|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Dear Pinecrest Resident, learn the backstory of the Amendment 4.11 before you vote. You can vote Yes to put the brakes on or you can vote No and watch as the Developers take over Pinecrest one parcel at a time!
This is a tale of Overpopulation of South Miami-Dade County. This is a tale of two Approaches to Solution of yet another assault from that Overpopulation. This is a tale of the resulting Division.
The First Proposed Solution endorsed by Miami-Dade County Commission allows for and welcomes rapid population growth by changing Business Zoning Codes to allow for multi-use properties. The Second Proposed Solution seeks to maintain current municipal Zoning Ordinances and control rapid growth and inherent problems.
The historical information and account of current events will enable the informed resident of Pinecrest to make a decision regarding the upcoming March 7, 2023 vote to allow Amendment 4.11 to become part of the Pinecrest Charter.
Florida is a big state, Folks, so you need to ask the question Why is there such Overpopulation in South Miami-Dade County? Several years ago it became obvious that the population of Miami and the areas south was experiencing heavy growth, some of it sudden as with the Cuban migration and Mariel BoatLift. City and County planning was required and the question was put to the voters whether to extend Metro Rail south to Homestead. The voters said Yes to two referendums over the span of a few years and the County began to collect sales tax money for that. However, after a number of years the County spent those funds on other needs and, instead of a metrorail, built a north/south busway west of US1 extending from Dadeland south.
Around the time of this construction some local residents saw the need for suburban municipalities with the subsequent local control over Zoning and Tax Revenue. Thus began the birth of Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, and Cutler Bay to the east of US1.
For the past twenty-six years since their inception, Pinecrest and cities south to Homestead have battled Developers seeking to subdivide property lots and change Zoning Ordinances to allow for commercial or multi-family buildings. The result has been massive development south around the Homestead area and encroaching on the Redlands and any other agricultural areas left.
The population located south began working in and traveling to points north in large numbers. In an effort to meet the transportation needs of the community the residents once again asked for expansion of Metrorail and a solution to the overcrowded Florida Turnpike during rush hours.
What was the Miami-Dade County Commission’s solution for the Turnpike? They recently battled environmental and several other state and federal agencies and Mayor Levine-Cava’s veto to move the Urban Development Boundary further west, pushing into the Everglades!
Also recently, the County moved to replace the existing bus system with Rapid Transit buses and started construction on two substantial stations over the existing busway at the two busiest intersections on US1 in Pinecrest at SW 104 Street and SW 136 Street. In conjunction with this upgraded bus system the County suddenly invoked a little known State Law from the 1950’s called Home Rule and took over zoning control of the commercial corridor from Pinecrest south.
Since this proposed Zoning Change is completely at odds with the Pinecrest Charter the Pinecrest Village Council began designing changes to the Village Vision Plan ten years ago trying to work within the new framework set out by the County. However, it became apparent to a group of Pinecrest residents that these design changes could so change the Quality of Life for the Village that a different approach needed to be considered.
Unfortunately, the Village Mayor Corradino and Council decided their approach was best and they began working against the Pinecrest group, who had named themselves Concerned Citizens of Pinecrest. CCP began working on Amendment 4.11 to the Pinecrest Charter which would force all Major Zoning changes and regulations to Village wide referendum with 60% or more approval from the residents.
Also unfortunately, the Mayor Corradino and Council have never sought to develop any other solution than the Vision Plan they have proposed and ultimately adopted over the objections of CCP. The result of this wrangling has been Division and foreseeable and possibly needless pain.
The latest Pinecrest Council Meeting is but one example. With the required signatures and language in place the Council agenda called for a regular meeting with the second reading of Amendment 4.11 to approve the ballot language for Referendum to Adopt by the Village at large.
It was clear there were two factions represented and tempers flared. After approving language for the Amendment the Council voted unanimously to be on record Opposing the Amendment and the public was lectured by the Vice Mayor Hochkammer and told that CCP is to blame for creating the Division which has occurred in the community. This lecture, which went on for several minutes, stood in sharp contrast to the normal two minutes given to Village residents for their objections. At one point the Mayor even threatened to sue the CCP for defamation of character which he knows is impossible given that he is a political figure, and there were no grounds for that. Actually, we should be thanking CCP for bringing to our attention that the County wants to change our Zoning without our approval.
This Tale could have a very different outcome even now before the March 7 vote if the Council had recognized that the real Enemy here is not CCP but the Poor Planning from the Miami-Dade Commission with regard to the Overpopulation here in South Miami Dade. From their Failure to Fulfill the Approval of the Expansion of Metrorail south, to their current threats for Rezoning and subsequent Overdevelopment, to their threats to further encroach on the fragile environment by moving the Urban Development Boundary the County has allowed for and helped create confusion and Division.
Is this an effective way to run a County like ours with its inherent problems, not the least of which is Overpopulation ?
In the past, Pinecrest has faced some highly controversial issues like the proposed Park and Ride suggestion. However, unlike with the current Amendment 4.11 or Vision Plan suggestions, the Pinecrest Council decided to work with residents on alternate solutions instead of working against them.
Finally, because of the combative attitude of the Council it seems reasonable to recommend to friends and neighbors in Pinecrest to vote Yes on Amendment 4.11 when the ballot is sent by mail to your home.
