Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Major developer tries to extort Miami-Dade County on zoning change for Ludlam Trail … by gimleteye

The following announcement of a Town Hall Meeting is from Friends of Ludlam Trail, but first an introduction. Florida East Coast Industries (read, Armando Codina and his team) is seeking a zoning change for an abandoned rail corridor in one of the most heavily populated areas of the county, before residents and taxpayers organize to purchase the property for a park and public access.

It is like witnessing a strangling to see FECI suddenly spring to life on property that has sat fallow for decades, simply because citizens arrived at a better use for that property than development.

This is a regular theme at Eye On Miami: how the Great Destroyers thwart public remedies to support people's quality of life (unless it comes with their names attached to sidewalk bricks on contrived civic buildings).

This isn't about "taking" FECI property (it long spurned until citizens took an interest in it). This is about FECI pushing the Miami-Dade County Commission to increase the value of its property, through a zoning change, in order to maximize whatever buyout may occur in the future.

This is how the public lost the Miami River, which otherwise might have defined our city as a vibrant place instead of condo canyons in the American tropics. Ludlam Trail will be less visible but of great benefit to hundreds of thousands of residents.

For a worthy civic cause, please attend the meeting of Friends of Ludlam Trails and support their mission:


I invite you to attend our Town Hall Meeting at South Miami Senior High School on Tuesday, November 12th at 7pm. 

The Friends of Ludlam Trial’s mission is to convert the abandoned Florida East Coast Railway corridor into an iconic linear park with bike paths, parks & community gardens.  The abandoned railway runs from Datran in the south, north to the airport.  The rails have already been removed below SW 12th street, leaving behind a green belt of land through the center of our city between 25 and 100 feet wide with only 13 road crossings along the entire 6.2 mile length. 

Florida East Coast Industries is trying to re-zone the abandoned railway property to build multiple 20+ story high rise buildings and to infill the remaining area with densely packed residential homes. 

We oppose this change in zoning.  A linear park will connect more than 34,000 people within a half-mile to walkable access to five greenways, five schools, four parks and two transit hubs and will create the opportunity for thousands of children to walk and bike to school in a safe, green space.  The new trail could accommodate large natural spaces, community gardens, bike and running paths and trails, playgrounds and provide healthy pathways for commuting.  The return on investment for our community promises to be exponential.  Ludlam Trail Park could be an iconic linear park spurring job creation, realizing immediate value increases for adjacent properties, and achieving a major transportation and recreational asset across the heart of our city.

Please take a look at the attached flyer and attend if you feel the Ludlam Trail Park will be beneficial for Miami.


Please sign our petition, and like us on Facebook and forward this email to friends that may be interested in learning more about this issue.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've got to disagree with you, Alan. The County has been looking at acquiring this property for park for years- see the AECOM plan on the LudlamTrail.org website. They don't have the money to maintain it if is were bought and built for them, something that the Trust for Public Land has locally been trying to do for 5+ years. The Friends have been organized for about half that time and they have been meeting with Armando's people. Development is not bad on its own and it can be good, if done right. As part of their CDMP request, FECI has agreed not to build a house until zoning and design standards are agreed on. Without the property owner's support, how do you think we get a trail, much less a park? (<- not a rhetorical question). Thank you.

Anonymous said...

it isnt a zoning case. they want to change the cdmp a.k.a. land use designation.

that distinction is important because the land use designation does NOT give development rights the way zoning does.

it doesnt diminish the importance of citizen engagement though. now is exactly the time to get involved.

Anonymous said...

Submitted to: Miami Dade MPO
Submitted by: THE CORRADINO GROUP, INC.
November 2004 Final Report: Rail Convertibility Study
Recommendations
FEC Ludlam Corridor
This corridor has been designated as high priority for non-transit use. Given that a bicycle-pedestrian corridor is approved and programmed for development in this corridor it should be carried forward and viewed as a priority by the MPO.
Miami-Dade County Bicycle/Pedestrian Plans and Proposals
There are a number of bicycle/pedestrian plans and proposals being considered in Miami-Dade County. The North Dade Greenways Master Plan proposed the following facilities along rail corridors:
Ludlam Trail (FEC Oleander Junction to Dadeland South)
Ludlam Trail (CSX from Bird Road to North Kendall Drive)
Greenways and Bicycle Plans
The Ludlam Trail is similar to the Tri-Rail project discussed above. The Ludlam Trail extends along the FEC right-of-way from Oleander Junction to Dadeland North and connects to the CSX line at Bird Road to connect to North Kendall Drive. This project, like the SFRTA/Tri-Rail project, is not included in the LRTP.
Project Ludlam Trail Rail Segment FEC Oleander Jct. to Dadeland South Train Operations 1 R-O-W 100’ # Crossings 15
Land Use Single Family Connectivity Dadeland to Blue Lagoon Engineering Feasibility High Community Impacts Low
Potential Patronage Low Costs Low User Benefit Low Funding Potential High
Coordination with Existing Plans and Policies
Ludlum Trail- FDOT, CSX, FEC, LRTP/MPO, County Comp Plan, Greenway Master Plan
Corridor Evaluation and Presentation to Project Steering Committee
FEC Ludlam Corridor
Critical to Freight Operations No Potential for moving people
Already has plans proposed as a bicycle/pedestrian project
This use is substantiated by the evaluation of the steering committee for the corridor as high for moving people (by bicycle and pedestrian) and high for implementation
Potential for implementation High for non-motorized
Priority for joint use High
http://miamidadempo.org/library/studies/rail-convertibility-study-final-2004-11.pdf

