Bay Harbor Islands

The Coming Monarch

Ignoring Cries From Residents, Town Council OKs Mixed-Use Condo Building

Ex-Miami Beach Mayor Neisen Kasdin warned the council against “opposing development … for the sake of opposing development.”

By Evan Berkowitz

The Bay Harbor Islands Town Council unanimously approved the seven-story, 38-unit mixed-use Monarch condominium despite vocal opposition from residents, many of whom live in neighboring condos, during a meeting Monday.

“If this project cannot be approved, then you are opposing development purely for the sake of opposing development,” said Neisen O. Kasdin, a former mayor of Miami Beach and the attorney representing Monarch at Bay Harbor, LLC, at the meeting.

The approval required the rezoning of the property located at 9540-50 W. Bay Harbor Drive, which consists of three lots, two zoned multiple-family residential and one designated as “gateway.” Gateway lots require specific approval from the council for new development. This legislation is part of a Planned Unit Development Overlay ordinance that will allow a commercial component to an otherwise residential site. There will be 3,276 square feet of commercial space, 1,545 square feet of office space and 1,731 square feet of retail, all situated on the first floor of the building facing Kane Concourse.

The Monarch’s approval is also subject to the developer’s acquisition of 12 transfer of development rights units and payment into the town’s car parking trust fund for nine off-site spaces. Monarch at Bay Harbor, LLC — controlled by Gabriel Boano, Adolfo Avakian and Daniel Sawicki, according to Florida’s Division of Corporations — owns the donor building that is selling or transferring its development rights to them. The parking spaces are priced at $20,000 and Monarch at Bay Harbor, LLC, is required to pay $180,000 to the trust.

“We meet all the criteria without creating any impacts adverse to the town,” Kasdin said. Town planner Michael Miller agreed, saying at the recent planning and zoning meeting that the properties north and south of the project, the St. Regis and the Bay Harbor Island Manor condominiums, were comparable to the Monarch’s future size.

Objecting residents signed a petition and presented it to the Town Council. They believe the 65-foot-tall project is too large and disapprove of the commercial component, fearing it will bring traffic and transient people to their neighborhood. In spite of this, the Town Council unanimously approved the project.

At the June 11 meeting, many residents from two neighboring condominiums wore red T-shirts to show solidarity; a few held placards with messages, urging the council not to approve. “All three of these parcels only permit a residential use according to your code,” argued Amy E. Huber of Shubin and Bass, who represented Bay Harbor Island Manor condo owner Kenneth Shear and other neighbors.

She urged the council to uphold the code. “You adopted very, very stringent requirements in order to permit a planned unit development overlay zoning district,” she said.

Huber noted several other aspects of the proposed building that, in her opinion, don’t meet code, such as it not having a breezeway in the architecture, which most similar Bay Harbor Islands projects are required to have, and also not having the required 25-foot setbacks. “Parking has been and continues to be an issue with this town,” Huber said, claiming the Monarch did not have enough. She believes the true cost of building a parking space is $45,000, not $20,000. She also said the project’s ingress and egress needed further discussion because car traffic on that street corner is already a “nightmare.”

Miller replied that the PUD rules were written many years ago and applied so far only one time to a similar-type, mixed-use project. He said breezeways are “discretionary” and that a building could apply enhanced architecture instead.

During the public comments portion of the meeting, several citizens spoke out against the Monarch project. Shirley Chandler, a Bay Harbor Island Manor resident, said she campaigned for many of the current Town Council members and was extremely disappointed they were approving this.

Both Chandler and Huber complained about residents not being notified in adequate time of the town’s meetings. Chandler said out of 38 units in her condominium, 19 people did not receive notices. It made them think the administration was “trying to pull something over our eyes,” she said to applause. She also told Mayor Peter Lynch that his article in the town’s monthly newsletter gave the impression that he felt a responsibility to help developers make a profit.

This project is “incompatible with Bay Harbor Island architecture and the original goals of gateway (zoning),” said Teri D’Amico, an adjunct professor at Florida International University’s School of Architecture who, until very recently, was a member of the town’s Design and Review Committee. During her tenure on that board, she criticized its lack of professionalism and inaccurate record-keeping.

