From the Miami Beach Police Department -- Sent to us by Capt. Mark Causey and Lt. Wayne Jones

A Modern Day South Beach Christmas Story

From: Muley, Mike
Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 00:08
To: Jones, Wayne
Subject: 626 Euclid Av # 1

Lt. Jones,


I wanted to update you on 626 Euclid Av. # 1. I responded to this location last week reference a verbal domestic disturbance. At this location were two children a girl age 5 (Shirley) and a boy age 13 (Calvin). Inside the small studio apt. was a small Christmas tree with no gifts two beds and not much else. The apartment was clean however you could see the family was struggling to make ends meet. I struck up a conversation with Calvin the 13 year old. He stated they were having a hard time with money and he felt bad for his little sister because he did not think there were going to be any gifts from Santa for her. He was concerned because he would not be able to explain to her why Santa did not come to the house. This really weighed heavy on me and I felt I needed to do something. On Christmas Day I went to the house after roll call and took the family Christmas dinner, I got the children’s sizes and asked them what they wanted for Christmas. My family and I went to the store and bought clothes and toys for the kids. In addition I requested the help of my neighbors who donated items as well. I returned on today’s date after roll call with Officer Saygeh and made the delivery. The family was overwhelmed to say the least. What a great feeling to be able to help a family who really needed it and represent our police department at the same time. I wanted to thank you for your support in allowing me to take the time to help these kids and the family. I will continue to check in on the family until they get back on their feet. I guess everything happens for a reason and being back on patrol as an officer has given me the opportunity to help this family out.


Thanks for all your support and encouragement,
Officer Mike Muley

Washington Avenue Improvement Activities initiated by MDPL and Community Partners

SoBe Residents/Merchants,


We are currently working with the Washington Avenue Neighborhood Association, Miami Design Preservation League and other Miami Beach internal Departments to produce and present for approval a new revitalized look for Washington Avenue.

Currently we are considering having students from the Florida International University School of Architecture and faculty take part in a contest for them to individually come up with designs and innovative concepts for Washington Avenue. All proposals must maintain the “historic district” theme.
Lighting, store front appearance, awnings, signage and street medians will all be taken into consideration.

From the Police perspective, the bus benches and bus shelters are our greatest challenge. They attract vagrants who sit on these benches for extended periods of time. Las Vegas has removed bus benches from the strip and have replaced them will leaning posts. Any comments or suggestions on this idea and or issue?
Please forward any other suggestions related to this project for discussion.

Thank you,  Mark Causey, Captain, HONOR GUARD UNIT, Patrol Division/Third Platoon, MIAMI BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT

All – I think our meeting can be very timely in developing ‘discussion’ concepts that could stimulate well focused public input and comments at the workshop. Or at minimum, we should be able to develop a menu of issues that should be considered at the workshop. Kevin – Have you been charged with organizing the workshop?

William H. Cary, Assistant Director, PLANNING DEPARTMENT




Kevin,

I am working with Rachael Zuckerman of the Washington Avenue Merchants Association and MBPD Captain Mark Causey to develop a plan for revitalizing and re branding Washington Avenue. We are in the very early stages of mapping out this project and would like advice and assistance. Our idea is to market "the Avenue" as a historic shopping district and we want to make sure any plan is in keeping with the historic nature of the buildings. Also we are considering sponsoring a design competition and need to create competition guidelines.

It was recommended to me that you be invited to take part in this meeting as well since the concerns of Washington Avenue involve economic development issues. Please see the invitation below from William Cary for January 25th at 2pm. I hope you can attend.

Happy Holidays,  Judith Hogan Frankel, Programs and Outreach Coordinator, Miami Design Preservation League

Flamingo Neighborhood Adopts -- No Casino Florida Ordinance

FLAMINGO PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

NO CASINOS FLORIDA RESOLUTION

WHEREAS the Florida Legislature is currently considering various measures that would provide for the substantial expansion of gambling, and

WHEREAS the legislation being considered would allow for casino operations that rival in size and scope the gambling operations that exist in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and

WHEREAS notwithstanding the assurances of gambling promoters, historically, large scale casino operations cannibalize non-gambling businesses causing, for instance, the shuttering of forty percent of all restaurants and one-third of all retail businesses in Atlantic City, and

WHEREAS our community will have to bear the severe and painful economic and social costs that always accompany expansive gambling, including the misery of individuals and families touched by problem gambling as they are at higher risk of divorce, bankruptcy, child abuse, domestic violence, crime, and suicide, and

WHEREAS expanded gambling will assuredly bring corruption of the governmental process as immensely wealthy gambling companies from all over the world seek to receive benefits from the local and state governments that regulate their existence and profits, and

WHEREAS full scale casino and gambling expansions will became commonplace throughout our community and our state, if the gambling interests are allowed to obtain major casino expansion, and

WHEREAS inward facing mega-developments will privatize public streets, destroy the pedestrian experience of our downtown, exacerbate traffic and denigrate the quality of life in our community, and

WHEREAS the false promises of increased revenue and jobs, like the broken promises that accompanied the lottery and other gambling expansions, are intended to convince Floridians to make a fools gamble with their future.

BE IT RESOLVED that the FLAMINGO PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION through this Resolution urges the Florida Legislature to reject any and all expansions of gambling, including legislation to legalize so-called “destination casinos” in Florida.


Adopted by unanimous vote on December 5, 2011

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association, Dec 12, 2011 -- Meeting Notes

FLAMINGO PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

Monday, December 5, 2011, beginning @ 5:30 - 6:00 pm
Meeting Notes

The following matter was referred to Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association by the MBCDC Community Development Corporation for action.

West Avenue Bridge.  This matter was referred to Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association for action:

-- a strong endorsement of biking needs for Flamingo residents, including most importantly the use of a "sharerow" for bikes turning onto the Venetian (the primary bike path to Miami). This feature was shown as an option in the Powerpoint but is not included in the actual drawings.

-- a strong reminder that the study must take account of the possible future use of streetcars, including providing sufficient turning radius for streetcars (i.e., preserving the option of shared streetcar/car lanes going over the West Avenue bridge as per the recommended route for BayLink, which may be years away but was approved by the city and is still in the MPO's unfunded long-term plan).

At FPNA meeting immediately following, the Association adopted a position advocating the proposed position, described above.

Regular Agenda


1. Consideration of Florida No Casinos Resolution Jeff Donnelly / Adam Shedroff.  After considerable discussing, it was M/S to adopt the proposed Florida No Casinos Resolution which was adopted by unanimous vote.


2. Beach Nourishment Initiative Jeff Donnelly.  It was M/S and adopted by unanimous vote to advocate on behalf of no sand removal from the Lummus Park South Beach beach!


3. Property Development: Self Storage Facility, 633 Alton Road David Saxe.  The project was presented, discussed and no action was taken. The group expressed appreciation for the effort of the owner / developer in sharing the project with FPNA.


4. Short Term Rental Mickey Marrero / Michael Larkin.  Attorneys for one of the properties affected by the Ordinance presented an argument to modify the ordinance. No action was taken. The prevailing view was unsympathetic to any such modification.


5. Flamingo Park – Football Field Upgrade Wando Mouzon.  Wanda presented the plans for Football Field upgrade and associated projects. The group favored the inclusion of an identification / entry feature in the Park wide Project to be implemented as a later stage. Discussion was introduced on the material being used for the track and a question emerged regarding the limitations or wider use of the tract. It was agreed to request a future presentation by Matti Reyes and further consideration by the group.


6. Property Management issues and concerns Rachelle Adams.  Rachelle raised the issue of the conduct of Property Management Agents and condition of properties. There was general discussion. No action taken.


7. Sixteenth Street Planning Workshop Matt Lambert / Karja Hansen.  Discussion regarding proposed Workshop. The consensus was to go forward with such a planning charrette reaching out to wide resident / stakeholder group.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
 
 
 

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association adopts NO CASINOS FLORIDA RESOLUTION !

Dear Mayor Bower and Commissioners:

The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association at its meeting on December 5, 2011 by unanimous vote adopted the following / attached No Casinos Florida Resolution.

NO CASINOS FLORIDA RESOLUTION

WHEREAS the Florida Legislature is currently considering various measures that would provide for the substantial expansion of gambling, and

WHEREAS the legislation being considered would allow for casino operations that rival in size and scope the gambling operations that exist in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and

WHEREAS notwithstanding the assurances of gambling promoters, historically, large scale casino operations cannibalize non-gambling businesses causing, for instance, the shuttering of forty percent of all restaurants and one-third of all retail businesses in Atlantic City, and

WHEREAS our community will have to bear the severe and painful economic and social costs that always accompany expansive gambling, including the misery of individuals and families touched by problem gambling as they are at higher risk of divorce, bankruptcy, child abuse, domestic violence, crime, and suicide, and

WHEREAS expanded gambling will assuredly bring corruption of the governmental process as immensely wealthy gambling companies from all over the world seek to receive benefits from the local and state governments that regulate their existence and profits, and

WHEREAS full scale casino and gambling expansions will became commonplace throughout our community and our state, if the gambling interests are allowed to obtain major casino expansion, and

WHEREAS inward facing mega-developments will privatize public streets, destroy the pedestrian experience of our downtown, exacerbate traffic and denigrate the quality of life in our community, and

WHEREAS the false promises of increased revenue and jobs, like the broken promises that accompanied the lottery and other gambling expansions, are intended to convince Floridians to make a fools gamble with their future.

