to get done then the street raising was supposed to be done then there are a lot of things that just haven't happened that have been stuck sometimes you need the private sector to step in in partnership
with the public uh sector to get uh good things done as Melissa mentioned I've done a lot of private private public partnerships in many cities across the US very successfully and there's no there's nothing uh wrong with private money solving a problem when the public money can't it's actually in a lot of
ways better um and finally if the commission would like to look at evaluation of development rights which I know was mentioned earlier today before second reading we would be happy to participate in providing whatever information is necessary to do analysis and we're very confident that the extensive public benefits we're
providing are commensurate with the proposed scale of the overlay so I'm going to very quickly run through a couple of slides i know we're all time limited and you guys have been through an exhausting day today um this is the existing condition that's what's here now the existing structure was built as a healthcare facility it's one of the
only structures with no balconies it is in very bad physical condition and is rapidly deteriorating it currently has 238 units and short-term rentals are allowed in the zoning district and this just gives you a quick overview of what's going on there the building's full of mold foundations rotted cooling
towers rotting every day there are piping issues elevator issues etc etc as a result the carrying costs in this building have exploded over the last few years rising 100% in just the last couple of years and will rise at least another 55% in the next few years that's
assuming there isn't a catastrophic uh physical problem that wasn't anticipated um which leads us to the development options so we have two choices the as of right development which is on the left and the proposed redevelopment which is on the right mr mayor wait i I just need
to understand something i just need because you mentioned catastrophic event and those are very alarming words to me so I just need to if I through the mayor I need to recognize Vince our
building official because I just need to know are we facing something a situation where we are about to face any catastrophic activity here because I'm you know I'm fine with a lot of editorials but when we come to people's lives and people's safety I just need to
know are is there anything here point to a catastrophic event uh good evening nothing in the reports that we have received at this point uh indicate anything of a catastrophic event uh we do have uh and it's a 1964 building that
was due for its reertification it has five active permits related to repairs associated with that reertification to include violations related to changes in doors um repairs to the roof that were done without a permit that are now being
permitted but anything structural there is a concrete restoration permit that's active uh with inspections and reports okay so nothing at this point has indicated anything catastrophic in nature okay i just want to make sure because the public is watching we have residents that live there that are
watching this and the last thing that I want is for anyone who is watching this that lives in that building to fear something catastrophic i just had to correct the record thank you fair enough and the the reference that I was making was to financial catastrophe not
physical catastrophe in terms of an unintended expense but I will say as an example just last week uh on one particular day a domestic water pump went out then a pipe burst all in the same day water took out an entire line of apartments the elevator went out of
service this was I we have the uh condo board president here who's going to speak about the building a little bit later but that was just a tip one typical day in the life of Bayard Manor this building is beyond its useful life it's obsolete and it's it's frankly a financial albatross on the residents and
owners who live there okay so getting back to the presentation this is the as of right option which results in a building that is relatively squat with minimal setbacks and we're not arguing that we can't detail an as of right project to be beautiful we did that with Monad Terrace next door that was a
different era with different construction costs different land costs etc but that massing would have a devastating effect on the adjacent buildings light and air it would create shadow impacts that would be uh far inferior to what we are proposing and we'll run you through why as I've mentioned we've done extensive community
engagement and have listened to the community and the elected officials who asked us to avoid creating a new height precedent we have brought our original proposed height from 420 down to 330 which is below the scale of roughly four other buildings in the immediate neighborhood on the block and here is
our proposed redevelopment which consists of a very elegant tower with a highly detailed tiered podium with curved travertine teak and stainless steel accents we've eliminated the parking podium which you could see at buildings like the Waverly instead creating a lush landscape garden space
along West Avenue and minimizing the footprint of the tower and setting it back as far as possible from both the street and the bayfront importantly we are proposing a maximum of only 125 units down from the current 238 and the allowable 286 under the zoning the units
will be family sized and short-term rentals will be expressly banned critically the real world impacts to the to the neighborhood which is density not height is being reduced substantially and will result in less traffic and water and sewer demand i have a couple of slides to
highlight the differences between the as of right and proposed tower setbacks for the portion of the building up to 50 ft in height so this is the podium as you could see the as of right pedestal only a 20 foot setback at the street is required versus what we are proposing which is 130 ft to the section of the
building that is 50 ft in height on the waterfront side 42ft setback is required as of right we are proposing 140 ft to the portion of the building that is 50 ft in height and because we are providing such substantial waterfront and street setbacks that is what is
requiring the very minor interior side setback relief we're looking for it is in direct response to massing the building to be empathetic to the neighbors and this is the tower portion and this is really critical we've worked hard to minimize our tower footprint which is on the right slide in gray the
tower is only roughly 100 ft deep it has an almost 200 foot front set back to the street to minimize shadows at the street and 140 feet from the waterfront um versus the required 63 feet which would be uh more typical in an as of right condition if we look at these slides the
impacts looking from 1228 West Avenue with a park typical parking podium and a naz of massing versus a tiered pedestal and a smaller footprint tower this is taken from a balcony at Mon Terrace uh it's from an e-unit at Monad Terrace the
as of right condition would kind of decimate the views and the and the light in the air the tiered uh condition is a lot better um here's our ground floor plan to show you what we're doing to bring traffic off the street and into the property we have a drop off and
driveway that's in the middle of the property um with plenty of space for cars to queue so all the traffic would come off of West Avenue into the middle of our block and that's what it would look like um totally away from the street and here's a cross-section diagram of our
proposal which shows you that real impact of those setbacks 197 to the street and 140 to the water and here's a project overview rendering which shows that the context seamlessly blends into the fabric of the build context that's
there and with that I will turn it back over to Melissa to So our context um at 330 ft in height our proposed tower is in context uh with the existing built context on West Avenue you can see here that three other
buildings are taller than the proposed project including the Waverly at 335 feet tall the Flidian at 337 feet tall and the Flamingo Center tower at 338t tall uh these are also significantly more dense as well as
bulky than our proposed building almost every building built at the current height limit of 150 ft was built between 1950 and 1970 those are in yellow only the only exception is Michael's Monad
Terrace and this is an exception not the rule no other successful buildings have been developed under the 150 foot height limit uh forcing a short and squat development uh mandated by the current code is not a benefit to the corridor
and is particularly damaging to 1228 uh West Avenue and the Monand Terrace even staff's recommendation acknowledges that conditions have changed and that such some relaxation of height and F could be warranted the staff recommendation
provides for 300 ft and 4.75 F but staff does not present any justification as to this recommendation when other more dense intense buildings in the immediate area are taller than the 300 ft modern buildings as we all
know do tend to be taller with smaller footprints maximizing views increasing green open space as well as ground floor um green space and amenities as well as view corridors that's exactly what we're trying to do on this
site so the proposed legislation includes limits on permitted uses limiting only to residential and accessory uses no outdoor restaurant seating there's an elimination of outdoor seating um that was a concession to the neighborhood's comments we're we
also allow for a floor area bonus of up to 5.75 that allows for about 481,000 square ft uh this is a decrease from the 7.75 and staff recommendation of 5.25
um where it was their recommendation previously today it's that 4.75 but staff does agree that some increase is warranted but really in our opinion does not appreciate the practical and economic realities associated with developing a building
with three and four bedroomedroom units as well as luxury amenities staff is asking to reduce the building by approximately 82,000 square feet which makes the floor plans and amenity areas unworkable without significantly
reducing the quality uh the height we're seeking is 330 feet um this is in line with the Waverly so as to not establish a new height precedent uh along the corridor staff acknowledges that the 300 ft would be more appropriate but the 330
additional fees is hardly perceptible um unlike the floor area it makes a huge difference as it relates to the quality of the building and we believe that this is not at all comparable to the 500 Alton the 500 feet or the skyscrapers in
sunny Isles or Bickl that we know uh folks have mentioned and of are 500 to literally 1,59 feet in height uh the maximum density um is 75 units per acre and um there is a reduction in the
maximum permitted density of 50% which is significant and impacts the actual impacts on infrastructure which has been discussed um during this commission meeting as a major concern for this commission uh the setbacks were asking
some relief to accommodate the tiered design and tower we have a much greater front and rear setback than required but we do desire some relief from the side interior setbacks um there's also setback encroachments uh for
architectural features a streamline approval process for mechanical parking and a prohibition altogether on short-term rentals the the impacts that uh this project um is generating is significantly less than
uh what the as of right development provides for we retain an urban planning expert to analyze the these reduced impacts associated with the reduced density and as you can see the the density required by the overlay leads to a significant reduction in the demand
for water sewer solid waste services um as well as traffic and impact on open space requirements uh for public parks in the city the benefits to the city as it relates to economics is also very significant we
retained a economic expert to prepare an analysis of the economic benefits of the project and there are a number of benefits explained in the report but the one major benefit is a 7.5 uh multiplier increase in the Avalorum
property tax revenue by 2030 which is the year the project will is expected to be completed there's also a significant benefit economic benefit to the residents these benefits include substantial increases to the city's
annual household income and GDP based on the impacts of employment sectors like real estate construction adjacent commercial businesses and so on although the development agreement is not before you today uh we have
presented a detailed term sheet uh that includes the acquisition of the Bikini Hostel property and the relocation of the existing homeless population uh in a humane manner uh the demolition of the existing hostile buildings within 120
days of approval the conveyance of the land to the city free and clear within 60 days of the TCO for the project and we will have this full development agreement with these terms for approval on May 21st
the other development agreement item is the inclusion of the construction of the missing elements of and segments of the Baywalk although they were pro partially funded by a go bond uh they are underfunded now and behind schedule we
would assume responsibility for finishing up these easements from the adjacent condominiums finalizing the demand the designs permitting and construction of the Baywalk segments at 800 West Avenue 1228 West Avenue 1450
Lincoln Road in addition to our own segment at 1250 West Avenue i'm sorry can I ask a quick question yes of course so you won't complete the Baywalk just behind your building and maybe even 1228 but actually outstanding
at 800 as well uh yes that is correct uh the 800 as well as 1450 Lincoln so we know that height and F increases generally generate a lot of passionate discourse among city residents but cutting through all the outside noise
there's actually very good reasons why this commission should recommend adoption of this overlay today at first reading again there are two additional readings that this project merits to go through the development agreement with the community and uh the your yourselves
uh to get to the final approval um approval of this overlay uh will lead to the elimination of the Bikini Hostel um the reduced density creates less impacts on traffic and infrastructure including
water sewer and solid waste the enhanced re front and rear setbacks result in less impacts to West Avenue and Biscane Bay our overlay takes away the ability to repurpose this property into a sodo a
pseudo hotel with residential units that can be used as short-term rentals the proposed project will significantly increase tax revenue and lead to an influx of positive economic activity that will increase property values and
benefit the surrounding community our proposed height and FAR is compatible with other buildings along the corridor adoption of this overlay will facilitate the developer closing on the units at 1250 West Avenue aliating these unit
owners of the grim reality that they're facing in terms of assessments and fines from the city of Miami Beach as unsafe structures that are more worth more in many cases than the actual value of the
units the overlay results in development that preserves view corridors allows more air and light to 1228 West Avenue and Monad Terrace and approval will result in the completion of the Baywalk that is import that is significant of
