LTC 140-2023 Five Neighborhood Associations Support Mooring Field Project - Item R9 U March 27, 2023, Commission MeetingM IA M I BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
LTC# 140-2023
LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
Mayor Dan Gelber and Members of the City Commission
Alina T. Hudak, City Manager
Rafael A. Paz, City Attorney
• March 25, 2023 I
SUBJECT: Five Neighborhood Associations Support Mooring Field Project - Item R9 U
March 27, 2023, Commission Meeting
On behalf of the Belle Isle Residents Association {BIRA), Palm View Neighborhood Association
(PVNA), Sunset Harbour Neighborhood Association (SHNA); Venetian Way Neighborhood
Association (VWNA); and West Avenue Neighborhood Association (WAvNA), attached is a letter
to the Mayor and Commissioners in support of Item R9 U (Mooring Field Project) on the March
27, 2023, Commission Meeting
F:\CLER\$ALL\L TC FROM ASSOCIATIONS\MUL TIPLE ASSOCIATIONS 03252023.docx
G ran ad o , R afa el
From:
Se n t:
To:
Su bje ct :
BIRA, PVNA, SHNA, VWNA and WAvNA <belleisleresidents +gmail.com@ccsend.com>
Saturday, March 25, 2023 12:08 PM
Granado, Rafael
Five Neighborhood Associations support the Mooring Field
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Letter to the Mayor and Commissioners of Miami Beach
Subject: March 27 CMB Commission meeting, Item R9-U
Five Neighborhood Associations support the Mooring Field project.
Attn: Mayor and members of the City Commission:
We urge elected officials to support the ongoing effort to create a Mooring Field in
Biscayne Bay from the MacArthur Causeway to Sunset Harbour. A Mooring Field is a
legally defined area within a body of water. In Florida, a Mooring Field is established by
local ordinance, codifying a management plan that regulates activity within the mooring
field.
Hundreds of vessels are anchored in the water adjacent to West Avenue, Belle Isle, and
Sunset Harbour. Nearly all of them are polluting and damaging our bay. Their anchors
scrape the environmentally sensitive bay floor. Their owners dump their feces directly
into the bay. Most of these vessels haven't moved in months and, in some cases,
years. We know some of the owners Airbnb their boats. Not a single vessel pays taxes to
the city of Miami Beach or supports our Public Schools (although many use different city
services).
We understand there is pushback from some owners of Sunset Islands due to
unsubstantiated claims that boats may relocate there and obstruct the views from their
single-family homes. The city should prioritize improving the environment of our bay
and reject the delay tactics that suggest the city must halt efforts to create the Mooring
Field until the views of certain homeowners are protected by state law.
The environment cannot wait. The battle in Tallahassee should continue while the city
moves forward with its effort to protect the bay and the marine environment. A
potential solution to Sunset Island concerns is to extend the Mooring Field
boundary north to the Julia Tuttle Causeway. Moreover, City staff tells us the waterways
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adjacent to the Sunset Islands are navigation channels, so Marine Patrol would authorize
towing any boats that might relocate to these waters.
The three neighborhood associations that stretch from 5th Street to Sunset Harbour -
Belle Isle, Sunset Harbour, and West Avenue Neighborhood Associations and the nearly
ten thousand residents who live in these neighborhoods - have been and continue to
support the city's plan to create a Mooring Field to protect the environment. In addition,
several adjacent neighborhood associations noted below also support the creation of a
Mooring Field.
As the Monday, March 27 CMB Commission meeting approaches, we urge you to:
1. Allow the current CMB policy that supports the creation of a Mooring Field
to move forward.
2. Allow the city to complete all permitting- a lengthy and time-consuming
process - for the proposed Mooring Field.
3. Consider expanding the size of the initial Mooring Field after receiving
approvals from the county and the state. Do not reduce the size of the
current plan for the Mooring Field.
4. Support efforts in the Florida legislature to protect property owners from
uninvited vessels that seek to drop anchors near private, city, county, or
state-owned property.
Respectfully,
Belle Isle Residents Association (BIRA)
Palm View Neighborhood Association (PVNA)
Sunset Harbour Neighborhood Association (SHNA)
Venetian Way Neighborhood Association (VWNA)
West Avenue Neighborhood Association (WAvNA)
BIRA, PVNA, SHNA, VWNA and WAvNA I 10 Venetian Way, Miami Beach, FL 33139
U nsu bscri be rafaelgranado@miam i beach fl. gov
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