I am printing this because I am curious about readers reactions. To me, this is a nimby issue, I say that by my lack of interest. The writer begs to differ. She calls it: "A community gone wild." NOPE-- I STAND CORRECTED SHE SAID: "This is NOT about a community gone wild. This is a community that is fighting to preserve the integrity of a residential area." Your view? Am I narrow minded, (I guess so, I couldn't even quote it right)? Tell me why I should care. Warning: If you tell me in more than 4 sentences that is too long - I won't read it. Following is her unedited guest blog:It’s All About Quality of Life…
Our Quality of Life is definitely related to our life circumstances and expectations. It is a tangible notion that reflects the situation in which one lives; including those things that come along to threaten your perception of well-being. The funny thing about Quality of Life, one man’s feast may certainly be another man’s famine. Just when you think it is safe to assume you are living just fine, along comes the zoning notices, land-use attorneys and of course, the stress.
Deep in the happy little village of Palmetto Bay a storm is brewing:
The zoning notices are out. That tiny white post card is sending neighbors scurrying to defeat the seemingly innocuous request to expand a church sponsored private school. Those horrible selfish neighbors…those NIMBY maniacs! Equally as frantic are the hundreds of outsiders from the school bent on imposing their glorious plans on the unfriendly neighbors. All the elements of a great television pilot are right there; rich folks, angry folks, greed, passion, deception, carpet baggers, lobbyists, politicians in an election year and the usual array of shenanigans such as yard signs being stolen and phone calls being made.
If Palmer Trinity Private School manages to win the zoning hearing on February 25, 2008, this will be the future: The school will go from a reported 600 students and 58 teachers to an astonishing size of 1400 students and 240 staff members. It will add 33 acres of buildings, playing fields, and what every residential neighborhood needs, a football stadium. Forget about the impact on the lucky homeowners located on four sides of the project. Forget about the 15 years of construction dust in the houses. Forget about the noise pollution and sleeping-in as the school comes alive with 1700 people. Forget about all of this and look at the big picture.
This is not about a community gone wild. This is a community that is fighting to preserve the integrity of a residential area. This is a community that is seeking to prevent grid-lock that will impact South Dade traffic for years to come. It will impact traffic from Coral Gables south all the way to Naranja near the Homestead Air Reserve Base. Whatever Gulliver School has not managed to entirely do to Old Cutler Road during the morning and evening traffic rush, Palmer Trinity will finish.
As many of you know, this county is very limited in north-south traffic routes. The roads just are not there. Other than US1, Old Cutler Road is the only north-south artery that goes from deep South Dade through Cutler Bay, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami and further into the Grove. It is grid- locked in early morning and late evening. Over the years, as build-out occurred in the potato fields of South Dade, the line of cars idling in traffic has crept further and further south. Now, you drive north at 10 miles per hour from as far south as Eureka Drive all the way into the urban areas. More importantly, this current state of affairs on Old Cutler Road and Eureka Drive doesn’t include future traffic from The Palmetto Bay Village Center (Old Burger King Headquarters), which is 88 acres of business zoning on growth hormones. Nor does it include the Palmetto Bay library under construction next to it, or the Palmer Trinity proposal.
Palmer Trinity is a very wealthy school (tuition and fees start at over $21,000 a year). The unfortunate reality is that the new students will come from areas north of Palmetto Bay. The additional 900 cars (no rattle-trap yellow school buses here) will be coming and going back to Coral Gables, Pinecrest, and the very northern edge of Palmetto Bay. The only direct route to the school is by driving down Old Cutler or down though the heart of Palmetto Bay and doubling back to Old Cutler Road.
Traffic counts along the Old Cutler corridor have gone from C’s to F’s over the years. A “C” grade being "a bit congested" and “F” meaning "standing gridlock". What will 3000+ new car trips a day (plus the service and construction vehicles) do to South Dade’s traffic pattern? It forces Eureka Drive to be widened to four lanes encroaching on the residential area. It will back-up the east-west arteries that empty onto Old Cutler Road and cause those intersections to be redesigned. Residential areas will be denied easy egress onto the crowded roadway. The accident rate will go up as drivers take insane chances at making left and right hand turns on both Old Cutler Road and Eureka Drive. South Dade County will see no relief by widening Old Cutler Road. It is a state designated Historic Highway and cannot be widened.
To quote Norman Mineta, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation:
“Congestion is one of the single largest threats to our economic prosperity. Each year, Americans lose 3.7 billion hours and 2.3 billion gallons of fuel sitting in traffic jams. Worse, congestion is affecting the quality of American’s lives by robbing them of the time that could be spent with families and friends. Congestion is not a fact of life. It is not a scientific mystery, nor is it an uncontrollable force. Congestion results from poor policy choices and a failure to separate solutions that are effective from those that are not."
