City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you everybody for your patience. We'll be starting shortly. Thank you. Buenas noches a todos y gracias de nuevo por su paciencia. Thank you for your patience. We are about to start the City of Hialeah Council meeting for August 25th. I will call the meeting to order officially at 5.58 p.m. Thank you. Madam Clerk, can you please call the roll?

Mr. Zoghbi?

Here.

Ms. De La Vega? Present. Mr. Gonzalez? Here. Mr. Marrero?

Present.

Ms. G. Perez? Present. Ms. M. Perez? Present. Mr. Rodriguez? Present. Mr. President, you have a full council.

Thank you. Madam Clerk, can you also lead us in the invocation?

Sir, we will have a member of the city speak.

Who is it today? Oh. Thank you, my dear. What a pleasure. You want us to rise? You're the boss. All rise. Yes, please. Yes, thank you.

Heavenly Father, we come before you today with many things to propose for the community, to propose to the council. We ask, Lord, for wisdom, clarity, discernment, and peace. We ask also for protection for our law enforcement, for our first responders, and for every community member that is here, all the council, the mayor, his staff, and everyone that lives in Hialeah and the surrounding cities.

we ask lord for protection and guidance we always give you honor and praise i pray in the name of jesus christ amen thank you please remain standing and face the flag as i ask uh councilwoman monica perez to lead us in the pledge of allegiance thank you

Put our hand on our chest. 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.

Thank you. Thank you all. You may be seated. Madam Clerk, can you please read into the record the guidelines for tonight's meeting?

The following guidelines have been established by the City Council. All lobbyists must register with the City Clerk. As a courtesy to others, please refrain from using cellular telephones or other similar electronic devices in the Council Chamber. A maximum of three speakers in favor and three speakers in opposition will be allowed to address the Council on any one item. Each speaker's comments will be limited to three minutes. No signs or placards in support of or in opposition to an item or speaker shall be permitted within the council chamber. Any person interested in making comments or posing questions on matters of public concern or on any item on the agenda may do so during the meeting. Members of the public may address the city council on any item pertaining to city business during the comments and questions portion of the meeting. A member of the public is limited to one appearance before the city council and the speaker's comments will be limited to three minutes. Individuals should be respectful of the elected officials and staff and make every effort to speak with a moderate tone, using appropriate language and avoiding personal attacks. Members of the public in the audience shall refrain from shouting or making remarks from their seats to the mayor, council members, or staff sitting on the dais. The public can view public meetings on the city's YouTube page.

Thank you very much. Next item on the agenda will be presentations. We have some very good ones today. They're all good. First presentation will be to recognize two of our police officers for their incredible life-saving efforts, successful life-saving efforts. Chief Fuente, would you like to take over and talk about it, who we're gonna recognize?

Wait a minute.

Good evening. Good evening, Mayor. Good evening, Council. It's a great evening. It's a great evening because we get to recognize two of our amazing officers. We have a police department that works tirelessly every day for the benefit of our community to protect and serve all of us, all of you, all of our friends, all of our family. But today we get to recognize two that, due to their actions, saved the life of a one-year-old baby. So I would like to call up, before I continue, Officer Renato Bejar. And Officer Hector Rosado. In May 11th of this year, around 6 p.m., fortunately, these officers were on duty, where we had an incident of a family calling that their one-year-old baby was found face down in the pool. Brought out of the pool by the mom, she called 911. These officers responded. And fortunately, their actions, Asir Behar performing lifesaving actions on the baby with the assistance of Asir Rosado, saved that one-year-old's life. And the reason why we're recognizing it today, this happened in May, is because the people that wanted to ensure that these officers get recognized and the ones that were adamant about it that called the mayor's office to let them know their appreciation and i'm happy saying it because the champion is right here that one year old is here with us today so i could call up if mom maria if uh mr fella and our champion kaiser want to come up with a little sister please come up this is a beautiful beautiful moment let's give them another round of applause please With the permission of the family, we're going to go ahead and show the body worn camera footage from that event. So if you could please look up at the screens and you'll see what the officers had to encounter and had to deal with at that moment.

Bye. Bye.

