Spotlight 163-251209

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

A Litany of West Grove Code Complaints
Four Grove Projects Claiming Bonus Height
A Zoning Change to Spur Housing Development
A Photo Gallery of Grove Personalities

One Man’s Crusade for a Cleaner, Safer West Grove

Amid an ever-changing development landscape, longtime resident Harry Gottlieb says neighborhood blight has never been worse — and vows to hold the city accountable for enforcing its own laws.

By Jenny Jacoby

Every morning, Harry Gottlieb pedals out from his Grand Avenue apartment, weaving through the West Grove on a route he’s traveled for decades.

But the neighborhood’s appearance is nothing to be proud of within this historically low-income, African-American section of Coconut Grove: Vacant lots sit overgrown, fences sag into the sidewalk, trash gathers behind ripped privacy screens, and stretches of pavement buckle beneath his tires.

With a practiced eye — sharpened by a stint on Miami’s Code Enforcement Board — Gottlieb spots violation after violation, many lingering for months with no response from the city.

Four Properties to Receives Bonus Height Under Disputed Law

Before a zoning loophole was closed in June, the Ritz-Carlton and three other properties secured the city’s’ blessing to build three stories higher than is typically allowed.

By David Villano

The Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove is among four Center Grove developments authorized to build three stories above standard height limits under a disputed — and since rescinded — zoning provision, City of Miami officials have confirmed.

The four — all within a stone’s throw of each other — are taking advantage of a short-lived zoning law that allowed new construction in areas normally restricted to five stories to reach as high as eight if within a mile of a Metrorail station or other transit hub.

The Faces of Coconut Grove

By Spotlight Staff

For those in the know, one of the highlights of this year’s Miami Art Week was “Village Visionaries,” a one-night-only photography exhibition at the Shake-a-Leg hangar on South Bayshore Drive. The show featured 27 photographs of Coconut Grove faces and places taken by six University of Miami photojournalism students. The original photographs were offered for sale at the Thursday night show, with proceeds benefiting Shake-a-Leg. Those who bought photos were able to take their art home with them…

Enjoy the Photos Here…

City Proposal Would Open Hundreds of Civic Sites to Housing Development

A proposed zoning overhaul would constitute a major citywide upzoning by allowing multifamily housing — with minimal affordability rules and no public hearings — on churches, schools, nonprofits, hospitals and government-owned land.

By David Villano

A sweeping zoning overhaul headed to the Miami City Commission on Thursday could trigger a broad upzoning across the city by allowing residential development — without public input or review — on hundreds of civic, religious, school, nonprofit, and government-owned properties.

Under the proposed ordinance, any property zoned “Civic Institution” (CI) and owned, controlled, or legally affiliated with a religious institution, nonprofit, school, or government entity would be allowed to build multifamily housing “by right,” meaning absent any requirements for public hearings or community review typically needed for projects of this scale.