1663-13 Art Deco/Preservation THU MAR 01 1990 ED: FINAL
SECTION: NEIGHBORS MB PAGE: 3 LENGTH: 26 . 17" LONG
ILLUST: P hoto: Rob PARKINS
OURCE: MARY ANN ESQUIVEL-GIBBS Herald Staff Writer
.TELINE:
NEMO:
BEACH CREATES BOARD TO HELP SAVE DECO
The 15-year struggle to preserve Art Deco architecture on Miami Beach
I reached a milestone Monday when City Manager Rob Parkins created a new city
department to promote historic preservation.
The new Urban Planning and Historic Preservation Department will
institutionalize the preservation movement in city government, Parkins said.
"It will begin to strengthen the understanding of the value of Art Deco
in fostering redevelopment of the Beach, " he said.
That wasn' t always the case, said City Planner Jud Kurlancheek, who will
run the new department. He pointed out that in 1979 the city unsuccessfully
opposed having the Deco District listed on the National Register of Historic
Places .
"This is a 100 percent turnaround, " Kurlancheek said. "We 've recognized
the importance of preservation, that preservation makes good economic sense. "
"I just hope Jud doesn't choke the city with too much preservation, "
said lawyer Harold Rosen, who has represented clients both for and against Art
Deco before city boards. "There is a place for preservation, but not to
encompass the entire city as to choke its economic growth. "
Beach Commissioner William Shockett supported the change. "Some people
we are not paying attention to historic preservation. This certainly is a
among commitment to it. "
Battle-weary preservationists, however, were reluctant to lay down
arms.
"It ' s typical demagoguery. I don' t think the district has ever been more
in danger than it is now, " said Barbara Capitman, an uncompromising
preservationist many credit with starting the Art Deco movement on the Beach
in the mid-1970s .
She referred to the city' s latest efforts to entice developers into
building a large hotel near the Miami Beach Convention Center. Those plans
could entail the destruction of several historic Art Deco hotels, such as the
Collins Park, Adams and Tyler.
Capitman also lamented a recommendation by the city' s Historic
Preservation Board to exclude Art Deco hotels on the east side of Collins
Avenue between 16th and 17th streets from a proposal to expand the Deco
District into South Beach and the neighborhood surrounding the Bass Museum,
2121 Park Ave.
As chairman of the preservation board, Nancy Liebman fought to include
the Collins Avenue hotels in the expanded district. The first test of the
city' s sincerity in promoting Art Deco will come this spring when the Beach
Commission approves boundaries for the expanded city district, she said.
"We ' re still talking about the museum district as something to
compromise for the sake of a convention center hotel, " Liebman said. "A true
historic preservation ethic would never compromise such an area. "
Parkins said he didn' t blame preservationists for being wary. He
knowledged that their distrust may have been fueled by Kurlancheek having
3 be sensitive to a political metamorphosis -- the transition from anti-
preservation Art Deco to a recognition of the value it has for our community. "
Another test will be Parkins ' choice to replace Kurlancheek, Liebman
said. "The new planning and zoning director must be someone who is favorable
and responsive to this new enlightenment, " she said.
Liebman also said the city should forward recommendations by the
Historic Preservation Board directly to city commissioners instead of having
them first reviewed by the Planning Board.
Parkins responded that he is interested in Liebman' s comments but does
want "to commit to a change at this time. "
The city manager will conduct a nationwide search to find a new city
planner, who should be named by summer, Parkins said.
Along with his new duties, Kurlancheek will continue running the
Planning Department along with newly promoted Assistant Planning Director
Shaye Prather.
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END OF DOCUMENT.