Judge rules against developer who sued Miami over delays in big Little Haiti project
The property owners behind a massive and controversial plan to redevelop 22 acres on the edge of Miami’s Little Haiti have lost a court bid to force a city decision on their oft-delayed proposal.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Abby Cynamon ruled against SPV Realty, backers of the Eastside Ridge Special Area Plan. SPV sued the city in November, seeking a judicial order to compel Miami’s Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board to vote on its plan so it could move its zoning blueprint to final consideration by the city commission.
The planning board has postponed votes on the plan six times since 2018, most recently in February, after SPV repeatedly rebuffed its requests for further analysis of the project’s impact on the neighborhood, a new traffic plan and additional public meetings.
The plan has proven contentious because it’s raised fears of accelerated gentrification in Little Haiti and surrounding neighborhoods. It calls for the demolition of some 500 relatively affordable, low-scale apartments in the Design Place complex, which SPV owns, and construction of thousands of new apartments, hotel rooms and offices in 14 mid-rise buildings.
In its suit, SPV argued that delays in voting on the Eastside Ridge plan, originally filed in 2016, constitute a dereliction of duty by the planning board. The suit contended that the board’s inaction violated a city ordinance requiring “a decision without unreasonable or unnecessary delay.”
But Cynamon ruled in a brief order dated March 17 that the planning board did not act unreasonably. The order notes that the first three postponements came at the request of SPV attorneys, triggering a six-month deferral. The judge also noted that SPV did not dispute that it failed to respond to the board’s requests for meetings and information.
Part of the judge’s ruling rested on a technical question: Whether the board was obligated to vote as a “ministerial act,” or whether its decision about voting is “discretionary.” Cynamon ruled city ordinances do not clearly classify board action as ministerial. She left open the question of whether further delays could be regarded as unreasonable.
The board advises the city commission by voting on whether to recommend approval or denial of applications for rezonings. An application can’t advance to the city commission until the planning board takes a vote.
SPV’s appellate attorneys at Lydecker Diaz, Stephen Johnson and Shawn Hairston, did not respond to a request for comment.
Planning board members have publicly accused SPV of foot-dragging and acting in bad faith. Some members have said during public hearings on SPV’s application that they believe the developers have rebuffed the board’s requests because their strategy is to get the matter before the city commission, where they believe they have a good chance of prevailing.
The board did vote once on SPV’s proposed zoning changes, but deadlocked 5-5, which constitutes no recommendation to the city commission. It has deferred voting on the rezoning as well as on related land-use changes SPV is seeking on other occasions.
Eastside RIdge is one of several special area plans — large-scale projects named after a section of the city’s decade-old Miami 21 zoning code — that have raised a public outcry over their potential to displace residents and businesses in low-income neighborhoods. The planning board has urged the city to eliminate the section. The city has named a committee to review Miami 21 that includes SPV’s zoning attorney for Eastside Ridge, Vicky Leiva, of the Bilzin Sumberg firm.
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 7:00 AM.