City Commission - Regular Meeting

Recording in progress

Yes, sir.

Ready? Yes, sir.

All right. Good morning. Morning. I'd like to welcome all of you to the City Commission meeting for Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026. I'd like to thank all of you for being here. We have multiple opportunities, as always, for engagement. You can either Zoom. You can either send us an email, you can discuss in person. But what I'm excited about is the fact that you're here and that everyone is welcome to voice their opinion and provide guidance on all matters that are on the agenda today. So without any further ado, as I said before, welcome to the City Commission. And I'd like to start off this morning with our dear friend Biju Cacho, Director of Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care at Doctors Hospital. Good morning and welcome back to the city beautiful. It's a privilege to have you here.

Thank you, sir Good morning. Thank you. Mr. Mayor and distinguished members of the Commission and all present here Let's take a deep breath Source of all wisdom known by many names and honored in many ways I We gather in gratitude for this community we are called to serve. We give thanks for the differences, strength, and shared purpose that shaped the city of Coral Gables. We're especially mindful of the partnerships that sustain the well-being of the city, including the close collaboration between the city and institutions like Doctors' Hospital, working together for the health, safety, and care of all residents. Grant wisdom and discernment to those entrusted with leadership today. May their decisions be guided by integrity, compassion, and a deep commitment to the common good. In times of change and challenge, strengthen us as a resilient community. Teach us to face adversity with courage, to respond with unity, and to care for one another. Open our ears to listen with respect open our hearts to act with fairness, and renew in us a spirit of collaboration, hope, and perseverance. May the work done here today contribute to the well-being and flourishing of all who call this community home.

Amen.

Reverend, we'd like to extend our best wishes to you as always, and to your congregation and worshipers on behalf of our city. Thank you for being here, and we look forward to seeing you again. I know one has nothing to do with the other, but obviously since you represent Doctors Hospital, it's exciting that after a few years of approving all the new infrastructure work that will be done around Coral Gables in regards to Doctors Hospital, you're going to see new sidewalks, You're going to see the streets improved in front of doctors hospital and that work has commenced after a lot of planning. So I want to thank the manager for that and his team and also thank you, the doctors hospital for your collaborative efforts. It's going to be a little bit difficult over the next few months, obviously, because the work is all encompassing of the entire hospital round. But that infrastructure is really going to connect. University, Blue Road, Granada, the two bridges that are there. So again, it's much needed, and we want to thank you for your patience and for your leadership on that effort. Thank you. Send our best to the leaders at Doctors Hospital. Thank you very much. So this morning, as we continue, we have the privilege to have Lieutenant Colonel Juan Carlos J.C. Gomez to move forward and come here and help us with the Pledge of Allegiance. Our Lieutenant Colonel Juan Carlos J.C. Gomez is a United States Army Reserve officer who has served in military intelligence and operational leadership roles in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, and Operation Enduring Freedom. He currently serves as commander of American Legion Post 98 and is actively involved in veteran mentorship, civic engagement, and community leadership initiatives throughout South Florida. Thank you for being here with us.

Thank you Mister mayor appreciate that please join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Sir tell us your story that we're incredibly we're incredibly proud of.

And Mister mayor thank you and Commission thank you city of Coral Gables, thank you for having me here today. I COME ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN LEGION POST 98 AND 155 MEMBERS THAT SERVE THE COMMUNITY DAILY ON FOUR MAJOR PILLARS THAT THE AMERICAN LEGION REPRESENTS. NUMBER ONE IS VETERAN AFFAIRS WHERE WE PARTICIPATE AND ACTIVELY ASSIST OUR VETERANS WITH THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM THROUGH VETERAN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT. SECONDLY, LEGISLATIVE ACTION. WE TAKE PART IN THESE TYPE OF PROCESSES LOCALLY, STATEWIDE AND NATIONALLY FOR MILITARY AND VETERAN FAMILIES. Third, we're really actively involved in patriotic events. Last week, we planted about 7,000 flags almost on two cemeteries in recognition of our fallen veterans. And then this weekend, we picked them up because otherwise the landscaping teams kind of mow over the flags. We can't allow that. And then lastly, we're involved in youth programs, which is our most important interest is to develop the future leaders of the United States in our local communities. We do that through a number of initiatives, through scouting, through ROTCs, through the JROTCs in the high schools, and through mentorship of our young people here in the community of Coral Gables and beyond that throughout Miami-Dade. I encourage you to visit us. We're right around the corner from here. There's a lot of initiatives that we have to make the post look better and to continue to be an active part of the community. And as such, I'd like to recognize you, Mr. Mayor, and of course, Commissioner Lara for for the initiative. All right. We really appreciate the. Inviting us into this platform where you last week we had our last meeting, you had one hundred and one year old veteran here. What is right here in the community and was the member of the U.S. Navy, although you said he was in the army, but he Navy.

It was it was Navy and I corrected myself and I just fell right on that sword.

I'm just messing with you I I just think it was great that you have him here and that you can have him as the Marshall for for veterans day and I commend this commission for moving forward with the recognition of veterans day here in city Coral Gables. So with that said I'd like to just give you and you a couple of coins that that I brought for for today is a police officers here today that there's not. I do have something for them, but I'll just pass it along to the police department when I get out of here. So what I'm going to present to you today are two different things. I'm going to present to you, Mr. Mayor, the Department of Florida's American Legion coin, and to you, Commissioner Lara, I'm going to be presenting to you a more involved coin that has to do with Memorial Day. It's something that I presented to some of our volunteers on Memorial Day, and I have one left, and I'm going to give it to you. With that, I thank you again for having us here at these meetings, and I look forward to further engagement with the city of Coral Gables on behalf of the American Legion. And thank you once again.

Thank you very much. So I just want to talk a little bit about this gentleman, Lieutenant Colonel. What he has done in regards to the American Legion has to be commended. Over the last three or four years, he invited me multiple times to visit. He has completely changed. And if I may, I want to just provide a little bit of background. And we didn't rehearse this. We didn't talk about this before, correct? Some people see things as what you see with your eyes, right? If you look at the American Legion post, it is completely refreshed. From new windows, and I want to mention Signature Windows, who provided all those windows. They provided them, I don't know if it was at cost or free.

No cost.

No cost. This is a resident here in the city who has come here before and has provided free windows to residents who have a need. So he's a very stand-up individual. You also did all the exterior lighting. Looks beautiful. You repainted the structure. You've done a lot of things to really spruce up the building, which is incredible. And again, it's what Coral Gate was all about. That's why we're the city beautiful, right? But I think it's a lot more than that. And that's why I mentioned you see things with your eyes, but you can also feel things. And every time that I've been there, there's a lot more people involved in the post. There's a lot more engagement. You're front and center. You're at events. And you're reminding people. And it's a shame that we need to be reminded. what a privilege it is to live in the greatest country in the world and the sacrifices that are made by veterans who either pay the ultimate sacrifice or gave many, many years of their lives to ensure our freedoms and that our democracies are intact and that we continue to expand on those democracies and our Constitution is protected. So I want to commend you for that. You've come to visit me multiple times in office hours. You invited me to the post. You've allowed me to witness the celebrations that happen at the post. And I recommend that everyone take an opportunity, not only get engaged, but to donate to the post, because it's a true privilege to have the post in our backyard on Alhambra. One of the things that I had mentioned at the last commission meeting, I want to make sure that it goes through. For the next year, we're celebrating America's semi-quintennial moment at the Commission meeting. This is what we're doing today. And what we're doing is ensuring that we honor those who honor us with their sacrifices. And I want to make sure we continue to do that, not just for one year, but we continue to honor these individuals like yourself. And I also wanted to make sure that we have two events now two installations on giralda currently tejido we have another one after for three months it's gonna be six months and i had requested that we do something to celebrate america 250. with american flags and i had asked the manager and the commission did we ever take a vote on that i don't know if we ever did took a vote on that or or if we were still did we take a vote or did i just bring it up i can't remember mr manager

Mayor, I thought we were going to do flags all along Ponce de Leon Boulevard, and we're working on that to have American flags on Ponce.

I want to make sure that we do that. I want to make sure that we do that and we leave them up as much as possible and that we're thinking about using the structure at Giralda that we already paid for for six months to potentially add those flags on Giralda also. I mean, I think it's an overkill, but the flag structure is an overkill. But at the end of the day, we have it up. Why not just, you know, continue to use it? So I would like to make a motion if the vice mayor will run this portion of the meeting to put together a budget through your office to see what we need to do to make sure that we can put up flags as we lead up to 4th of July. We have time. and also to start preparing the third iteration of an installation that deals with, maybe we celebrate all the American flags. You know, there's a new one that just came out. I saw it the other day, you know, 250. There's obviously 250 in the middle, and it's a circular with all 13 colonies. So I think it's very beautiful. I think it's very emblematic of what we are here as a city, very proud to be Americans. I would like to see that we move forward with that, and we actually deliver on that, and we don't allow July 4th to come and go. We're very patriotic. We do a lot of great things, but I want to make sure that we take advantage of what we're doing in Gironda and the fact that we can install as many American flags in our downtown. So if people come to our downtown, They really feel the patriotism. So I'd like to make a motion on that if I'd entertain a second. I'll second. Mr. Clerk? Well, that's the Vice Mayor running the meeting. I apologize.

We can call the roll.

Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Commissioner Castro.

I would love to support this. I have a question, though. Before when I had proposed to go ahead and put things under all day, I think you had mentioned to me that it was an issue because of hurricane season.

Through the mayor? Yes. Yes, Commissioner, but we have in our contract that it would be taken down and put back up in case we have a tropical storm or a hurricane event.

Yes.

Commissioner Fernandez?

Yes. Vice Commissioner Lara?

Yes. Mayor Lago?

Yes. Can you, Madam Vice Mayor, I'm going to continue with, now that I, can I continue now? I just want to make sure. Yes, yes. Okay. I want your input. Okay. And I want it to come through the manager, and I'd love for you to provide it, and I would like for you to give us ideas in regards to what we can do to incorporate the post. You need more face time. I want people to donate. I know Signature donated. They gave a lot of money. To them it's important. I want people to, Look at what we have in our backyard. A lot of people don't realize it. They don't understand it. They drive by that building, going to work, we all do, or going to an event or going to visit a doctor or something important, and they fail. And trust me, I do it every day. We're just trying to get from point A to point B. And they fail to really understand what's inside those walls of that building.

I get it. And just so you know, during my term as a commander there, we've increased engagement tremendously. You've already felt it. Some folks here in the room have felt it. The idea behind that is that, hey, listen, veterans are part of this community. I mean, the narrative of all we've been for many years, to some degree, we've tried to change the narrative of who we are. We're contributing members of society. We're people that lead. We're people that are engaged and are here to stay. And listen, veterans are made of the people that are sitting in this room right now, right? People that serve the country and the any capacity in the armed forces. They came from our neighborhoods. They didn't come from any place out of the ordinary. So therefore, when they come back after service, they're just a little bit changed in that they served their country in a different capacity, but many people served their countries without a uniform. And what we're trying to sort of create is a narrative that says, hey, listen, we're part of it. We want to be part of the greatness of the city, of the community, and of the country. And I think that we're headed in that direction. With that said, with this initiative that you just placed forward, We'll communicate with the city manager so that we can be a part of it. We just did an initiative with Commissioner Natalie Orbis in the county, and we're happy to engage the city, of course, in the same type of manner. So thank you very much.

If you could go through the manager's office, if you want, you can copy myself or any of my colleagues. I'd like to be copied to see how we can better engage.

Yeah, there's great synergy there, and we're happy to be involved.

We have a lot of veterans here.

Yeah, I know. That's one of the initiatives that we're going to bring forward is to find out exactly how many veterans we have within the city of Coral Gables. We have a couple of things that are initiatives that are happening right now. As a matter of fact, in the Coral Gables Museum, we currently have on display a war memorial that is what we call a field memorial. And if I can just briefly speak about that. A field memorial is when we lose a member in service while we're deployed. That same night, we hold a memorial. Got the boots, the rifle, their cover, usually some type of helmet, and their dog tags, well, their ID tags, and a flag. We play Taps at midnight, and we all salute. We have that on display right now at the Coral Gables Museum. I urge you to go see it. It's emotional. You're going to see it. You're going to bring up some emotions. It's got a little bit of writing to what it represents, that sort of thing. It represents every religious factor that we have in the service and in our country. The dog tag typically states your religious beliefs or lack of. We have all of them represented on the display. It's a good collaboration. It's one of the many things that we've been doing, like I said, in the post to continually engage out in the community and bring people into our post that are not necessarily veterans. You don't have to be a veteran to come on in there. So, again, I welcome this opportunity to work with the city. for this initiative and for any initiative that has to do with the military or veteran affairs.

Thank you. Mr. Manager, two more requests, if you indulge me, through Martha Bunting, and my colleagues will support me on this. Number one, I'd like to put on our next newsletter advertising the show at the museum so that people can become aware of it here in the city. We have over 30,000 people that receive our newsletter, and Martha does an amazing job along with her team to get the word out. And the second thing that I'd like to do is I'd like to collaborate with this gentleman in the post to send a request to all residents and business owners via our newsletter. I'm going to put it on my newsletter, so I'm going to remind Laura and the team to do it. Maybe we can piggyback on it, asking, are you a veteran? Let's do some homework for him. Let's make it easy on him. We have a lot of contacts, and maybe we can lead with, are you a veteran? We want to hear from you. We want to engage you. We want to get you involved. Not only because we want people to get involved with the post, but at the end of the day, it could be potentially beneficial for the city on multiple different fronts. For example, we could have our own database for Memorial Day, like what Commissioner Alotta has put together now as a formal city event. We could have it for the July. Maybe we can give them some benefits in regards to coming up on stage with us, joining us, engaging with us. Maybe we can find veterans to come here, because I would like to do this not for one year. I'd like to continue doing this. Once we exhaust all our city employees who are veterans, there's only so many, I'd like to continue rotating this and continue engaging those members of our community who have served this great country. So there's a lot of things that I think we can use with that information. Obviously, privacy, we'll be very careful with that and engage. But I'd like for them also to provide that information to the Post because the Post wants to engage as many people so they can come in and continue to do the great work that they're doing at the Post.

Mr. Mayor.

I think, if I may, Madam Vice Mayor, I think Commissioner Lada wanted to say something before I interrupted him.

Thank you. By the way, I support your initiatives and those ideas, and we should take, I guess, a necessary rhetorical vote, because I'm pretty sure how it's going to come out. But I wanted to say, Lieutenant Colonel Gomez, thank you on behalf of a grateful country. Thank you on behalf of a grateful city for your service. I myself have never served in the armed forces. that I have always been in awe of the men and women that have. Because as the mayor has said, and my colleagues in the dais have said, the freedoms that we've enjoyed for the last 250 years are only possible through the extreme and ultimate sometimes sacrifice that you all have given on behalf of us. So thank you on behalf of all of us Americans who live, work, and play in the greatest nation the world has ever known. So thank you. And I'm also immensely honored that you would consider and gave me this memorial coin, overwhelmed, didn't know that you would consider this. My role, along with my colleagues, is very small, you know, to try and recognize you all. I'm extremely proud. I did sponsor with the support of my colleagues that we are now recognizing for the first time Veterans Day in the city of Coral Gables.

That's a big deal.

It is a big one. I'm very happy. that we're gonna make this first one so memorable. And I'm reaching out to all of the residents through this communication and with the mayor's indulgence, you know, to publicize this as the broadest reach that we can via newsletter and otherwise to come. In fact, Fred Cucero and I are talking about where the exact location of the celebration will be. As I anticipate, it's gonna be very, very well attended. It's gonna be a very large celebration. And you're right, the former Navy man, Dr. Hal Silberman, will be our honoree veteran for the Veterans Day celebration. And I'll finish by saying that I've always been in awe of our vets, and I've had the extreme great fortune in just the last few weeks to have met Coast Guard, obviously Army, very close friend of mine, and some of his colleagues who are Marines, And of course, I spent this past weekend, I was with Admiral Matt Schaefer.

I know, that's my commanding officer.

He's a, wow, what a Navy SEAL. I mean, it's the whole thing. So my point is, as I have an opportunity to speak with these men and women, and I'm floored, the American Legion Post 98 needs to be, as the mayor was urging us, a place where the community should frequent. You meet on the 2nd, 4th Wednesday of every month, 303 Alhambra is the location. Beautiful building right across from Café Demetrio. I highly encourage, oh, by the way, shout out to Matt Brophy as well, who is a force when it comes to the post. Green Beret. Green Beret, right. So we're missing the Delta Force here, or the Rangers, right? We'll get to them all eventually. But if you make the effort, and speaking to the residents, to go meet with the vets, their stories are not only inspiring, they're heartwarming, and they're uplifting. And the work that you all are doing, especially with the kids, is so very important for the fabric of our country and to continue the spirit and the solidarity that's absolutely necessary to keep the flames of freedom always burning bright. So thank you very much, Lieutenant Colonel.

It's my pleasure. I will leave one more thing just so that everybody's aware. You know, we're uniquely positioned in the state of Florida, moreover in the greater Miami-Dade area to have two commands here in South Florida. And in the state of Florida, three major commands. If you're not aware of them, I'm going to help you. We have SOUTHCOM in Doral. We have CENTCOM and SOCOM in Tampa. And in Homestead Air Base, we have very well, not very well known because it's a very quiet little place, but we have a special operating command down there. You just met with our commanding officer, two-star admiral in the United States Navy, Navy SEAL type. We have a lot of people here. We have District 7 commander here for the United States Coast Guard, which I think, no, he's not here right now, former Mayor Slezik was at that change of command. There's just a lot of presence here. If you don't know what a four-star command is, there's only a few of them in the entire world, and we have one of them here, in Miami-Dade County. That means that there's a lot of resiliency within our state and within our city. It's an important topic because the presence of these major commands within our community brings in not only military families, but the federal dollars to support all those families and the efforts that the commands do. Most recently, you've been getting a lot of attention for SOUTHCOM in the news because of the activity down in the area of operations. Which hasn't been for many, many years. Right. And so then now it's getting a lot of attention and maybe we can feel exactly why it's so important to retain those folks here. And then once they're out of service and this is where the post comes in and tries to keep them engaged in the community and doing positive things. So these things that we're talking about, these topics are not taking a lot of time this morning are very important, not just for the recognition on the patriotic side, but economic impact into our community as well. So again, I thank you all for entertaining me this morning and having these in-depth discussion. And I look forward to more engagement and actual activity to follow. So thank you very much.

