The Urban ForumNewsletter of The Urban Environment League

January 2005Issue No. 14Website: www.uel.org

Email: uelmiami@bellsouth.net

History was made on December21. I have lived in Miami since 1959,and “shame on me”, I have neverbeen to the Everglades. I lived onthe edge of the Glades when, in1960, the edge was just west of myhome on SW 87th Avenue and BirdRoad. It was really the edge and mythree children were born there.

I have been in the expanded edgewhile visiting Weston. I have drivenpast the Glades on Alligator Alley. Ihave watched the evolution of theEverglades from the air as little redrooftops sprawl endlessly westwardand human growth dangerously in-hibits the freedom of wildlife. As theGlades are diminished, the trafficgridlock continues to grow.

The occasion of my historic tripinto the Everglades National Park

was a precursory educational forayfor the UEL coalition committee toarrange for the upcoming February5th Everglades Trip co-sponsored bythe UEL and the South Florida Na-tional Parks Trust.

As we entered the Park, I was mes-merized! After leaving my urbanhabitat, and driving through MiamiDade County’s sprawl, we reachedthe natural phenomenon I have al-ways read about. Intellectually, I un-derstand the Everglades as the enginethat enables humanity to survive inSouth Florida. But, seeing it live andin its spectacular glory was a true in-spiration.

I now understand the awesome re-sponsibility the citizens of Floridahave to maintain the integrity of ev-ery remaining blade of grass in this

“I have livedin Miamisince 1959,and –shameon me”–Ihave neverbeen to theEverglades.”

Photos: Nancy Lee (UEL), DonFinefrock (Executive Director of SouthFlorida National Parks Trust) andNancy Liebman in Shark Valley. Nextpage: Denis Russ (UEL) joins us.

Nancy Liebman

A Message from Nancy Liebman - UEL President

Trip to the Everglades...Trip to the Everglades...Trip to the Everglades...Trip to the Everglades...Trip to the Everglades...magical earth form. This piece ofland is not only South Florida’sheartbeat, but it is a truly a spectacu-lar breath of fresh air. I regret notbeing part of the nurturing processfrom that day in 1959when I moved to Miami.

Upon entering the Park,we entered a new world,the South Florida of oldwith flocks of beautifullyfeathered birds, happilydozing alligators enjoyingthe serenity of the quietmarshes, brilliant sun,open air, and doting tour-ists. I thought the vastnumbers of birds thatgreeted us at the gate wasincredible. I cringed when the tramguide explained there were one hun-dred times more in the past.

Development into the Everglades,loss of food supply andpollution has driven thewildlife away. Will hu-man life be next? Howdisappointing will it befor the folks who movedhere for warm weatherand the ocean to run outof drinking water?

Among the high-lights on this trip was aclimb up a central towerin the park for a three-

hundred sixty degree view of SharkValley.

We were alone with the sound ofsilence, the expansive vistas, thesawgrass sea moving so slightly, the

green “hills” and the hard-wood tree islands with afew deer, lots of gators,(some with new babies)and fabulous bird life.

All of this and wher-ever I looked for miles andmiles I SAW NOBUILDINGS! Yes, theSea of Grass is a naturalwonder of the world.

What pride I had, as aFloridian of forty-sixyears, who raised three

Floridian children to realize that thecitizens of Florida have at last raiseda real challenge to force the preserva-tion of this treasure for future gen-

erations.A lot of us have been

sleeping at the wheelwhile insensitive over-development com-pressed the Everglades.

It was a much moremassive Sea of Grassthat has been dimin-ished by little red roof-tops, strip malls androck quarries. Imagine,mankind paved over

our fresh water supply and destroyedour wildlife!

There is a line in the sand now, aline that must not move. We call thatline the Urban Boundary Line. Itwas meant to stop the over develop-ment, sprawl, lack of schools and ser-vices and preserve the natural envi-ronment.

Every red-blooded Floridian musttake the responsibility to hold thatline and stop the little red rooftops,strip malls and other deadly en-croachments. It is incumbent on thegrassroots citizens of our communityto guard this natural resource andprotect the Urban DevelopmentBoundary Line. Continued sprawltranslates to increased trafficgridlock, polluted air, mercury-filledwater, and decreased water suppliesfor future Floridians. The Evergladesis the heart, soul and engine that willsustain Florida forever. As the Ever-glades go, so goes the future of ur-ban life in our fragile community.

Come hear more about this at theEverglades Trip, Saturday February5th. See the details in this issue ofthe Urban Forum. And, get involved.Read about our new Program Direc-tor - Gilberto Osorio - on page 5 ofthis issue. -Nancy Liebman

“The River ofGrass has beendiminished bylittle red roof-tops, stripmalls and rockquarries.”

Nancy and the Alligator!

