Public Park Should Open First at Marine Stadium site

The recently approved Virginia Key Master Plan envisions a restored and reopened Miami Marine Stadium but how long will it take to bring back the historic structure into operation and the public back to the waterfront?

Shuttered in 1992 after Hurricane Andrew’s winds whipped through the Miami Marine Stadium, the venerable stadium has sat unused, neglected and vandalized behind a sagging chain-linked fence ever since.

But that wasn’t the first time it closed.

In 1967 - a scant four years after its opening -- a Miami Herald photo showed the stadium behind a chain-linked fence with a “No Trespassing” sign. Apparently the place wasn’t making enough money from boat races alone to keep it open.

Under the headline, “An Insolent Sign,” the Herald lamented the public being shut out of valuable waterfront land:

The public has come to forgive the feasibility reports and the enthusiasm that generated the spending of $2 million for a stadium that was supposed to be filled each weekend with 6,566 screaming admirers of roaring motorboats...But it is impossible to forgive the hand-wringing at City Hall over past mistakes and the failure to allow the public to use this stretch of bayfront. .. Everywhere else along Rickenbacker Causeawy, the people of Miami crowd fender to fender and blanket to blanket to enjoy the waterfront. But not within the shadows of the moldering white elephant that is the Marine Stadium. There is nothing the public can do about the Marine Stadium being a profitless place, but there should be an effective demand to end the insult of that fence and locked gates.

A preliminary engineering study of the Miami Marine Stadium released earlier this year by Friends of the Miami Marine Stadium showed the concrete restoration costs to be between $5.5 - $8.5 million, exclusive of renovation costs for new seats, bathrooms, etc... Still unknown is the condition and costs of renovating the underwater concrete pilings that prop up the nearly 50-year-old structure.

Despite good intentions and a solid commitment from City Hall, it could take some time to finish the engineering studies, raise funds and complete the renovations.

In the meantime, the public is, once again, being shut out of its beautiful waterfront land.

Why not bring down some of those ugly chain-linked fences, plant some sod, install park benches and call the whole place a park?

The need for waterfront parks is just as great - if not greater - today as it was in 1967. Bring it on.


Resources: http://www.marinestadium.org/

Volunteers Should Take Up Shovels to Bring New Master Plan to Life

The City of Miami Comission unanimously approved a new master plan for Virginia Key Thursday, July 22 that is supposed to serve as a future roadmap for redevelopment as well as ecological restoration of the island.

The Miami Herald briefly reports on this in today's issue: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/23/1743176/virginia-key-plan-is-approved.html

Unlike other master plans, which often sit on shelves, portions of this plan could come to life sooner rather than later with the help of volunteer organizations that can offer their sweat equity in creating bike paths, replanting natives and creating public spaces where there are none today.

If nearly 100 civic and environmental organizations participated in the planning process that transformed the former concrete-laden master plan with this greener proposal, there should be lots of volunteers at the island's disposal.

Shovel, anyone?

New Virginia Key Plan Goes Greener With Shades of Gray

The Miami Herald editorial board, which last year panned the City of Miami's proposals for Virginia Key , sees the latest proposal as more favorable to residents and less so to developers.

Generally speaking, this is so.

Though after delving into the details, you can see there is still considerable commercial and marine-related development in the Marine Stadium area, in particular.

In other words, greater shades of green (open space next to Miami Marine Stadium) mixed in with some gray (a multi-story parking garage, four, multi-story boat storage buildings, a marine exhibition center of 35,000 to up to 135,000 square feet).

View the "conceptual" plan developed by University of Miami students in a semester long design workshop on the City of Miami's website.

http://ci.miami.fl.us/planning/pages/master_plans/VKey.asp

(The 69 page plan takes awhile to download so be patient.)

This plan was developed as part of a semester-long design workshop at the University of Miami architecture school this spring. The students and their professors invited representatives of civic and environmental groups to speak to them and offer suggestions, some of which made their way into the revised plan.

The Planning Advisory Board takes up the issue tonight, Wednesday, July 21 and the City Commission takes it up Thursday, July 22, time to be determined.

These are both public hearings, so come on down to City Hall and participate.
If you have questions or don't like some elements, speak up at the public hearings. If you do like parts, also speak up.