Madam Vice Mayor.

Just briefly, I mean, both my father and my father-in-law served in the greatest generation.

Absolutely.

And they were called the greatest generation because the fear that you had to have stepping up to serve in that period of time. knowing that the likelihood of coming home was extremely low. That's why they got called the greatest generation. And everybody else that followed in their footsteps, like yourself, you know, deserved the honor. So I would also like to receive an email from you in any way and capacity that we can assist because it's somewhat sad that more people don't show up for Memorial Day and Veterans Day. And I would hope that we can get more people at these events. We're probably going to need to have a confirm your attendance type of setup so that we can anticipate how many people will be there and so we can provide the necessary chairs and amenities. But please reach out and let me know how I can assist in any way to help the post. Excellent.

I look forward to that.

Thank you. Have a wonderful day, sir. Thank you. Good luck today.

I know you have a lot of busy things to do today and I wish you luck in your decision making. Good day.

God bless. Thank you. So as part of our semi-quintessential moment, we're continuing to reflect on the defining moment that have shaped our nation and expanded the promise of American democracy. Today's moment highlights women's suffrage, a pivotal chapter in our history and a reminder that the rights we cherish were advanced by generations of Americans who worked, organized, and persevered so that more voices could be heard. As a father of two young daughters, this moment is especially meaningful to me because the right to vote is at the very heart of our democracy. And the suffrage movement reminds us that each generation has a responsibility to carry forward the promise of liberty, equality, and civic participation. I want to thank Local 10 for allowing us to share this video here on the commission. Mr. Clerk.

America at 250, defining moments in our nation's history.

August 18, 1920.

The 19th Amendment is ratified, allowing women to vote. More than 8 million women cast ballots for the first time.

Join Local 10 all year long as we celebrate America's 250th birthday. Happy birthday to this great nation.

Thank you very much. Martha, you wanted to say anything? Okay. I thought you were coming up. I apologize. So again, thank you for everyone who's engaging in these festivities. We're looking forward to July 4th. It's going to be an amazing moment at the Biltmore Hotel. We're very grateful for our partners there. Thank you for the manager and all the hard work that you're doing. Again, we're expecting probably the largest crowd in our history since we've been celebrating for July 4th. It only continues to get better. We're about... About 40,000. We usually have around 30. So again, these are huge numbers for us. People are excited about America 250. And we welcome everybody. This is an amazing place to enjoy that celebration. It's safe. It's clean. It's welcoming. We're going to be in full force in regards to our police department and our fire department. All our city employees will be there. We want everyone to know that we welcome everybody here in the community. to join us and celebrate this monumental moment in American history. Thank you. And again, thank you to the Bill Moore and to the manager for their hard work. I know they haven't stopped working on this for the last year. Thank you so much. Now, as we move on to presentations and protocol documents, I want to call on A1, presentation or proclamation declaring June 2nd, 2026 as Italian National Day in Coral Gables. Our consul here, here he is.

Mr. Mayor.

Yes, sir.

If I could take one moment, please, before we go to that item. Of course. I appreciate that. You just indulge me. I just wanted before we move forward, I wanted to take a moment to recognize present with us is Tom Prescott, president and CEO of the Biltmore Hotel. He's with us today. Tom, I know you're trying to hide, but just an impossible task. Tom, on behalf of the city commission, I wanted to publicly congratulate you and your entire team at the Biltmore Hotel for being recognized as the number one top workplace among large employers in South Florida. That is a remarkable achievement. And it speaks not only to Bill Moore's iconic history and its importance to Coral Gables, but to the culture that you and your team have built for the nearly 700 people who helped make that property so very, very special. And as we celebrate Italian Day, and I know you're Italian as well, very proud one, I must say, and we welcome the consul as well, it is especially fitting to recognize one of Coral Gables' great landmarks. a place that continues to represent hospitality, history, and excellence in our city. So congratulations again to you, Tom, and the entire Biltmore team.

It's very kind of you, Commissioner, and thank you to all. I just wanted to acknowledge that it's very easy for me to come up here and take the credit, so to say, but it's the team that we have at the Biltmore, just like many of you have stressed about the city team that we have and all the others that really excel. But It is a nice acknowledgement and recognition. I keep telling people and joked with Commissioner Lara earlier this morning that, you know, I'm not so terrible to work with. So, you know, it's nice to get that recognition for our extended family. So thank you very much. But again, I don't want to take away from the council. So thank you.

Thank you, Tom, as always. Thank you. Grateful to have you here. Sir, how are you doing?

Very fine.

Very fine, Mr. Mayor. Thank you so much. Before, we were joking about, obviously, the World Cup. Italy's expectations in the World Cup. I said, listen, obviously we're here all in favor of the United States, but again, you have a long story in history, not only in soccer, but across the board, and we're honored to have you here. And your investment in the city of Coral Gables, when it has come to incredible shows that you've done at the cultural center that you have here in the city, from fashion to design to architecture, we want to thank you. We're honored to have you here in the city, beautiful. It's a true blessing, and we hope that you'll stay here with us for many decades to come.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. So before I read the proclamation, would you like to say a few words about how important today is? Yes, absolutely.

Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. Thank you so much, commissioners. Eighty years have passed since June 2, 1946, which marked the Italian's unprecedented act of freedom. Through universal suffrage, women and men, united for the very first time, decided to leave behind the ruins of war and the atrocities of an oppressive totalitarian regime. Today, we are not really merely commemorating a historical anniversary, but a moment of profound significance that renews our collective commitment to upholding, safeguarding, and fully implementing the values that lie at the heart of our Constitution. State Secretary Rubio just yesterday said that the current partnership between the United States and Italy continues to promote values of faith, freedom, and the rule of law that both nations hold dear. And indeed we do, Mr. Mayor. I am honored to stand before you today on Italy's National Day to receive your proclamation, which once again bears witness to the friendship and solidarity of the people and the city of Coral Gables towards me, my consulate team, and above all, the Italian people and the more than 70,000 Italians living in Florida, many of whom reside in the city beautiful. This symbol is very profound for us because it invites us to reflect on our friendship, our shared values, and the path of progress and growth that we wish to continue walking together. Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you, Consul. And before I read the proclamation, I also want to thank our ACM, for being a bridge as always and leading the way and always reminding me or i drop the ball along with it along with the dcm um she deserves a lot of credit along with the manager for today especially for this um if i may whereas the city's rich italian influence is reflected in landmarks such as the historic italian village 17 homes constructed in the 1920s i apologize wrong side that's what happens you don't wear your glasses Whereas on June 2nd, 1946, the people of Italy voted in a historic referendum to establish the Italian Republic, marking a defining moment in Italy's democratic history, commemorated annually as Fiesta del Repubblica, Republic Day, celebrating the enduring values of democracy, freedom, and national unity that inspire people throughout the world. And whereas the city of Coral Gables shares deep cultural, historical, economic, and diplomatic ties with Italy, reflected in its Mediterranean-inspired architecture, vibrant arts, and cultural traditions, international business connections, and the many residents of Italian heritage who have enriched the community through their contributions to civic, cultural, educational, and economic life. And whereas Coral Gables is honored to be home to the Consulate General of Italy in Miami, located at 4000 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, which manages one of the largest and fastest growing populations of Italians al estero, Italians residing abroad in the Italian diplomatic network, serving residents and institutions across Florida, the Southeast, the Caribbean, and beyond, while fostering cultural exchange, diplomatic relations, trade, and friendships between Italy and the United States. And whereas Coral Gables serves as an important center for the Italian culture, education, and commerce through the presence of Italian Cultural Institute, one of only six official Italian government cultural offices in the United States, which I mentioned before, the Sociedad Dante Alighieri Language Center, and the Italy America Chamber of Commerce Southeast, all of which promote Italian language, arts, trade, and cultural understanding And whereas the city's rich Italian influence is reflected in landmarks such as historic Italian village, 17 homes constructed in the 1920s to replicate Italian farmhouses prototypes, embodying the vision of founder George Merrick, as well as in one of South Florida's most vibrant Italian dining scenes, with nearly 200 restaurants and family-owned establishments celebrating Italy's culinary experience and hospitality. And whereas Italian Americans have made innumerable contributions to the cultural, economic, and civic fabric of the United States and the city of Coral Gables, embodying values of family, faith, hard work, entrepreneurship, innovation, and public service. And whereas the bond that residents of Italian descent maintain with their heritage is a cherished sentiment that enriches our community, deserves to be preserved, and should be passed on for future generations. Now, therefore, I, Vince Lago, as the mayor of the city, Coral Gables, together with the members of the city commission, do hereby proclaim June 2nd, 2026 as Italian National Day. Vesta del Republic in Coral Gables. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much. And before we take a picture, I want to thank you also. Besides engaging with the consular corps, you're involved in everything that has to do with the city. You go to all the events. You engage. Even if it's not an Italian restaurant that's opening, you're still there, you know, showing support, you know, making sure that Italy is represented, well represented always. And I want to thank you for that because, you know, it's truly a breath of fresh air. And as we continue to grow the consulates, it makes it so much easier for me and the DCM and the ACM and the manager and Belkies and the Consular Corps to really sell Coral Gables, sell what we offer and why. And as you're noticing, a lot of the consulates want to move to the city of Coral Gables. They do. One of the main issues and probably the only issues is space. They have to find the location that is appropriate to meet the needs of these countries. So I want to thank you because I use Italy as an example. all the time when I sit down with another country who is renegotiating a lease, potentially leaving another city and coming to City of Coral Gables. And it's a great selling point to be able to say we have such a great country and a great relationship like Italy here in the city of beautiful. Thank you for allowing me that privilege. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. Thank you all. Thank you so much. To the mayor? Yes.

Benvenuti, Consul. It's a pleasure to have you here. I think if there's one country that Coral Gables has the most in common with is Italy because of the style that we were able to adopt from the Mediterranean region of Italy. The only thing I wanted to say is thank you for your constant participation here in our city and . Thank you so much. Beautiful. Thank you very much. Let's take a photo.

Moving on to the approval of minutes for the Regular City Commission meeting of April 14, 2026. May I have a motion?

I'll move it. Mr. Clerk?

All in favor?

Aye. Thank you. Thank you. Moving on to public comment, Mr. Clerk.

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. First speaker this morning, Maria Cruz. Ma'am, can you turn on your microphone, please? Thank you.

You're welcome. Mrs. Maria Cruz, 1447 Miller Road, 305-323-2154. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. After almost every commission meeting, we hear the complaints about the length of it. I have taken the time to watch some of them, have read our code of ordinances and robust rules, and come today with some comments. There's a word found on both the code and the robust rules when addressing the role of the chairperson. Objective. Objective. According to a court of ordinances, 2.78 chairperson number seven, he says, remain objective. For the chairperson to make a motion, the gavel must be relinquished Based upon these rules and procedures, the gavel shall be relinquished in the following order. To the vice-mayor, to other commissioners, based upon seniority. And then it continues. The rule against chairperson's participation in debate, and that's a quote, states that the chairperson who relinquishes the gavel should not return to the chair until the pending motion has been disposed of. In situations where there's no second, the chairperson may second the motion for purposes of allowing discussion and vote. During one of the last meetings, the chair made a motion, and it was seconded and voted on. Clearly, the rules were violated. But that was not the only time that it happened. The city attorney, who I believe acts as the parliamentarian, called his attention and she was completely ignored. If the chairperson really wants to run an orderly meeting, he needs to be the example. Rules are there for everyone. By the way, on the positive, I'm very happy that now we ask for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Some of my friends call it the Cruz rule, even though in fact it's a rubbish rule. Thank you.

Good morning.

Good morning. Thank you for being here.

Thank you. Mr. Mayor, you have always been a strong advocate for government transparency, and I applaud that. You also lobbied strongly for an inspector general for our city, which I support as well. Therefore, I'd like to bring to your attention an issue on today's agenda, which requires that you remain consistent with your public statements. Item E1261629 is being brought to the commission by one of your chief political consultants, Brian Goldmeier. As you are aware, you and Mr. Goldmeier have enjoyed a strong political relationship for many years. And both of you have been extremely successful. You have been elected and reelected numerous times. And Mr. Goldmeier has been compensated extremely well for working on your many successful campaigns. In fact, since 2024, between your campaign and your pack Gables first, you have paid Mr. Goldmeier nearly a quarter of a million dollars. Of course, there is nothing illegal about having a successful business relationship, and both of you should be commended on jobs well done. However, it does cause the everyday resident to question whether you can impartially evaluate Mr. Goldmeier's appeal today. As much as an individual can try to remain objective, it is extremely difficult for someone to evaluate a case like this one and not have such a strong and longstanding relationship impact their decision making, even if it's subconscious. Therefore, Mr. Mayor, I ask that you show our city that you truly are about government transparency. I ask you to do what is right, and I ask you to recuse yourself regarding the appeal being made by Brian Goldmeier.

Thank you. Thank you. Before we move on, Mr. Clerk, Madam City Attorney, would you like to read into the record my request from you?

Mayor, you'd like me to read the entire opinion? No, not the whole opinion.

Give a quick synopsis. Yes, Mayor. Thank you very much.

So you asked me to provide an opinion on whether you had a voting conflict with respect to this item, item E1, and based on the facts that you provided, that you previously had a contractual relationship, you were in a contractual agreement with an entity that's owned and was founded and owned by Mr. Goldmeier. You advise that that contract has concluded, that you currently do not have any contractual agreements or any business relationship with Mr. Goldmeier or any entity that he's associated with. So based on those facts, I analyzed it under voting conflicts under state law, and there's no actual voting conflict under state law. There's no actual voting conflict under the Miami-Dade County Code. Any suggestion that you would be... enhanced by this action is remote or speculative. Additionally, because this is a quasi-judicial matter, there is the question that all of you must always consider, which is, can you be fair and impartial or are you biased? That's a question that each individual commissioner has to determine for themselves. And that was the advice that I gave you, that if you can remain fair and impartial, then you can proceed.

Thank you. I do not have a bias on this matter, and I will not be recusing myself, but I'm grateful that you're here today. Thank you so much. Moving on to the next item. Excuse me, the next speaker.

Gonzalo Sanabria.

Good morning. Good morning. Gonzalo Sanabria, 944 San Pedro Avenue, in beautiful Quebos Palacios. I'm here to point out what I call political malpractice by one of your colleagues, Commissioner Ariel Fernandez. And I wanna recall some of the things that Mr. Fernandez has said for public consumption, wide public consumption in newspapers and Instagram posts. And let's go to one, Mr. Fernandez, that you made on February 18th, 2025. You said the following in op-ed in community newspaper. The subject of this was, quote, the politics of intimidation have no place in Coral Gables. Yet, A little, like a month before that, this happened. And please play a video that I provided.

Policies are put into place. And I'll reserve my additional comments on this, but Mr. Sanabria, you will be hearing from my attorney in the next few hours regarding your complaint, which was a frivolous complaint filed with the Ethics Commission. And we will be pursuing... legal charges and legal fees when it comes to your complaint.

This is made a month before this proclamation that the politics of intimidation have no place in Coral Gables. But I got sued by Mr. Ariel Fernandez on January 14th of 2025. And he made that publicly clear in a commission chamber, suing an activist because he objected to you hiring an unqualified city manager that has no business knowledge of running a city. And now I'll make this very short. I'll give you a quote from the year 49 BC. The Roman general, Satanic, in a battle about to take place, told Caesar the following. He said the following three words. He said, . It's a famous phrase that still lives today. and it's very applicable in this case. And it says the following when it's translated, the die is cast. Thank you. Thank you.

Mr. Clerk.

That's it, Mr. Mayor.

All right, we'll close the public comment. Thank you very much. Moving on to the consent agenda. May I have a motion?

Before the vote adopting the consent agenda, is there anyone who wishes additional discussion or review of any item on the consent agenda?

I'll move it. I'll second.

All in favor?

Aye. Thank you. Do we have any items amongst the Commission or staff, Mr. Manager, to defer today on the agenda? I have one. Anyone else?

No, ma'am.

I'll be deferring item F7. I was looking forward to having my intern present this item, which I think is a really nice and interesting item to get more participation, and it was part of her project in completion of her work at my office, and I was hoping that she could present it today, but due to the fact that she has a school matter, hopefully we'll do it at the next commission meeting. We'll figure out if maybe she can come later on during the day. But F7 will be deferred to the next commission agenda.

Mr. Mayor, I believe we're also going to be deferring J-1, which was to amend commission meeting dates. I understand that that's no longer necessary. I don't know if the commission.

Anything else from the commission? Okay. Perfect. May I have a motion? For deferral of those items. Do we need a motion or no? We're good? Okay, perfect. We're going to take a five minute break and then we'll listen to item E1. Before we hear E1, we're going to hear, excuse me, just one item first. I think it was the school item. Item E11. Is that still required, Mr. Clerk, to hear item E1 first?

No, no, no. You can take E11 if you wish.

Okay, we'll take E11 first. Thank you. We're going to take a five-minute bathroom break, and then we'll take E11, and then we'll take E1 after. Thank you. See you back at 10.05. Mr.

Clerk.

Mr. Clerk.

Yes, Mr. Mayor.

Let's go. All right, it's 10.05. Welcome back to the Commission. Thank you for allowing me the privilege just to take a quick bathroom break. We're gonna take a few things out of order, just to get some things done quickly as possible. The way we're gonna take it is we're gonna go H7, E11, then E1. Mr. Clerk, let's start off with H7, please.

H7?