BE IT RESOLVED that the FLAMINGO PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION through this Resolution urges the Florida Legislature to reject any and all expansions of gambling, including legislation to legalize so-called “destination casinos” in Florida.


Adopted by unanimous vote on December 5, 2011

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will meet Monday, December 5, 2011, @ 5:30pm

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association regularly meets on the first Monday of each month at 5:30 pm.  For our December 5th meeting, members are also invited to attend the MBCDC Community Development Committee meeting at 5:00 pm.  Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will be convened immediately following the Community Development Committee meeting, likely somewhere between 5:30pm to 6:00pm.  It is possible that both groups will consider adoption of the Florida No Casinos Resolution.

Mon, Dec 5, 2011, 5:00 pm – at The Seymour 945 Pennsylvania Avenue

MBCDC -- Community Development Committee

1. Solar Energy Retrofit in MBCDC Buildings, Status Report Manuel Forero
2. Exploration of Financing Strategies – Mark Needle
3. Other Matters

Allan Hall – Vacant Property for Arts Related Use
Dan Davidson – One News Public Information Initiative
Matt Lambert / Karja Hansen – Neighborhood Planning Initiative
Denis Russ – Elder Aid Job Program, N’hood Regional Partnership,

Consideration of Florida No Casinos Resolution

Mon, Dec 5, 2011, @ 6:00 pm – at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Avenue
Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association

1. Consideration of Florida No Casinos Resolution -- Jeff Donnelly / Adam Shedroff
2. Beach Nourishment Initiative -- Jeff Donnelly
3. Property Development: Self Storage Facility, 633 Alton Road David Saxe
4. Short Term Rental -- Mickey Marrero / Michael Larkin
5. Flamingo Park – Football Field Upgrade -- Wanda Mouzon
6. Property Management issues and concerns -- Rachelle Adams
7. Sixteenth Street Planning Workshop -- Matt Lambert / Karja Hansen
8. Other Matters

Project for Public Spaces -- The Complete Streets Movement

November 17th, 2011 | Go to Placemaking Blog Home
Are Complete Streets Incomplete?
Posted by: Gary Toth
“The desire to go ‘through’ a place must be balanced with the desire to go ‘to’ a place.” — Pennsylvania and New Jersey DOTs’ 2007 “Smart Transportation Guide.”

The “complete streets” movement has taken the United States by storm, and has even taken root in countries such as Canada and Australia. Few movements have done so much to influence needed policy change in the transportation world. As of today, almost 300 jurisdictions around the U.S. have adopted complete streets policies or have committed to do so. This is an amazing accomplishment that sets the stage for communities to reframe their future around people instead of cars.

But communities cannot stop there. Complete streets is largely an engineering policy that, according to the National Complete Streets Coalition website, “ensures that transportation planners and engineers consistently design and operate the entire roadway with all users in mind — including bicyclists, public transportation vehicles and riders, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.”

Getting transportation professionals to think about including pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users is a key first step in creating great places and livable communities. But that is not enough to make places that truly work for people — “streets as places.” The planning process itself needs to be turned upside-down.

We at PPS like to say that engineers can ruin a good street, but they cannot create a good street — a street that is truly complete — through engineering alone. A small but growing group of communities have recognized that to really “complete their streets,” they need genuinely place-based and community-based transportation policies that go beyond routine accommodation.

“The design of a street is only one aspect of its effectiveness. How the street fits within the surrounding transportation network and supports adjacent land uses will also be important to its effectiveness.” — Charlotte “Urban Street Design Guidelines”


This illustration from Indianapolis's "Multimodal Corridor and Public Space Design Guidelines" reflects how the new wave of street policies specifies Placemaking guidance as well as how to accommodate all modes.
Communities such as Indianapolis, Charlotte, Savannah, San Francisco, and Denver have created community-based street policies that turn the transportation planning and design process upside-down, acknowledging that the role of streets is to build communities, not the other way around. The example from  the Indianapolis “Multimodal Corridor and Public Space Design Guidelines” illustrates how this new genre of street policies specifies Placemaking guidance as well as how to accommodate all modes.

PPS is helping communities realize a different vision of what transportation can be. We’ve worked in small communities in rural areas, such as Brunswick, Me.; Newport, Vt.; and Tupelo, Miss. We’ve gone to larger communities such as San Antonio, Tex., Los Angeles, and San Francisco. On our travels, we’ve conducted capacity-building  workshops, helped develop street typologies, created visions for right-sized streets, and worked on community-based transportation policies.

Place-based plans, policies, and programs allow downtown and village streets to become destinations worth visiting, not just throughways to and from the workplace or the regional mall. Transit stops and stations can make commuting by rail or bus a pleasure. Neighborhood streets can be places where parents feel safe letting their children play, and commercial strips can be designed as grand boulevards, safe for walking and cycling, allowing for both through and local traffic.

Countries outside the U.S. are not immune from focusing on street design as an isolated discipline. After World War II, many countries around the world became enamored of a planning approach that was driven by traffic engineering. Some, like the Netherlands, reversed course relatively quickly and returned to community-based, livable street design. Ultimately, the Dutch went even further in the right direction, in part thanks to the influence of the legendary Hans Monderman (himself a traffic engineer), who developed and promoted the concept of “Shared Space.” Monderman’s designs emphasized human interaction over mechanical traffic devices. By taking away conventional regulatory traffic controls, he proved that human interaction and caution would naturally yield a safer, more pleasant environment for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists.

We are poised to create a future where priority is given to the appropriate mode, whether it be pedestrian, bicycle, transit, or automobile. Cars have their place, but the rediscovered importance of walking and “alternative transportation modes” will bring more people out onto the streets — allowing these spaces to serve as public forums where neighbors and friends can connect with one another.

In order to truly complete our streets, they need to be planned and designed appropriately, using the following guidelines.

Rule One: Think of Streets as Public Spaces
Not so long ago, this idea was considered preposterous in many communities. “Public space” meant parks and little else. Transit stops were simply places to wait. Streets had been surrendered to traffic for so long that we forgot they could be public spaces. Now we are slowly getting away from this narrow perception of streets as conduits for cars and beginning to think of streets as places.


A street in Amsterdam.
Streets and parking can take up as much as a third of a community’s land, and designing them solely for the comfort of people in cars, and then only for the most congested hour of the day, has significant ramifications for the livability and economics of a community. Under the planning and engineering principles of the past 70 years, people have for all intents and purposes given up their rights to this public property. Streets were once a place where we stopped for conversation and children played, but now they are the exclusive domain of cars. Even when sidewalks are present along high-speed streets, they feel inhospitable and out of place.

The road, the parking lot, the transit terminal — these places can serve more than one mode (cars) and more than one purpose (movement). Sidewalks are the urban arterials of cities. Make them wide, well lit, stylish, and accommodating. Give them benches, outdoor cafés, and public art. Roads can be shared spaces, with pedestrian refuges, bike lanes, and on-street parking. Parking lots can become public markets on weekends. Even major urban arterials can be designed to provide for dedicated bus lanes, well-designed bus stops that serve as gathering places, and multimodal facilities for bus rapid transit or other forms of travel. Roads are places too!

Rule Two: Plan for Community Outcomes
Communities need to first envision what kinds of places and interactions they want to support, then plan a transportation system consistent with this collective community vision. Transportation is a means for accomplishing important goals — like economic productivity and social engagement — not an end in itself.

Great transportation facilities truly improve the public realm. They add value to adjacent properties and to the community as a whole. Streets that fit community contexts help increase developable land, create open space, and reconnect communities to their neighbors, a waterfront, or a park. They can reduce household dependency on the automobile, allowing children to walk to school, and helping build healthier lifestyles by increasing the potential to walk or cycle. Think public benefit, not just private convenience.


Due to peak-hour design, Speer Boulevard in Denver limits the northward expansion of downtown Denver while remaining empty at midday. Instead of adding value to the community, it actually limits the city economically, socially, and in every other way. It doesn't even do what it was designed to do: solve congestion during peak hour. I-25, just to the north at the top of the photo, is bumper to bumper during peak hours. The 10-lane cross-sections become a mere parking lot.
Designing street networks around places benefits the overall transportation system. Great places — popular spots with a good mix of people and activities, which can be comfortably reached by foot, bike, and transit — put little strain on the transportation system. Poor land use planning, by contrast, generates thousands of unnecessary vehicle trips, clogging up roads and further degrading the quality of adjacent places.

Transportation professionals can no longer pretend that land use is not their business. Transportation projects that were not integrated with land use planning have created too many negative impacts to ignore.

