Proposal calls for 480 residential units, a grocery store and more
The 87th Avenue bridge isn’t the only thing riling folks up in Palmetto Bay.
The village council will meet Monday night to consider the approval of a 480-unit multi-family residential complex at the site of the Palmetto Bay Village Center, the old Burger King headquarters at 17777 Old Cutler Road.
It’s the first item on the zoning hearing agenda.
Currently five commercial office buildings and event venues adjacent to Village Hall, the proposal would fulfill the intention of the Village Mixed Use overlap zoning approved in 2004 in order to create a live-work-play atmosphere. Plans for this property have been in flux since 2008 and, at one point, developers threatened to build a hospital if they didn’t get their way.
Village staff recommends approval of this application, made in 2017, which apparently transfers development rights from other properties to increase height (to 10-12 stories) and density.
It also includes a 48,000-square-foot grocery store, perhaps with a liquor and pharmacy attached, and 20,000 square feet of additional retail and restaurant space.
Critics who posted flyers in the community contend that a traffic study that only adds 4% more congestion was done before the addition of 68,000 square foot of retail. There’s also concern that the council could vote to approve the project administratively without a public hearing process.
That means there would be no public input and would limit the opportunity for council members to set conditions or negotiate changes.
Read related: County airs 87th Avenue bridge design, details despite Palmetto Bay dispute
Activist and community blogger Gary Pastorella sent an email out Sunday saying that this would set a bad precedent for the Village.
“This type of process (of handing over the decision making to staff) if approved is tantamount to the Council abdicating their authority and power to make decisions that affect the future of our Village. Residents elected the Council to fulfill their campaign promises about Zoning and do their job. This process will set a precedent that will be sought by other developers which then can not be denied,” Pastorella wrote.
“So are the lobbyists for Palmetto Bay Village Center approving the zoning for the application? Or does the Council approve zoning applications? Why would it be appropriate for the Council to hand over their responsibility and authority to developer-friendly staff?”
Longtime resident Bev Gerald wrote Mayor Karyn Cunningham and the council members complaining that there was not enough information about the proposal on the agenda and that the neighboring property owners were not properly noticed.
Read related: Danielle Cohen Higgins earns distrust with surprise revisit to 87th Ave bridge
“We criticized our District 8 County Commissioner for putting the 87th Avenue bridge on the county agenda last February without proper advance notice (a violation of the 4-day rule) so why is this proposal any different? You expect this item to be even discussed or considered when, if it is not in the Agenda packet, cannot be analyzed in advance by our entire Council,” Gerald asked in her email, which has been widely distributed. “Or will it miraculously appear just in time for this meeting but without any ability of our residents to see the language contained in it in advance?”
She says a grocery store is not needed because there are two Publixes within two miles of the site and would add too much traffic. Gerald also questions how the addition of a pharmacy and a grocery store could be considered a “continuation” of the same project.
“If you give in to an ‘administrative’ decision that does not allow Council input, you are letting our residents down — you should know by now what is right and fair for this site, and this proposal which I HAVE NOT SEEN is a slap in the face to our residents and voters.”
The zoning hearing starts at 7 p.m. and the livestream can be viewed here.
Controversial Palmetto Bay Village Center plan could get staff approval added by Ladra on
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