LTC 009-2024 Ocean Drive Pedestrian Plaza (Promenade) Pilot - Update #6
LTC # 008-2024
Honorable Mayor Steven Meiner and Members of the City Commission
Alina T. Hudak, City Manager
January 11, 2024
Ocean Drive Pedestrian Plaza (“Promenade”) Pilot – Update #6
The purpose of this Letter to Commission (“LTC”) is to provide an update on the permitting status
of the temporary Ocean Drive pedestrian plaza (“promenade”) located between 13 Street and 14
Place.
City staff has worked diligently with Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public
Works (“DTPW”) since the creation of the temporary pedestrian promenade on Ocean Drive from
13 Street to 14 Place in January 2022, with the goal of obtaining a permanent County permit for
the promenade. As you know, DTPW has “exclusive jurisdiction over the permanent closure of
access to any road or street.” See Miami-Dade County Code Secs. 2-95.1 and 2-96.1.
On March 28, 2023, DTPW advised the City, via letter, of two (2) alternative configurations
(“DTPW Alternative 1” and “DTPW Alternative 2”) for the pedestrian promenade that the County
offered as suitable configurations for a 90-day pilot for study in anticipation of a potential possible
approval for a permanent pedestrianization of these blocks of Ocean Drive.
Pursuant to City Commission direction received at the October 18, 2023 City Commission
meeting, on October 20, 2023, staff submitted a revised permit application to DTPW, which
incorporated a third alternative for consideration as directed by the City Commission. This revised
permit application consisted of the following documents:
1) a concept drawing depicting a proposed modification to DTPW Alternative 1;
2) confirmation obtained from all 25 affected businesses along the promenade
(with active business tax receipts as of September 7, 2023) that their businesses
could be serviced from the alleyway; and
3) a traffic methodology to analyze the effectiveness of a 90-day pilot
implementation for the temporary promenade, which, if successful, could
subsequently allow for a long-term permit.
The City’s proposed modifications were intended to address DTPW’s outstanding concerns with
the safety and operation of the 14 Place/Ocean Court alleyway and the temporary promenade as
currently configured.
The City Administration immediately commenced discussions with DTPW in an attempt to gain
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County approval of the City Commission directed alternative plan. Below is a timeline of recent
meetings and communications between the City and DTPW following the City’s submission of the
revised permit application on October 20, 2023.
• October 26, 2023: DTPW disapproves the City’s application and provides technical
comments via the DTPW permitting system.
• November 14, 2023: meeting held between City staff and DTPW staff to discuss
DTPW’s comments on the City’s permit resubmittal. During this meeting, DTPW
staff stated that the City must provide additional concurrence from affected
property owners, consisting of 100% concurrence from all affected stakeholders
fronting Ocean Drive from 5 Street to 15 Street and 75% concurrence from all
affected stakeholders along all side streets within those limits.
• December 4, 2023: City staff follows-up with DTPW via email requesting written
confirmation of concurrency requirements.
• December 13, 2023: City staff follows-up with DTPW via email requesting written
confirmation of concurrency requirements.
• December 19, 2023: City staff follows-up with DTPW via email requesting written
confirmation of concurrency requirements.
• January 5, 2024: City staff follows-up with DTPW via email requesting written
confirmation of concurrency requirements.
Despite City staff’s continued follow-up, DTPW staff has not, up to and including today, provided
the City with written confirmation as to its property owner concurrence requirements for potential
approval of our proposed modified configuration of the promenade as a pilot project.
Notwithstanding, DTPW issued a letter dated January 10, 2024 (attached), which directs the City,
pursuant to its authority in County Code Sections 2-95.1 and 2-96.1, to remove the existing
barriers impeding vehicular traffic along Ocean Drive from 13 Street to 14 Place and restore
general vehicular traffic by close of business on January 22, 2024, unless the City has been able
to secure a permit by that time.
The DTPW letter states that DTPW will be contacting the City Administration to meet prior to
January 22, 2024 to finalize and execute a methodology for a pilot. Additionally, on January 10,
2024, DTPW staff verbally advised City staff that they will be providing written confirmation on the
concurrence required for permit approval.
Also on January 10, 2024, the City was served with process in a lawsuit styled The Netherland of
South Beach Condominium Association, Inc. and Ocean City View, Inc. v. City of Miami Beach
and Miami-Dade County, No. 2023-023167-CA-01 (11th Cir. Ct.) [hereinafter “The Netherland
lawsuit”]. The plaintiffs in The Netherland lawsuit have sued both the City and the County for
declaratory and injunctive relief alleging that (1) DTPW has exclusive authority under Miami-Dade
County Code sections 2-95.1 and 2-96.1 over permanent closure of road access and (2) DTPW
has not authorized the closure of the promenade to vehicular traffic, despite the promenade being
in place for now approximately two years. The City has been aware of The Netherland lawsuit
since it was first filed in September of 2023, but now that the City has been served with process,
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the legal action will move forward in court. However, approval of the requested County permit or
removal of the existing barriers restricting vehicular traffic along the promenade would likely
render the legal action moot. The City Attorney’s Office will, if necessary, litigate this lawsuit in
due course, utilizing in-house litigation counsel with experience in similar lawsuits.
Notwithstanding the existing legal action, since the creation of the temporary promenade, City
staff has engaged with DTPW and will continue to exercise all available options to obtain a permit.
Clarity from DTPW on concurrence requirements is essential because they will establish pilot
feasibility and will involve an intensive outreach process. While DTPW has indicated its
willingness to meet with the City Administration regarding a methodology prior to January 22,
2024, the feasibility of addressing DTPW’s outstanding concerns is currently uncertain given that
the City Administration has not yet received written confirmation from DTPW as to what DTPW’s
concurrence requirements will be.
If the County does not approve a permit or grant an extension before January 22, 2024, the City
Administration will have no choice but to comply with the County directive and reopen the
pedestrian promenade to vehicular traffic on that date.
To view the five (5) prior LTC updates regarding the temporary Ocean Drive promenade, please
click here.
If you have any questions regarding the foregoing, please do not hesitate to contact Rickelle
Williams, Assistant City Manager, or José R. González, P.E., Transportation and Mobility
Department Director.
Attachment: Letter from DTPW dated January 10, 2024
ATH/RW/JRG
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