So again, we can't imagine those terrifying moments for this family, but tonight we recognize the amazing work that us that wear the uniform are accustomed to seeing our officers do on a daily basis. But it's nice to be able to come up and thank and recognize the bravery and the outstanding work of these officers on that day. And thank God to them is why this little champion is here with us today. So thank you to all the officers that would do this and not for the recognition because they definitely didn't want this recognition, but it's well deserved. So thank you. You guys make me proud to wear this uniform. Make me proud to call you brothers. Congratulations.

Would it be okay to get a picture with you guys at all? yeah i like this beautiful it's gonna be awesome me.

Hey, gentlemen, not to belabor what the chief already said, but on behalf of the city of Hialeah, and I know the council feels the same way, we're just very deeply appreciated of everything that you guys did. You know, the family obviously is extremely appreciative, but we're very thankful as a city. We want to extend our deepest and warmest thank yous to you. And there's only one word to describe what happened that day. And that was, you know, seeing real heroes in the flesh and that's you guys. So thank you for everything that you guys do.

Yeah, okay. You gentlemen, you heroes can have a seat for now, right? But they don't... You can have a seat, but don't leave because this part is important to you guys. So we're going to move on to... We're going to skip a few steps and go to a real important step. We're going to move on to item 11F. Surprise, surprise. It has to do with our police contract. Madam Clerk, can you read it into the record?

Proposed resolution ratifying and approving the collective bargaining agreement between the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 12 and the City of Hialeah, Florida for a period beginning on October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2029, a copy of which will be on file in the Office of the City Clerk and providing for an effective date.

Thank you. Mayor, do you want us to vote on it first? Have some discussion up here? Do you want the mic?

The only thing I'll say is, you know, we do a lot of things that are very important on this council, but they told me, hey, you guys want to give our officers some certificates? And I said, no, I think we'll do something better. And that is sign a very historic pay deal. We need to compensate these guys. They put everything on the line for us as a city, and we need to have their back. And we always say that we support the police, but in the history of Hialeah, this is really the first time that I think we're really, really competitive with our pay and we're putting our money quite literally where our mouth is. And so this is a historic date for the city of Hialeah. And I urge the council support in approving a very, very respectable and also something that they've truly earned because of their hard work, a pay increase for Hialeah police officers. Thank you.

thank you thank you council council uh does anybody have we have a motion from uh councilman luis gonzalez does anybody have anything to say before we move on to a second motion Do we have a second? Second from Councilman William Marrero. Madam Clerk, please call the roll on 11F.

Mr. Zogby? Yes. Mr. Marrero?

Yes.

Ms. G. Perez? Ms. De La Vega? Absolutely, yes. Ms. M. Perez?

She stepped away. She's coming, she's coming. Don't worry, we'll get her vote. Are we good?

Oh, hold on. Let's wait for a second. Mr. Gonzalez?

Yes. Mr. Rodriguez? Yes. yes miss purvis your vote on item 11f yes contract motion carries the item is approved all right where do you want us

You want us behind the chairs there? Beautiful.

So I'd like the members of the council to join us and also our chief and the president of the union so we can do the official signing ceremony of this historic, again, pay increase for Hialeah police officers.

Thank you.

yeah.

I think that was 20%.

At the end, we're going to raffle the Sharpie, so back to seconds.

Marbelli.

Some magic sharpie. This is the quickest law ever signed, I think, in the history. So with that, it's official. We're officially under contact. So one of the best parts about this, I'll tell you, is that we've gotten so many calls from officers of different departments wanting to come now to Hialeah. I think you've experienced the same. And how beautiful is to be able to say that, that Hialeah can become a destination for the best law enforcement personnel countywide?

I mean, I've gotten already several calls from members that have left the department that want to come back.

Also, I believe this is going to be huge and part of recruiting and retaining our officers here.

We should only be replacing the officers that retire, and this is something that we expressed. Mayor sees it, and I think this is an outstanding and all our officers here are happy. Thank you.

Thank you, Arlo. Congratulations.

Mayor, where were you when I was a police officer and I needed this raise? I cried so much. I think I was in pre-K. I want to adjourn the meeting. All right. Well, thank you, everybody. I hope everybody's happy. I hope everybody's happy. I'm happy. I live here like everybody else who's up here. So we're going to have an even safer city now that we have happy, happy, happy police officers. Thank you, everybody. We're going to move on to our second presentation. Very important. Also, Madam Clerk, can you read item B?