importance to the residents of West Avenue finally the proposed overlay breaks the property free from the shackles of this 1960s era um zoning and allows a truly beautiful building appropriate for my for the Miami Beach
Bayfront um so that do you want to conclude Michael uh no with that that concludes our presentation and we thank you for the time and the consideration we're available for any questions and reserve time for rebuttal if that's appropriate thank you mayor for your indulgence
it's a public meeting yes it is here the hear from the public yes sir is there anyone from the public who wishes to speak if so please approach the podium and line up and as you guys do that and then I'm going to call first then someone from the from Zoom but please line up so I
know how many people are there mayors based on the number of people may we do one minute or would you like to do two since we have a cut off at seven and we have people on Zoom we have a lot of people on Zoom i think we're gonna have
to I I hate to do it it's But so let's Yes we are so Try to be flexible i'll try to be flexible but it's the only way we're going to get through the meeting huh we're the major stakeholder
you're coming with me so go ahead ma'am please go ahead she's with me are you speaking oh yeah more or less yeah she's with me she's She's giving her time she's She's gonna take her time okay so I would like to
Okay who's first i guess that would be me okay go ahead please okay um I just Good evening everybody um I'm speaking um and this is my colleague Brandy Melissa who is kindly giving me her time we're from both from
12:28 okay good evening Mayor Miner and commissioners my name is Jessica Davis i am the vice president of the board of the Bay View Terrace Condominium Association representing our 195 units
and 350 plus residents i am here with my fellow board member Brandy Bolisma we represent the largest stakeholders as we live right next door to the 1250 project at 1228 West Avenue we need our voices
heard we support Mr sterns Tower and here is why first 1228 West is a quintessential middle class building we are not fancy we are the kind of building that many of you commissioners profess to protect we have just
successfully completed our 50-year reertification and contrary to what you may have heard we are not a takeover target the architect of 1228 constructed our building to maximize both its bay
and ocean views 95% of our 195 units enjoy either bay or ocean views which are magnificent mr stern's beautiful and respectful design will protect and enhance our middle class building and
our views second and most importantly Mr stern is buying the Bikini Hostel when I heard that he was going to do this I started to cry the Bikini Hostel has been a scorge and a blight on the West
Avenue neighborhood for 15 years now long before its current iteration as a makeshift homeless shelter it was nothing but a neverending nuisance millions of taxpayer dollars were spent weekly on code and police service calls
now as a makeshift homeless shelter $35,000 a month is being spent on a 247 police presence often right in front of 1228 West Avenue our residents cannot see around the police vehicle to safely
enter and exit our garage and upper driveway the Bikini Hostel is not an appropriate place to compassionately and constructively house people who are trying to get back on their feet where is the dignity and respect in people sleeping six to a room in bunk beds and
eating their meals outside from styrofoam containers because there is no appropriate dining facility not to mention that no other services appear to be provided except those by a staff worker from human services who sits
outside with a laptop until now there was no end in sight no proposals on the table apologize but now to solve this ongoing and intolerable situation mr stern's acquisition of the Bikini Hostel is a win for all of us thank you give
her up she's almost done mr stern's acquisition of the Bikini Hostel is a win for all of us the residents I represent at 1228 all the other middle class buildings surrounding the Bikini Hostel and the entire West Avenue neighborhood and the city of Miami Beach
this is a win third Mr stern has agreed to complete all missing portions of the Baywalk um which the city has not been able to do the Baywalk is a wonderful amenity for all Miami Beach residents it will finally be completed so again this
is a win i am a 23-y year resident of Miami Beach and I voted for each and every one of you who were sitting on the deis today because I believed in your mandate of residents first and today I'm
here asking you to vote for us in favor of Mr stern's Tower because I believe that it does put residents first the public benefit of getting rid of the bikini hostel and completing the Baywalk is a more than fair exchange for a beautifully and thoughtfully designed
building with less density and less traffic impacts to West Avenue and it helps all West Avenue owners maintain the equity we have put into our homes again residents first a rising tide lifts all boats mr stern's development
will lift us up along with the entire West Avenue neighborhood and the city of Miami Beach and the Bikini Hostel will finally finally be gone thank you all for your time and consideration our first our first virtual speaker is
Brian K brian unmute yourself state your name and address please uh hello i'm thousand West Avenue um first of all I'd like to just say um that that last speaker didn't disclose that the developer is uh participating
in buying them a new seaw wall which is millions of dollars which you know should she should have said that because as of right is is is the law and we would like to see the developer work within those confines devel developer has worked to reduce the height and
that's greatly appreciated but I think the 1250 um West Avenue condo condition is being overstated um in addition the Bikini Hostel is being made a boogeyman um and the developer shouldn't really um
have any um play in this i think we have um very qualified and capable elected officials that can solve a problem without looking towards a developer to do so um this this actual um developer
agreement that they're looking to um get passed or signed or an agreement thank you sir your time is up i apologize ma'am go ahead state your name address and you have one minute hi I'm Laura Kataret at 128 West Avenue i just want to say that the Bikini Hostel has
evolved over the past 15 years from a neighborhood in nuisance into a political quagmire because now it is now a homeless shelter and with no end in sight this is grossly unfair to the residents of 1228 West Avenue we have we are losing equity in our homes because
of this we have no way of getting out of it nobody has presented us with a proposal other than Mr stern to get us out of it i'm also extremely upset that our building is being used for propaganda purposes saying that we are a takeover target we are not a takeover
target nobody has approached our building and asked anyone to sell a condominium for development purposes yet this is what is out there in in the community and it's fear-mongering and it's frightening to our residents that they feel this way that that people are saying these things it is not true and
if you don't act now and this bikini hustle grows any further into a 250 i believe now we have 150 we're soon to have 250 people there and it's not sustainable thank you for your time thank you so much our next virtual caller has a screen fire is a screen
name hello can you hear me yeah go ahead please um so I'm sorry I have to call in because I'm out of town on a on a business trip um I've had to you know uh
uh suffer through this deceptive presentation maybe five six times already because we you know the middle class of the neighborhood are forced to do this because we can afford high presenters i'm just going to point out two or three things that stood out to uh
from the presentation one side is refers to us and to the people speaking out against number two he spoke of bad actors as if some um foreign con
himself and we we lost that caller next please my name is David Geller i live at 650 West Avenue um I have been a resident of uh the Flidian at 650 West Avenue for 15 years i also happen to be the operating partner of Anatomy Fitness at 1220
Lincoln Road um I fully support the development by JDS uh for 1250 West Avenue i know Michael Stern personally who is a high quality individual who does exceptional work both here in Miami and other places around the city the current condition of the current of 1250
West Avenue is uh deplorable and needs to be replaced additionally the Bini Hostel has become a source of persistent problems on Miami Beach it has become a source of homelessness and there is police presence currently on that site all the time it's dangerous for the
residents it's dangerous for children it creates an unsafe environment and it's been growing worse and worse over time the demolition of the be Bikini Hostel is imperative um we will have a beautiful location west Avenue will be safer we'll have better environment
better tax revenue and overall um it's a rare opportunity to combat a long-standing problem with a development that will benefit everybody in West Avenue as well as Miami Beach thank you thank you so much our next virtual caller is Karine
please unmute yourself hi yeah I'm unmuting thank you i'm also a West Avenue resident i've been fighting for years to stop overlays to stop us not following the right to build we knew when 500 was going to go up it was going
to become a pre a precedent for further abuse of our area we would like this builder to be kept to 150 while all the amenities he's offering is a very sweet nice way to bribe us into allowing him to go from 150 ft to 330
right to build is what we are asking you to keep our developers too that we cannot be using them if there are problems with the beach not managing the funding that is an issue the city's to be addressing not developers trying to pay us off again right to build this lot
is scheduled for 150 square feet height and that is what it should be forced to do as for the bikini that manipulation started as soon as the condom uh the commission decided not to support Thank you ma'am i apologize for your time is up
next please state your name address hello my name is David Greenberg i own an A-line unit at Monad Terrace i'm a full-time resident of Miami Beach i'm here to uh express my strong support for the developer proposal uh and I can tell you all seven or eight of my close friends that live at Monad Terrace we
have the same or similar views um I think that West Avenue is kind of at a critical inflection point i think if the city works with the developer that West Avenue is going to be on a trajectory towards something extraordinary i think if they don't I think West Avenue is going to go in the opposite direction
saddled with a rapidly decaying situation at Bikini Hostel in 1250 and I think the developers are offering literally everything we could possibly ask for the setback from the street and the bay is a huge win for Monad Terrace and the neighborhood the proposed density and height is more than
reasonable um the building design is beautiful i think it will be iconic for Miami Beach and the fact that they're going to finish the Baywalk and clean up Bikini Hostel is just an incredible win for the neighborhood so I ask the city to accept the proposal thank you
thank you so much our next virtual caller is Marilyn marilyn go ahead please can you hear me okay yes go ahead please all right this is the second time that we have offered F for an exchange for something free it happened with a
library it happened with a community center when the mayor was running and there was candidacy everybody said they would have voted no had they known what what the implication was okay now we're being offered uh we have geo bond so we have the city to pay for the baywalk all
right the Katy Hospital virtually was going to be parking now it's going to be a park we've got the It's no compliment to be compared to the Flamingo or the Waverly that's not a compliment it's an eyesore and I am not affected by anybody's views i've lived here since
1959 just so you know that so I'm fighting for the city I grew up in all right so so okay we don't need the the the city's got the money for the Baywalk and the Bikini Hostel has only recently become an issue thank you so much ma'am
your time is up i apologize next please state your name and address uh Al Harvitz 1011 West 48th Street full-time resident uh I just want to give my support to the developer it's always a good thing that a developer lives within a community and wants to beautify it i
think that uh you know akin hostel is a is a danger my daughter actually went to Elevate Salon Institute which is not so far away and there were many nights that we needed to go and pick her up ourselves because we didn't want her to come uh by herself so that's that's something that was close to our heart
and when a developer takes it upon themselves to beautify the area and makes it safe I think it's it's very it's very good and I just want to again just give our support thank you sir thank you our next virtual caller is Amy amy state your name address you have one
minute yes good afternoon amy Letos resident of West Avenue as stated Mr stern built the Monet Terrace which sits directly next door to this site and it's a beautiful building but perhaps more importantly than the aesthetics is that it was built as of right to quote
Commissioner Suarez from earlier today when speaking about the Doville nothing is stopping this developer from building as of right the reason for not doing so though is this practice of developer funded public benefits in exchange for private incentives this has become so normalized that is passed off as just
the way things are done rather than this being a perverse incentive to force the commission's hand so we're a wealthy city and we should be ashamed at the notion of any developer and us relying on those developers and their goodwill to fund our parks and seaw walls and
bridges and as in this case to remove a blighted building and to relocate homeless individuals who are brought into our neighborhood unbeknownst to them now there's nothing wrong with financial gain but what is wrong is to exploit the needs of a neighborhood to rectify the wrongs of previous decisions
thank you sir so how does Sorry go ahead uh my name is James Julius i live at 650 West Avenue with my wife and two week old son i also own the Harbor Club located in Sunset Harbor only a few blocks away from today's discuss project as well as the Bikini Hostel as both a resident and a business
owner in the West Avenue and Sunset neighborhood I witnessed firsthand the ongoing challenges and the negative impacts associated with the Bikini Hostel the issues go beyond just safety concerns they also create real difficulties for local businesses like mine affecting both the day-to-day operations and overall vitality of our
community most concerning of all the environment around the hostel has deteriorated to the point where I no longer feel safe for my wife to walk with our newborn son alone in our neighborhood this is not the standard of living that we should accept in Miami Beach and this must change today and this
development like this is much hard to find a solution the solution is here today and will not be here tomorrow this project not only addresses the immediate concerns but also removes a building that is at the end of its life and a complete ISIL i would like to emphasize the important of today's decision as I
