[30:24] [Music]

[47:55] [Music]

[54:49] [Applause] [Music]

[57:09] [Music]

[57:25] [Music]

[57:38] [Applause]

[59:52] Hey pretty pretty nice week

[59:54] here in miami, don't you think?

[59:56] Uh, OCTOBER is here. I don't

[59:57] want to say it out loud because

[59:58] I don't want to jinx us, but

[1:00:00] boy, the weather seems to be

[1:00:01] changing from what we had over

[1:00:03] the summer. It's great to be

[1:00:05] here in chambers for the

[1:00:07] OCTOBER 22nd a commission

[1:00:09] meeting and as we always do,

[1:00:12] uh, we start with honoring and

[1:00:14] recognizing people and

[1:00:16] organizations that make a

[1:00:18] difference in our community

[1:00:20] because that's what makes miami

[1:00:22] so amazing. We have people in

[1:00:24] every neighborhood doing things

[1:00:26] to keep us safe, make our life

[1:00:28] more interesting, develop our

[1:00:31] kids, uh, and and much more. So

[1:00:33] our first presentation today,

[1:00:36] um, this presentation, this

[1:00:38] award recommendation actually

[1:00:40] came from a resident. Uh, often

[1:00:43] we don't get that it comes from

[1:00:45] one of us, but officer rafael

[1:00:48] barrientos from miami-dade

[1:00:50] public schools police

[1:00:52] department has been serving the

[1:00:56] kids right. Good morning. The

[1:00:59] children the educators um at

[1:01:01] doctor charles r drew k-8

[1:01:03] center and when you're serving

[1:01:06] at a school you're serving the

[1:01:07] whole neighborhood in the

[1:01:10] community. And so we wanted to

[1:01:13] recognize you on behalf of the

[1:01:15] families and the kids that you

[1:01:17] mentor and keep safe and keep

[1:01:19] on the right path, um, on

[1:01:21] behalf of the neighborhood. So

[1:01:23] we're very happy and grateful

[1:01:24] that you are here this morning.

[1:01:25] And commissioner pardo, do you

[1:01:26] want to say a few words about

[1:01:27] our beautiful northeast

[1:01:29] district? I do very much so.

[1:01:32] Uh, this is a proclamation and

[1:01:34] the parents we received several

[1:01:36] emails. There's no better

[1:01:37] proclamation than one that

[1:01:39] comes from residents and people

[1:01:41] asking to have someone

[1:01:42] recognized. So I think that

[1:01:44] really speaks to your work. I'm

[1:01:45] proud that you're an edgewater

[1:01:47] resident and so we just want to

[1:01:49] honor you and thank [Applause]

[1:01:50] You for your service and all

[1:01:51] the work you do every day.

[1:01:58] Thank you. Thank you. Sure.

[1:02:01] Good morning. So first and

[1:02:03] foremost on on behalf of chief

[1:02:04] lopez, I do have a message from

[1:02:06] the chief. He wanted me to tell

[1:02:08] you that we're hiring, we're

[1:02:10] accepting applications and you

[1:02:11] don't have to go through doral.

[1:02:13] You can go right to the city of

[1:02:16] miami. Um, but I do want to

[1:02:17] congratulate you. You know, as

[1:02:19] the mayor as the commissioner

[1:02:20] mentioned, it's great to be

[1:02:22] recognized by your department

[1:02:24] or by a government entity. But

[1:02:26] when you're being recognized by

[1:02:28] the people that you serve, it

[1:02:30] makes it just that much more

[1:02:31] special. So congratulations.

[1:02:33] Thank you for representing your

[1:02:34] department but more [Applause]

[1:02:35] Importantly our profession the

[1:02:37] way that you do every single

[1:02:41] day. So thank you. Would you

[1:02:44] like to say a little word about

[1:02:47] your kids your school? No. Yes

[1:02:49] I do. I'm grateful every day to

[1:02:50] be able to get up every

[1:02:51] [Applause] Day and do what I

[1:02:53] do. Thank you. Thank you. We

[1:03:00] appreciate it. Our

[1:03:01] photographers are telling us

[1:03:10] we're not in shape or in space.

[1:03:10] Okay.

[1:03:33] >> okay. [Laughter]

[1:03:42] [Applause] Thank [Laughter]

[1:03:48] You. [Laughter] Anything you

[1:03:48] need to do to.

[1:03:51] >> [Applause] Doing your job.

[1:03:54] [Laughter] Okay. And do we need

[1:03:57] a chair. For him? We'll see if

[1:03:59] terrence wants us to have a

[1:04:01] chair. Or something like that.

[1:04:11] >> yeah. All right. And now,

[1:04:14] um, I'd like to bring up a

[1:04:16] group of people that I have

[1:04:18] learned so much from and

[1:04:20] particularly the museum's

[1:04:22] director at the historic black

[1:04:25] police museum. Uh, terrence,

[1:04:29] please come on up. And we have

[1:04:30] so many of the board members

[1:04:34] here. This is a place, um, in

[1:04:36] christine king's district that

[1:04:39] has a lot of meaning to our

[1:04:42] community as a place where

[1:04:45] black police officers worked,

[1:04:47] um, cared for their neighbors,

[1:04:50] kept them safe and now is

[1:04:52] really a legacy about that

[1:04:55] teaches us it's not just an

[1:04:56] educational place and a

[1:04:58] gathering space, but it is a

[1:05:00] place where it teaches the next

[1:05:02] generation of children and

[1:05:05] young adults and people like me

[1:05:07] about the history of our

[1:05:09] community, not all of which is

[1:05:11] good. Uh and so I am just

[1:05:14] forever grateful for you being

[1:05:16] in the neighborhood for

[1:05:20] reminding us of the work of our

[1:05:22] police department, but also the

[1:05:25] work towards repairing the the

[1:05:27] wounds of racism and what that

[1:05:29] meant in miami, what it still

[1:05:31] means in miami and how

[1:05:32] important that is for our

[1:05:34] community and also for our

[1:05:35] nation. Let me just turn this

[1:05:37] over to commissioner king to

[1:05:39] say a few words. And she's also

[1:05:40] helping with the proclamation.

[1:05:43] Good morning. Congratulations.

[1:05:47] The work that terrence does to

[1:05:49] keep the legacy alive of our

[1:05:51] first officers is so important

[1:05:54] to the community and I'm proud

[1:05:57] that the museum is in the

[1:06:00] historic overtown and

[1:06:02] rightfully so. I've learned

[1:06:04] about the struggles of our

[1:06:05] first police officers and to

[1:06:08] keep the story alive when we

[1:06:11] are living in a culture that

[1:06:14] wants to forget our past,

[1:06:16] terrence does not allow that to

[1:06:18] happen. So congratulations and

[1:06:20] to the board members thank you

[1:06:23] because we can't and our

[1:06:25] founder because we can't do

[1:06:29] that without volunteers that

[1:06:30] support us in this [Applause]

[1:06:32] Journey. So thank you and

[1:06:33] congratulations. Yes.

[1:06:37] >> [Applause] [Laughter]

[1:06:38] Terrence, would you like.

[1:06:41] >> to say a few words? I'd like

[1:06:43] to thank this. Well, you can

[1:06:45] come tuesday through saturday

[1:06:48] from 1030 until 3:00 and book

[1:06:50] your tour today. Don't wait

[1:06:51] until FEBRUARY. Right. I want

[1:06:54] to thank the city of miami for

[1:06:56] remembering how important it is

[1:06:58] to preserve and protect and

[1:07:01] share history so miami doesn't

[1:07:03] get rid of all of our

[1:07:04] preservation locations. So just

[1:07:06] know that. And to lieutenant

[1:07:11] otis davis I would not be able

[1:07:13] to stand here as the director

[1:07:14] if it wasn't for your

[1:07:17] determination to ensure that we

[1:07:20] had this history protected. So

[1:07:22] this is the man who made us a

[1:07:23] museum [Applause] Who helped us

[1:07:26] to become a museum. So we

[1:07:27] [Applause] Want to say thank

[1:07:27] you.

[1:07:34] >> thank you. [Applause] Are we

[1:07:36] are we put him in the middle of

[1:07:39] us? Yeah. Let's see do you

[1:07:41] mind? Here, let me hold this.

[1:07:43] Scooch over. Just a little bit,

[1:07:44] commissioner king okay. There

[1:07:46] you go. Right under. Right

[1:07:50] under the seal. That's better I

[1:07:50] love it.

[1:07:52] >> you pick your spots.

[1:07:57] [Laughter] [Applause] Get your

[1:08:09] steps in getting our steps.

[1:08:17] Thank you.

[1:08:21] >> okay. Thank you, thank you

[1:08:23] appreciate you. Thank you.

[1:08:28] Okay. Yeah. [Laughter]

[1:08:30] [Applause] You can.

[1:08:34] >> all right. We like to get

[1:08:45] folks up.

[1:08:52] Yeah.

[1:09:03] >>

[1:09:29] all right. Is anybody wondering

[1:09:31] why I'm wearing hot pink today?

[1:09:34] Uh well I'm sure you know

[1:09:35] [Laughter] It's cancer

[1:09:37] awareness. Oh, see, we our city

[1:09:40] attorney knows, uh, um, it is

[1:09:43] cancer awareness month, uh, at

[1:09:44] the city of miami. What you

[1:09:47] will find is all month long

[1:09:49] every one of our departments,

[1:09:51] uh, whether it's solid waste to

[1:09:52] our police department to our

[1:09:55] fire department, um, is raising

[1:09:58] awareness on the importance of

[1:10:00] getting screened for cancer

[1:10:02] and raising money for research.

[1:10:05] Uh, and saturday is a very big

[1:10:07] day in the city of miami. We

[1:10:09] have lots and lots of employees

[1:10:12] ,uh, that will be at the

[1:10:14] cancer walk at marlins park

[1:10:16] loandepot stadium on friday

[1:10:17] morning. So it's friday

[1:10:19] morning. Sorry I'm giving the

[1:10:22] director um a kind of uh, heart

[1:10:23] palpitations because he doesn't

[1:10:25] have to have this race set up

[1:10:26] till saturday saturday morning.

[1:10:28] So if you want to join us it

[1:10:30] costs nothing. You just have to

[1:10:31] wear pink and a pair of

[1:10:33] sneakers. But today I want to

[1:10:36] um I just want to say thank you

[1:10:39] to the american cancer society

[1:10:42] uh, for all you do to raise to

[1:10:45] to organize this entire month's

[1:10:47] activities and to make sure,

[1:10:50] um, that people know, right?

[1:10:51] They know that this is a

[1:10:53] disease that if you get

[1:10:55] screened early, you can survive

[1:10:57] and you can survive very well

[1:10:59] and live for for decades and

[1:11:01] decades longer than that and

[1:11:03] and for also making sure that

[1:11:05] this event is a real gathering

[1:11:07] space for all of us. We have

[1:11:08] our fire chief here today.

[1:11:10] We've got our police department

[1:11:13] and um, a couple of [Applause]

[1:11:15] Survivors here we we're all

[1:11:21] scooch over here. Come on in.

[1:11:24] And and so we wanted to

[1:11:26] recognize you for this in part

[1:11:28] to recognize your work but in

[1:11:29] part to make sure that we're

[1:11:30] not just raising awareness,

[1:11:32] we're also okay, everybody get

[1:11:34] your steps in, get your steps

[1:11:36] in and get get all steven out

[1:11:37] because we are going to be

[1:11:40] walking on saturday. So um,

[1:11:41] probably you all need to

[1:11:42] practice right? Yeah. Okay.

[1:11:44] There we go. Um but we

[1:11:46] appreciate that you're raising

[1:11:47] awareness for the race and

[1:11:48] encourage absolutely everybody

[1:11:51] to be out there. I will be out

[1:11:52] there in my pink sneakers. Uh,

[1:11:55] so so please, uh, please join

[1:11:57] join us in that day

[1:12:00] commissioners. Anybody want to

[1:12:02] add anything? Okay here I'll

[1:12:03] trade you. Okay.

[1:12:05] >> you're going to get.

[1:12:07] >> it anyway. Cancer awareness

[1:12:10] is very personal to me. Um my

[1:12:13] father had cancer and when you

[1:12:15] think of cancer you don't

[1:12:19] think of men having cancer but

[1:12:23] they do and um my dad had a

[1:12:26] double mastectomy and one of my

[1:12:29] dearest friends this month rang

[1:12:33] the bell for her last her last

[1:12:35] treatment. So it it is very

[1:12:37] personal to me and she wanted

[1:12:40] me to share that with the

[1:12:43] community. So it's on my

[1:12:45] socials with her ringing the

[1:12:47] bell and I remember her first

[1:12:48] treatment. I was there with

[1:12:55] her. I sat with her and. So

[1:12:59] many people lives are touched

[1:13:02] from cancer. I lost my dad but

[1:13:03] not to cancer. He survived and

[1:13:06] he was more than a five year

[1:13:09] survivor of it. Early detection

[1:13:12] saves lives and I can't say

[1:13:14] that enough. Early detection

[1:13:17] saved lives and there are for

[1:13:19] those who are uninsured or

[1:13:21] underinsured there are

[1:13:23] organizations that are

[1:13:26] providing mammograms for free.

[1:13:30] So please take someone and get

[1:13:32] screened get screened because

[1:13:34] this is one of the most curable

[1:13:36] diseases once it's caught

[1:13:40] early. So absolutely yeah. On

[1:13:42] that note I wasn't going to

[1:13:43] speak but what I want to say is

[1:13:44] that for the people in district

[1:13:46] one, we gave the cancer last

[1:13:48] year about $500,000 to be spent

[1:13:50] on that. So I encourage anybody

[1:13:51] anybody in my district we're

[1:13:53] going to be in the park in

[1:13:54] grapeland throughout the year

[1:13:55] to get informed. We put it up

[1:13:57] on our website, uh, to to do

[1:13:58] this prevention cancer

[1:13:59] prevention. Thank you. Yeah.

[1:14:02] >> and if you don't do it in

[1:14:04] OCTOBER, schedule it like your

[1:14:06] birthday. You never forget your

[1:14:07] birthday. So have your

[1:14:09] mammogram screening on or

[1:14:11] around near your birthday so

[1:14:12] you don't forget it.

[1:14:13] >> that's a good idea. Okay. I

[1:14:15] know you have. Yes, absolutely

[1:14:18] .We have mammograms screenings

[1:14:19] this saturday at manolo reyes

[1:14:21] park. All the information is on

[1:14:23] our social media ladies.

[1:14:26] Absolutely. Check it out. And

[1:14:27] then. Maybe you'd like to tell

[1:14:29] us a little bit about the work

[1:14:31] of um your the organization and

[1:14:34] the event on saturday. Well

[1:14:36] yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Thank you

[1:14:38] and I apologize for not wearing

[1:14:40] pink. I'm ran out of my pink

[1:14:42] clothing this month already but

[1:14:43] the american cancer society um,

[1:14:45] the great partnership that we

[1:14:46] have with the city. I want to

[1:14:47] thank all the commissioners. I

[1:14:48] want to thank everybody that

[1:14:50] made this possible. This

[1:14:51] proclamation is about awareness

[1:14:53] .We've already talked about it

[1:14:55] right. Getting screened early

[1:14:57] early detection is the key and

[1:14:59] a lot of great programs are out

[1:15:00] there. Take advantage of it.

[1:15:01] But as the american cancer

[1:15:03] society we want to make sure

[1:15:04] that we're advocates for those

[1:15:06] going through this. It impacts

[1:15:08] everyone friends, your

[1:15:10] daughters, mothers, fathers

[1:15:12] that we hear we hear a lot of

[1:15:14] those cases coming through. So

[1:15:15] it's about being aware and

[1:15:16] that's what this month is

[1:15:18] about. And this walk that we

[1:15:19] talked about that's happening

[1:15:22] this saturday, OCTOBER 24th at

[1:15:25] loandepot park from 7 A.M. To

[1:15:26] 10 A.M. 11 A.M. It's going to

[1:15:27] be a great opportunity to

[1:15:29] celebrate not only the

[1:15:30] survivors that we have here,

[1:15:32] but we're also going to

[1:15:33] celebrate those caregivers and

[1:15:34] those thrivers that are

[1:15:36] continuing to battle this

[1:15:37] disease. Thank you again for

[1:15:39] the city of miami for your

[1:15:40] partnership and your continued

[1:15:42] partnership. Together we will

[1:15:43] end cancer as we know it. Thank

[1:15:45] you. Well congratulations and

[1:15:46] last but not least before we

[1:15:48] take the pictures our police

[1:15:49] department, our fire department

[1:15:52] we have our pink uh vehicles

[1:15:54] out there. If anyone if there

[1:15:55] are items not being heard till

[1:15:57] later, sneak out and take a

[1:16:00] picture so you can help us

[1:16:01] raise awareness for um for

[1:16:04] [Applause] Cancer. All right.

[1:16:15] Thank you.

[1:16:33] Thank you very much. Appreciate

[1:16:44] it. We'll see you saturday.

[1:16:49] MR. King. Catch you did well.

[1:16:50] [Laughter] You understood the

[1:16:52] assignment. You understood the

[1:16:55] assignment all right. And now

[1:16:57] it's not that I've saved the

[1:16:58] best for last because all these

[1:17:00] people have been pretty pretty

[1:17:02] fantastic. But we have oh thank

[1:17:05] you. We have a group of young

[1:17:08] people here from latino artbeat

[1:17:11] uh this is an amazing group.

[1:17:14] Obviously it's a not for profit

[1:17:16] um that is working in lots of

[1:17:18] cities in the us and we are so

[1:17:20] fortunate um that they work

[1:17:23] here in the city of miami. So

[1:17:26] folks don you're up here and

[1:17:28] all the students we've got

[1:17:30] teachers, we've got coaches. So

[1:17:33] let me just read off we have so

[1:17:35] many amazing students and I'll

[1:17:37] talk a little bit about

[1:17:39] everybody's saying this is the

[1:17:40] most creative presentation.

[1:17:42] Look at this. All right here

[1:17:43] let me scooch in the middle. I

[1:17:44] don't want to block anybody

[1:17:46] everybody up. So this morning

[1:17:49] we are recognizing uh seven

[1:17:53] amazing students for all kinds

[1:17:56] of artistic uh, things. Uh, for

[1:17:58] example we have gabriela duque

[1:18:00] who has won first place for

[1:18:06] [Applause] Amistad comunidad.

[1:18:09] We have rosemary gaviota for

[1:18:11] para la guajira la vida novia.

[1:18:15] We have madeline pineda who is

[1:18:17] not here today but her mom is

[1:18:21] uh nuestro sabor. We have emily

[1:18:24] melendez also for art in la

[1:18:27] bentonita we all love that and

[1:18:30] isabella grau also our cafecito

[1:18:32] con miami there's a lot of

[1:18:34] caffeine up here I think in

[1:18:37] energy. Uh, dylan rice for film

[1:18:40] sent away brought home and then

[1:18:43] nicolas castillo also for film

[1:18:46] for housekeeping. So eddie will

[1:18:48] and then let me talk don't you

[1:18:50] want to help us um give out the

[1:18:51] we have some medals and others

[1:18:53] to give to the students. All

[1:18:54] right. Let's and then you can

[1:18:56] tell us a little more about the

[1:18:57] organization. No, this is so

[1:18:59] pretty sure. Good morning.

[1:19:01] >> I'm donna rossi nuccio I'm

[1:19:02] PRESIDENT Of latino art beat.

[1:19:05] We have offered scholarships

[1:19:08] for visual art students here in

[1:19:11] miami for 29 years. And as I

[1:19:13] was telling MADAM Mayor, we've

[1:19:16] now surpassed a million and a

[1:19:17] half dollars that we've

[1:19:19] contributed to various miami

[1:19:21] students and on a national

[1:19:23] basis we've given out over

[1:19:25] [Applause] $6 million. You can

[1:19:29] applaud. You can applaud. We're

[1:19:32] very thankful for the support

[1:19:34] of MADAM Mayor and her office

[1:19:36] also miami dade county public

[1:19:38] schools, our partnership with

[1:19:40] the miami convention and

[1:19:43] tourist bureau that and the

[1:19:45] hyatt regency hotel miami that

[1:19:47] make these presentations

[1:19:49] possible. Uh and above all, I

[1:19:51] want to thank all of the

[1:19:53] teachers who are here.

[1:19:54] [Applause] Teachers stand up

[1:19:56] please because without you guys

[1:20:00] it wouldn't happen. And miami

[1:20:02] dade county public schools has

[1:20:04] been our partner for 29 years.

[1:20:06] And I see somebody from miami

[1:20:09] dade we're going to start

[1:20:11] calling the winners up. They're

[1:20:13] going to get a medal with a

[1:20:15] ribbon, an award certificate

[1:20:17] and then the mayor is going to

[1:20:19] give them an official uh,

[1:20:22] proclamation letter. So I'll

[1:20:26] begin calling them up. You want

[1:20:26] to call them up by name?

[1:20:27] >> yeah. Okay.

[1:20:34] >> the medals right? Yes we do.

[1:20:36] Do they have names. On this

[1:20:38] first? Yes.

[1:20:40] >> we'll leave first place till

[1:20:44] last. Second place next. So you

[1:20:45] tell us what you. Yeah.

[1:20:47] >> honorable mentions come up

[1:20:51] first. Okay and then and then

[1:20:54] that'll go there. All right.

[1:20:56] And then there's third. Is

[1:20:59] there third place someplace? Do

[1:21:00] you want to call.

[1:21:02] >> the name? Yeah no I'll call.

[1:21:03] >> the name. Okay. These are

[1:21:04] this is. All right.

[1:21:06] >> and then you can. Find the

[1:21:06] certificate. There.

[1:21:07] >> yeah I.

[1:21:11] >> know. Okay we're ready. Um

[1:21:12] first I'm going to call up

[1:21:14] nicolas castillo. Sometimes the

[1:21:15] students aren't here because

[1:21:17] they go to college, you know,

[1:21:18] out of town but [Applause]

[1:21:32] Nicolas castillo. All right.

[1:21:36] And then that's his medal we'll

[1:21:43] do. She she forgot to take this

[1:21:48] .Okay. Next we're calling up

[1:21:50] dylan reese [Applause]

[1:21:52] Honorable mention film

[1:21:55] competition. Are you dylan? Oh,

[1:22:01] well, let me get in the photo.

[1:22:05] All right. And here, take your

[1:22:10] certificate. And then dylan,

[1:22:11] I'm going to meet all of you

[1:22:12] guys in the lobby afterwards.

[1:22:15] Okay. [Applause] Uh, next is

[1:22:33] isabella grau. Isabella.

[1:22:37] This is yours. And then if you

[1:22:39] put the medal on. Okay,

[1:22:42] [Applause] Next we have emily

[1:22:53] melendez. I know emily is here.

[1:23:02] Congratulations. And put your

[1:23:06] medal on. Now we [Applause]

[1:23:14] Have rosemary gabata.

[1:23:25] [Applause] Hold on. Rosemary.

[1:23:31] [Applause] Congratulations. And

[1:23:36] if you put your mother on. And

[1:23:48] we have there should be more.

[1:23:50] Okay. We have honorable mention

[1:23:58] film. [Applause] [Applause]

[1:24:01] Gabriela duque she's first

[1:24:09] place. Here. Gabriela hold on.

[1:24:11] And if you put your medal on

[1:24:12] and then we'll take a photo

[1:24:13] with the mayor.

[1:24:14] >> yeah, we'll do that. At the

[1:24:14] end.

[1:24:16] >> we're really organized so

[1:24:17] sorry about this. This and then

[1:24:18] you will take a photo with

[1:24:22] everybody's medal at the end.

[1:24:25] Fantastic. You all right? And

[1:24:26] who do we have? Who do.

[1:24:28] >> we have? Madeline. I know

[1:24:30] she's not here but he didn't

[1:24:32] get a medal. Yeah, we're

[1:24:33] missing a medal. An honorable

[1:24:34] mention. Yeah.

[1:24:35] >> so one of those. Yeah.

[1:24:42] >> perfect. All right.

[1:24:44] >> so that should be it.

[1:24:45] [Applause] Madeline, right?

[1:24:48] >> yes. Madeline's mom is here.

[1:24:52] Madeline. All right so let's

[1:24:55] see everybody we need a picture

[1:24:59] here. Where's madeline? She oh,

[1:25:08] she's at university. Okay. All

[1:25:10] right.

[1:25:11] >> and then can you get

[1:25:12] everybody in a picture?

[1:25:18] Fantastic. Gabby.

[1:25:19] >> yeah. Come in the middle.

[1:25:21] >> your first. Place you're in

[1:25:22] first place. Get in here. All

[1:25:33] right. Perfect.

