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LTC 199-2002 . . CITY OF MIAMI BEACH Office of the City Ma~er Letter to Commission No. , 9-c:2CXJ;;l m From: Mayor David Dermer and ' Members of the City Commission Jorge M. Gonzalez ~ lli'~ City Manager QfJ\r 0 Status Report on the Bay Road Improvement Project Date: August 21 , 2002 To: Subject: As many of you are aware, the CIP Office is overseeing the preparation of plans and construction drawings for improvements to Bay Road between 14th and 16th Streets. The improvements are being designed as part of the overall West Avenue/Bay Road Neighborhood Right of Way Improvement Project; construction of which is anticipated to begin in 2006. However, the Bay Road improvements from 14th to 16th Streets will be constructed this fall (2002) by the developer of the Grand Flamingo project as required by the project's development approval order. The City's AlE firm for the project, Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Lopez Rinehart, developed a concept plan for the blocks between 14th and 16th Streets that was presented at the first neighborhood Community Design Workshop held on November 8, 2001. The plans met with general approval from meeting attendees. The concept plan, which was also endorsed by the CIP Office and Planning Department, was appropriate for a multi- family area streetscape design which consisted of an 8 ft. sidewalk, a 7 ft. grass swale with shade trees, a 9 ft. parking lane, and an 11 ft. travel lane on each side of the street. Implementation of the plan would have required the City to address numerous encroachments into the City right of way on the east side of the street. The plan called for utilizing the full right of way width that extends approximately ten feet past the existing sidewalk. In June, the Public Works Department notified property-owners on the east side of the street who would be affected by the City's reclamation of ten feet of right of way. City staff met individually with a number of the affected property-owners, most of whom were very displeased with the plan to use City right of way which they perceived to be part of their property. In response to this community reaction, City staff revised the plan so that the sidewalk and tree planting strip on the east side of the project were reduced , respectively, from 8 ft. to 5 ft. and 7 ft. to 5 ft. While these modifications were a departure from the planning model, they were deemed acceptable by both City staff and AlE consultant Glatting Jackson, and they reduced the required right of-way reclamation from 10ft. to 5 ft. On July 30th, the CIP Office held a meeting with Bay Road residents to present the revised plan. In general, the meeting attendees were not supportive of the plan, largely because they still viewed it as a "taking" of property that they had had use of for many years. CI P dI -".' , ~""" Letter to Commission August 21, 2002 Page 2 staff offered to design several prototypical landscape plantings that, while still being located within the City right-of-way, would complementthe private properties and provide a partial buffer from the sidewalk. City staff also agreed to meet individually with each property-owner to address concerns about driveways, parking areas, encroachments, and landscaping. It was agreed that these steps would be taken and that a follow-up meeting would be held on August 13th. Glatting Jackson designed several landscape treatments and CIP staff met with most of the affected property owners to determine which treatment they preferred to have adjacent to their property and to discuss the issues outlined above. Although most of the property- owners were still not pleased with the prospect of the reclamation of 5 ft. of City right of way, they appeared to accept the plan. However, at the follow-up community meeting held on August 13th, attendees again expressed overwhelmingly opposition to the plan. The option of removing the parking lane on the east side of the street and leaving only a wide tree-planting strip and sidewalk was presented to the attendees as a design option, and they endorsed it enthusiastically, in large part because it required no reclamation of City right of way. Subsequent to the August 13th meeting, CIP staff and Glatting Jackson reviewed the plans and existing conditions again to determine if other options could be created that addressed resident concern and still allow for some parking to be developed. A plan revision was developed that would create planter areas separated by parking spaces on the east side of the street. A typical section of this plan is attached. The plan retains approximately the same number of shade trees as the previous version but also includes between 15 and 19 additional parking spaces (the final layout of planters and parking spaces is still being determined), thereby partially addressing the continued high neighborhood demand for parking while respecting residents concerns. The plan retains the wide tree planting strip in front of the Grand Flamingo as a way of buffering the project; a limited number of projecting tree planters will also be incorporated in this location so that there is some visual consistency between the two sides of the street. It is proposed that dense low shrubs be used in the tree planter areas to minimize maintenance and discourage their use as a waste disposal area by people walking dogs. This revised plan has been described to a number of outspoken residents who have attended the community meetings. To date, the response has been extremely positive. The plan balances the needs for improved drainage, street parking, shaded pedestrian access, and low maintenance landscaping, and, most importantly for Bay Road residents, requires no reclamation of the City right of way. It is also responsive to existing conditions and constraints in the block of Bay Road between 16th Street and Lincoln Road, which will be constructed along with the other neighborhood improvements at a later date. This will ensure a consistent treatment for the entire length of Bay Road south of Lincoln Road. ".. Letter to Commission August 21, 2002 Page 3 The City plans to have a final community meeting to present the revised plan on August 26th at 6:00 p.m. in the City Manager's large conference room. It is expected that the plan will be endorsed by Bay Road residents. The preparation of final construction drawings will then be fast-tracked as the Grand Flamingo developer is required to substantially complete construction of the improvements prior to obtaining a certificate of occupancy which he plans to seek in November 2002. JM ~s Atta~iDF F:\CAPI\$all\Donald\CIP\ROW Projects\West Avenue\ltcaugust21.doc 'I !i~i!f AUG.20.2002 12:51PM GLATTING,JACKSON ~ ~!!~ ~~ / " ,.::= q ~V 1- ~~ Cl ~C ~~;- ~~ .L.. ~~ ~ -- Dj~ I ~1,\~ ==rl ~- - ~ <:;l ~ .. NO.303 P.2/2 - J.. vrm O~NJ WV'1::l I I I I ~ I i I - I 0... I I i; . ~~ ~I ~~ If~ - - - - i-- i-- (~'D t,"'~" ~ir' '-'", .~f.''i' k"~'J' - 1"/ ~. ( tf,;y.~~~ ~, ~.r:. \!'w f-,-. \fj,. ~ ~ ) ~ 17'" .'Q. I lr~ 1 \~~I\" .:-''':12 ~ ~,/ ~ -I ~ ~:{}L- / I~.C)" . l~~.\ '~:~.~ I ~ ~\ ~~~~\t~ 111== r ~;1:~<~;~j. ,~ II-:,:tJ I '- ~.W'w.:', ...... L/ ~ -.... .I.!..l ~ J. I),' ~ ~. ~ j ./ I'~~..i~ " f-...... rr t{.t.;~ . \ " . lliIi" a ~ iJ=;': (r"\ ~ 1\ ~~;i:: w ~ ~~ ~~,.... 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