Secretary Mineta’s quote illustrates Miami-Dade County’s situation. Every community must find strength and resources from its own people to improve livability and quality of life.
Conversely, the Palmer Trinity Board of Directors, in their mad rush to grow and enhance their standing in the private school sector, will deny their part time next door neighbors the right to have a tranquil, livable community without the added burden of grid-lock. Their self-indulgence will let them star in the development handbook for private schools everywhere. They will wrap their mission in the goodness of their non-profit status; they will irresponsibly change the urban landscape and then go home to their neighborhoods leaving behind the traffic congestion and changed lives. I never thought I would see the day that I would prefer 66 houses on 33 acres to a school. But, times have changed. Traffic has changed. We can’t continue to pave our way out of congestion caused by bad planning.
Urban sprawl is bad. Urban congestion is equally as bad. Good urban planning comes with solutions. Despite the prevailing assumption in Miami-Dade County, owning a piece of land doesn’t mean one is entitled to a greater zoning use than what sits on it. Urban planning does not necessarily mean widening every roadway to accommodate every property owner’s desire to up-zone the value of his or her land. Good urban design may require saying NO. It means government leaders need to step up to the plate and make their review of proposed projects truly cognizant of a community’s health, safety and general welfare.
Palmer Trinity’s project is a test for the Palmetto Bay Village Council. The proposed project is a test of their abilities and skills as urban planners. The hearing is not just about a Palmetto Bay neighborhood. This hearing is also about the people in Cutler Bay living across the street from the proposed project (who have had no formal notice from Palmetto Bay since they don’t live there). At a minimum, it is about the deciding future for South Dade citizens far beyond the Council’s legislative boundaries. However, in the very end, the hearing is about you, me and our Quality of Life as we sit fuming in traffic wondering what went wrong with county and local governmental planning oversight. For our sake, I sure hope the Village Council doesn’t flunk their final exam.
The hearing is February 25, 2008, at 6:30 pm, on the Southwood Middle School Campus, 16301 south west 80th Avenue, Palmetto Bay, Florida. More information
49 comments:
Thnaks for posting this. I intend to attend the hearing and offer the full support of my family and of my neighbors, all of who think Palmer Trinity is a fine institution and can handle the growth...
If it takes you an extra 5 minutes in the morning to get your starbucks cause of traffic, well, waaaahhhh.....
School Boosters:
I want to say one thing to you -- think about life after your child graduates. School isn't forever you know. Your child will be off to college and wham...you will be bitching about traffic forever more. So stop with the holier than though stuff. These people have real concerns. They have jobs to get to. Your post is not funny about the Starbucks because that is not the reality.
Has anyone else noticed how unbearable the traffic has been, the past few weeks? What is going on??
Genius:
The writer begs to differ. She calls it: "A community gone wild."
That isn't quite what I said.
This is not about a community gone wild.This is a community that is fighting to preserve the integrity of a residential area. This is a community that is seeking to prevent grid-lock that will impact South Dade traffic for years to come.
I don't use the word gridlock lightly.
To go from the Palmer Trinity area to Downtown Miami on a workday in the morning, it takes good 1.25 hours...that is only 17 miles!
If you go from Old Cutler on Eureka to the turnpike four miles west, a 4 mile drive, it will take about 20 minutes. And that doesn't include the time you will spend on Turnpike traffic while heading North.
US1 is not an option. It is bumper to bumper from SW 160st north to Downtown.
The trip home from Downtown is not much better. Gridlock starts at 3:00 pm and runs into 7:00 pm. This is because of Gulliver parents shutting down Old Cutler (it takes 2 police officers there, everyday, morning and night).
So, you take the schools gridlock and you add the south-bound people who live in the thousands of new homes in Lakes by the Bay, Goulds, Naranja and even Homestead... Those people who are avoiding US1 and the Turnpike. What do you have? Gridlock!
Why do we want to add more traffic to an already unsustainable situation? Old Cutler Road is the main north –south artery for the east coastal region of the county. It is 2 lanes!!! We can’t continue to flood it with cars.
To the Anonymous who made the Starbucks comment:
Your being a wisebutt doesn’t change the project’s impact on South Dade. I would never consider going to anywhere up or down Old Cutler during peak hours… Why on earth would I want to sit in the gridlock to get a cup of coffee?