[1:25:37] And a big round of [Applause]

[1:25:38] applause for everyone. Thank

[1:25:46] you. Bravo. Oh.

[1:25:49] >> and if anyone wants to see

[1:25:51] all this artwork, you can go to

[1:25:53] the hyatt regency tonight at

[1:25:55] 530 and you can see all of the

[1:25:57] work live and in [Applause]

[1:25:59] Person. Congratulations. Thanks

[1:26:10] for coming everybody.

[1:26:29] [Laughter] Yes.

[1:26:33] >> go ahead. Oh, you are what

[1:26:39] happened? I got it no two.

[1:26:41] Whether you want to do that.

[1:26:43] All right. Folks um we're going

[1:26:45] to take we'll be back in less

[1:26:46] than five minutes. We're going

[1:26:47] to go out and take pictures

[1:26:48] with the fire truck and then

[1:26:50] we'll be back. If anybody wants

[1:27:01] to join us, come with us.

[1:32:57] Now that we've had a nice time

[1:32:58] celebrating so many people

[1:33:00] doing good works, we also have

[1:33:02] the opportunity to be blessed

[1:33:04] by father stephen o'malley from

[1:33:05] cathedral of saint mary. Thank

[1:33:07] you so much for opening our

[1:33:09] meeting. Please rise if you are

[1:33:21] able and bow your heads.

[1:33:31] Let us pray. GOD of justice,

[1:33:34] love and peace we come before

[1:33:38] you today in gratitude for this

[1:33:40] opportunity to serve the people

[1:33:44] of our city of miami. We

[1:33:46] acknowledge your presence among

[1:33:48] us and ask you to bless our

[1:33:51] meeting. Open our hearts and

[1:33:54] minds to receive your divine

[1:33:57] inspiration and guidance. Help

[1:33:59] us to act with character as

[1:34:02] well as conviction to listen

[1:34:06] with understanding and goodwill

[1:34:10] and to speak with charity and

[1:34:14] humility. Give us the wisdom

[1:34:16] that will enable us to

[1:34:19] deliberate and decide wisely

[1:34:23] and well. For the good of those

[1:34:26] we are here to serve. MAY your

[1:34:28] holy spirit guide our thoughts,

[1:34:30] words and actions so that

[1:34:32] everything we MAY do with

[1:34:35] everything we do MAY be for the

[1:34:37] good of those we serve here in

[1:34:39] our city of miami. And so bring

[1:34:44] glory to your name. Amen. Thank

[1:34:49] you. Thank you very much.

[1:34:50] Commissioner gabel, would you

[1:34:52] lead us in the pledge. Pledge

[1:34:54] allegiance to the flag of the

[1:34:55] united. States of america to

[1:34:57] the republic for which it

[1:34:59] stands one nation under GOD,

[1:35:01] indivisible with liberty and

[1:35:06] justice for all. Thank you. All

[1:35:07] right.

[1:35:09] >> good morning everyone.

[1:35:11] Welcome to the OCTOBER 22nd

[1:35:13] commission meeting, uh, in our

[1:35:16] historic chambers. Um show that

[1:35:18] all to the clerk all

[1:35:20] commissioners are present city

[1:35:22] attorney, city manager as well.

[1:35:24] Um, MR. City attorney, would

[1:35:26] you like to read your opening

[1:35:28] remarks? Yes, MADAM Chair,

[1:35:29] thank you. George vice city

[1:35:31] attorney, city of miami

[1:35:32] detailed information about the

[1:35:33] processes order of business,

[1:35:34] rules of procedure and

[1:35:35] scheduling or rescheduling of

[1:35:36] city commission meetings can be

[1:35:38] found in chapter two article

[1:35:39] two of the city code, a copy of

[1:35:43] which is available online at

[1:35:44] www.Municode.Com. Any person

[1:35:46] who is a lobbyist pursuant to

[1:35:47] chapter two, article six of the

[1:35:48] city code must register with

[1:35:50] the city clerk and comply with

[1:35:51] related city requirements for

[1:35:52] lobbyists before appearing

[1:35:54] before the city commission. A

[1:35:55] person MAY not lobby a city

[1:35:57] official, board member or staff

[1:35:58] member until registering a copy

[1:35:59] of the code section about

[1:36:00] lobbyists is available in the

[1:36:02] city clerk's office or online

[1:36:05] at www.Municode.Com. Any person

[1:36:06] making a presentation, formal

[1:36:08] request or petition to the city

[1:36:09] commission concerning real

[1:36:10] property must make the

[1:36:11] disclosures required by the

[1:36:13] city code and writing a copy of

[1:36:14] the city code sections

[1:36:15] available at the office of the

[1:36:17] city clerk or online at

[1:36:20] www.Municode.Com. The city of

[1:36:21] miami requires that anyone

[1:36:22] requesting action by the city

[1:36:23] commission must disclose before

[1:36:25] the hearing any consideration

[1:36:26] provided or committed to anyone

[1:36:28] for support agreement to

[1:36:30] support or withhold objection

[1:36:31] to the requested action

[1:36:33] pursuant to city code section

[1:36:34] 2-8 any documents offered to

[1:36:35] the city commission that have

[1:36:37] not been provided seven days

[1:36:39] before this meeting as part of

[1:36:40] the agenda, materials will be

[1:36:42] entered into the record at the

[1:36:43] city commission's discretion in

[1:36:45] accordance with section 2-33, f

[1:36:47] and g of the city code. The

[1:36:48] agenda and the material for

[1:36:49] each item on the agenda is

[1:36:50] available during business hours

[1:36:51] at the city clerk's office and

[1:36:54] online 24 hours a day at

[1:36:55] www.Miami.Com. The meeting of

[1:36:57] the miami city commission is a

[1:36:58] limited public forum. Any

[1:36:59] person MAY be heard by the city

[1:37:00] commission through the chair

[1:37:01] for not more than two minutes

[1:37:02] on any proposition before the

[1:37:04] city commission unless modified

[1:37:05] by the chair. Public comment

[1:37:07] will begin at approximately

[1:37:09] 9:50 A.M. And remain open until

[1:37:10] public comment is closed by the

[1:37:12] chairperson. Any person making

[1:37:13] offensive remarks or becomes

[1:37:14] unruly in the commission

[1:37:16] chambers will be barred from

[1:37:17] further attending city

[1:37:18] commission meetings and MAY be

[1:37:20] subject to arrest. No clapping,

[1:37:21] applauding, heckling or verbal

[1:37:23] outbursts in support or

[1:37:24] opposition to a speaker or his

[1:37:25] or her remarks shall be

[1:37:27] permitted. No signs or placards

[1:37:28] shall be allowed in the

[1:37:29] commission chambers. Persons

[1:37:30] exiting the city commission

[1:37:32] chambers shall do so quietly.

[1:37:33] Members of the public wishing

[1:37:35] to address the body MAY do so

[1:37:36] by submitting written comments

[1:37:37] via the online comment form.

[1:37:40] Please visit

[1:37:41] www.Gov.Com/meeting

[1:37:42] instructions for detailed

[1:37:43] instructions on how to provide

[1:37:45] public comment using the online

[1:37:46] public comment form. The

[1:37:48] comments submitted through the

[1:37:49] comment form have been and will

[1:37:50] be distributed to the elected

[1:37:52] officials, their staff and city

[1:37:53] administration throughout the

[1:37:54] day so that the elected

[1:37:55] officials MAY consider the

[1:37:56] comments prior to taking any

[1:37:57] action. Additionally, the

[1:37:59] online comment form will remain

[1:38:00] open during the meeting to

[1:38:01] accept comments and distribute

[1:38:02] to the elected officials, their

[1:38:03] staff and the city

[1:38:04] administration up until the

[1:38:05] chairperson closes public

[1:38:06] comment. Public comment MAY

[1:38:08] also be provided here live at

[1:38:10] city hall located at 3500 pan

[1:38:11] american drive, miami, florida

[1:38:12] subject to any and all city

[1:38:14] rules as they MAY be MAY be

[1:38:16] amended if the proposition is

[1:38:17] being continued or rescheduled.

[1:38:18] The opportunity to be heard MAY

[1:38:19] be at such later date before

[1:38:20] the city commission takes

[1:38:21] action on such proposition when

[1:38:22] addressing the city commission,

[1:38:24] the member of the public must

[1:38:25] first state their name, their

[1:38:27] address and what item is to be

[1:38:29] spoken about any person with a

[1:38:29] disability requiring

[1:38:31] assistance. Auxiliary aids and

[1:38:32] services for this meeting MAY

[1:38:34] notify the city clerk. The city

[1:38:35] has provided public comment

[1:38:36] methods to indicate, among

[1:38:37] other things, the public

[1:38:38] support or opposition or

[1:38:40] neutrality on the items and

[1:38:41] topics to be discussed here at

[1:38:42] the city commission meeting in

[1:38:44] compliance with section

[1:38:46] 286.01144 c florida statutes

[1:38:48] the public has been given the

[1:38:49] opportunity to provide public

[1:38:50] comment during the meeting

[1:38:51] within reasonable proximity and

[1:38:52] time before the meeting. Please

[1:38:53] note commissioners have

[1:38:55] generally been briefed by city

[1:38:56] staff and city attorney's

[1:38:57] office on items on the agenda

[1:38:59] today. Anyone wishing a

[1:39:00] verbatim record of an item

[1:39:01] considered at this meeting MAY

[1:39:03] request that the office of

[1:39:03] communications or view it

[1:39:07] online at www.Miami.Com for the

[1:39:08] planning and zoning items.

[1:39:09] These items shall proceed

[1:39:11] according to section 7.1.4 the

[1:39:13] miami 21 zoning ordinance

[1:39:15] parties for items including any

[1:39:16] applicant, appellant, appellee,

[1:39:18] city staff and any person

[1:39:19] recognized by the decision

[1:39:20] making body as a qualified

[1:39:22] intervenor as well as the

[1:39:23] applicant's representatives and

[1:39:24] any experts testifying on

[1:39:25] behalf of the applicant.

[1:39:27] Appellant or appellee MAY be

[1:39:28] physically present here at city

[1:39:29] hall to be sworn in by oath or

[1:39:30] affirmation by the city clerk.

[1:39:32] The members of the city

[1:39:33] commission shall disclose any

[1:39:34] ex parte communications to

[1:39:35] remove the presumption of

[1:39:36] prejudice pursuant to florida

[1:39:39] statute section 286.0115 and

[1:39:42] section 7.1.405 of the miami 21

[1:39:44] zoning ordinance. The order of

[1:39:45] presentation shall be set forth

[1:39:47] in miami 21 in the city code

[1:39:48] staff will briefly present each

[1:39:50] item to be heard. The applicant

[1:39:51] will present its application

[1:39:52] and request to the city

[1:39:53] commission. If the applicant

[1:39:54] agrees with staff

[1:39:55] recommendation, the city

[1:39:57] commission MAY proceed to its

[1:39:58] deliberation and decision. The

[1:39:59] applicant MAY also waive the

[1:40:00] right to an evidentiary hearing

[1:40:02] on the record for appeals. The

[1:40:03] appellant will present its

[1:40:05] appeal to the city commission

[1:40:06] followed by the appellee. Staff

[1:40:07] will be allowed to make any

[1:40:08] recommendation they MAY have.

[1:40:10] Please silence all cell phones

[1:40:11] and other noise making devices.

[1:40:13] This meeting can be viewed live

[1:40:14] on miami tv city's facebook

[1:40:16] page, cities twitter page

[1:40:17] city's youtube channel and

[1:40:19] comcast channel 77. The

[1:40:21] broadcast will also have closed

[1:40:22] captioning. Thank you MADAM

[1:40:23] Chair. Great thank you, MR.

[1:40:25] Attorney. MR. Clerk now over to

[1:40:28] you please. Thank you chair.

[1:40:29] The procedures for individuals

[1:40:31] who are providing testimony be

[1:40:32] sworn in for planning and

[1:40:33] zoning items and any quasi

[1:40:34] judicial items on today's city

[1:40:36] commission agenda will be as

[1:40:37] follows the members of city

[1:40:38] staff or any other individuals

[1:40:40] required to be sworn in who are

[1:40:41] currently present city hall be

[1:40:42] sworn in by me the city clerk

[1:40:43] immediately after I finished

[1:40:44] explaining these procedures.

[1:40:46] Those individuals who are or

[1:40:47] who are appearing remotely MAY

[1:40:49] be sworn in now or at any time

[1:40:50] prior to the individual

[1:40:51] providing testimony for

[1:40:52] planning and zoning items and

[1:40:53] or quasi judicial items.

[1:40:54] Commissioners, are you

[1:40:55] comfortable with all those

[1:40:56] provisions set forth in these

[1:40:57] uniform rules and procedures we

[1:40:58] have established for this

[1:41:00] meeting, CHAIRMAN, administer

[1:41:01] the oath for the planning and

[1:41:02] zoning items. Yes, please.

[1:41:03] >> thank you chair. Good

[1:41:04] morning ladies and gentlemen.

[1:41:06] If you will be speaking on any

[1:41:07] of today's planning and zoning

[1:41:09] items. Those are the items MAY

[1:41:10] please have you stand and raise

[1:41:18] your right hand. Do you

[1:41:19] solemnly swear or affirm that

[1:41:20] the testimony you're about to

[1:41:21] give at today's hearing is the

[1:41:22] truth, the whole truth and

[1:41:23] nothing but the truth in your

[1:41:25] responses? Thank you chair.

[1:41:27] Thank you very much. All right,

[1:41:30] MR. City manager, do you have

[1:41:31] any changes? I think [Laughter]

[1:41:33] There are a few so go slow for

[1:41:35] us please. Good morning, MADAM

[1:41:36] Mayor. Commissioners city

[1:41:39] attorney, city clerk. At this

[1:41:40] time the administration would

[1:41:42] like to defer and or withdraw

[1:41:44] the following items and as you

[1:41:45] said it's quite the extensive

[1:41:47] list so bear with me. I'll go

[1:41:52] nice and slow. So a two to be

[1:41:54] deferred to the NOVEMBER 19th

[1:41:56] meeting ca2 to be deferred to

[1:42:01] the NOVEMBER 19th meeting re9

[1:42:07] to be withdrawn. R e ten to be

[1:42:09] deferred to the NOVEMBER 19th

[1:42:12] meeting r e tend to be deferred

[1:42:14] to the NOVEMBER 19th meeting

[1:42:18] fr2 to be indefinitely deferred

[1:42:21] fr2 to be indefinitely deferred

[1:42:25] I one to be deferred to

[1:42:28] NOVEMBER 19th meeting di1 to be

[1:42:30] deferred to the NOVEMBER 19th

[1:42:34] meeting and di2 to be withdrawn

[1:42:38] di2 is being withdrawn pz8 to

[1:42:41] be deferred to NOVEMBER 19th

[1:42:46] that's pz8pz9 to be deferred to

[1:42:50] NOVEMBER 19th p z ten to be

[1:42:54] indefinitely deferred pz11 to

[1:42:59] be indefinitely deferred. Pz12

[1:43:01] to be deferred to the NOVEMBER

[1:43:04] 19th meeting pz13 to be

[1:43:06] deferred to the NOVEMBER 19th

[1:43:11] meeting pz15 to be indefinitely

[1:43:15] deferred and last but not least

[1:43:17] pz19 to be indefinitely

[1:43:19] deferred. That completes all

[1:43:22] the items. All right. Um, MR.

[1:43:24] Clerk commissioners any other

[1:43:26] changes from your points of

[1:43:28] view? Okay and MISS You have

[1:43:29] some pocket items I think.

[1:43:30] Right MADAM Mayor MR. Sato.

[1:43:30] Yes.

[1:43:33] >> I was going to defer re six

[1:43:35] to the next meeting. Okay.

[1:43:43] >> deferred and also uh sr one.

[1:43:47] Okay um. For deferral.

[1:43:50] >> okay. My apologies

[1:43:52] commissioner. To the next yes

[1:43:53] sorry to the next meeting.

[1:43:53] Thank you.

[1:43:56] >> sir and um correct me if I'm

[1:43:58] wrong MR. Clerk, but pz5 is

[1:44:00] very much connected to that. Do

[1:44:03] they need to go together should

[1:44:04] that be deferred as well or

[1:44:06] could we do pz5 today? I'll

[1:44:08] defer to MR. City attorney. I

[1:44:09] think what. Oh yeah you're

[1:44:10] right. Yes we should go ahead

[1:44:11] and defer it as well.

[1:44:13] >> yeah pc5 also deferred to

[1:44:14] the next meeting. Okay.

[1:44:20] >> and MADAM Mayor on pz8 um

[1:44:22] when this comes back we would

[1:44:24] seek direction from the city

[1:44:25] commission to have it amended.

[1:44:28] The title of the item refers to

[1:44:30] closing of a public alley. In

[1:44:32] fact it's a public street so we

[1:44:33] should defer it. But um

[1:44:35] included in that motion should

[1:44:37] be a direction to us to correct

[1:44:38] the title so that it when it

[1:44:40] comes back um it would be

[1:44:41] correct. Okay.

[1:44:44] >> yes yes please do that. All

[1:44:46] right. Any any other changes

[1:44:47] todd we have pocket items that

[1:44:49] need to be read in I think two

[1:44:51] if I'm not mistaken. Thank you

[1:44:53] very much chair. Um a couple of

[1:44:55] matters. Yes. Number one um

[1:44:57] commissioner king has a pocket

[1:44:58] resolution that the city

[1:44:59] attorney will read the title

[1:45:02] into the record momentarily. Um

[1:45:03] there are some co-sponsor

[1:45:05] requests. Mayor higgins will be

[1:45:09] co-sponsoring re8re ten and sr2

[1:45:11] and I need to read a brief

[1:45:12] statement about the

[1:45:13] indefinitely deferred items

[1:45:15] pursuant to section 62-22 of

[1:45:16] the city code indefinitely

[1:45:17] deferred action initiated by

[1:45:19] the city will cost city mail

[1:45:20] noticing advertising and

[1:45:21] posting of properties as

[1:45:25] applicable. Thank you chair.

[1:45:27] Okay so I think correct me if

[1:45:30] I'm wrong everyone oh I. See

[1:45:32] need me to read the d five

[1:45:33] pocket item. Yes please thank

[1:45:35] you sorry about that. That's

[1:45:36] okay. A resolution of the miami

[1:45:38] city commission confirming and

[1:45:39] approving the appointment of

[1:45:40] nancy nieves as acting

[1:45:42] executive director of the

[1:45:43] virginia key beach park trust

[1:45:45] approving her compensation as

[1:45:47] acting executive director at

[1:45:49] her current salary as finance

[1:45:50] coordinator providing that any

[1:45:52] increase in compensation shall

[1:45:53] be subject to approval by the

[1:45:55] virginia key beach park trust

[1:45:56] following a performance

[1:45:57] evaluation conducted in

[1:45:58] accordance with procedures of

[1:45:59] the trust MAY hereafter

[1:46:00] establish and further subject

[1:46:02] to city commission approval

[1:46:03] providing for the termination

[1:46:05] of the acting appointment upon

[1:46:06] the appointment of a permanent

[1:46:08] executive director or her

[1:46:09] earlier removal by the trust

[1:46:10] and providing for an effective

[1:46:11] date. Thank you, MADAM Mayor.

[1:46:12] All right.

[1:46:14] >> any other changes? Um I have

[1:46:16] a motion to set the agenda

[1:46:17] including the amendment that

[1:46:19] our city attorney read to one

[1:46:21] item that will come back. And I

[1:46:22] apologies chair. I didn't catch

[1:46:24] the mover and seconder I'm

[1:46:26] sorry. Second okay. Second all

[1:46:28] in favor say aye. Aye.

[1:46:31] >> all right so the agenda set

[1:46:33] now we will open for the public

[1:46:35] to be heard. Please go ahead

[1:46:38] and make two lines. Uh when you

[1:46:39] come up please give your name

[1:46:40] and address for the record and

[1:46:42] everyone has two minutes to

[1:46:52] speak.

[1:46:56] Come on up. Anyone? All right.

[1:47:02] Good morning. How are you? Good

[1:47:03] morning, mayor and

[1:47:04] commissioners. My name is

[1:47:05] matthew tarnoff. My address is

[1:47:07] 125 jefferson avenue, miami

[1:47:09] beach and I'm the chair of

[1:47:11] miami-dade miami-dade tipos

[1:47:13] bicycle pedestrian advisory

[1:47:14] committee. Today I'm speaking

[1:47:16] on sr three the micromobility

[1:47:19] ordinance. Thank you to the

[1:47:20] commissioners and staff that I

[1:47:21] met with and to commissioner

[1:47:24] escalona for agreeing to attend

[1:47:26] our NOVEMBER 10th meeting. We

[1:47:27] learned about this ordinance

[1:47:29] after its first reading and

[1:47:31] we're concerned that people who

[1:47:33] depend on these devices are

[1:47:35] unaware and appear to have had

[1:47:37] limited opportunities to help

[1:47:40] shape this legislation for

[1:47:41] workers and families who cannot

[1:47:44] afford a car, micromobility is

[1:47:46] basic transportation outreach

[1:47:47] through unions, community

[1:47:49] organizations and other

[1:47:50] stakeholders could identify

[1:47:53] practical concerns before

[1:47:55] enforcement begins. A police

[1:47:56] stop should not be someone's

[1:47:58] first introduction to the new

[1:47:59] rules. Please consider these

[1:48:02] two narrow changes first,

[1:48:04] please clarify that the rule

[1:48:05] limiting riding to streets

[1:48:07] posted at 30mph or less applies

[1:48:09] only to city controlled roads,

[1:48:12] not county or state riders

[1:48:14] cannot be expected to know each

[1:48:17] streets jurisdiction a a map

[1:48:19] would be helpful. Second,

[1:48:21] please consider an exception

[1:48:24] allowing children under 16 to

[1:48:25] ride when accompanied,

[1:48:27] accompanied and supervised by a

[1:48:29] parent or legal guardian. The

[1:48:32] bpac took no formal action on

[1:48:34] this ordinance, but we recently

[1:48:36] adopted resolutions targeting

[1:48:39] high powered illegal motos that

[1:48:42] are marketed as legal e-bikes

[1:48:44] and also on a county wide

[1:48:45] micromobility safety

[1:48:47] roundtable. As the police chief

[1:48:48] noted at first reading, an

[1:48:50] effective date of at least 90

[1:48:51] days after adoption would give

[1:48:53] riders and families time to

[1:48:55] learn the new rules before

[1:48:57] enforcement begins if the

[1:48:58] sponsor is open to more

[1:48:59] community input before

[1:49:00] adoption, we'd welcome that

[1:49:03] too. We share the goal of safer

[1:49:04] streets while preserving

[1:49:05] transportation access. Thank

[1:49:06] you for considering these

[1:49:08] requests and we look forward to

[1:49:09] working with you all. Thank

[1:49:11] you. Thank you.

[1:49:14] >> good morning. Morning mayor.

[1:49:16] Good morning commissioners city

[1:49:18] officials. My name is marcus

[1:49:22] loredo. I live on 627th street

[1:49:24] edgewater. I'm a vice PRESIDENT

[1:49:26] Of bna. I selected two topics

[1:49:29] to talk today. Number one is sr

[1:49:31] micro micromobility e-bikes

[1:49:34] scooters and sidewalk

[1:49:36] regulations. We strongly

[1:49:38] support the intent of sr three

[1:49:41] but believe the commission must

[1:49:43] codify critical pedestrian

[1:49:45] safeguards before final passage

[1:49:47] .The ordinance should

[1:49:50] explicitly prohibit motorized

[1:49:51] scooters and throttle assisted

[1:49:54] e-bikes on sidewalks in dense

[1:49:56] urban areas with high

[1:49:58] pedestrian volumes when

[1:50:00] adjacent streets or bike lanes

[1:50:04] provide an alternative route. I

[1:50:08] was in a two close encounter

[1:50:10] with a bike walking on biscayne

[1:50:13] boulevard personally number two

[1:50:16] rt five district two donation

[1:50:17] fund through the miami

[1:50:19] foundation resolution we

[1:50:21] support rt five philanthropic

[1:50:23] and private sector

[1:50:24] contributions to could provide

[1:50:26] additional funding for district

[1:50:28] two priorities including

[1:50:31] edgewater parks pedestrian

[1:50:33] safety, streetscape

[1:50:34] improvements and other quality

[1:50:37] of life initiatives. Bna urges

[1:50:39] the city to adopt transparent

[1:50:41] procedures for accepting

[1:50:43] donations, selecting eligible

[1:50:45] projects and publicly reporting

[1:50:48] all funds received and spent.