Mayor Calvo and the City Council members presented proclamation to each of the following nonprofit organizations in celebration of National Nonprofit Day, August 17, 2026.

Madam Vice President, you have the floor.

Thank you. Good evening, everyone. So tonight, it's truly an honor to recognize each of the nonprofit organizations that are joining us here at City Hall for National Nonprofit Month. So tonight with us, we have, um, and when I call you, if you can just stand up, um, we have Andrea Belize foundation. We have, we also have with us the Hialeah women's club. We also have the Hialeah lions club and the yellow jackets. And we also have the farm share team. so each organization that we recognize tonight may have a different mission serve a different population and address a different need but you all have something in common and you serve our community and make Hialeah a better place non-profits are often the organizations working quietly behind the scenes feeding families supporting our children and seniors and helping those going through difficult times and stepping up when our community needs them the most. And behind every organization are individuals who give their time, their energy, and most importantly, the hearts of serving. That is why recognition like this is so important. We want you to know that your work is seen and your dedication is appreciated here at the city. On behalf of the city of Hialeah, thank you to each and every one of you for choosing to serve our city. Thank you for being partners in our community and for reminding us that we can accomplish everything together. Congratulations to all of you tonight and your organizations. And most importantly, thank you for everything you do for the residents of Hialeah. If I can have come up to the podium and city council and mayor, if we can, um, come down, we would like to recognize these organizations with a proclamation. Um, we'll start off with Andrea believes foundation. We have Andrea Viejo, who is the founder of Andrea believes foundation. She's also accompanied as well with mom and Anissa Mendez. Who's our community council woman, um, for the district 10. Thank you, Andrea. so that you know andrea does many things with several of us here on the council and the mayor we've done community cleanups um and so we appreciate everything you do andrea thank you

So I'll just read off the proclamation real quick. It says, whereas Andrea Belize Foundation is a nonprofit organization playing a vital role in our community, and it's demonstrated its unwavering commitment to serving our community through its charitable and humanitarian efforts, and because of the dedication of its members, it has amplified compassion, generosity, and service, and has earned the respect of our community. Now, therefore, I, as mayor of Hialeah, and on behalf of the city council, to proclaim August 17th, 2026, as Andrea believes Foundation Day in the city of Hialeah.

Next, we have the Heidi of Women's Club. We are accompanied by President Raquel Donoso. We have First Vice President Pina Rosado. Second Vice President Marlene Marquez. Treasurer Alejandra Corpina. Secondary Jack McGill. And First Vice Secondary Jessica Sanchez. He. Thank you. Thank you. Women's Club of Hialeah Day.

Congratulations.

Here. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next up, you might notice some people in yellow jackets. That is the Hialeah Lions Club.

And we have President Melissa Trujillo, Treasurer Olalisa Taglia, Membership Marlene Cepedo, and Vice President Janelle Cepedo.

We also have Joana Aleman, secretary, also served on one of our first social events chair, Ale Cortina, so she's in for the girls. Andrea Viejo as well, she's a member of the Leningrad Club, Leningrad Classical. Hi, Jen. Leningrad City. Leningrad City. Leningrad City. Leningrad City. know how to get my stuff that's many events in our Community, they have a slogan out there, there is a need, there is a lion. The lines are just a meeting in our back to school the lines also participate with our special population during Christmas.

So just very thankful, so I guess how do you like the number, there is a need within the city, we call them and they're always there, so thank you, the mindset.

So it reads like this Lions Club of Hialeah has earned the respect and gratitude of our community, and they also partnered with the city of Hialeah just recently to provide breakfast meals for our kids at our Hialeah Park. So thank you, Council Vice President, and thank you to the Lions Club. Plus one plus one. So Lions Club of Hialeah Pan American day in the city of Hialeah again August 17 2026 congratulations.

I just wanted to add that the Lions Club lost their founder this year. Cookie passed away, Cookie Hernandez. And she was the foundation of this club. And she brought a lot of joy. So I know that she would have been here today with her husband. And they were a beautiful couple, an example of what it is to be here from the city and give back, along with Melinda de la Vega's father, who was also an amazing Lion that worked with them. So I just want to honor those two people that aren't here with us today.

