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Historic Preservation Board to Hold Workshop on
Future of Alton Road
Hopes to Resolve Differences Over Historic District Expansion
Board member Allan Hall said “the City Commission
has yielded to political pressures from owners whose interests
are different from the city’s.”
By Randy
Abraham
A month
after the Miami Beach City Commission voted against extending the
Flamingo Park Historic District westward to include the east side of
Alton Road, the Historic Preservation Board agreed to hold a
workshop to gather input on the issue.
The
decision came after sometimes heated discussion with business
interests who expressed fears that historic designation could lead
to burdensome regulations that might hamper the vitality of the
commercial corridor. The workshop will either be held jointly with
the city’s Planning Board, or if that cannot be scheduled, Planning
Board members will be invited to participate.
A date
for the workshop was not set, but board Chairman Randall Robinson
said it should be held after 5 p.m. to be more convenient to
residents and business owners. “There are obviously differences in
the community” on the subject of historic designation, he said.
In July,
the HPB voted to recommend expanding the historic district westward
to the east side of Alton Road between Seventh Street and 14th
Street. The board approved an expansion of the district last month
to include the east side of the 600 block of Alton Road a day before
the City Commission rejected the same issue.
Developer
Russell Galbut, who said he is assembling properties in that area to
build a large commercial project, reminded board members of
commissioners’ rejection of the district’s expansion and said the
idea would be “wrong for the community and wrong for Alton Road.” He
noted that Alton Road features an 11-story hospital and other
large-scale commercial buildings, in contrast to Lenox Avenue to the
east, which comprises two- and three-story historic structures.
“There is
100 percent unanimity among property owners,” said Galbut. “Every
property owner does not want this for their property; this should
end now.”
Attorney
Harold Rosen, representing several property owners, suggested the
board remove the 600 block from consideration to allow property
owners more flexibility. He said he has clients facing rising
property values, stagnant rental income and uncertainty over whether
they would be permitted to demolish or redevelop properties under
the designation.
Bill
Farkas, executive director of the Miami Design Preservation League,
suggested the board study the proposed district’s properties
regardless of whether the area is designated historic, and develop
criteria. “If indeed these buildings are historic, shouldn’t we
document them?” asked Farkas. “The community deserves one common set
of ground rules.”
Attorney
Alfredo Gonzalez, who said he represents St. Francis Church in the
600 block of Alton Road and several owners of 700-block properties,
noted that a church building designated historic at St. Francis had
recently been demolished pursuant to a permit applied for last year.
That demolition means only one historic building remains in the 600
block, he said, arguing against granting that block historic
designation.
Board
member Allan Hall lamented the commission’s October decision and
said “the City Commission has yielded to political pressures from
owners whose interests are different from the city’s. It’s a sad
moment for Miami Beach when private interests are not mindful of
public interests.” Hall said he is not interested in seeing property
rights diminished.
Local
preservationist Mark Needle, who owns a historic home on Lenox
Avenue, said he welcomed looking at the ten-block stretch of Alton
Road in a “holistic” manner rather than focusing on a particular
block. He also noted the 15 or so attendees at the meeting opposed
to the historic designation who were wearing T-shirts reading “Save
our City” or “Save Alton Road” in a show of support for the
opposition. He said the slogans were deceptive, and countered that
historic preservation had played a major part in the commercial
revitalization of the South Beach area. “George Orwell would be very
proud of this,” he said, noting the celebrated author’s focus on
political doublespeak in his landmark novel Animal Farm. “We
want viable commercial, but not in this Orwellian fashion where you
carve it up bit by bit.”
Board
member Beth Dunlop agreed that a workshop would be helpful in
clearing up any “misapprehension” about land use regulations that
would govern redevelopment or building demolitions in a historic
district. She said that historic designation would not affect zoning
or permitted uses, but would provide an overlay and protection to
historic properties. “Some think that if it’s historic it can’t be
commercial,” noted Dunlop, who added, “but what about Lincoln Road?”
Dunlop
also noted the T-shirted attendees and suggested that they were sent
by Galbut to pack the room.
Galbut
bristled at the suggestion and said he was insulted. He then went on
the offensive, saying Farkas freely addresses the board without
disclosing the fact that he is Dunlop’s husband, and criticizing
Needle for promoting “spot zoning” of properties, which is illegal.
Thomas
Mooney of the Planning Department, however, said an opinion from the
City Attorney’s Office stated there was no conflict or problem with
Farkas’ appearances before the board.
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