If you can't attend,consider sending an email to City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado: tregalado@miami.gov

After all, this is your island. And it is supposed to be your plan.

City of Miami presents new master plan for Virginia Key

The Miami Herald reports on the City of Miami planning department`s newest proposal for a Virginia Key Master Plan, which will go before the City Commission July 22.

The claim, emblazoned in the headline, is that this plan is
more nature, less concrete than last year`s plan, which contained upwards of 12 parking garages.


See the Miami Herald story: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/18/1736593/virginia-key-more-nature-less.html

The Herald story also contains a link to the City of Miami plan.

See it for yourself.

Is this the very best than can be done to protect the island`s natural resources and bring back public waterfront access or, merely as one representative of a civic group involved in the planning process put it -- a necessary compromise.

Virginia Key Master Plan Public Meetings in July

A new (and hopefully improved) Virginia Key Master Plan is scheduled to make the rounds of City advisory boards beginning July 13 and culminating with the Miami City Commission July 22, 2010, according to Luciana Gonzalez at the City’s planning department.

One caveat: it’s only a “tentative” schedule:
 
•     July 13, 2010- Waterfront Advisory Board
•     July 15, 2010- Parks Advisory Board
•     July 21, 2010- Planning Zoning and Appeals Board
•     July 22, 2010- City Commission
  

No telling what the new proposed Virginia Key Master Plan looks like just yet - nothing has been posted on any website and there have been no public hearings, workshops or information meetings since the City of Miami Commission deferred approval of the last plan in October 2009.

At the time, the City Commission said they wanted to defer approval of the plan to give more time for public input.

Hopefully, the new proposal will be posted on the City's website before it gets to the Waterfront Advisory Board to give the public - which, after all, owns Virginia Key, - a chance to see it and the time to prepare constructive comments.

Here's what the City of Miami Planning Department has posted on its Virginia Key site to date:

The City of Miami is seeking to implement a master planning process that studies Virginia Key in its entirety. It is the Master Plan’s intent to develop meaningful waterfront and public open space areas; offer policies for the use, development, and management of land; the protection and enhancement of natural resources while providing the necessary infrastructure and traffic flow to serve future improvements to the island.

The City’s population growth, coupled with current urban development trends and demands for waterfront access and recreation has created the need for a comprehensive master plan study. The proposed Virginia Key Master Plan will emphasize the opportunities for mixed-use waterfront development, integrate and preserve the historic Virginia Key Beach Park, as well as make recommendations for future island wide improvements and protection of remaining public beaches, parks, and conservation areas.

The City is directing all questions -- (WHAT IS THE PLAN? comes to mind) -- to the Planning Department, email: planning@ci.miami.fl.us or Fax (305) 416-2156 or P.O. Box 330708, Miami, FL 331233.



Resources:
http://ci.miami.fl.us/planning/pages/master_plans/VKey.asp
http://www.virginiakeymasterplan.com/ (website created by EDSA, the City of Miami’s consultant on Virginia Key)

Principles for a "New" Virginia Key Master Plan

When the City of Miami commission voted in October 2009 to defer approval of the proposed Virginia Key Master Plan to 2010, it gave community groups time to create alternatives.

There were lots of ideas aired during the on/off again public planning process, culled from various public meetings and design charrettes.“Less is more” become a refrain of citizens and various civic, enviornmental and preservation groups.

A early Miami Herald editorial chimed in:

“....A place to walk through nature preserves, hang out at the beach or take the family on a spin along a biking trail. .. These are what the master plan should emphasize.

In September, the City of Miami Waterfront Advisory Board set this criteria:

Construction of a Virginia Key “Welcome Center,” restoration of the marine stadium, no hotels, a comprehensive transportation plan, bike trails, public boat ramp, clean up contaminated landfill, increase native tree buffer areas around playing fields anc continue restoration of the Virginia Key Beach areas.