approve the project and give full support to Michael Stern and the project thank you thank you sir uh next individual has a screen name of iPhone state your name address and you have one minute
hello um I my name is Lucen i live in the Waverly which was mentioned to be high and ugly which I totally agree and that is why um I'm I'm against this project we don't need another ugly and high building but mostly uh the lady that presented the project uh mistakenly
affirmed that uh we that are against are against because of uh particular reasons or views i honestly lost my view u before uh with the other project that was done by this developer it's nothing to do with me i think we we need to think bigger and and and of the
community we don't want to become Bricko we don't want to become Sunny Isle we don't want high buildings so we need to stop that right so enough of the Waverly and the ugly high buildings uh that that's not correct and honestly the ones that were pro are the ones that are using private and oh the neighbors and
the Monet they want the this project because it benefits them and their building 1228 is the same we should think of the community not of two buildings that are going to benefit from a a beautiful building that's Thank you so much ma'am all right next go ahead
good afternoon my name is Alex Austis and I live on 10,000 South Point Drive i've been in Miami for the past 20 years i recently had a little baby girl so the future of this uh uh place of this city is very important to me i support the
developer uh I've seen some of his projects this is a great project lower density uh smaller building definitely beautiful building uh as far as the Baywalk he's going to finish the Baywalk he hasn't finished for a while uh the
Bikini Hotel is bad and nicer for everyone he has become a home homeless shelter so you know vote for him please he's going to finish uh he's going to take care of the Bikini Host and it's going to be a great project for the city
thank you thank you so much next virtual caller is Martin Mohler hello my name is Martin Mohler i'm a resident of 1330 West Avenue a year-round resident of Miami Beach uh this is the oldest trick in the book that we're seeing right now the
developer who is fear-mongering we've heard about oh grave consequences we've heard about uh the all the terrible things that are going to happen and how they desperately need relief in order to build a building that is grossly out of scale with the neighborhood and the idea
of course that they have gone down from 400 plus to 330 is supposed to be seen as a victory it is not it is the oldest trick in the book to get people to declare that oh we got to compromise it's okay no it's obvious from the comments today that the big issue is
Bikini Hostel so solve Bikini Hostel do not build a building that is out of scale and out of character with the neighborhood that will cast shadows and worst will create a terrible precedent for the rest of South Beach oppose anything above 150 ft at 1250 West
Avenue thank you okay thank you so much go ahead please yes hi thank you my name is David CR i'm a full-time uh resident in Miami Beach i'm also president of the board of the Ritz Carlton Residences Miami Beach so have had a fair amount of uh experience dealing with developers and and a
turnover so I want to just take a little different tack lots of people talked about the the project but I want to talk about the developers and my personal experience with Michael and Rafie and what they've built in Sunset Harbor in um Sunset Pidel and so they turned a you know a storage area into an amazing new
part of our community that I've recently joined and there's a whole bunch of us around here that become part of that so I've seen what they can do and how much they care about the city and making something that's of value i'm there so much in Sunset Harbor God knows how much money I'm spending there to the point Park Mobile called me and asked if I
needed a uh a corporate account because I've I'm there so often so I can see the ripple effect of the kind of community enhancements that they have done so I just wanted to take the time to provide support for them personally and uh and for this project thank you our next
caller is Scott scott state your name address and you have one minute hi my name is Scott London i live on West Toledo and I used to live up in Capri on West Avenue uh I've been a resident here for for about 15 years uh
I I know Michael and Ralphie well i think this is a win-win situation for us i I don't see any downside uh I think that uh getting rid of that bikini hostel is is paramount to cleaning up the neighborhood on making neighborhood safer i think that the building that
they're proposing is is very nice uh you know progress is progress we all want to uh live in a place that has 10tory buildings but it is what it is the building that's there now is an eyesore this uh this will be a real benefit to the neighborhood and yes they you
people's views get blocked but that's what's going to happen you know all across the city it's just inevitable uh so I think it's it's really a win-win for the city both been uh getting rid of the hospital and building a beautiful building next that we would love to live
in thank you sir thank you sir go ahead ryan Skolnick 4775 Collins Avenue my family has lived here for the last two decades and notably donated the state-of-the-art Skolick surgical tower at Mount Sinai Hospital as our roots are now deeply embedded in this community I want to express my support for Mr cern's
development at 1250 West Avenue we have witnessed firsthand our community grow and flourish and we've a vested interest in continuing to do so i believe this project is is another step forward towards that continued prosperity with that said I know the proposal involves purchasing the bikini hostel this
establishment has this establishment has been awful for its neighbors and local residents and this isn't the life we expect in a thriving city like Miami Beach after reviewing the amended proposal I think it's clear a beautiful new development and Baywalk as well as the purchase of the Bikini Hostel will make our our community safer and more
beautiful let's get good projects built thank you thank you our next virtual caller is Andre go ahead please please unmute yourself hello hey I uh my name is Andre Macintosh i've been an owner of 1250 the building that's going
to be demolished uh if this plan goes through for about 19 years uh I lived there for about 15 years of those and now I'm a landlord i can tell you that the what what the developers talking about is not fear-mongering the unit owners in this building are on the verge
of failure if we if we don't get bought out this building will result in a lot of foreclosures for unit owners due to all the assessments and all the the things that we all know about um so it's not fear-mongering i do although I don't like everybody calling our building an
eyesore I understand we're not up to the standards of the of the newer buildings in the area i think this project is a win-win for not just the neighborhood but for the owners of the building currently for that reason 95 over 95% have agreed to the sale um without a
profitable development let's be real JDS is not going to move forward and you probably the owners are not going to get that sale so it's a really a win-win for everyone next please good evening uh my name is Jorge Benton Court i'm the president of Baygard Manor
i'm also a local teacher i've been teaching at Miami Beaches i teach robotics there for 23 years now uh I'm here to represent the owners uh 99% of the owners have signed up for the buck sale because it's become a final trap we've had two assessments over 12
million we have another one coming for another six million um and the owners cannot afford it anymore now in terms of the developer you know Miami Beach was developed by developers when you look at Carr Fischer Fischer Island Collins John
Collins Julia Tuttle Henry Flaggler these were visionaries and they took a lot of risk so I you know I'm here to support the development and I'm here on behalf of the owners because we're at the end of our rope we cannot afford it
anymore um we had a domestic pipe burst uh two apartments from the elevators we got very lucky it did not get into the elevators because it would have trapped the owners especially the senior citiz thank you sir i have a lot more to say but anyway thank you thank you for your time appreciate it thank you our next
caller is Reema Ghard hi my name is Remma Ghart and I reside at 1345 West Avenue where I am on the board my concern is this project is sold to us as a benefit to residents of Miami
Beach and particularly you're tying it to the bikini hospital which we all know is uh is an eyesaw and a concern but my concern is with this overlay district uh who's next um is my building next you
know do I have to worry about the residents here are we going to be bought out next to have a high-rise luxury tower developed so I'm very concerned with this um I think that he can build as of right to build but I don't think we should support this increase um it
looks like a paytoplay thank you thank you so much please go ahead hi good afternoon mayor commissioners Tim Carr Soie West i'm here with Tom Hawkins Shobie West as well and he's also one of the most impacted residents residing at Monad on the north side of this proposed
development this morning I watch you all have a very collaborative consensus around an evolution around the Doville development and I would ask that as our elected leaders you continue to do the same for this very important uh
opportunity in our neighborhood again a lot of conversations have been going on with the developer back and forth with the residents a lot of good residents feedback i would ask that you guys again move this process forward today for a couple of reasons one is of course the
Bikini Hostel we spend a lot of endless time of our volunteer time with special magistrate going there but also we have an opportunity to resolve that that the city doesn't have a plan B so that's number one number two we still need to provide some more feedback for our
residents as we develop the development agreement um for this process so we're going to lean on you they they gave some good recommendations today but we're going to lean on you as our elected officials to continue to fine-tune that process so we get the best possible value and also Mr
stern I know our friends at the Waverly are still looking for sighteline views and stuff so I would get that over to their board president Eric so he can share that with their residents because this is really a collaborative process for our neighborhood we really appreciate what's going on here and for
the naysayers out there again stalling the process what is your plan B for Bikini Hostel because I have not heard anything today thank you thank you so much our next virtual caller is Nick S nick go ahead
good afternoon since uh I'm I'm 1345 West a and I've lived in Miami Beach since 2002 i've seen the bikini hustle situation and I think this is a separate issue i think the commission needs to untie this from this development and actually look at that situation separately monat Terrace even though
it's beautiful still has issues the dumpsters get pulled out into the street every day will this new building built by the same developer have the same issue we don't want to have trash on the street this is not New York um love New York but uh it's we don't need trash in our streets um I think it's unsafe i
think that we need to really consider the the kids in the neighborhood the people that are driving there's chicken because those you know cars are driving back and forth i think we need to build this building as of right under 150 ft stop the overdevelopment um I think there's some uh things that they're
wanting to give but they don't really make sense i think this neighborhood needs to be you know in a smaller scale i really think the trash is an issue the Baywok were paying for a bond for that the bikini is a completely separate issue and I really hope that you will take that consideration thank you thank you so much sir hi everyone go ahead hi
everyone my name is Jordan and I'm a proud Miami Beach resident and I would like to express my support for this proposed new development it has been demonstrated that the building is in scale with others in the neighborhood and the objections seem contradictory considering that other residential buildings in the neighborhood are of the
same height or even taller not to go unmentioned the benefits that are going to come from this new development are unmatched the Baywalk has been anticipated by Miami Beach residents for a while and is a really positive development for the community that promotes a healthy lifestyle and activity for all community members
additionally like others have mentioned the Bikini Hostel does not align with the familyoriented vision for Miami Beach thank you for your time and I really hope that you see the potential of this project not only for its future residents but for the greater Miami Beach community thank you so much our
next virtual caller has uh no name shown iphone please state your name please unmute yourself ej let's go to Wayne go ahead sorry ladies and gentlemen I wasn't going to speak but I I I'm forced
to um I I've been through a lot in this town over the last uh 10 years um and I had my own fights and I appreciate the voices of demanding more from the
residents and I think it made a big difference in how the developers approaching uh the community whether it's David Martin or uh Michael Stern i think they're they're much more uh understanding of of our needs and uh
this project going from 3 420 to 380 to 330 is a really great move um and the uh problem at the hostel isn't really Michael Stern's uh uh uh cause it was really the city killing the 1% tax and
then and then Ron Book doing like a a nasty attack on Miami Beach that's really the cause of of of the continuation that existed since uh Thank you sir i apologize your time is up ma'am go ahead please hi my name is Tara
Russell i'm an art curator and I live at Capri building on 16th in Bay i'm here to support Mr stern and JDS's development of 1250 West Avenue i believe this project represents a much needed improvement to our beautiful neighborhood both aesthetically and environmentally the building's design is
both modern and iconic it has the potential to become an architectural landmark for Miami equally important is the plan removal of the bikini hostel across the street which has increasingly caused problems and discomfort for me as well as local residents i have found there to be a major increase in homeless
people around the area since the end of last year that doesn't make me feel safe while I'm sitting for example at Pure Vita on West Avenue with girlfriends having coffee in more recent weeks I've been hassled by homeless people on two occasions at the table jds developments are offering to
add to our existing community and improve improve facilities like the Baywalk i have seen them achieve huge success in other ventures that they have um done thank you thank you so much our next virtual caller is Eric Marshall please go ahead
hello thank you mayor commissioners and Jim Car i'm actually the Waverly vice president the president i'm I'm calling in um on behalf of the Waverly and myself as a West Avenue resident from 2001 uh you know I always hear 20ou the Flamingo Waverly and Fidian are all this
high but they're all built 20ome years ago and then a hype from the voters of Miami Beach not the Waverly came out with that so you know I take a little bit of issue with that that it's us number two this proposal has pretty much remained unchanged since August uh you