Yes.

H7. Yes, H7. Okay, yes. H7 is a resolution of the City Commission accepting the recommendation of the Chief Procurement Officer to award RFP 2026-011, Disaster Debris Removal Services, to the three highest ranked responsive responsible proposers in rank order, Ashbert Inc., Primary, Crowder, Gulf Joint Venture Inc., Secondary, and Ceres Environmental Services Inc., Tertiary, pursuant to Section 2-763 of the Procurement Code, entitled Contract Award.

Perfect. Mr. Clerk, do we have any staff presentation? We're up there you are I will you look very nice to thank you like that color. Thank you.

Good morning, plus Walker harm and chief human officer this project was issued on behalf of public works so that we can establish contractors to perform during emergency or declared events for the city. We had the evaluations take place and we're making recommendations for the 3 highest ranked proposals to move forward for contract award and negotiations.

Thank you very much. You already addressed any issues with litigation. You addressed all kinds of, obviously, background checks, insurance. Yes. All of that. Our standard process. Something we always go over. I know you've gotten tired of hearing it from me, but I appreciate that. Thank you. You're welcome. Do we have any comment from the Commission? All right. Mr. Clerk, do you have any public comment? No, Mr. Mayor. We'll close the public comment. May I have a motion? I'll move it. And I have a second.

Second.

Perfect. Mr. Clerk? I'm sorry, who made the motion? Commissioner Fernandez made the motion.

Commissioner Castro?

Yes.

Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Commissioner Lara?

Yes. Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Mayor Long?

Yes. Moving on to E11.

E11 is a resolution of the City Commission granting an amendment to a previously approved conditional use resolution number 2016-140 with all remaining conditions of approval to remain in effect pursuant to zoning code article 14 process section 14-203 conditional uses to allow private school use with educational instruction from kindergarten through fifth grade with an existing daycare facility with no increase in square footage or student capacity on the property legally described as the east 12.64 feet of lot 3 all of lots 7 to 45 and alley line between Block 35, Coral Gables, Section K, 320 Geraldo Avenue, Coral Gables, Florida, including required conditions, providing for repeater provisions, severability clause, and providing for an effective date. This is a quasi-judicial item.

Hi, how are you? Good morning.

Hi, good morning. Thank you for being here with us. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to be here.

Excuse me, since it's, my apologies, since it's a quasi-judicial item, everyone will be speaking today.

Those who will be speaking on this item, please stand and raise your right hand.

Thank you.

Do you swear or affirm the testimony you provide today will be the truth and nothing but the truth?

Yes.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The floor is yours.

I have a presentation. I don't know.

Okay.

We have it.

Yeah? Okay.

So today I will explain our request for the proposed kindergarten program and how it fits with our current situation. So Giralda Preschool is requesting conditional use approval to modify the current childcare preschool use to a private school because we would like to offer a kindergarten program to our already existing families. So as part of our continued growing services, we are seeking to include a kindergarten classroom within our existing approved capacity. This is not an expansion of the facility, but an expansion of the services we provide for our existing families. Okay. Our kindergarten, we have an enrollment of 96 students with 16 teachers and three administrative staff. capacity, approved capacity is 174 students. So we have a huge gap between the 96 students and the 174 approved capacity. Let me show you, just for you to know, we have an indoor park because we are in an urban area. And the kindergarten will be located in our existing art room that has a total area of 436 square feet. We have, about the parking, we have six designated parking spaces. And also in the building that is the Gables Grand Plaza, we have 305 parking spaces for the restaurants and retail. About the traffic, the traffic flow, we have two schedules, the one that is part-time from 7.30 to 2.30, and the full-time that is until 6.30 p.m., and most arrivals happen from 8.30 to 9.00. The kindergarten program will have a schedule of 730 to 330, but they have to arrive at 730 sharp. So there is like a separation, enough separation between the schedule for the parents to arrive. Also, it is important to mention that most of our parents arrive by bicycle, walking, or or even using a stroller for the kids, because most of our families live within 1,000 foot radius of our school, which also help minimize the traffic and the congestion when they pick up and drop off the kids. Thank you. And if you have any questions for me?

Well, thank you very much. Madam Director?

Good morning.

How are you? PowerPoint, please.

Will you please sit down?

Yeah.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. So as you know, this is the ground floor of the Gaples Grand Plaza mixed use development in between Salcedo and Lejeune on Hidalgo Avenue. So in 19, sorry, in 2016, the commission did approve a daycare in this location with three conditions of approval. This is going to amend that and expand it to not just be a daycare, but to be a school. Because once you hit kindergarten, you have to be considered a school per the state law. So there are schools on the ground floor of the Gables Grand Plaza development facing Giralda. They are steps away from six parking spaces that are in the garage in addition to the garage spaces as well. They're used for the commercial and residential spaces. There was letters sent out to the owners and the occupants within 1,000 feet of the property. That was done three times. The property and website was posted twice, and the newspaper was advertised twice as well. Staff recommends approval with conditions. The conditions are to maintain the enrollment to be maximum of 174 students. the hours would be between 7 30 a.m to 6 30 p.m and all the pick up and drop off would take place in the garage and not on the street and then to require a staggering schedule between the daycare and the kindergarten or any subsequent classes if they do expand if they do expand beyond kindergarten they have to go through the development review committee and make sure any comments and concerns are addressed before they can proceed to adding in first grade for example All their conditions contained in Resolution Number 2016-140 would remain in effect. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Mr. Clerk, do we have any public comment?

No, Mr. Mayor.

Please close the public comment. Does Commission have any comments or suggestions or anything you'd like to bring up at the moment before we make a motion? We have a motion.

I second.

Second by the Vice Mayor. Mr. Clerk.

Commissioner Fernandez.

Yes.

Commissioner Lara. Yes. Vice Mayor Anderson. Yes. Commissioner Castro.

Yes.

Mayor Lago. Yes. Have a nice day. Good luck. Thank you. Moving on to item E1.

Thank you, Mayor. E1 is an appeal to the Coral Gables City Commission from the decision of the Board of Adjustment on May 4, 2026, Proving an application for a variance to allow mechanical equipment for swimming pool to have a side setback of one foot and nine inches and rear setback of two feet and seven inches, where a minimum of five feet is required on both side and rear per Section 3-308.D and Section 5-606.4 of the Coral Gables Zoning Code for the property located at 722 Aledo Avenue, legally described as Lot 8 and west half of Lot 9, Block 134, Coral Gables Country Club, Section 6. Mayor, this is a quasi-digital item pursuant to Section 14-208, Point six of the city's zoning code this appeals based on the record of the hearing before the Board of Adjustment and shall not be a de novo hearing what that means is that no new or additional? Testimony shall be taken and it's an appeal based only on the record the Commission's rules to determine whether the code was followed and whether competent substantial evidence supported the decision of the Board of Adjustment after the City Commission's review the City Commission is As for options, as provided in the zoning code, the City Commission can affirm the decision of the Board of Adjustment, which in this case, approve the variance with conditions. The City Commission can affirm the decision of the Board of Adjustment with conditions. The City Commission can override the decision of the Board of Adjustment, which in this case means the variance would be denied. Or the City Commission can remand for further proceedings to the Board of Adjustment. The Mayor, as Chair of the Commission, with me as Parliamentarian, have issued a procedural order that was provided in advance to the Commission and the parties. Pursuant to that procedural order, the appellant property owner will be allowed 15 minutes for presentation, which shall be limited to the record before the Board of Adjustment Next, the Deputy City Attorney and Development Services staff will be allowed 15 minutes for their presentation, which will also be limited to the record below. Next, there will be time for questions by members of the City Commission to staff or the parties. And then public comment will be allowed, but will be limited to two minutes per speaker. Because the review of this appeal is not de noble, public comments shall not be considered testimony in this case. And then finally, there will be time for additional questions and discussion by members of the city commission. Because this is a quasi-judicial item, I do need to ask if there have been any ex parte communications that any member of the commission needs to disclose. Anyone?

I've heard comments from various people.

Mayor? Yes, sir. I've heard comments from several residents, and I've actually heard from Brian Goldmeier, who spoke to me expressing his displeasure following the approval of the application.

Anyone else? I've heard from residents as well. I have not spoken to Mr. Goldmeier about this.

I've heard from residents, and I've heard from Mr. Goldmeier also.

Mr. Mayor, I would ask that those of you who've had ex-party communications, if you could just please affirm that you would be able to remain free from bias and be fair and impartial in your consideration of this matter.

Commission? Yes.

Yes.

Yes. Yes. Thank you. Now moving on to staff, or to, excuse me, the appellate. The appellate, I apologize, excuse me. Good morning, sir.

Good morning, Mr. Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners. My name is Jeff Rodriguez, and I represent the applicants. At the outset, I want to thank the Board of Adjustment, the city staff, and the Commission for your time and consideration in this matter. I wanted to also apologize. There seems to have been some inaccuracies with the transcript company that prepared the transcript that was provided to you. They said one person said something where it was actually another. Going back to the matter at hand, it's important to recognize that this is not a case where the Board denied the variance. After hearing the evidence, the Board determined that the variance should be granted. The issue before the Commission today is whether the conditions imposed by the Board are necessary and appropriate. Before discussing the conditions, I'd like to briefly revisit why the variance was requested and why the Board correctly found the variance standards were met. This matter involves a pool equipment variance for pool equipment that had existed at the same location well before my client purchased the property and serves an existing residential swimming pool. The variance does not arise because my clients built a new pool expanded their pool area or intensified the use of the property. Rather it rose because my client voluntarily undertook improvements to their existing pool system and work with the City to properly permit those improvements. The Board recognized that requiring relocation of the equipment would impose a significant hardship while providing little to no corresponding public benefit. The Board further determined that the variance was consistent with the character and nature of the neighborhood and would not be contrary to public interest. We believe the Board was correct in that assessment. However, our concern is with the additional conditions imposed by the board requiring a sound dampening cover and a restrictive covenant on the land. First, this covenant will be difficult to administer and enforce. It requires ongoing determination of sound levels, compliance standards that future owners may struggle to understand and may lead to future disputes. Second, the burden of this covenant will extend far beyond my clients. property is currently under contract for sale to an elderly purchaser with a special needs child. They've expressed serious concerns regarding their obligation and their ability to maintain the cover indefinitely and their ability to comply with perpetual covenant affecting the property. Third, the condition did not accomplish the board's intended purpose. The neighboring property owners who complained about the equipment were not satisfied by the cover of the cover. the cover or covenant requirements. In fact, despite those conditions being imposed, they nevertheless filed an intent to appeal the variance. That demonstrates that the conditions did not resolve the dispute as intended and merely created additional burdens for current and future owners. Finally, and most importantly, there has never been a finding that this equipment violates the city noise regulations, constitutes a nuisance, or fails to comply with any objective noise standards. The equipment has existed for years without any citations, code enforcement action, or determination that creates an unreasonable impact on the neighboring properties. This is a standard residential pool equipment, the type found throughout Coral Gables. There's nothing unique or ordinary about it. And there's no evidence that it creates material different from similar residential pool equipment throughout the city. Accordingly, we respectfully request that the Commission affirm the Board's determination that the variance should be granted, but to remove the requirements for the sound dampening cover and restricted covenants. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you.

Madam City Attorney.

Thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the Commission, Stephanie Throckmorton, Deputy City Attorney. I sit with the Board of Adjustment, and it's my pleasure to be here today to give you a brief summary of the item before you. As the city attorney explained, I just want to go over the three prongs, the due process, the substantial competent evidence, and the correct application of law. This item was heard twice by the Board of Adjustment on April 13th. After a full discussion, the item was deferred to May 4th in order to allow the property owner to explore alternative options for the placement of the equipment. When the meetings were properly noticed, there was public comment taken and the property owner was allowed to speak. As far as competent substantial evidence, there was numerous presentations by members of the public as well as the applicant's attorney. And as the applicant's attorney mentioned, the board considered the eight considerations for a variance in the city's zoning code. Ultimately, the board determined that the approval would be granted, conditioned on an agreement with the city that would ensure that a similar acoustical cover that would reduce the sound of 50% for the current equipment only would be installed and maintained by any future property owners. As mentioned, I believe that those three prongs were satisfied and that the Board of Adjustment properly did their job. And we're here along with Arceli Rodelia from the zoning staff to answer any questions if you have any.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Mr. Clerk, do you have any public comment?

Yes, Mr. Mayor.

First speaker, can we clarify also on the previous public comment? Obviously, I didn't mention it. I should have mentioned it's my fault. If you spoke in public comment and you're speaking about the same issue again, you will not be allowed to get one bite of the apple here in the city of Coral Gables. In reference to the previous public comment that was provided by the young lady, she never provided her address. Do we have an address for her?

It's 50 Menorca.

15 Menorca Avenue, apartment 1110.

She didn't provide it on the record.

No, she didn't.

Okay. I just want to make sure of that. And I never met with her, which I would have met with her if she would have come to see me. Moving on in regards to public comment.

First speaker I have this morning, I do not have a name, but from the signature, I believe it to be Virginia Ferrer.

Good morning.

Good morning, commissioners. I respectfully object to the applicant's request.

Do you mind stating your address for the record, please?

Oh, it's 719 Escobar Avenue. Thank you.

Okay.

I respectfully object to the applicant's request to remove the caustic enclosure condition that was attached to the variance approval. The variance was granted only after the applicant himself proposed the acoustic enclosure as a means of mitigating the adverse impacts of locating the pool equipment within the required setback. Removing the condition increases the already unfair burden of the neighboring property owners to protect their quiet enjoyment and quality of life. I've lived over 30 years behind 722 Aledo at 719 Escobar Avenue and only recently heard loud pool equipment noise. When I heard the homeowner was applying for a variance, I strongly opposed it. I thought I had the right since he violated the five foot setback rule and wasn't happy with the onsite Lee irritatingly noisy equipment. So close to my property, which I have a recording of. The next door neighbor also was disturbed by the noise, so we came up with solutions that would minimize the inconvenience, which included a permanent concrete wall around the pool equipment and an encaustic enclosure around the pool pump. The spa, a waterfall, a saltwater generator, a heater, and a pool part are all situated in the illegal location And a permanent concrete wall would have cut the various motor noises and mitigated the solution. The letter submitted by the homeowner's lawyer prior to the board of address meeting only offered four hedges as mitigation. Two minutes before the actual meeting, Mr. Rodriguez rushed to show us a photo of a random acoustic enclosure that claims to reduce, am I done?

Just finish it up. Take a few moments.

That only would address the pull pump. We're not even sure what motor is causing all the noise. That's why we pushed for a concrete wall, and we weren't happy with just an encaustic enclosure. Um, anyway, um, we don't think any variance should be granted and that it should go back, that he should be a stopped for objecting to the single solution he proposed and then reneged on. I asked the commission to deny this appeal and send it back to the board of, to assess whether the mitigation will actually be effective and if not require additional mitigation.

Thank you.

Danielle Lowenthal-Frontella. Good morning.

Good morning, everyone. My name is Danielle Frontella, and I've been living for over 15 years on 715 Escobar Avenue. We are here today to ask you to deny this appeal and deny any variance. The variance approved pool equipment that does not comply with the city's required 5-foot setback. This is not a small or standard installation. It covers approximately 8 feet by a 5-feet area. It includes mechanisms for a pool pump, filter, heater, spa equipment, waterfall system, and saltwater converter. It is large, visually unattractive, and extremely noisy. We're not here to debate whether the five-foot sit-back rule is appropriate. The rule was established by professionals. We're simply asking that it be enforced. At the Board of Adjustment meeting on May 4, Ms. Ferrara and I asked for a solution to mitigate the noise, like a concrete wall surrounding it. So a soundproofing cover was suggested by the appellant's attorney and hastily approved by the board without any specifics on it. And now they have the nerve to appeal to the variance with conditions. I have always complied with the city rules and requirements when renovating my home. When this equipment was installed too close to my property and in violation of setback requirements, It raised an important question. Do some residents have to follow the rules while others can ignore them and seek a variance afterwards? Importantly, city staff carefully review the variance request under the code standards and recommended denial. This problem started when the appellant submitted a permit for the pool renovation. The engineer's original plans showed the equipment relocated to comply with the setback requirement. According to a letter provided by the applicant's attorney, he chose not to do it, claiming financial hardship and disproportional scope of the work. The disproportionate scope of the work is difficult to accept. For two years, the whole house went under complete renovation, including substantial pool reconstruction and extensive interior and exterior upgrades. So there was every opportunity to relocate the equipment. The appellant simply chose not to do so. The claim of financial hardship is also difficult to accept. The appellant purchased the property in 2022 for approximately 2.2 million, extensively renovated, and is now selling it for 3.8 million. The listing itself states that no expense was spared, highlighting numerous high-end improvements.

Ma'am, if you'd be so kind, you've gone over a minute, if you would help me out. Thank you.

I'm done almost. After investing heavily in the property, the appellant now argues the compliance with the city code was too costly. I calculate roughly over a half a million dollars in renovations, but he could not afford the relocation of this pool equipment to comply with the city rules. He did not deserve the approval of the variance given hastily by the Board of Adjustment and certainly is not entitled to a variance with no conditions. I'm almost done. He shows total disregard for his neighbors, total disrespect to the city rules, and wants to make a mockery of the commission members by claiming financial hardship. I trust in all of you in the commission to do the right thing and make the appellants once and for all relocate the equipment and comply with the city rules like all the other residents ma'am you've gone over two minutes thank you mr clerk albert sanchez

Good morning, sir.

Morning, Mayor. Morning, Vice Mayor, Commissioners. Nice to see you all. My name is Albert Sanchez. I live at 619 Camilo Avenue, where I've lived for the past 25 years.

I'd like to focus on an issue that impacts every Coral Gables resident, and that is our city zoning code.

