District 1 Commissioner Miguel Gabela, who is sponsoring the controversial changes to the city’s tree protection laws, will be joined by city staff to answer questions about the impact of the proposed amendments to the ordinance.
City of Miami District 1 Commissioner Miguel Gabela is hosting a town hall gathering at City Hall on Friday December 6 at 4:00 p.m. to discuss possible changes to the city’s tree protection laws. All community members are welcome.
Civic and environmental groups are opposing the changes, saying they would severely weaken existing laws by removing many permitting requirements for tree removal and by loosening controls over a city fund earmarked for tree plantings.
The city commission will take up the measure, which has been sponsored by Gabela, at its next meeting on Thursday December 12.
City Hall is located at 3500 Pan American Drive in Coconut Grove.
Tree protection will also be the topic of a Coconut Grove Village Council community forum on Monday, December 9 at 6:30 p.m. at FIU’s International Center for Tropical Botany at The Kampong in South Grove.
The event will bring together a broad selection of city officials and industry experts to discuss innovative solutions to balance tree preservation with property development in Coconut Grove.
The FIU International Center for Tropical Botany is located at 3959 South Douglas Road. The forum is free and open to all. Community members may also participate via Zoom at https://fiu.zoom.us/j/4630943315
This proposal to make the City’s Chapter 17 (Tree Preservation) more like the County’s is a strange one, even for the Magic City. At PZAB this past week, when asked why the change, the staff “presenter” said “to expedite permitting.” When asked which trees are protected now and won’t be if the change is made, he said specimen trees (‘like oaks”) will continue to require permits for removal, but “unprotected” trees can be removed without any permit required, including mangos, avocados, and “some ficus.” Well, that’s a lot of the Grove’s tree canopy. Nonetheless PZAB voted 5-3 to follow staff’s recommendation to approve the change.
I tuned into this past week’s HEPB meeting, and the board members there were also perplexed. “Why wasn’t this presented to us for discussion?” Answer: “It’s not required to be.” Then another question; “Who drafted it?” Answer: “The Building Department.”
Then, “What can this Board do to require it to be brought before us as we think it should have been?” Answer: “You can’t. It’s not within your purview.” In the end, HEPB passed a resolution asking the City Commission to delay doing anything until the change could be thoroughly studied. Sounds reasonable, eh?
My personal take on this is that the City has been receiving complaints from developers that dealing with Chapter 17’s tree protection provisions is delaying their projects and “time is money.” And as usual, the City is considering a “one size fits all” change for all the varied neighborhoods of the City.
Today’s Town Hall meeting should be interesting.