Miami’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board approved a new phase of restoration work this week at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas cottage on Stewart Avenue, despite the strong objections of nearby homeowners.
The State of Florida can move forward with its restoration work at the former home of Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Coconut Grove after a contentious hearing this week before the City of Miami’s Historic and Environmental Protection Board.
The HEP board voted 7-0 on Tuesday to approve drainage improvements and a landscaping plan for the rustic 1926 cottage on Stewart Avenue where Douglas wrote “The Everglades: River of Grass.”
The decision represents a small victory for those who have embraced the ongoing restoration work as a way to honor Douglas and preserve her legacy.
But the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and its project manager – WGI Inc. of Fort Lauderdale – didn’t get everything they sought with the plan, after angry neighbors objected to the request and questioned the state’s motives.
The HEP board split the difference, approving the drainage plan and the removal of one problem tree while rejecting the state’s request to install a 10-foot-wide driveway, a small parking area, and a brick pathway to the cottage’s front door.
The state’s project manager said the driveway would be used by maintenance crews and state park staff. The cottage was purchased by the state in 1992 and is now managed as part of the Florida state park system.
But neighbors, long suspicious of the state’s future plans for the property, saw a darker motive at work, and they objected to the entire plan, saying it would advance the state’s efforts to open the property to the public without addressing their concerns.
Proponents of the restoration work, including a handful of advocates who spoke on Tuesday, urged the board to approve the plan and leave the question of public access for another day, saying the plan was about restoration and nothing more.
“The root of this application is for preservation,” said Kristen Nowicki, the senior project manager at WGI who presented the state’s application to the board. “There is no “change-of-use” proposed with this application.”
Neighbors weren’t buying it. Of course it’s about a zoning “change of use,” they said, so the property can be opened for public tours.
“What is being asked here today is nothing more than a Trojan Horse,” said Jeffrey Schottenstein, a Stewart Avenue neighbor who lives up the street from the property.
Neighbors said their suspicions were rooted in the state’s refusal to meet with them to discuss long-term plans for the property.
Although state officials have embraced the concept of public access, they have been tight-lipped about their plans, declining to answer questions from the Spotlight since December about the property.
Neighbors said they have been rebuffed as well, and they urged the board to deny the restoration plans presented Tuesday to send a message.
“We want to work with the state, we want to work with WGI. The only way to get them to the table is to deny this application,” said John Freud, who lives next door to the Douglas property.
Although the state has declined to discuss its plans for the property, state officials have said previously that small groups of visitors could be shuttled to the site from the Barnacle Historic State Park on Main Highway to limit traffic and congestion in the neighborhood – a point of contention among neighbors.
The neighbors at the meeting didn’t comment on the merits of that plan, but they did emphasize how disruptive public access could be in their neighborhood. “I live on a street where two cars can’t pass without difficulty,” Freud said.
The plan approved Tuesday will allow the state to make drainage improvements on the side and the rear of the property, remove a mature Black Olive tree that threatens the cottage and its AC unit, and install new landscaping.
The drainage improvements are designed to direct stormwater runoff away from the cottage’s foundation. The new landscaping would include six Simpson stoppers and three Cassia pink shower trees.
Other restoration work – including foundation and roof repairs – has been completed.
Douglas lived in the home until her death in 1998 at the age of 108. Friends and fans of Douglas and her advocacy on behalf of the Everglades have long sought to open the cottage to the public, as a tribute to Douglas and an inspiration to others.
In 2015, the cottage earned National Historic Landmark status.
Last year, the state paid $1.78 million to acquire an adjoining property once owned by a former college roommate of Douglas. That property, now vacant, was not included in the restoration plan presented Tuesday.
Board member Luis Prieto y Munoz made the motion to approve the plan, absent the driveway and brick pathway, saying the neighbor’s concerns should be respected.
“I think the neighborhood deserves to have their concerns incorporated in this plan,” he said. “I think improving the drainage on the site is critical,” he added. “I don’t believe there is a need for the parking or the pathway.”
The board also discussed how the state might seek a “change of use” to allow group visits to the property, which is zoned for single family homes. Board staff said the state would need to come back before the board to seek that change.
Good and fair-handed article. Well done, Mr. Finefrock. I was there at the meeting, too. The adjacent neighbors are rightly worried about what could happen to their peace and quiet on their narrow single-family zoned street. On the other hand, the quaint cottage where one of South Florida’s most distinguished residents and authors wrote her renowned environmental masterpiece should be preserved and opened to the public in a limited and respectful fashion. The key word here is “limited.” The State should meet with the neighbors as long as it takes to come up with the proper and enforceable guidelines. That will take time, and time is exactly what the HEPB gave the parties in its thoughtful, unanimous decision.
Has the State considered moving this historic house adjacent to one of the Everglades National Park main entrances? This would give an opportunity for visitors to be able to have the access to this historic jewel (Hoping it would not loose its National Register of Historic Places). Therefore, allowing the neighborhood residents to stop worrying about a “disruptive” public access happening in their neighborhood. Just a thought….