Council denies approval of proposed new Publix project

Council denies approval of proposed new Publix project

 

Council denies approval of proposed new Publix project
Architect’s rendering of the Publix building.

The proposed 11-acre development project known as “Shoppes of Cutler Bay,” featuring a large new Publix Supermarket to be located on Old Cutler Road and SW 208th Street, was denied approval by a 3-2 vote of the Cutler Bay Town Council during its Jan. 16 meeting.

Vice Mayor Ernie Sochin and Councilmember Sue Ellen Loyzelle voted in favor of approving the project, while Mayor Ed MacDougall and Councilmembers Peggy Bell and Mary Ann Mixon voted to deny approval, according to town clerk Debra Eastman.

The project originally had been submitted to the town’s Zoning Department on Jan. 18, 2012, but the large shopping complex to be anchored by Publix with a mix of other stores, restaurants and banks for the area popularly known as the “potato field” faced opposition from some council members as well as nearby residents.

The opposition pointed out that the design did not match requirements of the town’s master plan for the area and was not “green” enough. Some neighboring homeowners also expressed concern about the effects of increased traffic in the area and late night deliveries.

After the vote to deny approval, the attorney for Publix asked the council to waive the usual one year waiting period for reapplying, and the council voted in favor of granting the waiver. But the proposed project will have to resubmitted as a new project and go through the normal procedures through Cutler Bay’s Zoning Department and other agencies.

“I didn’t want to penalize them and make them have to wait a year,” said Mayor MacDougall in a Jan. 22 interview. “I don’t think that’s business friendly. What’s important is that they come to the table with a project. I also have something else we are looking at as a possibility. We are not adverse as a town to hire an architect, put together a master plan for the Garcias [the property owners] with all pre-approvals on the table and let them take a look at it. We’ll bring a world-class project to the table preapproved. I’m sure the Garcia’s won’t have any trouble finding a developer.”


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5 COMMENTS

  1. The old publix would close when the new one opens. What's wrong with you people? It is impossible to park at that old publix, also it is very small. It looks like a market from a third world country.

  2. Really, do you people have a clue. The design far exceeds anything in our town today. By the way, the old Publix would close… Wake up people to progress

  3. Really? Is that legal? If it is legal, it sure isn't ethical. Someone works to get you into office and their payback is a vote for something they are lobbying for. I thought that's why we left the county, to stop this kind of nonsense. Shame on them. Thanks to everyone who voted against this development.

  4. Thanks to Mayor MacDougall, Mary Ann Mixon, and Peggy Bell for honoring the Charrette and voting against this poorly designed project. Even if the developers do come back, they know it will have to be a far better design then what Sue Ellen Loyzelle and Ernie Sochin were willing to accept.

    One of the lobbyists for the developer had previously worked to raise money for Loyzelle and Sochins election campaigns. Could this be why they were willing to accept such a poorly designed project?

    Publix should go back to looking at building a store inside Lakes By The Bay. It made more sense then placing a new bigger store on Old Cutler road, which already has more traffic then it can handle.

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