LTC 04-2002
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CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No. 4-- 2/Jf)2,
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To:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Date: January 2, 2002
From:
Jorge M. GonzaJ
City Manager
CONCURRE~EM REVIEW
Subject:
Recently, I have received as have many of you, questions and concerns regarding the
City's Concurrency Management System. The questions have ranged from simple factual
questions about specific fees in the application of the system to more complex policy
issues and concerns expressed on the impacts on our business community.
As our Concurrency Management System has been operational for only a short period of
time and given the level of concern expressed within our community, I believe that it is
appropriate to undertake a review of the Concurrency Management System. At the
request of a number of small businesses, we have contacted the various Chambers of
Commerce to determine their interest in facilitating and assisting in our review of the
Concurrency Management System. The Chambers have agreed that this is an appropriate
role for them to play and one in which they are very interested.
On January 3rd, Assistant City Manager, Robert Middaugh and Public Works Director, Fred
Beckmann, will be in attendance at the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce Governmental
Affairs Committee Meeting to discuss briefly the Concurrency Management System and to
more completely discuss the process that we will undertake to review the Concurrency
Management System. Subsequent meetings will also take place with the South Beach
Hispanic and Latin Chambers of Commerce.
At this point, we anticipate that the review of the Concurrency Management System will
require a full briefing to participants on the basis for the Concurrency Management
System, as well as it's current operating rules and procedures. There is widespread
misunderstanding about the system and how it is intended to function. We will follow this
background discussion with more detailed and focused discussions on different policy
questions and concerns which will culminate in a report that will be submitted to the
Commission for further review and discussion. The review should take several months to
complete.
In the review process, it is anticipated that the Chambers of Commerce will serve as
facilitators for outreach to the business community. While this is an important component
of the review of Concurrency, it should also be recognized that there is a larger community
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impact that may occur and which should be addressed. I would anticipate that at least one
and perhaps several community wide meetings may be held in order to allow the general
public an opportunity to comment on issues relative to the Concurrency Management
System.
It is suggested that the Commission designate an ad-hoc group to review and comment on
the report prior to submission to the Commission. This group could be comprised of
representatives of each Chamber and citizen appointees by the Commission. My staffwill
develop a list of representatives for Commission review and approval.
If you have any specific concerns relative to the process or issues that should be
addressed within the process, please feel free to communicate them to me directly. As this
matter moves forward, we will keep you fully apprised of meetings and progress as it
occurs.
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c: Robert C. Middaugh, Assistant City Manager
Fred Beckmann, Director of Public Works