At its March 13, 2024 meeting, the City Commission approved a dual referral (Item C4 I) to the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC) and the Land Use and Sustainability Committee (LUSC) to consider the creation of a new capital project to install floating walkways and/or the acquisition of the parcel directly west of Indian Creek Drive and owned by the property located at 2811 Indian Creek Drive to complete the Indian Creek pedestrian pathway. The item was anticipated to be heard at the May 1, 2024 LUSC meeting but was deferred. The item is now tentatively scheduled to be heard at the June 10, 2024 LUSC meeting.  

The referral references a March 18, 2020 City Commission Resolution (Resolution No. 2020-31210), approving one (1) of two (2) concept plans prepared by landscape architect Craven Thompson & Associates, Inc. (“Craven Thompson”), based on community feedback, to restore landscape removed during the construction of the seawall that extends from 24^th Street to 41^st Street on the east side of the Indian Creek Canal/Waterway (i.e., on the west side of Indian Creek Drive). 

The approved concept plan provided connectivity for pedestrians between three (3) anchor points: (1) 41^st Street; (2) the pedestrian bridge at 28^th Street; and (3) the south end overlooking Lake Pancoast. The plan proposed varied layers of landscaping between the anchor points and the connectivity, to buffer the barrier wall, to screen and open some views, and plant large shade trees at the road intersections with Indian Creek Drive ("ICD") to limit traffic related light pollution into the residential neighborhoods. 

As part of the Resolution, the Mayor and City Commission directed the Administration to work with Craven Thompson to increase the pathway and landscaping in as many areas as possible. Construction of the Pathway in its current iteration was completed in 2023.

As the City did not own the parcels along the west side of ICD, Craven Thompson created pedestrian starts/stops at certain pinch points where the pathway would otherwise end.  There are crosswalks at these pinch points to enable pedestrians who wish to walk along the west side of ICD to cross over to the east side temporarily, until the next crosswalk that can connect them back to the Pathway.  This is less than ideal as pedestrians are forced to cross ICD and cross back several times to get from 26^th Street to 41^st Street.

The Mid Beach Neighborhood Association (MBNA) has requested that the City consider the installation of floating walkways connecting the pinch points along ICD to allow for a continuous pathway from 26^th Street to 41^st Street.  The installation of floating walkways would not only provide a practical solution for pedestrians traveling north or south along ICD in Mid Beach but would also allow residents and visitors the ability to experience the City’s natural beauty in a more intimate way.  The City Attorney’s Office would have to review the City’s property rights with respect to the pertinent outlots located along the pathway for the floating walkway to see if any additional consents would be required with respect to any applicable third-party property interests. 

As noted in the referral item, sponsoring Commissioner Alex Fernández wished to discuss the possibility of acquiring the parcel directly west of Indian Creek Drive and owned by the property located at 2811 Indian Creek Drive (the “Parcel”). To head southbound safely, a pedestrian who crosses the 28^th Street pedestrian bridge over Indian Creek must walk north to the crosswalk at 29^th Street, then use the sidewalk on the east side of Indian Creek Drive to head south.  The acquisition of this parcel would be a better solution than a floating walkway at this location.

The City has previously reached out to the property owner of the Parcel during the design phase to either obtain a perpetual easement or acquire the Parcel.  Both options were rejected which required the City to modify the design that, as described above, requires a pedestrian crossing the 28^th Street pedestrian bridge to walk north to 29^th Street to cross and use the sidewalk on the east side of Indian Creek Drive. 

At its May 24, 2024 meeting, FERC members heard the item for the first time and made a motion to 1) proceed to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation to have the City Attorney work with the Administration to begin an eminent domain process and or be able to negotiate an access easement and to return to Commission with the action; 2) return to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation to prioritize during the 2025 budget process, a new capital project of installing a floating walkway as part of the Indian Creek pedestrian pathway.  

Permitting Requirements:

Section 24-48 of the Miami-Dade County Code requires that a Miami-Dade County Class I Permit be obtained from the Division of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) prior to performing any work in, on, over or upon tidal waters or coastal wetlands of Miami-Dade County or of any of the municipalities located within Miami-Dade County.

A DERM Class I Permit is utilized to manage impacts from construction on coastal wetlands and tidal waters. Through this process, projects are reviewed to identify potential environmental and other impacts. Before the permit is issued, Miami-Dade County may require modification of the project to eliminate avoidable impacts and to minimize other impacts. Compensation (mitigation) is required for unavoidable impacts as part of the permit.

Other permits may be needed before work can begin. The following is a list of other agencies that may have jurisdiction over these Class I projects (their involvement will depend upon the location, nature, type, and size of the project):

• South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD)
• Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP)
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE)

The processing time may vary from project to project due to design, site conditions or project complexity. We anticipate that due to the various agencies involved that permitting will take a minimum of 6 to 12 months.  Most short form permits are valid for 2 years from the date of issuance.  If additional time is necessary to perform the work, the permit may be extended in 2 or 3-year increments provided the total time period of the extensions granted does not exceed 10 years.

Bridge Design:

An acceptable floating walkway design would need to be established, and the City would need to hire a consultant to design the floating walkway (currently unfunded).   The cost of the project would be determined by the size/scope of the project, materials utilized and environmental mitigation costs.  Design costs are anticipated to be in the range of $200K to $400K depending on the structural complexity of the design and construction costs will most likely exceed $2M.   There will also be a recurring cost for maintaining the floating walkway, which is also unfunded.

Acquisition of the Property Located at 2811 Indian Creek Drive:

The City would need to inquire through the owner of the property should the property owner be interested in selling based on property appraisal.  As a point of reference, the Parcel is listed for sale with a listing price of $2,499,000.00, and according to the Zillow.com webpage, the Parcel has been on the market for 451 days.  Pursuant to the Zillow website, the Parcel has a lot size of approximately 2,450 square feet and contains a house which has approximately 2,553 square feet of living area, containing 6 bedrooms and 5 baths.  The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser’s Office lists the fair market value for the Parcel for 2023 as $1,113,867.00; however, the Property Appraiser’s Office valuation is historically below the fair market value for the properties sold in the community