You know, my club wants to give me the microphone. Obviously, here they don't either. I want to say that as a community, we all work together. And recently, we happened to work with the Women's Club, and we were very happy to create 200 100% cotton pads, both of them. thank you very much mayor for a lot of this And last but not least, I would like to bring up the farm share team. Here with us today we have Margaret Lopez, Director of Development.

Anna Velasquez, Director of Marketing, and Dr. Alfio Rivera, Director of USDA.

No, he didn't.

I want to say FarmShare has been a partner of ours for many, many years. And we've been managing food drives with FarmShare. Every time we call FarmShare, they say yes.

We have served, I would say, over 5,000 meals every quarter, always giving back to the city of Miami.

So thank you. Tomorrow they could see the entire farm shared scene for every piece and don't wait to see those until we tell them it's being moved.

okay so the proclamation reads like this whereas uh farm share has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to serving our community through this terrible efforts it's humanitarian efforts but most importantly for impacting positively the lives of our residents now therefore i brian calvo's mayor of hialeah on behalf of the city council proclaim august 17 2026 as farm share day in the city of hialeah for its outstanding contributions to our city thank you

you

yeah yeah yeah.

Thank you very much.

Okay.

Okay.

One more presentation. Madam Clerk, can you read item C into the record?

Angie Fernandez, Public Information Officer with the Community Outreach Division of the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, speaks regarding senior community outreach efforts.

Hi, Angie, my old friend. Can you identify yourself for the record and your work address will be fine, my dear? Thank you. And you have the floor.

Thank you. Angie Fernandez with the Community Outreach. I'm a PIO for the Office of the State Attorney, and my address is 1350 Northwest 12th Avenue. I hold many hats in the office, but one of my favorite hats is speaking and educating our elderly, and I work for a wonderful woman who is always thinking outside the box, and she allows us to run with projects and and all the things that we have, we think that the community needs. And she started the EVA task force a few years ago, and it has increased due to the fraud that has been occurring among our elderly community, elderly vulnerable adults. And now we have two attorneys, two investigators and additional staff as long because we not only have fraud, but we also assist in any criminal activities or has to do with abuse. But to say all that is that we she believes that we have to be in the community for prevention. So one of the things that we've been attacking in the community, in the different municipalities and in the county is seeking and speaking to the elderly community. Many years back, I used to come to Hialeah and do the seniors housing. Unfortunately, with COVID, everything changed. So it was a different shift. Um, but we have seen such a big increase lately that we, that's why I'm here to see if there's an opportunity for us to reach those elderlies that live in the housing, to let them know about the tactics and the stuff that is happening. We do reach the seniors that own their properties and own their homes with a lot of them through the like well-med, the clinics that they call us and we do attend through it. But I just wanted to give you some stats. to see how how it's been 2025 ranked among the top states for elderly fraud nearly a thousand fraud cases for a hundred thousand seniors miami-dade county's number one in financial exploitation fraud major hub for senior targeted scans and one of the things that we do the presentation i sent i did i only sent you a sample of the presentation And sometimes they say, oh, it's a 25 to 20 minutes presentation. But every time we talk to the seniors, it's really adapted to whatever the audience. I try to get there early, try to communicate with them, see what's hitting them, because not what happens to the seniors in Hialeah. could be the same thing that happens to my Westchester seniors or South Miami or coconut Grove or Westchester. So I try to get a little Intel and sometimes you'll see me in the community, just stopping at the grocery stores or even at the barber shops and at the, um, beauty salons just to get some info what is happening. So when I do the presentation, I kind of tap so that so they don't get bored, because I know 20 minutes of talking is a lot. So it's an interactive presentation. And now and hopefully we're going to be able to implement something is called like a bingo. So that's something that we want to look forward to doing for the seniors as well. So that's pretty much why I'm here. I do work. I've been working with EPI. with Hialeah Community Coalition, and we do our STAR program, which is a choice and consequence, which is another prevention program to help the kids know that there are certain things that you can get arrested even if you're 12 years old or eight years old. So that's one of the great, unfortunately, one of our students just left, and he did that program for three years and he loved it and he learned a lot. So the same thing is for kids, for seniors, but in a different topic. And I'm here just to see if you can open the doors for our office. It's a free presentation. We won't charge to speak to them and educate them on the issues on fraud and exploitation. That's all. Thank you so much for your time. Have a great evening.

If I may, through the chair?

Yes, ma'am.

