Much ado over Palmetto Bay Village Council vote allowing Palmer Trinity School expansion, even as meetings continue in this neck of the woods about Riviera Day Schools building a high school campus on Galloway Road. Now, we understand that Trinity folks still opposing expansion by Palmer in that area are meeting with Continental Park and nearby homeowners to share common thinking.
Those brainstorming avenues for a legal protest wondered if it is legal to grandfather property rights that would otherwise not be permitted, should the property be sold for a non-conforming use to the existing or a new ownership.
Covenants originally granted normally “run with the land,” regardless of who may become the owner later on, one of the primary purposes of the Miami-Dade County CDMP (Comprehensive Development Master Plan), which, to our knowledge, was legally followed by the schools before announcing plans to expand.
That being the case, those who care have to be on guard to read those legal notices when published, especially those seeking to amend covenants, as was the case in the current school developments. East Kendall folks may recall Baptist Hospital changed an already-adopted master plan (permitted under its original CDMP approval) to permit expansion not far from the same area of SW 87th Avenue where Riviera Schools now seeks to transform a church into a school campus.
Baptist, however, only got its approvals after presenting a detailed traffic analysis required by East Kendall’s Community Council, the same body Commissioners no longer feel necessary to act on nonzoning issues.
K-T Executive Airport update from MDC Aviation Department PIO Greg Chin: Project work expected by the end of the month. We’re getting the final administrative issues finalized between the Aviation Department, FAA and the contractor before the Notice to Proceed (NTP) is issued. Project is still within the scope of the contract and is now in the final contractor coordination and planning phase. Identifying needed office space, ordering materials, scheduling contractor labor and resources and coordinating work between FAA and FPL have all begun already.
Florida Department of Transportation invites you to participate an “important” Regional Workshop on June 2 about making transportation decisions for “a better, more sustainable Florida, for our future.” If that tickles your fancy, you’ll head downtown, park at the Wolfson Campus Garage (free) and sit in on a presentation and possibly two or three seminars, advises David Korros, District Six Planner, who suggests visiting the web site for details at www.2060FTP.org before calling 305-470-5840.
And, says MDX (Metropolitan Expressway Authority) “…moving forward with plans to implement Open Road Tolling (ORT) on five expressways by 2013. Overhead gantries will replace traditional toll plazas and tolls will automatically be calculated and deducted from your Surpass account. ORT will make driving faster (reduces congestion), safer (no toll plaza incidents), cleaner (reduces emissions), fair (pay for only the portion of road you travel) and will help fund roadway improvements for the future. By the summer of 2010, SR 924/Gratigny Parkway, SR 874/Don Shula Expressway and SR 878/Snapper Creek Expressway will be converted to ORT. Details are at www.MDXORT.com .
Postscript: Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations targets its June 7 meeting with an ORT presentation by MDX, so that residents missing the three workshops May 26-27 and June 1 get still another chance to vent their collective spleens over 75-cent one-way trips due on the Snapper Creek SR 878 Xway.
Update on Kendall Campus of Miami- Dade College due when Dr. Armando Ferrer, President, addresses West Kendall Business Association on college’s “Impact on the Community” during noon luncheon on Thursday, May 27 at Signature Gardens, 12725 SW 122 Avenue. For details, reservations, etc., call 305-238- 9966. Miami Children’s Hospital is the luncheon sponsor.
Thought for the Day:
A closed mind is like a closed book: just a block of wood.
Chinese Proverb
Richard Yager contributed to this column. Got any tips? Contact me at 305-669- 7355, ext. 249, or send emails to < michael@communitynewspapers.com >.
