Miami Beach

Open Access

Courts say city can force condo to remove baywalk fence

By Ben Torter

A white metal fence blocking access to the public baywalk behind the Waverly Condominium is one step closer to coming down.

That’s because a three judge appellate panel ruled June 6 that language in the city’s charter requiring condominiums to allow public access to the baywalk that runs through their backyards is clear and must be followed.

“They are required to open the baywalk,” Miami Beach City Attorney Jose Smith said. However, before it opens, the condo board must repair the sea wall, which had problems that caused a minor sink hole in the baywalk.

“They went out and got plans drafted, and the building department has issued permits,” said Smith. “As soon as the construction is finished, according to this court order, they must open.”

The Waverly’s attorney, Tucker Gibbs, could not say when the repair work would be completed. He admitted disappointment with the ruling, and said the whole situation had been blown out of proportion.

“The Waverly has always agreed to open the fence,” Gibbs said. “I said the minute we get the walk fixed, we will open it.”

Still, he disagreed with the concept of the baywalk. “The fact is, we felt, and I still feel, there is a serious problem when you create a dead-end baywalk. I think it’s silly to create a baywalk that goes nowhere.”

The city hopes to eventually create a continuous baywalk from roughly the Venetian Causeway to Government Cut. Obstructions — including the fence and a concrete wall behind the Floridian Condo at Sixth Street and West Avenue — currently block the path.

In the fall of 2006, the Miami Beach Design Review Board denied an application by the Waverly Condominium Association to legalize its fence. Condo board members argued that unsavory characters from the park just to the north could hang out behind the Waverly if the baywalk was open. Privacy and security at their pool would be compromised, they said.

Smith believes the ruling will help the city open the entire length of the baywalk. The city is also in the early stages of extending the walk behind the adjacent Flamingo, 1508 Bay Road. There are no lawsuits surrounding the Flamingo yet, but Smith said if the issue does go to court, the Waverly ruling will help the city.

“I think it’s great,” Smith said, “and it’s also good precedent for what may or may not happen with the Flamingo.”

Comments? E-mail ben@miamisunpost.com