Denis Russ

A tram tour of the Everglades led by park rangers from Ever-glades National Park. Lunch included.

Bus will leave for Shark Valley from the steps of Trinity Churchon North Bayshore Drive, 9AM. Bus leaves promptly!!

There will be a covered tram ride so you will not be required todo a lot of walking and there is rain protection. Park in the OMNIgarage right across the street from the church and meet at thefront, near the church entrance.

DEADLINE FOR BUS TRIP IS FRIDAY, JANUARY 28.SPACE IS LIMITED - first paid, first served.

RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED - Send us a check for $25Questions Call: 305 576-2553

Now That TheElection is Over,

From Here?

Miami River Inn: 305 325-0045

Don’t miss the opportunity to network and share adelicious meal at the historic Miami River Inn,118 South River Drive.

Upcoming:MARCH 15 - An evening with County Clerk Harvey RuvinAPRIL 19 - The UEL & Dade Heritage Trust Noted Art Deco developer Tony Goldman on the topic, “Preserving the Recent Past.”MAY 17 - Our last “Dine and Discuss” of this season will feature a discussion on the many efforts underway to preserve and enhance the Miami River.

Wine and Cheese, Dinner and More Wine: $25Call for information and to make a reservation:

Dine and DiscussDine and DiscussDine and DiscussDine and DiscussDine and DiscussFEBRUARY 15

“New Urbanism - Applied and Misapplied.”This important matter will be discussed by Charles Bohl, Director,

Knight Program in Community Building, author of the book, “PlaceMaking.” Herald Reporter, Andres Viglucci, will Moderate.

The UEL’s monthly “Dine andDiscuss” evenings have become a wellknown tradition in this community,encouraging public participation inthe electoral process, urban planningand growth management. Theseevenings take place on the third Tues-day of each month during themonths of September through May(due to the holidays, we do not sched-ule one in the month of December).They are held at 6:00 pm at the his-toric Miami River Inn which is lo-cated at 118 S. River Drive, Miami,and cost $25 each.

The topics scheduled for this yearhave made the 2004-2005 “Dine andDiscuss” season one of the most ex-citing ones that we had in our his-tory.

In September, we began with abang as legendary public servant,Merrett Stierheim shared many of hisunique experiences in public life aswell as views on such current topicsas the County’s Bond Program,growth management, the state of thepublic school system to the sold outcrowd.

The October evening, featured theHonorable State of Florida Represen-tatives Dan Gelber and Julio Robainaon the eight (8) State ConstitutionAmendments on the November 2,2004 ballot.

In November, the UEL felt it wasimportant to host a discussion onwhat many believed could turn outto be one of the most important elec-tion in our history. As a result, weinvited nationally known MiamiHerald Executive Editor Tom Fiedlerto share his views to a capacity crowdon the topic, “Now that the electionsare over, where do we go from here.”

Mark your calendars because the2nd half of our 2004-2005 season isgenerating a lot of excitement due to

The UEL and South Florida National Parks Trust Present:

Dine and Discuss

Everglades Bus TripEverglades Bus TripEverglades Bus TripEverglades Bus TripEverglades Bus TripFeb. 5th (Saturday) 9AM to 3:30PM

Board of Advisors:Gregory Bush, ChairSallye JudeDorothy FieldsDr. Paul GeorgeJoe KohlDan PaulElizabeth Plater-ZyberkBrenda MarshallArva Moore Parks McCabe**Gene TinnieM. Athalie RangeMitchell Wolfson, Jr.Martha MusgroveGeorge KnoxChairperson of Volunteer Initiatives:Amy Paige Condon

Kay Hancock ApfelJudith Berson-LevinsonGioia DeCarloJohn DeLeonRichard DonovanRobert FlandersLori GoldSage HoffmanRuth JacobsSylvan JoliboisJames JudeRichard Korman

Urban Environment League 2004 Officers, Board Members, and Advisors

President: Nancy LiebmanVice-President: Ernie MartinTreasurer: Kay Hancock ApfelSecretary: Richard KormanPast President: Gregory Bush

Nancy LeeSuan LuckErnest MartinRobert McCabeArsenio MilianEnid PinkneyPedro QuintenalliAlberto RuderDenis RussPaul SchwiepHoward SlotnickJason Uyeda

the following series of diverse topicsthat are scheduled:

By the time this newsletter is pub-lished we will have had our Januarydinner. The UEL joined forces withthe South Florida National Park Trustfor a dinner and discussion featuringtwo viewpoints on the landmark $8billion Everglades restoration plan.Scheduled was moderator MarthaMusgrove - former Miami HeraldEditorial Board Member - and speak-ers, Terrance “Rock” Salt, Senior Ev-erglades Policy Advisor, US Dept. ofInterior and Alan Farago, Past Ever-glades Chair for the Florida Chapterof the Sierra Club. Due to the im-portance of the Everglades as a re-markable natural resource to currentand future generations, the UEL willalso be sponsoring an Everglades bustour on February 5 (please see Page2 for more information).

