Anyone can sign this petition, but if you are not in one of the groups of persons mentioned in the first paragraph of the betition below, please say so in the Comment Section when you sign.

This petition is very important at this time that the City of Miami is asking residents to allow a zoning chane on Melrese Golf Course / Country Club from park land to commercial.

This portion lays out a better way for Miami leadership to respect and protect parks.

The most important factor is for residents to learn about the Miami Parks Master Plan and tell leaders to follow it.

Stay informd by joining the Facebook Group. Just click on this link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/MoreParksForMiamiNow/

Once on the Facebook page, click on Notifications and then click on "All Posts" to receive 2-3 posts per month.

Here is the Petition.

More Parks for Miami NOW! Being a youth or adult resident of Miami, someone who works in Miami, or a person who owns property in the City of Miami, I realize; Miami ranks last of all high density cities in the entire US in park space per resident; that 4 of 5 Miami Commission districts severly lack parks; that parks add to the quality of life; that parks are proven to be economic generators; that to keep property taxes low, Florida Law provides that developers who add population, should pay for the capital costs of new parks if residents demand it from their elected leaders, instead of property taxes on all property and that Miami taxpayers own very valuable waterfront land and that if that land is to be leased or sold, it must deliver significant benefits for its resident / stockholders beyond lease fees and new taxes.

Therefore, I petition Mayor Regalado or any new Mayor and the Miami Commission to take actions immediately to make it possible to collect higher one time Impact Fees on developers so park acreage is actually added to Miami so as to not further deteriorate our park acreage / population ratio as it has severly declined over the last several years; that Miami 21 be changed so parks are protected from being covered with buildings and parking lots.

Added July 4, 2013: That the leasing or selling of any publically owned land, especially waterftont land such as Watson Island must produce substantial public benefit for Miami residents / taxpayers, beyond lease fees and new taxes. Specifically, 100 percent of lease fees or sales dollars or leveraged bond proceeds must be used exclusively for the creation of new parks until such time that there is a park within a ten minute walk of every Miami resident, per the Parks Master Plan and that all parkland sold for commercial purposes be replaced.

Please ask your youth and adult friends to sign this petition to be delivered to the Mayor and Commissioners.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/MoreParksForMia...

:

Miami has the least amount of park space per resident of any high density city in the entire United States and 4 of 5 Commission Districts have little or no park space. Over the years, taxpayers from all Commission districts have paid taxes to create the parks which are mainly in District Two.

During the recent building boom our park situation became much worse because only two acres of parks were added when 155 acres should have been added to serve the over 50,000 new residents added by developers.

Under Florida law, municipalities can hold developers responsible for paying one time Impact Fees to pay for additional classroom space, police and fire department needs and new park land, but the fees collected for parks were not enough and to make the matter worse the Miami Commission used the park fee money for improvement projects, but not to buy the needed park land.

Also during the recent building boom, many developers escaped paying the new higher Impact Fees because the Commission failed to enact the new fees in time to apply to the new, mostly luxury high rise condos.

A review of the Impact Fees by the Commission was due in 2008, but that review did not take place until 2013 and ther were no significant changes.

A massive development, south of the Miami River, which the Commission has approved has been granted a building permit which will add over two thousand new residents, plus hotel rooms, office space and commercial space.

This development by the Swire Company is paying the same old low fees.

In progressive cities, impact fees for parks are collected not just on residential units, but also on hotel, commercial and office space because visitors, shoppers and office workers respectively also create a need for more park space.

If Miami Impact Fees for parks had been revised in time and if they had been made commensurate with the actual cost of Miami land, then the funds collected on the Swire project alone could have created up to eight neighborhood size parks instead of perhaps one new park.

Since this petition started, the Commission has failed it residents.

Yes, Mayor Regaldo, his Mayoral challenger Frances Suarez and the entire Commission have sided with the developers.....again.

Beyond Impact Fees, Miami 21, the new zoning code, allows 25% of any park to automatically be covered with buildings with no limit on the additional space allowed for parking. It

is easy to see 50% of any park being covered with buildings and parking.

Miami Parks need protections similar to County Parks. Miami 21 must be revised so no more than 25% of any park can be covered with a combination of buildings, parking and other hard surfaces. If more space in a park is needed for a public building, then there needs to be public process and the

green park land to be covered over should be replaced in the neighborhood.

This petition means Mayor Regalado and the Commission need to adjust our Level of Service for Parks from 1.3 acres per thousand residents to 3.1, where our actual park acreage was several years ago and that the Impact Fees for parks be raised to provide for the purchase and development of 3.1 acres per thousand new residents, paid for by developers who add population to our city, that these new Impact Fees be in place by March 2012 and that Miami 21 be revised to provide protections for Miami parks.

Sponsor

Links