Miami

Spirituality vs. Safety

Zoning board withholds approval of Coconut Grove Buddhist institute

By Stephanie Rodriguez

The Miami Zoning Board decided Monday to postpone issuing a special permit that would allow a Tibetan Buddhist institute to continue operating in a residential area.

The Zab Sang Institute has been operating in a house at 3570 Main Highway in Coconut Grove without a permit for three years. After the city fined it $90,000 for code violations — which was later reduced to $20,000, according to board member Jorge Lopez — the institute applied in April for a permit to operate a place of worship in the single-family home.

Yet, residents who live in the cul-de-sac where the institute is located began complaining after congregants’ cars blocked the entrance to the 20-foot-wide road leading to their driveways.

Lucia Dougherty, an attorney for Master Chufei Tsai, owner of the Zab Sang Institute, said the government can’t shut down a religious institution. “This country was founded on religious freedoms,” she said, adding that most religious congregations in Miami exist in residential areas. “You want them in residential areas so you can walk to them and so they can be a part of the community.”

However, neighbor Annette Pichardo said the issue had nothing to do with religion and everything to do with traffic and safety. “It becomes a nuisance when people aren’t parking correctly,” she said.

Pichardo said Zab Sang Institute visitors park along the one-way cul-de-sac, making it impossible for a fire rescue truck to get through.

“They’re parking anywhere and I can only get to my house down that small road,” Pichardo said. “God forbid there was a fire.”

She also claimed fistfights have broken out between Zab Sang Institute patrons and cul-de-sac residents over the parking problems, an accusation denied by Zab Sang supporters.

“These are the calmest people,” said Valerie Woods, an institute member. “I can’t imagine them fistfighting.”

Dougherty told the board she would take the next legal step if Tsai is not allowed to practice her religion and cited a similar lawsuit in Hollywood, Fla.

“Master Tsai has taken a vow of poverty and chooses to do community service,” Dougherty said. “You cannot take away her First Amendment right.”

However, board member Cornelius Shiver said the fact that Zab Sang Institute is a place of worship is irrelevant if emergency vehicles can’t pass through.

Board member Joseph Ganguzza agreed. “It’s really not about religion,” he said. Ganguzza was one of several board members who wanted to postpone the discussion until Jan. 28.

Although Dougherty said institute patrons can use parking spaces at a civic center just a few blocks away, some neighbors insist that Zab Sang’s patrons prefer to use the street as their parking lot.

“I’m here because I can’t get out of my driveway,” screamed one angry neighbor, who refused to give his name. “You’re doing a disservice to taxpayers!”

So far, the Pichardos are the only homeowners among the six houses in the cul-de-sac that have formally complained about Zab Sang.

“I cannot speak for my neighbors,” Pichardo said. “I can only tell you that most of them live busy lives and could not make the meeting.”

Reginald Nicholson, a practicing Buddhist, said he hopes the institute and the neighbors can reach a compromise.

“I’ve lived in Coconut Grove for 13 years, and I would like to see both sides come to a medium,” he said. “When I came down with cancer I was personally affected by the church.”

Comments? E-mail letters@miamisunpost.com

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William Jennings Bryan Slept Here

City board declares 1913 mansion historic

By Erik Bojnansky

William Jennings Bryan was a star of the political realm during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

William Jennings Bryan ran for president three times and lost, served as secretary of state under President Woodrow Wilson, despised the theory of evolution and died five days after losing the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925.

But when Bryan wasn’t campaigning for women’s suffrage, fighting for prohibition or prosecuting a teacher for teaching Darwinism, the Nebraska lawyer and politician stayed in a bayfront house in Miami.

Now, his old seven-bedroom Florida home, Villa Serena at 3115 Brickell Ave., has been designated historic by the Miami Historic and Environmental Preservation Board.

Designed by architect August Geiger, Villa Serena was constructed in December 1913, just a few blocks from Vizcaya. Although city officials felt the villa deserved the historic designation, the home’s previous owner feared it would hamper his efforts to sell the house, Historic Preservation Officer Kathleen Slesnick Kauffman said.