[1:50:52] Thank you very much. Good

[1:50:53] morning. Elisa margulies rice

[1:50:55] street center grove in support

[1:50:59] of fr6 you know how almost

[1:51:01] every parent thinks their kid

[1:51:03] is gifted? Well most pet owners

[1:51:04] believe their dog is friendly

[1:51:06] but when an off leash dog

[1:51:08] charges you and the owner yells

[1:51:10] don't worry he's friendly. What

[1:51:12] you're actually hearing is are

[1:51:14] you feeling lucky today I love

[1:51:16] dogs. My mother still laments

[1:51:18] that my first word wasn't mama

[1:51:20] it was gog. But even a dog

[1:51:22] lover feels terrified when

[1:51:23] chased or approached by a

[1:51:25] snapping snarling dog that's

[1:51:27] running loose. A leash isn't a

[1:51:29] punishment it's a safety net.

[1:51:32] Stronger penalties incentivize

[1:51:33] responsibility, but it's the

[1:51:35] manpower for enforcement that's

[1:51:37] actually preventing a walk in

[1:51:39] the park from becoming a trip

[1:51:41] to the urgent care fr5 and fr6.

[1:51:44] You don't have to be a pet

[1:51:45] owner to be sickened by animal

[1:51:47] abuse and neglect like trees,

[1:51:49] animals can't advocate for

[1:51:51] themselves. They need good

[1:51:53] people to protect them from the

[1:51:55] evil ones. Take the strongest

[1:51:57] elements of both proposals and

[1:51:59] give us one comprehensive

[1:52:01] ordinance with maximum fines,

[1:52:03] stronger protections and clear

[1:52:05] enforceable language. And

[1:52:07] finally r e ten vision zero.

[1:52:08] I'm glad this item was

[1:52:11] deferred. I hope you'll use the

[1:52:12] opportunity to make it more

[1:52:13] specific with clear goals,

[1:52:15] measurable objectives and

[1:52:16] regular not just periodic

[1:52:18] updates. And please include a

[1:52:21] mandate for city and county

[1:52:23] cooperation. Too often we hear

[1:52:25] it's a county issue. If it

[1:52:26] affects the people who live

[1:52:28] here it's a we problem not a

[1:52:30] they problem. The city should

[1:52:32] be proactive in finding

[1:52:33] solutions. It's a very

[1:52:35] important goal so I hope you'll

[1:52:36] take that into consideration.

[1:52:44] Thank you. Hello my name is

[1:52:48] karen and I represent the J.W.

[1:52:50] Warner house a very very

[1:52:53] wonderful gem of miami historic

[1:52:57] house and it is also the center

[1:53:00] for the cultural center for the

[1:53:03] miami hispanic cultural arts.

[1:53:06] Um we this zoning is really

[1:53:09] important for us because we

[1:53:13] really need to keep the house

[1:53:15] up. We have a lot of work to do

[1:53:18] and part of that would be we

[1:53:20] could sell the air rights to a

[1:53:22] developer so that we can then

[1:53:25] have all that wonderful funding

[1:53:28] to restore this beautiful,

[1:53:31] beautiful building and um,

[1:53:33] aaron will speak. I would just

[1:53:35] like to add on that we do so

[1:53:36] many amazing programs for the

[1:53:37] community. We're such an

[1:53:38] important building for the

[1:53:40] whole neighborhood. People can

[1:53:41] come see a play in their

[1:53:42] neighborhood. We put on the

[1:53:44] international ballet festival

[1:53:46] of miami and um we would love

[1:53:48] to in the future expand our

[1:53:50] programing to build a second

[1:53:51] building in the nearby vicinity

[1:53:52] so that we can provide

[1:53:54] additional programs to our

[1:53:56] community, especially our many

[1:53:57] programs for free. And it is

[1:53:59] our hope that the air rights

[1:54:01] would help restore the current

[1:54:03] J.W. Warner house and unlock

[1:54:05] the funding for our future

[1:54:06] projects as well. Thank you.

[1:54:07] >> chair.

[1:54:09] >> my apologies. Yeah. I have

[1:54:10] your name for the for the

[1:54:11] record. Yeah, we just need name

[1:54:12] and address for the record.

[1:54:12] Thank you.

[1:54:14] >> aaron ruszkowski I

[1:54:16] apologize. Thank you very much.

[1:54:18] Thank you. Hello.

[1:54:19] >> good morning. My name is

[1:54:21] lindsey cain. I'm at 66 west

[1:54:23] flagler street. I'm speaking on

[1:54:25] bbc two related to the tree

[1:54:26] committee as I've been heavily

[1:54:28] involved in filing tree

[1:54:29] appeals. So much so I believe I

[1:54:30] caught the attention of certain

[1:54:32] commissioners the last time I

[1:54:35] was here was JULY 23rd 2026. I

[1:54:36] made a public comment and after

[1:54:38] I left a false statement was

[1:54:40] made directly about me with my

[1:54:41] name displayed by commissioner

[1:54:44] pardo who stated that there was

[1:54:46] no appeal filed for the tree

[1:54:47] removals at margaret pace park.

[1:54:49] I have all of the paperwork

[1:54:51] that proves at the time of his

[1:54:52] statement an appeal had been

[1:54:54] filed and paid for with a

[1:54:55] gofundme with the public asked

[1:54:57] me to create. If anyone wants a

[1:54:59] copy of this documentation let

[1:55:01] me know. As far as I know this

[1:55:02] was not an official item on the

[1:55:04] agenda. I was not given notice.

[1:55:06] I was also not here to defend

[1:55:08] myself and the facts were not

[1:55:09] checked. I've experienced a lot

[1:55:10] of crazy things in my life but

[1:55:12] this was amongst the craziest.

[1:55:14] While this was a dangerous

[1:55:15] allegation and an attempt to

[1:55:17] discredit me, I've continued my

[1:55:18] work and engagement with the

[1:55:20] public who update me regularly

[1:55:21] and still watch in horror and

[1:55:22] alert me about these tree

[1:55:24] removals all over the city. The

[1:55:25] city is currently doing

[1:55:26] everything in its power to

[1:55:27] invalidate the appeals, and I

[1:55:29] will forever feel remorse for

[1:55:30] the ones that we didn't win. I

[1:55:31] felt it necessary to clear my

[1:55:33] name in a public forum even

[1:55:34] though all the evidence is

[1:55:35] already online as this is where

[1:55:37] the false allegation was made.

[1:55:39] When everyone votes regardless

[1:55:40] of party we have officials who

[1:55:41] attempt to intimidate and also

[1:55:43] don't care to end the agreement

[1:55:45] with ice or stop cutting down

[1:55:46] the trees regardless of what

[1:55:48] their greenwashing on social

[1:55:49] media attempts to put forward

[1:55:51] and the tree committees formed

[1:55:52] as someone fighting for the

[1:55:54] trees. I've been flipped off by

[1:55:56] a south of miami commissioner

[1:55:57] lisa bonnett followed out of

[1:55:58] meetings by officials

[1:56:00] questioned about my work and

[1:56:02] defamed but I and I just

[1:56:04] started doing this work. The.

[1:56:06] Currently the tree code isn't

[1:56:08] protecting the trees much on 36

[1:56:09] and biscayne three mahogany

[1:56:11] trees are supposed to be

[1:56:12] protected are going to be moved

[1:56:13] which puts them at risk because

[1:56:15] of an arbitrary city code about

[1:56:16] building to the edge of the

[1:56:18] property line. I implore

[1:56:19] everyone who wants to see

[1:56:20] change. Make your voice heard

[1:56:22] whatever way that means through

[1:56:24] art, protest or prayer. The

[1:56:26] city officials so far have not

[1:56:26] listened to us. Thank you.

[1:56:28] >> appreciate you. Good

[1:56:30] morning. How are you doing?

[1:56:32] Good morning. How are you? My

[1:56:34] name is vanessa candy. I'm an

[1:56:35] edgewater resident. I'm here

[1:56:37] speaking as a bee and a board

[1:56:38] member and I happen to be an

[1:56:39] advisory board member of

[1:56:41] miami-dade animal services. So

[1:56:43] I have a deep interest in fr4.

[1:56:45] In my first meeting with chief

[1:56:46] lopez I described what we see

[1:56:48] in edgewater pets left on

[1:56:49] balconies abuse, abandonment.

[1:56:51] We agreed to strengthen the

[1:56:53] partnership between miami and

[1:56:54] miami-dade animal services with

[1:56:55] training possible volunteer

[1:56:57] programs in the academy and

[1:56:58] empathy building for officers.

[1:57:01] Less than a week later the door

[1:57:02] balcony case happened. The

[1:57:03] chief has since scheduled a

[1:57:05] visit to animal services along

[1:57:06] with two to understand their

[1:57:08] process. I've also reached out

[1:57:09] to commissioner pardo's office

[1:57:12] about new legislation and those

[1:57:14] discussions begin very soon.

[1:57:15] Our ordinances on animal

[1:57:16] protection were written some

[1:57:18] time ago and occasionally

[1:57:19] amended. We do need to

[1:57:20] consistently evolve them

[1:57:22] because global warming, for

[1:57:24] example, has us at 100 plus

[1:57:26] degree days is a large dog in a

[1:57:27] small backyard kennel with a

[1:57:29] bowl of lukewarm water is

[1:57:31] acceptable or is that cruelty?

[1:57:32] I welcome these amendments, but

[1:57:33] three commissioners are

[1:57:35] amending the ordinance with

[1:57:37] different language and mdas the

[1:57:38] experts haven't been asked to

[1:57:40] the table until now with

[1:57:42] district two a higher fine is

[1:57:43] great but if an officer issues

[1:57:45] a fine and walks away leaving

[1:57:46] the animal with its abuser,

[1:57:48] what have we accomplished? We

[1:57:49] need confiscation, medical

[1:57:50] care, rehab, foster and

[1:57:52] adoption and the county

[1:57:53] operates under a different

[1:57:55] ordinance. So who does what to

[1:57:56] what degree and with whom? It

[1:57:58] took a drowned dog in a viral

[1:57:59] balcony rescue to put this on

[1:58:01] the radar. But right now as I

[1:58:02] speak animals are being

[1:58:03] abandoned, abused and killed

[1:58:05] and not only by typical animal

[1:58:06] abusers but by mobile groomers,

[1:58:08] trainers, boarding facilities

[1:58:10] and yes even children statewide

[1:58:11] we have dexter's law

[1:58:13] compounding charges, fines and

[1:58:14] jail time. The new house bill

[1:58:15] offers child abuse provisions

[1:58:17] on top of animal abuse. There's

[1:58:19] a new statewide animal abuse

[1:58:20] registry and troopers law makes

[1:58:21] it a felony to leave your pet

[1:58:23] behind in an evacuation. So

[1:58:24] let's use them and educate

[1:58:26] people about them. The point is

[1:58:28] the the the topic is bigger. So

[1:58:30] I urge you to co-sponsor and

[1:58:32] work with me and the police.

[1:58:33] Miami is a great city but in

[1:58:35] this area we're still behind so

[1:58:37] let's get it right. Thank you.

[1:58:44] Thank you. And if one of you

[1:58:46] wants to come over to this

[1:58:48] podium or you ready elvis okay

[1:58:50] go ahead. Good morning.

[1:58:52] >> my name is yolanda berkowitz

[1:58:54] and I live at 160 edgewater

[1:58:55] drive. Um, I'm an animal

[1:58:57] welfare advocate. I run the

[1:58:59] friends of miami animals

[1:59:00] foundation and I'm also a

[1:59:01] member of the advisory board.

[1:59:03] I'm speaking on items fr4, five

[1:59:06] and six. I support stronger

[1:59:07] animal welfare protections and

[1:59:08] meaningful penalties for

[1:59:10] cruelty and neglect. The

[1:59:11] concern is not with the intent

[1:59:13] but with their implementation

[1:59:14] before adopting additional laws

[1:59:17] and substantial fines we need

[1:59:18] to understand who will

[1:59:20] investigate violations, who has

[1:59:21] the authority to issue

[1:59:22] citations, how animals

[1:59:24] requiring intervention will be

[1:59:26] handled and what specific

[1:59:28] enforcement capacity will exist

[1:59:30] the day these ordinances take

[1:59:31] effect that do not already

[1:59:33] exist today, those of us

[1:59:34] working in animal welfare

[1:59:36] welcome increased legislation

[1:59:37] and enforcement of animal

[1:59:39] crimes and appreciate this

[1:59:41] board's leadership. I know that

[1:59:42] all of us on the advisory board

[1:59:43] and all of us working in this

[1:59:45] arena are happy to help in any

[1:59:51] way that we can. Thank you.

[1:59:51] Folks.

[1:59:53] >> do me a favor and line up at

[1:59:54] both podiums because it keeps

[1:59:56] it moving quicker. Go ahead

[1:59:56] ma'am. Hi.

[1:59:58] >> good morning. Um my name is

[2:00:01] renee rivoli lemur 6381 north

[2:00:03] bay road, miami beach. Uh, I'm

[2:00:05] also the PRESIDENT Of the

[2:00:06] animal welfare society of south

[2:00:09] florida and I'm here speaking

[2:00:12] also for fr4, five and six. I

[2:00:14] am also a member of the

[2:00:15] miami-dade animal services

[2:00:18] advisory board. Um I wanted to

[2:00:20] explain about animal welfare

[2:00:21] society is a nonprofit

[2:00:22] veterinary hospital here in

[2:00:24] miami. For more than 54 years

[2:00:26] we have provided affordable and

[2:00:28] often free veterinary care to

[2:00:29] pets throughout south florida.

[2:00:32] Over the years I have seen

[2:00:33] things no animal should ever

[2:00:35] have to endure. We have treated

[2:00:37] dogs and cats who were victims

[2:00:38] of horrific cruelty and

[2:00:40] neglect, including injuries

[2:00:43] associated with dog fighting as

[2:00:44] well as animals who were

[2:00:45] injured, abandoned and left

[2:00:48] helpless. I can tell you

[2:00:49] firsthand that animal cruelty

[2:00:51] is real heartbreaking and

[2:00:53] demands further action. Thank

[2:00:54] you commissioner rosado for

[2:00:55] strengthening this ordinance

[2:00:57] and working to strengthen

[2:00:59] animal welfare protections in

[2:01:00] our community. I do realize

[2:01:03] that we do need to reach out to

[2:01:04] animal services to coordinate

[2:01:06] the efforts on doing on having

[2:01:08] changes made increasing the

[2:01:10] penalties for animal cruelty

[2:01:12] sends an important message

[2:01:14] abuse and neglect and neglect

[2:01:15] excuse me must have

[2:01:17] consequences. I also support

[2:01:18] checking animal abuse

[2:01:20] registries before animals are

[2:01:22] transferred. However we must

[2:01:24] address the bigger picture. I

[2:01:26] cannot support the sale of pets

[2:01:27] when our shelters and rescues

[2:01:29] are already beyond capacity. We

[2:01:31] must crack down on

[2:01:32] irresponsible backyard breeders

[2:01:34] who put profit before animal

[2:01:36] welfare and contribute to

[2:01:38] abuse, neglect and

[2:01:40] overpopulation. We should be

[2:01:42] promoting adoption, spaying and

[2:01:43] neutering and helping the

[2:01:45] animals who are already here

[2:01:46] and desperately need homes. My

[2:01:48] hope is that miami will set an

[2:01:50] example for other

[2:01:51] municipalities and miami-dade

[2:01:53] county. So when animal safety

[2:01:55] does not depend on where it

[2:01:57] lives, I respectfully urge you

[2:01:59] to support this ordinance.

[2:02:01] Animals deserve more than our

[2:02:02] sympathy after they've been

[2:02:03] harmed. Thank you. They deserve

[2:02:05] our protection before it

[2:02:06] happens. Thank you ma'am. Thank

[2:02:06] you.

[2:02:08] >> appreciate it MR. Cruz.

[2:02:08] Thank you.

[2:02:11] >> elvis cruz 631 east 57th

[2:02:13] street here on item 14. It

[2:02:16] would enable a huge upzoning in

[2:02:18] little havana, riverside and

[2:02:20] shenandoah. This is the maximum

[2:02:22] density potential study done by

[2:02:24] the city of miami's planning

[2:02:26] department. And that study

[2:02:29] revealed that we already had 88

[2:02:31] times more housing units

[2:02:33] allowed to be built than we had

[2:02:35] in 2010 and therefore

[2:02:37] potentially eight times the

[2:02:40] population. That staggering

[2:02:42] number is before any additional

[2:02:43] upzoning like special area

[2:02:47] plans or ztsnd and many more

[2:02:49] like the one today miami is

[2:02:52] already hugely over zoned. It's

[2:02:55] an inconvenient truth that the

[2:02:57] city does not want to admit.

[2:03:00] Miami should not be upzoning it

[2:03:02] should be down zoning if you

[2:03:04] think traffic is bad now just

[2:03:06] wait until we have twice the

[2:03:08] population or three times or

[2:03:10] four times or double that to

[2:03:12] eight times which is how many

[2:03:14] housing units were already

[2:03:17] zoned for eight times the

[2:03:18] population. How much is enough?

[2:03:21] How much is too much but that's

[2:03:22] just traffic. What about

[2:03:23] potable water supply, sewage

[2:03:25] treatment capacity, garbage

[2:03:27] disposal capacity or hurricane

[2:03:30] evacuation time? Also this

[2:03:32] proposal is a huge violation of

[2:03:33] miami 21 successional

[2:03:35] transition principle. Here's

[2:03:40] what it is before t4 t5 t6 this

[2:03:41] is a proper successional

[2:03:44] transition after you would have

[2:03:47] t4 to t6 improper and on the

[2:03:49] south side of eighth street

[2:03:51] before you have t4 to t3 that's

[2:03:55] proper. Afterwards you have t5

[2:03:57] abutting t3 that's an improper

[2:03:59] successional transition again

[2:04:00] we're already zoned to allow

[2:04:02] eight times the population is

[2:04:04] the unspoken goal to cram as

[2:04:06] many housing units into miami

[2:04:08] as possible. Shouldn't miami be

[2:04:10] more concerned with preserving

[2:04:11] our long term quality of life

[2:04:13] than in enabling developer

[2:04:15] profits? Please vote no. Thank

[2:04:19] you. Good morning. How are you

[2:04:22] all doing? I'm here on fr4I

[2:04:24] believe it is. Um so I'm not a

[2:04:26] city of miami resident. I'm the

[2:04:27] organizer of the big wolf

[2:04:29] festival which takes place at

[2:04:30] regatta park um, coming up

[2:04:31] early next year. It's a

[2:04:34] festival dedicated to promoting

[2:04:36] responsible dog ownership and

[2:04:38] adoptions. Um, there's a direct

[2:04:40] correlation between cruelty to

[2:04:42] animals and cruelty to human

[2:04:46] beings. And so I really applaud

[2:04:47] commissioner, uh, pardo's

[2:04:49] efforts in this and we hope to

[2:04:50] get this moving forward. Thank

[2:04:52] you. We just need your name and

[2:04:53] address for the record. Carlos

[2:04:55] blanco yeah. And address

[2:04:56] please. Thank you. Thanks.

[2:04:57] Address?

[2:05:00] >> yeah 191 southwest 102nd

[2:05:01] street. Appreciate it. Thank

[2:05:03] you very much. Good morning.

[2:05:05] Good morning. My name is frank

[2:05:08] halpern. I'm at 236 southwest

[2:05:09] fourth avenue. I'm also an

[2:05:10] attorney here in miami,

[2:05:13] florida. I'm here to speak in

[2:05:15] favor of the up zoning in

[2:05:16] little havana for a number of

[2:05:17] reasons. One, I believe one of

[2:05:19] the most important reasons I

[2:05:20] believe is that right now the

[2:05:22] zoning that was spoken about

[2:05:25] before is concentrated only

[2:05:27] east of I 95 for a very

[2:05:28] particular group of people who

[2:05:30] can afford that lifestyle, the

[2:05:31] up zoning that would be

[2:05:33] occurring in little havana

[2:05:34] would be for everyone. It's not

[2:05:37] a giant up zoning where all of

[2:05:38] a sudden 80 story buildings are

[2:05:40] going to be cropping up in

[2:05:41] little havana. I own a property

[2:05:44] directly on jose marti park. I

[2:05:45] want everyone here to know that

[2:05:47] when we talk about transitional

[2:05:48] zoning, I'm going to have 80

[2:05:50] and 70 story buildings

[2:05:51] literally across the street

[2:05:53] from me with the river

[2:05:55] development and across the

[2:05:56] river they're going to be

[2:05:58] putting in a hotel and a

[2:05:59] nightclub that's going to be

[2:06:00] going on to 3 or 4 in the

[2:06:02] morning currently on my side of

[2:06:04] the river where I own a

[2:06:05] property you can only build

[2:06:07] four units. You can only build

[2:06:10] 36 units per acre and only

[2:06:12] three floors. I'm directly on

[2:06:15] the miami river if there's even

[2:06:17] a single small storm surge, any

[2:06:19] amount of water from that river

[2:06:20] is going to spill over and

[2:06:21] destroy that entire

[2:06:23] neighborhood. The only solution

[2:06:25] to dealing with these problems

[2:06:28] both density and height, is to

[2:06:29] create an up zoning that allows

[2:06:31] people to build upwards to

[2:06:32] protect them from both the

[2:06:34] problems that we're having in

[2:06:36] terms of funding, in terms of

[2:06:38] financing and in terms of

[2:06:40] space. But in addition to that

[2:06:41] it's an issue of safety as

[2:06:44] well. I urge everyone here to

[2:06:46] consider the upzoning in little

[2:06:47] havana and to approve it. Thank

[2:06:50] you for your time. Good

[2:06:53] morning. Um, I'm elijah jean

[2:06:55] baudrillard 300 biscayne

[2:06:59] boulevard way uh and um, I rise

[2:07:02] to support the city's um

[2:07:04] expansion of venture miami, our

[2:07:07] tech venture here and, um, I

[2:07:09] just want to add some comments,

[2:07:11] uh, from this, um, miami dade

[2:07:13] digital commission our

[2:07:15] community of enterprise

[2:07:17] technology, um, community here

[2:07:19] in miami. Uh, that history does

[2:07:22] not repeat but arrives to the

[2:07:24] same beat. New technology comes

[2:07:26] in, old systems become obsolete

[2:07:28] and I commend the mayor for

[2:07:30] leaning in at this moment. Um,

[2:07:32] we just had a great grow with

[2:07:35] ai the first one that we had um

[2:07:37] but I my suggestion is to

[2:07:39] expand what venture miami to

[2:07:40] include an ai workforce

[2:07:42] readiness and public sector

[2:07:44] governance to put ai policy in

[2:07:46] the city state and federal

[2:07:47] lobbying agenda while the rules

[2:07:49] are being written and return

[2:07:51] with a 90 days with ai

[2:07:53] readiness and contingency plan.

[2:07:56] Um because if you ask the elon

[2:07:58] musk or jeff bezos or mark

[2:08:00] zuckerberg, jamie dimon, larry

[2:08:02] fink some of the top people in

[2:08:06] our society you can hear every

[2:08:08] day the warnings that they're

[2:08:12] having to not take this

[2:08:14] technology as other

[2:08:17] technologies. It's hard for us

[2:08:20] to see the future or to imagine

[2:08:23] a world that is totally not the

[2:08:25] one that we're in right now,

[2:08:27] but we're here to avail

[2:08:30] ourselves to sincerely

[2:08:32] volunteer to press so that

[2:08:36] miami is protected. And I'll

[2:08:38] lead us with a, uh a scripture

[2:08:40] but as in the days of noah were

[2:08:42] so shall also the coming of the

[2:08:44] son of man be. For as in the

[2:08:46] days where before the flood

[2:08:47] they were eating and drinking,

[2:08:49] marrying and giving in marriage

[2:08:51] until the day that noah entered

[2:08:53] into the ark knew not until the

[2:08:55] flood came and took them all

[2:09:02] away. Thank you. Thank you.

