This proposed ordinance is sponsored by, and was prepared at the request of, Mayor Gelber.

The purpose of this ordinance is to ensure that the City’s approval of, or any funding for, a light rail, streetcar, monorail, automated people mover, bus rapid transit or similar transportation project within the City (collectively, a “Mass Transit Fixed Guideway Project” or “Project”) is based on sound planning principles, following substantial public input and a detailed evaluation of the proposed Project and its potential impacts.

Accordingly, this proposed ordinance is intended to ensure that (i) the City Commission and the public are fully apprised of all conditions and impacts relating to any proposed Project; (ii) substantial public input is obtained with respect to any proposed Project within the City; and (iii) any City approval of, or funding for, any Project is made in the best interests of the City.

The requirements and conditions of the ordinance would apply to any Mass Transit Fixed Guideway Project, which is defined as any light rail, street car, automated people mover, monorail, bus rapid transit or similar transportation project that (i) operates on rails or substantially within an exclusive or dedicated right of way (including intermittent use of exclusive or dedicated right of ways), and (ii) involves the use of any City property or right-of-way, City funding or financing, or which otherwise requires the issuance of any City permit.

The proposed ordinance requires the City’s Planning Department to prepare a written planning analysis, similar to the analysis required pursuant to Section 82-38 of the City Code for the sale of City property or lease of City property of more than ten (10) years. In addition, the ordinance requires a traffic impact analysis, and for the City’s transportation director to prepare a transportation analysis, evaluating the proposed technology and operational elements of the Project.

The proposed ordinance outlines a process for community outreach, committee review, and public hearings prior to the City Commission’s approval of any Mass Transit Fixed Guideway Project within the City. Specifically, any Project would require review by the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee, and if City funding or financing is requested, by the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee. In addition, the City would be required to host at least one public informational session, similar to the charettes or informational meetings the City has hosted in the past for major construction or development projects.

Finally, with respect to the City Commission’s approval, the ordinance provides that a proposed Project would require two readings by the City Commission, with each reading accompanied by a public hearing, and final approval by a 5/7ths vote of the City Commission.

DISCUSSION AT OCTOBER 16, 2019 CITY COMMISSION MEETING

On October 16, 2019, the Mayor and City Commission discussed the proposed ordinance on first reading.  The proposed ordinance was not approved on first reading, and was instead referred to the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee for further review, with the intent of recommending changes that would permit City to “control its destiny” with regard to the approval of mass transportation projects in the City, while addressing concerns raised by Miami-Dade County, in an effort to avoid delaying any mass transit project or any other unintended consequences.

Mayor Gelber, the sponsor of the proposed ordinance, expressed his significant concern with the unsolicited procurement process being currently undertaken by Miami-Dade County for the Beach Corridor Project, and specifically, with the potential that the City could end up with a mass transit project over the MacArthur Causeway that the City Commission may not support and that the City’s residents may not want.  He explained that he believed the RFP that was released was not crafted based on what is best for the community, but rather, was based on the proposal from a casino company and what was best for the casino company.  Accordingly, in an effort to structure the approval process so as to permit the City Commission to retain some measure of control over its future, the purpose of the ordinance is to outline a process for City approval of projects that is similar to what the City currently has in place for other major development matters. 

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins expressed her opposition to this item, and raised a number of points, including: 

1.    Duplication of Traffic and Other Studies.  Commissioner Higgins indicated that the review process and the engineering and traffic studies referenced in the ordinance would be duplicative of the exact studies the County is undertaking.  She indicated that she could not support any ordinance that asked the County taxpayers to pay for the same study twice.[1]

2.    Duplication of Public Outreach.  Commissioner Higgins indicated that the City and its residents have plenty of opportunities, both through the TPO and Miami-Dade County public outreach meetings, to participate in the County’s process, and that this ordinance will just say “no, thank you, we are not interested on behalf of the residents of Miami Beach.”

 3.    Whether the Ordinance is Overbroad and Unduly Impacts or Delays Bus Rapid Transit Lanes or Other Transit Projects.  Commissioner Higgins expressed that the ordinance would eliminates the City’s or County’s ability to move forward with bus rapid transit anywhere, and would add three more years to the process.

 4.    Mixed Message to Miami-Dade County.  Commissioner Higgins expressed concern that the ordinance would send a mixed message to Miami-Dade County, and that other county commissioners would use the ordinance against the City in an effort to develop other transit corridors. She encouraged the City Commission not to adopt the ordinance or even refer it to committee for review.

Commissioner Arriola expressed that he does not want to jeopardize the opportunity to entertain proposals that will not cost taxpayers a great deal of money, such as the proposal currently undergoing a procurement in Miami-Dade County, which contemplates private funding for a monorail.  He indicated he does not want to foreclose an opportunity or have the County elect to develop a transit corridor elsewhere, as he thinks it is the most exciting one he has seen in 20 years.

The City Attorney clarified that this is a procedural ordinance only, and does not reflect any position on the merits of any transit proposal.  He indicated that to the extent there is a concern about duplication of public outreach, perhaps there is a way to modify the ordinance requirements so as to simply preserve a City public process so that City residents who cannot make it to County Hall can have their say on a mass transit project in their community.  He noted that the City of Miami Beach is the only municipality that has gone through an unsolicited procurement process for mass transit, and City’s project stalled because residents strongly opposed the project.  One of the reasons for developing the ordinance is not to delay any County project, but to give citizens input and avoid any situation where citizens feel so disenfranchised from the process that they resort to independent Charter initiatives and other measures that are outside of the City Commission’s control, and which could make it significantly more difficult for any mass transit project to ever pass.