The Orange Bowl — one of Miami’s oldest landmarks, the site of numerous Super Bowls and the former home of an undefeated Miami Dolphins squad and five University of Miami national-champion football teams — could be demolished as early as January 2008.

With UM’s Hurricanes moving their football games to Dolphin Stadium for the 2008 season, Miami city officials are discussing the Orange Bowl’s future without its primary tenant.

The 72,319-seat, 70-year-old stadium might, literally, be history in four months.

At a meeting in the Orange Bowl on Tuesday, Miami officials said the Florida Marlins might play baseball in that venue when its lease at Dolphin Stadium ends in 2010. But, if they do, the Orange Bowl would be torn down and a new, retractable-roof ballpark estimated at $490 million would be erected in its place. The latest proposal has the Marlins chipping in $200 million to that end; the rest would come from Miami-Dade County, the city of Miami and the state.

“We plan demolition for late January, but that has not been finalized,” said Larry Spring Jr., the city of Miami’s chief financial officer. “But we are still waiting to see what happens.”

Spring said he has not been part of the baseball negotiations.

Other options to replace the Orange Bowl include a community center for the Little Havana neighborhood or even condominium developments.

However, Miami City Commissioner Angel Gonzalez strongly opposed the construction of residential buildings. “I would vote against the development of condominiums,” he said. “The Orange Bowl is a historic site. We would have to find a way to keep the structure.”

There is also an option to renovate the old stadium with $50 million from the sale of Miami-Dade County’s general obligation bonds and another $50 million from the county’s convention development and professional sports franchises facilities tax. (In November 2004, Miami-Dade residents voted to commit $2.9 billion in general obligation bonds for infrastructure and capital improvement projects across the county during a 30-year period.)

Meanwhile, the Orange Bowl continues to host the Miami Hurricanes this fall. The stadium is also home to the Florida International University Golden Panthers and a large number of high school football games.

The stadium opened for Miami Hurricanes football in 1937; the city of Miami Public Works Department completed it that year at a cost of $340,000. It opened as Burdine Municipal Stadium to honor Burdines’ department store head Roddy Burdine.

The Orange Bowl was host to many memorable Miami Dolphins seasons, including the National Football League’s only “perfect season” in 1972, consisting of 17 consecutive wins.

The stadium was also the site of the NCAA’s longest college football winning streak. The University of Miami Hurricanes won 58 straight home games at the Bowl between 1985 and 1994. In addition to football, the stadium can host up to 82,000 people for concerts and other public events.

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Miami Beach

Closed Down

City Shuts Down Two South Beach Hotels for “Life Safety” Violations; Employees Laid Off

By Samantha Smith

For at least the immediate future, the Clevelander will be closed.

When Miami Beach Building Director Thomas Velazquez received a tip Sept. 6 that both the Clevelander and the Breakwater Hotel were operating under dangerous conditions, he made the trip to the Ocean Drive properties the same day. After seeing the extent of the “life safety” violations, Velazquez said he had no choice but to shut down the two historic buildings.

“When I went down there, I was shocked to find out that both businesses were operating without hot water, a proper kitchen or accessible bathroom facilities,” Velazquez said.

Velazquez also cited the Breakwater and Clevelander for “severe life safety issues.”

“The Clevelander had construction going on right on top of people dancing and drinking; the scaffolding was right next to the stage and could have seriously injured someone,” Velazquez explained. “To be fair, the Breakwater was much, much worse regarding the scaffolding; it was around the whole building and posed a serious threat to the well-being of the people on Ocean Drive.”

According to Senior Building Inspector Adrian Avalos, the hotels were officially closed on Sept. 7 after Velazquez’s inspection. Following the hotel’s closure, a series of meetings between the city and Clevelander’s representatives were held through Sept. 17, Avalos said in an e-mail.

Documentation obtained from the building department showed both establishments violated several planning and zoning codes. Neither business is licensed as a stand-alone bar or restaurant; the restaurant at the Breakwater and the Clevelander’s bar and nightclub are both considered accessory uses. According to zoning laws, the main permitted use — hotel — must be operational for the accessory use to remain open.

Aside from the structural and zoning violations, the Clevelander got slapped with plumbing violations that, according to the city’s stop work order, “constitute a nuisance as defined by the Florida Building Code — plumbing as detrimental to the health of the public.”