So I'm so happy to see you here, Angie. I know Angie very well through the Hialeah Community Coalition and all the work that she gives back with the youth. About four years ago, I would say, we did something very similar like that. And we did it with police, fire. We taught them about changing the batteries on their fire alarms. We did teaching them about fraud. And I went with Claudia that's here from Freebie. And we went to all the senior centers, and we taught them on transportation, fire, and fraud. And it was super successful. We did it in Los Comedores. I made sure to, you know, bring them something to eat and they were entertained and they learned and they were very appreciative on the three topics. And like you said, we broke it into, you know, three different categories and they stayed very entertained. I, you know, I think that it would be positive if we could arrange that again. Absolutely. And have Angie with a similar, maybe we could do, since we're discussing transportation too, we could kind of do a little spinoff on whatever we land on and run it again. And I know the person that did it was a detective which had a huge caseload, which it would help him to stay in the office and in the police station and have Angie come out because I know she's a wealth of knowledge.

I mean, I'll be more than happy to share whoever would like to see the presentation to make sure we do update our presentation on an annual basis. And again, not everything that is on the presentation is shared just because sometimes I just turned 59. So my and I it's hard for me to hold off information. So I 15 minutes is good. Cap to give information. So I would, you know, I do recommend that if we do come to the community, make it like maybe twice a year, just because I see it in the clinics when I go to WellMed or the clinics open the doors. They go, oh, can you come in three months? Because so-and-so is in the doctors often. I go whenever they want. And I do go to a lot of the clinics. But I feel like we're missing a huge opportunity. group of elderly from Hialeah. And I remember going to all of them and knowing a lot of them and having them even call me, Oh, I fell into the trap of the lottery ticket back then. So, you know, it just, it's just a reminder.

We've been going around with PDE to some of the centers this year. And one of the biggest cases are the AI voice simulators that they capture someone's voice. It sounds like a granddaughter or a grandson. And they start saying, we need help. We're going to go to jail. We got into a car accident. Zell us this money. And they're zelling them the money. And they're losing out. And there's been plenty of cases that we've seen in the community that have fallen into that AI voice trap. Exactly.

We do talk to them about them. And we don't talk about, oh, AI. We give them examples. We tell them, you know, we do it actually, if it's a Spanish audience, we do it in Spanish. So just to give you an example, the common fraud has been tech support, which they call you, the elderlies that have, oh, something's wrong with your computer, the romance scam. Oh, yeah. That's happening. Investment, government and spot imposters. And we've actually had in some other areas, law enforcement with fake badges that they go to the doors. So those are the things that we kind of talk to them. The grandparents, the romance, investments, and tech home repairs have been the top in 2025. Wow. Okay.

thank you thank you angie thank you for what you do i put a little brochure and my information is there thank you so much thank you so much thank you thank you angie good to see you again thank you all right so comments and questions portion of the meeting do we have registered speakers madam clerk yes sir the first speaker is jose ozzy okay mr ozzy you know the rule name and address for the record and you have up to three minutes sir thank you good to see you good evening everybody well they are the 788 southeast park drive i first want to recognize um