[2:09:05] Good morning. All right. Um

[2:09:08] good morning commissioners and

[2:09:11] mayor I'm jonathan fultz 488

[2:09:13] north east 18th street. Um I

[2:09:16] lead the ai collective a ai

[2:09:19] community. We have 1500 members

[2:09:21] and I've also launched uh and

[2:09:22] founded over 30 companies in

[2:09:24] technology including a

[2:09:25] acquisition to a public

[2:09:27] company. I'm speaking about

[2:09:28] venture miami because

[2:09:30] attracting innovation is only

[2:09:32] half the job. Um, the preparing

[2:09:35] our people, our businesses and

[2:09:36] the government is actually the

[2:09:39] other half in SEPTEMBER of last

[2:09:41] year while leading a government

[2:09:43] ai workshop in nepal, I warned

[2:09:47] them about civil unrest. Days

[2:09:49] later there was a revolution

[2:09:52] and they actually set fire to

[2:09:54] parliament. That experience

[2:09:55] made preparedness and public

[2:09:59] trust very real to me. Miami's

[2:10:00] circumstances MAY be different

[2:10:02] but we need to prepare our

[2:10:04] people, the businesses and

[2:10:05] government for disruption

[2:10:07] before it becomes a crisis. The

[2:10:10] scale of ai disruption demands

[2:10:12] that we prepare right now. I

[2:10:14] would ask the commission to

[2:10:15] connect us with the leaders of

[2:10:17] venture miami or the

[2:10:18] appropriate city leaders for a

[2:10:21] meeting on ai preparedness. We

[2:10:23] worked hard to build miami and

[2:10:26] this technological revolution

[2:10:28] unfolds. We have a duty to

[2:10:30] protect the city and the people

[2:10:33] that built it. Thank you. Thank

[2:10:37] you. Good morning. Good morning

[2:10:41] billy corbin box 403 00433140.

[2:10:44] I'm here on re one and re two

[2:10:46] of course you should vote no

[2:10:48] and not raise the budget for

[2:10:49] the administration building by

[2:10:50] another five plus million

[2:10:52] dollars you're going to do it

[2:10:53] anyway I get it but you just

[2:10:54] need to know how nauseating it

[2:10:56] is for a city where the median

[2:10:58] household income is $60,000. To

[2:10:59] hear you guys talk about

[2:11:01] taxpayer dollars like it's

[2:11:03] monopoly money 5 billion here,

[2:11:05] $1 billion there. It really is

[2:11:07] irritating because you are on a

[2:11:08] collision course with

[2:11:09] bankruptcy and before you

[2:11:10] bankrupt the city you're going

[2:11:12] to bankrupt all of us the

[2:11:13] residents and the business

[2:11:15] owners and the stakeholders

[2:11:17] which is why it's so important

[2:11:19] to vote no not only on all

[2:11:21] three of the city of miami

[2:11:23] referendum items but especially

[2:11:25] referendum item one. It is a

[2:11:27] robbery that they want you to

[2:11:28] be a coconspirator to and it

[2:11:30] doesn't matter what it says on

[2:11:31] the ballot it's a lie. They're

[2:11:32] not changing the millage rate.

[2:11:33] They're still raising your

[2:11:35] taxes and doubling the debt of

[2:11:37] the city from 1 to $2 billion.

[2:11:39] Miguel gabela voted to raise

[2:11:40] your taxes. Rolando escalona

[2:11:42] wants to raise your taxes.

[2:11:43] Ralph rosado wants to raise

[2:11:44] your taxes and mayor eileen

[2:11:45] higgins wants to raise your

[2:11:47] taxes. Mayor, I have to say it

[2:11:49] you are a liar and a thief.

[2:11:51] You're a liar because last year

[2:11:53] you spent the entire campaign

[2:11:54] promising us you would do a

[2:11:55] deep dive into this budget,

[2:11:56] identify the tens of millions

[2:11:58] if not hundreds of millions of

[2:11:59] dollars in waste and you not

[2:12:00] only didn't do it which makes

[2:12:02] you a liar but you did the

[2:12:03] opposite which makes you a

[2:12:04] thief. You took 30% more money

[2:12:06] for your office. You increased

[2:12:07] the budget of the city by tens

[2:12:08] of millions of dollars and now

[2:12:10] you want $1 billion credit card

[2:12:12] under this miami referendum,

[2:12:14] one and half $1 billion of that

[2:12:16] money doesn't go to you or any

[2:12:17] community benefits. It goes to

[2:12:19] bankers and lawyers and

[2:12:19] lobbyists and insurance

[2:12:21] companies, all of whom are

[2:12:22] going to kick that money back

[2:12:23] to these folks, to the

[2:12:24] commissioners and to the mayor

[2:12:26] in the form of donations to

[2:12:28] pacs and campaigns. So vote no

[2:12:30] on city of miami referendum one

[2:12:32] because you can't spell eileen

[2:12:38] without lie thank you. Good

[2:12:41] morning. Good morning. Good

[2:12:42] morning commissioners. My name

[2:12:43] is isaac sembler. I'm a

[2:12:45] district three resident living

[2:12:46] on southwest second street. My

[2:12:48] address for 3436 southwest

[2:12:50] second. Um I'm not against

[2:12:51] development. I'm actually here

[2:12:52] because I believe quality of

[2:12:53] life should be just as

[2:12:54] important as the growth

[2:12:55] happening around us. First I'd

[2:12:55] like to acknowledge the

[2:12:57] commissioner and his efforts in

[2:12:58] district three, but I want to

[2:12:59] raise a few concerns about the

[2:13:00] lack of transparency and the

[2:13:01] growing impact development is

[2:13:02] having on our neighborhood.

[2:13:03] Let's start with jose marti

[2:13:04] park. This is one of the few

[2:13:06] accessible green spaces along

[2:13:07] southwest river drive,

[2:13:07] especially for residents with

[2:13:09] pets. Yet we've received very

[2:13:10] little information about the

[2:13:11] construction phases, the

[2:13:12] closures and we can when we can

[2:13:14] expect full access again we

[2:13:15] hear the project can take up to

[2:13:16] two years. But where is the

[2:13:17] communication? You guys spend

[2:13:18] millions of dollars in

[2:13:19] political mailers, but I can't

[2:13:20] get one thing in the mail about

[2:13:22] my park closing so transparency

[2:13:23] shouldn't be something the

[2:13:24] residents have to chase down.

[2:13:25] Now regarding the proposed

[2:13:27] rezoning for pc 14, my concern

[2:13:29] is that the development is

[2:13:29] outpacing the infrastructure

[2:13:30] and the oversight needed to

[2:13:31] support it. We're already

[2:13:32] dealing with constant

[2:13:33] construction noise, dust

[2:13:35] traffic and concerns about

[2:13:36] improperly permitted work.

[2:13:37] We've already seen two serious

[2:13:38] construction equipment

[2:13:40] collapses in miami and the most

[2:13:41] recent months raising important

[2:13:42] questions about inspection

[2:13:44] resources and public safety.

[2:13:45] How are we ensuring that

[2:13:46] increased development doesn't

[2:13:47] come at the expense of

[2:13:49] residents safety and peace?

[2:13:51] Southwest third street was most

[2:13:52] recently configured and by my

[2:13:53] observation we're going to be

[2:13:55] left with no parking. So

[2:13:56] commissioners please do

[2:13:57] something about this. Me as a

[2:13:58] local resident I was born and

[2:13:59] raised here. I want to stay

[2:14:00] here. I don't want to get

[2:14:01] priced out. Thank you. Thank

[2:14:01] you.

[2:14:04] >> um I is anyone else waiting

[2:14:07] to speak? Okay, come on up so I

[2:14:08] don't MISS MISS folks. Anybody

[2:14:10] that wants to speak get come up

[2:14:12] to the podium, please. Okay.

[2:14:14] Good morning. We'll start over

[2:14:15] here. Good morning. Good

[2:14:17] morning. MADAM Chair

[2:14:18] commissioners. My name is

[2:14:21] miriam and I'm here

[2:14:22] representing alvarado community

[2:14:25] action. Thank you. I'm sorry.

[2:14:27] I'm here representing our

[2:14:31] community action located at

[2:14:33] 2257 northwest north river

[2:14:39] drive in miami in the area. Um,

[2:14:45] today I'm here, uh, to, uh. I'm

[2:14:47] here to talk about our

[2:14:51] community and the mission of

[2:14:53] allapattah community action,

[2:14:56] uh, and the elderly center uh,

[2:14:58] that is to enhance the quality

[2:14:59] of life of our elderly

[2:15:02] individuals by providing

[2:15:04] nutritious meals, services,

[2:15:06] opportunities for social

[2:15:09] engagement and access to

[2:15:10] resources that promote

[2:15:13] independence, dignity and

[2:15:15] healthy aging. Since its

[2:15:18] establishment in 1978,

[2:15:20] allapattah community action has

[2:15:22] demonstrated an enduring

[2:15:23] commitment to the elderly

[2:15:26] residents of city of miami as

[2:15:29] the organization approaches its

[2:15:33] 50th anniversary in 2028, it

[2:15:35] remains dedicated to preserving

[2:15:37] its history of community

[2:15:39] service and ensuring that

[2:15:41] elderly residents continue to

[2:15:44] receive the care, respect and

[2:15:47] assistance they deserve. For

[2:15:49] nearly five decades, our

[2:15:51] community action inc. Has

[2:15:53] remained committed to one

[2:15:55] fundamental principle no

[2:15:58] elderly individuals should be

[2:16:01] forgotten, isolated or deprived

[2:16:03] of the essential services

[2:16:05] necessary to live with dignity

[2:16:08] and independence. The elderly

[2:16:11] center has become more than a

[2:16:13] location where meals are

[2:16:16] provided represents a place of

[2:16:18] companionship, security,

[2:16:20] dignity and belonging for many

[2:16:23] elderly individuals who might

[2:16:25] otherwise experience

[2:16:27] loneliness, food insecurity and

[2:16:30] limited access to community

[2:16:32] services. For many

[2:16:34] participants, the center serves

[2:16:36] as an important part of their

[2:16:38] daily life providing not only

[2:16:41] nutritional assistance but also

[2:16:42] opportunities to remain

[2:16:45] connected to their community.

[2:16:47] The organization extends its

[2:16:49] special appreciation to the

[2:16:51] commissioners providing not

[2:16:54] only nutrition. I'm sorry for.

[2:16:56] I'm sorry the elderly center.

[2:16:56] We.

[2:16:58] >> we have to. The organization

[2:17:00] extends a special appreciation

[2:17:01] to the commissioners,

[2:17:03] especially commissioner gabella

[2:17:05] for his continued support and

[2:17:08] commitment to our community, to

[2:17:10] the elderly center and the

[2:17:12] senior it serves. It's your two

[2:17:14] minutes are up. Thank you very.

[2:17:15] >> much but thank you for

[2:17:17] coming and we know your good

[2:17:18] work. We see it every day.

[2:17:20] Appreciate it. Okay go ahead

[2:17:25] ma'am I. Hi good morning. My

[2:17:27] name is alyssa zepeda. I reside

[2:17:29] at 531 northeast 76th street.

[2:17:32] Um I'm here today to speak on

[2:17:34] two items that are very

[2:17:37] important um to myself and to

[2:17:39] the upper east side community.

[2:17:42] They are ph seven and r e for

[2:17:44] the freebie item and the palm

[2:17:45] grove guidelines. I'm here

[2:17:48] today to ask on both of these

[2:17:50] items that you commissioners

[2:17:52] the four of you please support

[2:17:53] my district five commissioner

[2:17:55] who has worked very hard to

[2:17:57] bring these items that will,

[2:17:58] you know, significantly improve

[2:18:00] the life of the residents in

[2:18:02] palm grove and the upper east

[2:18:04] side and surrounding areas like

[2:18:06] little haiti and they will help

[2:18:08] with our mobility. For example,

[2:18:10] freebie will be I mean an

[2:18:13] amazing and amazing addition to

[2:18:15] help with our parking problems,

[2:18:17] our traffic problems and all

[2:18:18] sorts of things like that. I

[2:18:20] personally have asked for this

[2:18:22] for approximately eight years

[2:18:23] through three different

[2:18:25] commissioners. So this is a

[2:18:27] huge deal today. So if you can

[2:18:28] please support this I would

[2:18:29] greatly appreciate it. And as

[2:18:31] far as the palm grove

[2:18:32] guidelines this will simplify

[2:18:35] chapter 23 for a lot of people.

[2:18:36] Hopefully my neighborhood is

[2:18:38] the first and these guidelines

[2:18:39] will make it easy for people to

[2:18:41] update their homes, repair

[2:18:43] them, change their roofs and do

[2:18:44] things like that where it is

[2:18:45] all spelled out and it's easy

[2:18:47] for them to understand and it's

[2:18:48] not complicated and they don't

[2:18:50] get stuck in the city's

[2:18:51] building department vortex for

[2:18:53] nine months to change windows.

[2:18:56] So I would really appreciate

[2:18:57] your support. Thank you so

[2:19:02] much. Thank you. All right.

[2:19:04] Good morning. Brenda betancourt

[2:19:07] 1436 west sixth street. Um just

[2:19:10] in reference fr3 about the

[2:19:14] motor vehicles and traffic um

[2:19:19] are we are going to really do a

[2:19:22] changes to actually give the

[2:19:25] police the opportunity to make

[2:19:28] sure it gets control of not

[2:19:32] just bicycles, motorcycles,

[2:19:34] electric scooters who normally

[2:19:37] drive against traffic and the

[2:19:39] sidewalks even though there is

[2:19:40] a resolution in the state,

[2:19:41] especially in eighth street,

[2:19:44] they're not supposed to be any

[2:19:48] type of bicycles or any type of

[2:19:50] motor vehicles in the sidewalk

[2:19:52] that is being ignored for

[2:19:55] decades. Um that's the

[2:19:59] questions about fr3 is so many

[2:20:03] different um resolutions that

[2:20:05] you the elected officials have

[2:20:07] the responsibility when you see

[2:20:10] a scooter in the middle of the

[2:20:13] street between cars almost

[2:20:16] hitting seniors or a regular

[2:20:17] citizen who's walking on the

[2:20:20] sidewalk. But what exactly the

[2:20:22] changes are you are really

[2:20:23] going to do? Are you really

[2:20:27] going to do a new resolution to

[2:20:29] give the power to the police to

[2:20:32] actually make any changes, or

[2:20:34] is it going to be just as many

[2:20:35] resolutions that this body

[2:20:39] creates that is just for look

[2:20:41] reads really nice and the paper

[2:20:44] but actually doesn't have no

[2:20:46] way for the police to enforce

[2:20:52] it. Many of us have seen that

[2:20:54] constantly. You have promised

[2:20:55] you guys are going to work on

[2:20:58] it. So fr3 actually going to do

[2:21:00] something concrete or not.

[2:21:03] That's a question. And another

[2:21:05] question that I have is we have

[2:21:10] no report of any kind stating

[2:21:12] that you guys. Thank you.

[2:21:13] That's two minutes. Thank you

[2:21:14] [Laughter] MISS Betancourt. I

[2:21:17] didn't hear the beep. The beep

[2:21:21] went off confirmed MR. Clark,

[2:21:23] the keeper of the keeper of our

[2:21:25] beeper. All right. Thank you

[2:21:26] very much for coming.

[2:21:27] Appreciate it. All right.

[2:21:29] Seeing no one else, the public

[2:21:32] comment period is closed. All

[2:21:34] right, colleagues, uh, let us

[2:21:36] move on to the consent agenda.

[2:21:37] Does anyone want to bifurcate

[2:21:40] any of the items? Seeing none,

[2:21:42] I'll take a motion. So moved.

[2:21:45] >> second. All in favor say

[2:21:45] aye. Aye.

[2:21:46] >> chair. Chair. Yes.

[2:21:49] >> MR. Clark. Ca3 will be

[2:21:50] amended on the floor to change

[2:21:51] the name of the case and the

[2:21:53] title of the resolution from

[2:21:55] angela beltran versus city of

[2:21:57] miami to rhoda doyle versus

[2:21:59] city of miami. So c three as

[2:22:00] amended. Okay.

[2:22:01] >> so we have a motion as

[2:22:02] amended and a second all those

[2:22:06] in favor say I. I so those

[2:22:07] items passed. My apologies just

[2:22:09] for the record that'll be for k

[2:22:10] one three and four. Absolutely

[2:22:11] .

[2:22:13] >> all right public hearing

[2:22:14] items does anybody wish to

[2:22:16] bifurcate any of the public

[2:22:18] hearing items seeing none I'll

[2:22:20] take an motion on that. So

[2:22:22] moved. Second. Second all those

[2:22:24] in favor say aye aye. Any

[2:22:27] opposed those carried

[2:22:28] unanimously. All right moving

[2:22:32] on to the resolutions uh we've

[2:22:34] had a lot of them that are

[2:22:35] deferred but I do I does anyone

[2:22:37] want to bifurcate the remaining

[2:22:40] items. I'll do re5. Okay re5

[2:22:42] we'd like to bifurcate any

[2:22:45] others? Okay. MR. Clark, I

[2:22:47] think we need to amend re8. I'd

[2:22:50] like to, um, pull re8re8. Okay.

[2:22:52] >> and I know we need an

[2:22:53] amendment on that I think. All

[2:22:55] right, so I would entertain a

[2:23:02] motion on re1234re6re6 is

[2:23:12] deferred. Is deferred. Yeah so

[2:23:15] re123471112 and 13. So motion

[2:23:17] second. Okay all in favor say

[2:23:18] aye. Aye any opposed those

[2:23:21] carry unanimously. MADAM Mayor.

[2:23:23] Yes ma'am. Why was re6

[2:23:25] deferred? It was deferred at

[2:23:26] the setting of the agenda. I

[2:23:28] know um I've been looking for

[2:23:30] this item. I thought it was

[2:23:34] going to be in second reading.

[2:23:36] I'm just asking why it was

[2:23:38] deferred. Asked the

[2:23:39] commissioner who sponsored it.

[2:23:41] Yeah, no, I moved it to the

[2:23:43] next meeting. Oh it's okay. So

[2:23:46] what I'm. What I'm asking is my

[2:23:48] item the protocol item? First

[2:23:50] reading, last commission

[2:23:52] meeting. It's not here for

[2:23:54] second reading. Somebody tell

[2:23:56] me why. Um.

[2:23:59] >> generally like if. The way

[2:24:00] they do the agenda is if it's

[2:24:03] on the first meeting a second

[2:24:04] reading is on the first meeting

[2:24:06] of the month. Okay they match

[2:24:06] the month.

[2:24:07] >> yeah just just. Checking

[2:24:08] [Laughter] And it's also a

[2:24:10] notice issue as far as

[2:24:11] advertising the title. Okay

[2:24:12] just checking. Okay.

[2:24:14] >> all right um commissioner

[2:24:17] pardo you bifurcated re5. Yeah

[2:24:19] I had a lot of questions about

[2:24:20] re5 so I just wanted to explain

[2:24:22] it a little bit. The um

[2:24:25] everyone knows that our ways of

[2:24:26] increasing revenue are

[2:24:28] increasing taxes increasing

[2:24:30] fees and I think we could do a

[2:24:32] much better job of bringing in

[2:24:34] other revenue thinking more

[2:24:36] outside the box more

[2:24:38] innovatively and looking at

[2:24:39] private people and corporations

[2:24:41] that have the wherewithal and

[2:24:42] that are moving to miami

[2:24:44] district two has a lot of

[2:24:46] affluence moving into district

[2:24:48] two in the past I've had

[2:24:50] residents come to me and say

[2:24:53] I'm willing to give $250,000 as

[2:24:54] part of this street project if

[2:24:56] you'll do my curb and gutter it

[2:24:58] has been impossible because we

[2:24:59] don't have an established

[2:25:02] process or system to take in

[2:25:04] that money and by the time we

[2:25:06] actually get to well maybe we

[2:25:08] can put it on an agenda they're

[2:25:09] gone donors. The moment a

[2:25:12] serious donor looks at the city

[2:25:14] and feels like they're not

[2:25:15] being treated professionally,

[2:25:17] they're whatever gift they're

[2:25:19] going to give isn't going to

[2:25:21] pan out. They're going to go

[2:25:23] away. They have other places to

[2:25:25] give that money. I want the

[2:25:27] city of miami to be a place

[2:25:29] where a private donor can come

[2:25:31] here and say, I want to give to

[2:25:32] this park, I want to this

[2:25:34] happen to on the street and I'm

[2:25:35] willing to pay for it. There

[2:25:37] are a lot of people out there

[2:25:38] who who believe they've been

[2:25:40] very fortunate, very blessed

[2:25:42] and they're willing to give and

[2:25:43] they're philanthropic and we

[2:25:45] don't really have a path for

[2:25:47] those people. So re5 looks to

[2:25:48] the miami foundation. I've been

[2:25:50] a trustee on the miami

[2:25:51] foundation. They're a

[2:25:53] fiduciary. They're an outside

[2:25:55] organization. They can hold a

[2:25:57] donor advised fund for people

[2:25:59] in this case specifically in

[2:26:00] district two because I'd like

[2:26:03] to be able to have supervisory

[2:26:04] capacity over what happens. I'd

[2:26:06] also like to be able to be

[2:26:08] transparent to the public and

[2:26:09] show the progress of these

[2:26:11] different projects. I think

[2:26:13] that a donor advised fund with

[2:26:14] and I know there are other

[2:26:15] donor advised funds with the

[2:26:17] city and in other districts

[2:26:18] would really go a long way.

[2:26:20] That's well established and

[2:26:22] that really delivers for

[2:26:23] philanthropists because then

[2:26:24] they know they you start

[2:26:25] building a trust relationship

[2:26:27] with your city that they're

[2:26:29] going to treat your money with

[2:26:31] respect, not waste it be

[2:26:32] efficient and effective. And

[2:26:34] that's really the point of re5.

[2:26:36] Would you move your item? Yep

[2:26:37] I'll move. All right.

[2:26:38] >> is there a second. Second

[2:26:41] all those in favor say aye. Aye

[2:26:42] show that passed unanimously

[2:26:44] commissioner king um you

[2:26:46] bifurcated re8 and I know

[2:26:48] there's a possible amendment

[2:26:51] from the clerk. So I was just

[2:26:52] wondering um commissioner

[2:26:55] rosado, is it really necessary

[2:26:58] to commit this to legislation

[2:27:00] because with mpa they already

[2:27:02] notify the commissioners before

[2:27:05] they take any action. And I was

[2:27:07] wondering if maybe you tried to

[2:27:09] resolve this before creating

[2:27:11] legislation because we have a

[2:27:13] really good working [Applause]

[2:27:16] Relationship with mpa. I just.

[2:27:18] There was there was an I agree

[2:27:19] with that that we do have a

[2:27:20] good working relationship, but

[2:27:22] there was a recent instance

[2:27:24] where uh, pay by phone signs

[2:27:24] were installed in a

[2:27:26] neighborhood where there's no

[2:27:27] commercial establishments in

[2:27:29] the vicinity. And I got a

[2:27:30] series of complaints and the

[2:27:32] residents were under the

[2:27:33] impression that that was my

[2:27:34] idea or that that's a thing

[2:27:36] that we need to prove. And so I

[2:27:37] want to be I want to be

[2:27:39] notified in this particular

[2:27:40] instance when I brought it to

[2:27:41] their attention, all the

[2:27:42] complaints we got they had to

[2:27:43] do a re analysis and they said,

[2:27:44] you know what, it makes sense.

[2:27:45] Let's go ahead and remove them

[2:27:47] all. If they let me know in

[2:27:48] advance I'd say why are you

[2:27:49] putting those there? The folks

[2:27:50] that are going to be parking

[2:27:51] their parking there because

[2:27:53] they live in apartment

[2:27:54] buildings with no parking

[2:27:54] garages. They're going to be

[2:27:56] there dependent on the street

[2:27:57] parking so we could have saved

[2:27:59] them time and money on this. So

[2:28:01] I would like to codify this.

[2:28:01] Yeah.

[2:28:04] >> can I weigh in? Um you know

[2:28:06] I've always found that mpa is

[2:28:07] very responsive very uh you

[2:28:10] know, uh uh they cater to our

[2:28:12] needs. I mean I had a call on

[2:28:14] 17th ave um from the from some

[2:28:16] business owners there and from

[2:28:17] the public that you know, they

[2:28:18] were charging there and I, I

[2:28:20] called and said, can you let up

[2:28:21] for a while? You know, to you

[2:28:22] know, we're in bad times.

[2:28:23] People don't have a lot of

[2:28:24] money right now and they they

[2:28:26] they did it. I found them to be

[2:28:28] very you know, very uh, I agree

[2:28:30] with the with the commissioner.

[2:28:33] Uh, sure. If I if I could just

[2:28:34] add two things again, this is

[2:28:36] just for us to be notified in

[2:28:37] advance in this instance we

[2:28:39] weren't so that MAY be a

[2:28:41] practice but if it's not always

[2:28:42] followed that's a that's a

[2:28:43] problem. And we actually worked

[2:28:45] with the mpa on this

[2:28:47] legislation. So they they are

[2:28:51] fine with this as written. Any

[2:28:53] other discussion? Commissioner

[2:28:55] rosado, would you like to move

[2:28:55] your item.

[2:28:57] >> so. Moved and do we have an

[2:28:59] amendment as amended as a

[2:29:00] substitution I think right.

