Replacing an elected member who never attended a meeting is the first item of business for East Kendall Community Council 12 prior to its Apr. 8 public hearing agenda.
The vacated seat in SubArea 126 was held by Alex Duran who resigned the post soon after his election on Aug. 14, 2012.
“I had to give up the seat soon after my election because things grew very busy in the medical field,” uran said. “I was very much interested in serving the community but I found it too difficult to provide the time necessary to do so.”
Duran confirmed that he did not attend any of the three public hearings scheduled by the community council since his election.
A licensed Florida chiropractor, Duran won the SubArea 126 seat over incumbent and former chair Jorge Luis Garciga in primary voting by a decisive 65-35 percent margin, outpolling Garciga 6,775 to 3,593.
Duran and two other Council 12 members — newly elected Matthew Larsh and incumbent Angela Vazquez — officially began new terms on Nov. 20, 2012, joining holdover members Jose Valdes, Peggy Brodeur, Alberto Santana and Elliott Zack.
At the Jan. 8 session, Zack was elected to serve as council chair for 2013 and Santana was chosen vice chair by unanimous votes of five members.
Asked if he would be interested in serving again by appointment, Garciga said he would consider serving temporarily in the now-vacant post. Associated with a Coral Gables architectural firm, Garciga held the Sub Area seat since August 2008, serving his last two years as Council 12 chair for the seven-member panel.
Sub Area 126 covers an area from SW 112th Street to SW 152nd Street, bordered on the east by US 1 and on the west by the Shula Expressway (SR 874).
Miami-Dade District 7 Commissioner Xavier Suarez will fill the vacated post following recommendations from council members who review applications for the seat at the Apr. 8 meeting.
Since November, only two zoning applications have been scheduled during a threemonth period through Mar. 5. Those three sessions granted two variances for a single-family home on Dec. 4, 2012, and deferred action Jan. 8 for two rooftop signs at The Fresh Market, 8760 SW 136 St., subsequently approved at a Mar. 5 hearing, the only application heard in 2013 by the council.
ATLANTIS SCHOOL SEEKS EXPANSION
Approval to increase the size of its student body from 154 to 180 will be sought for the Atlantis Academy, 9600 SW 107 Ave., on the three-acre property by its ownership, Educational Property Partners ILP at an Apr. 8 zoning hearing of East Kendall Council 12.
As a private school for special needs students, the academy began operations in 1979 with a capacity for 154 students and now seeks to increase the number to 180, enlarge its classroom sizes from 16 to 24, reduce the number of teachers from 26 to 19 and increase clerical personnel from 4 to 12. According to its application submission, the school no longer staffs a kindergarten while serving approximately 100 high school students, and 80 in elementary and middle school grades.
Four variances also are sought, including permitting exemption from a Landscaping Ordinance amendment requiring “street trees” that was passed after the school met previous zoning requirements.
In addition, the council is scheduled to hear reasons for setback exceptions for a single-family residence at 6828 SW 70 Ave.; granting a covered terrace addition to a residence at 11580 SW80 St., and an exception for spacing requirements to permit bar service at Pine Lake Shopping Center restaurant, 12055 SW 117 Ave.
The public hearing is scheduled to begin 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Apr. 8, in the Civic Pavilion at Kendall Village Center, 8625 SW 124 Ave.
For additional information, visit the Community Council 12 website at www.miamidade.gov/business/zoning/asp or for registration details, call 305-375-2800.
NEW CHILDCARE CENTER PROPOSED AT KENDALLGATE
Opening of a new childcare center is sought on an undeveloped five acre parcel now used for parking at Kendallgate Shopping Center, located at the southeast corner of N. Kendall Drive and SW 122nd Avenue.
A public hearing has been scheduled before West Kendall Community Council 11 at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Apr. 16, in the Civic Pavilion of Kendall Village Center, 8625 SW 124 Ave., to hear modifications of a 1990 zoning resolution approving an unusual use on the property for a day care center that was never built.
Kendall gate Center Associates Ltd., owner of the shopping center, has applied for a revised development plan of the 23-year-old resolution that would create a larger building while extending operational hours to be from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and increasing the number of children from 100 to 124.
According to its application, Kendallgate Associates already has contracted with “Smart Sets,” a day care and pre-school facilities operator, to open the center, noting the company already has 10 South Florida locations including two in Kendall.
In addition to modifications of the former conditions to permit an increased building size and enrollment, a non-use variance is asked to permit two wall signs, each of 24 square feet, where one sign is currently permitted.