The Lieutenant Governor Brian Avila, he grew up at Babcock Park when I worked there. He's always been like a super cool person, like not typical of an elected leader because he's just really down to earth caring. I'm like so happy for him. And I've talked a lot about the conditions of our parks, you know, like you witnessed, we don't have programs. I'm asking that this year at least open up. I live in Southeast Park, right? On Sundays, the day that most people go to the parks, the park is closed. If you just put up one staff, our community can use a basketball court, baseball field. We got a new playground donated. Nobody has access to that playground. On Saturday, most people, families don't work. They go to the park at 5 because it's so hot, while the park rolls at 5. It's very minimal money. in the new budget, one of the things I always tell you, the most important thing you do by far, nothing compares to the budget. Where you put your money is where it's going to really happen. It doesn't matter how much Instagram posts you do. Where your money is, that's going to happen. Our residents have the right to use the park. At least we don't have programs, but at least open up the parks. Babcock Park on Sunday is open until 5. If you go there after 5, the only people using the parks are those that could jump the fence. So you have, you know, so that. The other one, we're forfeiting summer lunches because we don't put one staff there. I've talked about this a lot. I hope you realize we're a low-income community. We're forfeiting breakfast, we're forfeiting lunches because we didn't put a staff there. Not only do they not have programs, they don't have things that are given to the county. So please look at that. Also the library, they're very important. The library we have by Babcock is only open 10 hours a week. That's not really for low money, part-time staff. We need to have our libraries more. Education is very important. Someone like Brian Avila, I'm sure he grew up at Babcock doing this, going to the library. That's not available for them no more. And your budget's coming up, I know you're sure, but that is minimal. You should provide those minimal service. going on to miami-dade county the representative for natalia beast was here i think he's still here they're going to finally open up the high lift center and that's a big chunk of money for like farm chair the seniors there's just a lot of programs that we branched away from the county you know we could we could still be there and I hope we use these, there's so many resources that we don't have, you know, we're not navigating the system. We need to navigate and get involved. I know the director, William Sanchez, is reaching out, Miami-Dade County. I think we're finally going to get, we are going to get money, more money for our arts and grants. And I want to end up with this. I'm talking to the men here. I had 10% of my kidney removed 11 days ago. I'm already walking. No painkillers two days. It's unbelievable. And when I talk to all these, especially men, like, do your checkup. Do your check, everybody. No, no, I don't believe in doctors. Oh, yeah, I haven't done it. That's, like, so important, you know? Why are you imitating me, Jose? No, no. No, it's serious, because I've had a couple of people die and get all these diseases, and then you ask them, did you check up? No. That's so important, because they caught it early. Man, that saves so much when they catch it early, especially men. The females, they're really good with that. But men, I'm talking to them. That's not no joke. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Jose. I'm glad you're OK. Thank you, Jose. OK. Madam Clerk, do we have any other registered speakers?

The other two speakers registered to speak on two zoning items are on first reading. Item 16B and 17F.

We have a Elio Oliva and a Maria Antonia Acevedo. I don't know if you speak. Are they here? OK. Do you speak English, both of you? And, OK, this item in zoning, will be on first reading there are no comments related to the item you can come back in two weeks when it's on second reading and then when that item comes up not necessarily in comments in this portion then you can stand up and you can voice your support or opposition of the item There's one vote now, but according to our charter, we do not take public comments. We allow the developer or the lobbyist to make a presentation. We vote on it, but it's not final. It's final in two weeks. Go ahead, Madam Attorney.

Through the chair, and just for clarification, even the way that it is noticed, it is that it's in first reading. It's not open for a public hearing. In second reading, it is specifically noticed that it's open for public hearing during that second reading. It's preservable.

Yes, sir, there is. It's not too late. Yes, sir, that's when it becomes official. There has to be a second reading. So nothing final is going to happen today. That is the way it works. They will make a presentation. Our rules are. And when it was noticed, it's clear about that. No comments about this. That's okay. That's okay. You could stay, but I'm not going to allow comments related to that item. You follow? You can comment in two weeks. Thank you, sir. I appreciate your understanding. Yeah. Thank you. What? Well, I mean, that's our rules. You can agree with. Thank you. That's right. No. All right. We'll move on. Any other registered speakers? No, sir. Salvador Blanco. No. Go ahead, to the grid, what's left of you. Salvador, your name, your address and you have a maximum of three minutes, not three hours. This is not the Plaza de la Revolución. Three minutes.

No, what I've seen is that this microphone is very good for rap. Name, full name and address, papi. Doctor, how are you? Good and you? Well, first I want to start by congratulating you. You have to start with your name and your address. But if you already said so, yes, but it comes better than you. Salvador Blanco, Savior White and Direction 3845 West 10th Drive. City of Mango Hill 33012. I don't know. Well, look, I'm going to look for the. The condolences to you. Oh, I have to congratulate Public Works. Tremendous work they do. Thanks to Public Works. I found out and their technicians. That I have or I had an exit. And then that exit is costing me 661 dollars with 57 cents. And as they say in the UN and in the OAS. I would like to see how you can condone that sum or make it possible for me to pay it in installments. This is all for today. I can say it in Creole as well. I'm happy that there was yesterday. That there was yesterday, but no, the problem is that yesterday. Let's see the python. No luck, fill yourself with Spain, my brother, no. I can say it in Russian, I can say it.

You have to translate that.