[2:29:02] Thank you chair re eight will

[2:29:03] be amended pursuant to a

[2:29:05] substitution memo dated OCTOBER

[2:29:09] 19th, 2026 as amended. So it's

[2:29:10] moved and second as amended.

[2:29:12] All those in favor say aye. Aye

[2:29:15] aye. Any opposed? What was the

[2:29:16] I'm sorry what was the

[2:29:19] amendment? Bear with me for

[2:29:22] just a moment. The amendment

[2:29:23] was to limit the notification

[2:29:25] to properties that are

[2:29:27] residential in nature as well

[2:29:29] as I believe it changed it from

[2:29:30] 30 days to seven days. Got it.

[2:29:31] >> thank you.

[2:29:33] >> gave them a little more

[2:29:35] flexibility. All right. So that

[2:29:39] item passed unanimously. We'll

[2:29:42] move on. I think that's all the

[2:29:44] resolutions second reading we

[2:29:46] have two sr two sr three. Would

[2:29:49] you read the titles. Yes MADAM

[2:29:57] Chair. Sr two an ordinance of

[2:29:58] the miami city commission

[2:29:59] amending chapter 38 article two

[2:30:00] of the code of the city of

[2:30:01] miami, florida as amended

[2:30:03] titled parks and recreation use

[2:30:06] regulations by amending section

[2:30:07] 38-65 titled peddling vending

[2:30:08] and merchandizing more

[2:30:10] specifically establishing a

[2:30:11] park use approval process for

[2:30:13] the operation of farmers

[2:30:14] markets in the city of miami

[2:30:15] parks containing a severability

[2:30:17] clause and providing for an

[2:30:19] immediate effective date. Then

[2:30:24] we have sr three. Sr three an

[2:30:25] ordinance of the miami city

[2:30:26] commission amending chapter

[2:30:27] eight of the code of the city

[2:30:29] of miami, florida as amended

[2:30:30] titled bicycle skateboard

[2:30:32] scooters and other similar

[2:30:33] devices by creating article

[2:30:35] three section 8-20 of the of

[2:30:36] the code regulating the

[2:30:38] operation of micro mobility

[2:30:39] devices, electric bicycles and

[2:30:41] motorized scooters in the city

[2:30:42] of miami providing definitions,

[2:30:44] regulations for operation of

[2:30:45] micro mobility devices,

[2:30:47] electric bicycles and motorized

[2:30:49] scooters on city rights of way

[2:30:51] providing enforcement pursuant

[2:30:52] to chapter two article ten of

[2:30:54] the code in chapter 318 florida

[2:30:55] statutes providing for

[2:30:57] severability clause and an

[2:30:59] effective date. Would we like

[2:31:01] to by MR. Clark I see you have.

[2:31:03] My apologies. Um, just for the

[2:31:05] record, sr three uh will be

[2:31:07] amended pursuant to a

[2:31:09] substitution memo dated OCTOBER

[2:31:10] 14th 2026. Thank you.

[2:31:10] Excellent.

[2:31:13] >> um would you like to

[2:31:14] bifurcate either of these two

[2:31:15] items? Anyone not I'll

[2:31:17] entertain a motion on both.

[2:31:19] Second all right all those in

[2:31:22] favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed

[2:31:24] show those items passed

[2:31:26] unanimously. All right on to

[2:31:28] the first readings. Would you

[2:31:30] want to read the titles?

[2:31:31] There's quite a few of them.

[2:31:33] Yes MADAM Chair, for one first

[2:31:34] reading ordinance an ordinance

[2:31:36] of the miami city commission

[2:31:37] amending chapter ten article

[2:31:38] one division two of the code of

[2:31:40] the city of miami, florida is

[2:31:41] amended city code titled

[2:31:42] buildings in general building

[2:31:44] administration fees and waivers

[2:31:46] to revise the fee provision set

[2:31:47] forth in sections ten dash 18

[2:31:50] of the city code to comply with

[2:31:51] permit fee requirements as set

[2:31:52] forth by florida statutes and

[2:31:54] to make other conforming and

[2:31:55] cleanup provisions making

[2:31:56] findings containing

[2:31:58] severability clause and

[2:32:01] providing for an effective date

[2:32:02] fr2 was indefinitely deferred

[2:32:05] fr three an ordinance of the

[2:32:06] miami city commission with

[2:32:07] attachments amending chapter 35

[2:32:09] article five of the code of the

[2:32:10] city of miami, florida as

[2:32:11] amended titled motor vehicles

[2:32:13] and traffic coconut grove

[2:32:14] business district design

[2:32:15] district, wynwood wynwood north

[2:32:17] and downtown flagler district

[2:32:19] parking improvement trust funds

[2:32:21] more particularly by amending

[2:32:23] section 35-220 titled required

[2:32:25] off street parking and payment

[2:32:27] in lieu of required off street

[2:32:28] parking and establishing

[2:32:31] section 35-245 titled parking

[2:32:32] improvement trust fund

[2:32:35] established section 35-246

[2:32:36] titled funds made available

[2:32:39] financial report section 35-247

[2:32:41] titled schedule of fees and

[2:32:43] charges for parking improvement

[2:32:45] trust fund and section 35-248

[2:32:47] titled parking waiver

[2:32:49] certificates revocation refunds

[2:32:52] to establish the parking

[2:32:53] improvement trust fund making

[2:32:54] findings containing a

[2:32:55] severability clause and

[2:32:57] providing for an effective date

[2:32:59] fr4 first reading ordinance an

[2:32:59] ordinance of the miami city

[2:33:00] commission amending chapter six

[2:33:02] article three of the code of

[2:33:03] the city of miami, florida as

[2:33:04] amended titled animals

[2:33:07] enforcement to update the city

[2:33:08] of miami's animal cruelty

[2:33:09] enforcement provisions

[2:33:10] establishing enhanced civil

[2:33:12] penalties for specified

[2:33:13] violations authorizing

[2:33:15] enforcement by animal control

[2:33:16] officers as provided by law

[2:33:17] containing a severability

[2:33:19] clause and providing for an

[2:33:21] immediate effective date. Fr5

[2:33:23] an ordinance of the miami city

[2:33:24] commission amending chapter six

[2:33:26] article two article three of

[2:33:27] the code of the city of miami,

[2:33:29] florida as amended titled

[2:33:30] animals, dogs and cats

[2:33:31] enforcement to provide for

[2:33:33] updated fines for those who

[2:33:34] commit violations of the city

[2:33:35] of miami's animal welfare

[2:33:36] chapter and include additional

[2:33:37] violations containing

[2:33:38] severability clause and

[2:33:40] providing for an immediate

[2:33:42] effective date. Fr6 an

[2:33:43] ordinance of the miami city

[2:33:45] commission amending chapter six

[2:33:46] article one of the code of the

[2:33:47] city of miami, florida as

[2:33:49] amended city code titled

[2:33:50] animals in general chapter six

[2:33:52] article one of the city code

[2:33:53] titled animals, dogs and cats

[2:33:54] and chapter six article three

[2:33:56] of the city code titled animals

[2:33:57] enforcement to provide for

[2:33:58] updated language regarding

[2:34:00] enforcement of leashing laws

[2:34:01] for domesticated animals and

[2:34:03] public and private property and

[2:34:04] to update definitions to meet

[2:34:05] current, codified and statutory

[2:34:06] definitions from both

[2:34:08] miami-dade county and the state

[2:34:10] of florida containing a

[2:34:11] severability clause and

[2:34:12] providing for an immediate

[2:34:13] effective date. That is the end

[2:34:14] of the first reading. Thank

[2:34:15] you.

[2:34:18] >> um so colleagues uh fr45 and

[2:34:19] six there's a little

[2:34:21] duplication so we probably need

[2:34:22] to turn on how to move forward

[2:34:25] but uh fr one and fr three does

[2:34:27] anybody want to bifurcate fr

[2:34:30] one or fr three that's the

[2:34:31] building fees and parking

[2:34:33] improvement trust fund. Okay so

[2:34:35] we could probably take those as

[2:34:36] a block if someone would move

[2:34:39] them motion. Second all right

[2:34:41] all those in favor say aye. Aye

[2:34:44] any opposed show fr one and fr

[2:34:47] three passed unanimously um fr

[2:34:49] four and five and six I

[2:34:51] presume. I'd like to pull yeah.

[2:34:53] Yeah I presume we want to chat

[2:34:54] probably all about all three of

[2:34:55] them more or less at the same.

[2:34:57] Time for for first because I

[2:34:58] think that will.

[2:35:00] >> open yes yes okay so let's

[2:35:02] um let's start with fr four

[2:35:04] because a lot of fr four is

[2:35:06] actually in fr five so maybe we

[2:35:08] can separate those items. So

[2:35:08] commissioner carter would you

[2:35:10] like to start. I did there's

[2:35:12] two issues. One is a process

[2:35:14] issue and and I spoke with the

[2:35:17] city attorney about this and we

[2:35:19] submitted a file id on

[2:35:21] SEPTEMBER 30th with for for fr

[2:35:23] five came about five days later

[2:35:26] fr six day came ten days later

[2:35:27] and speaking about this with

[2:35:29] the city attorney it would have

[2:35:31] been and it has happened to me

[2:35:32] before I've been told another

[2:35:34] commissioner is working on this

[2:35:36] topic and I'm like great, I'll

[2:35:37] co-sponsor and you know,

[2:35:38] whatever I'll do I'll do a

[2:35:40] substitution or on the dais and

[2:35:42] we collaborate. That's not a

[2:35:44] big deal. I enjoy that in this

[2:35:46] case there are three separate

[2:35:48] items and I don't want to see

[2:35:49] this happen again, which is why

[2:35:51] I'm bringing up this issue. I

[2:35:53] was told that by saying that

[2:35:54] another commissioner is working

[2:35:56] on an item that that is a

[2:35:57] violation of sunshine. I don't

[2:35:59] believe it is. I've talked to

[2:36:00] other municipal attorneys. They

[2:36:02] don't believe it is. I feel

[2:36:03] that we're being we're

[2:36:05] duplicating work and we're

[2:36:07] spending money we don't need to

[2:36:08] spend. And it would simply be

[2:36:10] much easier to just hold hold

[2:36:13] that topic and have other

[2:36:17] people add to it. Okay.

[2:36:19] >> um commissioner the animal

[2:36:20] cruelty side I'll say something

[2:36:22] else. I don't know how you want

[2:36:25] to deal with. Yeah. Um,

[2:36:27] commissioner pardo, your item

[2:36:29] you might want to explain it it

[2:36:31] it basically brings us into

[2:36:32] compliance with state law right

[2:36:34] and allows our penalties to be

[2:36:36] basically as as strong as they

[2:36:38] possibly could be under the

[2:36:38] state law. Right.

[2:36:40] >> so this came to us from

[2:36:41] vanessa, one of our residents

[2:36:44] from the bna and it does take

[2:36:45] our penalties to the maximum.

[2:36:48] That's $2,500 for the first

[2:36:49] offense, 5000 for the second,

[2:36:52] 7500 for the third. So it

[2:36:53] reflects the seriousness of

[2:36:55] what is happening. These

[2:36:57] instances have been growing in

[2:36:59] in frequency. We had someone

[2:37:00] here say that this is the

[2:37:01] beginning of criminal behavior.

[2:37:04] A lot of psychopathic behavior

[2:37:06] starts this way. So we want to

[2:37:07] make sure we crack down as much

[2:37:09] as possible. And this really

[2:37:12] represents a first step. Uh, as

[2:37:14] we go and we move we move more

[2:37:16] legislation forward and

[2:37:17] coordinate with the county and

[2:37:18] coordinate with groups that are

[2:37:19] working on this already. Great.

[2:37:20] >> good.

[2:37:22] >> MADAM Mayor. Yes,

[2:37:23] commissioner rosado yes.

[2:37:25] Commissioner I think our items

[2:37:26] are definitely have the same

[2:37:27] spirit. I know that there's a

[2:37:29] difference in the penalties.

[2:37:30] I'm happy to support the

[2:37:31] penalties that you proposed. So

[2:37:33] I remove the penalties from

[2:37:35] mine and we can make them

[2:37:39] complimentary and approve both.

[2:37:42] The only thing left is fr6 and

[2:37:44] my legislation is born out of

[2:37:47] an email that I received about

[2:37:49] pets being in public spaces

[2:37:51] without having leashes on it.

[2:37:54] What administration has done

[2:37:58] was blend the item our city

[2:38:00] item to match what the county

[2:38:02] has because the county is um

[2:38:06] really the enforcement arm. But

[2:38:08] this allows the city of miami

[2:38:10] to take enforcement and I don't

[2:38:14] mind adding my legislation to

[2:38:17] your legislation. Um but mine

[2:38:19] is different because it's

[2:38:21] addressing pets and I don't

[2:38:22] know why they put cats because

[2:38:24] we don't walk our cats on

[2:38:27] leashes but okay. Um but my

[2:38:30] legislation addresses um pets

[2:38:32] being without a leash in public

[2:38:34] in parks and like one of our

[2:38:36] constituents said, you know,

[2:38:38] when you're walking and someone

[2:38:40] doesn't have their dog on a

[2:38:41] leash and they say, oh, they're

[2:38:44] not going to I was told that

[2:38:47] any dog with teeth can bite. So

[2:38:49] while you know like I know

[2:38:51] cinnamon is not going to bite

[2:38:54] someone but someone who is

[2:38:55] afraid and someone who doesn't

[2:38:58] know cinnamon she has teeth she

[2:39:00] can bite in theory. So that's

[2:39:03] why this was put forward. MR.

[2:39:05] Attorney, it seems as if

[2:39:06] commissioner king's item we

[2:39:08] could take separately because

[2:39:11] there's no overlap. What what

[2:39:12] are your thoughts? You've

[2:39:13] you've worked on all of these

[2:39:15] items right. So um commissioner

[2:39:18] king's item is fr six um it

[2:39:23] does add the um on um we don't

[2:39:24] call it unleashed in the

[2:39:25] ordinance we call it

[2:39:27] unrestrained but that's

[2:39:29] different from fr four and fr

[2:39:32] five um there's language that

[2:39:33] is removed which is consistent

[2:39:36] with all three and also

[2:39:38] citations. So it is a good

[2:39:41] basis for amending it. Um there

[2:39:42] wouldn't be much conflict

[2:39:45] between fr six and then fr four

[2:39:52] and five other than. Yeah. So

[2:39:54] um I was just advised that um

[2:39:56] there's a provision of the

[2:39:57] ordinance that talks about

[2:39:58] remove unneeded. Well we talked

[2:40:00] about that all citations issued

[2:40:02] per 2823 city code or chapter

[2:40:04] five of the city code. We could

[2:40:06] we could remove language from

[2:40:09] fr six that would make it just

[2:40:10] a standalone where it would

[2:40:12] just apply to the um the leash

[2:40:13] and so we could make that

[2:40:15] change now before second

[2:40:18] reading. MADAM Mayor, one thing

[2:40:19] I just wanted to add that's

[2:40:21] important we we don't currently

[2:40:23] have people that can actually

[2:40:25] give these citations. So they

[2:40:26] do have to go I think through

[2:40:28] an 18 hour certification course

[2:40:30] and and uh, I'm saying that so

[2:40:32] that as many of us as possible

[2:40:33] can go through that course and

[2:40:35] there'll be as many of us as

[2:40:37] possible out there being able

[2:40:38] to give actually give the

[2:40:44] citations. I'll give our

[2:40:57] attorneys a minute to. All

[2:40:59] right. So the the requested

[2:41:00] amendment would be to just

[2:41:04] remove the amendment to 6-71 of

[2:41:06] fr six and that would

[2:41:07] deconflict it with all the

[2:41:09] others. Commissioner king is

[2:41:11] that okay with you? All right

[2:41:13] so I think we can move if I'm

[2:41:14] correct commissioner can you

[2:41:16] want to move your item as

[2:41:18] amended motion. Second. Second

[2:41:19] all those in favor say aye.

[2:41:20] Aye.

[2:41:22] >> okay that can move forward

[2:41:23] to second reading. Okay

[2:41:27] colleagues on fr four and five

[2:41:30] um it sounds as if commissioner

[2:41:32] rosado you will remove all of

[2:41:33] the references of your anger

[2:41:34] that language that conflicts

[2:41:37] with fr four um MR. City

[2:41:39] attorney do you have other

[2:41:41] advice for us on deconflicting

[2:41:42] those two items or should they

[2:41:44] be merged or what are your

[2:41:47] thoughts? Um ideally I think

[2:41:48] the commission should probably

[2:41:50] pick one and decide to go with

[2:41:53] that um to avoid um replication

[2:41:55] etcetera. Um so that would be

[2:41:58] my advice. Um I think the

[2:42:00] language in fr four which is

[2:42:02] commissioner partos is a little

[2:42:04] bit more straight as far as the

[2:42:07] fines in 2-671 so we could we

[2:42:10] could take that language but

[2:42:11] then commissioner rosado has

[2:42:13] additional language that he has

[2:42:14] added that is not included in

[2:42:15] fr four which is.

[2:42:17] >> I think we're good with

[2:42:18] folding them and he'll

[2:42:19] co-sponsor. Yes.

[2:42:22] >> and we will also co-sponsor

[2:42:25] kings and king. So we're all

[2:42:27] on. Everybody's co-sponsor.

[2:42:29] Okay so. I'm sorry we're

[2:42:30] showing a unanimous co-sponsor

[2:42:33] for fr four and then fr6. Yes

[2:42:35] commissioner cabella are you

[2:42:37] also um okay just want to

[2:42:39] confirm yes understood. And

[2:42:41] then you have all the clarity

[2:42:42] you need to bring back a second

[2:42:45] reading item that um blends

[2:42:47] them both together. Excellent

[2:42:49] word blend. Blend so we'll have

[2:42:52] a blended we'll have fr 4.5 or

[2:42:54] something. You can tell we're

[2:42:59] dog parents okay. Um so so MR.

[2:43:02] Attorney what do we do we

[2:43:06] withdraw fr five and amend fr

[2:43:07] four. Yes that.

[2:43:09] >> would I'm fine with that.

[2:43:13] Okay so show um. So move. Okay

[2:43:16] all in favor aye. Fr5 is

[2:43:19] withdrawn fr four can I have a

[2:43:21] motion to amend this to include

[2:43:22] what used to be fr five. So

[2:43:23] moved.

[2:43:24] >> second. All right all those

[2:43:27] in favor. Aye any opposed show

[2:43:30] show fr 4.5 minus five

[2:43:33] approved. As amended. As

[2:43:35] amended. Thank you all for

[2:43:40] working through that yeah. All

[2:43:42] right now we move on to boards

[2:43:44] and committees MR. Clerk. Thank

[2:43:47] you chair bc1 code enforcement

[2:43:48] award commissioner escalona

[2:43:50] would like to appoint jason

[2:43:53] benowitz to the at large seat.

[2:43:53] Motion.

[2:43:54] >> second.

[2:43:55] >> second. All those in favor?

[2:43:56] Aye.

[2:43:57] >> any opposed? Show that

[2:44:00] appointment made bc two. Bc two

[2:44:02] miami tree ordinance advisory

[2:44:03] committee commissioner escalona

[2:44:05] would like to appoint risa

[2:44:06] fernandez to his seat on the

[2:44:08] board. Motion.

[2:44:10] >> second in favor? Aye.

[2:44:12] >> any opposed? Show that

[2:44:14] appointment made. All right,

[2:44:16] colleagues, we'll move on to

[2:44:18] the planning and zoning items.

[2:44:20] My understanding is pz20 has to

[2:44:22] have a separate vote. Is that

[2:44:23] correct, MR. Clerk?

[2:44:24] >> that is yes, ma'am. Okay.

[2:44:27] >> or we have a unanimous yes.

[2:44:29] it has to be separate. Uh all

[2:44:31] right so then let's talk about

[2:44:37] the other ones pz12346 and

[2:44:40] seven. Does anyone want to

[2:44:42] bifurcate any of oh no there's

[2:44:51] more sorry guys. Pz123467141617

[2:44:54] and 18. Does anyone want to

[2:44:56] bifurcate any of those. I'd

[2:45:04] like to pull pz4pz4. All right

[2:45:05] I'll entertain a motion. Oh you

[2:45:07] do have to read the titles. I'm

[2:45:08] sorry about that.