FEBRUARY 15,2005 - The topicwill be “New Urbanism - Applied andMisapplied.” This important matterwill be discussed by Charles Bohl,Director, Knight Program in Com-munity Building at the University ofMiami School of Architecture, au-thor of the book, “Place Making.” Wehave also invited Nathaniel Belcher,Assistant Dean and Associate Profes-sor at FIU’s School of Architecture.The discussion will be moderated byHerald Reporter Andres Viglucci.

MARCH 15, 2005 - The featureddiscussion will be “An evening withMiami Dade County Clerk HarveyRuvin.” Mr. Ruvin will not only re-flect on his experiences as a long timepublic servant but will also discuss atopic that has always been dear to hisheart - the environment (includingthe challenges of global warming).

APRIL 19, 2005 - The UEL in-

tends to join forces with Dade Heri-tage Trust and the 2005 Dade Heri-tage Days events. As one of the offi-cial events, we will be featuring notedArt Deco developer Tony Goldmanon the topic, “Preserving the RecentPast.”

MAY 17, 2005 - Our last “Dineand Discuss” evening of this seasonwill feature a discussion on the chal-lenges and many efforts underway topreserve and enhance the MiamiRiver.

I hope to see you at these events.I guarantee you that not only will youfind the discussions very informativebut promise you that you will thor-oughly enjoy a very delicious mealprepared the old fashioned way by theMiami River Inn’s proprietor, Ms.Sallye Jude. -Albert Ruder UEL BoardMember & Chair of the “Dine and Dis-cuss” Evening Series Committee

Hold the LineCampaign

by Gilberto OsorioI am excited to be a part

of the Urban EnvironmentLeague team.

My role is to help buildon great work already beingdone by the UEL to ensure that Mi-ami-Dade’s Urban DevelopmentBoundary (UDB) is not extendedfurther west and further south.

More specifically, my job is tohelp build a coalition of homeownerassociations, civic and conservationgroups, municipalities, and others todemonstrate the massive public sup-port to Hold The Line!

We are suggesting that you:Help us reach out and educate

county commissioners, who will votewhether or not to move the UDB.

In the recent campaign, MayorAlvarez strongly supported our posi-tion to hold the line. He needs to bethanked for his commitment thenand his determination now to seethrough his pledge to the people.

Why It MattersThe UDB is a line that was

adopted by county ordinance over 10years ago to concentrate developmentwithin existing service areas, provideadequate infrastructure like roads andschools, and to protect natural re-sources like Biscayne Bay and theEverglades. At that time, county gov-ernment prohibited any developmentbeyond this boundary. Based ongrowth patterns, county staff do notanticipate any need to move the UDBuntil the 2020’s.

Who Is Trying to Change the UDBRecently, major developers and

speculators have bought up land out-side the UDB and started to plan verylarge-scale developments in the an-

ticipation that they canpersuade the CountyCommission to movethe UDB line.What If They AreSuccessful?

You pay. You lose.Schools will become

more crowded, trafficwill get worse, and in-

vestments in infrastructure–paid forby your taxes–will fall further behind.Remember the half-penny sales taxpassed at the urging of the CountyCommission two years ago? It is onlyable to pay for a small fraction of thepromised improvements to yourquality of life.

More demand will be placed onoverburdened water supply, and pro-tecting Biscayne Bay and the Ever-

glades will become more difficult.With diminishing choices, businessesmay look elsewhere to invest in jobsand opportunity.

How We Can Win?The Urban Environment League

of Greater Miami is working to builda coalition of civic and homeownerorganizations determined to supportbetter choices for Miami DadeCounty residents - taxpayers andfamilies who want a good quality oflife, a safe environment, and placesto work that are easily accessible tohome.

To join this movement and ensurethat our quality of life does not suf-fer in Miami-Dade County, call ore-mail: Gilberto Osorio 305-576-2553, Gil.Osorio@gmail.com

HOLD THE LINE CAMPAIGNResolution:To protect our quality of life, our community, and our environ-

ment, the undersigned organization supports holding the UrbanDevelopment Boundary in Miami-Dade County.

Existing infrastructure to cope with traffic, congestion, schools,clean and affordable water, and the environment cannot keep pacewith demand. Even the 2002 half-cent tax for transportation is in-adequate to meet a fraction of needs generated by existing develop-ment.

We support reasonable development alternatives that provide goodchoices and places of work closer to homes. Existing impacts to in-frastructure, like roadways, are so overloaded that we fear businesseswill not want to create new jobs in Miami-Dade County. Majordevelopments planned outside the Urban Development Boundaryfurther threaten our quality of life.

