Deed Restrictions: North Point of Virginia Key

Some people feel the North Point is such an environmental gem that the entire peninsula should become a wildlife refuge. Others want to pave over the beach for a public dock or a ferry launch to Fisher Island. Previous city master plan proposals had placed a corporate retreat center with overnight lodging in the area. And still others envision public beaches, primitive camping and hiking and biking trails.

But what will ulitmately happen may be decided by the State of Florida, which originally conveyed the land to the City of Miami during World War Two.

A latter deed for the area dated February 20, 1953 between the State of Florida (“Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund”) and the City of Miami for the North Point, including uplands, submerged bay lands and tidal flats, stated:

“This conveyance is made on the condition that the area above described is to be used by said City of Miami for harbors and airport constructions and development and should any of said area be used for purposes other than that of harbor and airport constructions and development the title to said land is automatically reverted and becomes the property of the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund of the State of Florida, the grantors herein.”

The public records shows that in 1994, the City of Miami sought to have this deed restriction lifted. A project review by State Agencies ensued. The following comments were made in a memo dated December 9, 1994 from Gary Cochran, Planning Manager, Bureau of Land Management Services, Florida Department of Environmental Protection:

“All lands administered by the Internal Improvement Trust Fund (Trustees) are lands held in the public trust. The Public Trust Doctrine imposes a governmental “servitude” upon certain lands and water areas that are to be held in trust by the government for the benefit of all the people. (Their) impairment or disposal is not done without the utmost discretion. The City of Miami is under the false assumption that because the Trustees specifically stated that these lands could be used only for either a harbor or airport that because they were never used for the stated purpose the lands should now be relinquished by the Trustees to the City for other uses......
....The control of the State over this property for the purpose of the trust was never lost.....These lands should not be relinquished by the Trustees to the City of Miami as to do so would impair the public trust and the intent that it was provided by the Trustees....The City of Miami and Dade County are presently in violation of the covenant of the deed as the site is now used as an dredge material disposal area. This was clearly not the areas intended use expressed by the Trustees and the land should revert to State control.”

Indeed. Let's see if the next set of proposals by the City of Miami pass muster with state officials- or maybe we'll be looking at the next State Park. Which wouldn't be such a bad outcome really, considering some of the alternatives.

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