I'm quite certain that the great majority of our residents have at some point during their time in Coral Gables requested a permit. living in a historically designated home, I'm quite accustomed to jumping through numerous hoops in order to have a permit approved. And yes, at times, the requirements seem excessively onerous. Yet I adhere to the zoning code because they are the backbone of our city. It is what keeps our city indeed beautiful. In many ways, I view our zoning code as the DNA of our city. As a resident, I also adhere to the code because there is an implicit contract with my neighbors that they too are adhering to the code. And they have an implicit contract with their neighbors and so on and so forth. And if someone doesn't adhere to the implicit contract, we have the city to call out the violation. Which brings me to the case before us today. A PERMIT WAS ISSUED WITH A VERY CLEAR REQUIREMENT THAT THE POOL EQUIPMENT BE PLACED WITH A FIVE-FOOT SETBACK IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. AND THE APPLICANT IS ADMITTING THAT HE DID NOT ADHERE TO THE APPROVED PERMIT. SO RATHER THAN DOING THE RIGHT THING FROM THE ONSET, HE IS SEEKING A RETROACTIVE VARIANCE AND JUSTIFYING IT BY CLAIMING ECONOMIC HARDSHIP. However, as this commission is well aware, economic hardship is not a condition for a variance. The onus of adhering to an approved permit is always on us, the individual homeowner. In its well laid out report, the Planning and Zoning Department evaluated eight conditions. Based on their evaluation, city staff are objective experts, recommended denial of any variance. Therefore, I respectfully ask the commission to deny any type of variance, even one with conditions. Doing so will uphold city staff's recommendation of denial. Doing so supports the implicit contract that every neighbor in Coral Gables has with each other. Doing so helps maintain our city's unique DNA intact. Thank you. Thank you. Let's see, Mr. Mayor.

So I just want to put on the record, I think it's important. We had three speakers in opposition. All three speakers blew through the timeline. 30 seconds, 25 seconds, and over two minutes on the last one. I want to be fair where fair is appropriate. There's multiple times my colleagues in the commission want to talk about how we don't adhere to Robert's rules, we don't adhere to the guidelines here on time, and I want to put it on the record. I'm more than willing to give time to everyone, and we talk about the length of meetings, but this is a reason why meetings are super extended. Besides the fact that we have people speaking about issues that, again, in my opinion, I don't know why they're speaking about issues. They have to speak on every single issue. So I think it's great. I love our democracy. I think it's important. But there's a timeline. There's a clock, and we ask people to adhere to it. But I guess it's only good for some, but not good for all. So moving on to the item, is there any else in the public comment? Okay, perfect. We'll close the public comment. Does the Commission have any comments? Do they have any questions for staff? Would you like to hear any further information?

For the mayor?

Yes.

Did we amend the time to two minutes for public comment?

Yes. For this matter, yeah, there was a procedural order for this matter that was two minutes. Since it's not testimony, just two minutes. But as you know, the mayor let them speak and finish all their comments. I don't think there was, nobody was cut off, to be clear.

No, no, no, absolutely not.

And if I may, this is nothing new. This is the way it normally is.

Correct, Mayor, typically for these appeals we...

I want to be very clear because the Commissioner's been on the Commission for three years now, and this is nothing different. When it's a quasi-digital item like this, we have the time of this limit.

For the appeals, yes.

Yes, for the appeals.

Okay. Okay, so then the other thing that I was... I had some concerns about while the applicant was up there. when we apply for a permit yeah when we apply for a permit and a variance and we put a permit up to date it has to be up to code even though it's the same pool or whatever the case is you need to abide by if you know you're not grandfathered and once you start doing renovations to a property you need to comply with whatever zoning code is the most up-to-date zoning code okay now why would they be able to comply? Why would they not? You said that the new owners would not be able to comply with the special conditions because there was an adult with or a child with disabilities or developmental disabilities. Can you go further on that?

Yeah, that was their concern that they expressed to us when we advised them of the ruling of the board. We brought to them the conditions upon which the variance was granted. the buyer and their attorneys expressed concern because the buyer is an elderly woman and she has a special needs child. And she was concerned because there's an ongoing perpetual maintenance requirement regarding the cover. And the covenant runs with the land forever. So as long as she's the owner of this property, at any time that there's something happens to the cover that's installed, they have to go out and they have to install it. And according to them, having concerns regarding that, the ability to comply with that.

I'm just trying to find the connection to how, I mean, why would it be an issue?

They've expressed that it's an issue for them.

Okay. The other thing, there's also a code for mechanical noise ordinance. I, according to the city, is going to reduce it by 50%, right? Now, we are going to provide an exception or a benefit to you to go ahead and approve this variance with conditions. A variance is not something you're entitled to. It's a bonus. It's something you apply for. And if we feel it's appropriate, we grant it. Now, I think it's only fair that If we're granting the variance, you comply with the conditions. I went into, like, Google Maps. I looked at the property where the pump was located. I looked at the pump. I was trying to find every justification to be on your side.

Yeah, and I actually, it's funny you mentioned Google Maps. You can't see the pump from Google Maps. There are so many trees surrounding my client's property, surrounding both neighbors' properties. You cannot physically see the pool equipment from the air. I've measured it. I actually have a video that I proffered to the city attorney, but they said we couldn't bring in new evidence. But there's a video that shows my client standing next to his pool equipment at three, four feet away, and then he walks over to the neighbor's pool equipment at 10 to 12 feet away, and their pull equipment is twice as loud as ours. This is new pull equipment. It's much quieter than the existing pull equipment that our rear neighbor has.

So does this pull equipment sound more than three decibels?

I couldn't tell you the actual decibels.

So three decibels is almost like nothing. It's like ambient, like literally nothing. And this has to be measured from the other property, the property that's complaining, basically.

Right, and that's kind of the point of why we're appealing. The covenant itself would require court enforcement to continuously go out and make sure that it's below the noise level. Anytime the neighbor says, oh, I think I heard it a little loud, court enforcement has to come into the backyard and say, oh, I need to go measure the pool equipment and make sure that it's below the 50 decibels, the 50% reduction, because that wouldn't... When we started going through this covenant process with staff, one of the questions that came up is, well, now we need to set up a baseline decibel reading for this pool equipment. And then forever, code enforcement will be able to go into the backyard at the neighbor's request to come in and measure whether it's still a 50 percent reduction. It's something that seems overly cumbersome. The reality is that if he had moved the pool equipment two foot one way and two foot another way, he wouldn't be required to put a concrete wall, an acoustic fence, shrubbery, anything. And anyone who thinks that two feet one way and two feet another way would actually have made a difference on the noise level heard by the neighbors in the back, it's unreasonable to think that, right? So what we're asking for is, we understand that it's an accommodation. We understand that the variance is an accommodation, but we think it's a reasonable accommodation. We think there's no public benefit to forcing the client to move the pool equipment that was there when he bought the property, right? So we're penalizing him for coming in and seeking a permit to improve the pavers around his pool and other improvements. Yes, he did construction to his house. Everyone does construction to their house, right? We're penalizing him now for coming out and doing the right thing with pool equipment that was existing at the time. So while we understand it's an accommodation, we're requesting that you respectfully grant the accommodation.

Thank you.

Vice Mayor, you had something you'd like to say?

Yeah, I just... Distance sometimes doesn't make a difference when you're talking about pitch and noise. I was hearing the mariachi horn from the Mexican restaurant three blocks away from my house because of the pitch and noise. My neighbor's air conditioning bearing was out, and that's 55 feet away from the front of my house, and I could hear that as well. two feet is not going to make a difference. What I don't see in the record and makes it difficult to make a determination on is what is the decibel level of this equipment, comparative to the next door neighbor's equipment. The record seems to be silent on that. Is there any information that you can share with us?

We don't have any decibel readings of the pool equipment. But I can tell you that the pool equipment that's installed and will be permitted as revised is some of the latest pool equipment available. And these latest pool pumps are much quieter than previous pool pumps installed around town. But I don't have an actual decibel reading for it.

Is there a... decibel reading that can be stipulated to that will be maintained at that it's maintained properly because you know the bearing across the street 55 feet away from the front of my house you could hear through the impact windows until it was replaced once it was replaced it was fine i mean i have a video which i was not allowed to put into the record i have a video

that I sent to the city attorney that shows how loud it is. And then it walks over to the neighbor's full equipment and shows it much louder at much further distance.

I'm going to ask staff if there is a decibel limitation on full equipment that exists.

Yes, so the code does address mechanical noise like pool equipment and just for the record the videos that were submitted yesterday were new testimony and that's why they were not part of the record below to the extent you all want to see them you can I just want to be clear that they were not part of the record below and that's why they were not initially placed on the agenda if you all want to see them you're more than welcome but they were not part of the record below um yes mechanical equipment including pool equipment is addressed by the zoning code i'm not aware offhand and perhaps we have someone from development services who knows the oh you have it

So the code provides that in single-family residential districts, between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7.30 on weekdays, essentially, the maximum sound for mechanical noise is five decibels above ambient sound level or maximum of 55 decibels. And then at all other times, so most of the time, it's 10 decibels above ambient sound level or a maximum of 60 decibels.

And we're happy to stipulate that the pool equipment will be below that level. We have to call for a final building permit on this matter. Obviously, one of the approvals that we need is a zoning approval, final zoning approval, which is contingent on approving this variance. So if you wanted to put something on there, they have to confirm that it stays below the decibel.

So that is the city code, so they have to comply with that? Correct. We want to make that more specific, but everyone has to comply with that, right?

And we do.

And what are the hours of operation of the pool equipment?

I couldn't tell you. He has a young child, so I'm sure they use it just as much as any normal resident would. I don't think they have any restriction. I don't think they're going to be using it very late at night. Their child was just born.

No, I'm just trying to make it clear because noises are louder late at night than they are during the day because you're going to hear them more often. I've had a detailed conversation with our police chief about different types of mufflers on vehicles that you don't notice them during the day, but after a certain hour, they become very shocking and a way of noises.

I don't think that's going to be a concern at this property.

Do you have information regarding the hours of operation of the equipment, when the pumps are going to be running? Because they're not always running 24-7, are they?

I don't know the hours of operation, but again, my client is eventually going to be selling this property. So the elderly buyer and her special needs son, they may have specific use during the day. I don't know if they'll be using it at night. I couldn't really tell you the hours of operation, but anytime they're operating it, I can almost assure you that it's going to be within the city's decibel level requirement.

So I'll ask city staff, is there an hours of operation where overnight when people are trying to sleep, these pumps are not running?

It's more restrictive. The sound levels are more restrictive during the overnight hours. So it's 5 decibels above ambient sound or maximum of 55 decibels, whereas at all other times of daytime, it's 10 decibels above ambient sound level or a maximum of 60 decibels. And where is it measured from? It's measured from the property line of the sound affected site or unit and the zoning district where the sound affected cider unit is located and shall apply um they should be measured with a yeah to be measured from the real property line of the sound affected cider unit so you can measure it from either property line right essentially essentially the property line yep okay and we don't madam vice mayor i just got a message from our client that he shuts off his pool equipment at six o'clock every night is that on a timer or is that manually yes on a timer

I guarantee it. Madam Vice Mayor, anything else? Will it go to the order?

No.

Anyone else? Commissioner Lal? Through the Mayor?

Yes. All right. I do have some questions. And Mr. Rodriguez, you know, we've known each other for many years from your time as Vice Mayor in Miami Lakes. I've always held you in high regard. Thank you, sir. I do have concerns with, you know, and what I would consider mudding the waters. We're talking about pool equipment, now we're talking about who the new owner's gonna be. And what we should really be considering is the current situation where we're at. Looking at the picture in staff's presentation at the April 13th meeting, if we're measuring those decibel levels, it seems like it's about two feet away from where the pump actually is because the property line is just adjacent. I don't know if we can pull up staff's presentation

There were never any decibel readings made.

Right, that's what I'm saying. If we were to read those decibels, it's right there. I understand the perception of two feet One way to feed another doesn't make a difference. But if I'm speaking here and I move back two feet and move over two feet, all of a sudden you can't hear me.

So, you know, and it's not a major difference.

I move two feet back, two feet to the side, which is exactly what we're talking about. And it makes a difference. What is and I guess this question is for staff. What is the requirement that's being put as far as what would need to be implemented that would require maintenance going forward? Is this just a cover? Is it a structure that protects it? What is it that's being required?

So during the meeting, the applicant proffered the cover. What the board extended was that the cover be required in a covenant running with the land and so that the covenant be required to be maintained throughout the length of use of that pool pump in that current location. So the board required the covenant that would ensure that a similar acoustical cover, it doesn't have to be the exact one, be maintained on the property at all times, and that the cover maintain a reduction of 50% decibels. I don't know if that's the correct term. A reduction of sound of 50%. details of how it was to be measured how the covenant was to be drafted was left to the property owner and i and our office to work out um after the meeting so um those are the details that it would be maintained at all times while that equipment is in that location look i guess for me that's where the biggest question is

This wasn't something that was proffered by the board. It was proffered by the applicant. And in fact, if we go back to the recommendation for staff, it was complete denial. So for me, based on the questions that the city attorney posed we're considering here today, it's very difficult for me to say, you know, your rights are being violated by us affirming the decision by the board. or even remanding it back to the board to ask them to reconsider whether a variance should have been accepted at all, because we are imposing an undue burden on the direct neighbors of this property by accepting this. And I understand, you know, you did mention that there is, this was preexisting to their ownership. Did they have a seller's disclosure which stated that this was done illegally?

No, there wasn't a seller's disclosure, and unfortunately, When you do a real estate closing, if there hasn't been a violation issued, a lien search or permit search would never have shown up. That was not conforming. They would have had to have known about the ordinance before. So, yeah, they were not aware.

Mr. Mayor, can I just address something that Commissioner Fernandez brought up? I just want to be clear for the record that the property owner did proffer the acoustical cover. They did not proffer the covenant. That was a requirement of the board. So the ongoing obligation to have the cover was one brought up by the board, just to be clear.

Anything further? Well, actually, yeah. So if you're proffering an acoustical cover, is it just to have it hanging on a wall? I mean, it's to have it over the pumps. I'll defer to the applicant on that. So it would imply that there is a covenant to have that over the pool equipment. I mean, that's what makes sense. I understand they may not have used the term covenant, but when you're proffering that you're going to have this, that's to reduce the noise that you're having on the neighborhood.

Commissioner, if I may, the first meeting that we had on this was in April. During the meeting, it appeared to me at least that the board was going to approve it. Then public comments came up and the neighbors came up and spoke against the item. The board decided to defer the item for one month to allow us time to reach an agreement, be neighborly. My client proffered. Some hedges to try and dampen the sound a little bit. The neighbors were. Required requiring a concrete structure. Around the pool equipment which. It was brought up in the meeting whether that was even. Allowed under the code where we can put a concrete structure around that area. In an attempt to try and reach. an amicable solution we proffered the pool pump cover. At that point they still came up and said that they were not in favor of that. They also the then the board decided to make it a covenant running with the land with perpetual maintenance requirements and perpetual testing requirements that was something that got my client concerned, but even more concerning for the future buyer. So that's why we had an issue with the conditions that were placed on the variance.

Excuse me one second. So anything else? OK. Few questions, few statements. Let's see if we can go back and forth. I think the effort here is to find some middle ground. was to your knowledge, and I'd like to see if our city attorney could come up here also, was to your knowledge with the previous pool equipment, which I think we can all say with confidence that older equipment is much louder, correct? You run at lower decibels, new equipment runs at lower decibels, wastes less energy. Obviously, we're moving into a new era for the last 10, 15 years. Everything from computing to equipment to engines, you're trying to waste as little energy as possible, correct? Correct. Was there ever a violation in regards to the old pool equipment that was placed within the setback and was placed without, obviously, a permit?

I'm not aware of one.

No, there was not.

Okay. So we can both say very clearly that that pool equipment was obviously old and was obviously much louder than the current pool equipment.

Right.

It's pretty common sense. You buy new pool equipment, you install it, you buy a new computer, everything works much smoother, new technology, you're obviously lowering the energy use, but you're expecting it to be a lot more efficient. I don't think that's anything biased or anything that we're saying that is out of the norm. So there was no violation, and we're looking at the old versus the new. One of the issues that I think we need to really figure out here is the middle ground. Why do I keep bringing up middle ground? Because you brought up a video that I haven't had the privilege of seeing and none of the commissioners have, the city attorney has. We can watch it today, but it cannot be considered in regards to our decision making. I'm pretty sure that that video is going to show that the neighbor has a pool pump that you can hear from 15, 10 feet away, whatever number that is. Why all of a sudden was there an issue with a pool pump? That's the big question. So now we've, in the public record, not me, been brought up by other commissioners that the neighbor's pool pump is very loud. So now the new owner, whoever that owner may be, is going to step in and say, now call code enforcement on the neighbor now, and they're going to have to address their issue in regards to the pool pump and spend thousands of dollars replacing all their pool equipment. That's what you don't want to see in Coral Gables. I would like to see that video. I think it's important.

You're more than welcome to see it, Mr. Mayor. As we mentioned, it's not from the record below.

I understand that, but it's been mentioned multiple times before I started speaking about the fact that it has evidence that should have been shown to the previous board that reviewed this and made the recommendations. I don't know why it was not shown.

Yeah, it was not provided to the Board of Adjustment.

So we're not here to debate whether the gentleman, the applicant, installed the equipment or he did install the equipment in the setback. That's already done. You know, again, we have to fix that. That's already been fixed by the variance that was granted by the previous board and now it's being considered by the Commission. I think we could have a solution here, okay? Let's alleviate the situation here. Let's accept the removal of the covenant, but make sure that the cover stays on. The cover could stay on in perpetuity. The noise would be dampened. We don't have any actual information right now whether with the new pool equipment, there's actually a violation of the existing noise ordinance, which to me makes it very difficult right now. But you neither have proof that there's a violation, All you have is proof is that new equipment was installed on the setback because he basically turned himself in when he provided a permit to correct the previous owner's violation, which was not a violation, but the illegal act of installing a pool permit, excuse me, a pool pump In the setback. Am I correct or no?

Correct.