Transportation — the process of going to a place — can be wonderful if we rethink the idea of transportation itself. We must remember that transportation is the journey; enhancing the community is the goal.

Rule Three: Design for Appropriate Speeds
Streets need to be designed in a way that induces traffic speeds appropriate for that particular context. Whereas freeways — which must not drive through the hearts of cities — should accommodate regional mobility, speeds on other roads need to reflect that these are places for people, not just conduits for cars. Desired speeds can be attained with a number of design tools, including changes in roadway widths and intersection design. Placemaking can also be a strategy for controlling speeds,. Minimal building setbacks, trees, and sidewalks with lots of activity can affect the speed at which motorists comfortably drive.

Speed kills the sense of place. Cities and town centers are destinations, not raceways, and commerce needs traffic — foot traffic. You cannot buy a dress from the driver’s seat of a car. Access, not automobiles, should be the priority in city centers. Don’t ban cars, but remove the presumption in their favor. People first!

Moving Beyond Complete Streets to Build Communities
Complete streets policies support these three rules. More importantly, they open the door for new ways of thinking about how the transportation profession should approach streets. But communities cannot get complacent and expect transportation planners to carry the whole load of creating great places. Instead, community leaders and advocates need to collaborate with the profession to tap their engineering skills to help build streets that are places.

Using an “upside-down planning approach,” this new collaboration can help the United State achieve success in tackling public health problems, climate change, energy consumption, and a failing economy. We can once again foster streets that are the cornerstone of great places.

To see the palette of PPS tools that are available to help you create streets that are places and foster “Building Communities Through Transportation,” visit our transportation services page.

Categories: Blog, Building Communities through Transportation, Transportation
Tags: complete streets





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Crescent Heights project on Alton Road North of Fifth Street will be presented to Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club, Nov 22nd

By: David Kelsey

Meeting Date:            Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

Meeting Time:           8:30 AM

Meeting Place: David’s Café II, 1654 Meridian Ave., South Beach

     Jonathan Carrdello, of ADD, Inc., architect for Crescent Height’s Alton Road north of 5th Street development, will be the guest seaker at the Nov. 22nd meeting of the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club.  He will be presenting the latest proposal for a possible joint venture with the city that includes a signature pedestrian bridge, much like New York’s High Line park, spanning the McArthur causeway / 5th Street entrance to the beach and connecting the project to the area south of 5th. 

     The pedestrian bridge, proposed to be designed by world-class designer Santiago Calatrava, is expected to become a landmark for Miami Beach.

     There is no charge for attending and everyone is welcome.

     David Kelsey, Moderator for the Breakfast Club.

   

FDOT Alton Road Project Discussed at CMB Neighborhood Committee --

Article by Gabrielle Redfern on Nov 14, 2011
Appearing in Transit Miami

Miami Beach Becomes First Municipality In Florida to Challenge Mandatory Bike Lane Law


At the City of Miami Beach’s Neighborhoods and Community Affairs Committee meeting today, City staff attorneys were directed to challenge the Florida State Statutes that require the inclusion of bicycle facilities on state roads, and protested the inclusion of bike lanes on the Alton Road reconstruction project on the same safety grounds that require the facility contained in the Statute.

You might remember that Transit Miami has been pushing the department to consider alternatives to a traditional bike lane since the first time FDOT ventured on the island back in June of 2008 . We later reported on the progress of the project here and here, all the while hoping that FDOT would try using more that one tool in their bicycle planning toolbox. Finally, after years of lobbying and advocacy, FDOT presented several alternative options for a bicycle facility on Alton Road at the quarterly progress report on the $40 million dollar project.

Too bad Miami Beach City Commissioner’s told FDOT to take their bike lanes and put them, well, somewhere else.

Not only that, Commissioner Gongora convinced his fellow policymakers of the idea to attack the law requiring FDOT to consider other users for the roads they build and maintain. The Commission added to the Legislative Agenda of their paid Tallahassee lobbyist to get the provision of the Florida Statutes 335.065 removed or changed by giving the municipalities the ability to opt out of bicycle facilities required by the DOT. (Mind you we are talking about Miami Beach - arguably some of the best urbanism in the entire State of Florida, and the one place most poised to take advantage of a well designed bicycle network.)

So today FDOT comes back. The Mayor had said that the bike lanes should not be next to the flow of traffic but between the curb and the parked cars - a parking protected cycle track.

FDOT showed that.

That required a three-foot buffer between the four-foot bike lane and the 8-foot parking lane, reducing the sidewalk to six feet.

Then Commissioner Ed Tobin, who used his power while he sat on the MPO, asked for a physically separate cycle track.

FDOT showed that.

That resulted in an Alton Road with 10-foot sidewalks and a four-foot bike lane separated with a four-foot jersey wall from the traffic, but no parking lane.

FDOT then showed an option with a 16-foot sidewalk and four-foot bike lanes, and again with no parking.

For it’s part the City’s Public Works Department showed their alternative which was to make West Avenue an alternative to having a bike lane on Alton Road. FDOT responded by requiring that all the numbered east-west streets between Fifth and Michigan Avenue be retrofitted with bike lanes, which would require millions of dollars the City would have to borrow and permanent removal of 56 parking spaces.

The kicker is that work would have to be done before FDOT gets started on Alton Road.

So we’re back to Alton Road.

You have the heap on the credit to FDOT. We are used to giving them hell here on Transit Miami, but we have to give credit where credit is due. They have done a lot of work and shown they can see a different type of road in the future for many of our city’s streets. They should make certain that all of their projects get such attention to detail in nurturing the mix of users. FDOT is realizing it’s responsibility to make getting from one place to another as enjoyable and safe as possible for everyone.

Not just those in cars.

And that’s what we need. We need to stop building the same old roads that provide for only one type of mobility. Alton Road needs more people walking, taking transit, and riding a bike- not driving in their cars.

Commissioners Jerry Libbin, Michael Gongora and Jonah Wolfson disagree and voted to challenge whatever design FDOT plans to build on Alton Road that includes a bike facility – on safety grounds.

It was one of the most twisted uses of the law I have ever seen. 40 years of research and data supporting the safety and efficacy of bike lanes by the Federal Highway Administration and the current work of Dr. Jennifer Dill dismissed by two lawyers and a politician.

The City is doing its best NOT to have FDOT build a complete street. I pray every night the City would use half the effort it puts into fighting bike facilities, into building them along with better sidewalks and crosswalks.

Where were these same politicians when FDOT used the Baylink infrastructure promised to us when they rebuilt the Macarthur for the port tunnel?

And with everything in South Beach going down the tubes, except the water, faster than you can say Atlantic City, the only hope we have for a stable economic future and decent quality of life is to allow for more mobility on this tiny island through as many modalities we can offer, not just expecting everyone to get around Miami Beach in a car.

We need this Alton Road reconstruction project – but we also need better mobility on Miami Beach. I am dismayed at the lack of vision in this community. Everyone on a bike or on foot, on a board or on skates or in a stroller or wheelchair or scooter is a person not in their car.

What a wonderful place this could be.

CMB Police Department will announce New Sector Plan at Community Breakfast Meeting

Community Breakfast Meeting
Thurs, Nov 17th, 10:00 am
Royal Palm Hotel, 1545 Collins Avenue
RSVP to Officer Doty by Wed Nov 16th
305-218-7463 -- DeborahDoty@MiamiBeachFL.gov

Officer Deborah Doty extends this invitation for breakfast on Thursday, November 17, 2011, 10:00 a.m., at the Sunshine Palm Room, Royal Palm Hotel, 1545 Collins Avenue.

This Community Meeting is hosted by the Neighborhood Resource Team of the City of Miami Beach Police Department in order to announce and explain the new Sector Plan.

Please RSVP by Wednesday, November 16th to Officer Doty at 305-218-7463 -- DeborahDoty@MiamiBeachFL.gov. 

Flamingo CIP Stakeholders Meeting -- Monday, November 7, 2011, 3 to 5 pm -- Mayor's Conference Room, City Hall

Meeting Notice – Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association

CIP Flamingo Neighborhood Stakeholders Meeting
Monday, November 7, 2011, 3 to 5 pm
Mayor’s Conference Room – Miami Beach City Hall, 4th Floor

Flamingo – from Washington to Alton, from Sixth Street to Lincoln Road --
our historic, urban, residential neighborhood in South Beach
aiming to be the most pedestrian-friendly neighborhood in Florida.