[2:45:10] >> all right um. Pz4 being one

[2:45:17] of them. So pz1 is a resolution

[2:45:19] pz2pz3 is a second reading

[2:45:20] ordinance an ordinance of the

[2:45:21] miami city commission with

[2:45:22] attachments amending the zoning

[2:45:24] atlas of ordinance number 13114

[2:45:25] the zoning ordinance of the

[2:45:27] city of miami, florida as

[2:45:28] amended miami 21 code by

[2:45:29] changing the zoning

[2:45:31] classification from t68l urban

[2:45:33] core transect zone limited to t

[2:45:36] five urban center transect zone

[2:45:37] open for the properties

[2:45:44] generally located at

[2:45:46] 625645675685650640630 and 626

[2:45:52] northeast 64 terrace and

[2:45:54] 629635645655669 and 685 north

[2:45:57] west 64th street and the east

[2:45:59] portion of 610 northeast 64

[2:46:00] terrace, miami, florida more

[2:46:01] particularly described in

[2:46:02] exhibit a attached and

[2:46:03] incorporated making findings

[2:46:05] containing a severability

[2:46:06] clause and providing for an

[2:46:10] effective date. Pz4 first

[2:46:11] reading ordinance an ordinance

[2:46:13] of the miami city commission

[2:46:14] with attachments amending

[2:46:15] ordinance number 13114 the

[2:46:16] zoning ordinance of the city of

[2:46:18] miami, florida as amended miami

[2:46:20] 21 code by amending article one

[2:46:21] section 1.2 titled definition

[2:46:24] of terms to define electric

[2:46:25] vehicle ready in article three

[2:46:28] section 3.6 titled off street

[2:46:29] parking and loading standards

[2:46:31] to remove electric vehicle

[2:46:33] capable parking requirements

[2:46:34] article four table four titled

[2:46:36] density intensity and parking

[2:46:38] t4 density intensity and

[2:46:41] parking t5 density intensity in

[2:46:44] parking t6 density intensity

[2:46:46] and parking c density intensity

[2:46:48] and parking c I density

[2:46:50] intensity and parking c I dash

[2:46:53] h d density intensity and

[2:46:55] parking d one density intensity

[2:46:58] and parking d two and density

[2:46:59] intensity and parking d three

[2:47:01] to reduce parking requirements

[2:47:02] when electric vehicle parking

[2:47:04] is provided making findings

[2:47:05] containing a severability

[2:47:07] clause and providing for an

[2:47:09] immediate effective date then

[2:47:12] all right five was deferred six

[2:47:15] and second reading ordinance an

[2:47:16] ordinance of the miami city

[2:47:17] commission with attachments

[2:47:19] amending ordinance number 10544

[2:47:20] as amended the future land use

[2:47:22] map of the miami comprehensive

[2:47:23] neighborhood plan pursuant to

[2:47:24] small scale amendment

[2:47:26] procedures subject to section

[2:47:28] 163.3187 florida statutes by

[2:47:30] changing the future land use

[2:47:31] designation from single family

[2:47:32] residential to duplex

[2:47:33] residential of the acreage

[2:47:35] described herein of real

[2:47:37] property at approximately 3520

[2:47:38] southwest 17th terrace, miami,

[2:47:39] florida as more particularly

[2:47:41] described in the attached and

[2:47:42] incorporated exhibit a making

[2:47:43] findings containing

[2:47:44] severability clause and

[2:47:47] providing for an effective date

[2:47:49] pz7 also a second reading

[2:47:50] ordinance an ordinance of the

[2:47:51] miami city commission with

[2:47:52] attachments amending the zoning

[2:47:53] atlas of ordinance number 1311

[2:47:55] for the zoning ordinance of the

[2:47:56] city of miami, florida as

[2:47:58] amended miami 21 code by

[2:47:59] changing zoning the zoning

[2:48:02] classification from t3r

[2:48:03] suburban transit zone

[2:48:05] restricted to t three suburban

[2:48:07] transit zone open for the

[2:48:08] southern property of the

[2:48:09] southern portion of the

[2:48:11] property generally located at

[2:48:12] 3520 southwest 17th terrace,

[2:48:14] miami, florida with such

[2:48:16] portion as more particularly

[2:48:17] described in the attachment

[2:48:18] incorporated exhibit a making

[2:48:20] findings containing a

[2:48:21] severability clause and

[2:48:22] providing for an effective

[2:48:24] date. Z eight has been deferred

[2:48:27] pz9 has been deferred p z ten

[2:48:30] has been deferred p 111213 have

[2:48:33] been deferred pz14 first

[2:48:35] reading ordinance an ordinance

[2:48:36] of the miami city commission

[2:48:37] with attachments amending

[2:48:39] ordinance number 10544 as

[2:48:40] amended the future land use map

[2:48:41] of the miami comprehensive

[2:48:43] neighborhood plan pursuant to

[2:48:44] the expedited state review

[2:48:47] process subject to section

[2:48:49] 163.3184 florida statutes by

[2:48:50] amending the future land use

[2:48:52] designation from medium density

[2:48:53] restricted commercial to

[2:48:54] restricted commercial for

[2:48:55] certain properties west of

[2:48:57] northwest north river drive

[2:48:59] between northwest sixth street

[2:49:00] and northwest fourth street by

[2:49:01] amending the future land use

[2:49:03] designation for medium density

[2:49:04] restricted commercial to

[2:49:05] restricted commercial for

[2:49:06] certain properties between

[2:49:08] southwest south river drive

[2:49:09] southwest two street southwest

[2:49:11] five avenue and southwest one

[2:49:13] street by amending the future

[2:49:14] land use designation from

[2:49:16] medium density multifamily

[2:49:17] residential to restricted

[2:49:18] commercial for certain

[2:49:19] properties between southwest

[2:49:22] fourth avenue. Interstate I-95

[2:49:23] southwest sixth street,

[2:49:24] southwest fifth avenue and

[2:49:26] southwest first street by

[2:49:27] amending the future land use

[2:49:29] designation for medium density

[2:49:30] restricted commercial to

[2:49:31] restricted commercial for

[2:49:33] certain properties fronting

[2:49:34] southwest seventh street

[2:49:37] between interstate 95 and

[2:49:38] southwest 12th avenue by

[2:49:40] amending the future land use

[2:49:41] designation from low density

[2:49:43] multifamily residential and low

[2:49:44] density restricted commercial

[2:49:46] to medium density multifamily

[2:49:48] residential and medium density

[2:49:49] density restricted commercial

[2:49:51] for certain properties on the

[2:49:52] north side of southwest ninth

[2:49:54] street between southwest eighth

[2:49:55] avenue and southwest 12th

[2:49:57] avenue by amending the future

[2:49:58] land use designation from

[2:50:00] medium density multifamily

[2:50:01] residential to restricted

[2:50:03] commercial for certain

[2:50:05] properties fronting southwest

[2:50:06] seventh street between

[2:50:08] southwest 17th avenue and

[2:50:09] southwest 22 avenue and by

[2:50:11] amending the future land use

[2:50:12] designation from low density

[2:50:13] restricted commercial to

[2:50:15] restricted commercial for

[2:50:16] certain properties along

[2:50:17] southwest eighth avenue between

[2:50:19] southwest one street and

[2:50:20] southwest sixth street miami,

[2:50:21] florida as more particularly

[2:50:23] described in the attachment

[2:50:24] incorporated exhibit a making

[2:50:25] findings containing

[2:50:26] severability clause and

[2:50:29] providing for an effective date

[2:50:32] pz15 has been deferred pz16 is

[2:50:34] a first reading ordinance an

[2:50:35] ordinance of the miami city

[2:50:36] commission with attachments

[2:50:37] amending ordinance number 10544

[2:50:39] as amended the future land use

[2:50:41] map of the miami comprehensive

[2:50:42] neighborhood plan pursuant to

[2:50:43] small scale amendment

[2:50:45] procedures subject to 163.3187

[2:50:47] florida statutes by changing

[2:50:48] the future land use designation

[2:50:50] from duplex residential to

[2:50:52] restricted commercial of the

[2:50:53] acreage described herein for

[2:50:54] the properties fronting

[2:50:56] northwest 36 court on the west

[2:50:58] between northwest sixth street

[2:50:59] and northwest flagler terrace

[2:51:01] by changing the future land use

[2:51:02] designation from duplex

[2:51:04] residential to low density

[2:51:05] multifamily residential of the

[2:51:07] acreage described herein for

[2:51:08] the properties fronting

[2:51:09] northwest 36th street on the

[2:51:11] east between northwest sixth

[2:51:12] street and northwest flagler

[2:51:14] terrace by changing the future

[2:51:15] land use designation from

[2:51:17] duplex residential to low

[2:51:18] density restricted commercial

[2:51:20] of the acreage described herein

[2:51:23] for 613 northwest 36 court 31

[2:51:27] northwest 36 court 15 northwest

[2:51:30] 36 court and 3655 northwest.

[2:51:31] >> sixth court and by changing

[2:51:32] the future land use designation

[2:51:34] from duplex residential to

[2:51:35] restricted commercial of the

[2:51:37] acreage described herein for

[2:51:39] 3670 northwest sixth street.

[2:51:41] 3675 northwest fifth street

[2:51:43] 3684 northwest fourth street

[2:51:45] and 3651 northwest three street

[2:51:47] miami, florida. As more

[2:51:48] particularly described in

[2:51:49] exhibit a attached and

[2:51:50] incorporated making findings

[2:51:51] containing a severability

[2:51:53] clause and providing for an

[2:51:56] effective date. The 17 first

[2:51:58] reading ordinance an ordinance

[2:51:59] of the miami city commission

[2:52:00] with attachments amending

[2:52:02] ordinance number 13114 the

[2:52:03] zoning ordinance of the city of

[2:52:04] miami, florida as amended miami

[2:52:06] 21 code by changing the zoning

[2:52:08] classification from t3o

[2:52:10] suburban transit zone open to

[2:52:12] t4o urban general transit zone

[2:52:13] open for the properties running

[2:52:15] north and south fronting

[2:52:16] northwest sixth street and

[2:52:17] northwest fifth street by

[2:52:18] changing the zoning

[2:52:19] classification from t3o

[2:52:22] suburban transit zone open to

[2:52:25] t4o urban general transit zone

[2:52:27] open for the properties running

[2:52:28] north and south fronting

[2:52:29] northwest fourth street

[2:52:31] northwest three street and by

[2:52:32] changing the zoning

[2:52:33] classification from t3o

[2:52:35] suburban transit zone open to

[2:52:38] t4r urban general transit zone

[2:52:39] restricted for the properties

[2:52:41] fronting northwest 36 court to

[2:52:43] the east and west between

[2:52:44] northwest seventh street and

[2:52:45] northwest flagler street.

[2:52:47] Miami, florida as more

[2:52:48] particularly described in

[2:52:49] exhibit a attached and

[2:52:50] incorporated making findings

[2:52:51] containing a severability

[2:52:53] clause and providing for an

[2:52:55] effective date. Pz18 first

[2:52:56] reading ordinance an ordinance

[2:52:58] of the miami city commission

[2:52:59] amending ordinance number 13114

[2:53:00] the zoning ordinance of the

[2:53:01] city of miami, florida as

[2:53:02] amended specifically by

[2:53:03] amending article four table

[2:53:05] four titled density, intensity

[2:53:07] and parking to clarify parking

[2:53:09] regulations for uses within the

[2:53:11] podium by amending article five

[2:53:13] titled specific zones to update

[2:53:14] development incentives for

[2:53:16] podium liners, podium design

[2:53:17] and parking structures and

[2:53:19] allowable cantilevered building

[2:53:21] encroachments and by amending

[2:53:23] article six section 6.1 titled

[2:53:25] intent and exclusions to update

[2:53:27] micro dwelling unit regulations

[2:53:28] making findings containing a

[2:53:29] severability clause and

[2:53:31] providing for an effective

[2:53:34] date. Pz 19 has been deferred

[2:53:37] and pz 20 is a resolution.

[2:53:38] Thank you, MADAM Chair.

[2:53:39] >> all right, take a breath.

[2:53:41] [Laughter] George that was that

[2:53:45] was a long I should take it

[2:53:48] exactly. Have a sip. All right

[2:53:50] folks we have bifurcated prs

[2:53:53] for prs 20 must be voted on

[2:53:55] separately. Um, MR. Clark, I

[2:53:57] think you have something to

[2:53:58] read into the record on prs

[2:54:02] two. Thank you chair. Um prs.

[2:54:04] >> two will be amended pursuant

[2:54:06] to a substitution memo dated

[2:54:08] OCTOBER 20th 2026. Prs 14 will

[2:54:10] be amended pursuant to a

[2:54:12] substitution amendment dated

[2:54:14] OCTOBER 20th 2026. Pc 16 will

[2:54:16] be amended to a pc ab meeting

[2:54:17] information in the first

[2:54:19] whereas clause and prs 17 will

[2:54:21] be amended to add prs ab

[2:54:22] meeting information in the

[2:54:23] first whereas clause. Thank you

[2:54:25] chair. Um MR. Clark I believe

[2:54:27] prs three also needs the pc ab

[2:54:29] information as well. I've just

[2:54:30] been informed it might not be

[2:54:32] on your list. Prs three will be

[2:54:33] shown as amended as well.

[2:54:51] Understood. Okay um. One more.

[2:54:54] All right. Do I have a motion

[2:54:56] on everything except for prs

[2:54:59] four and pc 20. Please move

[2:54:59] motion. Second.

[2:55:02] >> all right all those in favor

[2:55:02] say aye. Aye.

[2:55:04] >> any opposed? Show those

[2:55:07] passed unanimously. Um I think

[2:55:09] we'll go to prs 21st just

[2:55:10] because we're paying outside

[2:55:12] counsel and if we could save

[2:55:14] whatever 30 minutes of time

[2:55:16] let's do that. Um do you mind

[2:55:19] reading that one into. It's a

[2:55:20] resolution but I'll read it

[2:55:22] anyway just so everybody knows

[2:55:23] what's going on. No it's it

[2:55:25] makes sense. Um prs 20 is a

[2:55:27] resolution of the miami city

[2:55:28] commission granting or denying

[2:55:29] the appeal filed by elvis cruz

[2:55:34] of the intended decision for bd

[2:55:36] 23-006209-001 issued on AUGUST

[2:55:38] 25th, 2026 for the city of

[2:55:39] miami public right of way

[2:55:41] located at approximately 5215

[2:55:42] northwest seventh avenue,

[2:55:44] miami, florida and with the

[2:55:46] parties state their appearances

[2:55:50] please. Uh good morning amanda

[2:55:52] corgan, outside counsel on

[2:55:54] behalf of city staff on this

[2:56:00] appeal. MR. Cruz, would you

[2:56:01] like to start your

[2:56:04] presentation? Yes, ma'am. Let

[2:56:06] me just hook up here. How much

[2:56:08] time do you think you'll need?

[2:56:09] A little over ten minutes.

[2:56:11] >> try to keep it to ten,

[2:56:13] please. I'm sorry. Try to keep

[2:56:15] it to ten. I think I can.

[2:56:16] >> I think you can. I'd like to

[2:56:17] remind you that a couple

[2:56:18] meetings ago there was a tree

[2:56:20] appeal on irvington. They took

[2:56:22] 18 minutes before you told them

[2:56:23] to land the plane. Remember

[2:56:26] that one I was good. I did so I

[2:56:28] know give us give it a whirl

[2:56:29] and let's try for ten. Thank

[2:56:34] you. Is there going to be a

[2:56:36] standing challenge today? Uh,

[2:56:38] the city does not waive

[2:56:39] standing and will preserve it.

[2:56:42] For the record yes. Are you

[2:56:43] challenging my standing? Is

[2:56:45] that what I understand. The

[2:56:47] city is reserving the, uh the

[2:56:48] standing argument and we can

[2:56:49] address that first if you'd

[2:56:52] like to. Well, normally the way

[2:56:54] the commission does it you

[2:56:55] address standing first. Okay,

[2:56:57] great. Because if I don't have

[2:56:58] standing I don't get to

[2:56:59] present. I thought you were

[2:57:00] going to present your standing

[2:57:02] and then I can I can

[2:57:08] cross-examine you. Okay, so

[2:57:09] we're going with standing

[2:57:17] first. Elvis cruz 631 north

[2:57:20] east 57th street. My legal

[2:57:21] standing for this appeal is

[2:57:25] based on miami city code

[2:57:28] section 178 b quote any

[2:57:29] aggrieved party having standing

[2:57:31] under state law MAY appeal to

[2:57:33] the city commission. Any

[2:57:34] decision by the department on

[2:57:36] matters relating to tree permit

[2:57:37] applications for the

[2:57:39] departments of public works or

[2:57:41] capital improvements program or

[2:57:45] to their contractors and also

[2:57:48] section 1702 which reflects the

[2:57:51] state law intervenor a person

[2:57:52] whose interests in the

[2:57:54] proceeding are adversely

[2:57:56] affected in a manner greater

[2:57:58] than those of the general

[2:58:00] public. In addition to living

[2:58:02] two blocks from the park since

[2:58:03] 1977 and visiting it at least

[2:58:05] three times a week, my interest

[2:58:07] in this proceeding both

[2:58:10] financial and personal, are

[2:58:12] adversely affected in a manner

[2:58:14] far greater than those of the

[2:58:16] general public. I know of no

[2:58:17] other member of the public who

[2:58:19] has spent more of their own

[2:58:21] time and money to protect,

[2:58:23] maintain and advocate for

[2:58:26] morningside park than I have. I

[2:58:29] paid for the planting of the

[2:58:32] four monkeypod trees some

[2:58:33] enhancements that were

[2:58:36] destroyed by acts of

[2:58:37] malfeasance and are the subject

[2:58:39] of the intended decision I'm

[2:58:42] appealing today. Here is one of

[2:58:44] those trees. Correction these

[2:58:46] are four of them those four

[2:58:50] trees the day they were planted

[2:58:53] MAY 17th 2018. Here is one of

[2:58:54] that same group of monkey pods

[2:58:56] that was not killed

[2:58:58] photographed last week. So you

[2:59:00] can see the tree the size of

[2:59:02] the trees that were lost. I've

[2:59:05] also paid $907 for this appeal

[2:59:07] even though it was the city's

[2:59:08] fault through their contractors

[2:59:10] that those trees were cut down

[2:59:12] which the contractors said they

[2:59:14] were going to replace but then

[2:59:16] reneged. I've spent countless

[2:59:17] hours and thousands of dollars

[2:59:19] to maintain and improve

[2:59:21] morningside park since 1993,

[2:59:22] including thousands of

[2:59:23] volunteer hours planting,

[2:59:24] trimming, fertilizing,

[2:59:27] irrigating and weeding. Anybody

[2:59:29] who doubts that is invited to

[2:59:31] ask park manager chi chisholm,

[2:59:33] former park managers albert

[2:59:35] mora, michael belletti and

[2:59:37] elizabeth zapata, groundskeeper

[2:59:39] claudio evora and former parks

[2:59:41] department directors kevin

[2:59:44] kirwan and chuck ellis. I

[2:59:46] worked long and hard to get the

[2:59:47] park declared historic by the

[2:59:49] hep board. Unfortunately, the

[2:59:50] city commission voted against

[2:59:53] the district commissioner and

[2:59:57] rescinded it. I've conducted 70

[2:59:59] free educational tours of the

[3:00:02] park for 1117 individuals

[3:00:05] including elementary, middle

[3:00:08] and high school students, boy

[3:00:11] scouts, girl scouts and the

[3:00:13] general public. All my tours

[3:00:16] are free. If any of you or

[3:00:17] anyone wants to bring a group

[3:00:19] for a free educational tour,

[3:00:22] please email morningside

[3:00:25] tours@gmail.Com. What I do is

[3:00:27] officially encouraged by the

[3:00:29] city. Here's the city's website

[3:00:32] .Thank you for your interest

[3:00:34] in volunteering. It is a top

[3:00:36] priority for us to strengthen

[3:00:38] environmental conservation and

[3:00:40] educational outreach efforts in

[3:00:42] partnership with local, state,

[3:00:43] private and nonprofit

[3:00:45] organizations park

[3:00:47] beautification landscaping,

[3:00:49] gardening, removing weeds we

[3:00:50] welcome your interest

[3:00:52] assistance and help and invite

[3:00:54] you to become part of our

[3:00:57] volunteer team. In order to

[3:00:59] volunteer in the park I had to

[3:01:01] be verified by the city

[3:01:02] including fingerprinting, drug

[3:01:04] testing, chest x-ray for

[3:01:06] tuberculosis and a background

[3:01:07] check by the florida department

[3:01:09] of law enforcement. I've

[3:01:11] donated and planted at least 60

[3:01:13] trees in the park all at my

[3:01:15] expense all with permission

[3:01:18] from the city that includes

[3:01:19] planting memorial palms for

[3:01:21] distinguished neighbors that

[3:01:22] passed away, including for

[3:01:25] departed city official alice

[3:01:26] robertson. I created and

[3:01:28] maintain a spreadsheet of the

[3:01:29] approximately 200 palms in the

[3:01:31] morningside park palmatum I

[3:01:33] obtained donations from the

[3:01:35] south florida palm society and

[3:01:36] myself to place educational

[3:01:38] identification signs on all the

[3:01:41] palms in the palmatum I donated

[3:01:43] and installed a drip irrigation

[3:01:45] system all at my expense as I

[3:01:48] was requested by the city. My

[3:01:49] efforts in the park have been

[3:01:51] supported by fairchild tropical

[3:01:52] garden, montgomery botanical

[3:01:54] center and miami-dade county

[3:01:56] public schools. I've appeared

[3:01:58] at dozens of city commission

[3:01:59] meetings over decades

[3:02:00] advocating for the park, all

[3:02:03] too often trying to protect it

[3:02:06] from harmful things the city

[3:02:07] did just like this appeal

[3:02:09] today, including building a

[3:02:11] dumpster corral on the

[3:02:13] bayfront, placing an eyesore, a

[3:02:16] cargo container by the softball

[3:02:18] field blocking the park's

[3:02:20] original drainage ditches

[3:02:21] resulting in flooding that

[3:02:23] continues even now 14 years

[3:02:26] later neglecting the city's

[3:02:28] swimming pool maintenance that

[3:02:30] was a tough loss as the city's

[3:02:32] very bad habit of demolition by

[3:02:34] neglect claimed another victim.

[3:02:36] I've been advocating for trees

[3:02:38] for decades. My efforts were

[3:02:40] even written up in the

[3:02:41] newspaper back when I had

[3:02:44] better hair. Lastly,

[3:02:46] morningside park opened on JUNE

[3:02:48] 13th, 1953. I wasn't born then

[3:02:51] but I was there for its 70th

[3:02:52] birthday when I hosted a

[3:02:54] birthday party for the park

[3:02:56] with cake and ice cream.

[3:02:58] Commissioner pardo, you came to

[3:03:00] that birthday party and as

[3:03:01] someone who has lived in

[3:03:03] morningside since 1999, you're

[3:03:05] very aware of my many years of

[3:03:07] volunteering in and advocacy

[3:03:10] for morningside park. In light

[3:03:12] of all this evidence, it is

[3:03:14] clear that my interests are far

[3:03:16] greater than that of the

[3:03:18] general public and so I qualify

[3:03:20] for intervenor status as per

[3:03:22] sections 1780 and 172 of the

[3:03:24] miami city code. Because of the

[3:03:26] egregious nature of the code

[3:03:28] violations done to this park

[3:03:31] recently, I filed this appeal.

[3:03:33] Lastly, there was an agenda

[3:03:34] item earlier today about

[3:03:36] philanthropic donations to

[3:03:38] district two. I've already been

[3:03:40] doing that for over 30 years

[3:03:41] and if I had to sum up my

[3:03:43] experience in one sentence I

[3:03:45] would say no good deed goes

[3:03:48] unpunished. I've made many

[3:03:51] donations to the city over the

[3:03:52] years and I'm offering another

[3:03:55] one today. Please don't punish

[3:03:59] me for it. Thank you. MR. Cruz.

[3:04:01] Under renard and renard county

[3:04:03] and solaris versus the city of

[3:04:04] miami you have to allege a

[3:04:06] special injury. This is an

[3:04:08] intended decision for an after

[3:04:09] the fact removal of trees. Do

[3:04:11] you have a special injury with

[3:04:12] regard to the replacement of

[3:04:14] trees? Yes I do as you'll

[3:04:17] recall I showed you the

[3:04:18] receipt. I planted those

[3:04:21] original trees so I have a

[3:04:23] financial interest. Now I have

[3:04:25] to ask you do you mean strictly

[3:04:28] financial interest or personal

[3:04:29] interest? Because under state

[3:04:31] law it's not limited to

[3:04:32] financial interest. It can also

[3:04:33] be a personal interest. You are

[3:04:35] aware of that as an attorney

[3:04:37] I'm sure. Okay so this is a

[3:04:38] this is an intended decision

[3:04:41] for the replacement of trees.

[3:04:43] Do you have a special injury

[3:04:44] with regard to the replacement

[3:04:46] of trees in morningside park?

[3:04:48] Yes I do because as I showed

[3:04:50] you in my powerpoint the park

[3:04:52] was designed in a very elegant

[3:04:53] style the american romantic

[3:04:55] park movement by the city of

[3:04:57] miami's parks director who was

[3:04:58] also a landscape director

[3:05:00] excuse me a landscape architect

[3:05:02] ray plummer. The park was

[3:05:03] designed with an elegant

[3:05:05] uniform planting of large

[3:05:07] canopy shade trees along the

[3:05:09] loop road and some of the

[3:05:11] walkways. What is being

[3:05:12] proposed as the mitigation

[3:05:14] would disrupt that planting,

[3:05:16] which I have been working on

[3:05:19] for decades. Do you have any

[3:05:20] documents or other evidence

[3:05:22] that the city gave you

[3:05:23] permission to plant the trees

[3:05:26] that were removed during

[3:05:27] construction? Yes.

[3:05:29] >> I showed you the

[3:05:32] documentation in my powerpoint.

[3:05:35] Um and by the way, if you doubt

[3:05:37] that talk to kevin kerwin. He

[3:05:38] was the parks director at the

[3:05:40] time. He's the one that gave me

[3:05:43] permission. Um can you please

[3:05:45] allege with specific

[3:05:46] specificity what is your

[3:05:48] special injury for the

[3:05:50] replacement of the trees in

[3:05:52] morningside park? I will be

[3:05:54] covering that in my main

[3:05:56] presentation but this is only

[3:05:57] about standing. You are aware

[3:05:59] of that that this is only the

[3:06:00] standing hearing. There's going

[3:06:01] to be a whole nother

[3:06:03] presentation ten minutes long

[3:06:05] once we actually get into the

[3:06:06] substance which is happening

[3:06:08] here is the city's basic

[3:06:10] maneuver of trying to prevent

[3:06:11] people from even presenting

[3:06:13] their case on standing. Okay.

[3:06:15] >> um we reserve our right to

[3:06:17] further object to standing as

[3:06:19] you make your presentation and

[3:06:22] and will allege further facts.

[3:06:24] I presume that means we're

[3:06:26] allowed to we'll let MR. Cruz

[3:06:27] go ahead with your

[3:06:28] presentation. Thank you. So am

[3:06:30] I to understand I have been

[3:06:31] granted standing mayor? No,

[3:06:33] there is no determination on

[3:06:35] standing. There is no

[3:06:36] independent determination on

[3:06:37] standing. You can make your

[3:06:40] presentation. Okay, so even

[3:06:42] though the commission has not

[3:06:44] granted me standing I'm to give

[3:06:46] my presentation is that what

[3:06:50] I'm understanding? So um if the

[3:06:52] commission wishes to make a

[3:06:55] motion on standing now they can

[3:06:57] do that um otherwise it appears

[3:06:59] that counsel has no objection

[3:07:01] to MR. Cruz making his case.

[3:07:03] You can hear his case and at

[3:07:05] the end um make a determination

[3:07:09] on um either standing at that

[3:07:11] point and or on the merits of

[3:07:16] the appeal. [Laughter] I think

[3:07:18] we should go ahead and hear the

[3:07:22] presentation. Okay here we go.

[3:07:25] Elvis cruz 631 north east 57th

[3:07:34] street. Morningside park was

[3:07:36] designed in the american

[3:07:37] romantic style with a curved

[3:07:39] boulevard and walkways lined

[3:07:41] with elegant uniform tree

[3:07:43] plantings by ray plummer,

[3:07:45] miami's park superintendent and

[3:07:47] brilliant landscape architect.

