20140910 AM2MIAMI BEACH
City Commission Meeting
ADDENDUM MATERIAL 2
City Hall, Commission Chambers, 3rd Floor, 1700 Convention Center Drive
September 10, 2014
Mayor Philip Levine
Vice-Mayor Michael Grieco
Commissioner Joy Malakoff
Commissioner Micky Steinberg
Commissioner Edward L. Tobin
Commissioner Deede Weithorn
Commissioner Jonah Wolfson
City Manager Jimmy Morales
City Attorney Raul Aguila
City Clerk Rafael E. Granado
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ADDENDUM AGENDA
Reports and Informational Items
4. Report of the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Panel on North Beach.
(Tourism, Culture & Economic Development)
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MIAMI BEACH
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Ricky Arriola, Chair, Mayor's Blue Ribbon Panel on North Beach
DATE: August 24, 2014
SUBJECT: Report of the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Panel on North Beach
The purpose of this memo is to serve as the written report of the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Panel on
North Beach to the Commission as required by Power and Duties as required by the creating
documents of the Panel. This is the Panel's first report to the Commission since early June and it
covers activities of the group since that time through the end of August.
The Mayor's Blue Ribbon Panel on North Beach Revitalization (Panel) was created pursuant to
the Mayor's authority to establish blue ribbon panels under Section 2-23(b) of the City Code. The
Panel was created for the purpose of overseeing the City's North Beach Revitalization consistent
with the North Beach Master Plan and to advise and assist the City Commission and City
Manager in various endeavors in North Beach.
The Panel, consisting of Chairman Ricky Arriola, Ms. Margueritte Ramos and Mr. Daniel Veitia,
has continued to meet regularly though·several meetings were cancelled due to panel member's
scheduling conflicts over the summer months. The Committee has also altered their meeting
schedule, beginning in August, from meeting every Thursday to now meeting the 1st and 3rd
Thursday of each month at 8:00 am at the Normand Shores Golf Club (the exception being
shifting of the September meetings to the 2nd and 3rd Thursday due to scheduling conflicts). All
meetings of the Panel have been noticed and are open to the public.
The Panel has continued to monitor short term Items it has raised which the City has begun to
initiate and the Panel is still working to transform its discussions to longer term concepts of
relevance to North Beach. Various City departments as well as the Mayor's Office have brought
items to the Panel for input or for the item to be fleshed out more. These items have Included:
1) Potential Local Historic Designation of the Normandy Isles and North Shore Areas:
The Panel has had discussions at several meetings to understand the ramifications of
Historic Preservations Board's discussion to potentially designate these two areas of
North Beach as local historic districts. The Panel conducted thoughtful investigations and
discussion with staff and with the public regarding this matter. The end result of these
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discussions was a concern by the Panel members that such a designation on these two
areas is premature. Motions were adopted by the Panel requesting that the City engage a
master planner to prepare a master plan for all of North Beach, of which, historic
preservation should be a major component. Included In these motions was also a request
that the Historic Preservation Board withdraw consideration of the designation as historic
districts these two areas to give the City time to complete the master plan with a strong
consideration to historic preservation. Finally, the panel requested the City Planning
Department continue its cataloguing of historic structures in Normandy Isles and North
Shore and complete it within six months to it may be used by the master planner, and for
the Planning Department to continue its active and engaged education component to
insure the residents and property owners in North Beach understand the ramifications of
the designation of their neighborhood as local historic districts.
2) Terra Group's redevelopment of the Howard Johnson site on Collins Avenue:
Representatives of the developer have presented to the Panel twice, once on the main
hotel/condo project and once on the parking garage project on 87th Terrace. The Panel
believes the entire of this project will benefit North Beach and supports this project.. The
Panel has adopted motions of support for the main hotel/condo project and supports the
rezoning of the City's parking lot to allow for the construction of Terra Group's proposed
parking garage/condominium/retail use of this site.
3) North Shore Open Space Park: The Park came up in discussions regarding the Terra
Group Project. The Panel supports the use of funds from the sale of the street end on
8ih Terrace to upgrade the park. The Panel was enamored with a presentation given by
West 8, whom the Terra Group hired to prepare some ideas as to improvements to the
Park. This led to the Panel passing a motion recommending the City waive bidding and
engage West 8 to design improvements to the park and to immediately engage the public
in discussion about potential upgrades.
4) Altos Del Mar Park: The Panel has heard updates on the Altos Del Mar Master Plan.
The Panel favored the plan but has expressed a very deep concern that desperately
needed restrooms have been left out of the first phase of construction at the park.
Members have adopted two motions requesting the restrooms be part of Phase I.
5) Code Compliance: The Panel had discussions with Code Compliance regarding
concerns in North Beach and the dally activities of the Department. The Panel expressed
concerns about the aesthetic conditions in North Beach and how these conditions fed the
perception of North Beach as "tired" and "unsafe". The Panel took particular note of
conditions in the areas with significant multifamily rental buildings as well as the
commercial corridors. A motion was passed requesting Code Compliance do a 90~day
intense sweep of these areas of concern through a reallocation of staffing. When
informed at a later meeting that the reallocation of staff was not possible, a motion was
adopted requesting the City Commission allocate funding to increase the head count of
Code Compliance staff dedicated to North Beach.