That opposition disappeared after Adrienne Arsht, the former owner of TotalBank, purchased the home and surrounding two acres from Veronica Nagymihaly for $12 million. “We are so fortunate and pleased it was bought by someone who wants to preserve it,” Kauffman said.

Indeed, Jorge Uribe, a real estate agent affiliated with Sol Sotheby’s International Realty, told Miami Today in October that an earlier contracted buyer “was going to tear it down” and “build something new” when the city commenced its historic designation process, temporarily protecting the home from the wrecking ball.

Arsht, who lives in Coconut Grove just north of Villa Serena, initially bought the home “because she did not want someone to knock it down,” her attorney, Lucia Dougherty, said. Later, Arsht figured she would use it as a guest house. Now she wants it to be her main residence, Dougherty said. Arsht hired architect Richard Heisenbottle to prepare restoration plans for the home.

Comments? E-mail erik@miamisunpost.com

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Miami Beach

Parking Politics

Controversial garage contract put out to bid

By Ben Torter 

Who will run city of Miami Beach-owned parking garages is up in the air after the mayor and commissioners voted unanimously not to automatically renew the city’s $3 million-a-year contract with Standard Parking, Inc.

“In the spirit of competition, I would ask this contract be put out for competitive bid,” said Commissioner Jonah Wolfson, the sponsor of the resolution. “In addition, this contractor, Standard Parking, its local hierarchy, recently has been mired in private ethics issues.”

The only dissenting voice came from Commissioner Jerry Libbin, who questioned why the city was not renewing Standard’s contract when other contracts are routinely renewed.

“I just think we need to be consistent in how we handle these things,” said Libbin, who eventually voted with the rest of the commission.

Commissioner Saul Gross pointed out why Standard’s situation was different.

“In this case, Frank [Pintado] has pushed the envelope by being involved in campaigning to a greater extent than I feel comfortable with,” Gross said. “What he’s doing might be perfectly legal, but it violates my sense of what the vendor ordinance is all about.”

Pintado manages Standard Parking’s Miami Beach operations and was an active fund-raiser and volunteer for political candidates in the November election. The city’s vendor ordinance doesn’t allow vendors with city contracts to contribute money or services to Miami Beach political campaigns.

Pintado could not be reached for comment, but this isn’t the first time his ethics have been called into question.

In 2004, when Standard’s contract was last renewed, Quik Park of Florida owner Hank Sopher filed a bid protest alleging Pintado had violated the ordinance by helping then-Commissioners Matti Herrera Bower, Simon Cruz and Luis Garcia with their respective campaigns. Sopher, who ran against Cruz for commissioner in 2003, felt he lost the parking contract because of political favoritism. He contributed at least $3,500 to Bower’s recent mayoral run against Cruz.

The Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust is investigating an e-mail that Pintado appears to have sent from his personal address just before this year’s elections with what appeared to be the results of a city election poll showing three candidates supported by Pintado — Elsa Urquiza, Luis Salom and Michael Gongora — ahead of their opponents. (All three candidates lost.)

The ethics commission also is investigating who mailed a campaign flier attacking Group 6 candidates Frank Kruszewski, Linda Grosz and Urquiza with homophobic, sexist and racist references. Many sources told the SunPost they believed Pintado was behind the flier, because it reminded them of a similar attack against South Miami Commissioner Dan McCrea during his 2004 re-election effort. Pintado’s name came up in sworn depositions as being behind those mailers. Pintado insisted he wasn’t involved. The case was closed when an important witness died of natural causes before he could testify.

Standard Parking has been contracted to supply cashiers, attendants and other employees to run Miami Beach’s garages and lots since 1999.

Standard’s contract officially expires Jan. 3, after which it will be extended on a month-to-month basis until Standard gets another contract or a new vendor is hired.

The commissioners voluntarily agreed to immediately enact a “cone of silence” about the parking bid process, meaning that neither they nor city staff can discuss it except in a public forum.

Comments? E-mail ben@miamisunpost.com

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Do Over

Following guilt trip, design for new JCC approved — again

By Erik Bojnansky

Board members of the Miami Beach JCC plan to replace its 10,000-square-foot facility on Pine Tree Drive with a 64,000-square-foot complex. Photo by Josh Becker

Its construction was mandated by a voter referendum back in 2000. Its design was given the final OK by the Miami Beach Design Review Board in 2005.

