Miami's stalled LED sign repeal gets hijacked by an Orange Barrel lobbyist

‘Compromise’ amendment makes significant changes

The bold ordinance that would effectively repeal the city of Miami’s new regulations that allow for those oversized, illuminated digital signs in public parks and spaces — which has been debated and deferred for more than three months — has basically been gutted.

How did that happen? Well, the lobbyists, of course.

Commission Chairwoman Christine King proffered an amendment at Thursday’s meeting that she called a “compromise” because it allows the signs at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and the Perez Art Museum Miami to stay legal, but limits the hours they can shine, the brightness and the content (no strip clubs, for instance).

But it’s really giving in to the sign company that stands to make millions. In fact, it seems pretty obvious that the amended ordinance was written by a lobbyist for Orange Barrel Media who has experience writing legislation: former State Rep. Manny Prieguez.

That’s why the email with the new language for the amended ordinance was sent to Commissioner Damian Pardo, who had sponsored the original and real repeal, by Prieguez, not a city or District 5 staffer.

“I just wanted to share with you and Commissioner Pardo the attached amendment to the sign ordinance for this Thursday’s agenda,” Prieguez wrote to Pardo’s chief of staff, Anthony Balzebre. “If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me.”

Call him for questions? He’s running this show?

Despite overwhelming citizen support for a repeal, a letter from the county challenging the city’s jurisdiction on the sign permit at the Arsht and an assurance from the new Miami city attorney that the PAMM could be in breach of its lease with its sign — because the city, as lessor, never consented — commissioners voted 3-2 to accept the amendment. Commissioner Manolo Reyes, who has always voted against the larger signs, sided with Pardo.

Commissioner Miguel Gabela was the swing vote and he even disclosed publicly that Prieguez was a friend who supported his campaign last year (at least he has the guts to do that). “Manny Prieguez helped my campaign and he’s here for the Arsht,” Gabela said. But Prieguez is registered to lobby for Orange Barrel Media.

The lobbyist, who owns property on the Miami River, who formerly supported Alex Diaz de la Portilla — who was arrested in September on public corruption charges — and who has now sued him for the Rickenbacker Marina shakedown, poured thousands into Gabela’s effort against ADLP. Was Thursday’s vote his return on investment?

Gabela said his issue was the county weighing in so late. “The county never said anything up until now. Why did they county not say ‘What are you doing?'”

The amendment changes the ordinance so significantly, that the new city attorney said there would have to be another second reading, treating Thursday’s like a defacto first reading.

Pardo looked like he couldn’t believe what was happening. He said his ordinance was already a compromise because it would allow the signs that were already permitted as non compliant uses that could, maybe, at some future point, be made compliant.

“Some folks thought that if we adopt this ordinance, these signs are going to go away. That is not the case,” Pardo said. “It repeals the ordinance that passed a year and a half ago that created the oversized signs when there was no district 2 commissioner.”

This means that the threats of lawsuits are meaningless and the new city attorney said he was not worried about any litigation resulting from the ordinance. There is no real liability, he said.

A financial advisor and broker, Pardo called the amendment a distraction and reminded his colleagues that they have to act in a fiduciary manner and the PAMM has violated their lease with the sign. “We cannot treat them differently or convey special privileges to the PAMM. We are the lessor and as fiduciary, we must preserve our rights.”

A letter from Eric Silva, an assistant director of development services at the county’s Regulatory and Economic Resources department, to former State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz (do all former state reps turn into lobbyists?) to say that the property is in the rapid transit zone and as such does not have any “special exception of other zoning approval” that would allow the sign. If an application were made at the county, the zoning that would apply would be the rules in place before April 21, 2021 — before commissioner ADLP changed the rules to allow the enormous signs.

Interestingly, there were people from the Arsht Center in the audience, but they chose not to speak during public comments for the first time since the repeal was first proposed. They’ve had several people speak at every single meeting before this one. Could it be that they know they’re in the wrong?

“The District 2 office has been dealing with this for four months daily. We get the phone calls. We get the emails. We go to the forums. We hear directly from, I would say hundreds of people. We’ve tried our best to really gauge what’s in our district,” Pardo said, adding that texts and Instagram polls have revealed that more than 80% do not want the signs.

“The public has been very, very clear and I am going to ask my colleagues to please support me on this item as the District 2 commissioner,” he said. “I’m asking you to trust us.”

Gabela’s vote is particularly strange because he said he wanted to support Pardo since he is the district commissioner and he wants his colleagues to support him when he wants something in District 1.

Perhaps he wanted to support Prieguez more.

Amendment to the Miami sign ordinance (repeal) by Political Cortadito on Scribd

Miami-Dade County Zoning Verification Letter 4-22-24 (Arsht) by Political Cortadito on Scribd

Christine King, Damian Pardo, digital signs, Miguel Gabela