Spotlight 119-250708

Good morning. What we’re covering in today’s Spotlight:

Proposed Zoning for Workforce Housing
Freedom School: Lessons in Black History
Main Highway Repaving Project

City Eyes Major Zoning Changes to Tackle Housing Crunch

In an effort to attract more affordable housing projects, the Miami City Commission on Thursday will vote on new rules allowing taller buildings, less parking and far more units than currently allowed.

By David Villano

The Miami City Commission will vote Thursday on a sweeping package of development incentives – including significant increases in allowable building height and density — to spur workforce housing construction within proximity to Metrorail stations and along the roadways that connect to them.

The provisions, if approved, would apply to a wide swath of Coconut Grove including much of Grand Avenue, SW 27^th Avenue, Bird Road and Douglas Road. Single-family neighborhoods would not be affected.

Perhaps the most sweeping proposed change would allow developers to build twice as many housing units in any given project as current rules permit.

To facilitate the higher housing densities, maximum building height would increase and restrictions would be removed on the number of stories that can be built within that height limit — a significant departure from the city’s current Miami 21 zoning code. The new rules would also permit “micro” housing units as small as 500 square feet.

Freedom School: Lessons in Black History

As the Trump Administration works to undercut diversity, equity and inclusion programs nationwide, Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Coconut Grove doubles down on a new summer school program focused on Black history and culture.

By Amanda Clegg

On the second day of summer camp, about two dozen students fill the pews in the sanctuary of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, the oldest African-American church in the West Grove, awaiting the start of their next activity.

Two projector screens read, “Introduction to Black History, Part II” as instructor Loretta Scippio-Whittle stands at the front of the room.

She begins her lesson about the Fessenden Academy in Ocala and Rosenwald School project – historic educational institutions established in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries to educate African American children – and the students copy notes from a small dry-erase board.

At the end of her lesson, Scippio-Whittle leaves them with a final – and perhaps lasting – message. “It is not where you are located, but what is located in you,” she says, urging the students to write it down.

Info Session on Main Highway Roadwork

Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado will host a virtual community meeting on Tuesday July 8 at 6:00 p.m. to provide information and answer questions about the Main Highway repaving project which will disrupt traffic in the heart of Coconut Grove as early as this week. The roadwork between McFarlane Road and Royal Road (just south of Ransom Everglades School) is expected to take about a week. Drivers are advised to seek alternate routes around and through the Grove, if possible. The project’s repaving phase is scheduled to begin Monday July 14 with crews working at night in the commercial areas and during the day on the residential portions. Scan the QR code above or click this link to register for the meeting. Send questions in advance to [email protected]