know the public benefits was the Bikini Hostel and the Baywalk and the planning board said no said "Come back at 475 and 300 feet." And he came back at 360 they said "No come back at 300 ft." And he still came back today to you guys at 330 ft even though the the Tom Mooney as
Commissioner Suarez referred to as the encyclopedia of the planning board recommended 300 feet and 425 so I appreciate the time and the effort thanks so much thank you go ahead sir uh Ryan Shinman 41 Legor uh mayor commissioners thank you for allowing me
to speak today and all I would say is as a third generation now Miami Beach resident my mother and grandparents grew up right there on Bay Road at what was Morton Towers which has been redeveloped i've walked up and down these streets since the 70s and 80s and I really
believe after spending time with Michael he would even do more for this city i think you know when looking at the projects and looking how it's impacting the community he asks questions he cares he meets with community leaders and I think not only is this going to be an unbelievable project and yes concessions
are made or they weren't but the reality of it is the beautifification of Miami Beach continues we need more people like Michael and JDS you know to continue to improve this city and make it better and I think you know the more he does the better it'll be for the city and the community thank you thank you our next
virtual caller is Marilyn Frick marilyn go ahead please hi good afternoon um thank you for taking the the call i just want to let the commission
again and I've said this many many times height is not a fourletter word mass is so I will trade height for mass any day
those monolithic huge projects that sometimes go up they take so much space to both sides that you cannot see anything while if you build up with beautiful surroundings beautiful
setbacks in the front and in the back it is so a so much better project so please consider that height is not a four-letter word thank you thank you go ahead please sirill Matz uh born and
raised uh in Miami Beach um I believe this is a win-win for the city of Miami Beach areas evolve it's no different than the south of Fifth area i believe is important that JDS has a solution to move the homeless in a humane manner in addition JDS will provide a great
building for people that want to live on West Avenue thank you so much next caller has a screen name of iPhone please identify yourself please unmute yourselves yes u Yes hi Stephen Stark i live at the
Waverly as well i agree with what uh Eric just said this is not about the Bikini Hostel this is not a developer coming in and magically solving the city's problems that we can solve on our own this is about um vi changing the law
that's already on the books about height limitations it's not the view to the south that concerns me it's the view that I see of downtown Miami and Bickl and all the new buildings that are going up it's exactly the reason why the law was passed this is just a slippery slope
to allow someone else to come in and the next developer and the next developer and essentially just get rid of the law that's already on the books if that's what you want to do then come out and say that's what you're doing don't do it peace meal thank you thank you next please
go ahead please hi I'm Isabel Jardin i live on 1250 West Avenue and I'm here to show my support for this project i think it will be a beautiful addition to the neighborhood and it's in line with all the rest of the buildings and in addition to that they also support uh
the removal of the bikini hostel because as a girl that lives alone by herself every time I have to walk to work to Sunset Harbor or come back at night I I always have like people come doing comments and stuff and I feel unsafe so I think it will be an improvement to ne
to the neighborhood as well thank you thank you our next virtual caller is Susanna please go ahead state your name address and you have one minute hi my name is Susanna Puler i live in um
1200 West Avenue and um first of all I want to ask I want to implore this body to stop connecting the bikini hostel to this developer's plans uh to break our regulations in our neighborhood just for his personal profit those are two completely different issues it's a New
York developer that's buying up condos in a building in a profitable location forces residents to leave and then wants to bully you to bend and break our local regulations they were put in place for good reasons to protect residents from monstrosities being forced on us just like this one that he's proposing here
no matter what's being dangled in front of you called public benefits we have laws and regulations here that apply to everyone um we have no problems with responsible appropriate development following our regulations and it has become a very disturbing trend to ask for special
favors special treatment exceptions from our laws voters elected you because they trust you you are our representatives and protectors not negotiators of special deals and thank you go ahead please good evening commission my name is Jonathan Shreddy i'm a resident Miami
Beach since 2001 4525 Meridian Avenue i'm also a property owner one of the partners of Trader Joe's as well as some North Beach properties um as a property owner I deal with part of the management at Trader Joe's we've had some loitering of homeless people and you know had try
to formally take them out and and handle it um elegantly i have to push for removal of the homeless shelter that they're trying to endorse here uh for us I think the corridor is a friendly pedestrian area for the residents and we want to keep it that way so women
children and and uh male figures can walk through at night comfortably i think the development enhances the corridor brings uh beautifification to the area to the West corridor and and I endorse it thank you thank you our next virtual caller has a screen name of HOV
go ahead please state your full name please unmute yourself pete okay go ahead hello yes it's a call from 1250 West Avenue i'm opposed to the height increase we are being priced out of our neighborhood this is just the start 800 West will be next 1,200 Next
will be uh next and then you will have skyscrapers $3 million apartments that none of us could afford so when you talk about benefit to the residents all the residents are being forced out we signed contracts we were supposed to close we were tricked into signing contracts they
have no expiration date uh we were supposed to close in December we keep getting closing dates that come and go and we we're are still here playing these games and being priced out of our neighborhood and this this is just the start so I'm I'm opposed to it because
you talk about the residents but the residents will not be able to afford to live here anymore thank you thank you go ahead please hi my name is Eton Penser i'm a resident of 12200 West Avenue also known as the Midor North i arrived in Miami Beach March 2020 thinking I would
be here temporarily during the pandemic fast forward I now an owner and I've been living in Miami Beach ever since um I fell in love with Miami Beach specifically the West Avenue neighborhood and what drew me in was definitely just the beautiful safe nature of the neighborhood walkable etc
i moved from New York and I'm starting to feel somewhat reminiscent in that I have to cross the street when I'm walking past the Bikini Hostel and I really want to maintain the safety and the security of the the neighborhood i'm married now and I live with my husband and we do have a vision to have you know a family on the street and so my hope I know people are mentioning to decouple
the Piny Hostel but there isn't really a solution and I think really prioritizing the safety of the neighborhood comes with this project so I'm in full support and I really hope that everyone um here today is in support as well and really is prioritizing the residents and our safety thank you thank you our next
virtual caller is David Berg go ahead please hi how are you good evening commission thank you for taking the time uh I am the I'm a resident of Miami Beach living on 42nd in Alton and I am the owner of
1700 Alton which is the Variety Hotel we've had consistent homeless issues at our property damage to the property and challenges with um security both at the hotel and our restaurants as a result of the Bikini Hostel so we'd really
appreciate a solution here and we think the developer has a good one thank you for your time thank you go ahead please uh yes good evening thank you um my name is Donna Magazine and I am speaking as a resident and owner in Miami Beach not as
the mother of a commissioner so I just want to declare that um one of the main reasons that I am up speaking is I feel that West Avenue is a beautiful beautiful track within the Miami Beach community we all talk about the south of
Fifth west Avenue above Fifth is now also acquiring the same attributes what the developer is proposing I feel is a beautiful project but even more important than that I feel that he's given so many concessions to
the community and really involved them in all of their his presentation he has compromised and I feel when we talk about putting a building that's 150 ft in that location that would be out of um
how do you say u proportion with all everything else thank you and safety is also more important thank you so much our next virtual caller is FAS yes i'm just gonna finish my thought
because I was cut off earlier no sir i apologize but 30 seconds i apologize sir but we have lots of people waiting go ahead sir okay uh my name is Jason Kuzza i live at 1000 West i walk up and down that street every day so I know it very well when I
heard about the project I was strongly for it because I just thought it was going to be a big uplift to the area and uh why wouldn't we want a project like that there and it sounds like it's going to be a good way to bail out some of those landlords in that building the building looks rough when you walk past it if if you've seen it you'll know i
see Joe in the area all the time so he knows it and the hostile you can't I won't even walk past it it's rough so I think this is a good way to resolve that whole situation give everybody a bailout from the building uplift the neighborhood and it'll be good economically for all the businesses around thank you thank you sir our next
caller has a screen name of DC please state your name address you have one minute good afternoon commission thank you for taking the time i'm a Miami Beach resident for 28 years i walk and drive down West Avenue frequently the
buildings are dated miami Beach is going through a resurgence we're a different city than we were when I moved here back in 1997 i think this project is not only beautiful I think
it's sensitive to what the surroundings are in terms of its height in terms of its density as well as the setbacks i think all residents will benefit and obviously the the the
addition of the safety for this neighborhood no one wants to walk down West Avenue any any longer for what has turned out over the past year especially so I'm in full support of this project i hope you vote for it thank you good evening my name is Oliver Lloyd i'm
a Miami Beach resident i'm here to support the development at 1250 West Avenue which is a thoughtful initiative to enhance Miami Beach the relocation of the transient and homeless population of the Bikini Hostel to a more appropriate compassionate facilities and the subsequent redevelopment of this key
site into a vibrant sustainable and community focused destination will be a major positive for Miami Beach this site will be transformed into a new model of Miami Beach excellence offering green space and amenities that reflect the best of what our city can offer this is not simply about removing the
problem it's about replacing with something that uplifts the neighborhood and its residents the proposed development is a unique opportunity for positive transformation one that enhances West Avenue respects our residents supports those in need and
advances the progress of Miami Beach we have an opportunity tonight let us act and create positive change i urge you to support this vision and help us write the next chapter of our city story one that is beautiful inclusive and forward thinking
next caller is George george please state your name address and you have one minute please hi uh my name is Jorge Visen and I am an owner at 1250 West Avenue and I just wanted to give a kind of contrary testimony to the gentleman earlier uh
from 1250 West in that the overwhelming uh percentage of owners support this project i support this project uh we are not going to be able to fix this building uh if wants to talk about being priced out of the neighborhood we are
priced out of fixing that building right now and uh this uh project is a fantastic uh way to go uh fully support it and so do most of the owners overwhelming number of owners thank you thank you mayor that concludes this uh
the comment period commissioner Magazine I'll lead off um thank you for the presentation thank you for the outpouring of community support uh sometimes in elected office or anywhere in leadership it can be uncomfortable
uh to deliver unfavorable news or bad news um but it's incumbent upon us to do so and be honest it would be great to be able to delink the Bikini Hostel from this and I wish that we could sit here as a government body who's been elected
to represent the people and say we have a solution for the Bikini Hostel i can promise you every single person up here on this deis and a lot of people out there in the audience have worked non-stop i've had city manager can
attest city attorney can attest hundreds hundreds of conversations with you all from 6:30 a.m in the morning until midnight on the weekends our colleagues were out there on a Friday evening i was coloring with my daughter Capri in her
bed at 9:00 p.m on a Friday when we got a call what was happening at the Bikini Hostel and me and my entire family ran down there only to be greeted by my colleagues here so we've put untold amounts of effort brain trust working with our
colleagues working trying to collaborate and our hands are largely tied so it starts with a decision tree right is avenue a suitable place for what has transpired there no it's not so
then where does it leave us in terms of decisions well we just went through we have no government solution for this right so we can't delink those and we essentially are able to engage with a private sector partner and there's nothing inherently wrong about that
right it would be wrong to sit here and mislead and say that we have solutions or tools in our toolkit when we do not because those are things that we may not be able to ever get back if we pass up opportunities and this becomes more embedded those are decisions we can't
walk back right when I go to the PTA at my daughter's school in September and they ask me why West Avenue is still a de facto homeless camp and I say "Well we had we had an opportunity but we decided to pass that up because we felt it should be delin." I I couldn't look
people in the face and say we had an opportunity to better our community to make us move forward and we didn't do so uh I had I heard a colleague make a tremendous statement earlier today very simple litmus test is approving this
project make our city a better place undoubtedly undoubtedly i'm actually hardressed to think of any arguments to the contrary right when we talk about what's transpired and the appreciation for that
