Spotlight 58-241210 Tree ordinance

In the Spotlight:

  • Tree ordinance explanation meets resistance
  • Village Voices photo exhibits faces of the Grove.

The tree ordinance proposal draws explanations from city leaders and managers as Spotlight readers provide their opinions through the comments section found beneath each story and in the Letters to the Editor section.


Calling them a “giveaway to developers,” local activists and an array of environmental groups have pledged to defeat a controversial proposal to rewrite the city’s tree ordinance.

By Dave Villano

Once crowned with a canopy of mature palms and hardwoods, this building lot on Linden Lane in South Grove was cleared of 33 trees to make way for a new single-family home. (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.


A Miami Art Week exhibit showcased photographers and Grovites.
Ian Wogan, certified Arborist. By Marra Finkelstein

Miami Art Week came and went quickly – so quickly, in fact, that some Spotlight readers may have missed Village Voices, a one-night-only photography exhibition at the Shake-a-Leg hangar on South Bayshore Drive. The show featured 32 photographs of Coconut Grove faces and places taken by eight 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. The show closed that night, but the images are making an encore appearance on the Spotlight’s website, for those who missed them the first time around. The show was organized by Miami photojournalist Patrick Farrell, who teaches photojournalism at UM and is a member of the Spotlight editorial team.


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The vacant property flanks the tiny 1926 cottage where Marjory Stoneman Douglas lived and worked. Restoration work is ongoing.

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The opening of a new residential development next door to the farmers market on Grand Avenue is prompting questions about the future of the Saturday market.

Where we’ll be

Neighbors prepare for the Christmas holidays by buying (and advocating for) trees, music and art. Locals searching for their perfect Christmas tree while supporting a local charity group visit the…

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The City of Miami’s 20-year-old Tree Trust Fund has raised millions of dollars by charging property owners who want to cut down their trees. Where the money goes is not…

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Organizers hope to revive Coconut Grove’s theater scene by staging a festival of new works by local playwrights at the Woman’s Club in May 2025.


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