So no good deed goes unpunished here, right? So, you know, I think here we have to find a compromise and we have to put politics aside and say, how can we deliver on this? How can we deliver on this? I'm perfectly fine with leaving the pool pump cover on it. The neighbor's going to know if the pool pump cover comes off because obviously they're being very vigilant. But I think that adding a covenant which requires perpetual maintenance is something like I've never seen before. I've never seen that type of heavy handedness ever. And let me tell you why. And I've been here 13 years. I've seen it when developments come and they say, hey, we do a traffic study every year for four years that requires. perpetual review for, not even perpetual, 5, 10, 15 years. And if certain benchmarks are hit, that developer has to pay into the public trust in one form or another, whether it's sidewalks, whether it's traffic calming, whatever that may be. We've done it on multiple different projects, constantly monitoring to make sure that the impact is lessened. So I think that we can find Common ground here. One thing that I don't like, and this is just my personal opinion, we all live in Coral Gables. Most of us here on the commission, four out of five are property owners here in the Gables. To talk about property value increases and how much someone's selling a home for, and that kind of stuff is tacky. We can do better than that. We want someone to buy the house or to live in our city, and once they move on, whether their family grows, like this case, that's why they're leaving the house, to a bigger house, you want them to celebrate the fact that they sold the property for more than what they bought it for. That's what a healthy city is. People want to move to our city, and we welcome that. So to me, I don't think that really should even be considered, and it's something that we shouldn't talk about, because one day the neighbors are going to sell their property, and they're going to want to sell it for a maximum dollar. And they're going to want to receive as much money as they possibly can. So I like to proffer to the applicant, if they're willing to accept it, that the cover stays on. As you can tell, we have issues here, obviously. That the cover stays on, but that the covenant is removed. and that we work as neighbors, because these neighbors are going to have to work with forthcoming neighbors, and that we do things in a right way that is collegial, that is respectful. But also, let's not take it out on the person who's selling the home today. Yeah, he made a mistake. He bought the property. But he's not a contractor. He's not an engineer. He's not an architect. He's not a surveyor. He's not a lawyer. He's not a person who, you know, checked to see if a pool pump. And that, by the way, and as you can tell, because both of your attorneys, when you have disclosures, you know, they're not checking every last inch of certain things. You know, they're very careful. They do three-point inspections. But this is above and beyond. So... I'd like to see us find a middle, I'd like to see if we could, can we address one thing? Because the individuals who spoke before keep raising their hand. Can you explain, Madam City Attorney, the process that we do here? I don't want it to come from me because then they say that I'm not being fair.

So, Mayor, I think you've already closed public comment. Yes. So there was an opportunity and you've closed public comment. It is always up to you, though, if you wanted to take more.

I understand. Thank you, but we do not make that, we do not really make that comment here in the city, correct?

Correct, Mayor.

Thank you. Okay. So I'd like to see if we can reach a middle ground and move forward. Are you okay with my proffer?

Mr. Mayor, the cover was proffered by my client. But I'm saying, but beyond that, we're not here to talk about who proffered it. If he installs it and there's no perpetual requirement maintenance oversight that that was what that was a concerning part the covenant was the one that was really bothering him.

And my final concern I want to mention again just so my colleagues understand it when you start putting these perpetual. you know, maintenance requirements on homes. It's just, again, another wall, another issue that someone has to deal with. Imagine having to be a homeowner and have to deal with the government and provide every single year a document. Let me give you an example. I don't know if you checked your emails late last night, but there was a report that came in, and I'm not gonna mention it here, because I don't think it's appropriate, from a private entity that does business here in the city of Coral Gables, and that they have to provide a yearly report A YEARLY REPORT IN REGARDS TO STUDENTS, HOW MANY, CENSUS, THAT WAS PROVIDED TO THE COMMISSION THROUGH THE MANAGER'S OFFICE YESTERDAY. IT'S NOT TO THAT MAGNITUDE BUT I THINK TO ME THAT'S A LITTLE HEAVY HANDED. WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMEBODY WHO OWNS A BUSINESS HERE IN THE CITY AND THEY HAVE HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS, THAT'S A DIFFERENT SITUATION. WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A HOMEOWNER, I THINK THAT ESPECIALLY YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT TO BE KNOWN AS PEOPLE PUTTING PERPETUAL EASEMENTS ON PROPERTIES. I THINK IT'S JUST A LITTLE TOO MUCH. AND I THINK THAT WE AS A CITY CAN ACHIEVE THE SAME GOAL WITH THE COVER WITHOUT HAVING THAT COVENANT PUT IN PLACE.

SEE THE MAYOR?

YES, SIR. JUST A QUICK QUESTION. I DON'T WANT TO DERAIL THE PROPER. YOU CAN ALWAYS DO A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT IF YOU LIKE.

NO, NO, NO. IT'S ACTUALLY JUST A QUESTION TO UNDERSTAND THE RECORD A LITTLE BIT BETTER. SO BOTH TO THE APPLICANT AND TO THE CITY ATTORNEY. A COMPLAINT ON THE PROPERTY WITH RESPECT TO A NOISE VIOLATION OR SETBACK VIOLATION AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO THE APPLICANT SEEKING THE PERMIT. COMMISSIONER LOTT IF I MAY.

I ASKED THAT QUESTION A FEW SECONDS AGO AND THE ANSWER WAS NO. So that's what I find very interesting. I'm not aware of it. And that's why, Commissioner, I led with, so you had full equipment for, let's say, 10 years. I don't know the amount of time. It was five years, old pool equipment. It made more noise. It was not as technologically advanced as it is today. You install brand new equipment with a permit. And now is when you get a code enforcement violation, not over the years.

Mr. Right. And I definitely wanted to make that crystal clear, you know, because I think, you know, just taking it to a level set moment, right? I mean, what's really going on? And I just wanted to understand that crystal clear that there was no complaint, at least not in the record, of any resident or neighbor concerning any excessive sound with respect to the pool equipment that the applicant, when he bought the property, had already had installed on the land. And that's a no, right? Correct, that's a no. And was there ever any complaint by any resident with respect to the setback violation of a couple of feet in each direction ever made to the city prior to the application for the permit.

Not to my knowledge. And not to my client's knowledge.

Through the mayor.

Just one second. So to put it in more context, what I'm asking is to affirm the decision with condition to remove the covenant. Are you okay with that? I'm okay as long as he gets to install a cover.

Yes. And what was proffered at the board was any cover. that reduces the sound by 50%.

I just want to make sure, because now I want my colleagues to consider what I'm offering, and as long as you're fine with that and your client's fine with that, I'd like to move on. Yes, Commissioner.

OK. So when the vice mayor was saying her comments, I started thinking, I don't know how many of us here on this dais have a pool in our home. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. I don't turn off my pump. I don't even know how to. You should. Yeah. Well, then I am. Huh? You turn it off too?

It's probably in a timer is what I said. Yeah.

OK. Well, I guess I'm wasting a lot of energy. Yeah. So my really question here is, we can't control the noise and the time of operation of pool equipment, especially when a home is being up for sale, right? We can't control the behaviors of the new homeowner. And if that new homeowner goes ahead and sells to somebody else, we can't control it. The only way we can control it is by putting a covenant on the actual land, right? Because, yes, maybe the homeowner now is going to comply. But what guarantees us that the following homeowner is going to comply and the owner after that is going to comply?

Well, I think the city attorney mentioned it. At no point has this pool equipment been outside of the noise ordinance. This has never been a noise ordinance issue. This has always been a setback issue. And the argument was complying with the setback, A, would not require us to put any covers at all, zero, and it really would be a negligible effect on what the neighbors in the back are hearing. It's two feet one way and two feet another way. So to get to your point, the... The compliance is going to be, we still have to comply with the noise ordinance, and our buyer will still have to comply with the noise ordinance. If they go outside of that noise ordinance, then they'll have an issue. That's the concern regarding the noise.

So there's nothing that would guarantee us that this cup is going to stay on for a certain amount of period, even if the house is sold, right? Now, I believe that the Board of Adjustments was gracious enough to grant this variance. I don't think it's a hardship to go ahead and do this covenant for the protection of whoever else buys this house. So for that reason, I'm gonna go ahead and move to affirm the board's decision.

Before we take a vote, I need to make some additional comments. And I wrote down some notes here. Because based upon what I'm hearing, it's taking form over substance. I also have a pool pump within a few feet of my fence. It doesn't bother me until the bearing goes. And I talked to my neighbor. I said, you know, you might not have known you have a bad bearing on your pool pump because it is indeed closer to my house than it is to his windows to his bedroom. called being neighborly. I also got the call from neighbors near the Lowe's about fans, exhaust fans, that were making excessive noise. And the reason they were making excessive noise, again, was because of the bearings in the fans were worn and squealing, even though it was a new set of bearings. Bad metal, whatever it was, lack of oil, lack of grease. That installation, faulty installation, whatever the cause, the noise was reverberating a block away. That's what form over substance is. If you're compliant with the decibel ratings required of our code, then there's no issue. No amount of covers are going to ameliorate bad bearing because it squeals it's like nails on a chalkboard it's very bad okay i recognize it because i had a father who was a mechanic an engine overhaul he had my hands deep in all kinds of stuff when i was young so i know what the sound of a bad bearing is and i communicate with my neighbors when they're bad because it disturbs my sleep it disturbs my dog's sleep It disturbs the entire neighborhood and it's annoying. So form over substance. The issue here is the noise. We have no record of what the noise decibel level was. We have no record that shows that the decibel levels exceeded what the code allowed at the property line. So if you're going to base a record or a finding of a board based upon competent substantial evidence, and the evidence is not there to support that finding, then you have a deficient record. Yet we have a proffer to put a cover on. Covers don't stay on permanently. They have to be taken off during hurricanes. They have to be taken off during maintenance when you're redoing various things and maintaining or changing the settings on the pumps, et cetera. So a condition that requires it never, ever to come off is unrealistic. Again, form over substance. The issue is noise. The record is absent of anything. It shows that there was excessive noise that exceeded the code that we have in our city. Granted, we do have variance requests for a variety of reasons, whether it be wall heights so people aren't annoyed by the noise, of a busy street or the lights of a truck coming around a traffic circle. Every instance in which we have conditions in our code cannot be always anticipated. That's why there's a variance procedure. But when you have a variance that's being requested that takes form over substance, we have to step back and look at what makes common sense. And if it doesn't make common sense, then we find a way to meet people in the middle, get down to the core of what's important here, controlling the decibel levels and the annoyance of the neighbors. Because if indeed what was mentioned to me that the neighbor's pump is louder than this one and is more annoying, again, we're going to have this neighbor's war, and I've had to settle a few of those during my time on the commission. I'm sure you've had to do it in your capacity as well. and it becomes a number-ending cycle unless you take people back and say, let's step back and look at what's really important here. Because we need to work together as a neighborhood to get along with each other and work together so we make our entire neighborhood a nicer place to live. So, no, I will not second that motion.

Mayor? If I may, we have a motion. I just want to make sure we don't have a second.

I second it. The reason I second this motion, I think this is the middle ground. I think the residents are not happy with this variance granted even with the condition. I think granting this variance is a middle ground from having to move the entire structure as they would be required to do based on our code, which is what the residents are requiring, and not doing anything at all. other thing that really concerns me is the fact that we're already being told that the new owner doesn't want to do this you know they have concerns with this being something that they have to take care of in perpetuity and in my opinion if we don't have some sort of protection for the neighbors it is now going to become an issue where the neighbors are constantly going to have to be monitoring the situation calling the city to file a code enforcement complaint and I think this is an opportunity that we have to ensure that we don't have a neighbor versus neighbor issue, like the vice mayor is saying, because we have some assurances on our side that this will be taken care of. Now, as far as the vice mayor's comment that it would have to be taken off, it does not. My grandparents' house had a pool. And as just them wanting to be neighborly, they built a structure around it. which covered the pool pump, and they put soundproofing on the inside to ensure that there wasn't any noise that was going towards the neighbor's house because of the proximity and location to the neighbor's house. Miami-Dade County, so the setback wasn't an issue, but it was just them trying to be neighborly and ensure that next to somebody's bedroom, you don't have a pool pump that's going at any time. I think what has been proffered and the Board of Adjustment has moved on, I think is a fair compromise between what the neighbors are requesting and what the applicant is requesting in light of the fact that we already have concerns about the new owner not having an interest in maintaining this going forward.

So we have a motion and a second. When I gave my comments, I was trying to have my colleagues, I was giving my colleagues deference to see if they would at least speak about what I proffered. Commissioner Castro jumps in with a motion. That was not the purpose, but obviously we have a motion and a second. Mr. Clerk, can we have a vote, please?

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Commissioner Lara? No. Vice Mayor Anderson.

Based on the absence of information on the record as to the necessity for a running covenant, in my prior comments, no.

Commissioner Castro.

I went ahead and I addressed your concerns. And a covenant is the only way to go ahead and guarantee that the cover is going to stay on after the property is sold. It has to be attached to the land and it cannot be to the discretion of the homeowner because there's going to be different homeowners. So yes.

Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Mayor Lago?

The answer is no. Let me explain to you what the next move is. The next move is a very simple one. When the property changes hands, the cover is installed. If the cover does not work, court enforcement will be there immediately. Now we have a problem, though. Because now on this record here, we said that the neighbor's pool also makes excessive noise. And there is a video that is a public record that is in the hands of the city attorney. We have so many people here who love to chase down public records and then use them in the blogs. Now we have exactly what I was trying to avoid. We have neighbor-on-neighbor conflict. Madam City Attorney, give me a percentage. I won't hold you to it. How many covenants like these have you ever seen put onto a residential property here in the city? This is the first one that I've seen.

Mayor, I cannot give you an answer to that. I do know that over the years, there have been covenants in specific situations, sometimes with historic properties or even with variances, that there's reasonable conditions, and those are often or sometimes immoralized in a covenant. But I cannot give you any kind of statistic on that.

No, but those covenants, let me correct myself, make it a little bit more difficult on you. I think it's very easy to slip out of that. When have you ever seen a performance covenant like this ever used? I have been here 13 years, and I have yet to see one that requires in a residential home that requires a performance covenant where the city can step onto your property and say, no, this is not working. If there's noise, if there's noise, that's why we have code enforcement. Code enforcement will come out and address the issue. Then why do we have a code enforcement department here in the city of Coral Gables? Why? Why do we have a code enforcement department? The intent of the code enforcement department is to make sure, just like we have inspections, when you're building, you have the inspectors come out and you have what is called a setback inspection, where you provide a survey by a certified surveyor and it says the applicant is building the following structure and it meets the setback standards as per the zoning approval. whether it's in residential or in commercial. There are checks and balances here in the city. If we're not going to start applying these covenants to every single residential neighborhood, you're going to be in a situation where, why have code enforcement? The intent of code enforcement is if the neighbors have an issue with the noise, and this is my concern now because now you have on the record, and I want to be very clear because it'll be used against me later on the blogs, I didn't bring this up. It was brought up multiple times before we even talked about it here, that the neighbor has a pool pump that is incredibly loud. And that, again, these are residents that coexisted. There was an issue and everything was perfectly fine. Nobody caught code enforcement on anyone. And all of a sudden, now it's an issue. I'd like to bring this in for a landing. I proffered a consideration for my colleagues before Commissioner Castro's motion, and I'd like to see if we can move forward, Commissioner Lara.

I'm going to try and see if we can jump on a landing, okay? Just think this kind of, and I think I'm understanding the situation pretty well. First of all, what we don't have, and that's why I was asking the questions before the city attorney and the applicant, the record doesn't reflect any uh evidence with respect to uh the decibels uh the sound decibels with respect to the property um at issue am i right again correct okay but you know and the vice mayor articulated it very well this issue seems to be about sound because it is quite canopied when it comes to um visual and really what the variance was seeking was being permitted to stay where it where it's currently located and not be required to be moved a couple of feet in either direction. Can't see it from above, can't see it from next door. So it's about sound, right? So I'm not in favor of legislating constantly around picayune or idiosyncratic concerns that residents may have, because the more you legislate around it, the more you subject yourself to further complaints, litigation, or confusion regarding its enforcement, indeed, its interpretation. So what I think is the best way to handle this, and consistent with having code enforcement, and since no one has complained about the sound, to my knowledge, to date, is that I would like to move actually to grant the variance that was sought originally with no covenant running with it so that It can remain where it lies presently without having to be moved a couple of feet in each direction. So grant the variance as sought. And should there be a concern between either the current residents or future owners of the property as it pertains to any claimed violation of the sound, we already have a process and a procedure to attend to such concerns. rather than us trying here to legislate around a problem that hasn't even been brought before the board or this commission. So my motion is to grant the variance sought with no covenants.

Mr. Mayor, can I just clarify procedurally? I believe then it would be a motion to affirm the decision of the Board of Adjustment with conditions, with your condition being that the covenant requirement be removed from their approval. Correct. And the cover.

Those two, correct.

Understood.

I second that motion. My notes had something similar because we don't have a decibel reading. Future owner can always proper to put a cover on if they cannot achieve the required decibel reading at the property line. So not having something that is form over substance here. The substance is the noise issue. And it can be offered as a way to deal with the noise and If anybody's ever done maintenance on pumps, they know that the covers must come off in order to do that. So just so you're aware, Commissioner Fernandez.

Okay. So we have a motion and a second. Anything else further from the Commission? Nothing else?

Okay.

Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Commissioner Castro?

No.

Commissioner Fernandez? No. Commissioner Lara. Yes.

Mayor Lago. Yes. Thank you. Thank you very much. Moving on to item E2.

E2 is an ordinance of the City Commission amending the City Code, Chapter 2, entitled Administration, Article 8, entitled Procurement Code, Section 2-60724, Exemption Section 2-685, Competitive Sealed Bidding, Section 2-688, Small Purchases, Section 2-689, Sole Sources Procurement, Section 2-690, Sole Source Procurement, Section 2-691, Special Procurement Bid Waiver, Section 2-763, Contract Award, Section 2-764, Approval of Change Order and Contract Modification, and section 2-910, resolution of protest solicitations and awards, formal in order to amend certain approval thresholds, providing for repeated provision, severability clause, codification, and providing for an effective date.