We ask our elected county officials to fix existing problems and tofund adequate infrastructure to protect our communities, BiscayneBay, and the Everglades.

We oppose any alteration of the Urban Development Boundaryand support the effort to Hold the Line.

Signed:_______________________________Group:_______________________________

If you belong to a group that might be interested in this effort, ask them to fill outthe form below. Return it to me at: UEL, 212 NE 24th St., Miami, FL 33137

So you think you wantto own a boutique

hotel?Here is a behind-the-scenes look

at how a hotel really works.By Steven Z. Levinson and Judith

Berson-Levinson Did you ever think it would be

romantic to run a boutique hotel? Orthink it might be kind of fun to owna bed and breakfast because you en-joy entertaining friends in yourhome? Think again, because the re-ality of being a hotelier is nothing likethe fantasy!

From the outside, owning anOcean Drive hotel in South Beach isvery prestigious and somewhat of anego trip, especially when the owneris a hands-on operator. But when itcomes to the hotel business, all thatglitters in definitely not gold.

Here is a behind-the-scenes lookat how a hotel really works:

First there is marketing, advertis-ing and dealing with travel provid-ers. There are “back of the house” op-erations such as housekeeping,maintenance, and repairs; and “frontof the house” operations includingreservations, front desk, accounting,purchasing and other administrativeduties.

There are no breaks in a 24/7 busi-ness and a small number of roomsdoes not necessarily equate to smalleroverhead costs because the samenumber of front desk staff are neededfor 50 rooms or 100 rooms. It is al-most impossible to achieve anyeconomy of scale with hotels with lessthan 100 rooms.

A critical function is reservations,which is not simply booking rooms.It takes the skills of an air traffic con-troller to balance such variables as

room allotments with travel provid-ers with different cancellation poli-cies; numerous rates based on timeof year, time of the week, holidays;contracted rates and discounts basedon affiliations such as AARP or AAA;and group room blocks.

Hotel rooms are not like otherbusinesses where inventory that is notsold today can be sold tomorrow. Anempty bed can never be resold so, likeairlines, hotels must overbook tomake up for cancellations and no-shows. But, just imagine the pande-monium that occurs when everyonedoes show up and there are notenough rooms.

The hotel operator mustalso deal with guests whothink that being away fromhome gives them license toact like barbarians. Guestsget drunk, steal and dam-age hotel property.

There are many guests,especially those who visitSouth Beach, who feel ob-ligated to get wild, act outscenes from “Animal House” or cre-ate chaos by making mischief.

One guest used a fire extinguisherto spray foam throughout an entirefloor. Another set off the fire alarmon New Year’s Eve forcing an evacu-ation. Another used a sprinkler lineto do chin-ups and flooded the ho-tel. Another thought it would beamusing to call every room pretend-ing to call from the front desk andinvited everyone to a non-existentcomplimentary breakfast in thelobby. Sounds funny until you imag-ine the fury of aggravated guests whorushed downstairs and found nofood.

All this aside, the main reason somany hotels such as the Edison andRoyal are converting to condo-hotels

is due to the combination of the ter-rorist attacks on 9/11 coupled withthe Internet rate wars.

When the travel industry discov-ered the power of the Internet, it wasan incredible means for boostingroom occupancy. Hotels developedcaptivating websites to attract guestsand were able to gain ranking on thesearch engines by painstaking work.

This is no longer possible as a re-sult of “sponsored links” and paidplacements by discounters who nowmonopolize the search engines andhave virtually wiped out a smallhotel’s ability to be found by a pro-

spective guest surfingthe Internet.

M o n o p o l i s t i cmiddlemen such asHotels.com, Expedia,Travelocity and Orbitz,that don’t contributeanything to the indus-try, have systematicallydestroyed the ability ofa small hotel to make aprofit by abusing and

humiliating hotel operators, demand-ing unreasonably low rates on largeallotments of deeply discountedrooms, limiting black-out dates, andcontrolling cut-off dates while theypocket a hefty percentage. This hascut profitability to the point wheremany hotels cannot afford to stay inbusiness.

In addition, there are the day-to-day uncertainties of an unstable workforce; the mostly inexperienced ortransient workers who are more in-terested in having a good time thanworking, that make it difficult forhotel managers to maintain roundthe clock coverage of the front desk,dependable housekeepers, and main-tenance staff.

On certain shifts a front desk agent

One guestused asprinkler lineto do chin-upsand floodedthe hotel.

UEL Featured ArticleWalking in South Florida

By R. Franco DuránThe song goes, “Nobody walks in

LA.” That may be so, but people dowalk in Miami. That is, there arethousands – if not tens of thou-sands—of adults in Miami who getaround without a car. I’m one ofthem.

