On July 28, 2021, at the request of Commissioner Mark Samuelian and Commissioner Micky Steinberg, the City Commission referred a discussion to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee (C4Q) the resident Sustainability Committee’s June 24, 2021 motion urging the City to engage with leadership from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in Quarter 3 – FY2021 to see approval for the City and the County to lead a shoreline restoration project along the Julia Tuttle Causeway with mangroves and other enhancements.

In August, staff from Miami-Dade County Division of Environmental Resources Management and Florida Department of Transportation met onsite to evaluate the potential living shoreline options that may be potentially viable. During this meeting several concerns were raised regarding the concept including:

·  FDOT has jurisdiction of the roadway, any design would need to be approved by their Department. The main mission of FDOT is transportation, funding can not be used for landscape and ecosystem restoration projects.

·  Creation of a mangrove shoreline will have permitting constraints that could prohibit future uses of the property.

·   Design of a living shoreline will need to consider existing benthic resources waterward of the mean highwater line.

While there are valid concerns regarding this innovative concept, the Julia Tuttle Causeway presents an opportunity to expand nature-based infrastructure – an action identified in the Resilient305 Strategy as a short-term priority. Staff has initiated conversations with the County’s Chief Bay Officer, Irela Bague who is an advocate of the living shoreline concept and has been charged with moving this forward. The next step is for staff to meet with the Chief Bay Officer and FDOT leadership to discuss potential pathways forward.

The following is presented to the members of the Land Use and Sustainability Committee for discussion and it is recommended that staff provide quarterly status updates.