Has there been any changes from first reading?

No changes.

There was a minor change to the title, Mayor, just to make clear that these are to amend those approval thresholds, but no substantive changes.

Thank you very much. Mr. Clerk, do we have any public comment? No, Mr. Mayor. May I have a motion?

I'll move it. I'll second.

Commissioner Castro?

Yes.

Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Commissioner Lara? Yes. Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes.

Mayor Lago? Yes. Thank you very much. Moving on to Item E3.

E3 is an ordinance of the City Commission amending Chapter 74, Traffic and Vehicles, to create Article 10, Personal Delivery Devices and Mobile Carriers, to impose certain safety and operational requirements for personal delivery devices and mobile carriers consistent with state law, providing for severability clause, repeated provision codification, and providing for an effective date.

We have a staff presentation.

Yes, thank you, Vice Mayor. So there have been no changes since first reading, but we have had various meetings with some of the operators of these personal delivery device little robots. We've met extensively with the sponsor and we've gone through it. The item as before you today is exactly the same as it was on first reading, but we're happy to answer any questions about it operationally. As you know, this is intended to address some of the city's concerns about accessibility on our pedestrian rights of way about safety, visibility and safe operation of these within our downtown area where they currently operate. Madam Vice Mayor.

So I did send this to my Disability Affairs Board appointee, and they're happy with the language as it is because it does incorporate the ADA provisions. I know there's some desire by the operators to make some changes, but we can address those as the time comes in the future when we have additional time to discuss them. So if there's no, is there any public comment?

Yes, ma'am. First speaker, Jose Felix Diaz.

I think I turned it off, I apologize. Jose Felix Diaz to Alhambra Plaza, Suite 102, Coral Gables, Florida, on behalf of CERV Robotics. First of all, I want to commend the Vice Mayor on this thoughtful legislation. This legislation is based on a model that was passed by the City of Miami Beach. You may or may not know But the reason these robots are in existence is really because of a state statute that was created that created a statewide framework for how these robots would be deployed into our state. With that came a preemption that controlled the way the local governments could regulate them. And what you have before you today is mostly in conformance with that preemption. It focuses on the safe operations of these devices. One place where there is a slight deviation between the Miami Beach ordinance and this one is on the miles per hour. Miami Beach also similarly looked at restricting the speed to six miles per hour, but ultimately you know, split the number with the state statutory maximum, which is 10 miles per hour and landed on eight miles per hour. The vice mayor was gracious enough to hear us out. We would humbly ask that you would consider maybe amending this at this level and not wait until it becomes statute and change it in the future. We know how hard it is to put a genie back in the bottle. So we are hopeful that you will consider an eight mile per hour It is less than what the state allows. We believe that that is the right number to be operationally sound. Obviously, these devices are used to transport food, which is either supposed to stay cold or remain hot. And so operationally, that is the ideal speed that these machines would operate at. We understand and appreciate the vice mayor's intent and her background with the disability community and the amount of work that she has done on behalf of that community, we will proffer. Any one of you wants to meet with our accessibility team, we will. They are evolving. These machines are evolving and trying to be more mindful. We know that they are not perfect. We know they're not perfect. But we do hope that you can find a nice balance between access, Convenience and efficiency which we think is that eight mile per hour mark those are my remarks.

Thank you Thank You mr. Diaz I'll ensure you that we'll continue to work on and I have a scooter item coming up we're gonna be addressing speeds and other issues dealing with the scooters as you saw in the reporting last night and there's big concerns with scooters and There are big concerns with these delivery devices because currently right now as the technology exists, they don't move out of the way of people, period. So if you don't have them moving out of the way of people and they're going even faster, I'D LIKE TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION WITH YOU AND SEE WHERE WE CAN DO ADDITIONAL CHANGES. THERE IS A SIX-MONTH PERIOD BEFORE THIS IS ENFORCEABLE. SO I THINK WE HAVE ADEQUATE TIME TO MASSAGE IT FURTHER IN THE FUTURE. SO I LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING WITH YOU AGAIN. NEW SPEAKER THROUGH THE VICE MAYOR.

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Hi, good morning. Joseph Sulzer with Gray Robinson, also on behalf of Serve Robotics, 333 Southeast 2nd Avenue, Suite 3200, Miami, Florida. Along with, I want to echo all of my colleague Pepe Diaz's comments and thank you to the commissioners and to the sponsor, as well as staff and the legal department for meeting with us and having several conversations. One of the big things of these robots is to, number one, help the affordability crisis to provide food delivery at a substantially lower cost than regular delivery. Number two is to reduce vehicular traffic both with vehicles and with scooters, which we all know are an issue this community faces. CERV remains extremely concerned with the provision of the ordinance that categorically bans commercial advertising. We have been told that this provision is included It was part of the Miami Beach ordinance from which this was drafted upon. Important to note that during the robust discussion that occurred on first reading surrounding these devices included a multitude of concerns that are very valid. As you've heard, CERV is not here to say that these robots are perfect, and the vast majority of the ordinance they don't have an issue with. But that conversation and that robust discussion that this board, that this body had, frankly did not materially mention any concerns regarding advertisements on the devices. Florida law does provide that these PDDs have all the rights and duties applicable to a pedestrian in the same situation. So anecdotally, it begs the question, would the city look to regulate what I wear on my T-shirt or on my backpack if I am in the process of delivering food pursuant to, you know, my employment or 1099 agreement? Further, the blanket prohibition on advertising in its current form, with all due respect, likely fails every prong of the central Hudson test, which is the legal standard in determining whether government regulation of commercial speech violates the First Amendment. Respectfully, the ordinance nor the associated documents at this time include any data or findings that static, non-illuminated advertisements on these PDDs create a measurable risk. Going back to the Hudson test, nor does the limitation of a proposed risk narrowly tailored to the regulation at hand. It doesn't seem to be a nexus. And again, the aforementioned conversation of the adequate and real concerns just didn't surround commercial advertising. It seems like that just kind of took a road on the draft over from Miami Beach. Lastly, and mostly from a policy standpoint, Coral Gables is known to celebrate emerging technology and ingenuity, prides itself on being a haven for private investment. Please do not overburden that with regulations that are frankly, in our opinion, a solution in search of a problem. There are material issues with these operations of these PDDs. We pledge to continue with those, but the commercial advertisement we feel is unsubstantiated, goes too far. We would like to see that removed. And lastly, our client from Server Robotics who's out of state is available via Zoom if there's any questions. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. That's it.

Mayor, I'm just going to add, because I did have some conversation with him. I mean, our city doesn't allow billboards. There are concerns about, you know, distractions. There is a six-month enforcement before this is in effect. We can continue to have conversations. If there's a content neutral ban, And you know what I'm talking about. It's much different than if we start parsing out what type of speech is allowed or not allowed. So I will look forward to having further conversations with you. But right now, the biggest issue here is the fact that these robots do not yield to pedestrians. They do not move out of the way of individuals with disabilities. They completely block the sidewalk, and even when the sidewalk is wider, they straddle the center of the middle. So there are huge issues, and I'm looking forward to legislation like this having the innovation team make these robots smarter so that they do not pose the level of risk that they do now. And that's part of my hesitancy to entertain right now, increases in speed. Because if you add the increase in speed to a vehicle that doesn't know how to move out of the way, you're going to have a greater potential for injury. So let's continue the conversation. Let's look at the technology and see how we can do better going forward. So on that, I'll move it.

To the mayor.

One second. Do we have a second? Second.

Commissioner. I agree with the vice mayor when it comes to advertising. We have very, very strict policies, especially when it comes to signage and illuminated advertising. Now I understand also that that's a hardship to the company because that's probably how income comes into play. operate these robots. What I would have liked before that motion was to go ahead and maybe before this was voted on, talk about the speed. Because I also understand that's a hardship when you're trying to deliver food and it's not even, I mean, how is ice cream getting there at five miles per hour? I'm not sure the technology behind these robots, if they're insulated, I'm not sure. but five miles per hour would probably be slower than, I don't know, somebody walking. I would have offered a friendly amendment to go ahead and consider that before voting because it's a lot easier to lower something than to go ahead and raise it.

Commissioner, you can still offer a friendly amendment.

Well, I appreciate that. Then I will consider, Vice Mayor, if you're the sponsor, we can consider the eight miles per hour, I don't know, maybe seven, to reach some middle ground.

Not at this time. I'll sit down and have a conversation with them and two miles per hour is not going to get you there that much faster. I was just looking it up and it's not going to make that much difference at two miles per hour. But as the technology improves and they're able to modulate their speed and steer away from people that are walking on the sidewalk and not occupy the the entirety of the sidewalk and create a barrier for individuals with disabilities, children, people in strollers, children move erratically. These are a huge safety concern. I have a pair of large dogs. And they're sweet as can be. And they could knock over a child. Okay? It's something that you have to take into account. These are heavy vehicles. They can knock over a child. And if they're not yielding to adults, they're not going to yield to children. Okay? So we have to work with the technology to see where we can improve it. And as technology improves, we can modify the ordinance accordingly. I'm totally open to that.

GO AHEAD. I WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE A DIFFERENT SUGGESTION. I THINK WE SHOULD DEFER THIS ITEM AND PERHAPS HAVE A PRESENTATION TO THE COMMISSION WHERE WE CAN SEE THESE ROBOTS IN ACTION. BECAUSE I'VE HAD A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE IN THE VICE MAYOR. I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN ON A SIDEWALK WHERE I'VE BEEN WALKING AND AS SOON AS THE ROBOT REALIZES THAT I'M THERE, IT STOPS. IT DOESN'T CONTINUE MOVING. It allows me to pass and then it re-engages. I've been in an intersection where you've had multiple of these robots trying to cross the street and they've lined themselves up to cross the street and allowed space for me as a pedestrian to still cross the street at the same location, heading in the exact same location, and actually they allowed me to go first. So I was able to cross the street first, then the robots followed me across the street. I think It does not cause us any harm to have a presentation where we can see the difference between six miles per hour versus eight miles an hour so that we can visualize what that difference actually is before we jump to legislating. And we know what happens when we legislate here. Tallahassee finds out about it, and all of a sudden we're preempted on any changes that we want to make on these things. That would be my recommendation. As far as the advertising, I really have no issues with the advertising. We have cabs that come into the city with advertising on them. We have bus benches in some areas that do have on the more, the areas where they're allowed. We've allowed advertising on electric charging stations where they are providing a service to the city. And at the end of the day, I agree. There is a service that is being provided because food delivery in the downtown area can be extremely difficult because most of the delivery services are either on a moped or on a bicycle, which are adding to the congestion that we have in the central business district. These robots are allowing for those deliveries to be made and taking those vehicles off of our streets and creating the congestion. Just on the valet areas alone, you see that some of these delivery vehicles are trying to find a place to park. They're causing traffic to back up. In some cases, you see the drivers park on Miracle Mile on the street next to the parked cars, get off, go to make their delivery, and get back in the car. um so there is a service that's being provided i would like to see what this advertising looks like uh just to see i know that there are preemptions from tallahassee on what we can and cannot regulate as far as advertising as well um so there are protections there i understand the vice mayor's concern about you know we don't want just all sorts of advertising placed on these uh devices you know there's some things that wouldn't be acceptable to most of our population um but I think taking a step back, seeing how it works, seeing them in action could really help us make a better decision and ensure that the legislation that we're passing is ironclad. We're not going to be preempted by Tallahassee a few months down the road, and we're starting from scratch.

Commissioner Lotto.

No comment.

Okay. Let me just... Go ahead. A few comments on the record. First and foremost, I do have an issue with advertising. It's been a hallmark of the city where we have very limited advertisement. And I don't I haven't seen a bus bench that we had advertisement here in the city yet that are within the city boundaries. I know that we use these these. very well-placed kiosks, one in front of City Hall and one on Miracle Mile on the corner of Miracle Mile and Ponce in front of the Regents Bank Building. But I'm not aware, and correct me if I'm wrong, if we have an actual advertisement on bus benches here. I haven't seen that here in the city. So Commissioner Fernandez's comments are not in line with our standards. I also was brought to my attention that they wanted to do some advertisement on the trolleys. I was adamantly opposed to that. While the city Miami may do it that's perfectly fine for them. I don't have any I don't have any issues with advertisement within the trolley or Within our parking garages as you drive in for example inside as you go up the ramp I don't have an issue with that but advertising the city you know then for that let's monetize it and make real money let's put billboards all over the city and then there's a ton of money to be made there I think it's a very slippery slope and I think we have to be very very careful with that but we do not have bus benches so don't write emails don't don't send concerns we have not gone that far yet now in regards to these vehicles I have concerns over them and I've made made the company aware, you know, there has to be a little bit of attention to detail. You know, again, this is a very early, you know, this is a very early delivery of these robots. So, you know, the kinks are being worked out. But what I'm hearing from residents is that they congregate in certain areas in mass quantity where, again, they bother the neighborhood. They take up the sidewalks. And it's a robot at the end of the day. They don't have the judgment that a human being does. When you see somebody coming in a wheelchair or a baby stroller, they're trying to figure out how to address the issues. So I understand that, and I know that's going to be a learning curve. What I would like to know is, Madam City Attorney, do we know, or Mr. Manager, do we know how many of these robots can be deployed? Why do I say that? For example, in the scooters that we have approved here in the city, I remember when we approved that legislation, had limitations in regards to how many scooters we approved. And I think it was like 100 or something scooters per company, I think, or 75 or something. And they would gradually go up if everything was in line and they continued with the maintenance. If you look at the scooters, they are constantly rotated. Matt and his team do a great job. And I think that we've really held them, you know, a tight grip on them to make sure that you don't have scooters like you do in other cities thrown all over the city. And I think that's probably, correct me if I'm wrong, Matt, seven, eight years old now.

Yes, that is correct. And how many scooters do we have in the city? They can have up to 300, but they're never near that amount. And it's actually that amount is now shared with South Miami, who has deployed the same vendor under a pilot. So that amount is being shared between both cities.

If I use that as an example, because that's what sets our city apart from other cities. We're very methodical. We're very careful. You know, we're not just going to say open the floodgates and, you know, start advertising everywhere.

so i'm in line with the vice mayor's comments in regards to the the advertising i think we have to be very careful okay that's a source of revenue source of revenue um so mr mayor if i can um state law doesn't allow us to um limit the number operating within the city so just to be clear there there is a preemption but i believe matt has numbers from those who are operating in the city but if i may yeah that was my second point

While there may be preemption on that front, as we've discussed for a few weeks already, at the end of the day, there's going to have to be action by the state, because you just can't have a free-for-all. There's going to be corrective action. And we can lobby also the state to make sure that action is taken to address the amount of deliveries, of delivery robots that we have in the city. But I don't want that. What I want is cooperation, kind of like what we tried to establish before between the residents. So cooperation between the entity and the city of Coral Gables. But that's what I'm looking at and figuring out ways to work on things. I don't know enough about the delivery times and whether six minutes or seven minutes or eight minutes, there's gonna be a difference. But do you foresee Matt, because you're the one that deals with a lot of transportation issues here in the city. Do you foresee a benefit in regards to safety if there is a reduction in speed?

I mean, safety is always our number one priority. And I know that's where the vice mayor was coming from.

I mean, from eight miles to six, do you think there'll be a reduction in safety?

I mean, the slower, the safer, right? I mean.

How much slower are you going to get? How much slower are we going to get?

No, of course. Like with the scooters, we limit it to 15 because that's what it is for that program and for the stability of the scooters as far as the rental ones that we have operating in the city.

But we have a problem with these robots that we have a limited problem with the scooters. And that is that they're on the sidewalks. And when you look at the scooter and the width of the scooter in reference to the flag width does not comply with ADA. You have basically a moment there where you confront the scooter, you confront the wheelchair, you confront the person in one of those little motorized vehicles who may be disabled. I just want to find common ground. I don't want to vote on something today where at the end of the day we're going to be addressing a preemption issue, and then we're going to even get harsher treatment from the state. What do you foresee other counties or other cities, how are they addressing this issue, or are we the only issue that's bringing this forward?

So, Mr. Mayor, I believe, as always, you all are on the forefront of things here in the city of Coral Gables. So Miami Beach has adopted legislation. I believe City of Miami is considering legislation, though it has not been adopted yet. So as far as I know, we're the second in Miami-Dade County to look at this issue. We're happy to take any direction to keep looking at any issues. I do want to say CERV in particular has been very helpful in having discussions with us and informing us about their operations. and as they've been operating in the city they have been and i know belgians can speak to this when we have special events and closed down roads they've been very helpful in geofencing those pedestrian areas to make sure they're not interfering with any special events so thank you to them for their cooperation i'd like to hear from the applicant just in regards to that matter thank you joseph salzburg again and the same back to matt and your staff that

This hasn't been a sneak attack. This has been a great conversation between public sector and private sector, and we are committed to continuing the conversation. With regard to, I just wanted to talk about a couple items that had come up in this deliberation. Number one, both outside counsel and inside serve individuals, we have been told now by our client who's out of state at this time, are more than willing to come in whatever capacity at whatever time. whether it's a community demo, whether it's a presentation before the city commission. With ample time, we could also bring, CERV has an entire department focused on disability and those aspects, we can include them in the conversation. We can bring examples of other advertising, speed, and take as much time. That is not an empty gesture. Although they are allowed to operate by right in the City Beautiful, they understand that we want to swim into the stream of this community and be good stewards. So that is not an empty gesture. They're willing to come meet individually or collectively in a demonstration.

With that point, I'm sorry to interrupt you. Yes, sir. So you want to swim into the stream, and I like that. As you see, I've been mentioning, let's collaborate on multiple different fronts. Yes, sir. You see the requests from the vice mayor, which are in line with our standards here in the city. Are you gonna collaborate on issues as important as advertisement ban and reducing speed if it's an issue on multiple fronts or your bottom line?

