A new complaint tied to a high-profile Coconut Grove project is raising safety concerns — and renewing questions about how Miami enforces its rules on public right-of-way use.
A newly filed complaint over construction conditions near Coconut Grove Elementary School is raising concerns about pedestrian safety — and scrutiny of how the City of Miami oversees the use of public streets and sidewalks during private development.
The complaint, submitted to city officials last week by Grove resident Paris Wallace, on behalf of a group of Center Grove residents, targets an active construction site at the intersection of Florida Avenue, Grand Avenue and Matilda Street — part of the high-profile Ziggurat development — where the group alleges multiple violations of state, federal and city requirements governing traffic control and pedestrian access.
Among the issues cited: a construction fence that obstructs sightlines at a school crosswalk, missing or improperly placed signage directing pedestrians around closures, and barricades that fail to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.
“The proximity of Coconut Grove Elementary School to this site makes these violations especially serious,” Wallace wrote, warning that children traveling to and from school are directly exposed to unsafe conditions.
City officials have not responded, Wallace tells the Spotlight.
Wallace and others argue the site is not in compliance with Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) standards, the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and city code. He also questions whether the sidewalk closures themselves are justified, noting that both FDOT guidance and ADA requirements call for pedestrian routes to remain accessible and closures to be limited in duration.
The complaint asks the city to suspend or revoke the project’s Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) permit — which governs temporary street and sidewalk closures and traffic control in the public right-of-way — until the violations are corrected, and requests inspection records under Florida’s public records law.
The concerns are the latest in a series of complaints Center Grove residents have made over the past year about construction activity in Coconut Grove and its impact on sidewalks and other public rights-of-way.
A few blocks north, at Coconut Grove-based Terra Group’s planned eight-story development, The WELL Coconut Grove on Tigertail Avenue, residents have raised questions since mid-2025 about the duration and scope of sidewalk and parking-lane closures.
City code limits most closures to 90 cumulative days per year. But in a March email, Public Works official Charles Alfaro told residents that limit applies only to closures issued by the Miami Parking Authority, a semi-autonomous city agency, and not to MOT permits issued under Chapter 54 — a distinction not clearly spelled out in the code.
That interpretation leaves unclear whether construction-related closures are subject to any enforceable time limit. Wallace and others say repeated requests for clarification have gone unanswered by city officials.
The Tigertail Avenue complaint also questions the legality of a large branded construction barrier installed along The WELL construction site, which does not appear to match fence types described in city code. In repeated emails, residents have asked for the legal basis allowing the barrier and confirmation that permits were issued. Those questions remain unanswered.
A separate sidewalk closure a block away on Oak Avenue raises a different issue — not interpretation of the code, but whether it has been overridden by city administrators.
City records show that a right-of-way permit issued in February 2025 prohibited storage, equipment and supplies within the closed area. But in June — amid neighborhood pushback — records show that a city official altered the permit to allow storage and crane activity in the public right-of-way, even as the original restrictions remained in the permit’s stated conditions.
“Following the June 6 permit, DPW inspectors have stated they cannot issue violations for ROW storage or crane placement because these are ‘permitted,’” Wallace wrote, citing internal communications from city staff.
He has asked who authorized the change and under what legal authority. He said no explanation has been provided.
Similar concerns over right-of-way closures have surfaced elsewhere. In December, the Spotlight reported that sidewalks along South Bayshore Drive and Southwest 27th Avenue near the future Four Seasons Private Residences had been closed for nearly two years, forcing pedestrians into traffic. The sidewalks have since been reopened.
Read more: Christmas Wish List: A Sidewalk on South Bayshore
Across all four sites, residents describe a similar pattern: extended use of public space for construction, detailed complaints raising safety or compliance issues, and limited response from the city beyond initial acknowledgments.
Construction-related closures are common in Coconut Grove, where developers often request exclusive use of sidewalks, streets and parking lanes to allow for the movement of construction vehicles and for staging and storage.
The City of Miami did not respond to detailed questions from the Spotlight about the allegations at the three construction sites, a pattern that residents say has persisted for months.
Wallace, a board member of civic group Center Grove Neighbors, said he and other local residents are not giving up.
“The safety issues are real,” Wallace said “The city just needs to follow its own rules.”
Correction: While complaints over right-of-way closures on Tigertail Avenue and Oak Avenue followed endorsements by the Center Grove Neighbors (CGN) board, the complaint over closures on Matilda Street, adjacent to the proposed Ziggurat development, did not receive board endorsement, as an earlier version of this story suggested It was filed by Wallace Paris, a CGN board member, on behalf of a group of local residents.
A big shout-out to Paris Wallace for doing the deep digging and heavy lifting on researching and blowing the whistle on this blatant disregard of the public welfare.
More enlightened cities don’t allow blocking off sidewalks for construction. Miami shouldn’t either. Protective scaffolding should be required on sidewalks, rather than letting the developers use them.
As a current member of the Central Grove Neighbors board of directors, I’d like to point out that Paris Wallace submitted his complaint on his own behalf, not on behalf of Central Grove Neighbors. While we support Paris’ focus on public safety and his efforts to improve pedetrians’ experience in the Grove, our group has not officially alleged any particular violations against the developers, and we are committed to working together as a community with them and local city officials to achieve the best outcomes.