Latest News From City Hall
During its summer sessions in June and July, the city commission:
TOOK TIME OUT TO HONOR THE MEMORY of Nino Pernetti, the three-decade proprietor of Cafe Abbracci. “We congratulate him for a life well lived,” said Vice Mayor Michael Mena. The commission then voted 5-0 to designate the 300 block of Aragon Avenue as “Nino Pernetti Way.”
VOTED 5-0 TO MAKE JUNE 3 “FOUNDER’S DAY” in recognition of city founder George Merrick for developing the unique city of Coral Gables on 3,000 acres of pine scrub land in the 1920s. Of note were the 160 acres and $5 million donated by Merrick in 1925 to launch the University of Miami.
LISTENED TO A PRESENTATION ABOUT restoring native flora to Camp Mahachee, the 11-acre campground of the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida (close to Matheson Hammock). “We are struggling with the constant bombardment of invasive species,” said Chelsea Wilkerson, CEO of the Tropical troop. With help from the Coral Gables Gar- den Club and others, a 1.5-acre area wil see alien species replaced by 2,000 hardwood trees.
VOTED 5-0 NOT TO INCREASE THE budget for cultural grant funding ($191,228 last year) and voted to include schools among the poten- tial applicants. The grants, which range from $2,100 to $8,700 each, support events in the Gables that last year generated $8.5 million in audience spending and supported 317 jobs.
LISTENED TO A PRESENTATION BY Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak on protecting schools from gun violence. Measures include pursuit of people who make threats on social media, placement of School Resource Officers at every school, panic buttons in class- rooms and on mobile phone apps, training for immediate engage- ment with shooters, and use of quick response drones (see Talk of the Town). “The city leads the state in how we respond to shoot- ings,” said Hudak.
VOTED 5-0 TO INCREASE REQUIREMENTS for new buildings to have electric vehicle chargers in their parking garages. EV chargers must now be installed in 5 percent of spaces, with 15 percent “EV ready,” and 20 percent “EV capable.” All parking spots must now have sleeving for future EV charging use.
VOTED 5-0 TO SCRAP THE VOTE by property owners in the Gables downtown to reinstate the Business Improvement District (BID) for another five years. Commissioners were swayed by complaints from condo owners in the downtown that they were not individually asked to vote for the BID by their condo association. The BID uses funds from property owners to market the downtown and run special events to attract more visitors.
VOTED 3-1 (VICE MAYOR MENA RECUSED, Commissioner Rhonda An- derson voted no) to change the street signage in Pine Bay Estates, after a survey showed 53 percent of residents were in favor. The old “pole” signs will remain up for as long as a year while the concrete “monument” signs will be installed on the street corners. Streets will be given names to replace numbers (Las Palmas vs. 59th Avenue).
LISTENED TO A PRESENTATION BY Commissioner Anderson on problems with the parking of motorized scooters in downtown areas, where they block sidewalks. “They are parked any which way, all over the place,” said Anderson. The commission agreed to instruct staff to create designated parking areas.
VOTED 5-0 TO REJECT THE CURRENT design for Ponce Park Residences (above), a luxury condominium designed for the southwest corner of Ponce Circle. In nearly two hours of discussion, residents objected to the height of 150 feet, twice the height permitted by current zoning. Despite approval by the Board of Architects, the commission asked the developer, the Allen Morris Company, to come back with a reduced height design.
VOTED 5-0 TO ALLOW THE GREEN SPACE MANAGEMENT division to plant flowering trees less than 25-feet tall as “filler trees” in smaller spaces, to add color.
INSTRUCTED STAFF TO DEVELOP A “Silver Permit Program” that would expedite home permits for residents 72 and older “to have them sort of jump to the front of the line,” said Commissioner Jorge Fors, who sponsored the item.
INSTRUCTED STAFF TO CLOSE Salvador Park at sunset, following neighborhood complaints that people were abusing the park with after-dark parties that included mariachi bands, ponies, and clowns.
VOTED 5-0 TO ALLOW DEVELOPERS to get additional density in their projects by creating public parks within 1,000 feet of the project. Previously, such parks-in-exchange-for-height/density had to be adjacent. This is for the downtown only, and parks must be given to the city. Ordinance sponsored by Mayor Vince Lago.
VOTED 5-0 TO APPROVE A 16-STORY luxury condo building at 1505 Ponce de Leon Blvd. between Menores and Mendoza avenues. In exchange for an increase in height, the project will provide a 6,600-square-foot linear park along Ponce, and a 6,240-square-foot dog park behind the building on Mendoza. It will also preserve a 1925 building on the property, designed by architect George Fink.