No, absolutely, and thank you for the very valid question. Kind of taking a zoom back so with regard to let me first talk about the number of robots that operate within a certain city. Although that is preempted again serve is willing to come share the information. share where they are in real time listen to concerns, just because they get to operate by right here doesn't mean that we're not going to. You know, hear the concerns reduce move them around also important to know that with, for example, I live in the coral Gabriel area. So they're traversing city roads. So it's also hard to limit them per city. But again, they're very amenable. And I think that's demonstrative of what you're asking, Mayor. With regards to advertisements, We understand, you know, content specific. You don't want sin stuff. I think rather than a public sector concern, the private sector is establishing a good framework to not have advertisement that is dangerous or contrary to the character of this community, meaning there is not a proliferation of these. serve as the 900-pound gorilla. One-third of their ownership is by Uber. They're publicly traded. And there's not market share for a lot of these fly-by-night companies that come. There's only really two or three nationwide. Why is that? Because there's exclusivity agreements with DoorDash and Uber Eats. This corporate stature of this company is they're not going to do something that would be, you know, bodily injury or something that may be sin or, you know, not okay to display in public. And that's why respectfully I've proffered to the body and to the city is what's we've heard the specific concerns as it relates to safety and speed and maneuverability. We are not here to say those aren't an issue and we're pledged to continue to work with the city. frankly we have not heard specific concern with an advertisement that has been located on a bot within the city during their deployment if there are any specific concerns rather than regulate and then come back after the fact we would like to have that conversation but at this time we're frankly at a loss of any specific concerns that relates to advertisement and i think a lot of the concerns that surround taxes and bus benches it's a unique situation given what i mentioned about the market share But I definitely want to get up here and share that that is not an empty gesture, both as outside counsel and serve robotics are more than willing to come work, discuss, provide demonstration or anything going forward.

Two questions before I pass it off to my colleagues. Madam City Attorney, good question. So while we are preempted, if we do take measures today to regulate advertising and to regulate speed, what reach do we have?

So there's no preemption as to the speed. There's a maximum speed set in state statute, and we can set the speed at this. There's no legal concerns with the speed as is here today. Or if you want to raise it or change it to the maximum permitted under state law, that's completely permissible. As far as advertising, the city feels that the ordinance as written is perfectly defensible. The city has aesthetic and safety concerns about moving objects in the city for safety of drivers, distracted driving, as well as our regulation of aesthetics in the city. So we also feel that that is defensible. Though, as always, we're happy to take any feedback and address advertising however you would wish in a legal manner.

OK. And the second question I have for you, sir. Who owns this company?

Thank you. Servrobotics is publicly traded on the NASDAQ. And as public information, one of their largest shareholders is Uber Technologies. Is it based out of the United States? Yes, sir. Based out of our point of contact, who used to work at the City of Miami, who all y'all know well, Yariel Diaz is based out of Dallas. But actually, it's based out of the United States, and they're opening markets worldwide. But this is not a Chinese company, is it?

No, absolutely not. I'm not sure what we allow in our backyard. No, no, no. I'm not picking on you. I mentioned this. No, no, no.

I'm picking up what you're putting down. Not a chance. I wouldn't be up here representing them, sir.

OK, good.

Just wanted to make sure. As the first generation of Cuban immigrants, there's not a chance. You couldn't pay me enough. Good. That makes me happy to hear. Yes, sir.

To the mayor.

Madam Vice Mayor.

So I'm just going to, for the purposes of trying to move this conversation along, the advertisement prohibition is only for the exterior. You can put whatever you want inside. You have flyers going. You can have paint inside. This is an exterior prohibition. And there's a reason for distraction and so forth. We can continue this conversation. But what was sent over to me was so overbroad. And the way this was advertised for residents.

Sorry, I'm not familiar with what was sent over to you.

Via email, proposed language that, you know.

Oh, the Chicago. That's a little different. That's based on an operating agreement because they're not allowed to operate by right, whereas they are in the state of Florida.

I understand. It was overbroad. I'm not at this juncture willing to have a discussion without having more time. with our city attorney. So right now, you've got a six-month window. You're not prohibited on putting stuff inside of the mobility delivery device to advertise and hand out flyers or have something painted on the inside. It's only an exterior.

RESPECTFULLY, MAYOR, THAT'S NOT WHERE THE AD GENERATION THAT THEN GOES TO THE PROLIFERATION OF THIS TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE FOOD DELIVERY MORE AFFORDABLE IS GENERATED FROM THE EXTERIOR. SO THE ONLY ONE THAT I'VE EVER SEEN, FRANKLY, ON GERALDO was like a sticker that said, how to train your dragon is coming to theaters. So I understand where you're coming from, but the inside of putting flyers, the individual restaurant may do that, and that's their own volition. That does not benefit the overall economics of the proliferation of these. Just want to be clarified going forward.

I understand. You know how we feel about stickers, graffiti, and advertising on our benches and so forth. We can continue this conversation beyond this point. This ordinance was published this way. This has been pending for some time. We even took an additional 30-day delay to allow more comment period and discussion to occur. I sent it to my disability board member for comment. And if you've ever had, unfortunately, the opportunity to travel in a wheelchair, you understand just how easy it is to tip somebody over. OK? I gave you examples of children. You have people in walkers. You have people with strollers. You know, the speed on the sidewalks is concerning. I have personally experienced them. They do not back up. They do not change direction. They do not move out of the way of pedestrians. So having it do faster and the inability to stop within a reasonable period of time because it's going so much faster We need to have a conversation when this technology improves. Can it steer out of the way? Can it stay on one side of the sidewalk as opposed to taking the center out of the middle of a much larger sidewalk that now leaves less than two, two and a half feet for people to get a buy on the other side? So if you have a child on a stroller or if you're in a wheelchair, you have to turn around as opposed to the robot moving out of the way because it does not. I understand.

I have a two-and-a-half-year-old and one on the way. We're in Giralda four times a week. I'm not going to say they work perfectly, but I would like to say that this conversation regarding the safety, respectfully again, I think is separate apart from the concern that we have regarding advertisements. I just don't want them to be lumped as one.

No, no. You know, I moved from one issue to the other. Yes, ma'am. No, I understand. So we do need to move forward. I made a motion. We have a second.

To the mayor?

Yes.

Okay, so I mean safety for the city of Coral Gables is paramount. But I also want to make sure that with this legislation, this ordinance is not hindering the ability of your business actually working in Coral Gables. And I feel that if that's the case, we need to reach a middle ground. But I don't feel we have sufficient information of how these robots actually function, the technology behind them. and how they operate. And I would greatly appreciate if maybe this commission would consider deferral into maybe next commission meeting that you can come in, maybe with a sample robot so that we know how fast really it's eight miles per hour, seven miles per hour, what the insulation looks inside, what would make your company still be able to operate here in Coral Gables because we're offering a service not only to our residents but to our business community. Our business community that maybe for lunch cannot afford to go ahead and pay seven dollars for delivery fee and now these robots are Not charging anything.

No tip, no delivery fee.

I understand.

Yeah, yeah.

I understand. I think it's a benefit to the community, especially to the downtown and for even the business community that do not live here. So I would, city attorney, would I be able to, I know there's a motion on the table, but would I be able to put this on hold, the motion? I know Commissioner Lara did this. I'm not sure.

A motion to postpone can be considered when there's a main motion.

I would move to postpone this item.

You have a motion and a second.

I know. A motion to postpone can be made when there's a motion.

This has been postponed enough. This is, we've had many months. These robots have not improved. I've encountered a number of times completely blocking sidewalks. completely blocking individuals with disabilities being able to be able to traverse down a city sidewalk. We need to move forward. And if this is what's necessary to get this company to improve its technology, so be it. You have six months to do so. So it is rather a slap in the face to individuals with disabilities to try to postpone something that's not even going to be in effect for six months. because you haven't had the opportunity to be able to experience them blocking your path. I've experienced it a number of times, and I've tested it. It doesn't move to the left. It doesn't move to the right. It doesn't go in the rear. I brought up a picture. You saw it a number of months ago. The pedestrians had to move into the grass. Thank God they had legs to do it with. They couldn't have done it if they were in a wheelchair. Somehow, someway, the person in the wheelchair would have had to manually wheel that wheelchair backwards next to Lejeune Road traffic. We need to move forward. Postponement only exasperates the damages to the individuals with disabilities that are unable to traverse around these robots.

We have a motion to postpone. Do we have a second? I'll second it. And let me explain why. Again, my request is very simple on why I think we should defer this item. And that is because I think we should have a presentation. And I think we should have a meeting with the Commission, the Disability Advisory Board, and our Senior Citizen Advisory Board. and have a presentation so that we can see how these robots are behaving. Because again, I'm speaking from my personal experience, it's been completely different from yours. So I wanna see why we're having a different experience when we're interacting with these robots. How many users do the robots have in the city right now? How many people, residents in Coral Gables are utilizing this system?

I'm sorry Commissioner Fernandez, I don't have that information at that time, but if afforded the opportunity to get that and any additional information, we pledge to get that and any other additional information requested by the body prior to any demonstration or subsequent meeting.

I believe the information we were provided was about 31 within the city.

So, I mean, As a friendly amendment to the motion to defer, it would be a motion to defer requiring that we have a joint meeting with the Disability Advisory Board and the Senior Citizen Advisory Board for a presentation so that we can see how these robots are operating. And Madam Vice Mayor, there could be issues that we're not even realizing are issues until we start interacting with them. um so it'll present us with an opportunity of again having a more robust legislation and avoiding additional preemptions by tallahassee which are coming pretty much on everything that we pass these days through the mayor so i mean just one just one second through the mayor but just one second um commissioner do you have anything you'd like to add

Yeah, in my view, we have been kicking the can down the road on this issue for quite some time. The technology needs, in my opinion, something lit under it to encourage it to move forward. My views are that I'm supportive of the motion to grant the resolution and not to defer it. Vice Mayor.

One last comment. The preemption we have is a federal preemption. It's called the Americans with Disabilities Act. These robots that are operating in our city absolutely do not comply. I brought this legislation to bring it into compliance. It's just legislation, and you have six months to comply. The alternative is an individual with disabilities brings a federal lawsuit against the company, and you'll have an injunction by a federal court. No state law can preempt the ADA. So any notion that this is just going to bring on an additional preemption from the state of Florida when we're talking about public safety matters is just misguided. I think we're ready for a vote.

Through the mayor? Yes. Yes. So I'm going to go ahead and accept your friendly amendment. But I'm also going to add there a time limitation of 45 days because I don't want this to keep on dragging. We need to make a decision on this as soon as possible. I think 45 days to get the board together and for you guys to prepare for this presentation and bring one of those robots in is a fair amount of time. That way it stays below the six months. And I think that with more sufficient information, we can come up with even tighter and better legislation that also protects the safety of our citizens that are walking around or driving.

Okay, so we have a motion and a second.

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Commissioner Fernandez?

Yes.

Commissioner Lara?

Which motion is it? This is the motion to defer. Nope. With a 45-day window.

Vice Mayor Anderson?

This has already been before the Disabilities Fair Board, and this language was reviewed by my disability member. Absolutely no.

Commissioner Castro? Yes. Mayor Lago? No.

Let me tell you why I voted no. We're going to address the issue today. We're going to find a common ground. So at the end of the day, this is what I'm willing to do. I'm willing to make it seven miles an hour. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous that we're fighting for one mile. I'll play along with the ridiculousness.

Why not?

It's OK. And I will not negotiate the issue of advertisement. We need to figure out why we stand here. City of Coral Gables has standards. We want to adhere to those standards. If we water down our standards, we become like everybody else. Why are you doing business in the City of Coral Gables? Because you want our business. You want the 200 restaurants. You want the Fortune 500 companies. You want the Class A, Class B, and Class C office space that are full here. You want the droves of people that are coming here to the City of Coral Gables to spend their hard-earned money. At the end of the day, let's work mutually. Let's work. Put a plan together that addresses the concerns of all the boards and the commission, and let's move forward. Inc., I don't know your business structure, and again, at the end of the day, I commend you for finding a niche in the market and delivering. But I will ask you a question, if you'd be so kind to come up. Do you charge the restaurants to use the service?

As a reminder, I'm outside counsel for Serve in the government affairs capacity, so I don't know the specifics of that. But again, information that we're not going to give you an answer that I don't know.

But there's nothing free. Oh, I'm sure. Because if you told me, if you told me.

So the interaction between the restaurant does not go through Serve. It would still go through the delivery company, DoorDash or Uber Eats. So the privity of contract, for lack of a better term, exists there, but I'm sure, I mean, we're compensated for our services.

Obviously. But I'm making a point, because you said before that the resident that is making the delivery request doesn't have to pay or tip.

So it's, when I've done it, it's no option for tip, and your delivery fee, I believe, don't quote me, was about one-third, if that, of a regular delivery fee.

It's not free. It's not free. Again, you don't have a human. The capital cost, of course, is obviously a lot more than a robot. So I imagine they use the advertising fees that are generated to be able to make even more money, to be able to pay for the service, and to be able to be more profitable, correct?

Yes, sir. That's interesting. There's actually not a lot of advertisements on these yet. So it's not something that's really being used to the full extent right now. It's something that obviously from a future standpoint is a revenue stream, but for right now it's just displaying either the Uber Eats or the DoorDash or a static unilluminated, but it absolutely is a revenue stream. So this is what I would like to do. I hope that you would agree with me and the Vice Mayor. And I will say, for Serv Robotics wants to make it known that Coral Gables is not just a jurisdiction. Coral Gables is a priority jurisdiction for this company. Of course. And we want to work here and we want to be collaborative. Although we have issues with the policy, I do want to make it known that Serv is here to work collaboratively and we are honored to do business in the city of Coral Gables.

That's why I told you there's 200 restaurants here and over 150 multinational corporations. Thousands of people are desperately moving here to the city looking for our quality of life, our public safety, our transportation, our cleanliness, our parks, our style of life. So let me make you an offer if the Vice Mayor will accept a friendly amendment. We're going to do seven miles an hour. We're going to do three-month advertising ban. And in the next two or three weeks, we're going to deal with the vice mayor. We're going to deal with staff. We're going to craft legislation that meets the goals of the city. And you're going to have a presentation before the disability board. You are going to give a presentation. Your staff's going to give a presentation. I'd like to give a presentation like I've done at a litany of times with other entities that wanted to show me products, from the manager and I riding in an electric trolley, electric bus that we ended up not pursuing because it was not American made, to other outside companies that come here and they let us try the products to see if it meets our standards. From electric blowers versus gas power blowers, I can go on and on. I'd like to have a three-month ban on advertisement, which I'm very clear, you better come up with something tasteful if you want me to even consider it. I mean, it's gotta be something tasteful. If it's neon lights, if it's strobe lights, if it's obviously cigarettes and alcohol and that kind of stuff, I'm not even, I'll vote no immediately. And reduction of speed from eight to seven. I need to get my hands in understanding why it's gotta be six versus seven. And obviously staff's response was, well, the slower the better, obviously. Obviously, but I want to see the real numbers. I want to understand where things are. And I think this could be an opportunity to meet down the middle if the vice mayor is willing to accept that. The reason why I bring it to three months is because it lights a fire on this to get this addressed quickly before the end of the summer. In the summer comes, you go into the good months here, of the city, the best weather, people are ordering, people are back in town, school started, and that's where the most money opportunities are for restaurants. So I want to make sure that we address it during the summer when it's the slowest months. Madam Vice Mayor?

Yeah, my main concern on speed is because these devices cannot move out of the way and don't move out of the way. I know there's a competitor that does move out of the way, another company with the delivery. I don't know its name. I called them the smarter robots. They could steer out of the way or back up and be out of the way.

Those are ours. Ours are the most technologically advanced in the world.

Okay, well, whatever you have on the street in the city of Coral Gables is not that because they don't move. I don't know why they don't move, but, you know, I was right in front of it. I moved to the left, I moved to the right, see if it would yield. It wouldn't yield. It wouldn't back up. wouldn't move direction. So, well there's a significant difference in injury on six miles an hour on pushing a wheelchair over versus seven miles per hour. Again, there is a window for compliance here. And during that window period, I would expect that you have a demonstration that would show the difference in speed of a robot hitting something. Because I've seen someone sent me a photo of one in another city where it rammed right into a bus bench area and the glass was shattered. So the concern is real.

Absolutely, no, we don't want this We do not want to be portrayed as dismissing any of the concerns raised We just want to be a part of the conversation I'm a little confused mayor with regard to the six to three months if it's gonna be moving forward Then obviously we would like more time the six months that was originally deliberated I'm sort of confused as to that aspect We're saying there was a me a six month ban on advertising

Why don't we do this? No, Mayor, it's a six-month education period, so there's not going to be enforcement for that six-month period. That's what the ordinance is.

I think you're being very lenient on that. I wouldn't allow any advertising, it was up to me, until they can show me a way to do this in a manner that benefits them and benefits us in an aesthetic way. When it comes to aesthetics. By the way, Mr. Diaz is on the phone and he would like to speak. Yeah. And I'm more than welcome for him. That was my intention in regards to the six and three months. I was saying, give me three months. Give me three months to work with you. Not me, obviously, the city manager. Three months to work with you to collaborate and find ways that we can do advertisement. Let me give you an example. the Ikea, not the Ikea, the kiosks, the Ike. Those are tasteful. We curate that. We don't allow any type of advertisement on that. Whoever pays more gets on. It's not the way it works. We're very thoughtful. We're very careful to make sure that it has to do with city business. So again, it's a softer approach on how to do business. We're very careful. It's a multi-layered approach. It's not just a come and get it. Whoever pays the most gets it. And I don't want to be derogatory towards any companies. But there are certain things that, again, we don't allow here in the city gun stores. We don't allow strip clubs. We don't allow pet stores. There are certain things that we have standards here in the city. So we're not that desperate for advertisement money.

Well, it's not shared with us. I understand that.