The PT expansion is about far more than traffic or whether PT "can handle the growth", but perhaps the author should examine the PT plan carefully and look into their history before commenting. PT has not fulfilled the conditions of the 1999 hearing, they have attempted to deceive EVERYONE with a brochure that omits offensive details, and they have hidden their greed under the mask of education. Shame on the owners of PAlMER TRINITY and shame on all of you who haven't done YOUR homework on this issue before commenting.
It really isn’t just about PALMETTO BAY traffic.. Old Cutler road is the road that people from deep south use to go to work in downtown. It is EVERYBODY'S traffic. One communities change effects us all.
Anon: You did the homework. Tell us what you found.
Yes Anonymous give us the dirt on PT instead of blaming us for no knowing it. Inform or reform!
Don't be surprised if the traffic analysis comes back with "does not change the LOS". Why? Because the county uses peak PM trips to calculate traffic impact. Any idiot knows schools have the biggest impact in the AM not in the PM when school is out. It's a nasty trick to approve concurrency for roads, especially when dealing with new schools or expansion of existing ones. The other trick they use is to project trips onto surrounding roads not yet at gridlock; even if they are not the most logical route to serve the project. And we wonder how we can continue building when we are sitting in gridlock. Because they play with the numbers!
Again, I am so happy I do not live to the South. Unfortunately The same greed is spoiling all our neighborhoods. If I was to give advice I would tell them that when, not if, the powers that be approve this mess, someone waits until much construction has been done and then blows it up.
Who in their right mind would put even one more car on SW 184th Street? Just because Palmer Trinity had the opportunity to purchase an additional 33 acres is no reason to allow it to destroy our neighborhood. St. Patrick's cathedral is in New York City where it belongs and myself and many others do not want a bell tower nor a sports arena in our backyards. We want peace and quiet. We work hard and deserve a good life. We shouldn't have to spend our time defending our life style as our elected officials should be doing that for us. There is no reason why agricultural land should be plowed down to make room for even more non-Palmetto Bay children to enjoy at the expense of the community. Palmetto Senior High is a wonderful school and if addresses were checked, quite a few students could be removed to fix any overcrowding. Coral Reef Senior High is another wonderful choice for our children so we have enough schools for our needs. Sean Murphy can think that his school is so much better and therefor feel entitled to keep asking for more and more and it is up to our elected officials to tell him that enough is enough. I personally feel that anyone who buys agricultural land has the obligation to keep it that way. The past few years, we have seen agricultural land sold to developers and then have had to sit at hearings listening to why the poor developer needs to build 20 houses to make his money etc. That is NOT our problem nor is Palmer Trinity's greedy need to expand and just plain, "take over". What audacity that the school actually has been planning expansion for years after promising NOT to increase its student body. If Palmer Trinity wants to expand then they should................in an area already zoned for what they would require and not in decent taxpaying citizen's backyards. This letter was published in The Neighbor's section on Sunday 2/17/08 for those who haven't already read it.
Carol Vega
8845 SW 178th Terrace
Palmetto Bay, FL. 33157
786-293-0508
Speaking of Agricultural Land. I wonder however many farmers and nursery people send their children to Palmer Trinity? They certainly would not want the school on their farmland.
I believe the county has somewhere in the comp plans "no net loss of agriculture" as goal. Wonder how that is that is being achieved. Shouldn't this plan be reviewed by the Agricultural Manager for concurrence with that?
PT bought the 30 acre orchard they plan to expand the campus into.
The land may have mango trees on it, but it is a remnant of a long-gone era. All of "palmetto bay" formerly east perrine, used to be citrus groves. We can't turn back the clock now. This property is practically on the Bay, well inside the UDB. Do you really think it is going to stay farmland?
Would there be this much of an outburst if the orchard was going to become 30 more McMansions instead? I think not.
This is totally NIMBY, and probably rightly so considering the scale of what is proposed.
One to ponder: the neighbors seem to focus on this notion that it is a private school for rich people, many of whom are from out of the area. The question is; would people fight this if it were a public school doubling in size. I think we all know the answer to that one instinctively.
You can bet your tushy that this would be fought if it was a public school. Don't kid yourself.
And while it may have a SERIOUS life changing impact on people living near the property (After all, 1700 people 35 feet from your back door is bound to affect your life someway!); it is also going to impact the whole region.
Unless of course, your child goes to school there and you are totally focused on getting that football stadium or your paycheck depends on ignoring the traffic to get to Palmer to work.
By the way, those leftover agricultural businesses, when run as a business and not as tax write-off, is the number 3 industry in the county.
