The Virginia Key Master Plan is before the Miami City Commission today ... The Herald writes a good editorial on the subject. Here it is:
The Miami Herald Editorial, Oct. 8, 2009
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/1271894.html
Preserve Virginia Key
OUR OPINION: Redesign master plan needs more of the public's ideas
The Virginia Key Master Plan coming before the Miami City Commission Thursday is better than the version pulled from the agenda by Mayor Manny Diaz in June, but it is not nearly good enough to warrant approval.
There are still too many brick and mortar projects and not enough natural features.
The commission should send the plan back to city staff and the consultant it hired to redo this long-neglected but priceless jewel with instructions to incorporate more of the proposals developed by the public during a Sept. 26 charette. There should be explicit orders to downscale, and in some cases discard, proposed building projects.
The whole point of redeveloping the publicly owned 1,000 acres on Virginia Key was to make it an ecological wildlife refuge and recreational destination for a city with too few parks and public access to the waterfront. The island is home to bird and turtle nesting, manatee breeding areas, mangrove swamps and hardwood hammocks.
It's a perfect place to capture South Florida's native assets and preserve them for generations.
But the island's environmental treasures, along with the historically designated Miami Marine Stadium, have been woefully neglected. The master-planning process was begun after public outcry thwarted a city plan to lease much of the public space for hotels and other money-making ventures.
The new master plan still includes five-story parking garages, which are utterly out of keeping with the overall redesign intent. The proposed retail village and possibility of including a conference center have no public support. They appear, in fact, to be another attempt to give private enterprise a big footprint on public property.
There's no solid plan for restoring the marine stadium. Also missing: a public boat ramp.
In approving the master plan on Monday, the Waterfront Advisory Board took note of the lack of a boat ramp and other items on the public's wish list.. The board amended the plan to include one or two boat ramps, a welcome center, an island transportation plan and restoration of bicycle courses.
The board also included an amendment to clean up the old landfill first -- a must by any sensible calculation -- and increasing native tree buffer areas. The most telling amendment was one that said: No hotels.
Another good suggestion from Monday's meeting is to create an ``implementation committee'' to oversee the plan once it's finalized.
Beyond such oversight, the City Commission also needs to restore funding for the Virginia Key Beach Park trust. The historic ``colored only'' beach was reopened by the city not long ago with great fanfare. To defund the park's trust now would be tantamount to telling Miami's black residents that, in the eyes of the City Commission, they are still second-class citizens.
More than 100 people attended the Sept. 26 charette, giving up a Saturday to show their support for restoring Virginia Key in a way that befits Miami's last large open-space oasis. They and many others have spent hundreds of hours advocating on behalf of the island. The public has spoken, and the City Commission must heed its call for Virginia Key's green future.
Your voice. Your island.
The City Commission could adopt the plan as is or make changes or delay approval.
Now is the time to speak up. Call or send comments to the Mayor and Commissioners:
Miami Mayor Manny Diaz: mannydiaz@miamigov.com; (305) 250-5300
Marc Sarnoff, (whose district includes Virginia Key): msarnoff@miamigov.com; (305) 250-5333. Aide: Ron Nelson
Angel Gonzalez, (305) 250-5430; agonzalez@miamigov.com
Joe M. Sanchez, (305) 250-5380; jsanchez@miamigov.com
Tomas P. Regalado (305) 250-5420; tregalado@miamigov.com
Michelle Spence-Jones (305) 250-5390; mspence@miamigov.com
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