Even Better
City focusing on capital projects and upscale image
By Bari Auerbach

“Getting better all the time” could be the theme for the city as redevelopment, increased services, beautification and capital improvement projects continue to make quality of life even better for residents appreciating the luxurious lifestyle of Sunny Isles Beach: “Florida’s Riviera.”

At a recent workshop focusing on capital projects, the City Commission heard a presentation by City Manager John Szerlag, City staff and consultants, who discussed “new and improved” enhancements already underway, set to commence and contemplated for the future.

“Our [goal] is to advise the Commission on the status of capital projects in terms of project description, scheduling, estimated cost and funding sources,” John Szerlag explained. “We also want to obtain concurrence as to how to proceed and develop a separate capital projects portion for the fiscal year 2006-07 budget.

Mr. Szerlag noted that funding for a subset of capital projects will be derived from the sale of transfers of development rights and other density bonuses paid by developers to the city; and that the sum of all projects planned through fiscal year 2009-10 is $109,275,000. “We also hope to obtain revenues during this time frame of about $125 million,” he said. “To do that, we’ve drawn on some transfers from [the city’s] general fund capital and put in some anticipated revenues from grants that are pending.”

At the workshop, the following “even better” amenities, infrastructure improvements and aesthetically pleasing community assets were highlighted:

Better Parks

The new Sunny Isles Beach Active Park at 181st Drive and North Bay Road, expected to open by the fall of 2007, is sure to hit a “homerun” with residents. Heralded as “a flagship recreational facility,” the park will feature a lighted little league baseball field, 12,000 square foot, two-story recreation center with multiple activity rooms, a 10,000 square foot enclosed gymnasium and a playground.

The park will also serve the needs of a future neighboring K-8 public school and be home base to the Parks and Recreation/Cultural and Human Services departments, the city’s summer day camp program, plus enriching events and activities for all ages.

To make existing parks even better, drainage improvements slated for the Sen. Gwen Margolis Park will coincide with the city’s central island stormwater project, anticipated to be complete by 2008; and public restrooms will be installed at the Town Center Park.

Better Education

Thanks to a unique partnership between Sunny Isles Beach and the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, a new K-8 school is being planned to serve the city's growing population of students. The city is providing funding toward the purchase of land for the school, which will be owned and operated by the Miami-Dade County School District.

According to City officials, a new school in Sunny Isles Beach is “urgently needed” as the population of school-aged children has more than tripled since 1997.

Better Lighting and Signage

Pursuing the bright idea to improve lighting, the city is planning to replace existing fixtures with decorative street lighting along Collins Avenue that will also accommodate connections for special holiday lights. Installation of new lighting will coincide with the undergrounding of utilities by FPL and will also encompass areas including North Bay Road, 174th Street and the Town Center Park.

Another “sign of the times” indicative of the city’s desire to display an upscale image is the implementation of new codes regulating commercial sign design, size and uniformity. The Commission also plans to sign off on the installation of new entry signs for parks, select communities, Sunny Isles Boulevard and other designated areas throughout the city.

Better Landscaping and Roadways

Following completion of the first phase of the Collins Avenue streetscape plan, the city is planning to forge ahead with the mission to create an even better “world class appearance” for the city’s main thoroughfare. A study will also be conducted to determine ways to enhance the west side of Collins Avenue.

City roads will soon be getting even better as well when more median fences are installed to prevent jaywalking and preserve landscaping; drainage improvements are completed; new bus shelters are installed; and bridges for pedestrians and emergency vehicular access are constructed.

Better Updates

According to City Manager Szerlag, the City Commission will be receiving updates on the progress of capital projects approximately every three months. Following the June 23 workshop, appreciation was expressed to all staff members and consultants who collaborated on the presentation. Expressing the sentiments of his colleagues, Commissioner Lewis J. Thaler noted, “This is the first time [a capital projects overview] has ever been presented this way so we have the ability to [clearly and easily] understand where the dollars are coming from and where we’re spending.”

Better Buildings

In keeping with the goal to keep making Sunny Isles Beach even better and more luxurious, living up to the new slogan, “Florida’s Riviera,” a special city commission meeting was held on July 6 focusing on regulations regarding “unsafe buildings.”
During the meeting, the future of the La Playa Varadero III (17749 Collins Avenue) - an uninhabited condominium declared unsafe by the city, was also debated at great length by interested parties. The “unsafe” notice gave owners of La Playa Varadero III 30 days to either apply for a demolition permit or appeal to the county's unsafe structures board.

