Spotlight 59-241213 Old Smokey, Trees, trash

In the Spotlight:

  • Pardo: Tree ordinance should have community input.
  • New study adds urgency to incinerator’s legacy.
  • Budget shortfall threatens bulk trash pickup.
  • Readers’ letters push against tree ordinance changes.

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Among a list of suggestions to strengthen Miami’s tree protection ordinance at a community forum Monday, the District 2 commission says citizens should have their say.

By Mary Ann Esquivel-Gibbs

A building lot along Florida Avenue in West Grove largely cleared of trees. Experts say stronger – not weaker – trees laws are needed to halt the steady loss of canopy throughout the city. (David Villano for the Spotlight).

A broad coalition of environmental groups and civic activists opposing changes to Miami’s tree protection laws claimed a small victory Friday when City of Miami District 1 Commissioner Miguel Gabela – the legislation’s sponsor – announced he would defer the measure from this Thursday’s commission agenda to a date in January.

The announcement came at the start of a hastily arranged town hall gathering at City Hall where a crowd of about 50 implored Gabela to rethink the changes, with some calling them a “giveaway to developers” crafted with little or no public input. It is Gabela’s second deferral of the measure since October.

The changes would greatly loosen permitting requirements for tree removal and would alter spending requirements and oversight of a city fund that generates over $1 million annually for tree planting and canopy restoration within the city.


Marching on City Hall, a group suing the City of Miami says a new study highlights urgent health and cleanup concerns for residents near the Old Smokey facility.

By David Villano

A group of residents protesting outside City Hall, demanding the city take responsibility for the health and environmental effects of a former West Grove trash incinerator. (David Villano for the Spotlight)

Dioxins, arsenic, barium, lead and other cancer-causing substances remain buried in soils up to a mile away from a long-shuttered trash incinerator in the West Grove, according to an attorney representing more than 900 current and former residents who claim they suffered from years of exposure to the toxins.

The findings, announced during a rally and news conference on Wednesday outside City Hall, show that little has changed since testing was done more than a decade ago by Miami-Dade County officials, who oversee environmental contamination and cleanup countywide.

Toxic soil levels in West Grove were first discovered in 2013 after routine testing at the former incinerator, which is now a City of Miami Fire Department training facility just south of Grand Avenue near Armbrister Park. The city-owned facility closed in 1970 after 50 years in operation


The city’s weekly bulky waste pickup would likely be reduced to once every two weeks under a proposal that came before the Miami City Commission on Thursday.

By Don Finefroc

Coconut Grove homeowners routinely place yard debris, cardboard boxes and other bulky waste in curbside trash piles for the city to pick up once a week. (Photo by Don Finefrock)

Facing a significant shortfall in its solid waste budget, the Miami City Commission may suspend its recycling program and cut the curbside collection of yard debris and bulky waste at residential properties citywide from once a week to once every two weeks.

A dozen residents protested the proposed cuts at Thursday’s commission meeting. Commissioners had been scheduled to take a preliminary vote on the measure. Instead, they chose to defer the proposal until the January 9 commission meeting.

The city’s solid waste service allows homeowners to place yard debris, tree cuttings, appliances, furniture and other bulky trash outside their homes for weekly collection.


The Grove helped launch the career of legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell as she performed at the Gaslight Café. Located at the corner of Grand Avenue and Virginia Street, the Gaslight Café is long gone but its vibe is recreated in the GableStage production of Both Sides Now. There you’ll find U-Miami Frost School of Music’s own Danielle Wertz along with Robbie Schaefer performing Mitchell’s signature works. Take a big yellow taxi to GableStage at the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables. Performances start Friday 12/13 at 7:00 p.m. and run through Sunday 1/5/25.  Tickets.

St. Stephen’s Annual Christmas Concert with Festival Chorus and Orchestra continues the musical traditions of one of the Grove’s many church communities.  Regulars are inspired to sing with the chorus Friday 12/13 at 7:00 p.m. 2750 McFarlane Road. Tickets.

The Barnacle’s Moonlight Concert series continues with the Strings Attached duo performing under a rising moon. The ideal evening picnic venue, the Barnacle’s lawn welcomes you, friends, picnics and children (but not pets) with gates opening at 6:00 p.m. By itself, a slow walk through the hammock’s tree canopy in the early evening is a rare delight, with plenty of time to reach the lawn before the concert starts at 7:00 p.m.  Tickets are available in advance. The Barnacle Historic State Park is in the heart of Coconut Grove at 3485 Main Highway. Friday 12/13 at 7:00 p.m. Barnacle Society memberships fit neatly into a fireside stocking on Christmas morning.


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