Again........for the few who can't comprehend what they read..........YES, we fight all overdevelopment houses to mansions. The above comment (from someone afraid to put their name or address)just shows that they don't attend any hearings and have no information. Also, what an uneducated remark to say that, "It's too late to save agricultural land now". Put on your dunce cap for even thinking that! Carol Vega
Of course people fight public schools. I fought the doubling of S. Dade Sr. High. The roads can't take the traffic and the new school was built on land used for the prestigeous agriculture program. The promise was made that the farmland would be replaced but I doubt it. Guess who supported the new school on agriculture land? The Chamber,Vision Council, S. Dade banks and, yes, the Dade County Farm Bureau Insurance Company. It's all about $$$$$$.
Since all children must attend school, isn't it true that traffic is not being generated....it is simply being reallocated? Our traffic woes started years ago when the gov't approved thousands of new apts/homes and no new roads. (Thanks county officials... not). Any talk about connecting section lines with bridges to complete the grid system brings out a score of NIMBYs. People I've talked to don't want solutions...they only want to complain....but I guess that is what a BLOG is for!!!!
In regards to the comment posted by "frogsinapotofboilingwater":
Yes, its true that the traffic is being reallocated, not generated.
The problem is that it is being reallocated to an infrastructure which cannot support it. Various attempts to improve the grid system (such as the proposal to construct a bridge over the C-100 canal on 87th avenue) have failed, and until such improvements to the infrastructure can be approved and constructed, it would be socially irresponsible for the council to approve the expansion given the strain it will impose on the the already limited grid.
I am still at a loss to see the benefits this Sports Complex addition brings to Palmetto Bay OR to Palmer Trinity, or at least for the benefits they claim. For Palmetto Bay, just where, exactly, do we benefit? We take 55 acres that are currently generating some revenue now, to a completely tax-free status in the guise of education and divinty, when in reality it is for SPORTS, nothing more, nothing less! How does having ballfields, soccer fields, tennis courts and a football stadium with loudspeakers and night lighting running SIX days a week, from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM benefit ANYONE'S education? How could that possibly make Palmer a better institute for higher learning, divine or otherwise? Unless the Episcopalians have changed direction or Jesus has taken up Water Polo, I really don't recall tennis or football being that a big a part of the Lord's plan...
How did God get into this argument?
God got in because it's an Episcopalian school and Sean thinks that it's better than any other school and that they have more rights than the rest of us. They have to pay some taxes on the agricultural land but wouldn't have to pay a penny if they get their way and destroy life for the rest of Palmetto Bay!
Carol: Anonymous is acceptable on this blog. Don't get on people for signing Anonymous.
All of you,
How is this not a nimby issue?
Re: genius of despair
It's not a "nimby" issue because the effects will extend far beyond the boundaries of Palmetto Bay, well outside the "backyards" of the opposition. If the expansion didn't raise serious doubts about the ability of the local infrastructure to support it and yet area residents were still opposed, then yes, it would be a "nimby" issue. But that's not the case. Most Palmetto Bay homeowners would object to a project as irresponsible as this regardless of whether it was being built in Palmetto Bay, West Kendall, or Aventura. And most residents from outside Palmetto Bay, if fully aware of the issues being raised, would probably oppose any Palmetto Bay expansion also. Obviously the only one's who will make an effort to protest it are the ones who it will affect the most, but that doesn't make this a "nimby" issue. And that doesn't mean you shouldn't care. The effects are far broader than any Palmetto Bay resident's backyard.
Thank you Andy...I was waiting for this.
Folks, please, enough of all this nimby talk. Lets figure out what is next. Whats coming over the horizon. If PT gets their way, modifies their expansion plan, or just plain gets shot down we still need to address what the next step is. Its not going to stop. If further action against more expansions and more building is not taken soon we will still be having this same discussion years from now. It will be yet another school or builder or delveloper trying to squeeze into an already overdelveloped area. How about a moritorium on all commercial building, lets say from Pinecrest down to south of Cutler Bay along the Old Cutler Road corridor. How many signatures would we need, where do I sign up! How about making Old Cutler Road one way traffic along certain heavly traveled areas. There is no rest for the weary, this is only one of the first battles in a long war against over delvelopment. The next battle will be in someone else's nimby (there I said it) so lets dig in.
The Palmetto Bay Village Center is the next thing, as is the corner south of it. And of course, Christ Fellowship has quietly been working on things since their 1999 zoning lost.
However, Palmer Trinity is not finished yet.
Many of those fields can be "place holders" for future development. They get through this hearing, wait a bit and come back for another bite at the apple.
The only problem is by then we should be parking in traffic for hours more than we do now.
The political will has to be there for building moratorium... In fact there has to be a regional will, because what happens in one city creates serious issue for another.