D’Amico told the council the town’s project approval process, including the recommendations given by advisory committees, is dysfunctional. She said the Monarch project was not up to town code when approved by her committee, even though Chair Wallace and Town Clerk Marlene Marante claimed it was. “I am requesting an official letter from the town attorney stating that the project was to code when the DRC reviewed it in February and in March,” she said.

D’Amico also claimed the issue of breezeways was not discussed at all. “Why did you ignore this code? It’s designed to enhance our environment,” she said. Then, answering her own question, she said it was because that was the only way the 12 transfer of development rights units could be accommodated in this overly large project.

Councilman Isaac Salver said he believed all the issues were being handled correctly. He said the town’s recent charrette called for mixed-use properties on Kane Concourse. Lynch agreed this project was completely consistent with the results from recent town visioning processes.

Construction of the Monarch is expected to begin in six months and be completed in 18 months.

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 Miami Beach

City Commissioner Gets Another Election Opponent

Michael Gongora’s hold on a Miami Beach commission seat is being challenged by a fellow lawyer.

By Erik Bojnansky

An incumbent Miami Beach city commissioner will be facing a fellow attorney in November.

Edward Tobin, an attorney with the Miami Beach firm of Ratner & Tobin, filed to run for the Group 5 seat Wednesday afternoon. Tobin could not be reached by the SunPost by deadline.

The Group 5 seat is currently filled by Michael Gongora, an attorney with the firm of Becker & Poliakoff. Gongora was elected last November to complete the last year of Commissioner Luis Garcia’s term and is running again for a full four-year term. Garcia was elected to Florida’s House of Representatives in November.

Last week the Miami Beach City Commission amended its Certain Appearances Prohibited ordinance, clarifying that firms who employ sitting elected officials and board members cannot lobby City Hall. Alan Becker, a shareholder in Becker & Poliakoff, will be reviewing the ordinance but believes the law is unconstitutional. Gongora recused himself from the vote.

Also running: Ivor Rose, a Miami Beach property owner who co-owns the historic Coral Rock House at Ninth Street and Collins Avenue with Michael Stern, a commission candidate for a different seat.

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Janitor Rally

SEIU to Hold Demonstration Supporting Unionization of Janitors, Claims Fisher Island Is Swindling Miami-Dade

By Erik Bojnansky 

SEIU protestors call attention to the wages of workers on Fisher Island. Photo courtesy SEIU.

A union is sponsoring a rally set to take place on Friday, at South Pointe Elementary School to support the unionization efforts of janitors toiling at Fisher Island.

Called “Justice for Janitors Day,” the rally, sponsored by SEIU Local 11, will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. at Michigan Avenue and Fourth Street in Miami Beach.

On Tuesday, SEIU held a press conference at South Pointe Park, alleging that Fisher Island’s owners have been swindling Miami-Dade taxpayers by seeking lower property tax assessments on their properties.

“Fisher Island homeowners have aggressively used the system to reduce the assessed value of their property on the exclusive island by a cumulative total of more than $965 million from 2002-2005 alone,” stated an SEIU June 12 press release. “This has resulted in a loss to the county of an estimated $15.2 million in tax revenues over this three-year period — a particularly staggering amount given that there are only 800 properties on Fisher Island, a new study by SEIU finds.”

The report, titled “Fisher Island: Rich Play, Poor Pay,” is available online at www.SEIU11.org. The study lists the U.S. Census Bureau, the Florida Association of Realtors, the New York Times Magazine, a July 2005 performance audit by Miami-Dade Auditor General William Monroe and the law firm Carlton Fields as sources.

Besides rallying to unionize Fisher Island’s janitors, whom SEIU claims make about $8 an hour with no benefits, the organization will be celebrating its “victory” a year ago in its efforts to unionize janitors working at the University of Miami.

“I’m not going to comment for your articles,” said Fisher Island’s attorney, Jim Bramnick. “We are not going to solve this in the newspaper. They have a right to talk about [whatever they want], but the [press] is not an appropriate venue [for Fisher Island].”

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Aventura

Northern Density

Office Buildings and Retail Will Be Allowed on Four Parcels

By Randy Abraham

Four pieces of property in northern Aventura will be able to host larger and more lucrative developments after elected officials approved rezoning the parcels from MO, Medical Office, to B2, Community Business District, Tuesday.

