On March 22, 2017, the Mayor and City Commission passed Resolution No. 2017-29800 and Resolution No. 2017-29799, awarding A design/build services contract to Ric-Man Construction Florida, Inc. (“Ric-Man”) for West Avenue north of 14th Street improvements, and West Avenue south of 14th Street Phase II improvements.

The design of the project included the recommendations of the Columbia University Resilience Accelerator, which aligned with the City’s modal hierarchy that gives preference to pedestrians along the corridor. The design promoted this modal hierarchy by using a landscape buffer to provide additional separation of pedestrians from vehicular travel.  Ric-Man also proposed a harmonization plan for the west side of West Avenue along the 900 block, which private property owners were in support of.

At its May 26, 2020 meeting, the Land Use and Sustainability Committee (LUSC) was presented with an alternate harmonization approach for improvements at the 900 block of West Avenue.

At the Commitee meeting, a Gumenick Properties representative mentioned that his client had developed a proposed harmonization plan for the east side of the 900 block. Roy Coley, Public Works Director, stated that the proposed alternate harmonization plan differed from what was originally presented during the Colombia Resilience Accelerator and the new proposed harmonization would add additional costs.  The proposed harmonization also included the potential opening of a Baywalk as part of the negotiations. 

At the LUSC meeting, a motion was made by the Committee to have the Public Works Department and City Attorney’s Office negotiate the conditions of the concept design, including pending negotiations on the opening of the Baywalk, with representatives from the 900 block, and return to a future LUSC meeting. 

At the October 28, 2020 City Commission meeting, the Commission adopted Resolution No. 2020-31473, approving a drainage and harmonization policy for West Avenue, establishing: (1) a private property harmonization policy; and (2) a residential/commercial property runoff and public drainage infrastructure policy for the West Avenue neighborhood.

The Gumenick Properties representative has stated that the harmonization and drainage policy approved in October 2020 via Resolution No. 2020-31473, would affect their proposed design of the 900 block of West Avenue.

The City proposed a landscape strip abutting West Avenue, followed by the sidewalk and a retaining wall with handrails along the property line. The Gumenick Properties representative claims that it would affect the adjacent owner’s property, which would be at a significantly lower elevation, by disengaging the pedestrians along the sidewalk from the private property, and creating an aesthetically displeasing effect. 

Gumenick Properties proposed an alternative harmonization by flipping the sidewalk and landscape strip, allowing for a sloped landscaped berm that transitions from the higher street to the building.  This condition eliminates the retaining wall and handrails that segregate the pedestrian from the private property (see attached).

The Gumenick Properties representative has fully vetted this alternative with City staff and claims that the alternate harmonization will not delay the City’s project.  Further, the owner agrees to fund the necessary improvements on the private property so there is no additional cost to the City.  They note that this arrangement has been implemented on other blocks along West Avenue as a harmonization solution, and claim that this proposed harmonization would be in context with the surrounding area.

The Administration is willing to consider an alternate harmonization plan for the 900 block of West Avenue, which is scheduled to be presented at the January 2021 LUSC.  The Administration will provide approval and a recommendation pending submittal of final plan and details and an agreeable schedule for the reopening of the baywalk.  

Results from the 2019 Resident Survey show that 50% of residents rated efforts to manage stormwater drainage and flooding as excellent or good. In order to continue maintaining excellent standards in this area, the Administration will consider the proposal presented by Gumenic properties and will provide approval and a recommendation pending submittal of final plan and details and an agreeable schedule for the reopening of the baywalk.