City of Miami: Please let us participate in Redevelopment plan modifications as required by State law.

OPEN LETTER TO THE CITY OF MIAMI COMMISSION

Dear Commissioners,
Last week we attended the Special CRA meeting in order to comment on the utter lack of public participation in this plan. Even Commissioner Sarnoff, sitting commissioner for the OMNI area, stated on the record that after three years in office, the first time he had seen the new redevelopment plan was at the beginning of last week.
The item was deferred to the October CRA meeting and it was mentioned that a town hall meeting would be held to discuss the plan with the community. We thought the matter was done. You can imagine we were surprised to receive notice, less than 24 hours before this meeting, of the same item. We feel that this is unacceptable and does not constitute proper public notice and would like to put on the record that we formally contest the validity of this meeting.

WHY IS THERE NO REDEVELOPMENT IN THE REDEVELOPMENT AREA?

Downtown Miami is undergoing a renaissance. As reported in The Herald over recent weeks, dozens of new restaurants and businesses have opened in the Central Business District and Biscayne Blvd North of the Omni is undergoing a strong revival.

However, crossing NE 5th street is like crossing the border from a first world to a third world country. Broken sidewalks, overgrown weeds, collapsing fences, dilapidated parking lots, and very few businesses characterize the neighborhood.

You have just entered the City of Miami’s Community Redevelopment area. Created in 1983, the Southeast Overtown Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (SEOPW CRA) is charged with collecting RE Taxes on properties located within its boundaries to “eradicate slum and blight..stimulating the creation of new job opportunities for residents, and improving the quality of life”. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent on “redevelopment” and increased property values have increased the annual income of the SEOPW CRA to $25.5 million in the recently approved 2010 budget. So what is going on? Why is there no redevelopment taking place in the redevelopment area?

The CRA has a troubled past. The original 1982 Redevelopment Plan promised thousands of affordable housing units and a focus on the area surrounding the Metrorail Station, little which has been implemented. A 2003 Internal Audit by Victor Igwe found that the CRA had wasted millions. A 2005 report by the now defunct Oversight Committee appointed by Commissioner Sanchez found that the CRA spending was not true to its mission of reducing slum and blight, did not take into account neighborhood concerns and social issues, and had a very poor process of selecting vendors and awarding contracts. The Committee’s recommendation was a change in the governing structure by placing private citizens with a detailed knowledge of neighborhood issues and concerns on the CRA Board rather than elected officials with political motivations. A Knight Foundation analysis in 2007 found that the CRA followed a “top down” strategy not taking into account the needs and wants of residents, and “a common vision for Overtown’s redevelopment does not exist, most plans are piecemeal, others lack community support”.