Certainly, the majority of us areseniors or individuals who can’t af-ford a car or the hefty insurance pre-miums of a large city. However, thereare the few of who choose not todrive. Now, I need to clarify that Idon’t drive, but that doesn’t mean Idon’t know how to maneuver a car.I just think that owning somethingthat costs a lot of money when itbreaks, paying for insurance (note: alarge percentage of Miami driversbelieve insurance is optional), anddealing with big city traffic are bigstressors that I would rather avoid.

So, I walk and use public trans-portation wherever I live.

This amazes a social psychologistfriend of mine who studies howpeople plan. Certainly, before I leavethe house, I have to determine whatto carry for the day (no car, no trunk),estimate how and when to get fromhere to there, and allocate extra timefor any problems that may happenalong the way.

When I go grocery shopping, Ihave to determine exactly how muchI can carry home in the variousweather conditions we experience inMiami. This keeps my diet free fromice cream and most frozen foods.

Planning is old hat for me, but I’lllet my friend stay in awe. I have neverhad problems getting around by footor by public transportation in any ofthe five major cities in which I’velived. This includes hilly San Fran-

cisco and smoggy Los Angeles.In Miami, however, I have experi-

enced many challenges to gettingaround.

Miami was founded after the in-vention of the automobile, and thisis evident by how difficult it is to getaround here on foot. Despite the sea-sonal hurricanes, heat, and humidity,there are other barriers to walking (forpurpose, not exercise) in Miami.

If you look carefully, Miami is aMaurice Sendak nightmare – side-walks, where available, end here. Thisis especially apparent a block or twoaway from any major thoroughfare.

For example, when I asked a long-time inhabitant of Coconut Grovewhy there were few sidewalks in theresidential areas, she explained thattheir intended absence helped main-tain the city’s charm.

Charm or not, walking from U.S.1 to the heart of the Grove is riskybusiness for a person on foot. Maybethis is why there’s a shuttle that willtake you from the Coconut GroveMetro station to the shops at theGrove and back for free. It’s nifty,and it saves me from dodging carsafter watching a movie at CocoWalk.

The Miami-Dade Metro systemhas many faces. Well, two at least.The Metro Train is great. The carsrun regularly along the limited 20-mile stretch from South Dadeland tothe Palmetto. The Wachenhut guards(especially at University Station) arecordial and knowledgeable.

A half-cent sales tax was added acouple of years ago, in part, to allowthe train to run 24-hours a day. Thatwas a great time for me– I was able tostay late at work, I was never in a rushto leave the beach by midnight, andI felt a little safer and freer knowingthat the trains were running 24-7.

Unfortunately, that extended runlasted only about half a year, and the

earning $8-12 an hour is fully respon-sible for a multi-million dollar enter-prise and must make critical decisionsin the absence of senior management.

It is difficult to find willing, quali-fied workers who are legally in theU.S., can be depended on to cometo work every day on time, and pro-vide courteous service to guests.

Most of the time with close super-vision, the workers give a fair day’swork, however unlike most otherjobs, hotels operate every day 24hours a day and, like an airliner mak-ing a transatlantic crossing, there can-not be any lapse of coverage betweenshifts.

If all this were not enough, thereare so many systems in a hotel thatcan malfunction—and usually at themost inconvenient moment—fromcomputers, Internet connections,networks, electric, telephones, toilets,hot water, cable TV, fire alarm, smokedetectors to pools, bars, restaurantsand special events.

All of these potential problems aremultiplied by as many rooms thereare in the hotel. So, in the final analy-sis, for us, the pleasures of owning asmall hotel were far outweighed bythe headaches, and we don’t miss it abit!

After four years operating twoSouth Beach hotels, we converted theRoyal Hotel on Washington and 8thStreet into a condo-hotel. We stillown several units but a managementcompany is now running the hotelrental program.

We sold our Edison Hotel onOcean Drive & 10th Street to a groupthat is converting it into a luxurycondo-hotel. - Judith Berson-Levinsonand her husband Steven Z. Levinsonown and operate rental and commer-cial properties in South Beach, NorthBeach and Miami

old schedule has resumed, with thelast train running around midnight.

What happened? Insiders say thatno one was using the trains at night,except the homeless to stay safe, cool,and dry. I guess nobody noticed thatthe thousands of people who workon the beach were no longer able towork swing or graveyard shifts.

Apparently, the half-cent sales taxhike has been used to improve andexpand the Metro Bus system, orwhat I like to refer to as the ugly step-sister of the Metro Train.

In a word, the bus system in Mi-ami sucks.

Buses run late like clockwork. Asa regular rider of Bus 8, I can tell youthat people have stories of waitingover an hour and having four 8’s (go-ing in the same direction) arrive si-multaneously. I thought it was bit ofan exaggeration until it happened tome. I carry my cellular, and I use itregularly to complain about the buses(and the drivers). About 40% of thetime I get an argument: “Well, maybethe bus is late for a reason. Maybethere was traffic or an accident.”

