KFHA brings Save Calusa fight to a public neighborhood forum Tuesday

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For years now, the fight over the old Calusa golf course has played out in packed county hearings, late-night commission debates and hundreds of angry public comments. On Tuesday night, it moves back to the neighborhood.

The Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations is hosting what it calls a public forum for residents of Calusa, Kendall and West Kendall to air their views about the controversial development proposed for the former golf course property, which had its final approval deferred last month.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Kendall Village Center Civic Pavilion. And organizers say the developer could actually show up.

If Richard Norwalk, whose GL Homes has proposed a 540-home development in what has become one of the most contentious land-use battles in Miami-Dade in years, actually attends, it would be one of the rare moments the developer faces residents directly outside a formal government hearing. Not just any developer. A developer whose firm is one of Florida’s largest luxury and 55+ community builders in the state. And a developer who has (a) misrepresented the extent of wildlife on the property and then tried to scare it off (b) allegedly misrepresented the number of homes that will be built near the rookery on official documents and (c) diminished residents’ concerns before, telling them that he had all the support he needed (spoiler alert: he didn’t).

This could get interesting. And Ladra dares him to go.

But bring a friend. Por si las moscas.

Read related: No votes, no vote: GL Homes’ Calusa development kicked down the fairway

As Political Cortadito readers know, the proposal to build hundreds of homes on the former Calusa Golf Course has sparked an organized neighborhood nonprofit resistance group known as Save Calusa, not to be confused with the Save Calusa Trust of ringside (golf course-adjacent) property owners who were paid hundreds of thousands to vote to release the covenant that protected the land from development for 99 years.

Residents argue that building hundreds of homes would worsen traffic, flooding and overcrowding in an already stressed Kendall corridor. Never mind the damage it could wreak on a fragile organic rookery of precious Florida wildlife, including some endangered species. Part of the plan includes draining the lake that serves as their main forging ground and building homes within 100 feet of the nests.

The fight reached the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners last month, where the project required amendments to the county’s long-range land-use blueprint, the Miami-Dade Comprehensive Development Master Plan. Again. Because, the last time, the county failed to properly notice nearby, affected residents. They were forced to have a redo by the courts.

But when it became clear the votes weren’t there last month, Raquel Regalado — whose District 7 includes the Calusa neighborhood — deferred the item, saying the developer and residents needed time to work things out. In reality, she wasn’t about to force a losing vote after several of her colleagues expressed the same concerns raised by dozens of speakers.

Read related: Calusa project is back at Miami-Dade County — so is developer’s checkbook

That deferral also came with a warning from Anthony Rodriguez: When the item returns to the commission agenda, the marathon public testimony that has defined the Save Calusa fight may not happen again. Which means Tuesday’s meeting could become something like a last community venting session before the issue returns to county hall.

Rodriguez might do well to attend. It’s in his backyard. Maybe Regalado should go, too. It’s in her house.

Ladra can’t help but wonder if any of those public speakers at the February meeting, reading scripted messages of support for the project without actually living near it, will be at Tuesday’s community forum to express their support. Or if that show is just for the commissioners.

We know that Amanda Prieto, who founded the Save Calusa non profit, will be there. She wasn’t really even happy with a 330 foot buffer, which is what the Tropical Audubon Society recommends so the development does not disrupt the rookery. She wanted at least a five mile radius passive park around the lake so the rookery can thrive and grow. But she wants to hear from the community on Tuesday about what they think would be enough space and concessions.

She may also do well to remind them that the county commission has already approved 550 homes to be built here once. they’re likely to approve something agin. Prieto has been realistic about the fact that something is going to be built there.

The Kendall Federation — created more than 40 years ago to try to control the county’s development of the area — says the forum is meant to gather residents’ final thoughts about what the project could mean for their community. In Kendall terms, that usually means a very full room.

“If there has ever been a more important time to show how you feel about your community, this is it,” said KFHA President Michael Rosenberg. “Also, if that is not enough reason, come and watch KFHA board member Daniel Arguelles re-enact his infamous ‘knock-knock’ speech, which set the room on fire at the recent county commissioners meeting.”

Read related: Calusa development on hold as appeals court upholds overturn of zoning vote

The wildcard is Norwalk. KFHA organizers say the developer “may” attend. If he does, it would put him in front of a neighborhood that has spent years organizing against the project he hopes to build — and basically demonizing him. That would be bold, to say the least.

But it might also be necessary. Because when the Calusa proposal returns to the county commission, it has to come back with enough of a compromise to sway the board members who wavered at the February meeting. That includes commissioners Danielle Cohen Higgins, Rene Garcia, Rob Gonzalez and Vicki Lopez.

Other commissioners might also feel slighted (read: disrespected) if the developer comes back with the same application and no additional concessions as they clearly requested.

A genuine effort to hear the neighbors out in their own territory might go a long way.

And maybe Rodriguez will have to open it up to public comments because of the significant changes — if he does, he will do it with a heavy sigh — but perhaps the comments will be limited if GL Homes and Save Calusa can meet somewhere in the middle.

Next time, it won’t just be about land-use maps and covenants. It will be about whether the developer and the neighbors found a way to coexist — or whether this long-running Kendall development war is headed for another round.

And in Kendall land-use politics, those rounds can last a very long time.

This kind of independent, government watchdog reporting is crucial to transparency and democracy. And more so every day. Help shine a light on the darker corners of our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.