Elected officials have to be confident that if they slow development to allow infrastructure to be created to support changes, that the citizens will rally behind them at the polls. The developer money machine is a very powerful and scary force here in South Florida. They eat people alive and spit them out that get in their way.
Over the years South Dade has lost many wonderful community leaders because they were worn out from trying to juggle family life, work, intensive research, fundraising and community organization. They faced law suits and harassment because they saw the future and took on the big boys.
It is hard to take on a group of developers and their attorneys without money and people. Many people will not help, contribute or support issues unless they feel a personal pinch.
If you are serious about working with people for the betterment of South Dade County, you can email ccociboard@bellsouth.net. At least write and thank them for their efforts, they have been amazing.
why don't you all just wake up a half-hour earlier, like everybody else?
bitching and moaning is noise pollution, too...
Deal with it:
Exactly how many spare half hours do I have left in my life if I have to keep getting up an half hour to accommodate uncontrolled growth?
Those of us who have to be in downtown Miami by 8:45 am are already leaving home at 6:45. And we don't get home till 6:30pm or later. And then we cook dinner, check on our kids, do household chores and go to bed to get up 5:45 to start the routine over.
You may not work or you may not have responsibilities. But, the rest of the world does. And every half hour I spend in traffic, is a fruitless wasted moment in my family's life.
I don't see much moaning and whining here other than your rudeness, I see some discussion that is important. Traffic Congestion is one of the biggest issues facing this county, and you need to be a part of the solution.
Extraordinary! To hear such self righteous indignation for a campus that will sustain more green space than the individual mini ranch style mansions that surround it.
All of you so opposed to PTS are living on land that was once inhabited by Indians and wildlife, and then orchards. There was no Blog page via the internet to oppose the sterile development of ranch homes. Who was there to demand the land be left as God made it. Now you all sit comfortably in an air-conditioned space complaining of campus expansion? You pollute the waters with your fertilizers for a piece of lawn. You live on land that has already been raped and you proceed to damage it every time you turn on a light! Hypocrites!
Your "carbon footprint" damages the very bucolic environment you drone on about. You bought in or sold out however you look at it making some builder or developer very rich. You are the very urban sprawl that is draining the Everglades! Hypocrites!
Those of you who choose to live in Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay and further south yet work in Downtown Miami, South Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove and even Dadeland, have nerve to slam students and teachers going to work at PTS; the majority doing so in the opposite direction of the thousands of suburbanites who must work in the city and yet live so far south! Hypocrites!
Consider that a majority of PTS students commute to Palmer Trinity from the north makes the argument of congestion heading North in the AM or South in the PM laughable. As you duke it out arguing how horrible it will be to have students commuting (in the opposite direction), remember to fill the tank of your gas guzzling car before you head to work through someone else's neighborhood. Consider the havoc you reek spewing noxious fumes through one neighborhood after another. Hypocrites!
Perhaps the above mentioned communities should ban you from using the roads that run through their highly taxed neighborhoods so there be less wear and tear on their roads and their “air”.
Such outcry against: a cafeteria, a proper hall for convocation and a playing field with bleachers. A campus, with greens spaces and gardens. PTS is not building a Joe Robby Style Stadium, nor a country club for the rich. Since when should a school be slammed for having a swimming pool? This is South Florida for pete sakes! Why shouldn't a school have a swim team? How many of those complaining have a pool? God forbid screened to keep out the bugs! Talk about eye sores. But that is getting personal, one might like huge dark screens all around their pool and in my face!
Unfortunately those of you going on about the community public schools with campuses far broader and clearly more unattractive didn't give a hoot for the community around them. Palmetto High school is old and crowded and has no room to grow. And it is an eye sore but you love it and its fields with a chain link fence all around. How many students drive to Palmetto High school jamming the roads? Have you asked the people living around there if they would like you to build green space and hedges to screen the nasty field they see every time they open the front door?
You, the tax payer who cry so profusely about the big bad private school watch your sports programs dwindle in public schools and whine your children are not getting the athletic programs they deserve. Nor the music and art programs they should have.
Perhaps one need question why there is such a demand for private education. It say's more about the society than the cacophony of self righteous screamers care to admit. It’s OUR society that has created a demand for private education. That parent’s of all social and economic backgrounds work hard to get their kids into a school like Palmer belies the basic truth that public schools, particularly in this state of ours, are not working for the majority of students today. Yet I interject to defend the fine hard working Palmetto Bay residents who send their children to PTS and still pay taxes that benefit the public schools and the community. That the PTS campus will have gardens and trees and plenty of green space is less important to those who jealously protect the urban sprawl they themselves perpetrate.