Anonymous said...

5. Recommendations
FEC Ludlam Corridor
This corridor has been designated as high priority for non-transit use. Given that a bicycle-pedestrian corridor is approved and programmed for development in this corridor it should be carried forward and viewed as a priority by the MPO.
Funding and Implementation
Converting part of these corridors to recreation use as bicycle/pedestrian type areas is likely the initially most probable non-PTP opportunity for making use of the corridors. As noted above, the corridor south of 72nd Street is of particular note. The inclusion of a greenway and pedestrian/nonmotorized trail as part of the ROW area would encourage the greatest potential for outside funding. Over the last few years, the State of Florida has facilitated the granting of funds for greenways and trails through the Office of Greenways and Trails (OGT) within the Department of Environmental Protection. This office administers three grant programs and offers technical assistance to eligible governments for planning, designing, constructing, funding and maintaining greenways and trails. Historically, these funds have been utilized much more for traditional style trails for hiking, biking, and horse riding through the more rural areas of the State which have been included in Florida’s Statewide Master Greenways and Trails Plan. Recently however, there has been increasing recognition of the need to fund urban trails and recognition of the more costly efforts for an urban trail over that of a more traditional, rural trail. It would be imperative that the County seek designation of any proposed corridor as part of the Statewide Greenways and Trails Map. Additionally, the Corridor should be added to the County’s Bikeway Plan to ensure its inclusion in the County program. The recreational characteristics of such a trail would also lead to potential funding from by another State source, the Florida Recreation and Development Assistance Program (FRDAP). While FRDAP funding is limited to $200,000 per application, each government can have two open grants and there is no reason why several municipalities along the corridor cannot combine projects to forward the goals of an overall plan.
The power of all of the entities along the a coalition corridor could also lead to direct appropriation through the Florida Legislature as well as through the U.S. Congress. The project is for the public good and could serve as an excellent pilot project for an urban trail and alternative transportation route through an urban setting. These are not traits that go unnoticed by governing bodies nor by public grant program administrators. Furthermore, the portability of the urban trail model has potential to lead to private foundation funding as well. It is often the case that private foundations seek to fund projects that can be used as this type of model to forward the foundation’s goals and the public programs and policies they try to shape.
http://miamidadempo.org/library/studies/rail-convertibility-study-final-2004-11.pdf

Anonymous said...

ALREADY GOT APPROVAL FROM THE COUNTY??? MAYOR?? FDC??
CITY OF WEST MIAMI 901 S.W. 62ND AVENUE WEST MIAMI, FL 33144
WWW.CITYOFWESTMIAMIFL.COM
AGENDA REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING AMENDED WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH, 2014 7:30 P.M. CITY HALL, COMMISSION
sponsored by Eduardo H. Muhiña Mayor

Juan M. Blanes Vice-Mayor Commissioner Luciano L. Suarez Rhonda A. Rodriguez

11. NEW BUSINESS AGENDA ITEMS:
item 11b
B) PRESENTATION BY FLORIDA EAST COAST INDUSTRIES RE: 70TH AVENUE CORRIDOR CONCEPT FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. (SPONSORED BY MAYOR MUHIÑA)(ROLY MARANTE & JOSE GONZALEZ, FLORIDA EAST COAST INDUSTRIES)

C) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WEST MIAMI, FLORIDA, IN SUPPORT OF THE PROPOSED MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT MASTER PLAN CHANGE REQUESTED BY FLAGLER DEVELOPMENT FOR THE LUDLAM TRAIL RAIL CORRIDOR; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION) MOTION:SECOND:VOTE:4-0 Item Passes

start clock 8:04pm to 8:13pm
start video time 19:00 min to 28:20 min

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZGchinvCuc&feature=player_detailpage#t=1131

Anonymous said...

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/board.asp?privcapId=272911