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6) Transfer of Development Rights (TOR) Program: The Panel heard from City Planning
staff regarding the potential to create a TDR program to incentivize rehabilitation of
contributing historic properties in North Beach while providing for needed increase in
density in commercial areas. Discussion focused on the need to incentivize
redevelopment of commercial property on ?1st Street and whether additional density was
needed on Ocean Terrace to encourage redevelopment at that location. The Panel
agreed that a potential TDR program should not cloud issues and should be focused only
on ?1st Street at this time with additional study to be done regarding the needs of Ocean
Terrace. The Panel remains concerned that a TDR program might be difficult for
residents to understand (as they would need to for any required referendum to create
such a program) and additionally believe that an FAR increase alone on ?1st Street would
be supported by the voters. Given this, the Panel is interested in exploring bringing an
FAR increase on ?1st Street to the voters and the City creating implementing regulations
that would require ?1st developers to purchase the additional FAR from the City with the
funds from such a purchase going to create an historic preservation grant program.
Essentially a program that would reach the same end as a TDR program but without
having to explain TOR's to the public. The only formal action taken regarding these
matters was a motion in support of hiring of Schulman + Associates to prepare massing
studies for 71st Street and ocean Terrace as requested by the Land Use and Development
Committee.
7) Parking: The Panel held discussion with the City's Parking Director to discuss parking
needs in North Beach. Residential parking was of the greatest immediate concern to the
group. Issues related to long term parking needs were addressed such as the potential
need for public su'rface parking lots in multifamily areas and the potential for the
construction of residential parking structures in the future. Additional discussion covered
the need for parking structures to serve the commercial areas of North Beach, particularly
Town Center~ The Panel recognized that opportunities in Town Center are limited until
City National Bank relinquishes the property they own in the area. This discussion led to
no formal action or motions but a clear need to continue to discuss this matter.
8) Use of the Byron Carlyle Theater: A discussion was held regarding future use of the
Byron Carlyle Theater. The Panel, in its entirety, agreed that 0 Cinema and a satellite
City Hall to serve the residents and businesses of North Beach are excellent short term
uses. The group rebuffed a suggestion of using the facility for a teen center with the belief
that such a use is incompatible with a commercial district. A motion was passed
supporting an agreement with 0 Cinema for short term use of the facility and another
suggesting a teen center be located off the 71 st Street Corridor and not at the Byron
Carlyle. The Panel, however, believes that in the long term, the existing facility should be
torn down and a new building constructed in its place that will maximize the development
potential and parking on the site. A use such as a mid-sized retailer and/or strong
civic/cultural uses such as a single theater incorporated into the development as a long
term site for 0 Cinema and a permanent satellite City Hall or post office (so the post office
site can be redeveloped) would be appropriate. The Panel Will continue to discuss the
long term vision for this site.
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9) Transportation Issues: The Panel reviewed transportation issues with the Director of
Transportation and Concurrency Management. Discussion included: the need for
crosswalks across Harding and Collins Avenue in the North Shore area and across 71 51
Street and Normandy Drive in the Normandy area, street light timing, and the North Beach
Circulator Trolley. The Panel gave input as to the physical design of the trolley and
requested that trolley designs be finalized after a full branding scheme for North Beach is
completed. No formal actions or motions were put forward.
10) North Shore Neighborhood Improvement Project: The Panel met with the Director of
CIP to discuss this important project. The Panel had significant discussion regarding the
importance of this project and the fact that the existing Basis of Design Report (BOOR) for
the area was adopted eleven years ago. The Panel would like to see the area designed in
a much more comprehensive manner. This discussion led to a motion to sever ties to the
existing BOOR's and a second motion to request the City engage a master planner to
prepare a master plan for all of North Beach and for the master planner to have a team
which included an engineer who can design an appropriate North Shore Project to
maximize the project's compatibility with a long term vision for North Beach.
The Panel continues to monitor the short term projects it initiated during its earlier meetings for
which the Commission has already established funding such as a tent for the bandshell,
management services for the bandshell, rehabilitation of the Normandy Fountain and security
cameras for North Shore Open Space Park. Additionally, the Panel is following and supports
funding for other short term projects it initiated that are part of the recommended 2014~2015
Capital Budget such as: a bandshell sound system, entrance signage in North Beach, painting
and lighting improvements for bridges in the area, and kayak launch sites.
The Mayor's Blue Ribbon Panel on North Beach will continue to advocate for projects that will
enhance the redevelopment of North Beach and look forward to more discussion on long term
redevelopment needs in North Beach so that appropriate recommendations can continue to be
made to the Mayor and Commission.
C: Jimmy Morales, City Manager
Kathie G. Brooks, Assistant City Manager
Max Sklar, Tourism, Culture, and Economic Development Director
Jeffrey Oris, Economic Development Division Director
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