Spotlight 196-260403

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

  • Miami’s Tree Protection Policies
  • Local Filmmakers at the Miami Film Festival 
  • A Cancelled PZAB Meeting
  • Where We’ll Be: A Calendar of April Events

New internal permitting policies are in, the longtime tree protection chief is out, and the city is gearing up for another round with residents to rewrite its tree laws.

By David Villano


Miami’s effort to rewrite its tree protection laws is springing back to life, with a proposed overhaul expected to reach the City Commission later this year — but parts of it may already be in place.

Internal records reviewed by the Spotlight show that in early 2024 — as city officials were drafting a controversial set of proposed changes to Miami’s tree ordinance — they were also revising internal permitting policies governing tree removal. Some of those policy changes, officials say, are only now being implemented.


Miami filmmakers, including two from Coconut Grove, are benefitting from the film festival’s efforts to showcase local talent. The 2026 festival opens next week. 

By Liz Tracy


With its abundant sunshine and lush vegetation, Miami sets an entrancing stage for local filmmakers to showcase some of the city’s rich diasporic tales, local legends, and cultural clashes.

This year, the Miami Film Festival will honor those homegrown efforts by screening a record number of local films during the 11-day event, starting next Thursday.

“We’re always looking for ways to give back to the local filmmaking community,” says James Woolley, the festival’s executive director.


A highly anticipated Wednesday night meeting of Miami’s Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board (PZAB) was canceled after the panel failed to reach a quorum, leaving close to 75 residents and other stakeholders — many of whom had planned to speak — unable to be heard.

The agenda included two closely watched city-backed proposals — to allow added building height and density near bike trails, or “greenways,” and to expand an existing program that allows affordable housing projects to sell and transfer unused density to luxury and market-rate developments elsewhere in the city.

Coconut Grove civic groups have largely opposed the measures, warning they could accelerate overdevelopment in a neighborhood already strained by increased traffic and infrastructure demands.

Under city procedures, PZAB must review such measures before they can advance to the City Commission for final consideration.

PZAB is scheduled to meet again on April 15.


Readers React: Spotlight readers voice their concerns about the future of Miami City Hall and the abandoned boats that are piling up in Biscayne Bay.


April is National Poetry Month, and local poets and their fans are taking full advantage, with a crowded calendar of events in the weeks ahead. Local filmmakers, playwrights and actors get a chance to shine this month as well, with the return of the Miami Film Festival (43rd edition) and the Coconut Grove Theatre Festival, now in its second year. There’s lots to see and do this month, much of it featuring Miami’s homegrown talent…  


Recent News

The go-to laundry service for many Coconut Grove residents moved west this week to a temporary location at 3634 Grand Ave., with plans for a new permanent facility around the…

Demolition of the current community center at Ambrister Park will commence in the next six weeks, clearing the way for a new building twice its size, with an estimated completion…

With salaries and benefits consuming most of the city’s budget, a tangle of automatic and discretionary increases is quietly pushing costs higher year after year.

Current and former residents who are suing the City of Miami over the potential harm caused by the Old Smokey trash incinerator on Jefferson Street notched a victory last week…

Even as overall violent crime declines across the city, a decade of unsolved homicides in the Grove — all involving young Black male victims — has left families waiting for…

All of the city’s outside legal fees last summer and fall came after a judge blocked the city’s attempt to delay the 2025 election — including more than $60,000 tied…

Finalized plans for Kirk Munroe Park are beginning to take shape, almost a year after developers first presented a redesign to the community.

Waymo’s self-driving cars are suddenly everywhere in Coconut Grove. But are they safe? Our intrepid reporter arrived alive, if a little late, after booking a ride home in one of…

A Feb. 22 shooting ended a six-month lull in violent crime, but most of the 56 incidents reported over the past month involved theft, disputes and other nonviolent offenses.

Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo and his staff are launching a monthly series of permit clinics to help Coconut Grove homeowners and small businesses obtain permits from the City of Miami….

To the Editor: Wednesday April 1 is the date of the next Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board (PZAB) meeting at Miami City Hall. It’s also April Fool’s Day. This meeting…


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