[3:07:49] In 2025, the morningside park

[3:07:51] shoreline project removed 60

[3:07:54] trees with permits but then

[3:07:57] later removed another 16 trees

[3:07:59] without permits or public

[3:08:02] notice. Then to avoid applying

[3:08:04] for a permit, the contractor

[3:08:06] deliberately flooded an area of

[3:08:08] the park with saltwater

[3:08:10] poisoning eight trees the

[3:08:12] neighbors were not happy. The

[3:08:14] city told us that they would

[3:08:15] wait a year before removing any

[3:08:17] trees to see if they would

[3:08:19] recover. The neighbors believed

[3:08:21] that promise. I was especially

[3:08:23] concerned with five of the

[3:08:25] poisoned trees four monkey

[3:08:28] pods, botanical name samanea

[3:08:31] saman and one huge specimen

[3:08:34] java plum botanical name

[3:08:37] syzygium cumini this healthy

[3:08:38] surviving monkey pod planted

[3:08:40] the same day as the four that

[3:08:41] were poisoned reflects their

[3:08:44] size. The four poisoned monkey

[3:08:46] pods were part of an elegant

[3:08:48] uniform tree planting seven in

[3:08:50] a row I paid for those four

[3:08:53] trees to be planted. The

[3:08:54] consultant for the project,

[3:08:56] curtis rogers, monitored the

[3:08:58] monkey pods but misidentified

[3:09:01] them as mimosa, which MAY have

[3:09:03] caused the misinformation

[3:09:06] you'll soon hear two of the

[3:09:08] monkey pods never recovered,

[3:09:10] but two others bounced back as

[3:09:14] the consultant's own reports

[3:09:16] showed both trees had new leaf

[3:09:18] growth only one month after the

[3:09:21] salt water damage and continued

[3:09:24] recovering and as late as MARCH

[3:09:26] 12th, the consultant's report

[3:09:28] says both trees were recovering

[3:09:32] with new growth then without

[3:09:35] any public notice or permit

[3:09:36] completely in violation of city

[3:09:39] code on APRIL 13th, 2026, all

[3:09:41] four monkeypod trees were cut

[3:09:44] down. Was that gross

[3:09:47] malfeasance or malice?

[3:09:48] Afterwards, curtis rogers said

[3:09:50] they would replace those four

[3:09:52] trees with new monkey pods, but

[3:09:56] now they want to renege on that

[3:10:01] promise. As for the specimen

[3:10:04] java plum, it was one of about

[3:10:07] 35 planted when the park opened

[3:10:11] in 1953. 25 of them still

[3:10:13] thrive there today. The

[3:10:15] contractors deliberate

[3:10:17] saltwater flooding caused this

[3:10:19] specimen to drop all of its

[3:10:21] leaves. Then it started

[3:10:23] recovering and there was much

[3:10:25] happiness because the city

[3:10:28] promised to wait a year. Leaves

[3:10:30] sprouted on upper branches

[3:10:31] including healthy tissue up to

[3:10:34] their. But unknown to the

[3:10:35] public, the consultant

[3:10:37] bizarrely reported that the

[3:10:39] tree was defoliated and

[3:10:42] nonviable. Then on APRIL 15th

[3:10:44] the java plum was cut down

[3:10:47] again with no public notice and

[3:10:50] no permit. Yes it's that crazy

[3:10:55] it's that evil. It was 52in in

[3:10:57] diameter. I met with the city

[3:10:58] manager to ask for the same

[3:11:00] trees to be replanted. He

[3:11:03] seemed agreeable so I was quite

[3:11:05] surprised by the new intended

[3:11:06] decision. I emailed the city

[3:11:08] and the reply clearly showed

[3:11:10] that they had been given much

[3:11:13] misinformation. The city wrote

[3:11:15] monkey pod trees are considered

[3:11:17] category one invasive species

[3:11:20] that is completely false. The

[3:11:22] category one lists from the

[3:11:23] florida invasive species

[3:11:25] council is easily found online

[3:11:27] and does not include monkey

[3:11:30] pods. Even so that council is a

[3:11:32] private 501 c three it is not

[3:11:34] regulatory. The miami-dade

[3:11:36] county prohibited species list

[3:11:38] also does not include monkey

[3:11:41] pods. The county codes list of

[3:11:44] prohibited species at section

[3:11:46] 24499 also does not include

[3:11:49] monkey pods. Curtis rogers

[3:11:51] misidentified the monkey pod as

[3:11:54] the mimosa tree, which is on

[3:11:57] the invasive species list. That

[3:11:58] error MAY have caused the

[3:12:00] mistaken belief that monkey

[3:12:04] pods are invasive. Monkey pods

[3:12:05] were first planted in

[3:12:08] morningside park by the city of

[3:12:13] miami itself back in 2006 20

[3:12:16] years ago more were added later

[3:12:19] for a total of 19. There is

[3:12:21] simply no invasion of monkey

[3:12:23] pod trees anywhere in

[3:12:26] morningside park. As for the

[3:12:28] java plum, I was surprised to

[3:12:32] see that it is listed on the

[3:12:33] category one invasive species

[3:12:36] list. However that list is from

[3:12:39] a private 501 c three not the

[3:12:41] state of florida and it is not

[3:12:45] regulatory miami code 1702

[3:12:47] defines prohibited species as

[3:12:49] those listed in the county

[3:12:52] code. Java plum is not listed

[3:12:55] as prohibited by the county and

[3:12:57] they are the agency having

[3:12:59] jurisdiction. However, java

[3:13:02] plum is listed as a controlled

[3:13:04] species by the county which

[3:13:06] says it MAY not be planted

[3:13:10] within 500ft of natural plant

[3:13:11] communities. But morningside

[3:13:13] park does not have any natural

[3:13:16] plant communities. The entire

[3:13:17] park is an artificial landscape

[3:13:22] created in 1953. Java plum can

[3:13:24] be legally planted there no

[3:13:27] problem java plum cannot invade

[3:13:29] the park's shoreline nor tidal

[3:13:32] basin which are both saltwater

[3:13:34] because java plum is not salt

[3:13:37] tolerant as proven by the

[3:13:40] saltwater flooding. Java plums

[3:13:44] have been in morningside for 73

[3:13:46] years. I've lived nearby since

[3:13:49] 1977 and I've never seen a

[3:13:51] single java plum tree invading

[3:13:54] the park. The city also wrote

[3:13:56] replacement trees shall be of a

[3:13:58] native or non-native species,

[3:14:01] but neither monkey pod nor java

[3:14:04] plum are listed as invasive by

[3:14:06] miami-dade county as I've shown

[3:14:08] you. The city also wrote that

[3:14:10] lightning caused the

[3:14:12] destruction of the java plum

[3:14:15] that is simply false. The java

[3:14:17] plum was recovering nicely when

[3:14:19] workers cut it down and the

[3:14:21] workers caused a high voltage

[3:14:24] power line to snap, fall and

[3:14:26] start a small grass fire which

[3:14:27] happened here. That act of

[3:14:29] carelessness was used as a

[3:14:31] cover story for cutting down

[3:14:33] the java plum without public

[3:14:36] notice nor permit despite the

[3:14:38] city's promise that it would be

[3:14:41] monitored for a year next, the

[3:14:43] consultant has chosen native

[3:14:45] coastal species for mitigation

[3:14:47] but wants to plant them outside

[3:14:50] the coastal zone, which is on

[3:14:51] the coastal side of the new

[3:14:53] seawall not 400ft inland. More

[3:14:55] importantly, native coastal

[3:14:57] species were already planted

[3:15:00] inland in morningside park 16

[3:15:02] years ago and they've done

[3:15:05] poorly. Miami-dade county

[3:15:06] aerial photographs first show

[3:15:10] them in 2010. 16 years later

[3:15:12] they're stunted. I'm six foot

[3:15:14] one so I'm using my height for

[3:15:17] scale. This tree is only 18ft

[3:15:20] tall with only 14ft of canopy.

[3:15:22] Notice how little they've grown

[3:15:25] over those 16 years and how

[3:15:26] little shade canopy they

[3:15:29] provide. Evidently the soil in

[3:15:32] morningside park does not suit

[3:15:34] coastal native species but even

[3:15:35] in good conditions those

[3:15:38] species do not develop a large

[3:15:40] canopy. On the other hand,

[3:15:42] monkeypod trees were first

[3:15:45] planted by the city itself in

[3:15:49] 2006. 20 years later they've

[3:15:51] grown by the way that little

[3:15:52] circle that's me in there. I'm

[3:15:54] six feet tall. That's me. Look

[3:15:56] at that. Compared to the size

[3:15:58] of the tree 20 years later

[3:16:00] they've grown as much as 50ft

[3:16:03] tall and 96ft wide providing

[3:16:06] excellent shade canopy a far

[3:16:08] better choice. The proposed

[3:16:09] mitigation planting of

[3:16:11] scattered coastal native small

[3:16:13] canopy species would disrupt

[3:16:16] and disrespect the park's

[3:16:18] historic landscape design of

[3:16:19] elegant uniform large shade

[3:16:22] tree plantings and be a

[3:16:24] disservice to the public. So

[3:16:26] summarizing the bad behavior 16

[3:16:28] trees cut down without permits

[3:16:31] during construction salt water

[3:16:32] deliberately pumped into the

[3:16:35] park the city said they'd wait

[3:16:36] a year before removing any

[3:16:38] saltwater poison trees, then

[3:16:40] reneged on that promise. Eight

[3:16:43] saltwater area trees cut down

[3:16:45] without public notice or permit

[3:16:47] even though three were

[3:16:49] recovering as shown by the

[3:16:52] contractor's own records,

[3:16:54] curtis rogers said they would

[3:16:55] replant new monkey pods. Now

[3:16:57] they've reneged.

[3:16:59] Misidentification and much

[3:17:00] misinformation was used to make

[3:17:03] decisions. Someone lied about

[3:17:05] the java plum being struck by

[3:17:08] lightning and last, even though

[3:17:10] it was the city's or their

[3:17:11] contractor's fault that the

[3:17:12] trees were illegally cut down,

[3:17:15] I had to pay $907 for this

[3:17:16] appeal. So I respectfully

[3:17:19] request replant four new monkey

[3:17:21] pods in the same location where

[3:17:22] they were as the public was

[3:17:24] promised to respect the

[3:17:26] original elegant uniform

[3:17:28] plantings of the same tree

[3:17:30] species relocate a green

[3:17:31] buttonwood that was recently

[3:17:33] planted there as it disrupts

[3:17:34] the elegant landscape design of

[3:17:36] uniform tree plantings

[3:17:39] replanted java java plum to

[3:17:41] make up for the large specimen

[3:17:43] that was cut down offset to

[3:17:44] avoid the power lines restore

[3:17:46] the other missing original java

[3:17:49] plum trees over time do not

[3:17:51] allow the scattered planting of

[3:17:52] coastal native species because

[3:17:55] they don't grow well there they

[3:17:57] provide little shade and they

[3:17:58] would disrupt the park's

[3:17:59] elegant design of uniform tree

[3:18:02] plantings instead have the

[3:18:04] contractor pay into the tree

[3:18:07] trust fund and in light of the

[3:18:10] egregious behavior of the

[3:18:10] city's contractors refund the

[3:18:13] $907 I spent to file this

[3:18:15] appeal and here's what I'm

[3:18:18] offering in return I will

[3:18:21] gladly arrange for and pay for

[3:18:23] the installation of the new

[3:18:25] monkey pods and java plum trees

[3:18:27] and maintain them for the rest

[3:18:31] of my life. It won't cost the

[3:18:34] city a penny it'll be free just

[3:18:36] like my educational tours. The

[3:18:37] only stipulation is that the

[3:18:39] new trees will not be large

[3:18:40] when planted because larger

[3:18:42] size of those trees generally

[3:18:45] aren't available locally but

[3:18:47] they grow quickly as you've

[3:18:49] seen again there was an agenda

[3:18:51] item earlier today about

[3:18:52] philanthropic donations to

[3:18:54] district two. I've already been

[3:18:57] doing that for over 30 years

[3:18:59] and if I had to sum up the

[3:19:00] experience in one sentence it

[3:19:03] would be no good deed goes

[3:19:05] unpunished. I've made many

[3:19:07] donations to the city over the

[3:19:09] years and I'm offering another

[3:19:11] one today. Please don't punish

[3:19:14] me for it. In closing, if

[3:19:19] anyone has any doubts about

[3:19:22] anything I've presented, please

[3:19:24] visit the park with me so I can

[3:19:28] show you the evidence. I have a

[3:19:29] handout for the city clerk to

[3:19:31] hand out to the commission with

[3:19:35] my offer in writing so you can

[3:19:36] hopefully consider it. Thank

[3:19:36] you.

[3:19:39] >> thank you, MR. Cruz. Um, I'd

[3:19:50] like to call ida curtis. MR.

[3:19:51] Cruz, can you let her have the

[3:19:53] podium, please? I'm sorry. MR.

[3:19:54] Cruz, can you let MISS Cruz

[3:19:56] speak? Yes, I'm disconnecting

[3:19:58] my computer or should I leave

[3:19:59] it plugged in? I MAY have to

[3:20:00] refer to it later. Let me leave

[3:20:08] it plugged in. MISS Curtis, can

[3:20:11] you state your relation to the

[3:20:13] morningside park project and

[3:20:14] your experience? Yes.

[3:20:17] >> thank you. Um, good morning

[3:20:19] commissioners MADAM Mayor um

[3:20:22] city attorney and my name is

[3:20:24] ida curtis. I'm a registered

[3:20:25] landscape architect with 40

[3:20:27] years of experience here in

[3:20:28] miami, florida. I am a

[3:20:30] certified arborist with 11

[3:20:33] years of experience here. Um I

[3:20:34] have been working on

[3:20:36] morningside park for about uh

[3:20:39] since 1920. We started the work

[3:20:42] on um developing the coastal

[3:20:45] resiliency element along the

[3:20:46] waterfront, which is consistent

[3:20:48] with the resilient 305

[3:20:50] strategy. Can you correct the

[3:20:51] date? I think you said

[3:20:52] [Laughter] 1920. 1920 I'm

[3:20:53] sorry.

[3:20:55] >> what [Laughter] 1920. I'm

[3:20:58] sorry 2022. Young I [Laughter]

[3:20:59] Thought that. You look great.

[3:21:02] Young I'm operating. On one cup

[3:21:04] of coffee one [Laughter] Cup of

[3:21:06] coffee. You look fantastic.

[3:21:06] Okay.

[3:21:08] >> you look great. Okay.

[3:21:10] >> please proceed. So.

[3:21:13] >> um, we were contracted by

[3:21:16] the city to develop plans and

[3:21:19] respond to a grant that was

[3:21:21] given by the nature conservancy

[3:21:23] to restore a living shoreline,

[3:21:25] to create a living shoreline as

[3:21:28] a resilient strategy to build a

[3:21:30] seawall in accordance with the

[3:21:33] miami city of miami code and to

[3:21:34] build a baywalk in accordance

[3:21:35] with the city of miami code. So

[3:21:37] we have been working on those

[3:21:38] plans and we have been working

[3:21:40] on the implementation of those

[3:21:41] improvements along the

[3:21:46] morningside park. And the 16

[3:21:47] trees that are issued at issue

[3:21:48] in the intended decision. Are

[3:21:50] the trees in existence at the

[3:21:51] park today? No.

[3:21:53] >> those trees have been

[3:21:53] already removed.

[3:21:55] >> can you tell us what

[3:21:56] happened with the trees? Okay.

[3:22:00] >> um we one of the concerns in

[3:22:04] the park is that we have um a

[3:22:06] drainage lagoon and there is

[3:22:10] some mangroves that are uh were

[3:22:11] obstructing the outfall from

[3:22:14] the drainage lagoon into the

[3:22:19] bay. So we we um submitted a

[3:22:21] permit to trim the mangroves

[3:22:24] and restore that free flow so

[3:22:26] that the water could flow back

[3:22:30] to the bay. Um so when we we

[3:22:33] secured the permit, we issued a

[3:22:34] notice to the contractor who

[3:22:36] was already working on the

[3:22:38] improvements over the park to

[3:22:42] trim the mangrove trees and

[3:22:45] clean the outfall pipe out of

[3:22:47] debris so that the flow of

[3:22:49] water could be restored to the

[3:22:52] bay upon cleaning [Laughter]

[3:22:54] That and the contractor had all

[3:22:55] the proper permits. In fact,

[3:22:56] they have had proper permits

[3:22:58] for all of the improvements in

[3:23:00] the park. When the contractor

[3:23:02] was cleaning the pipe, the

[3:23:05] error was that he used a vacuum

[3:23:09] kind of a suction mechanism to

[3:23:11] bring in, you know, clean the

[3:23:14] outfall. And the mistake that

[3:23:15] the subcontractor made was that

[3:23:18] instead of taking that water

[3:23:20] out of [Laughter] The park and

[3:23:22] disposing it somewhere else, he

[3:23:25] disposed it inside the park in

[3:23:28] an area you know, adjacent to

[3:23:30] where we were doing the

[3:23:33] improvements that debris that

[3:23:37] came from the pipe is was

[3:23:38] brackish water which means it

[3:23:42] had salt water. So when the

[3:23:44] water went into those trees we

[3:23:45] were notified of the mistake

[3:23:47] that the contractor made. We

[3:23:49] immediately went and looked. We

[3:23:51] took a look at all the trees

[3:23:53] and we started doing the

[3:23:54] monitoring of it. And yes, MR.

[3:23:57] Cruz is correct. We did say we

[3:23:59] were going to monitor the trees

[3:24:01] for a year um to see how they

[3:24:04] recovered [Laughter] In the

[3:24:05] midst so I continue yeah. Okay.

[3:24:09] In the midst of that year we

[3:24:11] would do monthly reports and

[3:24:13] you can see that some of the

[3:24:15] trees were recovering. Um some

[3:24:18] of the trees were not doing

[3:24:23] very well and so one I guess

[3:24:26] one weekend in APRIL I think

[3:24:27] was [Laughter] APRIL a sunday

[3:24:29] in APRIL we got a report that

[3:24:32] the java plum had gotten fire.

[3:24:35] [Laughter] When I got the

[3:24:37] notice that the java plum had

[3:24:38] caught fire and I don't know if

[3:24:39] it was lighting we were not

[3:24:40] told if it was lighting. We

[3:24:42] were not told if it was a spark

[3:24:45] from from fpl or not. But the

[3:24:48] my point as a professional is

[3:24:52] this is a tree that is planted

[3:24:57] underneath the wires of fpl. It

[3:24:57] had already been trimmed and

[3:25:00] compromised by fpl more than it

[3:25:01] needs to be to be a [Laughter]

[3:25:04] Good specimen tree it is in a

[3:25:09] public park it catches fire and

[3:25:11] the branches start falling. To

[3:25:14] me that is a huge liability red

[3:25:16] [Laughter] Flag that's the last

[3:25:18] thing we need in our public

[3:25:19] parks is for trees to be

[3:25:22] catching on fire. Okay at that

[3:25:24] point in my professional

[3:25:26] opinion I made the

[3:25:28] determination that neither the

[3:25:33] city nor we could take on the

[3:25:37] liability of having these trees

[3:25:40] semi-living that could possibly

[3:25:42] endanger anybody in a public

[3:25:45] park. Even if the trees would

[3:25:49] recover they would not going to

[3:25:51] recover to the state that they

[3:25:54] were before because of the way

[3:25:56] that the some portions of the

[3:25:58] trees had died. Okay.

[3:26:01] >> so um for the record, uh, I

[3:26:02] think that that it has been

[3:26:04] submitted into the record we

[3:26:05] have one black olive, one green

[3:26:07] buttonwood, eight coconut palms

[3:26:09] and four monkey pods, one

[3:26:11] bracelet wood and one java palm

[3:26:12] that were removed during

[3:26:13] construction, correct? Yes. Let

[3:26:16] me clarify the record. The the

[3:26:19] black olive and the buttonwood

[3:26:22] were removed prior to that in a

[3:26:24] separate incident. And the

[3:26:26] reason for that is when we

[3:26:29] developed the plans the coastal

[3:26:32] fringe was there was a lot of

[3:26:34] trees there and we met with

[3:26:35] environmental services and we

[3:26:37] said, listen, we're going to

[3:26:38] give these trees a chance.

[3:26:40] Let's put them there.

[3:26:41] [Laughter] Let's keep them

[3:26:43] there. Let's evaluate once we

[3:26:45] start the construction and see

[3:26:46] how the contractor is

[3:26:47] proceeding with the

[3:26:49] installation of the seawall

[3:26:51] when they install these

[3:26:53] seawalls the piles are

[3:26:55] extremely deep. They use these

[3:26:57] big cranes. They come in and

[3:27:00] the by the time that we when

[3:27:02] the piling was there we

[3:27:04] realized that these huge black

[3:27:07] olive. Half of the roots had

[3:27:08] been trimmed because of the

[3:27:11] installation of the piles. That

[3:27:13] creates a liability because the

[3:27:15] tree is no longer stable

[3:27:16] because half of the roots has

[3:27:18] been cut. So we removed the

[3:27:20] black olive and the green

[3:27:21] button was in the same

[3:27:23] situation of the removal. The

[3:27:25] coconut [Laughter] Palms were

[3:27:27] removed upon request of the

[3:27:29] parks department. The parks and

[3:27:33] recreation department is no

[3:27:36] longer wanting coconut palms in

[3:27:37] public parks again talking

[3:27:40] about the liability of the nuts

[3:27:42] falling on anybody in the park.

[3:27:44] So they are we are in the

[3:27:45] process of removing all of the

[3:27:46] coconut palms from the public

[3:27:50] parks. Okay ladies. And along.

[3:27:51] Thanks. Understood.

[3:27:55] >> um okay so MR. Cruz has

[3:27:58] proffered um has has made a

[3:28:00] request to the to the city we

[3:28:01] have a removal of 16 trees. I

[3:28:03] believe the city staff would

[3:28:04] like to correct the record that

[3:28:06] the replacement is a minimum of

[3:28:08] 96 trees at a minimum of

[3:28:09] minimum diameter of two inches.

[3:28:11] So he has requested for new

[3:28:14] monkey pods um in the original

[3:28:15] location. Can you please

[3:28:16] comment on that for your

[3:28:18] professional opinion? I'm sorry

[3:28:19] what was that. Again the

[3:28:21] replacement of four monkey pods

[3:28:21] .

[3:28:25] >> so. The city has committed

[3:28:27] to a what we call a resilient

[3:28:30] 305 strategy. Our times have

[3:28:34] changed. We are now facing sea

[3:28:37] level rise storm surge,

[3:28:40] saltwater intrusion, bigger

[3:28:42] threats from our environment in

[3:28:44] this commitment that the city

[3:28:46] made for the resilient 305

[3:28:49] strategy is the restoration of

[3:28:51] the coastal ecology. It makes a

[3:28:55] commitment to use our parks as

[3:28:56] resilient part of the

[3:28:58] infrastructure of the city, and

[3:29:00] it commits to planting native

[3:29:04] trees in our parks. That is

[3:29:06] what we are doing. We are

[3:29:08] restoring the ecology of the

[3:29:10] coast. We are planting native

[3:29:13] trees, native shrubbery. We are

[3:29:15] increasing the biodiversity.

[3:29:16] This is what we need to be

[3:29:18] educating our children about.

[3:29:20] So is it your professional

[3:29:21] recommendation that the monkey

[3:29:22] pods are not a native tree that

[3:29:24] should be planted in this

[3:29:26] location? The monkey pod is not

[3:29:29] a florida native tree. Okay it

[3:29:32] is. It MAY have been doing well

[3:29:35] but it will not take the salt

[3:29:38] spray. It will eventually start

[3:29:39] deteriorating. It is not the

[3:29:41] right species to be planted

[3:29:43] now. What about the java palm?

[3:29:46] The java plum is considered a

[3:29:49] category one invasive species.

[3:29:54] That means that this tree is

[3:29:56] shade's native plants and

[3:29:59] disrupts the local ecosystem.

[3:30:01] Miami dade county will not

[3:30:02] allow this tree to be planted

[3:30:05] in the parks as a professional

[3:30:07] trying to restore our

[3:30:10] ecosystems, I do not recommend

[3:30:12] the installation of a category

[3:30:14] one invasive species tree.

[3:30:14] Okay.

[3:30:18] >> thank you. Um just one one

[3:30:20] additional fact. MR.

[3:30:24] Santamaria, are you here?

[3:30:28] Hurry, hurry. MR. Santamaria,

[3:30:30] do you have any information on

[3:30:31] whether um MR. Cruz had the

[3:30:33] permission to to plant the

[3:30:34] monkey pods in morningside

[3:30:37] park? Um I do um I spoke to

[3:30:40] kevin kirwan um who was the

[3:30:42] parks director at the time and

[3:30:43] MR. Cruz alleged that, uh,

[3:30:45] kevin kirwan gave him

[3:30:47] permission to plant the monkey

[3:30:49] pods and uh, director former

[3:30:51] director kirwan indicated to me

[3:30:53] that that that was not the

[3:30:54] case. In fact, he stopped MR.

