Question: Commercial Use of a Brickell Avenue Residence? BHA Says "No" Now and for the Future

On Nov. 21, 1996, the future of residential Brickell Avenue is up for consideration. The question is whether to allow the conversion of the private residence at 1900 Brickell Avenue into a medical office/clinic by a plastic surgeon.

The doctor and his attorney have asked for a "Special Exception" to the Zoning Code for the Brickell neighborhood which is residential only. While this medical practice may produce a nice, considerate business, advocates for residential Brickell fear what might be next, if concessions begin.

Both the Brickell Homeowners Association and the Miami Roads Neighborhood Civic Association have taken an unwavering stand against this proposed exception, which will be considered at the Nov. 21st Miami City Commission meeting, 1500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove.

What the law says
The City of Miami Zoning Code explicitly prohibits commercial business fronting Brickell Avenue from 15th to 25th Roads, and the Zoning Board upheld this restriction at a hearing in September. Nonetheless, the doctor and his attorney took the matter before the Miami City Commission meeting on October 24th asking for a Special Exception to the code.

With petitions from Brickell residents against the zoning change in one hand, and several residents brought in to the meeting by the attorney saying a doctor's office there would be fine with them, it seems the commissioners were uncertain as to what neighboring residents really want. As a result, the commissioners deferred the matter to their November meeting and asked City staff to work out an "accommodation."

The "accommodation" proposed is an ordinance limiting the use of the property if the doctor sells it in the future. . .an ordinance that can be undone just as easily as it can be created.

Background
The property at 1900 Brickell Avenue, a single family residence, has been for sale for some time. The doctor has been operating a plastic surgery business for 15 years on Coral Way, but now wants to convert this home into a medical facility for paients. While he says there will be no overnight stays, he and his attorney say that about 10 patients would come to the facility daily, along with an administrative/medical support staff. The doctor says he would put up a sign on Brickell Avenue, announcing his medical practice. This would be the first and only business fronting Brickell Avenue between 15th and 25th Roads.

Why Not: The Arguments

• Argument: The doctor says that he plans to improve the appearance of the property which he says should outweigh that it is a commercial enterprise on a residential street.
• BHA/Roads Directors' Position: One exception, while perhaps to some not an objectionable kind of business operation, will inevitably lead to more. Rules, ordinances, special language and exceptions can be undone by the City as quickly as they are created.
• Argument: The doctor's attorney says that they will include in the language of the exception that only a plastic surgeon can operate there in the future, if the doctor should decide to leave or sell the property.
• BHA/Roads Directors' Position: The future is too uncertain. Property taxes are quite high for Brickell property such as this, so how long will such a practice be feasible? What if the doctor finds he must have other doctor/partners to be financially successful at this location? More doctors, more patients, support staff, etc. If an exception is granted now, we can only expect that another exception will be granted later, perhaps for a different kind or expanded business. The property to the left is a vacant lot.
• Argument: The property could have a 26-unit apartment building built there under the current code. Preservation of the single-family home is certainly preferable to a building that could be as high as five stories.
• BHA/Roads Directors' Position: No developer has come forth to develop the property into an apartment complex, and we have no indication there will ever be one. It is more probable that a developer purchasing the property would build fewer than the allowable number of units. Converting a home into a business is not preferable to residents who want to preserve the residential quality of their neighborhood.

President's Column By T. Sinclair (Tory) Jacobs: We Are Needed!

Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their Brickell neighborhood and, literally, stand up and be counted in our battle against Commercial Encroachment.

At the Miami City Commission meeting on Thursday evening, November 21st, all those present who are against granting a Special Exception permitting the conversion of a private residence at 1900 Brickell Avenue to a medical facility will be asked to stand.

Why We Should Be Standing There. . .
Numbers of bodies will demonstrate to the commissioners the importance of this issue to our community.

Whether we'd prefer preserving the residence to a 26-unit apartment complexa scenario some have suggestedis not the question. The 26-unit project is a "strawman." No one has proposed such a project. The residence at 1900 Brickell has been on the market for some time. When a project is planned for this property some time in the future, it is far more likely to be a much lower density project to meet the market needs.