The parcels are on the west side of Biscayne Boulevard between NE 213th Street and Aventura’s northern border with the city of Hallandale Beach. The four plots total 3.44 acres. The smallest plot, at 21301 Biscayne Blvd., is a 0.45-acre city-owned parcel, half of which Aventura officials have reserved for a future right-of-way to address a planned increase in traffic from Gulfstream Park to the northeast.

The rezoning would permit general and medical office buildings, retail and commercial uses and is not expected to adversely affect traffic patterns or congestion, although retail could be expected to generate more traffic than office use, according to a memo from Planning Director Joanne Carr.

Carr also noted that county plans to resynchronize the traffic lights at Biscayne Boulevard and NE 213th Street are expected to improve traffic flow at the intersection from a “C” level of service grade to a “B” grade during peak morning hours and from an “E” grade to a “C” grade during peak afternoon hours. The county ranks traffic flow at six levels of service, with grade “A” being free flow and “F” being severe congestion; the signal timing changes are slated to begin within 30 to 45 days, Carr stated.

The rezoning would permit a 20-foot front and side setback, as opposed to the larger 50-foot MO setback requirement, an incentive expected to encourage the assembling of the parcels into a larger site.

The area has been subject to numerous discussions over the years, and in 2003 the city commissioned a study from the planning consulting firm Wallace Roberts Todd. That report recommended creating five development areas and amending development standards to encourage large office projects and residential rezoning in the area’s north portion. However, after hearing from landowners in the northern part of the district — north of Aventura Hospital and Medical Center — elected officials decided not to change land usage there. The mayor and commissioners, however, did pass revised development standards for the area’s southern portion, including reducing the minimum buildable lot size to a half-acre and revising setbacks, lot coverage, open space and other design standards.

Jackie Tako, who owns a vacant parcel west of the subject area, said she supported the rezoning concept, but suggested the city rezone a larger parcel to encourage a bigger retail project. “You don’t have enough to put in nice retail,” she said.

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Set in Motion

Despite Traffic Pattern Concerns, Variance OK’d for Property Owner

By Randy Abraham

By a 5-2 vote, the Aventura City Commission approved a request for a parking pavement setback variance at 18450 Biscayne Blvd., the site of a former Shell gas station, on the west side of the thoroughfare.

Aventura’s codes require a 10-foot setback; the applicant proposed a 5-foot, 5-inch setback.

The property has been subdivided, and applicant Mario Kaller wants to develop an In Motion women’s sportswear shop. Kaller’s wife, Frida, operates In Motion, currently located at Biscayne Harbor Shops at 18143 Biscayne Blvd.

Mayor Susan Gottlieb said she was concerned about the impact the variance would cause so close to the busy intersection of Biscayne and Miami Gardens Drive, especially since future plans for the north portion of the parcel are unknown. Previously, the gas station was accessed by two right-turn-in/right-turn-out driveways, and the northernmost driveway is about 60 feet south of Miami Gardens Drive. Gottlieb said she would have preferred that the proposed In Motion acquired the entire lot so an additional project could not be developed on the former gas station site.

“The project is fine,” said Gottlieb, who voted against the application. “But I would like it on the whole lot. It’s a very bad intersection and I’m seriously concerned about the safety factor. We are looking at this in a vacuum because we don’t have information on the other parcel.”

Attorney David Wolpin, a member of the city’s law firm Weiss Serota Helfman, said the northern portion of the site is unrelated to the Kaller’s proposal and city officials should consider the application on its own merits.

Attorney Alan Rosenthal, representing the Kallers, said his clients attempted to purchase the entire site but the owner of the northern portion was holding out for “a price far in excess of what it is worth,” and talks were unsuccessful. Rosenthal added that he expects the eastward extension of Miami Gardens Drive by the city to relieve traffic concerns at the intersection.

Commissioner Bob Diamond also voted against the project out of safety concerns. “It’s the busiest intersection in the city,” he noted.

The applicant must provide a signed lease to confirm he is utilizing leased space for four parking spaces from the Florida East Coast Railway to meet parking requirements. City staff recommended approval of the application.

The Aventura City Commission meets next in a workshop scheduled for 9 a.m., June 21.

Comments? E-mail letters@miamisunpost.com.

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