City Commission Neighborhoods Committee moves the decision on Flamingo Tennis Facilities to the Commission

The City of Miami Beach Neighborhood Committee met on April 6, 2010 to consider a revised plan for Tennis Courts and Facility at Flamingo Park. The Committee forwarded all option to the City Commission at their meeting on Wednesday, April 14, 2010


Commissioner Libbin proposed that 5 new hardcourts be built in Polo Park for the High School, thereby allowing the City to proceed with the Flamingo tennis facility as previously approved by the Commission. However, he still held out the possibility of building 18 courts rather than 17 by removing the ficus tree which is currently located at the SW corner of the tennis facility, and he is still open to 2 or 3 of the Flamingo courts being hard courts. He also remains open to consideration of the tennis player proposal for 20 courts, if the 5 courts at Polo Park turn out to be unacceptable to the full Commission.

Both staff and Commissioners stated that any expansion of the tennis center beyond the currently approved proposal for 17 courts would have to go back to the Historic Preservation Board, and that its decisions on this matter are decisive and are not subject to being overturned by the Commission. Commissioner Tobin stated that he found the deliberations of the HP Board quite convincing on this issue of balancing uses at Flamingo Park.

Commissioner Wolfson attended the meeting, although he is not a member of the committee, and expressed strong support for 17 courts at Flamingo. He was not pleased with the Polo Park proposal, because he believes that it would be unlikely to get built, just resulting in further delay of the Flamingo Park project.

Tammy Tibbles and Jack Johnson testified on behalf of the FPNA position. Rebecca Boyce and David Berger testified in support of just 17 courts and expressed support for Commissioner Libbin’s suggestion of courts at Polo Park as a way to resolve the call for hard courts by the High School. Informally, the Tennis Players’ Association continues to advance their 20 court proposal.

There was assertive testimony from high school parents and teachers calling for 5 hard courts in Flamingo Park. Actually the tone of their advocacy seemed to alienate all others and seemed focus only on winning the day rather than reasonably exploring alternative possible solutions. Commissioners seemed put off by their tone.

At the end of the meeting, Commissioners Libbin, Tobin and Exposito voted unanimously to require city staff to come up with a rough estimate of the cost of building 5 new hard courts at Polo Park and to present that to the full Commission at its April 14 meeting. However, they also voted unanimously to require staff to develop an estimate of the cost of requiring Wolfberg Alvarez to develop a new plan for the tennis center based on the tennis player's 20 court proposal.

It appears that the 14 City Commission meeting on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 will be decisive on this issue, and all Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association activists should plan to be present at that meeting if humanly possible.