Friday, January 18, 2019

15 story Power Lines for US1, our main street? Its time to reengage.

The threat of humongous power lines are back!  Get ready. Get engaged. This is not the time to merely say it's bad, now is the time to be decisive and formulate a united plan with our South Miami-Dade neighbors.

11:30 AM update - You ask, I respond. I am posting 2 photos demonstrating what I am told is the actual route. It appears that Cutler Bay will be spared, until Cutler Bay's commuters reach North Palmetto Bay.
It appears that the proposed power lines come into/adjacent to Palmetto Bay at US1 at the canal just South of the Colonial Palms Shopping Center, south of 136th Street, and then turn North up along US1.

Will the current Palmetto Bay Village Council be one of advocacy, to protect our quality of life or submission in order to avoid controversy in order to protect their own political positions? 

See Miami Miami Herald, Jan. 18, 2019, 15-story FPL power lines would be a jolt to the Underline, neighborhoods, businesses, by Linda Robertson:

Florida Power & Light is not giving up on its determination to string about 27 miles of line atop towers standing 9 to 15 stories tall despite a 2016 Florida appeals court decision that rejected the proposal, ruling that Gov. Rick Scott and his Cabinet erred in approving construction and ignored local zoning rules. FPL went back to the Cabinet — acting as the state Power Plant Siting Board — on Nov. 30 and has again received the go-ahead to erect a 230-kilovolt line along U.S. 1 from Cutler Bay to Coconut Grove. FPL said it needs to increase the capacity of its existing network to provide reliable future service. The city of South Miami, which straddles U.S. 1, will fight FPL, as it and other cities have for a decade, and hopes to win again, Mayor Philip Stoddard said. “The siting board rubber-stamped FPL’s wish list like it did previously, so that’s no surprise,” said Stoddard, vowing to appeal. “Making our cities look like an industrial zone hurts property values. People don’t like giant electrical poles. It’s not just a question of aesthetics. It’s a question of money.”

Photo credit - Miami Herald
While Mayor of Palmetto Bay (in 2010), I sponsored resolution 2010-32, waaaaaay back on April 12, 2010 which, in part voiced opposition to the siting transmission power lines down U.S. Highway 1; opposing the proposed routes along U.S.Highway One and was part of the actual opposition to the power line plan.  

Palmetto Bay joined in league with Coral Gables, South Miami and Pinecrest (to name some of of the co-plaintiffs). Palmetto Bay was once part of the legal coalition until the subsequent administration cut and run, leaving the court action to Pinecrest and South Miami to win – and win they did - and South Dade residents were protected - for a while.  

Now FPL is back, and only Mayor Philip Stoddard of South Miami remains in office to join this issue once again.  Current leadership of Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay should follow his lead and join into a united front to protect our communities. 

TALLAHASSEE: In face of local opposition, FPL seeks Cabinet OK for transmission lines - Political Currents - MiamiHerald.com
The leadership of Pinecrest and South Miami have taken the lead on this issue of neighborhood protection. The Miami Herald reports that these power lines are projected to run from Cutler Bay through Pinecrest, South Miami and Coral Gables to a substation in Coconut Grove. The towers would be built alongside Metrorail and down U.S. 1, past Cadillac show rooms, Porsche dealers, retail malls and through miles of concentrated development.


This is time for definitive action, not talk.


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