LTC 279-2003
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No. /J1q - ~a.
m
To:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Date: December 1, 2003
From:
Jorge M. Gonzalez ~ ~
City Manager r '
WAYFINDING SIGNAGE COMMUNITY WORKSHOP 12/16/03
Subject:
The Administration invites you to attend the above on:
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
6:30 - 8:30 PM
City Hall 1st Floor Conference Room
The consultant will be presenting to the community 3 different design options of a
proposed citywide coordinated signage system, The signage system will include:
. Three new gateway signs to the City
. Signs directing visitors to major destinations
. Prototype neighborhood entrance signs
. Public parking directional signs
. Beach walk and trail markers
BACKGROUND
On April 30, 2003 the Mayor and City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2003-25182
authorizing execution of a professional services agreement with the firm of Hiller, pursuant
to RFP No. 48-01/02, for planning, design and construction administration services forthis
project. The Notice to Proceed was issued on June 25, 2003.
The Administration has established two committees to work with the consultant throughout
this project. The Steering Committee is made up of senior staff members in the
departments of Planning, Public Works, CIP, Parking, Convention Center, Economic
Development, Tourism and Cultural Development, Finance, and the VCA. The
Stakeholder Group is made up of representatives from individual destinations and/or
districts that will be identified in the signage system. Examples of these stakeholders
include the museums and cultural facilities, business districts, public facilities, and visitor
information centers.
The planning phase of this project consisted of two major efforts. One is the "wayfinding"
analysis, which is a technical analysis of the hierarchy of districts and destinations and the
optimum routes that visitors should be directed to follow. The consultant held numerous
meetings with the Steering Committee, the Stakeholders, the Police Department, and
representatives from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Miami-
Dade County Public Works Department to collect information for this analysis. The results
of this effort have been documented in a draft report, The consultant then proceeded with
the following step in the wayfinding analysis which is to program locations and the
messages that will be needed for each type of sign.
The second major effort in the planning phase was the conceptual design of the signs.
This began with a series of meetings with the regulatory agencies to establish a common
understanding of the rules that must be followed versus the areas where flexibility and
creative design will be permitted. This process was extremely beneficial, and we found the
County and the State to be very cooperative and supportive of our project. On July 24,
2003, the consultant conducted an "Identity Forum" to elicit reactions to images, colors,
typography, pattern, materials, architecture, themes, words and historical references that
reflect (or don't reflect) the overall identity of Miami Beach. A total of thirty-two persons
participated in the Forum from an invitation list that included the Mayor and Commission,
the Design Review Board, the Historic Preservation Board, the Planning Board, the
Stakeholder Group and the Steering Committee. The consultant used the input from the
Identity Forum to provide design direction and inspiration.
On October 1, 2003, the consultant presented three alternative design concepts to the
Steering Committee and the regulatory agencies. The regulatory agencies stated that all
three concepts were generally acceptable, with minor refinements that could be made
during design development. The Steering Committee felt that the overall quality of the
consultant's design work is outstanding. They recommended that all three alternative
design concepts should be carried forward to allow the community, the design review
boards and the City Commission to make the choice of which of the alternatives is best
suited for Miami Beach,
Some of the key policy issues that will be involved in making a decision among the
alternative design concepts are:
a. the image/branding of Miami Beach (this will be coordinated with other
marketing efforts),
b. the degree to which the individual identities of South Beach, Mid Beach and
North Beach will be emphasized in the signage system, and
c. the effects of "b" on the complexity and variety of elements in the signage
system and the resulting long-term maintenance implications.
The public process will include review by the general public at the above mentioned
community forum; a presentation at a joint meeting of the Design Review Board and the
Historic Preservation Board on December 16 at 8:30 AM in the Commission Chambers;
and a presentation to the Community Affairs Committee on December 16 at 2:00 PM in the
City Manager's large conference room. (It should be noted that this phase of the project
involves only the selection of an overall design concept for the signage system, and the
DRB/HPB reyiew will be informational and advisory only.)
JMG\G~'b~~\KMH
c: Jorge Gonzalez
Christina Cuervo
Jorge Gomez
Joyce Meyers
F:IPLANI$ALLISIGN STUDY WKSHP 12.16.03ILTC.doc