I understand that. Yeah. Even if it was shared. I'm just, sir. We want to do it the right way.

We just haven't, and totally understand, again, we are here to respond to all the concerns we have heard. But again, just going back to the advertisement portion, we have heard abstract, but not concrete examples. We would rectify that immediately. You know, we have not had any specific examples yet, Mayor or Commission, on issues specific to the advertisements included on these bots. And I just say that because we are willing to come to whatever agreement, make sure that it's, you know, regardless of the law, that it's something, again, that swims into the stream of this community. But just to be frank, on the record, we have not heard anything specific. That concern has been more abstract, whereas the other ones, turning around the disability advocates, all that has been concrete. Those are action items. So I just want to clarify that. But any action items, we'll move on. But as you mentioned, Mr. Diaz, who is in-house for CERV, is on Zoom and available for questions. Mr. Diaz.

Sir?

Here we go. Mr. Mayor?

Yes, sir.

Yes, Mr. Mayor, City Commissioners, Vice Mayor, City Attorney, and Clerk, thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I'm in my car, which is unfortunately why you saw the top of my head a minute ago. I am the Director of Government Affairs and Accessibility here at CERV Robotics. Thank you for taking this item. We are very much in favor of the majority of this item. I think it's a very thoughtful approach, just as it was with Miami Beach on focusing on safety and focusing on public safety specifically because our delivery robots works exactly on the sidewalks and are only on the roadway when they're crossing from one side to the other. The big distinction between us and our competitors is that we are mostly autonomous. So that means that our robots are operating almost at all times at level four autonomy, except when it is crossing the street. That does not mean that it is only operating autonomously. every time that the robot is in motion it is supervised by a remote supervisor meaning a human is observing what is happening through the cameras and through the sensors so that they can take charge when something happens that is out of compliance so the vice mayor mentioned a couple things that i wanted to address uh because they were very right on The robot travels in the middle of the sidewalk so that it can avoid either coming into contact with someone that is jumping in from the street or door that is opening from one of the other side. That is seen as the safest place of travel. We also understand that it isn't necessarily the best place of travel because we understand that in, for example, the U.S., folks normally walk on the right-hand side. In Australia and other countries, folks normally walk on the left-hand side. And there is that expectation that although this is a robot, that it act like a person because we are classified as a pedestrian. So to the vice mayor's point, we are making those attempts right now to get to what the expected behavior is when it comes to being in the center versus on the right or the left. There are videos like the vice mayor has said of our robot and Coco's robot running through a glass bus shelter in Chicago. This had to do more with the shelter itself than us. If you take into consideration that Coco is mostly human operated versus autonomously. So there was an issue we worked there with CDOT. They're really great partners and that has now been corrected. Coming to the most important concern for us, which is accessibility, because safety is our top concern, but accessibility is also right up there. That's why we are the only ones to have an in-house accessibility team. Michelle Lee leads that team. When we began having conversations with the disability committee here at the City of Coral Gables, we presented to them virtually back in, I want to say it was November of last year, just to answer questions that they might have around our product. We also wanted to make sure that we answered questions of the city administration. So at some point last year, I'm forgetting the date exactly because I'm driving, as I mentioned, I met with the CIO, we met with Belkis, we met with several folks from the city to talk through our product to answer questions they had. And one of the requests that Raimundo had was for us to integrate into the city's GIS and tech systems. So we've worked to create a report out from us to you guys so that you can receive full fleet management view of all of the fleet that is in the city of where they are, how they're operating, what their names are, because they have individual names per robot so that you can identify them on the topic of advertisement. joseph mentioned that the only advertisements that we've run in coral gable so far is toothless the uh the little dragon from how to train your dragon we are also looking at doing free advertisements for cities and non-profits meaning that if you want to run an ad campaign keep the city beautiful or advertising an event or things like that we have included that as part of our advertising events saving those spaces for cities to do it in kind. We recently did one in Miami-Dade and the city of Miami with the Women's Fund around human trafficking. That was another example of a different wrap that we've done. We did a wrap in Miami Beach. with Miami Beach colors to exemplify how we are working to be part of community. The idea of a demonstration is a wonderful one. That's one of the reasons we actually took a robot when we met with city staff so that they could see it, they could touch it, they can see what the sensors look like. To the point of the vice mayor about the robot not getting out of the way, The safest robot is a stopped one. We want to make sure that if it comes into a situation where it is not able to move quickly, it'll stop to allow what the next step should be for the remote supervisor to do so. If a person is literally right on it, it will take a minute for the remote supervisor to back it up or to move it out of the way. Um, another commissioner who mentioned that the robot waits patiently at the crosswalk. That's exactly what they are programmed to do. They would line up, wait sometimes two or three light cycles because there are so many pedestrians crossing in order to wait for those pedestrians to cross to then follow behind them. So these are all the things that I've heard that I wanted to make sure to mention. Um, I did also hear the mayor mentioned doing advertising tastefully and the vice mayor mentioned some items that were proffered by us. This came from our permit in Chicago. It was very specific to commercial advertising that would not be permitted. So as examples, Mayor, to your point, it would be commercial advertising that is untruthful, misleading, libelous, defamatory. Commercial advertising that is obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit. And it gets very detailed on what that means. Commercial advertising that displays graphic violence. or anything that is a obscenity, racial, ethnic slur, et cetera. And then things that are more basic, like things that infringe on copyright, things that it declares or implies the city of Coral Gables has any association with any specific product. So just these are the things that I want to make sure that we have proffered already to the city as a means to not have to block the entire advertising overall. So I'm happy to take any additional questions that you folks might have. But I just wanted to make sure to address each of the points that I've heard so far.

OK, Madam Vice Mayor, as a sponsor, what would you how would you like to proceed so we can get going?

Yes, and I would like to get going. I would like, you know, as far as having a demonstration, I've seen plenty of demonstration, including one of these sitting in the middle of the sidewalk for in excess of six hours across the street from my home. As far as a stop robot being the best option, if you're in a wheelchair and you're the one having to have backup on that sidewalk another 100 feet because the robot does not move, that is not a good option. That's a barrier to accessibility. It's clearly in violation of the American with Disabilities Act. And it needs to be dealt with. So this needs to move forward as far as being passed now. I hope the technology improves. There are restrictions in here on which sidewalks can be used. So we don't have a five foot sidewalk next to a highway where you have high volumes of traffic forcing an individual with a disability to back their wheelchair up. in that dangerous condition. So we need to move forward for that. As far as talking about the advertising, we had started that conversation. But I don't want to do this in a rushed fashion. Nor do I want to see the type of advertising that is unbecoming of the City of Coral Gables. I do want to see things that help our businesses. not hurt our businesses. And having excessive advertising on something could also be a distraction. So we have time to have that conversation. We can pass this on at this time. And there's a six-month period of non-enforcement. We can continue to wordsmith uh... the advertising issue in that period of time i'm open to that i started having a conversation with you but what i don't want to do is last minute right before this then get a draft of something to to have a discussion with uh... you on the diets on the fly and i'm having an adequate opportunity to be able to speak with my city attorney and city staff to think about the actual language because I'd rather do it once. So right now we have six months before enforcement. We have plenty of time to work on it. Even when I'm traveling, I take all these devices with me. We can wordsmith on the fly. and continue to work through the language on it. But the disability issue must move forward now. I've seen enough demonstrations, real life, okay? And if you take the center out of the middle and you can't back these things up to get them out of the way, you might as well be a wall in front of somebody because they're not gonna be able to get past it.

Okay? So may I ask you a question, Vice Mayor? So six months comes and goes. If we're not able to come to some sort of framework in regards to advertisement, where do we go from there?

don't foresee that we can't have some framework but six months comes and goes if there hasn't been an effort on both parties part to have a discussion to wordsmith something that is palatable for the city of coral gables then it's it's it's in place okay but there's got to be efforts on both sides i just want to lay the groundwork to make sure that everybody is you know understands six months comes and goes

Anything else from the Commission?

Through the Mayor? Yes. If your amendment would have been accepted, I would have supported that 100%.

Does staff have any information about injury potential, the difference between the miles per hour? Because we did on cars.

Vice Mayor, we don't at this time, but I'm sure we can work with our public work staff through the manager to get you some information if you would like.

Okay. Can you have that for the next commission meeting?

I'll defer to the manager's staff on that, but happy to help however we can.

Through the mayor? Yes, Vice Mayor, we can look into that.

So I'll accept the friendly amendment, but with the update, if it does show that there's an increased potential for injury based upon the way these robots are operating currently, not being able to move out of the way, not being able to avoid objects, not being able to avoid children, non-strollers, et cetera, then we'll have to, I'll have to address it at that time.

So to clarify, then the the motion is amended to include approving the ordinance with the change to the maximum speed to seven miles per hour. Correct.

And we will return next month with additional data. And I don't know if the vice mayor, the mayor's suggestion regarding three months to come up with advertising language was part of the amendment you accepted or not.

No, I think as it's written right now, the six-month period may be, because of the summer months, because people are traveling, I want to make sure that we wordsmith this adequately.

Understood. I understand your motion. Thank you. I don't know if the second also accepts that.

Well, I'll accept it. It's a second. So we have a motion and a second.

Commissioner Lara? Yes. Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Commissioner Castro?

Yes.

Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Mayor Lago?

Yes. All right, moving on. Thank you very much. Let's see if we can run a few of these before we have to go to lunch. Item E4.

A4 is an ordinance of the City Commission amending Chapter 58, Special Assessments, Article 3, Repair of Construction of Streets and Sidewalks to amend Section 58-48, Duty of Abutting Property Owners to Repair, in order to amend the code to clarify that abutting property owners are not responsible for defective sidewalks where such defects are a result of city trees and the city has been notified of those defects, providing for severability, repeat or codification at an effective date.

Thank you, Mayor. This item is sponsored by the Vice Mayor. There have been no changes since first reading. As a reminder, it's the duty of the owner of property abutting defective sidewalks to remedy such defective conditions unless it has been determined by the city that such defect is a result of damage from a city-installed and maintained tree, and the abutting property owner has notified the city of those defects.

All right, thank you. We have any public comment?

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Maria Cruz?

Mrs. Maria Cruz, 1447 Miller Road, 305-323-2154. Wonderful audience. The only thing that I'm here to ask is to please get our Coral Gables PR. or whatever it's called, the communications department, to make sure that the people get this. Because most of us thought that it was a given. If the trees damaged the sidewalk, the city would fix it. And some of the people, they need to know that, yes, that's what they need to contact the city and request it. and let the city know that there's a problem. I think that would be a wonderful thing if we can get communications to transmit what happened today. Thank you.

That's it, Mr. Mayor. All right. Do we have a motion? Move it. Move it. Second?

Second.

Mr. Clerk? Vice Mayor Anderson?

Yes.

Commissioner Castro?

Yes.

Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Commissioner Lara? Yes. Mayor Lago? Yes. Item E5?

E5 is an ordinance of the City Commission amending Chapter 18 elections to amend the code consistent with the recently adopted charter amendments to change the date of the City election, runoff, and qualifying dates to amend the sections regarding canvassing board and adjusting other associated dates for vacancies and qualifying, providing for severability, repeater, codification, and an effective date.

Do we have any public comment? No, Mr. Mayor.

There have been no changes since first reading, Mayor. As a reminder, this is implementing the changes that were adopted into the charter at the last referendum, including additional vacancies in candidacy and qualifying dates and a special thank you to the clerk and the supervisor of elections for their assistance in getting this information.

Thank you. May I have a motion?

I'll move it.

May I have a second? Second. Mr. Clerk?

Commissioner Castro? Yes. Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Commissioner Lara? Yes. Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes.

Mayor Lago? As a sponsor of the item, I thank you for supporting this item. Yes. Item E6?

P6 is an ordinance of the City Commission amending Chapter 2, Administration, Article 2, City Commission to amend Section 2-29, Compensation of Mayor-Commissioner's Travel Allowance Office Expense to require a vote of the electors prior to certain changes in compensation consistent with recently approved Charter Amendment providing for severability, repeater, codification, and effective date.

Are there any changes?

No. This item is sponsored by the Mayor, and as you know, this is implementing those changes from the Charter Review Referendums.

Madam City Attorney, do you know what the percentage was of this charter amendment? I don't have that immediate, you do?

I do, 77.84% of the voters.

I want to make sure that everyone, can you repeat that again?

77.84%.

That is, you know, not overwhelming. That is a tsunami response from the residents and I'm proud to be the sponsor of this item. Mr. Clerk, do we have any public comment?

No, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you very much. May I have a motion?

I'll move it.

May I have a second? Second.

Commissioner Fernandez, yes. Commissioner Lara, yes. Vice Mayor Anderson, yes. Commissioner Castro, yes. Mayor Lago.

Yes. Thank you to my colleagues for your support on this. Item E7.

E7 Sonora City Commission amending chapter 2 administration article 3 boards commissions committees to create division 12 charter review committee to amend the code to codify the charter review committee membership and qualifications and required convening of the committee every 10 years beginning in 2035 consistent with recently adopted charter amendment providing for severability repealer codification and effective date.

As a sponsor of this item are there any changes?

There have been no changes mayor and just for your information we're having our I think final meeting of the current charter review committee later this week.

Yes, I spoke to my appointment to that board. What was the overall percentages here?

66.38%. Against? Four.

Four. Against. What was the amount?

34. Mayor asking me to do math on the fly.

34%. So almost double. So overwhelming. And I want to thank my colleagues for supporting this legislation. Thank you very much. May I have a motion?

I move it. Second.

Any public comment? No, Mr. Mayor. Perfect. We have a motion and a second.

Commissioner Lara? Yes. Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Commissioner Castro?

Yes.

Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Mayor Lago?

Yes. Item E8.

E8 is an ordinance of the City Commission amending chapter 2 administration article 7 finance division 1 generally to amend section 2-352 fund balance and reserve policy to require a vote of the electors prior to certain changes to the fund balance reserve policy consistent with the recently approved charter amendment providing for severability repealer codification and effective date.

Are there any changes?

No changes. I know you're sick of me, Mayor. This is 63% of the voters. And as I mentioned, it just adds the same language as was added to the charter requiring that any amendment to the 25% reserve requirement requires approval of the electors. Yes.

So as the sponsor of this item, I want to commend my colleagues for making the right decision and supporting this item. The residents spoke. They want to keep their reserves. The reserves belong to them. When I started here, we were not even one-fourth of the reserves that we have now through the leadership of the manager and his incredible work, along with his team, the finance director. We have been very fiscally sound and very tight. My colleagues could give me just one moment of latitude here. As you can see what happened yesterday from the state, it is rather significant, and we can go over the numbers later and the manager will be mentioning it, the impact for the tax reduction, which again, I am fully in favor of before somebody says I'm not. The tax reforms that are forthcoming from Tallahassee, which I think are very beneficial, especially for those who are retired and those who have served in the military, are going to take a big chunk out of our ability to potentially fund certain capital projects, address issues like we're doing right now, where last year we spent $9.5 million of additional monies to pay down our debts, which was for our pension debts, which I started doing in 2015 along with my colleagues. So we're going to have to weigh all those options, but thank God Thank God we did not, under any circumstance, entertain, at one point this commission did, taking money from the reserves, which is something that Commissioner Fernandez mentioned. Uh, for for additional projects. Thank God. We never did that. Because right now we're looking at some significant numbers reductions in our ability to have funds here in the city. Uh, when this, if if the voters vote in favor of this tax reform, the numbers are pretty stratospheric. I worked with the manager and the manager did an amazing job. Uh, really, really getting all the information. And it was, the numbers are, he'll go over it later, but we're talking about, I think it was around $12 million potentially if it's a $250,000 reduction in the homestead exemption, and then it's almost double that when you go to $500,000 the subsequent year. So the residents here made a very, very, very decisive statement. They want to protect our reserves. and it can only be used for emergencies and for a rainy day. Case in point, when we had a hurricane, we were the first ones cleaned up, we were able to go to market, and we did not have to get any debt, which would have taken, by the way, Mr. Manager, it took how many years for the state of Florida to pay us back?

We still have a few bills.

We're talking about over eight years.

It took us, yes. We were at 90% in about three or four years. And then the final 5% to 6%, 8% took another three or four years. So imagine that.

If we would have taken out that debt, And we would have used a portion of that fund of our reserves. It's so easy to use, but it's so difficult as our finance director who's in the back along with our system director will tell you to tighten your belt every single year and just save like we're doing with the sea level rise fund, which has almost $30 million in it that we started doing, I think it was about six or seven years ago. So these are decisions that were made, and the finance director, she looked at me, and maybe I said something wrong. Did I say something wrong? Okay, good. I want to make sure I'm correct. So these are decisions, tough decisions that we made years ago. And what were those decisions we made? 2015, the overfund, the pension by I think it was about $4 million, and last year was 9 1⁄2. No, last year was 7 1⁄2. The previous year was 9 1⁄2. It was a $2 million reduction because of the COLA that was approved, which should have not been approved. We talk about sea level rise and really taking sustainability seriously. We've been putting away something around $3.5 million to $4 million a year into an account so that in the future, if sea level rise truly affects us, the commission that will be in place will have close, the goal is to have $100 million in place. We have to now look to see how that's going to be affected as a result of the potential tax cuts And also the amount of money that we've been able to sock away in a rainy day fund, 25% of our budget. When I started, we were about $15 million. Now we're talking about we're in the high $60 million. That is the reason why we're a city that has a triple, triple bond rating. And I want to commend my colleagues in the commission for those who supported making sure that this got to the voters. And the voters overwhelmingly, with over 63%, said that they want to be fiscally sound and they want to protect our financial ability and not just spend items on items that we should budget for over three, four, five years. That's what fiscal responsibility is. So I want to thank the residents, and it's an honor to be the sponsor of this item. These are tough pieces of legislation that, again, may handcuff the city, but they're the right thing to do. Mr. Clerk, do we have a motion and a second?

No, Mr. Mayor. I'll move it. Second. Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Commissioner Castro? Yes. Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Commissioner Lara? Yes.