Grass will be greener in Sunny Isles Beach
Ordinance prohibits parking on lawns and landscaped areas
By Bari Auerbach


In an effort to help keep vehicles off the grass in Sunny Isles Beach, the City Commission recently passed an ordinance on first reading prohibiting parking of vehicles or boats on front lawns in residential districts on a permanent basis. The ordinance also prohibits parking on publicly maintained lawns and landscaped areas.

In keeping with a Sunny Isles Beach ordinance already in existence designating a $250 citation for unkempt properties, the Commission concurred a $250 per day citation should also be issued to violators of the “no parking on lawns” ordinance. The decision was made after Commissioner Lewis Thaler pointed out a $25 fine in the initial draft of the ordinance was not sufficient to serve as a deterrent. “I’m not sure the penalty of $25 per occurrence [for parking on lawns] is stiff enough,” Thaler said.

City Manager Christopher Russo emphasized, “At the beginning, we expect code enforcement to give warnings for first and second time [violators] and then issue the [$250] citation the third time to give people an opportunity to realize there is this [new] ordinance out there…[For] every single ordinance we have [passed], [the city has provided notification] through a mass mailing and through the newspapers - giving ample time and warning prior to issuing citations.”

‘Grass Roots’ Advocacy
At the Oct. 14 City Commission meeting, Mayor Norman Edelcup explained, “[I recommended] this ordinance after getting a number of phone calls from residents, primarily in the single family home areas of our city, complaining that [in contrast to] the approach of trying to upscale this community and keep it neat and clean - a number of
neighbors are parking their vehicles on their front lawns, detracting [from] the aesthetics of the community.

“Many times, with the rainy season, [the cars are] leaving ruts on the lawn as a result of being parked [on the grass] continuously…We’re spending millions in the city trying to re-landscape public areas…I don’t think it’s too much to ask residents to cooperate and help beautify their private surroundings while we’re doing the same in public areas.”

‘Guest Parking’
The initial draft of the ordinance called for prohibiting parking on residential lawns – “except for family and social events that do not occur more frequently than once a week.” However, later in the meeting, the Commission decided to eliminate the “social events” exception after Commissioner Danny Iglesias voiced concerns. Iglesias noted the exception was too restrictive in that it limited the number of times per week residents could let guests park on their lawns.

Iglesias posed the question, “If I have a party on Sunday, does that mean if [friends] want to come and visit me for Monday night football [and park on the lawn] they can’t do it? This isn’t what the city is about…I’m not against this ordinance - what I’m against is policing where people park their vehicles because they happen to have a party twice a week [or more]. I think the way of going about it is to have the code enforcement department [issue warnings and fines to residents] if they don’t maintain their lawns properly…I think we need to [identify the people who are in continuous] violation.”

‘Weeding Out Code Violations’
During discussions about possible reasons for an abundance of cars being parked on lawns in the Golden Shores neighborhood of Sunny Isles Beach, Commissioner Lewis Thaler, noted, “I think we’re overlooking the fact that some homes are renting (with multi-families living in single family homes) and therefore have a multitude of cars out front.”

In response to Thaler’s comments, City Manager Christopher Russo said, “We do need to educate everyone on history here. There has been a tremendous [city spearheaded] program, particularly in the Golden Shores area, that has [eliminated] most of the illegal [home] occupancies in that entire neighborhood.”

Robert Solera, an assistant administrator for the city’s building department, further noted, “We have an ordinance [in Sunny Isles Beach] that covers ‘multiple family.’ About three years ago we did a sweep of the Golden Shores area. We went house by house in the duplex area along Atlantic Boulevard as well as other streets…We found a number of [code violations] which we eliminated…At this point, we follow-up and keep track of who is moving into the neighborhood…[During] spot inspections, we have found there has not been any multiple family [code violations].”

‘Green Grass vs. Black Asphalt’
During the Oct. 14 Commission meeting, Iglesias presented photographs he took depicting the front of his own home as well as Mayor Norman Edelcup’s home.

“I have a lot of green area at my house,” Iglesias said. “The [Mayor’s home] also has landscaping - but more asphalt. If I decide to [park on the lawn] and keep a manicured lawn…I’ve got no problem with it as long as [a car isn’t parked on the lawn] permanently”

In response, Edelcup said, “If [a vehicle is going to be parked on the lawn] every night, then it really should have a parking spot…You need to provide for parking - and not a lawn if you’re really using the space for parking…Aesthetically, if you’re going to park a vehicle on the lawn every day, it does not improve or enhance the quality of the appearance of the community…There are [multitudes of other] gated communities around this county and South Florida that do not permit vehicles to be parked on lawns…Grass without a car is much better than green grass with a car [on it.].”

Commissioner Roslyn Brezin noted, “Cars parked on the lawn look terrible…Asphalt looks more receptive to [having] an automobile being placed on it…We know grass looks better than black asphalt, however we’re not talking about somebody’s grass and lawn -we’re talking about a lawn with vehicles parked on it.”

Iglesias reiterated, “I think green grass is much better than black asphalt…[However] if they’re parking on the lawn and ‘killing’ the lawn, there should be asphalt there and they should be ticketed - or fix the grass.”

Expressing his viewpoint once more, Edelcup stated, “We’re torn with the choice that we can have cars parks on lawns creating the ruts and disheveled appearance of a lot - or we can have more pavement. Each individual homeowner can make their own decision as it relates to that. If someone has two cars and they expect not to need any more space, then their driveway would be sufficient…If they have a large family with four or five cars, then I would think it’s still appropriate to provide for that space with some defined parking area rather than haphazardly parking cars on top of the lawn and landscaping.”

To help educate residents about Sunny Isles Beach landscaping requirements for private properties, Shelly Eichner of Calvin Giordano & Associates, noted, “In the R-1 single family zoning category, in terms of lot coverage, it says the structure can fill no more than 42 percent of the lot area. There is another requirement that talks about minimum landscape area at 25 percent. [With the structure] that sums up to 67 percent. That means there is 33 percent of the lot area [remaining] that does not necessarily have to landscaped and is not building coverage…It could be things like a pool or it could also be more asphalt and more paving.”

‘Keep Off the Grass’
Ultimately, the Commission agreed to make amendments to the ordinance including the addition of verbiage pertaining to the prohibition of parking a car or boat on lawns on a permanent basis; deleting the exception pertaining to social events that would have restricted how many times per week residents could have guests parking on their front lawns; and applying a $250 fine per day for violators. The second reading of the ordinance will take place on Nov. 18 at the next regular City Commission meeting.

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