Debating a Conservation District

La Gorce Island Divided

Residents Debate Merits of a Conservation District

By Paula A. Pellegrino
Beach Times Contributing Writer

The Miami Beach City Commission deferred a vote on the referendum to form a La Gorce Island Conservation District after it became clear at the June 8 meeting that many residents were still very much at odds with the idea.


George Gomez and Esther Egozi, representing the La Gorce Island Neighborhood Association, didn’t even get a chance to highlight the possible objectives of the conservation district (which would include maintenance of historic architectural and landscape configurations, maintenance of sidewalks between homes and streets, establishment of building height limits and enhancement of the public right-of-way) before attention was turned to the opposition.


The dissent was highlighted in the testimony of certain residents who were already scrapping with the association over their own issues.


Robert Frankel, a homeowner since 1985, proclaimed that his “civil rights had been hijacked…macheted and hatched” right along with the little palm trees on the front edge of his property that “had to be removed on behalf of the Department of Utilities.” Frankel wondered, “Why now when they never had a problem with access before?”


Egozi, the neighborhood association president, did manage to state that a commissioned conservation district “would be an excellent situation for La Gorce Island. There are a number of changes happening now and we have a special character we wish to maintain on the island…we can’t please everybody but I believe that those who don’t like the concept don’t fully understand it.”


Victor Diaz, a resident who stated that he was not on the association’s board of directors, tried to explain the necessity for a conservation district. Basically, many homes were recently being demolished and the curse of the McMansion had ensued. So, the association turned to the option of a special designation in an attempt to preserve the historic integrity of the area.


“The whole idea is not to address existing characteristics, but the future. We need to agree upon incentives to encourage people to do the right thing with restoring architecture and building patterns. Without the parallel issues like hedge removal, you would probably have unanimous approval among the residents. We need to assuage those concerns and then people will support this.”


The original concept of a designated conservation district was passed unanimously as a resolution by the association.


According to William Cary, the Assistant Planning Director for the City of Miami Beach, a conservation district is a new regulatory tool being used in places around the nation when neighborhoods identify some special characteristics they want to preserve or maintain. These could relate to historic distinctiveness, scale, landscape or open vistas.


“It’s not just one thing specifically but rather a process, whereby neighbors can come together and say they want to implement some regulations to make sure they don’t lose what they have.”


It is a local option, not a federal one, which many municipalities have begun to experiment with and it’s becoming a viable option for communities who don’t need all the regulatory intervention of an historic district designation.
Overall, Cary is quite optimistic about this new preservation option. “This can be a very good thing if it is used appropriately but it has to come as a consensus from the residents. The city would never impose it.”


In relation to La Gorce Island in particular, Cary observed, “Right now, as we could see at the last meeting, there is about a 50/50 split in the neighborhood, but I am sure that more residents will be inclined toward it once they begin to talk more and they don’t feel so intimidated by each other.”


Members of the association said they would happily foot the bill for residents to attend a series of educational workshops with professional architects, planners and design specialists. Such a measure may be necessary to help residents like the Varellas understand why government should have a say in how they maintain their private property.


Linda Varella related a tale about how, after returning from a vacation, she and her husband were greeted with a notice from the city on their door alerting them that they had two weeks to paint their house, after which point, they would be fined $1,000 a day for noncompliance. That, she believes, must have come to them courtesy of “a resident who was very high up in connection with the city…sometimes people on this island are not very friendly.”


Her husband took this whole idea of “not very friendly” and really super-sized it. “These are egomaniacal individuals who have lived on the island for a very long time. They are zealots who have circumstance and thought that they are the governors of La Gorce Island. This is nonsense. It’s beginning to get very political. I’m happy to obey the law. I’ve obeyed the law for 20 years. I don’t need this.”
He had a sympathizer in Vice Mayor Luis Garcia among other commission members. “I feel some of the steps we are taking here are downright Socialistic. To the best of my knowledge, not everyone is in favor of this. Take it to the citizens before you take it to the government.”


Commissioner Simon Cruz, although he believes a conservation district is a good thing, expressed his thought that there was currently too much confusion for a vote. He himself still had questions. “We need direction. We are not going to impose this on you.”


Commissioner Jose Smith concurred. “My sense is that, absent a complete consensus, I would not approve this. Only the neighborhood can tell what’s in its best interest. There are always one or two, who for philosophical reasons, are against any regulations, but for there to be a discussion, the neighborhood group needs to agree on all issues like building height, etc. If you don’t want it, you don’t have to have it.”


Mayor Dermer himself was wary of city regulation dictating life in the neighborhood. “What really necessitates all this? Is it fear that things will not be so nice in the future? That things will be conducted haphazardly? Can’t lot lines and setbacks govern future development? Can’t what’s on the books now take care of these things?”


He went on to say that if it were his home and neighborhood, he would undoubtedly be suspicious of accepting such assistance with maintaining his property. “It’s like there’s a knock on the door and, hello, it’s the government and we’re here to help…Do I really want to drag you all through these regulatory processes?”


The discussion did manage to end on a rather hopeful note when Commissioner Saul Gross reminded everyone that this request for a La Gorce Island conservation district was actually the first of its kind since the commission’s recent creation of the option for neighborhood associations to set them up. To him, this was an opportunity for the La Gorce Island association and residents to act as pioneers for other Miami Beach neighborhoods by taking a step back, developing some clear ideas, coming to a consensus and then returning to the commission for a vote.



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