LTC 216-2002 CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Mana er _
Letter to Commission
To:
From:
Subject:
Honorable Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez
City Manager
Date: September 17, 2002
The purpose of this LTC is to provide the Mayor and City Commission with an update
regarding Watson Island.
On August 18, 2002, Mayor Dermer and I met with Mayor Manny Diaz and City Manager
Carlos Giminez of the City of Miami to discuss the future development plans for Watson
Island. On September 19 at 2 p.m., the South Florida Regional Planning Council will meet
at their offices with the Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Department of
Environmental Protection, South Florida Water Management District, Miami-Dade County
Public Works, the City of Miami and the City of Miami Beach to discuss the Development of
Regional Impact (DRI) process for the proposed development on Watson Island.
Representatives of the City's Economic Development, Planning and Transportation
Departments will be in attendance.
Since the MacArthur Causeway is one of Miami Beach's. main ingress/egress arteries,
traffic, noise, congestion, overdevelopment and general quality of life degredation is a
concern, as is the impact that major construction will have on traffic patterns and our
residents. As was evidenced by the recent Bad Boys II filming, adverse impacts to the
causeway will affect Miami Beach. The City will request that public hearings be held in
Miami Beach on this issue to solicit input from our affected residents and businesses, and
the meeting will also be an opportunity for the City to be informed of the steps and timeline
that the DRI process will follow.
Please contact me if you have any questions or need any additional information.
JMG\Ci~'C
Christina M. Cuervo, Assistant City Manager
Jorge Gomez, Planning Direc. tor
Kevin Crowder, Economic Development Division Director