| 1. To encourage open public
participation we have established the Mayor's Advisory council
by appointing 25 citizens on 5 sub-committees that will advise
on Traffic and Safety, Health and Welfare; Tourism and Development;
Education/Schools; and Long Range Planning and Intergovernmental
Relations. |
| 2. The Commission has conducted
a number of public workshops on issues of concern to our citizens
in addition to having regular commission meetings that are educational
and informative so that the citizens attending could more easily
follow the governmental process. |
| 3. The Commission has passed
zoning, land development regulations, covering the Town Center
that established low, four story building heights along the west
side of Collins Avenue and strict building heights throughout the
entire town center based on future street designs and widths. Wide
front setbacks along Collins Avenue and Sunny Isles Boulevard along
the required colonnades will assure the creation of pedestrian
friendly open walks and plazas. |
| 4. The Commission has approved
the purchase of two new city buses in addition to the new bus we
just received. This will eventually result in upgraded free bus
service on a seven days a week basis as well as extending the route
to the Intercoastal mall and daily routes to the Aventura Mall. |
| 5. We have significantly reduced
the fees for permits for small projects that our homeowners wish
to do when to do when remodeling and we have eliminated the registration
fee for burglar alarms. |
| 6. We have increased the City
revenues from developers by more than doubling the FAR bonus fees
to $35,000 per unit from the previous $14,000 per unit for all
high-rise development. |
| 7. We have started the process
of obtaining over 2 acres of property in the city for a future
K through 8 Elementary School. We hope to see the school built
in the next two years to serve over 800 Sunny Isles Beach children
currently being bused to schools outside the city. Currently the
residents of Sunny Isles Beach are paying over twenty million dollars
to the Miami-Dade County School District each year while our children
are transported to other areas. By having a school in Sunny Isles
Beach and running it as a Charter School or a new Model School
under joint County and City administration, we will get a substantial
portion of the school tax dollars reinvested and spent for quality
education right here in our City for the benefit of our young children. |
| 8. We passed land development
regulations which should initially result in a new three acre city
park built with developer funds on the site of the "Casino" property
where once there was proposed a development of a high-rise condominium. |
| 9. We have started the process
of obtaining additional land to increase the size of the 'pocket
park' in the Golden Shores area of our city for additional playground
area for the children. |
| 10. We have taken over the daily
management of the Newport Pier Park by terminating the previous
agreement that allowed the Newport and LaPerla organization to
manage the park. This change will bring an additional hundred thousand
dollars of revenues annually from parking fees collected on that
location. |
| 11. The Commission has prioritized
the development of the Sunny Isles Beach Beach Walk and has requested
that the County provide the funds for its development from the
county's newly proposed bond issue that will be voted upon in the
countywide elections later this year. |
| 12. The City honored over 250
Sunny Isles Beach residents who are Holocaust Survivors at an event
held at Temple B'nai Zion. It is a wonderful tribute to our city
that so many "survivors" have made Sunny Isles Beach their home. |
| 13. Our Commission has amended
the TDR ordinance to limit the amount of square feet which can
be purchased by developers from the City owned bank of transferable
development right and we have set aside 100,000 square feet of
TDR's for future city needs. |
| 14. We have established a local
resident Sunny Isles Beach Historic Preservation Board to establish
the criteria for the preservation of historic sites within our
city. |
