At Monday’s Miami Springs City Council Meeting, the biggest discussion was on directing the city attorney to craft language for the upcoming August election that would expand residential density east of East Drive.
While the final language has yet to be finalized and authorized by the council, the basic gist of the conversation was to remove the height restrictions currently in place for residential development within the section of the NW 36th Street District east of East Drive.
Furthermore, the council wanted to ensure that the removal of height restrictions would be limited to the portion of the NW 36th Street District east of East Drive.
Why make these changes?
The NW 36th Street has been the largest source of crime in Miami Springs including prostitution, drugs, and even murder. The thought process is that replacing hotels and their transient customers with residential apartments and residents with a vested interest in Miami Springs will reduce crime, blight, and improve the character of NW 36th Street.
Would you like to see old motels replaced with modern apartments?
In the best case scenario by the council, these zoning changes would attract high end modern apartments that would make the area more appealing.
East of East Drive
Below is a map highlighting the NW 36th Street District that is east of East Drive. Will the final ballot language limit the charter exemption to just this section of the NW 36th Street District that is east of East Drive?
Or will the language be so broad that the entire area east of East Drive will be exempt from the charter?
Will a future council be able to expand the NW 36th Street district with a simple 3 council majority to include the entire area east of East Drive?
In both of these scenarios, we could see existing apartments along South Royal Poinciana raized and replaced with 12 story towers. Furthermore, this could include residential apartments being developed as far east as the Abraham tract.
Right now, all we have are questions. The city attorney was tasked with proposing new ballot language for the August election.
Lack of Trust
Unfortunately, the past city administration’s failures with the downtown development (including the failure to set and collect parking fees) has left a bad taste in the mouth of Miami Springs residents.
To put it bluntly, if the City of Miami Springs wants any chance of the proposed ballot measure being passed by voters, it needs to put in place safeguards that will truly limit the charter exemption to the NW 36th Street District east of East Drive as it exists today. Any future council that wants to expand the district, would still need a vote from the residents.
The City of Miami Springs administration (granted it was mostly a prior administration) has screwed us before. They need to do everything in their power to earn our trust that safeguards are in place before they ask us for our vote.
The good news is that the mayor and city council are fighting for these safeguards for the residents. We need to make sure the city attorney does their part to protect the residents in the final ballot.
Furthermore, what we’re witnessing here is the ugly part of how a sausage is made, or in this case, how a ballot measure comes to fruition. Fortunately, there’s a lot of sunshine and public input helping to craft this measure.
We will keep you posted with the pros and cons as the ballot comes closer to fruition.
Questions / Concerns?
Share your thoughts, questions, and concerns in the comments section below or via social media.
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