[3:30:56] Cruz from planting trees

[3:30:58] throughout the park, uh,

[3:31:00] because they were uh, against

[3:31:02] the master plan that the city

[3:31:03] had commissioned with

[3:31:05] kimley-horn back at that time.

[3:31:05] Okay.

[3:31:07] >> in conclusion, on behalf of

[3:31:09] city staff, we request we would

[3:31:10] respectfully request that you

[3:31:12] deny the appeal based on the

[3:31:13] findings of fact that have been

[3:31:15] stated on the record today. Um

[3:31:17] ,this park has been uh this

[3:31:18] project has been going on for a

[3:31:19] long time. The goal is to get

[3:31:21] it the park reopened by

[3:31:23] DECEMBER 31st of 2024. And so

[3:31:25] in furtherance of that goal we

[3:31:26] respectfully request the denial

[3:31:27] of the appeal so that the

[3:31:38] replanting can commence.

[3:31:41] All right. Um, MR. Cruz. Yes,

[3:31:44] ma'am? Would you like to rebut

[3:31:45] for a few minutes? I certainly

[3:31:49] would. About three minutes.

[3:31:50] >> that's all I get. Yep.

[3:31:51] >> they said a lot more than

[3:31:52] three minutes. You're very

[3:31:53] accurate stuff.

[3:31:55] >> no she was within ten

[3:31:56] minutes I we were keeping track

[3:31:58] of the time and I gave you 12

[3:31:59] so okay. Plus your standing

[3:32:03] time so. So up on the screen um

[3:32:05] there's an email from kevin

[3:32:08] kirwan, the aforementioned

[3:32:10] former parks director. Thank

[3:32:12] you for calling him. I will be

[3:32:14] also calling him and reminding

[3:32:15] him that he told you something

[3:32:17] that was not quite right. So

[3:32:19] here's the email elvis please

[3:32:24] proceed with planting. I had

[3:32:25] extensive conversations with

[3:32:27] MR. Kirwan about planting for

[3:32:30] the palmetum and when I wanted

[3:32:32] to plant monkey pods he came

[3:32:36] out to the park and we drove

[3:32:38] around the park and I pointed

[3:32:40] out the existing monkey pods

[3:32:43] which were there since 2006 and

[3:32:46] kevin kirwan said they are

[3:32:49] gorgeous. Yes. Go ahead. So it

[3:32:51] was certainly done with his

[3:32:54] permission. Um what else can I

[3:32:56] uh this this total fabrication

[3:33:00] that there was a fire caused by

[3:33:02] lightning or what or even if it

[3:33:05] was the power line the power

[3:33:07] line fell but I checked with

[3:33:08] the miami fire department.

[3:33:10] There's no record of any fire

[3:33:12] dispatch to the park regarding

[3:33:16] that java plum java plum is not

[3:33:20] a prohibited species in

[3:33:22] miami-dade county. Miami dade

[3:33:24] county is the authority having

[3:33:26] jurisdiction. That is false. It

[3:33:29] is not a prohibited species. It

[3:33:30] is controlled. But as I

[3:33:32] explained that doesn't preclude

[3:33:34] it being planted. It just can't

[3:33:37] be within 500ft of a native

[3:33:41] plant community. Uh also am I

[3:33:42] allowed to cross-examine your

[3:33:45] witness? Uh, MISS Curtis

[3:33:47] misidentified her firm,

[3:33:48] misidentified the monkey pods

[3:33:52] as being mimosa. So this very

[3:33:53] experienced landscape architect

[3:33:55] and consultant couldn't even

[3:33:58] identify a tree species.

[3:34:00] There's other things I could

[3:34:02] mention. Uh, the park project

[3:34:05] that she is supervising has

[3:34:06] been delayed six months.

[3:34:08] Commissioner pardo, you're

[3:34:09] familiar with the park. You

[3:34:10] walk your dog there every day.

[3:34:11] You're very familiar that it

[3:34:13] was supposed to have reopened

[3:34:15] back on JUNE 1st, but it's been

[3:34:17] a disaster because of that

[3:34:19] project. We now have the worst

[3:34:21] flooding we've ever had in

[3:34:23] morningside park ever. And as

[3:34:25] you told us at our last

[3:34:26] morningside zoom meeting or the

[3:34:27] one before the city is going to

[3:34:29] hire another engineer to try to

[3:34:32] fix the problems that have been

[3:34:35] happening in the park. So I've

[3:34:37] given you my offer you'll save

[3:34:39] money. It'll be in the best

[3:34:40] interest of the park. The idea

[3:34:42] that trees that have been in

[3:34:45] the park for 73 years are now

[3:34:48] suddenly persona non grata, or

[3:34:49] trees that have been in the

[3:34:51] park for at least 20 years and

[3:34:53] have performed remarkably well

[3:34:55] are suddenly persona non grata.

[3:34:57] That doesn't make any sense and

[3:34:59] you're not required to plant

[3:35:00] native trees. Your own code

[3:35:04] says it can be native or non

[3:35:05] invasive. These are noninvasive

[3:35:09] trees by the county's own and

[3:35:11] the city's own code. Thank you

[3:35:12] MR. Cruz. Okay colleagues

[3:35:14] commissioner pardo. I certainly

[3:35:15] want to comment. I would

[3:35:17] assume. First of all what's

[3:35:18] happening with morningside

[3:35:19] shoreline project is absolutely

[3:35:21] not a disaster. It's kind of

[3:35:23] shameful to describe it that

[3:35:26] way. I want to say we've been

[3:35:28] very, very considerate and as

[3:35:29] you appropriately stated, I

[3:35:31] walked my dog there every

[3:35:32] morning. I love morningside

[3:35:34] park and we have been

[3:35:36] incredibly considerate as to

[3:35:37] input from the entire

[3:35:40] community. Part of that was one

[3:35:42] of the issues you came with.

[3:35:43] You came with several other

[3:35:45] neighbors. We looked at the

[3:35:47] paving, the the boardwalk, the

[3:35:48] materials being used for the

[3:35:49] boardwalk. You didn't like it.

[3:35:51] A few other neighbors didn't

[3:35:52] like it either. We had to go

[3:35:55] and find different material for

[3:35:56] that boardwalk that takes time.

[3:35:59] The drainage in the park wasn't

[3:36:01] working the way we expected. We

[3:36:04] don't want to open a park with

[3:36:05] floors. We don't want to

[3:36:07] deliver a park to our residents

[3:36:09] and the public with floors that

[3:36:11] makes absolutely no sense. So

[3:36:13] delaying it a few months and it

[3:36:15] will open before the first of

[3:36:16] the year was exactly what we

[3:36:18] should have done. We got the

[3:36:19] right material, we got the

[3:36:20] right drainage system, we're

[3:36:21] working on it. That is going to

[3:36:23] be a longer term project. It's

[3:36:24] not you know that's not

[3:36:26] something you do in a few

[3:36:28] months and the park is going to

[3:36:29] be spectacular. Beautiful state

[3:36:31] of the art resiliency project

[3:36:33] in the city of miami. I think

[3:36:35] the first of its kind. So we

[3:36:37] should be very proud of the

[3:36:39] efforts as a city that we're

[3:36:40] delivering in morningside park.

[3:36:43] This dispute the way I see it

[3:36:47] is these trees are gone. Our

[3:36:49] experts are consultants in this

[3:36:50] area. Curtis and rogers are

[3:36:53] recommending trees that will be

[3:36:54] appropriate for the future for

[3:36:57] the next 50 years. It is

[3:36:59] important that I tell you thank

[3:37:01] you for everything you have

[3:37:03] done in that park and all of

[3:37:05] your volunteer hours and

[3:37:06] everything you have put

[3:37:08] forward. It is absolutely

[3:37:10] commendable. You also reference

[3:37:12] the item we had about

[3:37:14] philanthropy and I know

[3:37:15] sometimes it's difficult in

[3:37:17] philanthropy when you give a

[3:37:19] gift or you do something to let

[3:37:22] that go. But in this case the

[3:37:24] people that are hired that are

[3:37:26] experts in the job, the people

[3:37:28] that we have recourse to, the

[3:37:29] people who are giving us

[3:37:32] guarantees for years on those

[3:37:33] trees and their maintenance are

[3:37:35] the ones we have to proceed

[3:37:37] with and they are the ones

[3:37:39] giving us their expert opinion.

[3:37:41] That's why I'm in my my opinion

[3:37:43] I would deny this appeal

[3:37:44] because we have the experts

[3:37:46] weighing in. They're very

[3:37:48] clear. Your passion is obvious.

[3:37:49] You should be commended for

[3:37:51] everything you've done. But we

[3:37:53] can't control a gift 50 years

[3:37:55] after they've been made or 20

[3:37:56] years after they've been made.

[3:37:58] It's it's in the spirit of

[3:37:59] giving that it sometimes we

[3:38:01] just have to let go of that

[3:38:02] gift and understand times

[3:38:04] change. People change. The

[3:38:05] circumstances are different. We

[3:38:07] didn't have sea level rise. We

[3:38:08] didn't have climate resiliency.

[3:38:10] A lot of the things we face

[3:38:12] today I think the more we align

[3:38:14] that means you and me and the

[3:38:16] neighbors and the city the

[3:38:18] better our projects will be and

[3:38:19] the better everyone will move

[3:38:21] forward. This appeal has cost

[3:38:23] time on the morningside project

[3:38:24] the very thing you're

[3:38:26] complaining about and we've had

[3:38:28] to hire attorneys to represent

[3:38:30] the city of the city of miami

[3:38:32] in this case and with other

[3:38:34] appeals. So is this an

[3:38:37] efficient way of us all moving

[3:38:38] forward together or just

[3:38:40] another obstructive tactic in

[3:38:42] the long run? I really think we

[3:38:45] should consider that just as a

[3:38:48] community. So I personally

[3:38:50] would be against uh I would

[3:38:52] recommend the against the

[3:38:54] repeal. Motion motion to deny.

[3:38:57] So MAY I respond? I'm sorry.

[3:39:00] One moment. So do we need to

[3:39:01] include, uh, an understanding

[3:39:03] of standing in that motion to

[3:39:06] deny? Um yes. So since we

[3:39:08] discussed the standing issue,

[3:39:10] um that can be a part of the

[3:39:13] motion and even even if you um

[3:39:15] deny standing, you can also

[3:39:18] make a finding on the merits of

[3:39:20] the case based on the testimony

[3:39:22] given today and the fact that

[3:39:25] um the permit complies with

[3:39:28] chapter 17. I mean I'm not an

[3:39:29] attorney so understanding

[3:39:30] question I would look to the

[3:39:33] city attorney. Would you make a

[3:39:34] recommended motion on how we

[3:39:36] would do that please? Yes.

[3:39:38] >> so um we heard from MR.

[3:39:40] Cruz. It seems as though his

[3:39:42] special injury was that he

[3:39:44] donated these specific trees.

[3:39:47] Um the the the attorney

[3:39:50] representing the city um I

[3:39:52] believe she indicated that it

[3:39:55] was a donation um and that the

[3:39:57] financial interest isn't there

[3:40:03] any longer. Um I in this case I

[3:40:06] would probably recommend erring

[3:40:08] on the side of caution um since

[3:40:10] it appears anyway that his

[3:40:13] motion that his appeal um is

[3:40:15] going to be denied on the

[3:40:17] merits um we might want to just

[3:40:19] allow allow the standing

[3:40:21] acknowledge the standing um and

[3:40:24] then if the board wants to deny

[3:40:25] it on the on the merits rather

[3:40:27] than standing that's probably

[3:40:28] how I would recommend to

[3:40:29] proceed.

[3:40:31] >> the motion would be to grant

[3:40:32] standing and deny the appeal on

[3:40:36] its merits. Is there a second

[3:40:38] colleagues any more. Do I get

[3:40:39] to respond to what commissioner

[3:40:42] pardo said? Uh no sir, I don't

[3:40:46] believe so. MADAM Attorney, is

[3:40:48] there a need for a response?

[3:40:50] No, only if the commissioner

[3:40:52] has a question for for the

[3:40:55] appellant. Okay commissioner no

[3:40:57] questions. No question. Okay.

[3:40:59] There's a motion on the table

[3:41:01] and there's a second. All in

[3:41:02] favor say aye. Aye.

[3:41:06] >> any opposed? So that passed

[3:41:07] unanimously. Thank you for your

[3:41:09] time. Appreciate it. And thank

[3:41:11] you for demonstrating how the

[3:41:12] city of miami takes good care

[3:41:14] of people who donate their time

[3:41:16] and money to the city. Thank

[3:41:18] you, MR. Cruz. All right. I

[3:41:20] think we have one last item

[3:41:22] before we move on to our

[3:41:25] virginia key beach trust. Um,

[3:41:27] and that's for uh I know,

[3:41:28] commissioner, you made some

[3:41:30] very good, uh, modifications to

[3:41:31] this item, so thank you for

[3:41:32] that. Thank you.

[3:41:34] >> if staff could come forward.

[3:41:44] I just have one question. I

[3:41:46] director snow, could you walk

[3:41:51] me through the where the funds

[3:41:52] would be placed? We talked

[3:41:53] about this in my agenda

[3:41:56] briefing. Yes.

[3:42:00] >> good morning commissioners

[3:42:04] and MADAM Mayor. Um so the the

[3:42:07] the recent amendment to the prs

[3:42:11] for legislation will allow for

[3:42:15] the uh reduced parking uh for a

[3:42:18] payment to be made into the uh,

[3:42:20] established transit trust fund

[3:42:22] which is in chapter 62. Okay.

[3:42:25] >> but various districts have

[3:42:27] parking trust funds, correct.

[3:42:30] So there there are uh,

[3:42:32] independent trust funds that do

[3:42:34] exist in specific neighborhoods

[3:42:35] design district wynwood,

[3:42:38] wynwood naught the grove, uh,

[3:42:40] recently established little

[3:42:43] havana. Uh, those are

[3:42:44] independent, uh, parking

[3:42:47] districts. So what I would like

[3:42:49] to propose is an amendment to

[3:42:53] this that monies generated that

[3:42:55] have parking trust funds, for

[3:42:59] example the design district um

[3:43:02] wynwood. What else did you say.

[3:43:04] When when naught the grove and

[3:43:04] little havana.

[3:43:07] >> and little havana. I would

[3:43:10] like the monies generated in

[3:43:12] those districts to go to those

[3:43:15] parking trust funds instead of

[3:43:20] one collective pot. I've got

[3:43:24] two nods over here um then

[3:43:25] because then we're going to

[3:43:27] have the allapattah coming up

[3:43:28] soon and then that money could

[3:43:30] go to that. So I would like to

[3:43:32] make a friendly amendment to

[3:43:34] allow for when the funds are

[3:43:35] generated to go into the

[3:43:36] neighborhood trust parking

[3:43:38] trust fund. And that's my only

[3:43:41] comment and if I might have a

[3:43:42] motion for that. Yeah, I think

[3:43:44] we. Can move. Yeah. Second we

[3:43:45] can move that as amended. Okay.

[3:43:47] All right. Um any other any

[3:43:49] further discussion I see our

[3:43:50] clerk. Yes sir. And I

[3:43:50] apologize.

[3:43:52] >> chair for the interruption.

[3:43:53] Um so in addition to

[3:43:54] commissioner king's amendment

[3:43:56] uh there's also another

[3:43:58] amendment um pursuant to a

[3:43:58] substitution amendment dated

[3:44:00] OCTOBER 20th, 2026. Thank you

[3:44:03] chair. All right. Um moved as

[3:44:05] amended and amended uh all in

[3:44:06] favor say aye. Aye.

[3:44:09] >> any opposed? So that item

[3:44:13] passed. Um have I missed

[3:44:14] anything else, MR. Clerk? MR.

[3:44:16] Attorney, you have a couple of

[3:44:17] things to read into the record

[3:44:17] I believe. Yes.

[3:44:19] >> I just have two shade notice

[3:44:25] requests. Um oh all right,

[3:44:26] MADAM CHAIRWOMAN and members of

[3:44:27] the commission pursuant to the

[3:44:29] provisions of section 286.011

[3:44:30] parentheses eight florida

[3:44:32] statutes. I'm requesting that

[3:44:33] the city commission meeting of

[3:44:35] NOVEMBER 19th, 2026 an attorney

[3:44:36] client session closed to the

[3:44:37] public be held for the purposes

[3:44:39] of discussing the pending

[3:44:40] litigation the matters of

[3:44:41] william o. Fuller martin penny

[3:44:42] of the second, the arlington

[3:44:44] group llc, kyoko marketplace

[3:44:49] llc yo amo chi chi llc little

[3:44:51] havana arts building llc little

[3:44:53] havana arts building two llc

[3:44:55] tower hotel llc brickell

[3:44:58] station llc pedro villas llc

[3:45:00] futurama llc el shopping llc

[3:45:02] beat stick llc vienna cultural

[3:45:04] cultural fridays inc. Little

[3:45:06] havana bungalows llc and lhab

[3:45:09] trust llc versus city of miami

[3:45:14] et al. Case number 23 cv

[3:45:15] 24251-drg pending in the united

[3:45:16] states district court, southern

[3:45:18] district of florida and qbe

[3:45:20] specialty insurance company

[3:45:21] versus city of miami joe

[3:45:23] carollo, arthur noriega,

[3:45:25] victoria mendez, rachel dooley,

[3:45:28] ace acl marrero, daniel s

[3:45:30] goldberg, william ortiz, luis

[3:45:32] torres, adrian plasencia, rene

[3:45:34] diaz, yvonne bayona, altos

[3:45:37] mexicanos llc, dba taqueria el

[3:45:39] mexicano beat stick llc

[3:45:41] brickell station llc, kogo

[3:45:43] marketplace llc, el shopping

[3:45:45] llc, william fuller futurama

[3:45:47] llc, la gran fiesta llc, el

[3:45:49] trece llc little havana arts

[3:45:51] building llc little havana arts

[3:45:53] building two llc little little

[3:45:54] havana bungalows llc piedra

[3:45:57] villas llc el shopping llc

[3:45:59] martin pinilla the second the

[3:46:01] burlington group llc the mad

[3:46:03] room llc doing business as ball

[3:46:04] and chain tower hotel llc,

[3:46:06] viernes cultural fridays inc.

[3:46:09] And yo amo llc and denise

[3:46:12] galvez torres case number 124

[3:46:16] dash cv 21854-e pending in the

[3:46:17] united states district court

[3:46:18] southern district of florida to

[3:46:20] which the city is presently a

[3:46:21] party. The subject of the

[3:46:22] meeting will be confined to

[3:46:23] settlement negotiations or

[3:46:24] strategy sessions related to

[3:46:26] litigation expenditures. This

[3:46:27] private meeting will begin at

[3:46:28] approximately 10 A.M. Or as

[3:46:29] soon thereafter as the

[3:46:30] commissioners schedules permit

[3:46:32] and conclude approximately one

[3:46:34] hour later. The session will be

[3:46:35] attended by the members of the

[3:46:36] city commission which include

[3:46:37] commissioners miguel angel

[3:46:39] cabello, damien pardo, rolando

[3:46:41] escalona, ralph rafael rosado

[3:46:42] and christine king, city

[3:46:44] manager james reyes, city

[3:46:45] attorney george kay, third

[3:46:47] deputy city attorney kevin

[3:46:49] jones, assistant city attorney

[3:46:50] supervisor eric eaves and

[3:46:51] outside counsel raquel

[3:46:53] rodriguez, angel cortinas,

[3:46:55] jonathan kaskel, steven a

[3:46:57] marino junior esquire and

[3:46:59] christine gorditas, esquire a

[3:47:00] certified court reporter will

[3:47:01] be present to ensure that this

[3:47:03] session is fully transcribed

[3:47:04] and the transcript will be made

[3:47:05] upon the conclusion of the

[3:47:06] litigation at the conclusion of

[3:47:07] the attorney client session,

[3:47:09] the regular commission meeting

[3:47:10] will be reopened and the person

[3:47:11] chairing the commission meeting

[3:47:12] will announce the termination

[3:47:14] of the attorney client session.

[3:47:15] That's the first one. The

[3:47:18] second one is MADAM CHAIRWOMAN

[3:47:19] and members of the city

[3:47:20] commission pursuant to the

[3:47:22] provisions of section 286.011

[3:47:23] parentheses eight four statutes

[3:47:25] I'm requesting that the city

[3:47:27] commission meeting of NOVEMBER

[3:47:28] 19th, NOVEMBER 19th, 2026 an

[3:47:29] attorney client session closed

[3:47:31] to the public be held for

[3:47:32] purposes of discussing the

[3:47:33] pending litigation in the

[3:47:34] matter of city of miami versus

[3:47:39] miami-dade county. Case number

[3:47:40] 2023-028335cao2 pending in the

[3:47:41] in the 11th judicial circuit

[3:47:42] court of miami-dade county to

[3:47:44] which the city is presently a

[3:47:45] party, the subject of the

[3:47:47] meeting will be confined to

[3:47:48] settlement negotiations or

[3:47:49] strategy sessions related to

[3:47:50] litigation expenditures. This

[3:47:52] private meeting will begin at

[3:47:53] approximately 10 A.M. Or soon

[3:47:54] thereafter as the commissioner

[3:47:55] schedules permit and conclude

[3:47:56] approximately one hour later.

[3:47:58] The session will be attended by

[3:47:59] the members of the city

[3:48:00] commission which include

[3:48:01] commissioner miguel angel

[3:48:02] abella, commissioner damian

[3:48:03] pardo, commissioner rolando

[3:48:05] escalona, commissioner ralph

[3:48:07] rafael rosado and commissioner

[3:48:08] christine king, city manager

[3:48:09] james ray, city attorney george

[3:48:12] k, third deputy city attorney

[3:48:13] kevin r jones, deputy city

[3:48:16] attorney javi javier e alban

[3:48:17] litigation appeals division

[3:48:19] chief eric j. Eaves, land use

[3:48:21] division chief amber l ketterer

[3:48:22] and assistant city attorney

[3:48:24] marguerite snyder, a certified

[3:48:25] court reporter will be present

[3:48:27] to ensure that the session is

[3:48:28] fully transcribed in the

[3:48:29] transcript will be made public

[3:48:30] upon the conclusion of the

[3:48:31] litigation at the conclusion of

[3:48:32] the attorney client session,

[3:48:33] the regular commission meeting

[3:48:35] will be reopened in the person

[3:48:36] chairing the commission meeting

[3:48:37] will announce the termination

[3:48:38] of the client attorney client

[3:48:39] session. Thank you, MADAM

[3:48:41] Chair. All right.

[3:48:42] >> thank you. MADAM Chair.

[3:48:44] >> before we leave, I would

[3:48:46] like to give a directive to the

[3:48:47] administration to have

[3:48:50] procurement do and I within the

[3:48:52] pool members of the landscaping

[3:48:54] services pool to provide

[3:48:56] retrieving services to public

[3:48:58] works. We have a lot of

[3:48:59] requests and we know public

[3:49:01] works is doing a great job in

[3:49:02] my opinion, but they are a

[3:49:04] little behind so if you can do

[3:49:07] that please. Thank you. Um so

[3:49:11] MR. Attorney, um we have one

[3:49:12] item that theoretically we

[3:49:14] can't approve until after the

[3:49:16] virginia key beach park trust

[3:49:18] meeting. Is there a possibility

[3:49:20] we can approve it contingent of

[3:49:22] a positive decision? Yes.

[3:49:24] >> yes that would be if it's

[3:49:25] not a positive decision we

[3:49:26] would bring it back at the next

[3:49:27] commission meeting. Right.

[3:49:29] >> and that would mean we could

[3:49:31] conclude this meeting. Um is

[3:49:33] that would that be an option..

[3:49:34] >> that would certainly be an

[3:49:36] option. So the the idea is on

[3:49:40] the docket item. Um um we could

[3:49:42] just say um subject to the

[3:49:44] approval of the virginia key

[3:49:46] park trust and then that way we

[3:49:47] would obviate the need of

[3:49:47] coming back.

[3:49:49] >> okay. Motion. All right

[3:49:51] motion second all in favor say

[3:49:53] aye. Aye aye. Any opposed? Show

[3:49:57] that passed unanimously. Um MR.

[3:50:00] Clark have we missed anything?

[3:50:01] No.

[3:50:03] >> that concludes the business.

[3:50:05] There you go at 1159. Good job

[3:50:07] everyone. Thank you very much.

[3:50:08] Appreciate it, MR. Attorney.

[3:50:10] Anything? We're good. All

[3:50:11] right. Show the meeting

[3:50:12] adjourned. Chair, I just need

[3:50:25] 60s to flip the tape.

City Commission Meeting - Oct 22nd, 2026

Agenda

Transcript