According to Clevelander employees, on Friday, Sept. 14, a full eight days after Velazquez’s visit, management called two staff meetings. The purpose? To tell all the employees they had better look for alternate employment because the Clevelander would not be reopening anytime soon.

“One day I went to work and the next day I had no job. I was caught totally off guard,” said Julio De Jesus, a former beverage manager. “I went in for a staff meeting and I was told that we were not opening back up.” De Jesus said “about 100 people lost their jobs that day.”

According to Clevelander General Manager Mike Palma, management did not know they could not keep the bar and restaurant open while the hotel was under renovation. Palma also asserted that “[Velazquez] did not speak with me about closing us down … and I was there all day.”

The city, he said, did not give a written warning or inform the Clevelander of its specific violations until the documents were delivered on Sept. 17. Velazquez, though, insisted that “Florida state law gives me authority to shut any business down that is unsafe … without any written warning.”

Palma insists he knew as much as his staff did. “Our position was to protect the brand [during construction] and our employees…. We thought we were going to be able to stay open.” He says “there were miscommunications with the city … as usual.” Palma claims he and the hotel ownership were unaware of the numerous health, safety and code issues. “And the scaffolding was not any danger to the guests,” he added.

At least one former Clevelander employee is skeptical of the establishment’s intentions. A DJ who worked at the bar for three years and spoke with the SunPost on the condition of anonymity expressed no remorse or surprise at the shutdown. “Look,” he said, “I am sorry for everyone that lost their jobs, but that place had it coming. What the hell were they thinking trying to stay open with all that construction?”

Centered in the very heart of the historic Art Deco District, the Clevelander was built at 10th Street and Ocean Drive in 1938; the Breakwater at Ninth and Ocean followed in 1939.

The Breakwater was purchased in 2004 by condo hotel developer Robert Falor. Like many Falor properties, the Breakwater went into bankruptcy and was put on the selling block, according to a May Miami Herald article. South Beach Hotel Invest LLC is the Breakwater’s current owner, according to the county property appraiser’s office.

Breakwater representatives did not return phone calls for this story.

The Clevelander was obtained by San Diego-based Brio Investment Group in 2001. In May of this year, the hotel announced it would embark on an 18-month, $30 million renovation project. According to a Clevelander press release, the hotel’s poolside restaurant, bars and “open-air performance areas” would “remain open throughout the entire renovation period.”

The Clevelander and Breakwater will have to contend with the Historic Preservation Board before opening their doors again. “After they resolve all of the life safety issues, they still have to go to the [HPB] before they can open,” Vazquez explained. “My main concern was for the safety of the customers and staff … I could not allow them to remain open operating like that.”

Ding Dong the Bond Is Dead

Commission Reconsiders Miami Heart Buy-Out Referendum

By Ben Torter

Reversing its previous decision, the Miami Beach City Commission decided Monday night to remove a politically charged, $95 million bond referendum from the Nov. 6 ballot.

The referendum — narrowly approved by a 4-3 vote on Sept. 5, just five days after it was proposed by Commissioner Simon Cruz — would have asked voters to authorize the city to float a bond of up to $95 million to buy the Miami Heart Institute from Mount Sinai Medical Center, tear the buildings down (or convert them into public community centers) and create a park.

Mayor David Dermer was opposed to the bond initiative and brought the item back for reconsideration.

“My argument is based on the way this has been done, not what has been done,” Dermer said.

Dermer argued the commission had approved the referendum without conducting a proper economic analysis as required by the city charter. The mayor asked a series of questions: What was the land worth? Would the park be active or passive? What would it cost to maintain the park?

He contended that the commission’s rash approval of the referendum violated Section 5.02 of the city’s charter, which states “the city of Miami Beach shall consider the long-term economic impact (at least five years) of proposed legislative actions.”

Though City Attorney Jose Smith opined that the approval did not violate the charter, Dermer convinced those who’d originally voted for it — Commissioners Cruz, Richard Steinberg, Jerry Libbin and Michael Gongora — that they had violated the “spirit” of the charter, and to reverse their votes.