In such cases, I kindly remind theoperator that his or her job is to con-vey my complaint to someone whocares – not to argue with me or de-fend the system. About a third of thetime the operator, by way of policy,gives me a reference number for mycomplaint. The rest of the time Iknow the complaint falls on deaf ears.I have yet to receive a response aboutany of my complaints.

Despite the problems, I get aroundpretty well in Miami without a car. Iregularly weigh the costs and benefitsof being without wheels, and I’mpretty happy to maintain status quo.Certainly, it’s not a life-style for ev-eryone. I guess you wouldn’t be sur-prised to know that the most popu-lar reading materials on the bus andtrain are advertisements for used cars.

It is very easy to blame developersfor overbuilding as we view the ex-plosion of condos rapidly changingthe skyline, but there is another sideto the story—escalating propertytaxes.

Our cities, county and schoolboard set their annual budget withvirtually no incentive for holdingdown costs.

Then the millage rate is set to coverthe budgets. Tax assessors are hesitantto raise millage rates so, since suffi-cient increases in assessments ofsingle-family homes are capped as aresult of Florida’s Save OurHome amendment, the ris-ing cost of government mustbe borne by commercial andmulti-family buildings.

Instead of being assessedon the basis of their current,value or actual return on in-vestment, they are now as-sessed on “highest and bestuse,” defined as “what a will-ing buyer would pay a will-ing seller.”

Today this translates to“potential” value not current value,even though this has no effect on thecurrent owner’s bottom line.

As an example, the taxes on a typi-cal 1950s waterfront garden apart-ment complex in North Beach in-creased by 194 percent between 1997and 2004. How much did rents in-crease? Only 23 percent!

When a rental building with anegative cash flow is taxed as if it werea luxury condominium, there is nochoice but to become one!

Throughout Florida, it is becom-ing economic suicide to maintainaging rental buildings that offer lim-ited amenities while paying astro-nomical tax increases. It has becomejust about impossible for landlords to

continue to operate multi-familybuildings when they cannot gener-ate enough income to cover basicoverhead costs (and old buildingsneed more repairs).

Architects hired to build afterWWII recall directives to designhousing that could be completed asquickly and cheaply as possible.Many buildings have already outlivedtheir expected life and have fewamenities desired by buyers.

This leaves a landlord no choicethan to convert their aging buildingsinto condos or demolish them and

replace them withmodern condos builtto today’s codes.

Developers shouldnot be criticized forusing the maximumFAR (floor area ratio)and height available,as they must cover theinflated price of theland, incur construc-tion and marketingcosts, and assumegreat risk.

Another impediment to operatingrentals is that laws created to protectthe rights of law-abiding tenants whopay their rent, can place landlords atthe mercy of those who take advan-tage of the legal system, adding stillanother operating expense.

A tenant can invite anyone into hisunit, move out and stop paying theelectric bill, but despite the fact thatthe squatter has neither a lease norpermission to live there, and otherresidents are threatening to move out,the only way the squatter can be re-moved is through a legal eviction.

A landlord can rent to one or twotenants and, despite a stipulation inthe lease limiting the number of per-sons in the unit, the tenant can move

ThroughoutFlorida, it isbecomingeconomicsuicide tomaintain agingrentalbuildings...

Stop Blaming the Developers!

in any number of friends and rela-tives without the landlord’s knowl-edge and the police have no author-ity to remove the unauthorizedpersons.

This adds the burden of increasedexpenses such as water that were notfactored into the rent, yet the prop-erty owner has no choice other thanlengthy and expensive eviction pro-cedures.

For residents who are concernedthat the proliferation of high-risecondos will cause increased densityand traffic, this is not necessarily true.

Many condo buyers live elsewhereand will not be full-time residents.Furthermore, there is a vast differencebetween a single buyer or couple liv-ing in a luxury condo as opposed tothe current over-occupancy of under-sized efficiencies and one-bedroomapartments where the tenant invitesin countless numbers of unautho-rized “guests” to split the rent andshare their dwelling space.

Part-time residents do not add tothe overcrowding of our publicschools and new luxury condos pro-vide garage parking thus alleviatingthe current shortage of on-streetparking spaces.

For those who think that restric-tive zoning will curtail density, thinkagain.

As long as there are buyers andcosts keep rising, buildings will bebuilt. As more and more rental prop-erty owners are forced to sell or con-vert their properties, there will be lessaffordable housing units available.

Throughout the nation, in citiesthat allow this to happen, the resultis an increase in homelessness.

What can help? Maybe Miami-Dade’s citizens can stop the bulldoz-ers by challenging excessive, inequi-table taxation.-Judith Berson-Levinsonowns and operate rental and commercial prop-erties in South Beach, N. Beach and Miami.