But the Miami Beach Jewish Community Center (JCC) still does not have all the funds needed to build a new, three-story, educational, cultural and recreational facility at 4221 Pine Tree Drive. So, to keep the design approval alive, JCC representatives again presented the facility’s design plans for approval on Dec. 4.

“This is just hopefully a formality,” said Joy Spill, the Miami Beach JCC’s construction committee chair.

Design Review Board member Janet Grant Hyman was horrified that the handicapped spaces were located far from the JCC’s future recreational area. “I certainly expected you to answer to a higher power,” she said. “I am very upset about this.”

Although Todd Tragash, the project’s architect, said the handicapped spaces were close to the entrance, Hyman argued that they were still too far from the senior room and pool, forcing the elderly, infirm and handicapped to make a longer trip to those areas.

The board approved a motion to approve the JCC’s plans provided that the architect reassess the parking spaces, yet not before board member Gabrielle Redfern suggested that, instead of building on a field and eliminating open space, the JCC consider alternative locations for their activities — such as the Miami Heart Medical Center.

Spill said the JCC does not have the $90 million to buy Miami Heart from Mount Sinai Medical Center.

During the 2000 general election, Miami Beach voters approved a referendum that extended the JCC’s lease of city-owned land to the year 2099 to finance the construction of a new 64,369-square-foot facility. As a condition of the referendum, the JCC must invest more than $2 million in private funds to build the structure.

Seven years later, the price tag for a new JCC facility is $20 million, pro-bono attorney Graham Penn told board members. Private fundraising activities have secured one third of the funds.

Comments? E-mail erik@miamisunpost.com.

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Big White Stucco House

Developer will try to sell future home for more than $25 million

By Erik Bojnansky

The Miami Beach Design Review Board approved plans for a two-story, 8,655-square-foot house on property that will take up half of the two-acre La Gorce Island.

Its exterior will solely consist of smooth, white stucco. And, once built, the developer will sell it for a lot of money.

“He’s hoping to sell it in the neighborhood of $25 and $30 million, and he’ll get it too,” said the house’s architect, Ralph Choeff.

The developer, Todd Glazer, has done it before. His past credits include building multimillion-dollar homes for Hulk Hogan (with his then-business partner Alan Lieberman) and movie producer Michael Bay.

But why all-white stucco?

“The residence was made all stucco to simplify the design and let the geometry of the structure read naturally, rather than incorporate all the added materials that would have made the design too busy,” Choeff said.

The plans differ from a design previously approved by the Single Family Residential Review Panel in October, when it gave its blessing for Glazer to demolish a decades-old, two-story home that once stood at 88 La Gorce Circle. Miami Beach Planning Department staff stated in a report to the Design Review Board that they preferred the old design with “exterior veneers” that “included a very unique mix of exterior surface finishes, which were part and parcel of the design of the structure.” Losing those veneers would “lessen the overall quality of the design of the structure.”

Some board members were also perplexed by some of the white stucco design elements. That skepticism melted away, though, when board members realized that the home would be constructed on a privately owned, 45,543-square-foot lot — huge by Miami Beach standards, board member Steve Lefton said. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen an acre.”

Comments? E-mail erik@miamisunpost.com

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Bay Harbor Islands

The Shrinking Canal

The waterway is the same, but the docks are getting bigger

By Angie Hargot

The Bay Harbor Waterway runs between the town’s East and West islands.

The Bay Harbor Islands Town Council unanimously passed an ordinance Monday amending town regulations governing the size of boat docks and mooring piles in the Bay Harbor Waterway.

Town officials said they needed to change the code to conform to state and county environmental regulations for new dock construction. However, critics fear the new code allows property owners to construct mega-docks for huge vessels in the town’s small canal, which could be hazardous to boats navigating the waterway.

According to a report from Town Manager Ron Wasson, the council passed the new code after homeowners asked to replace docks damaged by recent hurricanes.

The county’s Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) requires that docks have at least four feet of clearance on the sea bottom at low tide so boats won’t disturb sea grass. To comply with that regulation, many homeowners must build their docks farther out into the water.

