‘Golden Shores Speaks Out’
By Bari Auerbach

“When residents want to speak on issues of concern – the Sunny Isles Beach City Commission listens.” This proactive philosophy was recently evidenced at the Jan. 19 Commission meeting when numerous homeowners from Golden Shores and surrounding neighborhoods had an opportunity to voice their opinions about a proposed Cultural and Educational District (CED) overlay ordinance.

After some residents expressed concerns that the proposed ordinance could “pave the way” for a road producing undesirable motor vehicle traffic through Golden Shores, the Commission approved the ordinance on first reading; and committed to further studies of feasible options with the goal to reach a "compromise."

‘What is the CED Ordinance?’

Prior to the public hearing on the Cultural and Educational District (CED) overlay ordinance, Assistant City Manager Jorge Vera explained, “The purpose [of this] ordinance is to create and encourage locations for cultural, educational, government, residential and business uses within the northeast corridor of the city. In addition to encouraging certain types of development, the CED overlay district is designed to facilitate pedestrian and vehicular access, encouraging property owners to dedicate land for creation of a public right-of-way to connect 183rd Street to 185th Street.

“More specifically, building height may be increased to a maximum of 75 feet from the overall permitted height of 190 feet if a property owner dedicates 50 feet of right-of-way to the city. Simply put - a maximum height of 265 feet is permitted in the CED if a right- of- way is dedicated to the city to facilitate pedestrian and vehicular access. No additional residential density will be permitted in the CED. It is important to note that the City Commission shall have the discretion to accept or reject a dedication of a public right-of- way. Moreover, the CED encourages property owners to create pedestrian promenades near residential areas.”

‘Meeting Comprehensive Plan Criteria’

Vera previously noted “By [creating] this road, [the city] will be meeting one of the objectives we set out to achieve [in our Comprehensive Plan] connecting North Bay Road…and whenever we have a school - children won’t have to go all the way out to Collins Avenue…they can use the back roads to get to the school…It will be much safer to have the children walking on a quiet road to the [future] school site.”

Mayor Norman Edelcup reiterated, “Part of the Comprehensive Plan we all adopted and the previous Commission voted for made reference to the fact that we needed an alternative roadway through the city. Recently, we filed an Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) plan to reconfirm we need to have this alternative route for the city.”

Commissioner Danny Iglesias, an engineer with the Florida Department of Transportation, added, “It’s almost a federal mandate for coastal communities to obtain alternative traffic routes…Basically, Collins [Avenue] is the only method of getting in and out of the city. If there’s any way to link North Bay Road all the way up to 163rd Street - it’s something you need to look at - even if it’s just for emergencies.”

‘What was said about the CED’

During a workshop held at Government Center on Dec. 8, 2005, the City Commission initiated discussions on the proposed Cultural and Educational District overlay ordinance, focusing on development along the west side of Collins Avenue – specifically the Sunny Isles Beach Publix Supermarket, Texaco gas station and Thunderbird west sites.

Mayor Norman Edelcup said, “We’re trying to create an alternative corridor for traffic flow in the city west of Collins Avenue…[When] we had a major fire on Collins it created havoc…It’s really a public safety issue… We’re not trying to create a major traffic artery on the west side west of Collins - but what we do need to have is the ability to be able to use an [alternative] avenue whenever a natural catastrophe or emergency blocks Collins.

“There are two sections of North Bay Road [currently] ‘un-connected.’ We have North Bay Road in the Golden Shores area that ends at the Thunderbird west/Publix properties - and then we have North Bay Road again starting just south of Publix and ending at the canal on 174th Street…So there are two segments that prevent us from having an emergency exit.

“We’re dealing with sites owned by private individuals…To induce them to give us what we need, which is a right-of-way for a road to be able to connect North Bay Road, we’re [considering] an ordinance that would increase the height of a building in that area in exchange for the developer giving us the right-of-way.

“What’s proposed is a formula that says: ‘For every foot of width of a road, we’ll increase the height of the building by 1.5 feet…In order to make it palatable for [developers] to part with land, we’re trying to compensate them for the fact they can’t build on that piece that would be the road…so we’re saying, ‘You can take that and add it to the top of the building.’”

‘Making shopping more pleasurable’

During the Dec. 8, 2005 workshop, attorney Cliff Schulman and the Stiles Corporation presented concepts for construction of a new Publix Supermarket to replace the existing one built over 30 years ago.

