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Dear Pinecrest Voters:
As you may know, there is a referendum to change the village charter. Ballots will be mailed to all registered voters in Pinecrest sometime in the middle of February which must be received by Miami-Dade Supervisor of elections by March 7, 2023. If the referendum succeeds it would drastically change the way Pinecrest functions with respect to zoning by requiring all future zoning requests to be subjected to a vote of all voters in the village; a cumbersome, expensive, and flawed way to deal with zoning matters.
You may ask, is there is a problem with how Pinecrest has handled zoning matters since incorporation in 1996? You would be correct in answering “no” to that question. Our elected officials working with professional staff have worked to keep Pinecrest as one of the best communities in Florida.
Why then is there a referendum with no detrimental problems from past actions? It’s a new style of aggressive community engagement. A “concerned citizens” group is challenging a successful history of past and current democratic governing, a pattern of government that has been successful since our incorporation. These “concerned citizens” need to be reminded that the Village Council is comprised of residents and neighbors who were elected and volunteer their time (without pay) to maintain Pinecrest as a great place to live and raise their families. They and their families make up our neighbors and rise and fall with our community. Our elected council makes zoning decisions with input from professional staff and residents. To date, our elected representatives have done just that – look around – Pinecrest is better than ever!
There is simply no need to change how Pinecrest is governed. The proposed charter changes would destroy effective government and potentially allow the county to step back in and pre-empt the village with respect to development along the US1 corridor.
As two former members of the Village Council, we urge you to vote “no”.
Sincerely,
_______________________
Cheri Ball
________________________
James E. McDonald
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