LTC 161-2003 CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No.
To:
From:
Subject:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez ~ ~
City Manager
TELENOVELA ON STAR ISLAND
Date: July 14, 2003
This letter is to advise that this Thursday and Friday, July 17th and 18th, from 8am until
8pm, a Telemundo telenovela entitled "Amores de Mercado" will begin location production
at 13 Star Island Drive, the home of Thomas Morgan.
The production schedule for this location will consist of approximately two production days
each month for the duration of the telenovela (approximately six months). Production will
be limited to weekdays beginning no eadier than 7am and ending no later than 10pm,
unless additional arrangements are made with the residents and the Film Office in advance
of the production day. The production will minimize the amount of cast and crew to about
thirty people total, and will park three production vehicles, all within the recessed property
so they are not clearly visible from the street. No production or crew vehicles are allowed
to park on the street, swale or median. The production will not have any stunts or effects
and will have minimal lighting and sound requirements.
In concert with the City of Miami Beach Film and Print Guidelines and in order for the
production to maintain their suggested schedule, the production was required to obtain
signed approvals from the adjacent neighbors and to merely notify all of the affected
residents. Knowing full well the impact any production can have on one of our resident
islands, the Film and Print Office asked the production to obtain signature surveys from all
of the properties on Star Island, asking the residents to approve or not approve the
requested production schedule. The production provided the Film and Print Office with all
of the collected signature surveys on June 2.
The production has received 84.6% approval signatures of the occupied properties on Star
Island, including the adjacent neighbors. Three residents on the island gave strong
opposition and, despite their numerous attempts, the production has not been able to
contact the residents of two unoccupied properties. For those unoccupied properties, the
production issued a certified letter to the residents, explaining the production activity and
schedule and offering contact information for the production.
Separately, on May 13, when the production began the survey process, the Palm/
Hibiscus/Star Association issued a letter of concern and objection to the production activity
on behalf of "the Board of Directors... and the majority of the residents of Star Island."
When told on June 2 that the production had obtained the approvals required to proceed
with permitting, the Executive Director of the Association suggested the signatures were
not valid and requested some time to verify them. The Film and Print Office gave the
Executive Director copies of the signature forms on June 3 and asked that he provide us
with any discrepancies on or before June 13. When contacted on June 13, the Executive
Director offered no discrepancies to the signature surveys, but continued to voice his and
the Board of Directors' opposition to the filming activity. While the Film and Print
Guidelines do not require the approval of neighborhood associations for production activity,
the Film and Print Office asks for their input to help minimize any impact the production
might have on the community. In this instance, the neighborhood association
recommended against allowing the production activity because of the opinion of three
residents on Star Island, rather than the majority opinion of the residents on the islands
who gave their approval. Concurrent with this majority opinion, the City has allowed the
production activity to proceed.
The Film and Print Office is working with the production to ensure this production day is not
negatively felt by the Star Island community. An off-duty police coordinator has been
assigned to the entire production, with an off-duty officer on site during all production
activity. The Film and Print Office will also be on hand for the early portion of the
production day this Thursday to oversee the production's compliance with the City-issued
permit, and to assure the area residents that their interests are being preserved.
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