Miami Beach

Jan. 1, 2009

Right of Bay

Miami Beach Baywalk Inches Along

By Lee Molloy

Although it’s private property, the battle over the strip of “public right of way” that lines Biscayne Bay in Miami Beach continued at the December meeting of the Miami Beach City Commission, where Commissioner Ed Tobin sponsored yet another discussion of the embroiled “Baywalk” on the west side of the city.

Over the years, walls and fences have been erected by various condominium buildings that line the bay, upsetting residents who feel they should have access to a waterside walkway, private property or not. Especially embattled: the Waverly Condominium and Flamingo buildings on West Avenue, which prevented the public from being able to walk the full length of the path from Fifth Street to Lincoln Road.

Tobin told the commission that the city has an extensive plan to grant the community access from First Street on the bay all the way to 17th Street, and eventually well into the 70s in North Beach. Tobin wanted to know how things were progressing toward this goal.

City Attorney Jose Smith explained that the city had been successful in opening up the Baywalk behind the Waverly via appellate courts but was still going through the legal process with regard to access behind the Flamingo.

Transparency, Reliability and Accountability Committee member Mike Burke presented his findings after taking pictures of the entire proposed route of the Baywalk.

“We were here a year ago,” Burke said. “Basically, we’re here a year later discussing the same thing.”

Burke went on to say that “the Baywalk is a public right of way” and told the commission that the Waverly had only relented and opened up the access behind the property when fines from the city loomed.

“It’s only open after sunrise and then it closes at sunset — whatever that means,” Burke said. “Do we have to watch The Weather Channel to find out when this public right of way is opened?” Burke added he would prefer to see actual opening and closing times rather than “sunrise to sunset crapola.”

Mayor Matti Bower asked Burke what he wanted to accomplish. Burke told the commission he was looking for someone to hold accountable. With other issues, “there was always someone you could call up and yell at, or fire,” Burke said. “With this, no one is ever responsible.”

However, City Planning Director Jorge Gomez pointed out a flaw in Burke’s thinking.

“Mike continues to make one error,” Gomez said. “He keeps referring to these [areas] as public property and that’s really where the problem lies. This is private property.”

Gomez told the commission that the condo owners were in fact granting public access to private property and that they could not be forced to do so. Commissioner Saul Gross relayed his shock that the Design Review Board had not previously made it a requirement that new condos grant access to the Baywalk.

“I think that there is an invaluable lesson to be learned,” Commissioner Victor Diaz said. “This is a failure of the planning process to not have stipulated [access] as part of the orders on design review and approval of these projects.” Diaz, however, remained confident that a solution could be reached, and suggested crafting an ordinance that would require access if the buildings came back to the city to get exceptions and other zoning adjustments.

Gross said the city should caucus with property owners to convince them that opening up the walk would be beneficial to them, adding Diaz could work with someone from the city’s Planning Department as a commission liaison to achieve the goal.

Diaz was willing to accept the assignment.

“I do feel strongly about public access to the waterways,” Diaz said, before telling the commission that even if the condos do grant access, the walkway would still have to be paved, lighted and maintained. “There’s probably going to be a need for a financial contribution from the city in order to implement that comprehensive vision,” he said.

Gross said he wanted to know “what the steps are going to be, who is going to do it and find out what the milestones are on the way.” He then suggested a separate commission liaison for the proposed Baywalk north of Lincoln Road. Tobin volunteered to take on that task, saying he was looking forward to working with Burke on the project.

The commission voted unanimously to send the issue to the Land Use and Development Committee to come up with a plan for how to proceed.

It was clear, however, that people shouldn’t start adding the Baywalk to their jogging route just yet.

“Your expectations are unrealistic,” Gross told Baywalk supporters, explaining that even though the beachfront is publicly owned, “it took eight or nine years to complete the Beachwalk.”

Comments? E-mail lee@miamisunpost.com.