I have an 8-year-old daughter there was somebody arrested a resident at the Bikini Hostel less than two weeks ago that was out of prison on kidnapping charges kidnapping charges on the street that I live with my parents and my
8-year-old daughter another lady unbeknownst to me emailed us about a month ago and said her daughter walks to Miami Beach High School every single day and is afraid to walk to school and I'm glad that I saw some of my colleagues reply to that and we've heard that story
told many times over today so right here we have the opportunity to be bold be decisive and take action to protect our residents this isn't something where we're voting with the developer in
against our residents this is a partnership as they said these are neighbors people that live in our community with their children they go to the same schools as our children that's the true definition of a partnership i'm
excited to support this i hope it gets wrapped up as quickly as possible i don't know if uh you'll humor me for one minute just running through a quick back of the envelope financial analysis that I did uh I don't want to steal David's thunder of uh PJ pull up that slide but
PJ if you could pull up that slide uh this is just something I put together today from what we heard from the Duval developer and if I could just run through this real quick to show we're not giving away Windfall pj you still with
us okay essentially the bonus F that we're giving is 200,000 square feet we heard from the developer earlier that has no links to this whatsoever no dog in this fight that for a residential building 80% of that is usable space so total
usable space 160,000 square feet we heard from our city manager that the FAR value per square foot is 300 why I have it highlighted there in orange is actually that's a rather aggressive
metric uh I'm looking at average uh price per square foot in Monad Terrace of around 1,800 per square foot and prices are starting to soften but let's call it that 300 a square foot times 160,000 square feet that gives the
developer a bonus F value of $48 million that Bikini Hostel purchase price $25 million he's not keeping that he's not moving his friends into there they're turning that back over to the city right so we're actually getting that land that
has an appraised value we'll haircut that not even $25 million that's $12.5 million let's call it and then he's completing the Baywalk the Baywalk is one of the most consequential projects we have in our city my daughter wasn't three months old and I was bringing her
to meetings at the Waverly talking about how we're going to complete this i'm sorry but there's just some things government isn't great at and we haven't completed too much more of the Baywalk it's actually been the private sector and this gentleman standing in front of us that's completed more since my daughter was three months old than the
city of Miami Beach has also a $2 million park on site for the Bikini Hostel which I believe has been our request that gives total benefit total public benefits that we're receiving $44.5 million it's net value of bonus F that
they're getting $3.5 million when we talked about the intangible public benefits the city receives earlier from the reconstruction of a hotel imagine the intangible public benefits of our families being able to walk down our
streets again with a sense of safety with a sense of pride but also the people that are in the Bikini Hostel restoring them to a place where they have a sense of dignity where they're not getting their haircut
on our sidewalk which occurred this morning as my father was coming here to this meeting this isn't humane to us and it's not humane to them as well so this isn't just us skirting our responsibilities to do what's right and
what's humane the people that are truly down on their luck that are at the Bikini Hostel this sets the wheels in motion for them to have a more dignified living as well but more importantly to the 87
87,000 people I was elected to represent it moves our city forward in a better safer fashion we can't say we're a city of safety and law and order and allow this situation to continue this is truly improving the
entire ecosystem and I hope we can get this done as soon as possible to restore the dignity to West Avenue that I know our street deserves so thank you thank you Commissioner Magazine commissioner Suarez thank you Mr mayor
um I still don't know where I'm on this you know I I think I think on one hand you know we have an issue with like I have with the Doville
rewarding bad actors and outweighing that with public benefits okay um and as I said before I don't think a recreation of a hotel is a public
benefit to me what's being presented here with with the elimination of the Bikini Hostel is is actually a public benefit that that is tangible that is something that can be that is going to
change lives on on West Avenue um but for me to stay consistent I think the most prudent thing to do is between first and second reading also hire an economic consultant and see what the
value of this additional F i I know we just played it on there i but let's let's verify and and let's see um and and see if those numbers make sense um you
know I I it would it it would look hypocritical of me to say that we can't that I'm not going to apply that same logic to this project and to the other projects so um I I can tell you I I I I
like this project you know I I I'm more inclined to support this project than than the Doville but at the end of the day I want to make sure that we're getting the best deal right i think that's fair i think you know uh Michael I think you can appreciate that i'm a
businessman you're a businessman i want to know what we're giving away i want to have an actual professional tell me the value of what we're selling because look let's be honest i think today we've all realized
that we're in the business of selling zoning it's as simple as that this is this is a transaction and if we're going to be doing this then then let's let's have a let's have a real adult conversation to see what that is worth and so if if an economic consultant
comes back and says and and verifies Commissioner Magazine's numbers then you know let's take that into account and and and move forward but um you know I want everyone to understand and and I and I I believe I said this at West Avenue is that you guys were never
really dealt this hand right like I I don't believe I don't believe that you guys somehow got the Bikini Hostel to get more homeless people in there and uh and to make the neighborhood more blighted i
I don't believe that for a second because I think correct me if I'm wrong is the city came to you guys when it was just a bikini hostel and there was loads of of of chaos there i think I don't know if Commissioner Fernandez you said
they spend like a million dollars in code in in code violations in like a three-month period in just staff i mean think about that for a second that's before this whole homeless thing happened and so the city came to you and asked you "Hey what
are you willing to do would you be willing to to take this on and get rid of it?" And and I think you obviously entertained the idea and now it's now it's unfortunately become a lot worse and I want everyone to who's watching
not to think that you somehow somehow are behind this homeless issue at Bikini Hostel at least I hope you're not okay uh my my hunch is that you're not commissioner I just want to ask for a since we're at past seven our rules require to extend the meeting so I'll
ask somebody to move it move it thank you okay so uh 30 minutes yeah and if we can try I know there's a there's a but if we can try to keep it to the 30 minutes um and so look I I think it's it's it's prudent for us to really
analyze what we're giving away um and and see what what the value is commissioner Fernandez thank you um Mr mr mayor and I want to uh thank the applicant for what they've
brought forward um I want to speak candidly about the position we've been placed in because we have been placed in a position that makes this a very difficult
decision we've been presented with a project that offers public benefits and no one can deny that but these public benefits and I put them between air quotes be- because they also
benefit directly the developers bottom line they're public benefits but they make the developers product more appealing so can we really consider them public benefits
the Baywalk for instance that's a public good but let's not pretend it doesn't also increase the value the appeal and the marketability of this project isn't that correct Mr
stern sure all right it's a win-win but one heavily weighed towards the win for the development itself and the removal of the bikini hostel
which has operated as a shelter for homeless individuals for what feels now like what six months it's been a homeless shelter for for for six months it's yet another example it's being framed as a public
benefit but I really doubt that Mr stern the JDS that the development team would be able to sell these units for what they're going to be asking for if they had to say that they
had a homeless shelter in front of these multi-million dollar luxury units and so I see that like almost a fundamental requirement for the type of luxury
product being proposed by Mr stern and JDS the project just doesn't pencil out with a homeless shelter across the street so I really don't see it as altruism it it really is a real estate strategy
which yeah by consequence benefits the city but it's the strategy of being able to sell units that they wouldn't be able to sell with a homeless shelter right there and I got worried about the
president we should never be making zoning decisions based on pressure points or or conditional cleanups as my colleague Commissioner Suarez has been pointing out all day
we shouldn't be told directly or indirectly that unless we approve a significant project like this and increase development rights that a dysfunctional shelter stays where it
shouldn't be that is not fair to the residents of the taxpayer to the presidents of good policym that our city deserves that's not how sound planning works and it's not healthy for the
dynamics or the future of the city but I don't get elected by the zoning code i get elected by the residents who every day are having to
walk past a homeless shelter and that to me is concerning when we have people residents coming here and she was standing right there and she was saying it reminds her of New York and how she's having to cross the
street when she's walking by there because she doesn't feel safe and when I drove by there yesterday I it just seemed like it just keeps continually getting worse and worse and worse and the worst thing is that the
word has gotten out in the homeless community that this is a homeless shelter i remember being there and there was a family that that we found out about that had been dropped off there that needed assistance that I went out there
personally uh some of Commissioner Magazine I think you went out there personally as well Capri your daughter Capri Valentine's night that's right and I left my Valentine's dinner with Robert to go over there to wait for services to get
there to entertain a child two children actually with a single lady and a and and a grandmother wait for police officers to get there to offer them assistance get those children placed in a police vehicle getting in the police
car with those children so that they wouldn't feel a stigma of being in the back of a police car so try to lighten the moment for them so that they wouldn't feel like they were in the back of a police car out of anything negative
and why did that happen oh and by the way while while we were there helping that family another man showed up with luggage asking where the homeless shelter was at because the word has gotten
out to the homeless community that's not fair to the residents of this area that's not fair to our city and so is it is that good for for Miami Beach no for as bad as this
process of making policym is is equally bad or worse what has been thrown into this location the middle of a residential neighborhood so I I'm also deeply concerned about 1250
itself the building you're helping residents that need to move out of there tell me what you have offered or tell me what tell me what's happening with the with the homeowners there what's the situation with the homeowners
so the homeowners uh the homeowners are uh that own are going to be bought out at market to above market prices and we made sure to pay prices that are commensurate and we check that there are units available on this corridor if they wanted to stay on the corridor and buy
but that's good for the homesteaded residents so let me ask you what percentage of the building are those homesteaded residents that you're helping out to stay in the corridor i I think the building is roughly 25 or 30% so that means that 75% of that building are tenants i think that's about right
okay and so that is 75% of that building who are our residents these are long-term residents working families and seniors and where will they go if this project moves forward you're helping those homeowners who are homesteaded
that minority of the building that is homesteaded you're helping them stay in the in the corridor but I don't only represent homesteaded property owners i also represent the tenants who make up 75% of the people who are living in that
building and I have not heard what is being done to again the forgotten tenants it's it's it's like it's like they don't exist but they do they are the fabric they are the backbone of Miami Beach and what consideration has
been given to their housing security so I would be willing to engage in a conversation with you between first and second reading to perhaps establish a relocation fund um some sort of stipen to help tenants who have a hardship relocating as their market rate leases
expire and they need to move we can work together to come up with a program that addresses that that hasn't been a a widespread issue actually we haven't heard yet from a tenant with a hardship but to the extent any of them reach out to us we'd be willing to work something out with them to alleviate that burden i
need something more i And Mr attorney got me because I don't feel comfortable just hearing the moment I vote on this today it's a vote and I need something more substantial than hearing well I'll engage in conversations between first and second reading and you know maybe
but what but what happens or I need something more serious today because these are our residents this is where our working class residents live and they're not luxury people but they matter they're not people who can afford
multi-million dollar units but they're our neighbors they're the people who work in our industries and they are the people who make Miami Beach special and I have not heard and since day one of this conversation I have made it clear housing for those being displaced is
important and so yes we're going to address the issue of the homeless and treating them with dignity how about our residents that are being gentrified out so I need a more robust answer than Well we'll work on it well we we've been working on this for months this is not
the first time that I raised a concern about the tenants why don't I have an answer today as to how the tenants are going because if anyone that watches these meetings know that I am very predictable the mayor um we believe that that's the
reason for the development agreement and we would be memorial what's the reason for the development agreement we will be memorializing uh the tenant relocation uh program that we will but I need details on it i don't know i don't have any minimum do you have an amount that
