Letter: City doesn’t need more density, height
The article on Oct. 22, 2015 regarding affordable housing reveals inaccurate information and is doing a disservice to your readers and residents of South Miami.
The Madison Square rental Housing plan is smack behind a residential street where several hard working families have scrimped and scraped to become homeowners. Many other families wish to become eligible for the Madison Housing through affordable home ownership not rental agreements.
The structure of the tax credits, that seem to enrich developers, was selected by our city commission to the exclusion of all other options to develop affordable housing . Habitat For Humanity and other organizations have successfully structured “road to Home ownership” programs that provide safe environments for families but these options were not considered.
Mayor Stoddard, Commissioners Welsh and Liebman seem to have a strong desire to work with the current plan because , it will increase density and height per the demand of the Florida Housing Financing Corporation which eliminates the wishes of the people. The threesome and Manager Alexander are so eager that they have hired additional lawyers and planners, at taxpayers expense, to speed up the changes in the Land Development Code and the Comprehensive Plan that are required for the up-zoning. Stoddard, has cunningly changed laws for the purpose. Commissioners Edmund and Harris have remained honest to the people they serve and are keeping their campaign promises. Both have been recipients of Stoddard’s insults right from the dais.
Look at the hiring practices and agendas of the our City over the last several years. Only one subject gets attention any more. Were it not for Madison Square and other zoning issues, our little city of 12000 people could likely do with commission meetings every month and a lot less staff.
In his article the Miami Herald reporter writes about one man and his family but leaves out the facts. There are many other families who work hard and find ways to homeownership. Are those voices not convenient to three officials , some developers and a bevy of lawyers? Safe living spaces is what nurtures the next generations, not more concrete, density and height.
Yvonne Beckman, South Miami
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This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 9:49 AM with the headline "Letter: City doesn’t need more density, height."