Condemn. Condemn. It is a very diplomatic phrase. Cuba has been condemned all the time and they have been stealing and robbing. You have to feel honored with what I'm going to say. Oh, I forgot the last name. But here we had an actor, Pepe Hiedra, and every day you look more like him, really.

No, Pepe, you were very good, careful, very honored. Thank you very much. Tremendous person. Thank you.

And I also want to congratulate the Department of the Doctor. Really, they really want to apply just to get to that department. And for you to know, I'm going to present myself as a good advisor.

Because Hialeah needs a savior.

What did you want? Help with the water? Yes.

Not with the water, not with the account.

No, because we can close the water for you right away.

With that we can... You want to pay with them? For us to forget about the yoke.

With whom? Yeah. Who's here? Jose. Can you get with Mr. Blanco, refer him to customers, or see if he qualifies for a credit on the leak or something like that? Salvador, before you go, look at this guy next to the door.

It's nice. It's nice. Thank you, Salvador. And then, Mr. Mayor, I have two things. One, I need you to give me a minute and 43 seconds apart. And the other is that I have the blessed luck, you know the other word. My brother and for me you are a brother and I greet your parents. My wife takes the coffee with your cup. Seriously, seriously. And the water of Hialeah. And the water of Hialeah. Well, family, I love you. God bless. Thank you, Salvador. Hialeah. God bless you. Mr. Oliva, would you please

Come up here and talk. I'm going to allow it. Please. Thank you, sir. And thank you for your patience. I'll give you up to three minutes today. Go ahead. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. What's her name?

Maria.

Is that Ms. Acevedo, sir? Yes. Okay, very good.

I just need to...

Buenas noches.

Mi nombre es Maria Acevedo.

Mister, un momentico mi amor, gracias. We need to do this, okay. En esta porción de la reunión vamos a tener que traducir cada oración que usted diga para ponerlo en el récord en español. You can talk, but I want you to make a prayer and pause so that the girl can translate it. We're going to start. Okay, Fresquecito, give me your full name and your address, my dear.

Thank you very much. My name is Maria Acevedo. My name is Maria Acevedo. And I have been living for 55 years on 642 South East 5th Avenue of Hialeah.

And I live 55 years at the resident located at 642 Southeast 5th Avenue, Hialeah.

I bought the property with my husband, Marco Acevedo, with a little money. Que pudimos guardar manejando múltiples empleos y enfrentando todas las dificultades y realidades. With the different jobs that we had and the difficulties we faced. Económica que se vivieron en esos años.

Economically within the years that we lived through.

Much of my generation that is forced to migrate to this country, we dedicate to pay for taxes and abide by the laws. I raised both of my children in that home.

I took care of my parents with old age.

Eventually, I was able to attend to my six grandchildren. My only wish now is to live what's left in this home. that represents so much to me and my family. I am very concerned about the new development that is proposed next to my home and the traffic and noise that this may represent. I am very concerned because the lot located at 652 is being used illegally. por camiones comerciales por muchos años.

For commercial trucks for many years.

Son décadas de ruido, vibraciones, seconds of vibrations, sueños interrumpidos y actividad industrial que me han afectado a mí y a todos mis vecinos. Me and all my neighbors. Yo tengo 90 años. I am 90 years old. Y quiero dejar que mi... mi hijo y mi yerno hablen por mí pero solo le pido a la ciudad que tomen en cuenta a esta viuda que solo quiere vivir sus últimos años de su vida en paz y tranquilidad and i would like to city muchas gracias gracias señora muy amable gracias oliva you can you can come yeah thank you

okay um thank you for the opportunity to speak you're very well i am uh mario antonio's uh son-in-law and uh i'm speaking behalf on behalf of her name and address for the record elio oliva 11 eaton overlook 11 what eaton overlook where's that in maryland where rockville maryland

Rockville.

Yes.

I have family over there. Thank you.