Terrance "Rock" Salt, SeniorEverglades Policy Advisor -fittingly sat below a photo ofMarjory Stoneman Douglascelebrating her 100th birthdayparty (photo below).When asked about the politicalwill to hold the UDB line, Col.Salt said that those on the otherside of the UDB line don’t vote(referring to the birds, andother wildlife). He saidpersonally, he thought it a goodidea to hold the line.

UEL & South Florida NationalParks Trust Dinner

Terrance "Rock" Salt, U.S. Dept. ofthe Interior and Alan Farago, PastEverglades Chair for SierraClub Florida Chapter debatedthe success of the $8 billiondollar Everglades Plan at theHistoric Miami River Inn.Martha Musgrove, FormerMiami Herald EditorialBoard Member, moderated.

Over 80 people attended thedinner panel.

Both speakers distilled therecovery to: Water Storage.How can they store water inthe wet season and get it in thedry season when it is needed?

With more land still needed for storage,escalating land costs was seen as a problem to therestoration effort by both speakers.

Col. Salt also said that more will behappening in Miami Dade County thenanywhere else during the next 5 years.

How Do UrbanWaterfronts Transform

Cities?UEL Summary ReportThe UEL held a Park Forum on

Friday, November 5, 2004 at theMiami City Hall.

The theme of the Forum was“How do Urban Waterfronts Trans-form Cities.”

The opening panel, moderated byJason Uyeda (UEL board memberand principal with EDAW, design,planning and specialists in environ-ments), included: City of MiamiCommissioner Joe Sanchez who gavewelcoming remarks, Greg Bush, Uni-versity of Miami history professorand former UEL President, who dis-cussed the history of Miami’s water-front, Amy Condon, Senior ProjectManager with the Trust for PublicLand who gave an updated reportabout TPL’s study of Miami’s water-front access, and Bob Weinreb, con-sultant for the City of Miami whodid a powerpoint presentation ofMiami’s downtown waterfront thatwas the focus of the UEL’s park fo-rum.

The presentations became thebackdrop for the day’s panel dis-cussions and mid-day boat tourof the downtown waterfront.

The morning panel entitled:“Successful Waterfront Parks andAnalogues from Around theU.S.” began with a presentationby Zari Santner, Parks and Rec-reation Director for the City ofPortland.

Ms. Santner has refocusedPortland’s park developmentstrategy through strategic busi-ness plans such as the Parks 2020Vision.

Ms. Santner presented the

scope of work completed onPortland’s Parks 2020 Vision whichwas a community driven master planfor parks projects into the year 2020.

Edward Uhlir, Chicago’s Millen-nium Park Project Design Directorspoke about the park which is con-sidered Chicago’s “Postcard of theTwenty-first Century” and was cre-ated on an abandoned railroad site.According to Mr. Uhlir, MillenniumsPark’s success was the result of thefollowing:

1. Establishing connections be-tween the surrounding business com-munity, the waterfront access and theintroduction of cultural activity

2. Hiring a world-class architectand public facilitator

3. developing a “forward thinkingvision” rather than traditional parkplanning

4. Working to make a “worldmodel” for a successful park

5. Creating a public/private fund-ing mechanism following an eco-nomic feasibility study for the parks’construction, maintenance, and theimpact on the surrounding neighbor-hoods.

6. Establishing that the park wouldbe a major destination for bothpeople watching and people mixing

and creating great gathering spaces7. Ensuring that there would be

creative parking solutions.8. Finding a political champion

(The Mayor of Chicago).9. Rezoning the perimeter to en-

courage residential development sur-rounding the park.

At noon, the panelists and partici-pants had lunch on Scotty’s Landingfollowed by a boat tour of Miami’sdowntown waterfront, keying in onthe areas from the mouth of the Mi-ami River to the Omni Area.

Highlights and discussions in-cluded a look at the port, the ob-stacles of connecting the waterfrontat Port Road, the overdevelopmentof the waterfront, the mix of publicand private uplands, the connectionsbetween Parcel B, Bicentennial Park,Bayside, Bayfront Park and the largeboat slip dividing Bicentennial Parkfrom Parcel B.

At the afternoon session, NancyLiebman introduced Miami MayorManny Diaz who welcomed the par-ticipants and told the audience he willbe very interested in hearing the con-cluding commentary from the guestpanelists as the City of Miami movesforward with the city’s masterplanbeing created by the firm of Duany

Plater-Zyberk.Following the

Mayor’s remarks,Liebman introducedJacinta McCann, prin-cipal with EDAW.

Ms. McCann hashad 22 years experiencein landscape masterplanning, urban designand landscape architec-ture in cities such as SanFrancisco, Portland,Sydney and Los Ange-les.