You who sit for 90 minutes or more getting to work in the morning; polluting the very city you think your protecting, taking that carbon monoxide right into the other communities. Hypocrites! Fill that tank of your gas guzzling car before you head to work through someone else's community and then dare complain that PTS expansion will ruin your community? Hypocrites!
Those poor souls who join you back and forth morning and evening on Old Cutler, Ludlum Rd or US1 etc. are not going to Palmer Trinity. It’s your neighbor probably going to work on Brickel Avenue!
See? Like Anon up here said. Stop whining and deal with it.
Miamigal and the rest of the whiny unwashed masses in this pitiful echo chamber:
I live here too, and work real hard, and pay way too much insurance and taxes. And I wake up at 530am so I can take my kids to school, and be at work by 8. And I gotta rush home to pick them up and maybe work some more on what I couldn't finish before. And my house is worth less today than what I paid for it. And I can't move.
And I could care less about your missing half hour. You bought that house. Nobody put a gun to your head.
What do you think expensive well-funded private schools with lots of empty land do? LOL
Now who's the idiot, again?
Get some perspective. I mean, it's not like it's a NUCLEAR PLANT, eh GoD?
Wow.
Deal with it:
Let's talk about urban sprawl. The best solution to urban sprawl and school children is for the kids go to school where they can walk to class. Ah, but that doesn't happen in lovely Miami-Dade County. Why don’t you become involved with the School Feeder Task Force and help out the community? Help make that happen.
And for those who work downtown. Well, golly gee, it seems that the bus and other public transportation doesn’t stop here. It does go through Pinecrest; how many of Pinecrest businessmen hop on the bus to work?
"And I could care less about your missing half hour. You bought that house. Nobody put a gun to your head."
You are correct; I bought this house way back when Palmer Trinity wasn’t Palmer Trinity. I was here first. My investment in my neighborhood and family should come before a private entity that has 30 million dollars in assets and raises over 12 million a year in fees. And far as you not caring about my time with my family and my quality of life; I feel badly for you. I care about yours and perhaps my life takes on a more global perspective because of it. When was the last environmental thing you did for the world? You do Bay clean-ups? Perhaps you walk Old Cutler or Eureka and clean up trash along the road sides? Have you given a couple of bucks to the Clean Water Fund lately?
"And I gotta rush home to pick them up and maybe work some more on what I couldn't finish before. And my house is worth less today than what I paid for it. And I can't move."
Hey dear, welcome to Miami-Dade County. I suppose you don't want to make the neighborhood you can't move out of a bit saner to exist in? Maybe, you can do your part by helping to enhance the community by not driving on overcrowded traffic corridors. Can you walk to work?
What do you think expensive well-funded private schools with lots of empty land do? .
We all know what happens with business people and vacantland. They grow. They nurture the bottom line. But, sometimes the bottom line is not sustainable. Sometimes, people’s property rights or a region’s infrastructure can’t support the growth. Sometimes, governments and businesses have to consider the general welfare of a population that is directly impacted by sustainable growth.
Oh yah, I bought my property with the zoning on it, I didn't expect to come along and change to the zoning to a more intensive use. I don't live in a McMansion. I live in a neighborhood of teachers, firefighters and small business owners. Most of us live on half acre lots.
O goodness… Nuclear Power Plants…. Speaking of those…did you know that FPL is building 2 more 10 miles down the road? Do you know that this school is falling into the emergency radius for the current plants? Can you imagine if they have a crisis at that Nuclear Site what will happen as South Dade residents flee north to get away from the plants? Combine that with thousands of panicked parents as they head to their children’s schools to rescue the kids, fun stuff. By the way, FPL maintains a list of schools that are in a “no pick-up zone”.
So, think carefully. We don’t live in a vacuum. None of us are islands unto ourselves.
Many have made comments about how neighbors to the Palmer Trinity Orchard do not want the school to expand mainly because they are a "rich private school." I most certainly do not agree with that statement. I went to private school for eleven years in New York and my tuition then was more than what they are charging now. In general, I like private schools and the children to teacher ratio, it creates a better learning environment than public schools where you have one teacher for 30 students.
But...I purchased my home knowing that Palmer Trinity would be my neighbor, and that was fine. Until they threatened my way of life. I will hear their PA system blaring when I go for a relaxing dip in my pool or invite friends over for a BBQ. Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay have rules regarding loud noise levels emanating from cars, but what about the school? If I can hear music coming all the way from the Palmetto Bay Village Center, than I can only dare to imagine what I will hear coming from Palmer Trinity. I did not sign up for this.