The critical consideration is commercial encroachment. . .commercial encroachment on the west side of Brickell Avenue between Southeast 15th and Southeast 25 Roads, 10 blocks designated "R-3."

The "R" stands for residential. . .
We must keep it so to preserve the character of our neighborhood.

It just doesn't work to grant a single exception and then expect the granting of no more exceptions. . .no matter what protective ordinances are offered by the City. Any ordinances enacted by the City can subsequently be reenacted. They offer no real protection.

The point is that if the Brickell residents send a strong enough message NOW that we fight to protect and preserve our neighborhood, we may not have to soon take up arms again.

So, stand up and be counted at the City Commission meeting at City Hall, 1500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove, on November 21st.

Southside Students Thank BHA

Simpson Park Manager Pat Quintana presented the BHA with a special recognition plaque from students at Southside Elementary School grateful for the Association's support. BHA has helped with programs for the students at the Park and surrounding areas, including a boat trip on the Miami River.

Michelin Highlights Brickell

Brickell Avenue made it into the new Michelin Florida guidebook, and Rosalind Forrest, resident of The Palace, says it was her persistence that got Brickell recognized. How ever she did it, the description was nice and they mentioned the medians, (which have been looking better lately):

"Brickell Avenue - Southern end of downtown. Named for a wealthy pioneering family who owned and developed a swath of desirable bayfront land south of the Miami River in the early 20C, Brickell Avenue is a broad, four-laned streetdivided by a tree-shaded medianthat parallel the contours of nearby Biscayne Bay for its entire 2 mile length. . .

In the 1970s and 80s, high-rise condominiums and modern office buildings began to replace the mansions. Soon an international finance center had emerged along Miami's new "Wall Street." During this period, several signature residential high rises appeared, including The Palace, recognized by the striking, stepped wing emanating from its east side; . . . "

City of Miami Working on Survival

"Incompetence, corruption and bad management."

City of Miami Mayor Joe Corolla was blunt when he told BHA directors what brought about all the City's troubles erupting over the past several weeks.

The City of Miami finds itself facing a huge budget deficit, a lowered bond rating and an SEC investigation. Its former city manager and budget director are charged with corruption and bribe-taking. Some residents are disenchanted, others are outright fed up, petitioning for the city's demise.

Mayor Corolla spoke to Brickell Homeowners at the October directors' meeting, where he detailed problems that led to the $70 million budget shortfall. He also revealed ways identified by the interim management team that the City can save money and earn more revenue.

News stories at the time of this publication report that tentative agreements have since been made with all four unions representing city employees, concessions that both Mayor Corolla and Vice Mayor Willy Gort, also at the meeting, predicted would be necessary, and that have perhaps been a little slow in coming.

"We have been very good to our workers. . .good pension plans," Gort said.

The mayor said the unions, under former Manager Cesar Odio, got whatever they asked for, without negotiating.

Many of the union compromises involve freezes on salary increases until 1998.

Mayor Corolla reminded listeners that he inherited these problems when he took only a few months ago when he filled the office left vacant after the death of Mayor Stephen Clark. Mayor Corolla vows, however, to bring about lasting change. "The gravy train days won't come back again," he said.

An underlying cause for the crisis is that over the past eight years the city has experienced increases in demand, use and cost of services, without finding new sources of revenue. "There was no incentive for department heads to go out and find new sources of revenue."

Residents are among the highest taxed in all of South Florida, carrying the burden of services used by non-tax-paying groups and others outside of the city but using fire and police service, the mayor explained.

Another major drain is an old problem involving misuse of pension funds and still-unpaid obligations to the pension fund.

Another problem recently brought to light was huge Workman's Compensation costs among City of Miami employees, a third of whom have drawn the benefit at some time or another, a proportion way above the norm. The system it seems, the Mayor explained, "encourages workers to take more time," because they get 114% of their pay for staying home.

"We had an administration that was running the City of Miami like a third world country," Mayor Corolla said.

In addition, there was corruption in other institutions. The Herald missed a lot of what was happening, as did the State Attorney's office. He indicated the City's auditors, Deloitte and Touche, will be sued.

No one solution to these problems will relieve the whole deficit in just one year, a gap representing a third of the total city budget. Some 120 ideas are under consideration.