All those who live, work, or visit the neighborhood are invited to attend and participate

PROPOSED AGENDA

1. Completion of Phase I – 7th to 9th Streets, Washington to Meridian

a. Concern with the Meridian Avenue Bulbouts and Crosswalks
b. Comparison of Euclid Textured Crosswalks & Pennsylvania Painted Crosswalks

2. Preview of Next Phases

a. Sixth Street Corridor
b. Sixteenth Street Corridor
c. Status of Stormwater Masterplan

3. Information on Implementation of Flamingo Park Projects

a. Status of Tennis Center

i. Removal and Replacement of Trees

c. Handball Court Project
d. Opportunity to Visit with Project Architectb. Football Field Project

4. Other Matters

a. Enforcement of Short Term Rentals
b. Becoming Florida’s most pedestrian-friendly neighborhood -- Tammy Young & Ben Batchelder
c. Drexel Avenue, North of 16th Street
d. Alton Road FDOT Redevelopment Project
e. Florida’s 2012 battle: Gambling Dollars vs Disney Image
f. Veterans Day Parade – Scott Needelman & Adam Shedroff

 
 

Still time to join the Flamingo group in the Veterans Day Parade -- Contact Scott Needelman

Honor our Veterans -- 11-11-11 at 11

Participate in Veterans Day Parade
November 11, 2011 -- culminating at 11:00 am

Once again this year, Scott Needelman will coordinate our participation in the Veterans Day Parade. Please be in direct contact with Scott if you would like to participate in the parade this year honoring our country's veterans. This activity is a part of the Flamingo Family Priorities section headed by Adam Shedroff.

Lining up along Washington Ave on 17^th street at 8:30 am, marchers will travel south on Washington Ave and then west on Eleventh Street into Flamingo Park.  At approximately 10:30 am there will be a ceremony in the park followed by a free picnic for all participants.

You may contact Scott at telephone 305-710-5584 or you may contact him by e-mail at SAN1455@Att.net. The parade culminates at 11am followed by a picnic lunch in Flamingo Park. Hope you can be a part of this fun day in the neighborhood!

West Avenue Bridge -- Public Meeting -- Tuesday, November 15th, 6 - 8 pm

Workshop Presentation -- West Avenue Bridge
Tues, Nov 15, 6 - 8 pm, Presentation at 6:15pm
at Miami Beach Reguional Library
227  22nd Street, Miami Beach

The City of Miami Beach will conduct a public workshop meeting for the West Avenue Bridge Project Study. 

At the workshop, the City will present potential alternatives for a low-level bridge over Collins Cana at West Avenue.  The bridge concepts presented will include alternative bridge widths comprised of various lanes, sidewalks and bike lands.  The NO BRIDGE alternative ill also be presented.

During the workshop, maps, drawings and other project information will be available for review and the public will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide comments to the project team.

Flamingo Park N'hood Assn hosts CIP Stakeholders Meeting -- Mon, Nov 7th, 3 - 5pm, Mayor's Conf Room

Mon, Nov 7, 2011, 3 to 5 pm -- Mayor's Conference Room
Flamingo CIP Stakeholders Meeting
--Review Phase I Project -- 7th to 9th Streets
--Overview Next Phases -- Sixth & Sixteenth Streets
--Status of Storm Water Masterplan Analysis
--Flamingo Park Project Implementation
--Other Matters

All residents of the Neighborhood and all those interested in the Flamingo Neighborhood / Flamingo Park Capital Improvement Projects are invited to attend and participate.

Tues, Nov 8, 2011, 9 am -- Miami Beach Commission Chambers
CMB Historic Preservation Board -- Review Phase I CIP Project Implementation
particularly Meridian Avenue bulbouts and crosswalks!

Wed, Nov 9, 2011, 2 - 3:30 pm -- Public Works Conf Room
City/County/Flamingo -- Ped/Bike Traffic Analysis
To resolve outstanding issues and advance Flamingo Neighborhood as most pedestrian friendly Neighborhood in Florida

Florida faces casino challenge

Jeff Donnelly has suggested we take up the issue of Casino Gambling and recommends discussion of the following article.


In Florida Battle, Casino Cash vs. Disney Image
By LIZETTE ALVAREZ
Published: The New York Times, October 28, 2011
The state’s need for increased revenues puts it at odds with its most powerful company, Disney, which opposes a multibillion-dollar plan for gambling resorts.

To link to this article . . . paste the url below. Using this link will ensure access to the article, even after it becomes part of the NYT archive.

Permalink

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/us/florida-in-a-battle-over-casino-bill.html

CMB LUDC meeting will discuss Short Term Rentals -- Wed, Oct 26, 4 pm

From: flamingo33139@aol.com [mailto:flamingo33139@aol.com]

Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 10:11 AM
To: Flamingo33139@aol.com


City Commission
Land Use and Development Committee,
Wednesday, October 26, 2011. 4pm
City Hall, City Manager's Conference Room


Last month, the Committee postponed consideration of this issue until this coming Wednesday.


We have reliable information that the short-term rental ordinance we all fought so hard for will be endangered by the action proposed by the administration.


If you can get to the meeting even after 4pm on Wednesday, 10.26, it would help. See below for information:


The CMB Land Use and Development Committee (4pm City Manager's Conference Room, City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive) will revisit the subject of short term rentals once again. Item one is a discussion of enforcement; item two is a discussion and possible Commission guidance statement concerning the application of at least three property owners to be included among those grandfathered in the Flamingo Park neighborhood. The guidance statement could include a request for the drafting of an amendment to accomplish that.


Since some FPNA members, including me, are away, it would help if Fighting Flamingos got to this meeting. I hope that you can urge the enforcement of the 2010 CMB ordinance in light of the FPNA resolution of 2009(attached).


1. the ordinance should be enforced;


2. no amendment should be made to the ordinance that would diminish its effectiveness, either by putting the whole ordinance at risk given the new state law prohibiting the City from making new laws limiting short term rentals or by giving additional properties openings when they clearly had not met the provisions of the FPNA resolution for grandfathering.


I think it important that the official position of FPNA as expressed in the August 2009 resolution be supported.


Jeff Donnelly

Short Term Rental to be discussed at Land Use and Development Committee meeting

Land Use and Development Committee
Wed, Oct 26, 2011, 4:00 pm
City Manager's Conference Room

Commissioner Jorge Exposito has placed on the Agenda --
Item 3 -- Enforcement of the Short Term Rental Ordinance

Jeff Donnelly and Eric Herarri advise that advocacy by the Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association on behalf of effective enforcement is crucially important for this meeting.

From: "jeffdonn@aol.com"
Date: October 24, 2011 9:18:12 PM EDT
Subject: Re: 751 meridian

I hope that FPNA will be an effective presence at the 4pm LUDC meeting in the Managere's Conference Room on Wednesday, October 26.
 
It is important that FPNA insist upon fair and effective enforcement of ordinances FPNA has supported and helped to pass.
 
Jeff

Roadway Project: A1A / Collins Avenue, 5th Street to Lincoln Road

Public Information Meeting
Tues, Oct 25, 6 to 8 pm
Miami Beach Regional Library
227 22nd st., Miami Beach

 
Miami - The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District Six will hold a public information meeting about a roadway project on State Road (SR) A1A/Collins Avenue from 5 Street to Lincoln Road from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, October 25, 2011, at the Miami Beach Regional Public Library located at 227 22 Street, Miami Beach, FL  33139. The meeting will follow an informal format that allows the public to arrive at any time from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Graphic displays of the projects will be shown and FDOT staff will be on hand to discuss the project and answer questions.
 
The proposed work for the roadway project includes: repaving and restriping the road; widening the lanes between 15 Street and 16 Street; reconstructing sidewalks; replacing signage; upgrading pedestrian ramps, countdown pedestrian signals, and crosswalks; repairing drainage; relocating utilities, if necessary; reducing parking width and travel lanes to provide an exclusive left-turn lane throughout the road; installing sidewalk curb extensions at each intersection and upgrading lighting, including electronic signs at 17 street and Lincoln Road.
 
Please contact Public Information Specialist Amparo Vargas if you have any questions about this project at (305) 470-5349 or by email Amparo.Vargas@dot.state.fl.us.
 
FDOT encourages public participation without regard to race, color, national origin, age, gender, religion, disability or family status. Persons who need special assistance under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or who need translation services (free of charge) should contact, at least seven days prior to the meeting, Brian Rick at (305) 470-5349, or in writing at FDOT, 1000 NW 111 Avenue, Miami, FL 33172 or by email at: brian.rick@dot.state.fl.us

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will participate in Veterans Day Parade

Honor our Veterans -- 11-11-11 at 11
Participate in Veterans Day Parade
November 11, 2011 -- culminating at 11:00 am

Once again this year, Scott Needelman will coordinate our participation in the Veterans Day Parade.  Please be in direct contact with Scott if you would like to participate in the parade this year honoring our country's veterans.  This activity is a part of the Flamingo Family Priorities section headed by Adam Shedroff.

You may contact Scott at telephone 305-710-5584 or you may contact him by e-mail at SAN1455@Att.net.  The parade culminates at 11am followed by a picnic lunch in Flamingo Park.  Hope you can be a part of this fund day in the neighborhood!