At the July 6 meeting, Mayor Norman S. Edelcup explained the city’s building official, Clay Parker, has sole authority to determine whether a building or structure in Sunny Isles Beach is unsafe. Subsequently, Parker made a presentation regarding defined procedures for unsafe structures emphasizing, “If the cost of alteration, repair or replacement exceeds fifty percent of its value - such building shall be demolished. If the cost of repairs does not exceed fifty percent, the building may be repaired and made safe.”

“A building is generally deemed unsafe when it is unsanitary or constitutes a fire or windstorm hazard - of if there is loosening of materials, deterioration, partial destruction, sagging, leaning, electrical or mechanical systems creating hazardous conditions – of if the building is vacant and abandoned.”

Parker went on to discuss topics including procedures for posting unsafe notices; advising owners of their right to appeal; receiving extensions due to qualifying hardships; plus timeframes for correcting defects, obtaining permits and bringing a property declared “unsafe” into compliance with the building code.

According to Parker, the following buildings in Sunny Isles Beach have been deemed unsafe due to the need for repairs or because of hurricane damages:

La Playa Varadero III, Seashore Club, Sahara Club, Blue Grass Beach Club, Miami Beach Club, Ocean Beach Resort, and abandoned sites including the Lagoon Restaurant as well as the International House of Pancakes and bank building on Sunny Isles Boulevard. Three single family homes were also on the list of unsafe structures.

“We have little tolerance [for unsafe buildings] and will take an aggressive approach to cleaning up the city,” Mayor Edelcup said. “We want to make Sunny Isles Beach a luxury community and have to take these steps to pursue what’s necessary for unsafe structures or abandoned buildings to be either fixed up or torn down.”

During the public commentary portion of the meeting, speakers had the opportunity to express their opinions about the future of La Playa Varadero III. While some maintained, the building should be demolished due to its “decrepit state” and life safety issues (especially hazardous during hurricane season), an attorney representing owners emphasized the “right to repair” and salvage the building should be explored.

According to a recent article in the Miami Herald, “For more than a year, there has been a struggle between residents who want to save the four-building La Playa complex, and a board controlled by LPLA Partners LP, an affiliate of neighboring luxury condo/hotel Acqualina. The Miami-Dade County tax roll lists LPLA Partners as owning 55 of 101 apartments at La Playa.”

Addressing the City Commission at the July 6 meeting, attorney Rebecca Henderson, representing plaintiffs who want La Playa Varadero III to be repaired, stated, “The La Playa [condo board] wants a new building and therefore the board members are not responsive to making repairs…We can’t even get a blue tarp on the roof because [the Board] won’t’ lift a finger’ to do a single bit of restoration. We are here saying we want the opportunity to secure the site and rebuild.”

Speaking on behalf of LPLA Partners LP, Acqualina developer Jules Trump noted, “Anyone who has looked at [La Playa Varadero III] would know that you have something that has about ‘the consistency of a matchbox’ right now. It won’t even take a major hurricane to have parts of this building flying all over the place.

“We heard earlier how [debris from La Playa already] destroyed twenty-seven apartments at the Pinnacle…Parts of the building also flew off and blew off the lower roof of Acqualina - we suffered tremendous damage…Fortunately, at the time we didn’t have residents – but now we have residents moving in and there are hundreds of apartments facing that building. There is a real danger to life and property.

“Engineers and contractors [we’ve] called in see it as a joke that anyone would even contemplate repairing [La Playa Varadero III]…The city is facing liability considering [potential future] property damages and life safety issues - versus the greed of some of the other investors in this property…They’re trying to hold up the process and use the courts to support their own monetary wishes as opposed to thinking about the good and safety of residents in surrounding buildings.”

Subsequently, Mayor Edelcup explained, “We’ve been advised by our City Attorney that we can’t issue any [demolition] order unless there is a final determination of the judicial process…We [must] uphold the laws of the state of Florida…We feel frustrated – but we have to follow the law [even if] ‘what’s morally right happens to be legally wrong.’

“We wish the lives of people would take precedence over the property rights of individuals; and we’d feel more comfortable if we could exercise that authority - but the law doesn’t permit us to do that.

“Our city and residents have become victims of warring parties who are owners of a particular building making life almost untenable for almost everyone…Our Building Official will ensure we’re doing whatever we can legally and as expeditiously as [possible] to [resolve] the situation.

“This is a ‘time bomb’ – but fortunately, we have a lot of faith and trust in our Building Official Clay Parker, who has started the ball rolling. Hopefully, the ‘warring parties’ will realize time is of the essence.

“I believe the entire Commission feels uniform in its desire to make this happen as quickly as it can under the law - and hopefully encourage those people responsible for maintenance of properties to look at themselves in the mirror and determine if they’re doing the right thing for their neighbors - or fighting over money. This is unfortunately what it has turned into and it’s made a mockery of trying to do the right thing in the city."

TOP