you think is appropriate uh per per unit or town I think whatever I think it this is not something that should be coming from me i think if if the developer is willing to voluntarily profer something is up to the developer but I just don't want to say well we'll we'll kick the
down the can down the road as it relates to tennis or second reading because you know who cares about tennis they're not rich through the mayor uh we'd be willing to profer at this time that the development agreement at first reading at minimum would have as a baseline uh
the first and last month um and that would be the starting place uh for our discussions before first reading you know like I mean really I I mean I mean this
so we would profer that at a bare minimum we would cover first and last month's rent and relocation expenses moving expenses etc and if you haven't asked I'd be happy to engage in that i think I don't negotiate but I think these individuals
need to be treated with compassion and with the respect that they deserve because those are Miami Beach residents and so I'm going to make it very clear to the administration i mean to me that's a joke in today's in in in the in the competitive environment that is Miami
Beach if these people are being displaced from their homes and if we don't take care of them this becomes the gentrification ordinance this they won't be able to afford to live in Miami Beach
and that's something that I cannot that I cannot support here at all agreed and and through the mayor um just to be clear the today's item is on the first reading of the overlay the development agreement has two readings so we want to
provide you with a baseline so that you feel comfortable moving the overlay forward today but the first reading of the development agreement will have as a baseline what we've discussed first and last month's rent marketed for the West Avenue neighborhood uh we can discuss
more of that before the first reading so you'll have two additional hearings dealing specifically with the language of the development agreement dealing with this tenant relocation program so just to be clear we are profering that our first reading um absent further
discussion with you and your colleagues and of course the administration which we know we will have a significant discussion we just want to put on the record today uh to address your point that it'll be first and last month's rent plus relocation expenses and we
could work on what is uh the best uh management practices for these kinds of issues uh we're aware of state statute as it deals with mobile home parks etc uh but that has nothing to do with this we're dealing with something much there's nothing out there so we want to
have that com that conversation with the administration i think you you've set a a baseline but let's let's be real i mean these Absolutely you know that's from my perspective and I leave negotiations to the administration
agreed but but you know these individuals deserve more than a baseline we share the concern and we'll work we'll work something out well if the concern was shared there something would have been before us today that would have addressed this concern that I have
raised in in the past and so and so I really expect something something more than a baseline um so we need to work on that okay we'll do um but the reality is as as Commissioner Magazine mentioned earlier the
neighborhood will be better off without the Bikini Hostel operating as a shelter in this in this neighborhood and that's not easy to say but it's true it's is it's a reality of it it has created a perception of safety concerns uh in in
West Avenue it's drawn just endless complaints from from from the neighbors and frankly the city doesn't have the $20 million it would take to buy and repurpose the property and for there is one thing that I have heard consistently
from West Avenue over the years has been they want the bikini hostel gone and this is the first and only solution that I have seen that actually gets rid of the bikini hostel and beyond that the
greater nuisance that has been uh placed there and so um and so I'm going to be supporting this today it's not I I have been debating this greatly but so much of our policies have been centered
around making our city safer so much of our policies have been centered about getting homeless individuals into a more compassionate place and it really frustrates me because I really feel that that in a certain way here in this case
we really are rewarding a very bad actor we're rewarding someone that I feel has blackmailed our city there there's just no other way of of of putting it and one of the other things that I would just put on on on the record is that I
believe before second reading that I support uh what uh what Commissioner Suarez is is proposing in terms of an independent financial analysis uh that evaluates the values of the additional zoning because I want to truly
understand what's being given to to us and whether the public benefits being offered are truly proportionate to the value that we're giving and I want to make sure that we are treated fairly and lastly we need to put the brakes we need
to put the brakes in in in our city um because this could really get get out of control and I think that now is the time when we truly need to start talking about now that we have addressed the
nuisance in North Beach that was the empty Duville site that is depressing the economy in North Beach and now that we are addressing the homeless shelter that's been created on West Avenue I want for
our body to consider a moratorum on the f on the F development increases this needs to end and it needs to end now i understand the extraordinary circumstances in which we are placed as a results to the drugs that have
resulted as from from the empty Dville side the homeless encampments that were result that resulted there the nuisances that that that that came from that anti-side and the depression to the economy there and we had in the public's
interest to take firm action when it came to the Dville and likewise here our residents don't feel safe with what has occurred at at the at the Bikini Hustle and I believe we are responsibly using the tools that we have available to us
legislatively to address two of the greatest nuisances that our city has but today we need to start the process no more we need to put a moratorum on the F development applications otherwise we will lose the fabric of our city and Mr
attorney I need you to guide me on this i need to know from my colleagues from from from Commissioner Magazine from the mayor from my colleagues from Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez and my other colleagues if this is something that you're willing to support because it's going to influence my decision- making
here today on this item we cannot continue in this process we need to define the type of city we we want to have a city of responsible growth a city where we address nuisances but a city where we don't get taken advantage of zoning
i like the direction you're heading commissioner Dominguez uh thank you um so I like the way this project has really evolved i remember the first time I heard about it it was a lot taller a lot more F and the way that
you've gone about meeting with the residents and um getting um neighborhood buyin from the buildings and listening to what they had to say i'm really happy at the way it's evolved um I'm also pleased that there's a prohibition on
short-term rentals and that's a covenant that you will have i like Commissioner uh Fernandez's idea to uh maybe help uh the people that are displaced um uh because that is important to keep them in Miami Beach and we have um uh lots of
different apartments on West Avenue and also Flamingo Park for people that wanted to stay in South Beach the water and sewer impacts um you're going to be upgrading under your site the Baywalk one of the reasons I ran was to help finish the Baywalk it's something that's
near and dear to me and I chair neighborhoods and I listen to what's going on with the Baywalk every single month so that help uh really um it just means so much uh and then of course the
Bikini Hostel what you're doing there in that area um so I know that the idea is a park i don't know if that's a concrete idea or not i'll just throw this out there people really love community gardens so we only have a handful of them in Miami
Beach and their coveted space so just uh throwing that out if it's something that the neighborhood would want or would be interested in um and then the existing building has been in tough shape uh I know from hearing from the different
neighbors uh and people that live in the building everything from pipes bursting to being without running water and then having it come back again and air conditioning issues and the whole building so it sounds like it's coming at an opportune time and
um so I'm pleased to support it today um and my two favorite parts are the Baywalk and the Bikini Hostel thank you uh for addressing those two important issues commissioner Bot um I'm not going to say much about this
at this point um my colleague Commissioner Fernandez has raised a lot of the points that I would would have raised so I thank you for that and I would be very interested in in supporting a moratorium on um overly um
ambitious development i um you a comment I would um I was chuckling i would um you know I let's not forget that as terrible as the Bikini Hostel has been as a neighbor for a very long time
without the city um for decades being able to do anything about it it only turned into a makeshift uh homeless shelter recently because of the actions um taken by some of my colleagues so you know this is a bit of a self-inflicted
wound and I wonder what the conversation would be um about the merits of this project were that not this big carrot because it is a huge carrot to try to um extinguish this very problematic use in a residential neighborhood which does
not provide appropriate services for the very people it's supposed to be providing services for um and that makes this a very complicated um dilemma because you worry about the precedent being set i think everybody
agrees it's a beautiful looking project um could it also be a beautiful project at a smaller scale if the costs were not inflated by the purchase price of the Bikini Hostel what I will say is that the idea today was to open and continue
this given that the room was full of people who had and online who had things they wanted to share i wonder if it might not make sense to defer this for a month to let some of the things that have been raised here be fleshed out and then everything can run in parallel and
so um if there's an appetite for that I toss that to my colleagues if anyone's interested in that tom you uh I'm sorry Mr if we procedurally couldn't we move this along and then the development agreement could catch up i I mean I think it's important to gauge where
everybody is commissioner Suarez I I just I just find it completely hypocritical that I asked to defer the Dovville item to land use and finance to
really iron out all the details and I I don't know where you are Commissioner Bot but I I wasn't getting any support for that i I think you want to iron out details for this project but not for your project i think that's
pretty hypocritical and and I I just I I I mean come on guys and anyone watching this I mean like excuse me I'm speaking it's just this is so hypocritical you know to treat this
project differently than the Doville i mean the Doville is literally double the size okay of this project and the MLS are far worse of bad actors compared to the Bikini Hustle actors okay i mean the fact that we're
we're you're everyone here seems to be kind of just weak need at the issue with this And I like to I I I want to bring home a point because look I I I I like to I like to call out hypocrisy when I see it okay if we're going to care about
affordable housing let's mean it okay let's not let's let's not say for this project we're going to okay uh 3,000 or 4,000 square foot uh multi- luxury condo residential units when he could build
700 square foot 577 700 ft units that could be attainable housing a and and completely ignore that but for this project we're we're going to poke holes in affordable housing and we're we're going to want to defer because we we we
haven't heard enough um and and and and Commissioner B to talk about precedent i mean I look I I I just I I understand but I to talk about precedent here on this project when literally three years
ago you were railing against the project and you said I have a quote here I and I'd like to I'd like to read it can we just get to the substance of the And I think it's important i think it's important you're I Excuse me i have the floor and I I have the floor and Listen
I have the floor i Listen I have the floor i am speaking I am speaking and I'd like to bring out I listen I have the floor i want to talk about this listen I want to talk about hypocrisy i find it very frustrating and I will and
I'm going to I'm going to talk about it okay and listen I got elected on accountability and no one up here is immune to accountability especially elected official hypocrite time out time out time out i'm asking you there's other means if you
want to put this is a commission meeting let's I'd like stick to the substance of the item i'd like to read this quote i have the floor and excuse me i' I'd like to read this quote okay read the quote about a vote on this three years ago
that was totally different feel free to read you know what was difference between the last project and this project is that it's oneird more F that's why it was soundly midnight that's why it was soundly defeated i'd like to bring her somewhere where I'm
proud i just want to make sure that we're going to stay consistent if we're going to stay consistent with with affordable housing okay and deferrals let's stay consistent let's not beat up one project and then leave up the other
okay fine i I'll I'll save this for the second reading of the Doville okay for for now I think this project should move forward on a first and second reading i think we need to hire an economic consultant to tell us what exactly we're giving away we're apparently in the business of selling zoning and FA and
height and F that's what we've made clear today all day then you know what let's get the best deal out of this let's not grandstand on issues if we're going to be in the business of selling F and height let's see what the value is and let's get the best deal possible for
our city and let's not let's be consistent on it let's not pick and choose cherrypick projects that we're going to beat up and not commissioner Rosen Gonzalez wonderful it's been a long day many hours dedicated to development
commissioner Fernandez first and foremost I would support your motion for no more F after this because really it sucks up a lot of our day a lot of our time we're unable to work on anything else um so I would support and second your motion on a moratorum if you want
today regarding this project i have to say the first time that I sat down with Michael Cern I looked at him and I my first thought was when he showed me what he wanted to do i said "Can I just be a quiet no?" You know because I didn't want to
cause a bunch of problems but I also didn't want to support this but when I looked at the most recent proposal with the height and the fact that it's in scale and I've been to Monat Terrace several times and I do think that it's a lovely