Jacinta’s presentation

focused on both the Oakland Water-front and the Port of Los Angeles, twourban public, waterfront park spaces.

These urban waterfront parks werewell thought out and programmed tothe needs of various user groups. Theoperations and management consid-erations involved city agencies as wellas design decisions to extend the lifeof materials, etc. During thedesign process, importantconsiderations were security,sustainability, numerousconnections from the pub-lic park space to the water-front, and placement oficons/memorials to create asense of place and identity.

Ernest Burkeen, City of MiamiParks and Recreation director hiredlast year with 31 years of park andrecreation experience in Detroit andFt. Lauderdale, spoke of his vision toclean up and restore all of Miami’spark system. He said the Park andRecreation budget has been increasedand he wants to make all of the parksaccessible and useful spaces for thecitizens.

The key point of Ernest’s messagewas focused on operations and main-tenance of the City’s parks. The man-agement of public parks, no matterwhere they are located, is as impor-tant to the overall success as the de-sign and planning.

The final panel consisted of Mr.Burkeen, Ms. McCann, Ms. Zantnerand Mr. Uhlir. Each gave their ob-servations about Miami’s urban wa-terfront and the lessons learnedwithin their experiences about creat-ing a park as a destination.

The message from the panelistsincluded:

1. Create guidelines for the char-acter of the park, including signageand gateways.

2. Combine passive and active ac-

tivities to make the park a destina-tion that will get people to the wa-terfront.

3. There needs to be a master plan-ning process between the public andprivate sector. The business commu-nity needs to be involved to help es-tablish private funding sources.

4. Miami needs to have a clear vi-sion for its downtown park.The park will need a senseof identity. Visioning mustbe a transparent and openprocess.

5. Develop new zoningfor the waterfront area. Re-quire developers to fundwalkways and park develop-

ment.6. Establish preservation and land-

use easements with non-profitgroups.

7. Create a special taxing districtto fund the park.

8. Experiencing parks needs to beless about “looking at the park” andmore about “getting to the park”.This is done with clearly defined ac-cess points and connections. Wateris a great attraction through whichto engage the public.

9. Establish destinations on thewaterfront and encourage water taxiservice.

10. Miami’s waterfront needs pub-lic land protection.

11. Bicentennial and BayfrontParks have great potential and mustbe connected and balanced betweendevelopment and open greenspace.

12. There needs to be a variety ofactivities in parks.

13. Civic buildings could be adja-cent to Bicentennial Park.

14. The identity of a park comesfrom the history of the place.

15. There must be a compellingreason to go to a park

16. Parks can be visually beauti-

ful, but totally useless.17. There must be a clear and cre-

ative governance of parks and water-fronts.

18. It is good to have economicdevelopment in parks.

19. Parks can be good partnerswith the whole city.

20. Endowments for parks cancome from impact fees.

21. There should be a design re-view process for development ofparks and waterfronts.

The Forum concluded with acocktail reception for informal dis-cussions with the speakers and audi-ence.

Have you beenenjoying thisnewsletter?

Let us know.

This might be yourlast issue if you are

not a member ofthe UEL.

Help us do our workwith your

membershipsupport.

If you have notrenewed your

membership, do sotoday, the form is

on the back cover.

Miami’swaterfrontneedspublic landprotection.

URBAN ENVIRONMENT LEAGUE OF GREATER MIAMI MEMBERSHIP & RENEWAL APPLICATION

NAME________________________________________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS____________________________________CITY___________________ST.______ZIP______________________

DAY PHONE____________________EVE. PHONE__________________________FAX_____________________________

E-MAIL___________________________ OCCUP._________________INTEREST__________________________________

Signature__________________________________Date______________ (All fees are tax deductible.)

Membership $35 Preferred Mem. $50 Board Members and Sponsors of UEL $100 Donations:

Urban EnvironmentLeague

ofGreater Miami

212 N.E. 24 StreetMiami, Fl. 33137Phone: 305 576-2553Fax: 305 576-2530Website: www.uel.orgE Mail Address:uelmiami@bellsouth.net

NOTICE:The UEL accepts articles/lettersfrom its members and members ofthe public. These articles/letters donot always reflect the views of theMembers of the UEL, or its Board,or the views UEL Advisors.To submit articles/letters, contact: nancy88@ bellsouth.netThe editor takes full responsibilityfor botching articles during cuts.

Students: $15

Get on ourdinner mailing list:

uelmiami@bellsouth.net •305-576-2553

Dine and DiscussDine and DiscussDine and DiscussDine and DiscussDine and DiscussFEBRUARY 15,2005

“New Urbanism - Applied and Misapplied.”

Everglades Bus TripEverglades Bus TripEverglades Bus TripEverglades Bus TripEverglades Bus TripFeb. 5th (Saturday) 9AM to 3:30PM

Reserve Today!