Residents of the single-family neighborhood surrounding the seven-acre campus at 4701 N. Meridian Ave. had strongly supported the referendum, but those in other parts of the city, especially in North Beach, opposed having to pay for it. The total cost of the 30-year bond was estimated at $181 million. Some called it a bailout of Mount Sinai, which purchased Miami Heart for about $81 million.

Daniel Veitia, president of the Normandy Shores Homeowners Association and a well-known activist, opposed the referendum because he felt it misled the public. He was grinning ear-to-ear after the reversal. “This was good government today,” he said.

After killing the referendum, the commission voted to instruct the planning board to consider allowing it to amend the city’s definition of “hospital use” to permit an acute care living facility to be housed in Miami Heart’s existing buildings, should Mount Sinai decide to sell it.

Belt Tightening

Most Property Owners Won’t Benefit From Tax Rates Cut

By Ben Torter

Even though the Miami Beach City Commission approved a 23 percent reduction in its property tax rate at the first of two budget hearings Monday night, most Beach property owners are likely to see their tax bills increase.

The tentative new millage rate for the next budget year, which starts on Oct. 1, was assessed at 5.897 mills, or about $5.90 per $1,000 of assessed value. Currently, the millage rate is 7.673.

However, only about 25 percent of Miami Beach property owners have homestead exemptions, which caps the amount of taxable value their property can appreciate year to year at 3 percent. The other approximately 75 percent of commercial, investment and vacation property owners saw their assessed property values increase far more. It’s Miami-Dade County, not the city of Miami Beach, which assesses property values.

People are beginning to shy away from investing in Miami Beach property because of this inequality in the tax law, said Commissioner Saul Gross.

“Not only are homeowners paying less, the commercial property owners are paying a lot more,” Gross said.

Commissioner Richard Steinberg disagreed that the state is to blame for the increase in non-homesteaded property tax, saying that if the state hadn’t mandated that Florida cities lower their tax rates, property owners would be paying even more.

“It’s not what they were expecting based on the bold headlines coming out of Tallahassee,” Steinberg said.

Still, a home with an assessed value of $250,000 can expect to pay $363 less in property taxes to the city of Miami Beach.

The total city budget will be $230,499,537, a $7,173,556 reduction from last year.

“The budget process has been long and arduous, more so than in years past,” said City Manager Jorge Gonzalez.

About 96 city positions were eliminated, 40 of those in management and administration, but because people will be shifted into other departments, only about five are likely to receive pink slips.

The elimination of a lifeguard stand at 85th Street was the only part of Gonzalez’s proposed budget the commission did not accept. They told him to keep the stand and find the $125,000 it represents somewhere else.

One silver lining in the budget is that increases in residents’ water and sewer fees likely will be less than previously expected. Gonzalez had said the cost the city charges residents for water would be increasing from $2.79 to $3.45 per thousand gallons. Instead, it will only go to $3.23. Sewer fees probably won’t go up as much as either. Gonzalez previously said they’d increase from $4.25 to $5.34 per thousand gallons, but revised that figure to $4.93.

Despite the unpleasantness associated with cutting the budget, Gonzalez said Miami Beach did better than cities of comparable size. “As far as tentative budgets, we are the only city of greater than 50,000 to follow [Tallahassee’s] mandate,” Gonzalez said.

The next public budget hearing will be held Sept. 26 at 5:01 p.m. in the Miami Beach City Commission chambers at City Hall.

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Coral Gables

Falling Down

Crane Slams Into Public Thoroughfare, Takes out Traffic Light

By Victor Thompson

Coral Gables’ booming condo construction hit a speed bump Monday afternoon when a seven-story crane tipped forward, knocking out a traffic light at Ponce de Leon Boulevard and Salamanca Avenue, startling people working just yards away.

The mishap happened just before the 6 p.m. rush of commuters at 1300 Ponce, a condominium being constructed along the Ponce de Leon corridor.

Police used barricades and their cruisers to detour eastbound traffic onto Salamanca, which becomes Southwest 14th Street, and the crane was pulled upright in a matter of minutes. The area is cramped with two-story apartment complexes and small shops, all within reach of the Kobelco crane’s spindly yellow steel arm.

Peter Iglesias, a structural engineer who assessed the accident for the city of Coral Gables, said no one was hurt but the crane would be shut down until an inspector clears it.