But, since previous Bay Harbor regulations prohibited docks from extending more than eight feet from a property’s sea wall, they first had to obtain variances from the Town Council.

The new ordinance allows property owners to rebuild docks extending up to 15 feet into the waterway, with pilings no more than 30 feet out. Longer docks reduce the navigable portion of the waterway to only 90 feet across — a number some residents say is too narrow.

“We are crafting an ordinance that serves the needs of particular property owners, instead of an ordinance we are going to have to live with for perpetuity,” resident Frances Neuhut said.

Another resident, Aurora Contreras, feared the new code will change the character of the town and its waterway. “Why do we have to be the leaders [of change] to please a couple of property owners?” she asked.

Lynch insisted that DERM regulations make it impossible for property owners to build new docks within the town’s code.

Wasson’s report references the property at 9601 E. Broadview Drive, where the owners applied for a variance to build a 16-foot dock to achieve the DERM-required four-foot depth.

“What happened was a guy built a McMansion [on one of the corner properties],” said John Corral, who owns three properties along the canal. “Everybody’s dock was eight feet, and the council granted him 17 feet. He brought in his fancy attorney to muddy the issue. So now he can park a huge boat there.”

Still, Lynch, who owns a charter boat company called Corsair Sportfishing, Inc., said 90 feet was still plenty of room for vessels to navigate. “I’ll put you on my 45-foot Hatteras and I’ll spin it right around,” he said.

Comments? E-mail angie@miamisunpost.com.

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Sunny Isles Beach

Imminent Collapse

Engineers say landmark pier in danger of falling apart 

By Randy Abraham

The owner of a resort is offering to contribute $2 million toward the pier’s renovation — for a price. Photo by Laura Grant Behfar

The 71-year-old, half-mile-long Newport Fishing Pier is structurally deficient and needs to be removed and repaired as soon as possible, said an engineering firm the city hired to inspect the now-shuttered pier.

So, the Sunny Isles Beach City Commission will consider forming a public-private partnership to help raise the $4 million-plus needed to repair the landmark pier today (Thursday).

Dr. Robert Cornfeld, owner of the Newport Beachside Hotel and Resort at 16701 Collins Ave. and leaseholder of the landmark pier, offered to provide the city with $2 million for the project. In exchange, Cornfeld wants to split the net revenues from admission to the pier with the city.

Under Cornfeld’s proposal, the city would control, operate and become the lessee of the pier –– which is owned by the state of Florida –– and select an operator for the restaurant adjacent to it. Cornfeld would provide input on the pier’s design. When completed, city residents and guests of the Newport Hotel could use the pier for free.

The city is still seeking grants to offset the remaining costs. However, if repairs and reconstruction exceed $4 million, the city would receive 75 percent of the pier’s and restaurant’s net revenues until the additional costs are paid down by the other 25 percent of revenues.

Mayor Norman Edelcup said that a final engineering report has not been completed yet, but cost estimates range from $4 million to $5 million. Miami-based Marlin Engineering, which conducted the initial inspection, will soon undertake a more comprehensive study. Although Marlin’s first report shows that the pier’s boat dock requires only minor repair and is otherwise in sound condition, the firm characterized the condition of the pier itself as “serious” and warned that “it could collapse at any moment.”

Edelcup said that if costs come within the estimates, he would support repairing the pier. “I feel it would be an amenity for the community,” Edelcup said. “It’s the only pier left in Miami-Dade County; the others have deteriorated or been damaged by hurricanes. It’s one of the oldest remaining piers in South Florida and over the years it has had millions of visitors.”

The Newport Fishing Pier was opened in 1936 and was designated a historic site by the county in 1982. It was closed six months ago after city officials deemed it a public hazard. It sustained extensive damage from Hurricane Wilma; operators completely closed it on June 28.

Efforts to repair the pier had started early last year, but concerns arose about the pier’s structural integrity and the dangers to area sea life.

The Sunny Isles Beach City Commission will meet at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 13, at Government Center, 18070 Collins Ave.

Comments? E-mail letters@miamisunpost.com

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