Flamingo Park Association -- Meeting Notes -- Monday, October 3, 2011

Monday, October 3, 2011, 5:30 pm

at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Avenue

Meeting Notes

Discussion with Ray Martinez,
Asst Chief, Miami Beach Police Department


Chief Martinez was joined at the meeting by Capt. M Causey and Sgt W Jones. He offered the view that it was very important to the Department to maintain communication and transparency to the community and responded to questions raised by members of the Association. Discussions included:

Need to assure appropriate, even handed enforcement with absence of discrimination;
Quality of Life issues in tight urban setting – noise, parking, code enforcement, etc.
Recent misbehavior by individuals in the Police Department and community reaction.

Preservation and Planning Programs – Mark Needle, Jeff Donnelly

Short Term Rental Ordinance. Jeff Donnelly and Eric Harari described current issues with respect to additional property owners claiming grandfather status and also lack of enforcement.


Plaza Menor – Sixth St & Lennox. Jeff also reported that Mark Needle had met with Jose Fernandez and that there was not yet consensus on the project. Likely discussion would continue and the matter would subsequently return to FPNA before going to the City.

Flamingo Park Project Implementation – Wanda Mouzon  -- No further information was presented.

Neighborhood Capital Improvement Projects – Denis Russ, Judy Robertson.

Concerns on Phase I –-- Meridian Avenue at 7th & 9th Streets: Bump-Outs & Crosswalks. There is continued concern with the implemented design and recognition for the need to advance advocacy on the issue. With respect to the absence of textured treatment on Pennsylvania Ave, the consensus called for effective marking of crosswalks on all streets at all intersections.


Discussion of Plans for Phase II – Sixth Street and Sixteenth Street. Rick Saltrick had reviewed base plans for 6th Street and 16th Street since our last meeting. While there was general agreement with the treatment for 6th Street, there was not yet agreement on the 16th Street corridor. It is presumed that Rick Saltrick will develop the base plan, present it to FPNA at our Nov meeting. The plan is to move toward a community workshop sometime after that to further discuss alternatives and develop community consensus.

We previously agreed to move forward with painted bike lanes from 9th to 16th Streets on Euclid Avenue. That program was briefly discussed and again agreed upon.

Flamingo Family Priorities – Adam Shedroff / Scott Needelman.

Plans for Veterans Day Parade. Scott Needelman will again lead efforts to participate in the parade. We will send out a notice for people to be in touch with him.

Crime Prevention and Safety – Aaron Sugarman, Tammy Young, Ben Batchelder -- No further discussion.


Communications and Outreach – Tammy Young -- No further discussion.

Outstanding Matters:

Alton Road Redevelopment Program
Drexel Avenue – Sixteenth Street to Lincoln Lane
Jose Fernandez Property – Lennox Avenue at Sixth Street

Calendar Notes

Ultimate Candidate Forum – Tues, Oct 11th, 7 to 9:30pm, Colony Theater,
RSVP ABetterMiamiBeach@gmail.com Sponsorship Info AndrewResnick21@gmail.com
Questions to Debra Leibowitz Beachbuzz@att.net or Sol Genet SBGenet@gmail.com


University of Miami / Civic & Community Engagement
Financing Affordable Housing Panel – Wed, Oct 12th 6 to 7:30pm, U of M, Sch of Architecture


Florida: Authentic & Sustainable –the appeal to visitors, investors & residents of the creative class
October 17-18, 2012 at The Island Players Theater, Anna Maria Island -- featuring coastal Manatee County, the DeLand area, Key West, Miami Beach Wakulla and mainland Franklin counties

Next Meeting --
Mon, Nov 7th, 5:30 pm
at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Ave.

Flamingo Neighborhood Meeting -- Mon, Oct 3rd, 5:30 pm, at The Seymour

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association

Meeting Notice
Monday, October 3, 2011, 5:30 pm
at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Avenue

AGENDA
Recurring Agenda Highlights—

Preservation and Planning Programs – Mark Needle, Jeff Donnelly


Flamingo Park Project Implementation – Wanda Mouzon


Neighborhood Capital Improvement Projects – Denis Russ, Judy Robertson


Flamingo Family Priorities – Adam Shedroff


Crime Prevention and Safety – Aaron Sugarman, Tammy Young, Ben Batchelder


Communications and Outreach – Tammy Young

Flamingo Neighborhood -- Washington to Alton, Sixth to Lincoln.   Our historic, urban residential South Beach Neighborhood. 
All residents of the Neighborhood are invited to attend and participate.

Neighborhood Employment Opportunity -- Fresh Market

The Fresh Market will be holding their Career Open House next week on Wednesday, October 5, 2011  -- at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa, 4833 Collins Blvd, Miami Beach, Fl (north of the Julia Tuttle Causeway) from 8 am to 7 pm.


The Fresh Market is a specialty grocery store. They offer an atmosphere that’s unlike any other—and with a plan to grow by 15% in 2011. If candidates have been searching for a special place full of people passionate about food, you’ve found it! The Fresh Market is a company that's dedicated to making positive, lasting impressions…on customers and employees. They are a company that cares just as much about the little things as the big ones. They offer competitive salary, generous benefits, and exciting career growth opportunities.

Now selecting: Seafood Specialist - Assistant Produce Manager- Assistant Front End- Assistant Deli Manager - Grocery Specialist - Gift/Floral Specialist - Cheese Specialist - Candy/Coffee Specialist –Meat Cutter—Baker—Bulk Specialist—Assistant Grocery Specialist.

Flaming CIP Plan Review -- Sixth & Sixteenth Street Base Plans

Meeting Notice Reminder

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association
Monday, September 19, 2011, at 5:15pm
Public Works Department, Conference Room
4th Floor of City Hall – 1700 Convention Center Drive


Please RSVP – mailto:Denis@MiamiBeachCDC.org


At the last meeting of the Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association, it was agreed that we would meet on Monday, September 19th, in order to review existing plans for Phase II of the Flamingo CIP Project implementation – Sixth Street (EDAW Plans) and Sixteenth Street (PWD Plans).

It is our understanding that next steps will require
1. Engagement of appropriate design / engineering resources to develop the Design Criteria;
2. Use of the Design Criteria in the Invitation for Design / Build RFP;
3. Engagement of Design / Build Team;
4. Development and Approval of Final Design Construction Documents; and
5. Build Out of both Underground and Streetscape Improvements.

Existing Plans are a constituent part of the Basis of Design Report that has been adopted by the Commission and approved by the Historic Preservation Board and will serve as the foundation for the further development of plans. Our review is intended to ground our further review and guidance of the further development of plans.

Flamingo Meeting -- Agenda and access to Background Materials

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association
Monday, September 12, 5:30 p.m.
at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Avenue

AGENDA

1. FPNA Agenda Matters Pending
Additions, Deletions, Modifications to the List?
How do we Handle Discussion and Neighborhood Policy-Making?

• Resolution of CIP Phase I concerns – Meridian crosswalks, Pennsylvania Ave amenities

• Overview of Plans for 6th Street and 16th Street to serve as design criteria
• Related CIP Matters -- Private Encroachment on the Public Right of Way; Neighborhood CIP Planning Protocol
• Drexel Ave – north of 16th Street
• Alton Road – DOT Redevelopment
• Pedestrian Amenities – becoming Fla most ped-friendly N’hood
• Flamingo Park Project implementation
• Short Term Rental – Enforcement activities
• Monitoring Developments -- Galbut Alton Road at 7th Street; Self Storage Facility; Jose Fernandez Residential Proposal
• ARE THERE ANY MORE??


2. CIP Phase I – Concerns Raised
Meridian Avenue Bump-outs and Crosswalks
Absence of Textured Crosswalks on Pennsylvania Ave.

Phase I Concerns -- Staff Response 

3. CIP Phase II – Plan Presentation – 6th & 16th Streets
The City will develop Design Criteria to be incorporated in the Design Build Implementation.  The designs will be based upon existing approved design documents already approved by the City.  In preparation for later review of the Design Criteria and final designs, we will overview those existing approved design plans --

Sixth Street EDAW Plans

Sixteenth Street PWD Plans

4. Other Matters

 

Flamingo Meeting, Monday, September 12th, 5:30pm -- Highlights: Phase I critique; Phase II introduction

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Meeting
Monday, September 12, 2011, 5:30 pm
at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Avenue

While our agenda of matters to discuss is substantial, likely highlights will include:

1.  Critique of the Phase I CIP Project

City staff provided the following response with respect to the issue raised about the absence of textured crosswalks on Pennsylvania Avenue, compared with Euclid Avenue:

A.  Concrete Paver Crosswalks:  During the different community design charrettes and workshops held in the planning phase of the Flamingo/Lummus Project, requests were made for the implementation of common traffic calming measures, such as special crossing treatments.   The BODR recommends a variety of different traffic calming alternatives such as bulb-outs at intersections, reduction of travel lanes, the reduction of cross walk lengths, and the creation of a tighter section through the introduction of street trees. Special crossing treatments were not identified as funded improvements.

Paver crosswalks were added to Euclid Ave intersections to address pedestrian safety concerns raised by Historic Preservation Board (HPB), as a result of the implementation of the bike lanes on Euclid Ave. Bike lanes were not added at Pennsylvania Ave. or Meridian Ave.