Now the Urban Environment League, working with a coalition of concerned citizens and community groups, has offered a series of “principles” to guide planning:

Free and clear public access to the beach and all public property
Public participation should be insured throughout the process
Public access should not be inhibited by parking restrictions or inadequate public transportation.
Restoration of the Marine Stadium, uninterrupted access to the basin waterfront, and non-structured parking accommodations.
(Northpoint) The area of Virginia Key north of the causeway should be largely treated as a natural area and not developed into the category of traditional parks found elsewhere in the city.
Development of a public recreation area in the middle of the landfill surrounded by restored native landscaped buffers. Not to exceed 20 acres or less than 20 percent of the available landfill area.
Public parkland should be used to enhance the appreciation of nature through walking trails, public campgrounds. There is a paramount value to keep all activity small scale.
Commercial eating facilities should minimal, and limited to small-scale operations.
Provide recreation within the most natural setting possible.
Tie in bike/hiking path masterplan for VK (including a main perimeter path around VK with connections throughout).
Provide for safe and expanded bicycle and pedestrian accommodations within the Rickenbacker Causeway, including expanded bike lanes, pedestrian friendly intersections, and traffic calming measures.

The goal, they say, is to build consensus for a new master plan - but a plan that is “sensitive to recreational needs, local history and the environment, within a context that preserves and enhances the natural world.”

What would you like to see or not see on Virginia Key?

The UEL is asking for public input. Comments can be sent to: uel@bellsouth.net or posted here to View from Virginia Key or the UEL blogspot, which also includes a survey, http://urbanenvironmentleague.blogspot.com/2010/03/virginia-key-planning-meeting-saturday.html.

What a “Green” Master Plan Looks Like: Trails, Public Beaches, More Trails

During the five years of “master planning” for Virginia Key, there was lots of talk of creating a “green” plan for the island. But doubts set in after one early proposal showed 11 parking garages.

The inclusion of “bioswales,” “green roofs” and “green recreational opportunities” didn’t do much to sway a skeptical public from the impression that the plan contained a tad too much concrete.

A June 2009 Miami Herald editorial summed it up this way:

Residents don't want to tart up Virginia Key with retail complexes and parking garages. They want a beautiful place to play and relax....A place to walk through nature preserves, hang out at the beach or take the family on a spin along a biking trail.

That eco-friendly vision might come to fruition first in the North Point. Miami-Dade Environmental Resources Management restoration expert Gary Milano (with input of Tropical Audubon Society, the Sierra Club Miami Group and Urban Paradise Guild) has just submitted to City officials a “green” blueprint for the North Point.

The proposed plan protects restored natural areas while carving out space for biking trails, beachside picnics and solitary strolls through hammocks and alongside dunes and marshes.

The proposal, which includes a primitive camping area, reflects public consensus culled from many several well-attended public planning charrettes on the island dating back to 2007.

It's what a "green" master plan should look like. Let's hope the City agrees.

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On Facebook: Friends of Virginia Key

Welcome to View from Virginia Key

Virginia Key

Welcome to your island.  Virginia Key is a 1,000 acre barrier island off the coast of Miami, Florida. It is publicly owned and largely undeveloped. 

The island’s history is rich with development schemes: A Port. A blimp base. A mining operation. A resort. A sports stadium. Most dreadful proposals haven’t succeeded. Some have, including placement of the County’s Sewer Treatment Facility. Another: turning a lake in the island’s interior into an unlined waste dump, the Virginia Key Landfill site. 

What will be the island’s future? That may depend on how vocal, how organized and how caring the community is going forward. Always it has been the public's passion for protecting Virginia Key that has saved it.

In October, 2009, the City of Miami Commission voted to defer approval of a proposed Virginia Key Master Plan which had met with disapproval from various civic, preservation and environmental organizations and two city advisory boards, as well as hundreds of interested citizens. Many of those who spoke out against various versions of the proposed plan objected to what they perceived to be intense commercial and recreational development of an environmentally fragile island. There were also concerns about the City’s commitment to restoring the iconic Miami Marine Stadium. 

The City of Miami Commission is scheduled to reconsider the Virginia Key Master Plan in May 2010. In essence, the island has received a reprieve. 

In the interim, this blog will serve to celebrate, educate and illuminate all things Virginia Key: past, present and future. And, hopefully, it will also serve as a community forum to discuss proposals and generate ideas. 

Please consider following this blog and joining it as we go forward together to a better future for Virginia Key.