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 3   <br />INTRODUCTION   <br />   <br />  The  City  of  Sunny  Isles  Beach  is  committed  to  a  common  vision  for  the  future  role  that   <br />arts  and  culture  could  play  in  guiding  policy  and  programming  to  enhance  the  quality  of  life  for   <br />residents,  businesses  and  visitors.  The  City,  along  with  its  partner  the  Sunny  Isles  Beach   <br />Foundation,  wants  to  create  a  5  to  10  year  strategic  plan  to  leverage  arts  and  culture  in  order  to   <br />a)  increase  civic  engagement  to  create  a  better  sense  of  community,  b)  create  economic   <br />development  and  cultural  tourism  opportunities,  and  c)  improve  the  overall  quality  of  life  for  all   <br />sectors  of  the  city.   <br />  The  City  of  Sunny  Isles  Beach  has  a  population  of  about  22,000  and  is  located  on  a   <br />barrier  island  in  Northeast  Miami-­‐Dade  County.  It  is  a  nationally  recognized  urban  destination   <br />that  provides  access  to  exquisite  South  Florida  beaches  (Florida’s  Riviera!)  along  with  luxury   <br />living  and  dining,  and  eleven  state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art  park  facilities  that  provide  recreational  and   <br />cultural  programming.  There  is  strong  testament  of  this  community’s  commitment  to  its  quality   <br />of  life  as  evidenced  by  the  recently  formed  non-­‐profit  community  foundation,  the  Sunny  Isles   <br />Beach  Foundation,  which  is  dedicated  to  “promote  quality  of  life  through  multi-­‐disciplinary   <br />cultural  arts  and  government  initiatives  designed  to  incite  and  inspire  engagement  of  the  City’s   <br />diverse  population,  to  focus  on  creative  public  space  and  place  making,  and  transform  the   <br />culture  of  Sunny  Isles  Beach.”  With  the  City  being  the  new  home  of  immigrants  from  all  over  the   <br />world  as  well  as  boasting  a  summer  and  winter  tourist  season,  the  opportunities  for  interesting,   <br />engaging,  diverse,  and  educational  cultural  activities  is  unbounded.   <br />  The  City’s  Cultural  and  Community  Services  Department  sponsors  numerous  events  and   <br />was  created  to  “enhance  the  community  of  Sunny  Isles  Beach  by  providing  quality  and  diverse   <br />programs,  attractive  and  functional  parks,  and  customer  service  responsive  to  the  needs  of  the   <br />community  in  an  effort  to  increase  social  interaction  and  community  pride.”  The  inclusion  of   <br />cultural  priorities  has  been  reflected  in  the  City’s  comprehensive  planning  process.  The   <br />Comprehensive  Plan  of  2000  is  currently  being  updated  to  the  Plan  of  2035.  The  current  plan   <br />articulates  a  strategy  to  adopt  an  “Art  in  Public  Places”  program  because,  as  stated  in  the  plan,   <br />“public  art  is  a  powerful  signal  of  a  community’s  commitment  to  a  shared  quality  of  life.”  While