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Your local government makes hundreds of decisions each year. Some may belong on page 102 of an agenda. A proposal that will permanently alter the character of our community is not one of them.
That’s what happened last month when the village administration put a deal they quietly struck on the agenda with the Palmetto Bay Village Center developer. The proposal would greenlight a plan that would bring 450 residential units, 133,000 square feet of commercial development, a 120-room hotel, and buildings up to 10 stories tall directly to Old Cutler Road.
In the two weeks before the initial meeting, the village posted endlessly about ribbon cuttings and holiday announcements while remaining virtually silent about the most significant development decision in our community’s history. The only notification was raw footage of a legally required workshop buried in social media feeds.
Despite the administration’s attempt to limit public engagement, I wasn’t going to let this decision happen in the shadows, so I knocked on over 100 doors in the neighborhood to inform residents. More than 100 neighbors showed up on that rainy Monday night, including people who had never engaged with local government. Most telling was how many residents
immediately grasped that Old Cutler Road already crawls to a halt twice daily, and adding hundreds of new cars would create permanent gridlock.
Rather than engage with the overwhelming opposition that night, the administration responded with a crackdown. When residents clapped for speakers who shared their concerns, Mayor Cunningham warned that “gentlemen wearing brown uniforms” would remove them from the meeting. For clapping. At a public meeting. In their own Village Hall.
After that incident, the council deferred the vote and demanded I meet privately with the developer just as they had, which I vocally declined.
This deal wasn’t inevitable, and it certainly wasn’t required by law. This proposal was the predictable result of poor political decisions. What sparked this crisis was that during an election year, the Mayor and council rejected an earlier and lighter proposal from the developer without a legal basis. Then, after the developer sued and a judge overturned the village’s rejection, we’re now unnecessarily approving something that gives them far more than they initially sought.
At the second meeting, I presented the council with a clear alternative to comply with the court’s order and avoid giving the developer downtown-style commercial buildings and a hotel, while securing permanent protection for the pine rockland habitat.
Our own village attorney confirmed that my alternative would have complied with the court’s demand. Yet the administration claimed it had “no choice” but to accept this much larger deal, dubiously warning that rejecting it would risk $15 million in damages and could allow the developer to build up to 2,300 units.
But that argument doesn’t hold up. To pursue 2,300 units, the developer would first have to throw out the nearly decade-long fight they just won in court and start their legal battle over from scratch. That’s highly unlikely.
Additionally, the $15 million threat was just a claim and would have to be proven with a lengthy court battle. Far from a guarantee, when damages for essentially construction delays would unlikely justify such amounts.
Yet despite overwhelming resident opposition and a legally sound alternative, the council voted 3-2 to approve the massive settlement. Mayor Cunningham and Councilmen Fiore and Cody gave developers more than the law required, with Mayor Cunningham calling the proposal, which included a gigantic commercial complex and hotel, a ‘better fit’ for the community.
But this story doesn’t end with a disappointing vote.
Two of the three council members who voted for this cannot run for re-election in 2026, and we have the opportunity to start a movement that demands the government listen to the people instead of out-of-town developers behind closed doors.
Our community is stronger when residents have a voice. Make sure they hear yours.
Mark Merwitzer is the Vice Mayor of Palmetto Bay. He can be reached at 786-309-6743 or mmerwitzer@palmettobay-fl.gov.
