1674-4 Thomas Kramer mh02 OFFICIALS MEET TO DISCUSS SETTLING LAWSUITS 02/14/2002
THE MIAMI HERALD
Copyright (c) 2002, The Miami Herald
DATE: Thursday, February 14, 2002 EDITION: Final
SECTION: Neighbors BC PAGE: 3MB LENGTH: 64 lines
ILLUSTRATION: photo: Murano Grande at Portofino (A)
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: BY NICOLE WHITE, nwhite@herald.com
MEMO: MIAMI BEACH
OFFICIALS MEET TO DISCUSS SETTLING LAWSUITS
An emergency executive session meeting between city officials and the
administration was held late Tuesday afternoon to discuss several matters of
litigation, including those stemming from the controversial Alaska Parcel.
City Attorney Murray Dubbin said his office could not discuss any decision
made in the closed session.
For four years, the city has been embroiled in lawsuits over the 3.4-acre
waterfront parcel owned by developer Thomas Kramer and his Portofino Group.
The suits, brought by Kramer and several of his development entities,
include challenges to the city's 1998 decision to downsize development and
restrict building heights in the city.
Property owners who have said the city's downsizing decision caused undue
burden have been able to file suits to address those claims under the Bert J.
Harris Act passed by the state legislature in 1995.
Kramer's attorneys have also questioned the constitutionality of a 1997
referendum that gave residents the right to vote on waterfront development
plans.
His lawyers have also challenged the city's decision to zone the property
for marine-recreational-use only.
A judge upheld the 1997 referendum decision last April. Kramer's attorneys
have appealed.
"We have a court order to go into a mediation, " said Dubbin, in
explaining the call for the emergencj session.
"We're obligated to work with the other side and find out where we are and
what they are willing to do, " Dubbin said. "The city is not afraid to go to
trial, but if we can settle it, we would prefer to do that. "
If a settlement were to be reached, it would herald the end of one of the
most contentious suits filed against the city.
Kramer's attorney, Clifford Schullman, said he was unaware of Tuesday's
meeting.
Kramer, who owns several parcels of land throughout the Beach, wanted to
build high-rise condo units on the 3.4-acre Alaska Parcel property.
The property is west of the South Pointe Tower and Portofino towers, and
south of the Murano at Portofino owned by Jorge Perez of the Related Group.
Last April, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Barbara Levenson ruled the charter
amendment approved by voters in 1997 requiring a referendum for all waterfront
density increases was constitutional.
Kramer poured more than $1 million into trying to defeat that amendment.
For months, he was locked in an often-vitriolic battle against the
anti-development, grass-roots Save Miami Beach campaign.
That battle thrust then-Save Miami Beach chairman David Dermer into the
spotlight, helping him win a city commission seat in November 1997.
Dermer was elected mayor last November.
In 1999, Kramer offered to sell the prime parcel of waterfront property to
the city, but commissioners rejected his $7.2 million asking price saying it
was grossly overinflated.
In all, Kramer is involved in $15 million worth of property rights lawsuits
against the city.
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mh03 CORR - RESIDENTS TO WEIGH IN ON LAND DEVELOPMENT 06/29/2003
THE MIAMI HERALD
Copyright (c) 2003, The Miami Herald
DATE: Sunday, June 29, 2003 EDITION: Final
SECTION: Neighbors BC PAGE: 8MB LENGTH: 33 lines
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: BY DAPHNE DURET, dduret@herald.com
MEMO: MIAMI BEACH; correction ran June 30, 2003; see end of text.
RESIDENTS TO WEIGH IN ON LAND DEVELOPMENT
On Wednesday, the city of Miami Beach will host the first of two workshops
giving local residents a chance to help decide what to do with several acres
of waterfront property, including the highly contested Alaska parcel.
City spokeswoman Nanette Rodriguez said the meetings are aimed at helping
resolve litigation over the 3.4-acre Alaska parcel, which was the subject of
more than five years of debate with developer Thomas Kramer's Portofino Group
over land density and building heights on the property.
The city hired architect Alex Cooper of New York-based design firm Cooper,
Robertson and Partners to come up with several plans for the property. The
meetings are intended to allow residents to air their views and give Cooper
ideas on how the land should be developed.
The property's name is derived from the fact it was once owned by the
Alaska Indians.
Wednesday's session will begin at 7 p.m. ; the second session is scheduled
for 6 p.m. July 15.
Both workshops will be held in the commission chambers on the third floor
of City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Dr. For more information, call
305-604-CITY (2489) .
CORRECTION: A story in Sunday's Miami Beach Neighbors section
gave the incorrect day for the first of two design workshops
sponsored by the City of Miami Beach. The workshop will be held at
7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
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mh03 DIVORCE CASE GETTING COSTLY 05/31/2003
THE MIAMI HERALD