“Stiles is looking for opportunities to move a Publix renovation [in Sunny Isles Beach] up on the priority list,” Schulman said. “If we can create value on the property, it can be redeveloped…We can create a publicly accessible roadway and alternative traffic solution; build a new Publix; and perhaps an apartment building…The proposed ordinance gives an incentive to a developer and could help the city get a new Publix as well as a publicly accessible road giving you the linkage you so direly need.”

According to the Stiles Corporation, the new Publix planned for Sunny Isles Beach would be similar to the most modern new “urban concept” supermarkets constructed on South Beach and in Fort Lauderdale.

Addressing concerns about closing the old Publix while the new one is being built, the Stiles Corporation noted plans would call for “fast-tracking” the project and completing construction as quickly as possible.

“With the city’s assistance in permit processing, we believe [the new Publix could be built] within 12 to 14 months,” Schulman said.

The concept of the city providing additional transportation services to help bring residents to other neighboring Publix locations [while construction is ongoing] was also discussed.

‘Residents Speak Up’

During the Jan. 19 City Commission meeting, residents expressed their viewpoints about the proposed Cultural and Educational District (CED) overlay ordinance. The following excerpts were derived from public hearing commentaries:

Steve Trattner, Golden Shores resident

“Before the Commission votes on an ordinance that would pave the way for a new right- of-way connected to Golden Shores, I strongly urge you to allow more time while we continue to explore and agree upon a workable, mutually beneficial solution so as to unnecessarily endanger our citizens nor hinder any reasonable development.

“A large number of residents throughout Golden Shore are children and senior citizens who use the streets daily due to the fact that there are no sidewalks – 141 residents have signed a petition to prevent development of this new roadway and many more residents have since expressed their concerns and objections to the roadway.

“I would be remiss in failing to mention that as part of these discussions I’ve had with city representatives, who for the most part have been very supportive and cooperative, we’ve begun to explore a number of potential comprises that could achieve the objectives of the city, the developers and residents of Golden Shores such as creating multiple traffic calming configurations, widening roads, creating more green space and buffer zones.”

Elizabeth Trattner, Golden Shores resident

“What I am in favor of is creating a single lane greenway that would allow area children and the elderly to get to Publix and the new school without the impending danger of motor vehicles. If there was an emergency, the police could open the greenway up only for these situations.

“A better answer for an entry and exit point is to dramatically widen 183rd Street to cope with the huge amount of traffic coming through new condos, a new Publix and a new school…Because property will be eventually torn down, it will be easier to access and build a much more efficient intersection at 183rd Street and not disrupt the entire neighborhood of Golden Shores.”

Lila Kauffman, former Commissioner

“If this zoning were to pass, it would certainly be another high rise condo - which would open up the whole west side to new zoning…This seems to be against the code we passed four years ago not to build any high rise buildings on the west side.”

Honey Schiff, Golden Shores resident

“We purchased a home in Golden Shores 40 years ago…I’m well acquainted with the slogan we go by: ‘Suburbia on the beach.’ This [proposed ordinance] will take away our little hometown of Golden Shores and all of a sudden leave it wide open to becoming a thoroughfare.”

Bob Welsh, Education/Schools Committee Chair, Mayor’s Advisory Council

“I’m speaking [in favor of] the ordinance…The city is growing…access is very important. This [proposed ordinance] has to do with the safety of the city and thinking about the traffic pattern for the whole city and the [future] school…We also need the access for emergency purposes. I sympathize with the people who [spoke] before me - but let’s understand [the Commission] represents the whole city.”

Ellen Wynne, Golden Shores resident since 1952

“Thank you [to the Commission for acting to install] speed bumps in Golden Shores. I’m hoping you’ll consider that the planning board passed laws [stating] we would not allow high buildings on the west side [of Collins Avenue.] The Commission is doing a good job - let’s keep it up. You can do a lot to help a lot of people and we would appreciate it.”

Israel Baron, Golden Shores resident

“We see a lot of cars not obeying the speed limit…Speaking about quality of life and safety, we have no sidewalks [in Golden Shores]. Add one more car and it’s another reason for an accident to happen.”

Ernest Rohas, Golden Shores resident

“I’m 17-years-old and represent the kids [of Golden Shores]. We need sidewalks and lights…Opening up our neighborhood will destroy our little area - our pride and joy.”

Mayor Norman Edelcup

“On behalf of the City Commission, we’re all impressed by [residents’] show of support to work together.”

TOP