B.  East / West Crossings at Meridian Ave and 7th & 9th Streets:  The Project Engineer of Record has replied to our question regarding why there are no East / West crosswalks defined at Meridian and 7th and 9th Streets:

“…prior to these improvements there were only STOP signs along 7th and 9th St.(east-west direction). Cars traveling north-south have never been required to stop at these two intersections. In order to change our design, a Pedestrian/Vehicle Traffic Study will have to be conducted and approved by Miami-Dade County Public Works Department as well the CMB PWD.”

2. Preliminary Plans for Sixth and Sixteenth Streets



The plan is to move forward on Phase II of the Flamingo CIP project in the coming year. We believe that it will be undertaken by developing Design Criteria from the currently existing plans and then bidding and selection of Design / Build team to complete the plans and build the project. The areas selected for work are corridors along Sixth Street and Sixteenth Street. We hope to have an overview of the existing plans that will serve as the base documents for the Design Criteria of later bid documents and ultimately the final plans.

You may access existing plans through the following links:

Sixth Street EDAW PlansSixteenth Street PWD Plans

FPL Franchise Agreement -- Public Meeting and Discussion -- Wed, Sep 21, 6 pm

City of Miami Beach

Public Meeting and Discussion

Proposed Terms and Conditions
for the New FPL Franchise Agreement

Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 6:00pm
1755 Meridian Avenue, 3rd Floor, Miami Beach
(Entrance at 18 Street and Meridian Avenue)


Contact: Lynn Bernstein, Community Outreach Coordinator, 305-673-7010

Dade Boulevard Bike Path Project -- Community Meeting Notice -- Tues, Sep 20th, 6pm

Community Meeting Notice
Dade Boulevard Bike Path Project
Tuesday, Sep 20, 2011, 6:00 pm
1755 Meridian Ave, 2nd Floor

The City of Miami Beach Public Works Engineering Division will host a community meeting to learn about the Dade Boulevard Bike Path Project, on Tuesday, September 20, 2011, 6:00 pm.  The meeting will be held at 1755 Meridian Avenue, 2nd Floor, Miami Beach, Florida.

This project will extend a shared pedestrian / bike path along Dade Blvd and adjacent to the Collins Cana from the 17th Street bridget to Convention Center Drive.  Improvements will include the raising of the existing seawall to address sea level rise, a permeable concrete path, new landscaping, and improved lighting using environmentallly friendly LED fisctures.

Contact:  Lynn Bernstein
Community Outreach Coordinator
Tel 305-673-7010

West Avenue Bridge -- Public Meeting -- Tuesday, September 13th, 6pm

Public Kick Off Meeting -- West Avenue Bridge
Tues, Sep 13, 2011, 6pm -- at the Miami Beach Golf Club
2301 Alton Road,  Miami Beach,  Florida

The City of Miami Beach will conduct a public kick-off meeting to discuss the initiation of the West Avenue Bridge Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Study. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, September 13, 2011, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Miami Beach Golf Club, 2301 Alton Road, Miami Beach, Florida 33140.

The study will consider the construction of a new low-level bridge over the Collins Canal at West Avenue, from 17 Street on the south to Dade Boulevard on the north.


This public kick-off meeting is being held to introduce the study to the public, and to allow the interested public an opportunity to share their views

For comments or questions please call the Public Information Officer Yvette Holt at (786) 552-0000 or visit www.westavenuebridgeproject.com.

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will meet -- Mon, Sep 12th, 5:30pm

Meeting Notice
Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association
Monday, September 12, 2011, 5:30pm
at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Ave.

The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association regularly meets on the first Monday of each month at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Ave. All residents of the neighborhood are invited to attend and participate.

Because of the Labor Day Weekend, the meeting has been postponed and we will meet on Monday, September 12, 2011, 5:30pm, at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Ave.

Flamingo -- our historic urban residential neighborhood, from Washington to Alton, from Fifth Street to Lincoln Road.

CMB will convene Community Meeting to discuss DecoBike advertising proposal

Community meeting for Decobike Kiosk Advertising Proposal
Wed, Sep 7, 2011, 6pm, City Manager's Conf Room

The City of Miami Beach is sponsoring community meetings to solicit
input on the proposal by Decobike to place advertising on their
kiosks at various locations throughout the city.  The South Beach
meeting will take place on Wednesday, September 7 at 6:00 PM in
City Hall, City Manager's conference room (4th Floor).  City staff
and Decobike representatives will be in attendance and show various proposals.

Contact:
Joyce Meyers, Principal Planner
North Beach Planning Coordinator
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Tel: 305-673-7550  /  Fax: 305-673-7559
jmeyers@miamibeachfl.gov

Neighborhood Walkabout -- Pennsylvania Avenue at Seventh Street -- Wed at 9am sharp

Final Time -- 9:00 am sharp!
Neighborhood Walkabout
Wed, Aug 24, 2011, 9:00 - 9:30 am
meeting at 730 Pennsylvania Ave

Our neighbor, Tim Coleman has raised a number of quality of life issues in the vicinity of Pennsylvania Ave at 7th Street. Lynn Berstein and Neighborhood Resource Officer Deborah Doty have organizaed this Neighborhood Walkabout that will include CMB Police Dept, Code Enforcement and other city personnel to assess the situation and formulate a corrective action plan.

Tim has extended an invitation to anyone else living in the vicinity with some insight into the problems to join him to help formulate solutions.

Neighborhood Walkabout -- Pennsylvania Avenue at Seventh Street

Neighborhood Walkabout
Wed, Aug 24, 2011, 9:30 am
meeting at 730 Pennsylvania Ave

Our neighbor, Tim Coleman has raised a number of quality of life issues in the vicinity of Pennsylvania Ave at 7th Street. Lynn Berstein and Neighborhood Resource Officer Deborah Doty have organizaed this Neighborhood Walkabout that will include CMB Police Dept, Code Enforcement and other city personnel to assess the situation and formulate a corrective action plan.

Tim has extended an invitation to anyone else living in the vicinity with some insight into the problems to join him to help formulate solutions.

Discussions of Memorial Day Weekend / Urban Beach Week

"URBAN BEACH WEEK TOWN HALL ON TAP

"Miami Beach Commissioner Jerry Libbin will host an Aug. 24 town hall meeting at The Loews Miami Beach to discuss ideas on how to best deal with large-scale events such as Urban Beach Week and Spring Break.

"The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at 1601 Collins Ave.

"The public can submit written questions to a panel.  Those who cannot attend but want to submit a question can send an e-mail to Jerry@jerrylibbin.com".


The City Commission Neighborhood Committee will also be discussing Memorial Day Weekend / Urban Beach Week at its meeting on September 1, 2011, 3:00 pm, in the City Manager's Large Conference Room in City Hall.

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will meet on Monday, August 1st, at 5:30pm

Meeting Notice

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association
Monday, August 1, 2011, 5:30pm
At The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Avenue


AGENDA

Presentation of 2011-2012 CIP Project Plans
• Aaron Sinnes – CMB CIP Department So Beach District Manager
• Rick Saltrick -- Design Program for 6th Street & 16th Street

Other Recurring Agenda Highlights --

 

Preservation and Planning Programs -- Jeff Donnelly & Mark Needle

Flamingo Park Masterplan Project Implementation -- Wanda Mouzon
Neighborhood Capital Improvement Projects -- Denis Russ & Judy Robertson
Flamingo Family Priorities -- Adam Shedroff
Crime Prevention and Safety -- Aaron Sugarman & Ben Batchelder
Communications and Outreach -- Tammy Tibbles

Flamingo Park Neighborhood -
from 5th Street to Lincoln Road
from Washington Ave to Alton Road
 

 
All residents of the neighborhood are invtited to attend and encouraged to participate.

The Miami Beach Police Department will host Community Meeting

Thursday, July 14, 2011, 6:30pm
Normandy Park, 7030 Trouville Esplanade

The Miami Beach Police Department invites all Neighborhood Organizations, Crime Watch Groups and residents to attend this Community Police meeting.

Topic:  Hurricane Preparedness, registration and evacuation presentation;
Open Forum to answer all Police related questions.

Flamingo CIP Stakeholders Meeting on Monday, July 11, 2011, 3 to 5pm

Flamingo CIP Stakeholders Meeting
Monday, July 11, 2011, 3 to 5 pm
Mayor's Conference Room, Miami Beach City Hall

The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will convene the Flamingo CIP Stakeholders Meeting on Monday, July 11, 2011, 3 to 5 pm, in the Mayor's Conference Room, at Miami Beach City Hall, 1100 Convention Center Drive.  All residents of the neighborhood and other interested persons are invited to attend and to participate.