And to that person who referred to everyone who does not agree with the PTS expansion as "gas guzzling" "hypocrites," I go to the Everglades to pick up trash because I hate that we have dirtied this planet so much, I ride my bike, and conserve water and electricity. What about you? What makes you so high and mighty?
It sucks that many people are forced to drive to Downtown Miami to get to work, but that is where many of the businesses are. I know people who work and live over there and it still takes them a long time to get to their jobs. Miami is not like New York or LA, our transportation system SUCKS!
But back to the subject, you say all of us are wasteful. What about PTS? How much electricity are they going to use for their stadium lights, and their pool pump? They are the wasteful ones, they are not happy with what they have, they want to go bigger and better, at their "neighbors" expense.
As for your comments about Palmetto Sr. High...I used to live in Pinecrest and have many family members who still live there. I hate their new basket ball stadium, and I was completely opposed to it.
You don't like what we say so you call all of us hypocrites. I have a right to LOVE my neighborhood, the sound of birds chirping, my quite bike ride to the park, or my stroll through the neighborhood. You must not live around here for you to make your nasty comments.
mGal:
Yes to picking up litter, yes to conserving energy and water, no I can't walk to work, and I was born in Dade County, This was a sprawl town from the beginning. Not everyone can walk to school. Why? because you and your neighbors live on half-acres. I don't begrudge you that, believe me, but your notions of density and proximity do not match up. If the education system in this town was halfway decent, private schools couldn't skulk around and gobble up land inconvenient to you. But public schools suck, by and large, and the market for private schools flourishes, and so too does their need for space. Is this expansion an indulgence? Maybe, but who elected you the arbiter of that?
At what point do any of you realize that you live in A MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREA? And a dysfuntional one at that? It is a growing city, with infrastructure problems such that you will never catch up in a million years. And yet, people still keep coming down, up, over to live here. That quiet bike ride? It moved to Tarpon Springs.
Superficially rational comments begets nastiness, as punishment for their weakness. When you want to be reasonable, rather than some shrill "No way!" in the face of realities larger than your swimming pool and chirping birds, then perhaps some solutions will be had. Until then, continue on your sanctimonious way.
To quote Norman Mineta, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation:
“Congestion is one of the single largest threats to our economic prosperity. Each year, Americans lose 3.7 billion hours and 2.3 billion gallons of fuel sitting in traffic jams. Worse, congestion is affecting the quality of American’s lives by robbing them of the time that could be spent with families and friends. Congestion is not a fact of life. It is not a scientific mystery, nor is it an uncontrollable force. Congestion results from poor policy choices and a failure to separate solutions that are effective from those that are not."
Sorry, that Dade County is disfunctional, I didn't chose to be born here. However, my parents settled here and here I am.
The fact remains, just because there was a massive amount of poor or non-existent planning in the county's history, does not mean that we have to accept the status quo.
The planners have to start making the changes somewhere. Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay citizens started that process when they voted to become cities. Those votes was for a better tomorrow.
There is no reason to let traffic congestion add to the impact of sprawl. You can not undo the sprawl as it sits now, but you can stop compounding the problem by moving additional people into a congested area.
By the way, would you enjoy to have the sounds of car doors slamming, garbage dumpsters crashing down and a constant drone of background noise in your house? Did you know the National Parks review development plans for sound and view intrusion...why should the city review require less than the National Park does a half mile away?
If the area called Horse Country (in the midst of Kendall)can stay agricultural then so can the little that's left in Palmetto Bay! It just takes dedicated people and a love of nature. There are MANY creatures living in the mango grove who have rights as well. Carol
Interesting people you Palmetto Bay residents. Thanks for reading our guest blog. Hopefully you will let me know the outcome...
I have a word of advice, stay focused on the County as well as your village. We need your eyes and ears on that bunch of dysfunctional politicians.
HAVEN'T YOU PEOPLE HEARD OF SCHOOL BUSES? WHAT IS WITH ALL THE DROP OFFS???
The latest information from the city says they will go to the county to 5 lane 184th Street to accomandate the traffic.
!84th five lanes...............EXACTLTY what would ruin our neighborhood. Now you're talking about destroying all of those gorgeous palms..............criminal.
The hearing last night was jam packed. They had 2 rooms filled; unfortunately the cafeteria had the kids and no TV’s ...just the sound to deal with. It is kind of hard to be in another room and plan to speak if you cannot see the exhibits that are being used.
Lot of legalese was thrown about with the opposition attorneys time cut short and the presentation was not completed.
It has been continued till another time I think next month. The attorneys will start at 6 pm and the community members start at 7.
I feel especially bad for the people who reside in Cutler Bay. Some are directly across from the school, yet have no ability to vote the guys out of office that are making all these life changing choices on their behalf.
