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Summary Minutes:Regular City Commission Meeting September 15,2016 City of Sunny Isles Beach,Florida <br /> City decided at one point to build an elementary school, 25 years after that. Of course there <br /> was an outcry from the community to tell the property owner who owns the liquor store and <br /> lounge to move because we are coming in with an elementary school, and guess what, the <br /> City's hands were tied because what was there and the use that was allowed before had to be <br /> respected and continue to be respected. The analogy here is that Pier Park and the use of Pier <br /> Park and we are talking about fishing, if the Pier was not there, it would have been a beach <br /> access, end of story. <br /> Commissioner Aelion said the fact that Pier Park has been there for almost 80 years and the <br /> use has been public, long before the inception of the City,you have to look at this in a bigger <br /> picture. First of all with the Master Plan of the inception of the City, the Chief of Police <br /> touched upon safety and so on, and really the Police has to be commended for their oversite <br /> not only there but over the City. The issue is one that the motivation within the inception of <br /> the City through the Master Plan was always to take safety into consideration. So before the <br /> City got built without going into too many details, everybody knows there were rundown <br /> motels, and the crime rate through the County because it was oversite by the County Police, <br /> they couldn't even handle the amount of crime when the motels were here. And so the idea <br /> was really to develop the beach to allow beach accesses which we have plenty,to the public, <br /> but to have a safer environment to live in. Guess what, 19 years down the road it is a reality, <br /> and so most of what was problematic on the beach is gone. So it is not an easy task by the <br /> City that is bound by historic development and is bound by public use and it is very clear and <br /> is very understanding of what is going wrong, your safety is number one. The City has to <br /> find a formula, and by the way, he is also impressed by the residents of La Perla and- <br /> everybody's point is very well taken here but not one and not two City Commissioners and <br /> prior City officials said that La Perla should never have been built to begin with because they <br /> foresaw this issue when they came and then reality. However, it was built,and the issue that <br /> was brought up by Richard Brown Morilla and argued by the Mayor, came to be and we are <br /> still living with it today so it is not a solution of just saying change the use, it is still going to <br /> be public land but into single use, it is not a simple matter to just brush it off like this. It is <br /> something that the Mayor and Commissioners voiced here that taking into account the <br /> importance of the safety of the residents there, and he agrees the issue is serious and we will <br /> find a solution in the public interest, not only La Perla but all the residents and visitors of <br /> Sunny Isles Beach will be taken into consideration, and a decision will be done. Definitely <br /> the fact that the Pier area is here today as the result of the upcoming opening of Gateway <br /> Park with those available spaces. That is an element that will definitely be coming to play <br /> very soon and we hope by the end of this year we can cut the ribbon for Gateway Park and at <br /> the same time we will definitely sit down or maybe from now until then we will strategize an <br /> approach that will address all sides of this issue. <br /> Commissioner Goldman said she is very much impressed with the complexity and depth of <br /> this presentation and she thinks you all did a wonderful job of presenting the issues. As you <br /> may know she represents the south side and she is an attorney by training and she looks <br /> forward to the opportunity to really analyze the issue,the legal policy perspective,and she is <br /> looking forward to meeting you all in person in the near future. Public safety and traffic <br /> issues are really paramount for her and she has to say that she does see it first-hand because <br /> she is the person who drives home from downtown at night at 9:00 and she sees the Police <br /> cars,the fracas,the roads,the place cordoned off and so she does see it as well and she shares <br /> 31 <br />