We will be discussing the Capital Improvements Projects currently underway and planned for the coming year in the Flamingo Neighborhood.  Discussion will include: 

Completion of Phase I  -- 7th to 9th Streets, Washington to Meridian;
Flamingo Park Project Implementation;
Meridian Avenue Tree Trimming Program;
Next Year Project Areas -- likely Sixth Street and Sixteenth Street
Flamingo:  Becoming Florida's Most Pedestrian Friendly Neighborhood
Traffic Calming, Increased Trees, Landscaping and Greater Shade Tree Canopy

Please Note:
Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will NOT meet on Monday, July 4th and will meet instead on Monday, July 11th, 3 to 5pm, in the Mayor's Conference Room, in Miami Beach City Hall, 1100 Convention Center Drive.

FDOT Presentation of Alton Road Redevelopment Program raises great conceern

FDOT Alton Road Redevelopment
Public Information / Input Meetings 

Scheduled and Confirmed:
FDOT Public Information Meeting
Thursday, June 23, 2011, 7 to 9 pm
Miami Beach PAL -- 999 Eleventh Street
Flamingo Park, Miami Beach

*Tentatively Scheduled

Planning Board Presentation*
Tuesday, June 28, 2011, 1:30 pm
City Commission Chambers

Presentation to the City Commission*
Wednesday, July 13, 2011

REPORT FROM BEN BATCHELDER
on previous presentation held on Wed, June 8th

Hi FPNers,


I just wanted to give my quick read of FDOT’s presentation on Alton Road last Wednesday at the Commission chambers.
Meeting Notes

First, Denis very helpfully provided a printout of FPNA’s priorities, including a nice visual of a bike boulevard going down Alton.


1) Among FPNers, Denis spoke first, gently pressing the FDOT presenter on the bike lane issue, as he had apparently never heard of a bike boulevard before. Denis also supported reducing the speed limit from 35 to 30 and raised the possibility (seconded later by our City Manager) of upgrading the area to a Livable Community, which apparently could facilitate achieving a number of these goals. Over a half dozen public comments subsequently demonstrated how crazy bike lanes on Alton would be: no sane biker would use them, all European experience and research shows bike lanes between parked cars and moving traffic to be the most dangerous (contradicting the speaker’s assertion bike lanes are the safest solution), having bikes compete with buses every other bus-stop block is ludicrous, and so on. When the concept of bike boulevard was made clear to the presenter, he asserted that it would take too many curves (perhaps he thinks it has to follow the curb line) and due to bicyclists crossing in/near pedestrian crosswalks, particularly against traffic, be a hazard to turning cars.


2) Another subject which elicited public outrage was the fact that FDOT plans to cut 113 trees and presently has no idea how many will be planted according to spec. A landscape architect, who worked on Wash. Ave’s upgrade, pointed out that due to required ‘cone of vision’ studies very few shade trees are likely (he mentioned perhaps only one per block).


3) The next FPNer to speak was Adam, who probed FDOT on their assertion new laws ‘require’ bike lanes, rather than ‘mandate consideration.’ The incomplete reply was, besides reiterating that a bike frequency study supported bike lanes, that the more space available there is available for bike lanes, the more required they are. Adam also lamented the loss of 90+ parking spaces. He then expressed the room’s growing feeling: if the proposed design is so contrary to residents’ wishes, why bother wasting $20+ million on it? FDOT asserted that due to the storm drain work (Alton at 5th, 10th and 14th) slated for 4/2013, the surface design must be completed prior – which the landscape architect contradicted.


4) My questions centered on pedestrian safety, after I introduced myself as a member of a local neighborhood association that is working on a pedestrian safety initiative and commented that Alton Rd. is generally considered South Beach’s most dangerous road for pedestrians. As the presentation lacked any detail on each intersection’s treatment, I asked a) would all intersections receive pedestrian crosswalk stripes, and b) would all have on-demand pedestrian signals? Contradicting in their own Project Notification fact sheet which promises "installing bush button countdown signals at all intersections along project limits", FDOT replied that the first was impossible (fast cars vs. pedestrians’ right of way) and that a 2008 warrant study did not justify any other pedestrian crossings. At this point the French Urban Design professor (whom Denis had introduced me to) went ballistic, suggesting that FDOT should stop the presentation it was so pathetic. When a break allowed me to return to my questioning, I respectfully requested that FDOT perform a new pedestrian study, having already highlighted the 75% increase in auto on pedestrian accidents in South Beach. When the presenter couldn’t commit, I implied that without reconsidering such a pedestrian-unfriendly design, pedestrian accidents will only increase. (Although I had it with me, I resisted showing a chart which ranks Florida as the worst state in the nation in pedestrian fatalities, or faulting FDOT’s irrational warrant process for some of the responsibility.)

Tentative Conclusions

A) It appears as if the Livable Communities designation is the only way to meaningfully impact FDOT’s design. It was suggested that it would facilitate narrower lanes (from 11' to 10' at least), the speed limit reduction, and reduce the ‘cone of vision’ problems. My feeling is that FDOT performs studies when it believes they will support their preferred design.


B) FDOT’s design appears based on such outdated standards and is so car-centric that any project delay should be encouraged. The landscape architect’s suggestion to allow storm drain work to be done independently of surface design agreement appears compelling.

C) Lastly, Adam’s suggestion that the $20+ million project be cancelled (just repave, repaint, and leave street layout as is) would be a less bad solution than the current 60% design and, if need be, I’d gladly support that outcome with organized civil disobedience.

It will be very important to attend subsequent FDOT presentations.

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will meet on Mon, Juen 6th, at 5:30pm

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association

Monday, June 6, 2011, 5:30 pm
at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Ave

AGENDA


1. Flamingo Park Project Implementation – Matti Reyes


2. Project Introduction – 600 block of Washington Ave – Wayne Pathman


3. Discussion of Memorial Day Urban Beach Party Weekend


4. Other Matters


     4.1. Status Report: Enforcement of Short Term Rental


     4.2. Status Report: Becoming Florida’s Most Pedestrian Friendly Neighborhood


     4.3. Discussion of Recurring Odor at 11th and Meridian Ave



All residents of the neighborhood are invited to attend and participate.



Recurring Agenda Highlights --

Preservation and Planning Programs
Flamingo Park Masterplan and Project Implementation
Flamingo Park Neighborhood Capital Improvement Projects
Flamingo Family Priorities
Crime Prevention and Safety
Communications and Outreach

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will meet this Mon, June 6th, 5:30pm

FLAMINGO Meeting Notice

Monday, June 6th, 5:30pm

at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Avenue

 

Recurring Agenda Highlights --

• Preservation and Planning Programs
• Flamingo Park Masterplan and Project Implementation
• Flamingo Park Neighborhood Capital Improvement Projects
• Flamingo Family Priorities
• Crime Prevention and Safety
• Communications and Outreach

All restidents of the Neighborhood are invited to attend and participate

NOTICE OF TREE TRIMMING, AND TEMPORARY DETOURS AND PARKING RESTRICTIONS ON MERIDIAN AVENUE

June 1, 2011 -- Tree Trimming
Dear Miami Beach Resident:

As the result of cold damage in January 2010, the large trees lining Meridian Avenue between 2nd St. and 15th St. have numerous dead branches that need to be removed for public safety and tree health.


The trimming of these trees is scheduled to start on Monday, June 13, 2011 and will continue for approximately three weeks, although bad weather could extend the required time. During this period, it will be necessary to implement vehicle detours and designate “No Parking” areas for the block(s) where tree trimming is taking place. It is expected that:

- Only one or two blocks of Meridian Avenue will be affected by detours and parking closures on any specific day.


- Individual blocks will be affected for only one to three days, depending on how long it takes to trim the block’s trees.


- The detours and parking closures will be in effect from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

During the tree trimming, heavy branches will be dropping to the ground. The parking closures are necessary to prevent damage to parked vehicles and to provide the trimming crew with access to the trees.


Tree trimming will start on June 13 at 15th Street, and will move southwards along Meridian Avenue to 2nd Street. Notices will be posted on the day before parking closures are implemented. When your block is scheduled for tree trimming and parking closures, please relocate your vehicle from the “No Parking” area before 8:00 AM.


We thank you for your patience and cooperation. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Chris Latt at 305-673-7000 extension 6391.


Best regards,   Chris Latt
CMB Parks & Recreation Department

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will meet Monday, May 2nd, 5:30 pm, at The Seymour

Regular Meeting --
Mon, May 2nd, 5:30pm, at The Seymour
All residents are invited to attend and participate

The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will meet on Monday, May 2nd, 5:30pm, at The Seymour. All residents of the neighborhood are invited to attend and participate.

Major agenda items will include:

Alton Road Zoning Overlay District -- zoning proposal

Preliminary Discussion on FDOT Alton Road Reconstruction Plan

Other Matters

Details on FDOT Proposal for Alton Road -- Public Hearing Meeting Schedule

Policy Action Alert

FDOT plans for reconstruction of Alton Road from 5th Street to Michigan Ave / north of Dade Blvd., now include bike lanes and keeping the sidewalk width essentially the same as existing width.

While there will be bumpouts and landscaping added, FDOT has not agreed to requests for additional pedestrian crossings at 7 St, 9 St and 13 ST, nor have they agreed to lowering the speed limit.

