The Miami Lakes Town Council held its monthly regular meeting on Tuesday, September 1, to give its final approval for an ordinance, several resolutions and discuss some new business items.
• The Council was expected to give its final approval for an ordinance to create a new Town Center zoning district, and rezone the Town Center area to the new zoning district.
The Town Center is currently under two different districts, the RM-50 district, apartments at up to 50 dwelling units per acre, and the BU-2 district, a standard commercial district that allows all but the most intense retail and businesses uses.
Miami Lakes Town Center has been envisioned since the original master plan for the town as a walkable, mixed-use area similar to a traditional small town “Main Street,” and is centered on Main Street development east and west of N.W. 67 Avenue.
The proposed TC District regulations constitute a form-based code, which means it uses physical form, rather than separation of uses, as its organizing principle. The most important requirements of the proposed regulations include hierarchy of street types, maximum building setbacks and minimum building frontage, transferability of development rights, minimum glazing, location of vehicular parking and provisions for loading, parking management strategies, access management, incentive for rooftop commercial activity, aggregation of open space and landscaping and sidewalk widths and improvements.
• Council members were expected to approve a resolution to give Town Manager Alex Rey or his designee the power to reduce civil penalties and enforcement violators who fail to comply with the town's code.
• Lawmakers were expected to approve a resolution, sponsored by Councilmember Nelson Rodriguez, which allows the town clerk to handle the speaker cards and call up the names of residents who wish to address the Town Council. Those duties were previously handled by the mayor.
• Council members were expected to adopt a resolution, sponsored by Councilmember Tony Lama, that prevents the entire Town Council from using the town staff, resources and letter for non-town sponsored events.
• Lawmakers were expected to approve a resolution to change the town’s Miami Lakes Moover bus route to better serve the riders in the 6.5 square-mile city.
Based on riders’ feedback, staff has fine tuned the system which includes the route to travel south on Ludlam Road and west on Miami Lakes Drive, and to provide twice daily connection to Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School before school entry and during dismissal time.
The extension to HML will provide about 400 Miami Lakes residents attending the school the opportunity to take transit to school to help reduce traffic gridlock.
• Lawmakers were expected to approve a resolution to authorize the town manger to execute a change order contract for paving and striping for the new parking lot and walkways for the new Park East Youth Center in the amount not to exceed $15,000 to American Asphalt Equipment Corp.
The agreement increases the value of the contract from $47,500 to $62,000 for the installation of the asphalt for the new basketball court.
• Council members were expected to discuss Vice Mayor Manny Cid’s proposed legislation to direct the town manger to waive any possible application fees for the 40 homeowners who complied with the air conditioning enclosure requirement by spending their money before council members decided to eliminate the requirement.
Cid said it’s not fair that the residents who spoke before lawmakers in July about eliminating the requirement because it would cost them a lot of money don’t have to pay the fees.
Cid said the fees should include facility rental fees, garage sale and permit fees.
• Lawmakers were expected to discuss Lama’s concern and a solution to the overcrowding issue at the town’s K-8 centers, possibly created by students who live outside the town’s boundaries.
He said residents have contacted him indicating the overpopulation is negatively impacting their kids’ education.
• Council members were expected to discuss Mayor Michael Pizzi’s report on the Miami-Dade School Board’s funding of the adult community classes at the Mary Collins Community Center.
Pizzi said Miami-Dade Public Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho said the Florida Legislature did not renew funding to school districts to provide those services, and due to legal restrictions on K-12 funding, the district has no other means of continuing to offer the services for the upcoming school year.
However, Carvalho said he reached out to the governor’s office and State Senator Rene Garcia to find a solution to resume the classes.