“Thank God there was no traffic at the time,” Iglesias said. “An engineering inspector will come out to inspect the crane and make sure it is safe before allowing it to operate,” which should take a couple of days.

Iglesias said the accident appeared to be the result of an operator error. “The damage appears to be small … just a traffic light got hit.”

A future 125-resident condominium with a fifth-floor pool deck, 1300 Ponce is being developed by Dayco Properties and Randall Hill on a small piece of property purchased in January 2004 for $5.5 million. The construction company is Milton Construction.

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Aventura

An Eye on Traffic

New Camera to Photograph and Cite Red-Light Runners

By Randy Abraham

The Aventura City Commission approved an ordinance Sept. 11 to install cameras at intersections to detect motorists who run red lights.

The city will now prepare bids and proposal requests to find a vendor, City Manager Eric Soroka said.

Once in place, the cameras will photograph the license plates of motorists traveling through the city. The city will then mail a notice of the violation with the Web address of the online video to drivers who are captured on film running a red light, Soroka said.

Since there are no state statutes in place authorizing the issuance of a traffic violation by an unmanned camera, red-light runners instead will receive a code enforcement violation, he said. A bill was introduced in the state Legislature for that purpose, this year, but it did not pass. “There’s a lot of momentum going forward for next year’s session,” Soroka said. Such a bill, if passed, would treat violations as uniform traffic citations, he added.

Soroka said municipalities in California, Georgia and New York already have these systems in place. “Other locations are doing something very similar,” he said. He said the system would not cost the city money because vendors would be required to install the cameras and other equipment; they would receive a share of the revenues from the citations.

The City Attorney’s Office found that the system should pass constitutional muster since motorists driving down public streets can’t expect their license plate numbers to remain private.

As part of its high-tech approach to enhancing traffic flow, Aventura already has cameras in place at the city’s biggest intersections. Dispatchers monitor those cameras and forward the data to the city’s road patrols and the Florida Department of Transportation, which alerts residents to ongoing traffic tie-ups and bottlenecks.

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Sunny Isles Beach

No Election Required

Incumbent and Neophyte Unopposed for Commission Seats

By Randy Abraham

Unopposed Commissioner Lewis Thaler and political newcomer George “Bud” Scholl automatically won their respective City Commission seats when the qualifying period closed Thursday, Sept. 13.

As a result, there will be no municipal election Nov. 6, and the two will be officially sworn in to four-year terms that commence in December.

“It is a pleasure to know that the residents of Sunny Isles Beach felt that I have done a good job during the past four years as their commissioner,” said Thaler, who currently serves as vice mayor. “I believe it is a reflection of the joint effort of the entire commission and staff in working together and solving whatever has come before it.”

Thaler was first elected in 2003 after defeating incumbent Lila Kauffman. Since then he has helped to enhance beach safety by adding more lifeguards and stations, worked with the commission to stop construction of a building on 192nd Street and, instead, convinced the city to buy the property for a future park.

Scholl will fill the seat that Commissioner Dan Iglesias must vacate in November because of term limits. He said that the lack of opposition to his candidacy reflects his history of community service and a sense that the city is on the right track. Scholl — who currently serves as chairman of the Long Range Planning and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee and the Historic Preservation Board — has served as chairman of the Charter Revisions Commission and as a member of the City Manager’s Financial Advisory Committee, the City Attorney’s Search Committee and the City Manager’s Search Committee.

“As issues of interest have come before the City Commission over the years, I have regularly attended and spoken out at commission meetings on a variety of matters that I believed were of importance to the shaping of our community,” Scholl said. “I feel that it is a good time for someone with my track record and knowledge of the city to get involved at the commission level while we still have experienced leadership in place. This will ensure a smooth transition from our current leadership as new members get involved in the process.”

Scholl said he will work to keep the city fiscally healthy. “Although relatively speaking we are on very sound financial footing, tax reform at the state level will have an impact on our finances. Additionally, the slowdown in the residential real estate market will impact the timing and value of newly constructed condos within our city. The effects of these issues will need to be managed carefully by prioritizing our allocation of financial resources.”

He also said the city should make sure its western side is not overdeveloped.

“Given the intense development we experienced along the oceanfront, I believe that more care needs to be taken as the west side developments come before the City Commission for approval,” he said.