Members Only
The City of Miami Plans to Seek Advice From Citizens Who Don’t Live
in a ‘Third World Country’

“Technically, an Iraqi could be appointed to one of these boards.”

By Rebecca Wakefield

The next stage in the ongoing war between big, bad Miami City Hall and the baying activists who assail it will arrive this week, as commissioners consider whether or not to liberalize the requirements for members of the city’s various citizen advisory boards.

The boards up for consideration at this week’s commission meeting include the Community Relations Board, the Mayor’s International Council, The Sports and Exhibition Board, The Orange Bowl Advisory Board, Bayfront Park Management Trust, Nuisance Abatement Board, Waterfront Advisory Board, Equal Opportunity Advisory Board and the Street CoDesignation Review Committee.

The purpose, according to City Attorney Jorge Fernandez, is to “standardize the membership eligibility requirements” for all these boards. In each case, some version of the following wording is proposed to be eliminated from the ordinances governing the boards: “Each member of the council shall reside, work, own real property, or maintain a business in the city.”

Instead, should these changes pass, board members will merely have to be persons of “outstanding reputation for integrity, responsibility and commitment to serving the community.” Whatever that means.

At first glance, what could be more boring or trivial? Come on, the boards tend to be stacked with people friendly to this commissioner or that commissioner. What does a little thing like residency matter? It matters a lot to people like Grace Solares, president of the Miami Roads Neighborhood Civic Association, and so does the reason the city is trying to make these changes.

This summer, Solares, a sturdy, opinionated matron who works in a downtown law office, discovered that the city had been breaking its own rules by routinely appointing members of the planning and zoning boards who didn’t live or vote in the city of Miami. “Three board members are not city residents and therefore not city voters,” noted the Miami Herald’s Mike Vasquez back in July. “Two of the three are developers. The third is an architect who designs many of Miami’s new high-rise buildings. All three generally have been pro-development voices.”

The three were kicked off the boards. So now the city wants to make sure it can appoint pretty much anybody. “Whenever a hierarchy gets beat at their own games, they simply change the rules,” opines Elvis Cruz, a city firefighter and Morningside Civic Association leader. “Rather than comply with their own rules, they decided to change them so they wouldn’t have to break them.”

“It is horrendous what they’re trying to do,” says Solares. “You don’t need to be here. You don’t need to have any ties whatsoever to be appointed to these boards. Technically, an Iraqi could be appointed to one of these boards.”

She continues: “I want the members of boards to have to live with the consequences of their votes. It’s very convenient to be able to vote and then go home to Fort Lauderdale. If you have no ties to us, what do you care? Also, it’s easier to get into some kind of shenanigans with someone who doesn’t live here.”

Solares’ concern is echoed by Wendy Stephan, recent past president of the Buena Vista East Historic Neighborhood Association and treasurer of the umbrella group, Miami Neighborhoods United. “My fear is, who would serve on a city board who doesn’t live in the city?” she wonders. “One [reason] would be to do someone a political favor and the other would be to further their professional career. We hire so many consultants – we’re up to our eyeballs in them! We need more connection to the people who live here.”

Case in point, Stephan’s association just last week filed a lawsuit against the city based on two high-rise towers that were approved next to single-family home neighborhoods without, the association alleges, proper notification. “As our neighborhood has become more effective with our appeals, the Planning Department became more restrictive on notifications,” she complains.

“The commission has to feel the citizens’ input is worthwhile,” says Coconut Grove activist Nina West. “Otherwise, don’t bother with the boards.”

Why bother indeed? Here’s the thing I don’t get. The commission can already, in most cases, waive those pesky requirements by a four-fifths majority vote. This means that if a person is deemed so specially qualified to serve on a particular board, four of the five commissioners could appoint her. If you are going to have people advising the commission on parks, the waterfront, sports, public nuisances, community relations and the like, wouldn’t you want them to have at least some tangential relationship to the city? Is it so hard to find good people who live here?

Not too long ago, Mayor Manny Diaz sent an affronted letter to Tom Tancredo, Colorado U.S. representative, for calling Miami a Third World country. Yet, would approval of these proposed changes mean a tacit agreement with Tancredo’s sentiment? I would call Diaz and ask him to comment, but he hasn’t bothered to return a call in so long I can’t remember what he sounds like.

Regalado, for one, plans to vote against the proposals. “I think it’s an absurd idea,” he says. “The message you’re sending is that people in this city aren’t good enough [to serve on the boards].”

Anyway, pay attention to this week’s agenda, you howling masses out there. Besides the board changes, Solares is also concerned about an “emergency” agenda item regarding assembly of more than 50 people on city property, which she views as a possible attempt to thwart future protests.

“What are they expecting to happen?” she asks. “I’m wondering how far they can go to restrict my rights to assemble without impacting free speech. I’m sure this is as a result of the firemen showing up at City Hall and us showing up trying to get Arriola fired. I don’t think the mayor wants to see people at City Hall.”

Comments? E-mail wakefield@miamisunpost.com.