LTC 394-2025 Hazardous Removal of Lincoln Road Date PalmsMIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
LTC #394-2025 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO:
FROM:
Honorable Mayor Steven Meine; a_nd ����City Commission
Eric Carpenter, City Manage UG, LftU/X/VVf7t;:,--
DATE: September 19, 2025
SUBJECT: Hazardous Removal of Lincoln Road Date Palms
The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to advise the City Commission of public safety risks
and the necessary removal of failing date palms located within Lincoln Road. The date palms
around the Lincoln Road and Euclid Avenue intersection have been the centerpiece of the
landscape design for that area for many years. Previously in August of 2022, date palms at the
Lincoln Road and Washington Avenue intersection were removed for public safety (L TC# 332-
2022). Those palms' crowns failed at the juncture of the trunk and crown with no wind. Their age,
disease pressures, and crowns' overall weight compared to the trunk size were all compounding
factors that led to cumulative failures. The removed palms were later replaced with the 'Sylvestris'
date palm species and are currently performing well.
In recent summer months, the crowns of two date palms at Lincoln Road and Euclid Avenue
detached at the juncture of the crown and trunk. The crowns fell into pedestrian seating areas,
and fortunately there were no injuries.
In response to the palm failures, a third-party arborist consulting firm, Davey Resources Group,
was hired and completed a tree risk assessment report on September 12, 2025, for the remaining
15 date palms near the Euclid intersection. The report found that seven (7) palms were at high
risk for failure, seven (7) palms were at moderate risk for failure, and only one ( 1) surveyed palm
received a low-risk rating. The risk factors documented include internal decay, soft tissue,
abnormal growth, and heavy crowns that may fail with unabated wind loads.
The risk ratings for these palms are concerning in the heavily trafficked area. All the palms except
the one (1) tree which received a low-risk rating at the Euclid Avenue intersection require removal
as soon as possible for public safety. The Lincoln Road Business Improvement District (BID) has
been advised.
A replacement plan for these palms is being developed as part of the Lincoln Road Improvements
Phase 3 Project (the "Project") being managed by the Office of Capital Improvement Projects. As
a key feature of the Project, the Euclid Oval is reimagined as a new gathering and performance
space, with revitalized planting and landscape areas. The plans for the Lincoln Road Phase 3
indicate the removal and replacement of the existing Date Palms with an alternate Palm species.
This project is currently in the permitting phase and anticipates commencement of contractor
selection in October 2025, and award of the construction contract early next year followed by
commencement of construction in the spring, 2026.
Please contact Amy Knowles, Chief Resilience Officer, at amyknowles@miamibeachfl.gov for any
additional information.