The following is an opinion piece submitted as a Letter to the Editor by Miami Springs Resident James Llewellyn.
Miami Springs Voters, Please Be Aware and Beware of What the Redevelopment Ballot Question’s Vague Language Really Means! Vote NO to Massive Amounts of New Apartments and Condos!! Spread the Word!
A huge problem with the ballot language is that it’s very vague on what a yes vote will do. It sounds so innocuous and reasonable without knowing the whole picture. People who are not aware of the potential for a disaster from the overdevelopment of condos and apartments may think, “Sure, let’s revitalize 36th Street!” The language states that a yes vote will exempt residential units from the 3-story cap that now exists and make it “subject to current zoning height limitations.” It avoids/hides the fact that the current height limitations are 10 to 11 stories! So a yes vote will now allow apartment and condo buildings to reach 10 to 11 stories! This ballot question is all about allowing “high rises” of apartments and condos. Other types of non-residential buildings are already permitted to reach those 10 to 11 stories. So let the revitalization start with that! But developers, with help from their government enablers, always want to inject massive amounts of apartments and condos into the equation for profit. So city officials want you to vote yes to approve the addition of potentially hundreds of apartments and condos with thousands of new residents. In addition to obvious problems like drastically increased traffic and congestion and potential crime, so many new residents will make up a huge voting block of apartment and condo dwellers. Those new residents/voters may not have the same loyalty to our low-density community and may be susceptible to propaganda that promotes even more over-development or other measures that negatively affect our quality of life. The development pressure will increase the more power we give up. City officials are quick to say that there are no current specific development plans, so we shouldn’t “speculate” on numbers. But that’s absurd! Without a true plan for us to consider, they basically want a “blank check” for the potential massive development of apartments and condos! They are saying to the residents, give up your control that limits apartments and condos and trust us! Nope! Vote NO!
I feel fairly certain that most voters who see the danger and reality of what this amendment can do will vote no. But along with the vague ballot language, the City has plenty of our tax dollars to use to produce propaganda with fancy videos and town hall meetings. We must spread the word!
Official Ballot Language:
The Charter provides that buildings that include more than 2 residential dwelling units shall not exceed 3 stories and a maximum of 40 feet in height. To revitalize and attract investment to the Northwest 36 Street District, it is proposed to exempt buildings with residential units located east of East Drive in the District from the Charter’s restriction, subject to current zoning height limitations.
Shall the above-described amendment be adopted?
Yes [ ]
No [ ]
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Meeting Thursday:
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New Maps Shed Light on Height Limits of Proposed Zoning Change
The ballot clearly states zoning change only applies to area east of East avenue on 36 street. I believe it’s better for miami springs residents to allow this change rather than leave it up to the county to force any changes to our great city.