um development and honestly I was there that night with Commissioner Magazine and Commissioner Fernandez when we saw the homeless get dropped off i don't know how it happened yeah we were we were all there i think
Commissioner Suarez you were there shortless shortless yeah there he was sweaty in the night um but it was horrible and really it's gotten to the point where the other day when I was walking to West Avenue
I was on a workout by the way on a run when I was walking to West Avenue for uh a community association meeting uh I got kind of cat called myself and I saw that like I was like holding my bag and trying to cover like my bracelet and
watch and I thought I can't believe that it's gotten this out of control and from that point it's gone at that point there were like 75 homeless now it's doubled i would tell you that Fresh Market uh the landlord at Fresh Market told me that uh they've been homeless defecating
there we've had breakdowns in the surrounding area of Publix is being looted uh not to mention just the fact that we have this homeless shelter on West Avenue and I think that's you know that's where we are in
terms of I've had some questions today because I sent this out this morning and I think about 35,000 people open this email i got a couple of complaints i did but for the most part I had hundreds of people
agreeing that I had really no complaints about the project i did have questions though number one the relocation of the homeless uh that was a big deal for a lot of people on West Avenue they might not want the homeless shelter on West Avenue but I think people wanted to make sure
that they were being relocated to a different shelter and wanted to understand what that looked like can you guys let me know and I'm not seing my time i'm just asking a question i'm happy to speak on that before we we have to extend the meeting motion to extend for another 30 minutes i'll second
so in the agreement that we struck uh with the owners of the Bikini Hostel we required that the homeless population be moved in a humane manner we also provided for a million-doll fund if they don't perform in doing that but we could take a million dollars of their money and make sure that it is uh done in a
humane manner from what we understand um they are in the process of purchasing another building in the city of Miami um they will move that population there in the city of Miami and um that's the plan for them contract that will Yeah it's it's in the contract uh I believe
they're doing a 1031 exchange from this property into that property and they have an arrangement with the homeless trust to shift that population over um so we we aren't involved in in that logistical okay operation but but they won't be put on the street and um they
will be relocated outside of Miami Beach okay another complaint that I had today that I wanted to bring up was garbage apparently the garbage dumpsters get brought out in front of Monad Terrace and they don't want the same thing to happen with this new project can you somehow make an accommodation so that
dumpster dump so it doesn't turn into like dumpster build on West Avenue so I will talk to the Monad Terrace board about um what they're doing with the dumpsters i don't know if that's a an issue with the company that's picking it up um there is trash storage at Mona Terrace in the basement uh parking
garage and the loading dock for this building is actually below grade so the trash trucks are going to come completely off the street into the below grade space to load trash and then pull back out and we also have as I showed in the presentation all the vehic vehicular traffic is being brought to the middle
of the block and away from the street wonderful and my final question and I think we saw this today with Mel Schleser talking about his hotel and the fact that his business model doesn't work because with his costs you know the rents are unaffordable it's that
business model doesn't work how did you start this transaction did somebody from the building approach you and say "Look our building is in financial distress maybe you should start to buy the units because I want to understand like why this is happening because this is a reality that we're facing across the
city yeah so I'll say uh a couple things this building is uniquely in uh bad condition and not suited for residential it was originally built as a hospital or healthcare facility um and it was kind of jerryrigged into a residential building later um it's in really bad condition when we did Monad Terrace we
were looking at it as a hey wish we could get rid of that by the way we tried to buy Mckini Hostel when we did Monad Terrace because it was a problem even before it was a homeless shelter it was a you know a youth hostel with an incredible amount of police activity etc um but we were approached by residents
in the building to say "We are financially trapped in this building would you look at uh doing a buyout here?" And you heard from the president of the board today who affirmed what we've been telling you about we are not fear-mongering about the condition of the building or the financial situation that the owners face themselves um we're
solving a problem for them and at the end of the day that's what public private partnership is about it's supposed to be win-win so I don't think it's so much that we're selling zoning as adapting to a new reality i think post Champlne Towers the
state of Florida imposed these restrictions the different resertifications requirements condo reserves and these condominiums and the residents in them they can't afford the rents the owners can't afford the assessments and the requirements and so
we're faced with situations like this now did we expect to get a homeless shelter there no but would I love to see that property if we purchase it turned into a beautiful park or if part of it was a park for the children and part of it was a community garden like Commissioner Dominguez wanted all this
some of those gardens aren't so lovely looking i mean if you could build a beautiful community garden um I would I would be fine with that um I do think that it's I I don't love all this upzoning i really don't but when I when
you look at where you've come to and I look at the scale and the profile of the other buildings it doesn't look so bad it really doesn't and as a matter of fact I think it's going to help the entire commercial district it's also going to help um Lincoln Road and you
know we're working right now with Macy's to try to possibly turn it into a Bloomingdales i feel like there's really some positive forward momentum for the whole entire area i see it when I look at you know last night I was at Seama which a lot of residents from West Avenue to walk to those buildings need
residents that live there and you know in terms of density uh it's less density which I think is a great thing and you know you had a beautiful pro product um do I feel sad about the residents that have to move absolutely uh but what can
we do and I don't think the cost of living is going to get any cheaper i don't see insurance prices coming down anytime soon i think that we're faced with infrastructure and resiliency issues that are going to cost us billions of dollars and I'm not quite
sure where we're going to get that funding given that the state of given that the federal government isn't giving us this funding and the state of Florida is probably going to it's going to be more difficult so here we are and f and really I want to congratulate you for
for giving us something that we could digest because where you started and where we ended up is something that I don't feel bad about voting for and I'm just going to say this because you said this to me in my office when I met with
you you said I've developed in LA i've developed in New York and you know uh even city Miami and there's nothing like this in Miami Beach where literally I'm meeting resident by resident and with each commissioner he said it's like
hand-tohand combat here but we have and the other day I saw David Martin almost like wanting to like tear out his hair and I will continue like over this he did not look like a happy camper and but I think that that's what we that's where
we came This commission really made a big difference because Commissioner Fernandez just got first and last month's rent and what else did you get for the residents as a baseline as a bas of you are going to be disappointed in me but what would you have us do if
we don't do this what is the alternative we have a building of owners um that cannot necessarily afford to keep the building and we have a homeless shelter so we've kind of been forced to this point but I would like to once again reiterate that I'm all for an F increase
because I think overall we really need a break we need a break and a moratorum what did I say because I'm tired oh no oh that's definitely going on a video i heard it right a moratorum moratorum on
F i'm completely for a moratorum on F i hope that we would vote for it right now and um I'm prepared to support this so let's let's bring this home um as I said right after you said it Commissioner Fernandez um I think it's a great idea a couple of things have happened today
that are that are interesting i think we we uh initially we didn't fully it's not a final approval but for the for the Dovville I think we're about to do that for you guys for this project as well i think we're independently looking at each project because I think most of us are um we hear our residents that they
don't want these continued increases in FAR um but at the same time each one has its unique issues um why we're supporting it but at the same time whereas I speak at a lot of neighborhood association meetings and I'm very proud that our commission in the last year and
a half has basically not had these hour-long conversations on development agreements because we discuss the issues safety cleanliness flooding and today we've kind of gone away for that necessarily but which is one of the reasons that I love your your motion
that you're about to make on the moratorum because I think our residents uh expect that of us um so I think you're you're very prudent in doing that so I'm actually going to turn it over to you Commissioner Fernandez to to bring us home on the on the moratorum item and
then we'll take a vote on on this item and then we'll have to bring up C7AZ uh so we can get if assuming um this item passes we'll bring it so you guys can negotiate the development agreement commissioner Fernandez yeah thank you Mayor and so yeah just to bring this in
for landing you know we're doing this because this cannot be the new normal today we are addressing the two extraord extraordinary public nuisances in our city the lingering homeless shelter at the Bikini Hustle and the emotional and economic depression caused by the vacant
Duville site and these are not typical cases they are exceptional and that is why I'm willing to support these exceptions but moving forward we need to restore balance and so today I move to refer to direct a referral to the planning board including a 67th waiver
of the requirement of the required referral to the land use and sustainability committee to consider a moratorum on the review or approval of any legislation that includes uh floor area ratio F increase above the maximum
F currently allowed in all zoning districts in the city the purpose of this moratorum is to prefer is to preserve the status quo while the city conducts a comprehensive study on the impacts of recent F increases on traffic
public infrastructure and municipal services and consider any legislative amendments to the comprehensive plan and LDRs to ensure future development is appropriate this includes evaluating impacts of recently adopted F bonuses as well as analyzing anticipated intensity
and density associated with pending or proposed live local projects currently in the development pipeline and with that I move my item i'll I'll uh second it and I'd like if with your permission to be a co-sponsor with you yes and I think it I would like everyone to be a
sponsor of this moratorum with me if you're also inclined sign me up yes is it to bypass land use is there any particular reason why a sixth seventh waiver of it going to land use because I think this is urgent we need to restore balance i'm asking are are we are you
asking to bypass going to land use yes through a six seventh vote well why why yeah just if I'm asking why not go to land I settle on land you set Commissioner Bot said it's because I think it's it's urgent the longer we
wait to pass this the more applications will get in the in the pipeline it would go to it would go to planning board then back to commission yes okay can I ask a question with this item as soon as it goes to planning board it will be zoning in progress correct i've deferred to the
attorney on that yes once the planning board adopts it would become zoning in progress hallelujah okay and I would I would just ask we need a break i I would I think it sends a strong message when we are all united in this and I welcome anyone
that's willing to join as a sponsor on this moratorum because I think we need to be united united we're solving problems but united we're going to preserve the character of our city from from these types of changes in the co-sponsor so I want to be a co-sponsor so and and just just to to back and
forth you know Commissioner Fernandez we both have items on Lincoln Road for example and Washington Avenue what are going to happen to those items i gotta tell you I think that we you know your your item doesn't I don't know when and again remember those items I
don't they didn't come from a developer they're they're coming from the top down not from the bottom up i need to I need to know before we approve those items what's going to be the impact on traffic on public infrastructure when we're waiting on
those studies but I cannot have I cannot have more applications like these intense applications coming forward until we know the outcome of these studies we're gonna destroy our infrastructure our major roadways our evacuation routes i'm having to go to
Tallahassee and beg them to exempt our districts from live local because our evacuation routes are failing our concurrency won't be able to keep up with what is being proposed not just
forget about here even with live local and so we need to do this this is about being responsible and we I don't think we can even consider those applications until we know what comes out from these studies and by the way we have thousands
of units in the pipeline thousands and thousands that have yet to be built and we do not understand the impact plus an 800 uh room convention center hotel we have so many buildings going up in North Beach all of Ocean Terrace the Doville
enough enough because we don't understand what you know the the impact these two buildings were on the water and I think we have you know there are similar buildings but I'm very concerned about the center of the city and I just feel that this if you are
consering if you're concerned you can certainly vote no on the dovville and this project if if you really mean it like I there's nothing stopping you from voting no and saying if you really mean it then then then do that but so what is your plan let's say that we vote no today commissioner Suarez what would
your plan be to solve the Bikini Hostel and what would your plan be to um to help the owners of this building who and who need a financial bailout so look I think it's if if Commissioner Fernandez if if maybe I can offer a friendly
amendment okay um I was when I got elected I was surprised to know that developers can submit private applications i to me I I found that I found that pretty uh pretty funny considering and I know exactly why