I hope every one continues to pay attention. The attorneys had to go back and finish their traffic counts. Can you believe the school didn't count traffic flow into the currents streets? Or at least, were claiming they didn't.
Listen people, I think you all need to just stay in your homes, work from your computer in your home office and stop whining. Nobody cares if you get to work or not and you can't afford the gas anyways.
By the way, we can all be relieved that the 600 upcoming residents in the 85 foot tall Senior Citizen's center won't be generating any traffic, although personally, I think they should put a prison there so we can be sure and keep the roads clear for the PT kids and their parents.
Yeah, that's it...everybody stay inside and make way for the school. That simplifies it.
Yah well... For the person, who doesn't like the widening of 184 street ...
News Flash! It is in the city comp plan. It is STATE LAW NOW.
AND that is exactly what the previous anonymous was speaking of ... the senior center is in the burger headquaters property. Along with 100 townhouses, more buildings and more traffic... DUUH.
And it got there the very same way. THROUGH STATE LAW and a sleeping community while the developers worked on the council.
it seems that our leaders Flinn and his gang had us so concerned with PTS while we should have been focusing on what they were doing at the old Burger King site. Guess it all come down to money PTS isn't going to bring any and town houses will.
you chose to live there; the traffic, the mosquitos, the lack of-and overpriced security, and cat-killers, and on and on..don't you rich folks have something to do creatively with your self-absorbed minds? TAKE A DAY OFF WORK; GO SEE AN ELDERLY FRIEND; GIVE TO A CHARITY; FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN BE COMMUNITY ACTIVE! i', SURE MAYOR-WHAT'S-HIS-NAME WOULD AGREE!christ-andi do mean it in his name; life is more than"WHERE CAN I GO IN PALMETTO BAY TO GET MY POODLE CLIPPED!?" ME,ME,ME-SELFISH IS, AS SELFISH DOES!">( THE MAD HATTER OF STETSON)
WELL DONE, PRIORITY BRAIN-DEAD RESIDENTS!YOU BICKER OVER YOUR QUALITY SCHOOL PLANS, SO MAYBE THE EMPHASIS OF GLORY FOR YOU TOWNSHIP WILL REMAIN "HOME OF THE PSYCH-CAT-KILLER"!HOW IS THAT FOR A PRESTEIGOUS CITY MONIKER?!OH YEH, BETTER GET A BACK FENCE ON THE NORTHSIDE OF PALMETTO BAY VILLAGE CENTER SOON..THE HOBOS, HOMELESS, AND MAYBE EVEN TED BUNDY'S OF THE WORLD ARE CRUISING RIGHT IN WHILE YOU PAY SECURITY TO WATCH YOUR FRONT GATE..(i mention it only in passing; like inspector kinderman in the exorcist..) I SWEAR(AND I DO IT DAILY!) AT THE STUPIDITY OF MANKIND..WHERE ARE THE PRIORITIES PEOPLE? YOU OLD FOLKS ARE A WASTE..AT LEAST GIVE YOUR KIDS THE BEST SPOT-ON CHANCE TO DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL AND PRODUCTIVE WITH THEIR LIVES!BUILD THE DAMNED SCHOOL, BUILD 'EM ALL!NEVER ENOUGH EDUCATION TO COMBAT THE STUPIDITY OF THIS TOWN!
MAYOR DON'T KNOW BEANS...HOW ABOUT MORE DEVELOPMENT ALONG US 1 AT THE WEST END OF THE LITTLE KINGDOM OF"KNOW-NOTHINGNESS"?! LOOK AT WHAT THEY DID FOR AN OLD WHORE-HOUSE THAT IS NOW CALICO CORNERS..BE INNOVATIVE. WE DON'T NEED MORE DEFEATIST ATTITUDES IN THIS ECONOMY, WE NEED POSITIVE INPUT! BY THE END OF THE YEAR, THE ONLY JOBS BOUNCING AROUND WILL BE IN MY FIELD..SECURITY. WE ARE NOMADS GOING FROM ONE PLACE AND COMPANY TO ANOTHER..THE SAME DEAD ZOMBIES EVERYWHERE YOU SEE US..NEVER CHANGES. BE A COMMUNITY BETTER THAN THAT-GIVE YOUR KIDS A FUTURE..BE PROGRESSIVE, TAKE THE PLUNGE..BE A REAL COMMUNITY!BY THE WAY, YOUR COMMUNITY PAYS A FORTUNE IN TAXES..BUILD SOMETHING ENDURING AND MOLD SOME CITIZENSHIP THERE..10-4, OUT!
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