Does any remember Ronald Reagan? For those that do, I must employ his words, “there you go again…” to our current elected officials who (once again) are not properly focusing on the issues at hand and instead, are relying upon catchphrases, hyperbole, or even hysterical comments in regard to the latest issue to hit Palmetto Pay: the Rapid Transit Zone (RTZ). Could the RTZ be the next 87 Avenue bridge fiasco for Palmetto Bay*? I am hopeful it won’t be and I raise that hope as we should have multiple communities pushing in the same direction. That is, until such time as those other communities cut their own deals and pull out, leaving others to suffer from this high density overlay known as the Rapid Transit Zone (RTZ).
But yet again, like the 87th Avenue bridge, it is clear that the current Palmetto Bay officials (once again) have a late start and are moving forward completely oblivious to the fact that precedent was laid in the 1970s for this current effort. This blog post is intended to educate them to the extent that I am able.
It is also important to note that the current mayor and council are neither fast studies nor will the react fast as it is documented that the current mayor knew of the bridge issue in the discussions held with County Commissioner Cohen Higgins in December 2020. It is also unfortunately that not a single member of the Village Council or Charter Officers could (or would) attend a very important County meeting on the bridge, this despite the fact that the next day County meeting was discussed at a Village Council meeting. That's right, no one attended from Palmetto Bay. Facts are facts. The mayor felt her time was better spent the morning of the TPO meeting at a photo op at Coral Reef Park. Fine, photo ops trump the people's business in the mayor's mind, but why did she fail to at least designate any other member of the village council or staff to attend and object on behalf of Palmetto Bay. I mean really? Not a single member of the 5 member village council nor any of the 3 charter officers could attend in order to place an objection on the record? They must really have some very demanding, inflexible, schedules.
The acts (inaction) revealed above is how the people of Palmetto Bay end up under represented and lose before the County.
RTZ BACKGROUND: Miami-Dade County, Florida, implemented the beginnings of Rapid Transit Zone (RTZ) in the late 1970s concurrent with the approval of its heavy rail system. It makes sense. The heavy rail has but one owner, Miami-Dade County, which is also the regional government responsible for the delivery of mass transit through a divided metropolitan area that presently includes 34 individual municipalities, each with its own zoning regulations and processes. It was back in the 1970s that the County first set the ground work for a RTZ code that preempts zoning and permitting jurisdiction to the County for all property under and around the heavy-rail system.
LEADERSHIP LESSON ONE – you must research and understand an issue before you can begin to mount a quality defense.
THE RTZ CODE, AS IT CURRENTLY EXISTS: Here is the applicable county codes, that, by the way, have long been posted on Municode. See Chapter 33C
Chapter 33C - FIXED-GUIDEWAY RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM—DEVELOPMENT ZONE
Sec. 33C-1. - Legislative intent, findings and purposes.
The Board of County Commissioners for Miami-Dade County, Florida, hereby declares and finds that the uncoordinated use of lands within the County threatens the orderly development and the health, safety, order, convenience, prosperity and welfare of the present and future citizens of this County. Pursuant to Ordinance No. 75-22, the Board adopted and accepted the Comprehensive Development Master Plan for Miami-Dade County whereby it specifically declared that it was the continuing policy of Miami-Dade County, in cooperation with federal, State, regional and local governments, and other concerned public and private organizations, to use all reasonable means and measures to:
(a) Foster and promote the general welfare;
(b) To create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony; and
(c) To fill the social, economic and other requirements of the present and future generations of citizens of Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Footnote*: The lack of proper legislation management is why I term the 87 Avenue bridge process a fiasco. Those in favor of the bridge may disagree, stating that it was time, but all much acknowledge that current Palmetto Pay officials failed to put up an real roadblocks to the most recent bridge effort looking unprepared and out maneuvered, regardless of whether you are pro or anti- bridge. The officials made some noise to appear as if they were anti-bridge (usually limited to caustic emails or constrained one minute statements before the various County hearings) but the County paid little if any attention to the noise created by current Palmetto Bay officials. CLICK HERE to view prior posts relating to the ineffective bridge defense.
THE GOAL: Let’s hope the neighboring communities can prepare and organized effort that our Palmetto Pay officials bay hitch our hopes to and ride their coattails to success.
STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER UPDATES AND BACKGROUND!
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