Community, developer get closer on proposed changes in West Grove

Following complex presentation and emotional comments from the community, Miami’s Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board has approved four land use changes designed to bring new housing, retail and a Publix grocery store to the West Grove.

Additionally, in an apparent deal worked out between the developer – Pointe Group Advisors – and the Coconut Grove Village Collaborative, the community will receive more than 100 units of affordable housing, a critical point the Coconut Grove Village West Homeowners & Tenants Association has sought for years.

The board’s approval, which came after nearly three hours of presentations and comments at an Oct. 6 hearing at City Hall, gives Pointe Group a green light to take its redevelopment plans to the next stage, which includes re-appearing before the board for specific zoning changes in the West Grove.

In front of a packed audience inside city commission chambers, Pointe Group Advisors representatives brought out charts to show where and how their development plans would reshape the area.

However, board members as well as residents struggled to understand the scope of the zoning appeals the developer was requesting for different sections of Thomas, Florida and Grand avenues and Hibiscus and Elizabeth streets., all of which have single-family residential or duplex-residential zoning.

In each of its five requests for zoning appeals, Pointe Group sought to change the residential zoning in those areas to restricted commercial zoning, a category that generally allows for retailing, offices and services easily accessible to pedestrians, motorists and people using public transportation.

But the city’s Planning Department cited concerns about suddenly changing residential areas with low density and single-family housing to commercial areas that could bring high density to the area. As a result, the department officially recommended denial of all of Pointe Group’s request.

Passionate homeowner Bennie L. Chapman’s home on Florida Avenue is about a block away from an area that would have changed from single-family residential to restricted commercial.

“Let me enjoy my life as I grow older in my community,” Chapman said, addressing his comments to Pointe Group President Peter Gardner. “Don’t change my community to commercial. We need our houses; I have nowhere else to go.”

Andy Parrish, a developer who built Grovepoint, a community of single-family homes in the Grove in 1994, said he supported commercial development as a means of revitalizing Grand Avenue, the area’s primary retail strip.

“We need more commercial activity,” Parish said. “I’m glad Pointe Group is here. Nothing can stand still forever. Pointe Group is as good as it’s going to get.”

For its part, Pointe Group asked the board to consider its overall development goals outlined in a Sept. 27 “letter of intent.” The letter generally seeks low and moderate density commercial and housing projects. While some high density is involved in a portion of the developer’s plans, buffers such as parking lots and small parks are suggested to help separate commercial from residential areas.

City planners agreed that land-use changes spelled out by the developer seeks zoning changes that do not encroach as much into the area’s single-family home environment.

Pointe Group representatives said they would not have requested the broad land use changes at this point had it not been for Amendment 4, a statewide measure that will be on the Nov. 2 ballot. The amendment would prevent cities and counties from making changes to their comprehensive development plans without voter approval. If the amendment passes, redevelopment plans such as Pointe Group’s, would have to first be approved in a referendum by local voters.

In its final action, the board unanimously turned down Pointe’s Group’s initial zoning changes then immediately approved four of the developer’s land-use plans stated in its letter of intent. The board took no action on the developer’s first proposal for land use changes on Grand and Thomas avenues and Hibiscus and Elizabeth streets.

In an attempt to reassure some West Grove residents who have been critical of Pointe Group’s proposals, Gardner told the audience that Pointe Group is a responsible developer that wants to work with the community.

“We have been very open and listened to the comments from the community,” Gardner said at the hearing. “And I will commit to keep working with the Grove community on this project.”

Several homeowners and businesses announced their support of the Pointe Group’s plans during the hearing, including Jihad Rashid, president of the Coconut Grove Collaborative, a coalition of Coconut Grove residents and businesses spearheading a separate project to build 60 units of affordable housing in the West Grove.

Rashid said Pointe Group’s embrace of his project coupled with the developer’s plans to construct 43 affordable housing units gives him the confidence that the area’s redevelopment will not price out residents who traditionally have lived in the area.