Plan for economically, physically feasible high school will be revealed
Islander News. January 3, 2008.
Kelly Josephsen. kjosephsen@islandemews.com
Local parents who are pushing for a public high school in Key Biscayne say they have an economically and physically feasible site in mind, but they can't publicly disclose details at this point.
Angel Martin, who is leading the charge for the school, addressed the Village's Zoning Ordinance Review Committee Thursday, December 13, and urged other Key Biscayne residents to get involved with his group as it continues reviewing potential sites.
Martin's group, the High School for Key Biscayne Stakeholders Group, is online at www.hs4kb.com. They plan to release more details early this year.
Aside from Martin's presentation, which ZORC members did not comment on directly, the committee broke little new ground at the December 13 meeting, instead choosing to review its progress from 2007 and create an outline of sorts for what it will do in 2008.
Key Biscayne High
Martin said he wanted to address the ZORC because the committee has talked about schools during its deliberations, and his group is trying to reach out to all interested parties. He also hopes the committee will consider educational needs as it reviews the Village's zoning code.
"We're a group of parents who will be working diligently to engage the community, Village Council and administration to find a solution to the lack of a high school in Key Biscayne," he said.
ZORC members had one question on their minds, and one they asked several times as Martin made his presentation: Where? Martin acknowledged that is the primary issue his group faces in the small, built-out Village.
He noted an earlier push for a high school on Virginia Key is still active — as are efforts to obtain more spots for local kids at Virginia Key's MAST Academy magnet school — but his group doesn't want to be dependent on the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County. Instead, he said, "This is a community issue that we as a community need to resolve. As a community, we have failed to address the issue."
But soon, Martin said, the Stakeholders Group will be ready to propose real, specific solutions.
"We have the space, without taking away any green; in fact, adding green," he said. "I know where, I know how, I know how much."
Pressed by the ZORC for specifics, Martin said he'll wait to comment publicly until plans are further along. Right now, he said, the concept is still in the planning stages, and his group is always looking for volunteers to help with fleshing out its ideas and drafting a more formal design.
ZORC member Julie Alvarez, whom Martin had approached about talking to the committee, said she also wants more information about the true need for a school.
"The parents I know want their children to go to private school, and if there were a high school on the Key, they would still send kids to private school," she said, asking Martin to provide more details.
Martin said he will be happy to do so, and noted many of the parents who support his organization say they'd be thrilled to enroll their teen in a public high school if it were convenient and high-quality.
Ongoing discussions
After hearing from Martin on the 13th, the ZORC moved onto regular business by going over programs it has made since it started meeting early in 2007.
ZORC Chairman Frank Caplan said Articles One, Three and Five of the code - Title, Intent, Purpose, Method and Fees; General Provisions; and Schedule of District, Use and Setback Regulations - are essentially done. That leaves Two and Four: Definitions and Administration of the Zoning Code.
Caplan said a Definitions Subcommittee has already reviewed Article Two, and, "It's at the five yard line, and it will get there. I find lots of little polish points, but my view is it isn't going to change very much."
Committee members agreed to devote their first meeting of the new year to nothing but the definitions article, hopefully culminating in a vote to approve the subcommittee's recommendations.
That leaves Article Four as the brunt of the remaining work: "There's still a lot to talk about," said Caplan.
Article Four deals with regulations on key topics like Floor Area Ratio, or the percentage of a lot that can be covered with air conditioned space. Because FAR controls mass — a key concern for the ZORC — hammering out recommendations will take some time.
Finally, Caplan also recalled debate on whether Village Council members should be allowed to discuss pending zoning applications with developers and residents. The code currently says no, as local zoning hearings are quasi-judicial in nature, meaning officials must decide only on the evidence presented.
Caplan noted the ZORC appears to be split about 50-50 on the issue. Most vocal so far have been developer Barry Goldmeier and attorney Arturo Aballi, the ZORC vice chairman:
Goldmeier feels talking about projects ahead of time is a valuable educational tool, while Aballi feels Council members would be overly influenced by professional lobbyists hired by developers.
Caplan urged committee members to consider the topic to prepare for discussions next year.
New topics
Along with those issues, ZORC members also mentioned some new topics to deal with. Building, Zoning and Planning Director Jud Kurlancheek said he expects the review of the zoning map and regulations for parking, landscaping and signage to go rather quickly.
The committee is also expected to talk about dock regulations, a big topic after several homeowners from Harbor Drive approached the Council last November with requests for dock variances. Council members denied the variances but indicated a review of local dock regulations is necessary; they asked Harbor homeowners and the ZORC to provide input.
Meanwhile, Caplan also suggested a formal discussion on environmentally-friendly building standards, such as the Leadership in Energy/Environmental Design (LEED) model.
The code currently doesn't address "green" building practices, and Kurlancheek cautioned the ZORC against doing anything too definite. He noted there is a lot of debate over the LEED standards, which were developed for the Midwest environment and don't necessarily work in South Florida.
"This is still evolving," he said. "We don't want to embrace anything until it's fully understood."
Kurlancheek also noted he feels the right place for environmental standards isn't the zoning code, but the building code, because, so many of the concepts deal with building materials.
Committee member Deborah De Leon, an architect, agreed in part, but noted she thinks it would be valuable for the zoning code to offer FAR bonuses to encourage green building. The code already lets architects design to a higher FAR by including features like balconies and porches; extending that to designing with environmentally-friendly materials and practices makes sense, she reasoned.
"I think it's irresponsible for us not to address it," De Leon concluded.
Committee member Basha Hicks, who is part of a Miami-Dade County committee that is discussing the LEED model, agreed, noting, "It's a very definite movement."
Finally, Caplan said he wants to talk about how the zoning code is presented, and come up with a more user-friendly model. That Could include more graphics, different fonts and color where needed.
Overall, Caplan added, he's confident the committee's review will result in valuable changes: "As it all comes together in the end, it's going to synch. It's going to work."
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