FDOT Alton Road - Public Meeting Schedule

·         Tuesday, May 17th at 6 p.m. – Meeting with Project Advisory Group and Associations (Homeowner/Condo/Neighborhood, etc.)
Location:  City Hall Commission Chambers, 1700 Convention Center Dr.
·         Wednesday, May 18th at 7 p.m. – Meeting with adjacent business
Location:  Miami Beach Police Athletic League, 999 11 Street
·         Wednesday, May 25th at 7 p.m. – General Public Information Meeting
Location:  Miami Beach Police Athletic League, 999 11 Street

 
 

Florida Department of Transportation proposes narrowing sidewalks, widening Alton Road

Jeff Donnelly reports --

Today, FDOT appeared before the Planning Board and said that they have decided to change the 2008 width of Alton Road, narrowing the sidewalks and lengthening the pedestrian east west crossing distance. The Planning Board will hear this again next month.

 
Stay tuned. Jeff Donnelly -- Apr 26, 2011

Flamingo Park Handball Court and Friendship Corner -- Review of Schematic Plans

Wednesday, April 27th, 3:00 pm
at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Ave

Matilde Reyes, the Project Manager for Flamingo Park CIP Project Improvements, has asked to meet with us on Wednesday, April 27th, 3:00 pm, at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Avenue.

To review schematic plans for the Handball Court and Friendship Corner.

The Project Architect / Engineer will be present at the meeting to discuss the schematic plans and to answer questions about the project.  Representatives of Parks and Recreation have also been invited but they have a conflict and may be available only at the end of the meeting. 

Matti Reyes has asked that we focus on the handball court project at the meeting, keeping other matters to a minimum.  While she can respond to questions regarding other matters, discussion about the Tennis Center bathrooms will take place at the next City Commission meeting.  What guides the project scope at this time is the adopted Basis of Design Report and the Master Plan. 

All residents of the Flamingo Neighborhood are invited to attend and participate.

Florida's Statewide Comprehensive Historic Preservation Plan

May 11th, 5:30-7:30pm
Broward County Historical Commission
West Side School, Ft Lauderdale

The Florida Department of State's Division of Historical Resources will sponsor a series of meetings around the state in April and May, to solicit public comments and input for the development of Florida's Statewide Comprehensive Historic Preservation Plan. 
 
In order for Florida to be eligible to participate in the federal historic preservation program, every five years the Division of Historical Resources revises and updates the plan.
 
The primary purpose of Florida's historic preservation planning program is to provide guidance for the implementation of sound planning procedures for the location, identification, and protection of the state's archaeological and historical resources. It will provide guidance for everyone involved in historic preservation throughout the state.
 
The South Florida Meeting will be held at --
  
May 11, 2011, 5:30 -7:30 pm -- Broward County Historical Commission (West Side School) Fort Lauderdale. Contact:  Michele Williams (FPAN Southeast, Regional Office), mwill167@fau.edu, 954.357.5553
 
Individuals who would like to participate in the planning process but are unable to attend the public meetings are encouraged to provide their comments and opinions by completing a related online questionnaire on historic preservation issues in Florida at:
www.surveymonkey.com/s/HistoricPreservationCompPlan2011-2015
 
Meetings will be facilitated by Jeannette Peters of Nonprofit Management Consulting LLC (www.getfunded.org)

Home Energy Savings Workshop

Thurs, Apr 28th, 6:30pm
Mia Bch Regional Library

The City of Miami Beach in partnership with Miami-Dade County and Dream in Green will be hosting a Home Energy Savings Workshop. The workshop will be held on Thursday, April 28, 2011, from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM (registration begins at 6:00 PM) at the Miami Beach Regional Library, 227 22nd Street, Miami Beach, Florida. The purpose of the workshop is to educate residents on energy efficiency and conservation and provide homeowners with information, resources and incentives to reduce their utility costs. Participants will receive a free energy savings toolkit valued at over $100 and learn to track household energy consumption/reduction. More importantly, residents will save money by learning how to reduce energy use in their homes by 20-30 percent.

To register for this workshop and for additional information please call 3-1-1 or visit http://green.miamidade.gov. The workshop has limited space, and is open to the first 50 registered residents. Each participant will receive the free energy savings toolkit, limit one per household.

Please pass on this informationto your friends and family in Miami Beach - this is a great opportunity for residents to save money and reduce their environmental footprint!

Report on Pedestrian Initiative; Taking the Next Step

Report from Ben Batchelder and Tammy Tibbles
on Next Steps for Pedestrian Initiative

As the next step in our neighborhood's Pedestrian Initiative to make Flamingo the most pedestrian friendly neighborhood in Florida, a document has been drafted to present the initiative to the City Commission.

The draft document Flamingo: Becoming Florida's Most Pedestrian Friendly Neighborhood will be discussed at our Monday meeting.  We recommend you take a few moments to review the document and provide comments in advance of the meeting.  This will facilitate our action on this item Monday.

The goal is to aprove this document Monday and send it on to the Commission via the Neighborhoods Committee and later a Resolution vote by the full Commission.

Flamingo CIP Stakeholders Meeting

Monday, April 4, 2011, 3:00pm,
in City Manager's Conference Room

The Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association will convene CIP Program - Flamingo Stakeholders’ Meeting on Monday, April 4th, at 3:00pm, in the City Manager’s Conf Room. 

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association
Flamingo CIP Stakeholders Meeting
Monday, April 4, 2011, 3:00 – 5:00 pm
City Manager’s Large Conference Room

Meeting Highlights:

Flamingo Park Projects

Streetscape Phase I – 7th to 9th Streets -- Landscaping and Tree Selection; Traffic Calming / Pedestrian & Bike Amenities

Storm Water Master Plan

Next Steps – Second Phase, Funding Information -- 6th Street, 16th Street, or Flamingo West ??

The proposed next steps in Flamingo: Becoming Florida's Most Pedestrian Friendly Neighborhood -- a proposal to the City Commission -- will be presented.
All members of the community – interested in the Park and the Neighborhood -- are invited to attend and participate.

Flamingo CIP Stakeholders Meeting on Monday, April 4th, 3 - 5 pm, City Manager's Conference Room

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association

Flamingo CIP Stakeholders Meeting
Monday, April 4, 2011, 3:00 – 5:00 pm
City Manager’s Large Conference Room

Proposed Agenda

3:00 Flamingo Park Project Overview

Projects Currently Underway -- Matilde Reyes
Overview of Additional Projects -- Wolfberg Alvarez

3:30 Current Project – 7th to 9th Streets, Washington to Alton

Status of Construction / Completion Target Thais Vieria
Slowing Traffic, Pedestrian Priority -- Christine Bettin,  Ayman Elbernawy
     Declassifying Pennsylvania as Collector
     4-way Stops, Reducing the Speed Limit

Swale – Ground Cover; Tree Selection Oldenburg, Latt, Gracie

4:00 Stormwater Master Plan -- Fernando Vazquez

4:30 Next Steps  -- Target Area(s) Rick Saltrick / Fred Beckman

Funding Prospects Kathie Brooks / Jorge Cano

Flamingo Neighborhood Meeting, Monday, Mar 7, 2011, 5:30 pm, at The Seymour

Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association
Monday, March 7, 2011, 5:30 pm
at The Seymour, 945 Pennsylvania Ave

Flamingo -- our historic urban residential neighborhood in South Beach -- from Washington to Alton, from Fifth Street to Lincoln Road.
All members of the Flamingo Neighborhood are invited to attend and participate. 

AGENDA

Preservation & Planning (Jeff Donnelly / Mark Needle)


Flamingo Park (Wanda Mouzon)


Flamingo CIP Streetscape s (Judy Robertson / Denis Russ)


Crime Prevention and Safety (Aaron Sugarman / Daniel Davidson)


Family Related Activities (Adam Shedroff)


Communications and Outreach (Tammie Young)

CMB Commission Land Use + Development Committee will meet Tomorrow, Wed, Feb 23rd, 4pm

Enforcement of Short Term Rental Ordinance

On February 23rd, at 4pm, at City Hall, City Manager’s Conference Room, the City Commission Land Use and Development Committee will discuss the enforcement of the short-term rentals laws passed unanimously by the Commission.
 
Short-term rentals in residential areas are a matter of great concern to us, and we imagine to you as well. Members of the Commission have received a significant number of contacts urging better enforcement of the laws passed in 2009 and 2010, banning rentals of less than six months in single family areas and in the residential sections of the low-density residential Flamingo Park neighborhood.
 
We have taken the position that the ordinance should be enforced pro-actively in our neighborhood. We would very much appreciate your representation at this meeting, both for our benefit and for yours. Jeff and Eric are leading our efforts on this matter and merit our support.

The Committee is will also consider the Alton Road Historic Buffer Overlay District and the related Parking District Ordinance.

This matter has been carefully studied by FPNA with leadership on the issue from Marc Needle. It remains very, very important to maintain support for our position on these matters.