that is it's because commissioners and or mayors didn't want to sponsor any items that had F or height increases and they try to hide behind not sponsoring that sort of application i think a more prudent it
was the opposite actually actually it was the opposite commissioners and mayors were sponsoring F applications and rather than being considered on the merits it was being considered on the politics of who was sponsoring an item and it became an issue of infighting on
the commission on politics that was that was you know a lot of what was of what was happening so wouldn't it make sense to say you can't submit any more private applications meaning like I think we're you know
we're all accountable here right so if we sponsor an item uh that's an F that's on that commissioner and he has to do or he or she has to do whatever they can to to put that forward but if it's an application no one really has like sort of accountability up until the time of a
vote so you know um like I said obviously I have a residential component that I'm trying to create a neighborhood in in Washington Avenue on Lincoln Road I believe you are too Um I want to make sure that we move forward in a careful manner um I think having a moratorum is
going to send a really dangerous message to Tallahassee and that's going to just fuel more fodder to that to that fire um I I think you know it's important to say we're going to prioritize affordable
housing for F or attainable housing i think that's a more carefully way that we can move about this uh it's one thing to say we're going to grant F and height increases for luxury units it's another completely different thing to say we're going to grant F or
height increases for affordable housing or retainable housing because I can guarantee right now if we pass that you're going to see con you're going to see 500 foot towers all up and down Miami Beach and that and Tallahassee is
going to use our video today to say this is why we need live local i'll tell you through getting to the point big boys and girls here I have no appetite for
just some one-off project to come in and say "I want to do this great thing on the water and I need extra height." Right these are extrenuating circumstances that I'm hoping are popping up i've been elected for a year and a half and these are the first two
that have came up in that so I have a question Mr attorney the Doville The Duville was a private application that's correct the application before us this is a private application that is also correct these could have been done legislatively but they were done through
private through the private process yes okay i'm gonna prospectively I think we need to you know say from this point forward a moratorum an on new private applications and you know what's already
in and and we we have these two items on the pipeline and I need to stay true to to my word because I've gone to Tallahassee and part of the reason why we've been able to get the amendments to live local that we've been able to get is because I've been able to tell Tallahassee we're looking at Lincoln
road we're looking at Washington Avenue for affordability in housing but nothing new we need to put a pause on this we need to control what's what's going on but we cannot continue to have these
private F applications or even new uh F legislation what's in the pipeline is in the pipeline but nothing new and that's what this moratorum uh does mr attorney just advised me if the language that
that I read makes that clear i I I would suggest to give our office a little time to study what you can if you want to create distinctions within what you're referring to the planning board um we know what you want to do and I want to
take action today to send something to the planning board when we want to figure it out we figure it out quickly so if so what so is it do we need to cons Nick if you could guide me please so a mortorium has to be at temporary
duration in order to preserve the status quo while we engage in a planning study um and consider any amendments to the LDRs that may be appropriate uh we have to follow the process that applies to uh any land development regulation
amendment which is why this would need to start as a referral to the planning board okay so and can we apply this to new uh the moratorium on new private applications and a moratorum on new F legislation
i would suggest for purposes of the referral if you are it sounded like you were focused on any legislative amendments that include an F increase and we can work with you since you would be the sponsor of this ordinance we can work with you on the details okay and just just so we're on the same page
Commissioner um I can't stop Washington Avenue and Lincoln Road now because I have gone to Tallahassee and it's part of the reason why we have now an amendment to HB943 that we've been able to carve out uh the
nationally designated historic district uh from from from HB943 it's the reason why we've been able to carve out to a certain extent other contributing buildings so I can't walk back now uh Lincoln Road and Washington Avenue so
that needs to continue in its process but being able to say you know that's it you know nothing new until we study the impacts of these projects no new F legislation and no new private application private just to be clear private
applications to amend the LDRs that's correct to to including F increases that's correct and so I I think I also mentioned that it's important to make perhaps make a carve out for F for attainable housing or affordable housing i would not do that
what we have and just and just so we're clear that's fine if that's the direction you want to go but I I can tell you right now that that Tallahassee is going to say look at what Miami Beach is doing they don't even want to do F increases for affordable housing if if if we can at least legislatively keep
that open and tell them that we're gonna we're gonna have affordable housing options for F increases or height increases you they're going it doesn't matter if we carve out Washington Avenue or Lincoln Road i'm telling you the
people up there they don't care they're only going to play a video that basically says we're having a moratorum on everything and if that happens I can guarantee you this is going to backfire just like it has backfired on us already you're going to have 500 foot
towers in the middle of Flamingo Park and Flamingo neighborhood a and I I think just keeping it at Washington Avenue and Lincoln that's great obviously we both have items there but you know there's other areas of the city that may need a a a slight F increase
for affordable housing like North Beach uh you know North Beach seems to be North Beach seems to be going in the direction of only ultra luxury condos what do you mean there's a bunch of micro units being built right in the center six buildings of workforce housing almost right in the center of
the city only one has been built and it's massive what are you going to tell families when somebody has a death or something horrible happened because they couldn't get to the hospital on time what are you going to do when we cannot evacuate people because you want to upzone the entire city these two these
are reductions in intensity you look at what we did today affordable housing and intensity don't have what's happening with our affordable housing business model that doesn't work commissioner Suarez where are we going to get the money to subsidize it we built one
building we're considering another building on top of Byron Carlo but it is tough really tough and I would like to second he made a motion i would like to speak i just find it very disingenuous that all day he tortured everybody commissioner Suarez had the floor suarez
all day he tortured everybody and now he's very increases it's unfair for me to hijack my my time okay i'm just saying if we're going to use Thank you Commissioner Suarez hypocritical word i think that if we're going to be serious about doing any sort of F or height
moratorum okay we need to make a carveout for affordable housing m commissioner Gonzalez you sit on the affordable housing committee like it doesn't make sense to say that we're not going to have any incentive for more affordable housing on Mommy Beach what we found is the best way to do
affordable housing given current building costs is to buy already built constructions and then make them affordable that is the only model that works our committee the our city administration um we found that that
seems to work so that's really the model that we're pivoting toward and frankly last time we buildings excuse me the last time have told me that uh they're going to be leaving soon so if we don't call the votes we are not going to have a quorum to finish this so I think Mr
mayor I think we do have to be prudent uh if and so I'll accommodate the affordability aspect of it but I think if we all join on board as together on this I think the message is going to be very clear that
there is not an appetite from this day to be considering new F applications i'm happy to accommodate the affordability language into this to avoid the Tallahassee issue um just because I've been having to spend a lot of time up
there fighting Tallahassee on this issue but you know we I really want us all to be united in this so that it is the message is clear out there we we are not going to continue in this direction
what is the emotion so how did we land on how are you landing on this is the private applicants no longer allowed or are you no a moratorum on new private applications a moratorium on new F legislation i get what Commissioner
Suarez is is saying as it relates to um to affordability uh and you know yes we don't want to get preempted by Tallahassee i get that so we need to accommodate that language in here but but that's it no more i'm not going to
entertain this anymore because we are going to lose the fabric of our city one thing are two very extraordinary circumstances extraordinary the Duville and the Bikini Hostel the depression of North Beach and
the homeless shelter that's been created on West Avenue but outside of those we can't continue doing this okay we have a motion second second are we voting on the moratorium first or we're going to do the moratorium first
because commissioner Fernandez mentioned and I I concur maybe others that we're not we're not going to consider this until we have set and if I may make a suggestion to give latitude to Commissioner Fernandez to work with the city attorney's office as to how to
craft the referral to the planning board if you all trust me for this mayor if I may I I just to characterize the the exclusion Commissioner Fernandez is that it's I would exclude any F increases that have already been considered by the planning board as of this date
sure how many are those those are It's the same it's the same it's just I just want to be clear when it when this takes place just these two that's it it's the Correct these two and the and the Lincoln Road and Washington Avenue items that are that are pending
yes yes i I would again suggest that we work with Commissioner Fernandez to to streamline this i don't want to vote for that if you don't include I I would like to have no more F you propose this initially you never said that you were going to make all these exemptions if
you water it down and you make the exemption we're in the same place that we were before the entire interior of the island is then at peril and you know what i do think there's a different government in Tallahassee that's moving in a different direction we just lost the six
okay c can we call a vote on this application i we we've had hundreds of presidents so you just need to understand Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez with all due respect you haven't gone to Tallahassee i've had to stand in front of committees i've had to give the face i've had to give you Tanya oh good i've
had Okay i didn't see over there i've had to give the face to legislators and tell them what we're doing so it's easy for for us to sit here and say "Oh well Lincoln Road and Washington Avenue." You haven't had to give your face and sit in front of people and tell them this is what we're doing to address
affordability so that we can save our historic district from falling into live local but you're the one who said an F increase across the city you're the one who proposed that now you're going back on that we're doing it i think we're all tired on this it's
been 12 hours that we've been here it's a long day let's take these votes we have Commissioner Bot she's in the off she's in the audience commissioner Suarez is here too he's looking really happy commissioner Fernandez you have a motion are you you I think you
originally seconded commissioner Ros Gonzalez are you still seconding mhm it was Commissioner Bot on the referral so that's what we're doing right now the referral i have Commissioner Fernandez and Commissioner Bot is that correct that's fine so on the referral to
planning board all in favor of that referral please say I i anyone opposed the referral pass yes that's the final referral uh the referral passes 70 just so we don't run into a
procedural problem do we have a agreement to just extend the meeting 10 minutes yes okay okay backlation 10 minutes okay we're back to R5 so now on the both AE and AF i need a
motion on that make a motion commissioner Magazine seconded by second commissioner Bot may I call the role yes commissioner Bot sure and and by the way AE AF okay yes
by Commissioner Bot commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes commissioner Magazine yes commissioner Fernandez yes vice Mayor Suarez yes mayor Miner yes motion
carries on R5 AE r5 AF second reading public hearing for both items will be on May 21st let's just last item let's call C7 A so we can give the authority to the for the just my understanding as we're
going through this process are we setting second reading for May 21st or are we going to try and pair up the LDRs with the second reading of the DA which would mean it would be I think that I think that got to be paired it needs to be together
so then second reading would be in June correct okay c7 A did you just call it C one second so second reading instead for AE and AF is going to be in June correct i'll tell you the date in a minute um
25th what is it 25th june 25th june 25th june 25th I believe okay so we're now on C7 uh A is that where we're at yes c7 A direct administration to
negotiate a development agreement with West Hospitality Owner LLC i I'll make a motion second let's call the vote motion by Commissioner Magazine seconded by Commissioner Dominguez all in favor of
C7 A I no opposed hearing none c7 A's approved 70 thank you thank you thank you everyone thank you Commissioner busy meeting i don't have the meeting journal early Nice
okay we're back and we're going to do item R7E who's this one what is this this is the Lincoln room for we just read it i'll stay for the vote so we can start the She's been sitting here for 12 hours 12 hours
waiting for this 12 hours i didn't see I didn't see anything i'm sorry i I I don't think it's right to do it at this point is there any adverse consequences by not calling it today so you saw that you're going to have can't stay five minutes we have one two
three four we have five of us so let's just do it if we had to journ the meeting and and um I I think procedurally we're putting ourselves It doesn't matter a quorum is four people we can vote on anything with four people thank you for weighing in meetings by the way I have my phone i've
looked i don't see any texts i'm sorry meeting adjourned