In concept, the Coconut Grove Waterfront Master Plan maps out a reorganized Dinner Key that with $165 million in new sailing facilities, museums and parks would become a world-class destination.

But in reality, seeing the ambitious vision to fruition may prove even more challenging than the tumultuous three year process of creating the plan.

The Miami City Commission approved the plan in July as a guide for future development in the area, but several roadblocks have already formed.

The city administration's first order in the plan, demolishing the Coconut Grove Expo Center, has come under fire by fans of the USA cable network show Burn Notice, which calls the building home.

Grove Harbour Marina is knocking on the door for approval of a controversial bayside dockmaster and office building that was in the works during the creation of the master plan, but left off the final document.

And some City Commissioners are now questioning the value of master plans, though stopping short of calling for reform.

''I respect the community's input and participation and I think that's a very valuable process that should be respected,'' Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones said about the waterfront plan during a Sept. 25 City Commission hearing.

``But I have a million and one master plans in my district, a million and one, and I can't tell you one that's ever been followed.''

City Commissioners discussed the Grove's waterfront master plan during their last meeting, and debated whether to approve the dockmaster facility proposed by Grove Harbour Marina.

The building, proposed at three stories and 21,000 square feet, would sit about 22 feet from the water and would replace a 150-square-foot facility that currently serves as Grove Harbour's dockmaster facility.

The building is allowed under Grove Harbour's lease, which runs until 2042, and would provide showers and toilets for customers, along with a public ground floor promenade.

City planners say the building wouldn't conflict with the goals of the plan and Mark Dawson, the Sasaki engineer who headed the master plan, told the Miami Herald the vision should be flexible enough to accommodate changes when appropriate.

But Commissioner Marc Sarnoff said approving the building on the waterfront would go against the plan's goal of opening up waterfront views.

''You've absolutely wasted the integrity behind the master plan process,'' he said.

The emphasis Sarnoff placed on the plan, however, wasn't wholeheartedly shared by some of his colleagues.

Commissioner Tomás Regalado, who is running for mayor and has said the plan offers promises without any certainty of funding, said the city should reexamine how it looks at master plans.

''It's about time that we start thinking of not being too liberal in master planning and spending millions and millions and millions of dollars,'' he said.

The lack of support from some on the commission has concerned those who worked on the plan, including Cocoanut Grove Village Council Chairwoman Michelle Niemeyer.

Niemeyer, who with other Grove residents watched and worked on the plan from conception to approval through an activist committee, called Spence-Jones' comments offensive.

''The whole reason I spent the last four years of my life doing what I was doing with the Waterfront Working Committee is to make sure the city doesn't spend $600,000 on a plan just to throw away the book,'' she said Thursday.

Niemeyer said the key to seeing the plan's individual projects through to completion will come through the actions of a 16-member city committee, of which she is a member, that will serve as a long-term advisory committee for the plan.

''I think it's going to be extremely important for this organization to start meeting and start acting,'' she said.

However, Dinner Key stakeholders have formed their own committee to weigh in on different aspects of the plan.

Niemeyer said the Cocoanut Grove Village Council expects to hold a special meeting this month to address some of the issues surrounding the master plan.

Join the discussion

Note: If this is your first time using our NEW commenting system, you will have to LOG OUT and then LOG BACK IN.

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

@Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@