"As a community, we have to learn from what has happened so history will not repeat itself," Mayor Corolla said. He promised residents would have input.

As a way to increase revenue, the City may expand the number of port terminals which would also bring thousands of new jobs. The City is also looking at the development of the Marine Stadium site as a harbor for small vessels55 feet and lesswhich could rival Marina del Rey in California, the mayor said.

"The first priority is not to [further] tax residents," Mayor Corolla said. "The second is to be as least hurtful to employees as possible."

Column: Weighing the Options: The Fate of the City of Miami By Jim McMaster

Just as the City of Miami was preparing to celebrate its 100th birthday, City Manager Cesar Odio slashed $36 million from the City's 1994/95 budget by offering early retirements and cutting services. The cost-saving measure was touted by Mr. Odio and his department chiefs as the culmination of a 10-year plan that placed Miami in a position of fiscal soundness, that would carry the City through its second 100 years.

As we all are painfully aware just 18 months later, the fact that the City is bankrupt was revealed after the lid was blown off the cover-up at City Hall by Operation Greenpalm.

We have heard a great deal during the last month and a half about "the former administration," "the former city manager," "the auditors". . .those other people who are somehow responsible for the mess at City Hall. The politicians at City Hall want the residents of Miami to forget that Cesar Odio was manager for almost 11 years because he and his budgets had their vote of confidence. Many of the same people who helped bring you the mess that we are in have asked you to trust them to get the City and its residents out of the mess that they helped create.

There has been a great deal of talk during the last month and a half of selling City assets, commuter taxes, taxing nonprofit institutions, raising property taxes, turning the fire department over to the County or charging residents a new tax to support the department, cutting services, and doubling the garbage fee to single family and duplex residences. It has even been suggested that the City cemetery could be sold. None of the politicians have suggested the most obvious, and possibly least painful solution to the City's problemsmerging the City with the County.

Because of our unique form of government in Dade County, the schools, libraries, courts, tax appraiser, water and sewer authority, main roads, airport, seaport, Metrorail/Metrobus and most social services are handled by County government. There is no reason why the County could not merge the few remaining City services and reduce the tax burden on City residents while main taining services at their present level.

The discussions at City Hall have focused on what services to cut and what taxes and fees to raise. Our elected officials and managerial staff at City Hall not only need to justify the proposed tax increases and cuts in services, but also why the City should continue to exist.

The fact is that today, before taxes are raised and services cut, the owner of a $300,000 condominium in the City of Miami pays approximately $2,000 more a year in City taxes than the owner of a $300,000 condo in Coral Gables or in unincorporated Dade County, and $2,500 to $3,000 more per year than the owner of a $300,000 condo in Key Biscayne or Aventura.

Some have suggested that the City of Miami's Charter be revoked, which would place all City residents under the County Charter with the more than one million residents presently living in unincorporated Dade County. If they wished, areas like Brickell could reincorporate as municipalities similar to Key Biscayne and Aventura. A municipality incorporated around Brickell Avenue would have a millage rate similar to Key Biscayne and Aventurasaving the owner of that $300,000 condo $2,500 to $3,000 per year while most likely providing better services along with local control of zoning and code enforcement.

Any proposal to merge the City with the County will bring howls of protest from our City fathers. They will declare that it cannot be done, will never work and that City residents will suffer in unincorporated Dade County. All of us have friends living in unincorporated Dade County. Simply call them and ask how life is in the County. They not only have a "Miami" address but pay lower taxes for similar services. As far as claims that it can't work, check the latest map of Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union, East Germany, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia no longer exist. Hundreds of millions of people live in countries that did not exist 10 years ago. The idea that a city of 375,000 cannot merge easily with a county that already controls many services normally carried out by a city is preposterous.

We are living in an ever-changing world. Many municipal and state services, including jails are being privatized. There is talk in Dade County of a privately funded and operated expressway. The form of government chosen in 1896 that served residents of Miami well in the 1920s, 30s and 40s may not be the most efficient or desirable form of government in the year 2000.

There needs to be an open and informal discussion of all the options so that the residents of the City of Miami can decide what is best for them.

Jim McMaster is a resident of Coconut Grove.