Miami Today: Week of Thursday, March 8, 2018

Page 1

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

WWW.MIAMITODAYNEWS.COM $4.00

COMMISSION SEES WHEELS FALLING OFF SMART TRANSIT PLAN, LOOKS AT PRIVATE PARTNER, PG. 2 PROMOTING OUR GEMS: Miami’s Downtown Development Authority is working on a promotional video that showcases the hidden gems of Miami, said board member Alicia Cervera. “We are working on a video that talks about the city, and I think that’s something we desperately needed because our city changes so quickly that as I tell people, if you haven’t been to Miami lately, you haven’t been to Miami at all,” she said. “I think that it’s important that we have a good video that tells our Miami story.”

The Achiever

By Gabi Maspons

LUXURY AUTO CLUB ON TRACK: Miami-Dade commissioners Tuesday gave the final OK on a lease with 13 Pista LLC to build a $100 million private luxury auto club and track on the 140-acre county-owned property at 2000 NW 47th Ave. The $30 million, 30-year lease requires the developer to build the county a community center, government center and buildings for three local nonprofits stationed at the site. The community center is to have a library, swimming pool, recreational programming and a cycling track open to all residents. The project is to draw economic development to the area, planning for a hotel, shops, restaurants and retail. “This is going to be a great economic engine for the area while providing a substantial amount of jobs and benefits to the local community,” said sponsoring Commissioner Barbara Jordan. CITY BOND RATING UPGRADED: Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded the City of Miami’s primary bond rating from A1 to Aa2 due to the city’s improved financial position, average debt burden and large, strong diversified economy. The rating agency cited the positive nature of the Miami Forever Bond Program as the city was proactively addressing sea level rise and affordable housing, in addition to noting that city resiliency was important to continue to grow tourism, population growth, and downtown development. “This is good news for the taxpayers of Miami,” said Mayor Francis Suarez. “The timing couldn’t be better. This will mean a lower interest rate on the Miami Forever Bond Program and will save our residents the long run.” BOAT SHOW BOON: The five-day 2018 Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show over Presidents Day Weekend had 1,100 exhibitors and 1,400 boats on display on land and in water, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. The show attracted 97,391 attendees from an estimated 35 nations, boosting local tourism, the association said. More than $3 billion in products were on display, and exhibitors reported strong sales on everything from fishing equipment and sailing gear to new yachts. “We are proud to host the greatest boat show in the world right here in Miami, delivering an estimated $854 million into Florida’s economy,” said Larry Berryman, show manager.

Michael Liu

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Housing director seeks incentives for others to build The profile is on Page 4

Carollo targets $500 million city housing pool By John Charles Robbins

Commissioner Joe Carollo envisions the City of Miami establishing a hefty revolving fund to build thousands of new affordable housing units each year. At a special housing workshop March 1 he detailed his plan, which he promises to introduce in formal legislation soon. Under his plan the city would amass a $500 million revolving fund to pay to build 2,500 to 3,000 dwellings a year, with an emphasis on ownership vs. rentals. Without the need to profit on the construction of affordable housing, the city itself can provide new and safe housing at a much reduced rate compared to private developers, Mr. Carollo said. He wants the city to create a housing authority to handle this new initiative designed to provide real affordable homes to income levels from extremely low to moderate. The daylong workshop brought out all five commissioners and Mayor Francis Suarez at varying times. The city administration hosted the workshop in response to a directive this year from the commission to City Manager Emilio

One officer, one shooter policy eyed

González to study the process to create a housing authority or housing department. That resolution, sponsored by Mr. Carollo and Manolo Reyes, is seen as a first step toward the city building its own affordable housing. “I can give you 101 reasons why we have to go with an authority,” said Mr. Carollo, not the least of which is doing away with the bureaucracy and politics. Bottom line, he said, “it’s going to work quicker.” Mr. Carollo mentioned the $500 million revolving fund, saying, “I’ll show the city how to do it … and it will only work with home ownership.” He spoke of building residences at cost, from $150,000 to $175,000 each. He stressed that he’s not interested in the city building or managing traditional public housing projects. Mr. Carollo said establishing a new housing authority is the way to go, as opposed to a housing department. The bureaucracy of another city department would result in little progress, he said, “and we’d be years down the road and still talking about how to build 20 homes.” A major stumbling block to bringing more

affordable housing to the city is the molasses pace of permitting, experts told the workshop. The mayor and some commissioners agree and have directed the staff to streamline the process. Mr. Suarez mentioned this in his recent State of the City address: “By the end of this year, we will also be modernizing our building review process. In 2018, there is absolutely no reason we should still be using a paper-based plan-review system. I envision a Miami where you can pull a permit from your smart phone, and we are going to make that vision a reality.” Providing more affordable housing will help dent ever-rising rental rates, too, Mr. Suarez said. “If you increase the supply, prices go down,” he said. Partnerships with other governments, like Miami-Dade County, and with the various Community Redevelopment Agencies are crucial, Mr. Suarez said. The city first established a housing authority in 1937 under state law, and managed public housing programs and projects for many years. In 1968, the city transferred all of its public housing complexes to the county.

After the Broward school shooting last month, Miami-Dade commissioners Tuesday discussed the Police Department’s policy for lone officers confronting active shooters. Commissioners are to meet with police in executive session to discuss that privately. “Parkland could have easily been in any community in MiamiDade County,” said Commissioner Dennis Moss. “There was clearly confusion in Broward, and I don’t want us to find ourselves secondguessing what an officer does.” The first officer on the scene at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High didn’t immediately enter, prompting criticism and investigations into the protocol for a single officer at an active shooting. Police Director Juan Perez distinguished between formal policies and department practices and procedures. MDPD officers are trained to first “stop the killing” and then “stop the dying” by getting victims to first responders, Mr. Perez said. Each year, county officers have specialized training, Mr. Perez said, and coincidentally, this year’s focus was active shooter training. MDPD’s preferred tactic is to have two to four officers confront a shooter but that isn’t always possible, he said. “There will be occasions when an officer will find themselves in a very lonely place and have to engage an individual by themselves.” Without getting into specifics, Mr. Perez said officers are trained to stop an active shooter by any means necessary. Barbara Jordan pressed him, seeking more details: “I don’t want to hear ‘whatever we feel is necessary,’ I want to know the policy when a single officer shows up and hears gunfire,” she said. “Does he wait for backup or go in?” “It’s so easy to judge when you’re a civilian,” she said, “but under what standards are we judging?” To discuss protocol and training privately, Mr. Perez is to host commissioners at the department’s training institute.

NEW AIRPORT TRADE ZONE LURING FIRMS FROM ABROAD ...

3

50-STORY TOWERS TO SURROUND RENOVATED EX-MACY’S ...

13

VIEWPOINT: HALT BLEEDING OF COUNTY TRANSIT RIDERS ...

6

COUNTY ON TWO COURTHOUSE PATHS, TO PICK IN MONTH ...

14

JACKSON WEST CONSTRUCTION TO START, OK IS SOUGHT ...

7

SWIRE PLANS RESIDENCES WHERE TOBACCO ROAD STOOD ...

16

TRAUMA BILL AIDS JACKSON SOUTH, AVENTURA, KENDALL ...

10

COAST GUARD EYES REGULATIONS FOR KEY BOAT RACES ...

18


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Miami Today: Week of Thursday, March 8, 2018 by Miami Today - Issuu