Rockville, Maryland. So again, so I'm speaking on item 16B in the agenda, which will be covered in upcoming. So I'm speaking on behalf of my mother-in-law. As she said, she's the homeowner at 642 Southeast Fifth Avenue, living there for 55 years. 2006, 2006. That is when Okeechobee Hialeah Property bought the 652. She lives in 642. We're referring to 652, the adjacent lot. 2006, Okeechobee Hialeah Properties bought that lot next to my mother-in-law's house. Since then, Okeechobee Hialeah Property has leased, the applicant has leased this lot to commercial tenants explicitly operating heavy commercial trucks. 2006, the applicant has allowed his tenants to use this residential are 1 lot 652 again as a resident as we speak today. It has been for many decades, a residential are 1 lot being used to load and unload heavy commercial trucks, maintain and repair heavy commercial trucks. park heavy commercial trucks so three things not just parking loading and unloading repairing oil changes all kinds of other repairs the activity starts as early as 4 a.m and continues into the evening on a regular basis i have sent pictures which unfortunately are not going to be shown but hopefully will be shown during the next reading which document all of this pictures and videos This is much more than parking. Commercial trucks consistently transit through this area as early as 4 a.m. and go into the late evening on a daily basis. We have submitted, my mother-in-law has submitted a code violation complaint to the city of Hialeah, case number PERM006885-2026, which has gone unanswered. Okay. I presented these facts to the city planning and zoning board on August 12th, along with pictures of this commercial truck activity. Chairman Diego Perez expressed concern and specifically asked the applicant, specifically asked Mr. Hugo Arce, who is here today, who is the applicant's counsel, to have his client stop this commercial truck activity immediately. Sadly, the applicant, in keeping with their total disregard for my mother-in-law, her neighbors, the city of Hialeah, and its zoning and ordinances, continues this illegal truck activity unabated. Additionally, I would like to point out that the staff recommendation statement item LU1, well, I'm out of time, but I want to also cite that the documents that were used in the city and planning meeting on August 12th were flawed. you read those documents particularly lu1 it makes a series of misrepresentations it makes it seem that that plot is the the adjacent plot next to her house is just a some sort of benign parking lot and it is not and we have plenty of evidence videos pictures we brought this up in the last meeting and we the reason why i'm here i respectfully request the city of hialeah to deny the rezoning of the 652 southeast thank you sir

and again i wish my pictures and videos would have been shown you can if if they're available we'll we'll definitely show them to the second in the second meeting to someone we're not going to show them today but thank you we appreciate it duly noted sir thank you both of you thank you okay thank you thank you

through the chair all right yes sir um if i may i'd like to recognize maria mejidez who's here with her daughter the former wife for councilman andy mejidez that uh way back in the days was one of the best council person here hi thank you all right any other comments or questions from the audience before sir yeah come come over here okay

I'm going to need your full name and your address, and you can take up to three minutes if you like. Go on.

Okay. My name is Kevin Toledo. Kevin what? Sorry? Kevin Toledo. Toledo. Okay. 8363 Northwest 41st Street. It's in Doral. I wanted to comment on this situation here because... I'm the owner of the business that they're talking about with the trucks. What business? It's airline catering.

On what?

It's on 455. There's a loading dock in the back.

That's where our trucks... What's your address? 652? The business.

The business is 455 East Okuchobee Road. Right. It's so the lot that they're speaking about is the lot where the trucks are parked. Yeah. Right. But the business is in the back.

Yeah.

And so the only comment I really had was that, you know, this is a family business, a business that's been there for about 30 years. What's your address again? My address is the business. The business is 45. So sorry, 455 East Okochebe Road. OK, go on. Yeah, the family business has been there for 30 years. My mom and dad, they bought it from the previous owner. We've been working in and out of there. A lot of our employees are part of the community. If not, they're part of Hialeah. Yes, we do operate a lot of heavy trucks, but for the most part, we try to be as respectful as we can to our neighbors. Since we have never actually received any complaints about noise, but we have ceased parking our trucks in that specific lot, and we have brought them over to where our normal lot is. And we've also began to clean the spot right there where the trucks were so that it no longer has any presence of what the trucks used to be there. And so the only comment I have is that in regards to any complaints they have, we're going to try to do our part. But at the same time, because we work with the airlines, we have to abide by the schedules of the airlines. And so depending on what time we need to deliver to the airport, that's the time we need to. And so as far as anything else, like I said, we're here to hear them.

And of course, I don't I get what you're saying. I just don't see what this has to do with the proposed development. Maybe you can clear that up.

Well, I just heard their comments and so I'm also OK. All right. Thank you.

Thank you for. Anyone else? If no one else wants to speak, we're going to move to. No, no, no, no, no. Item eight, Madam Clerk, please. Thank you. Oh.

I'm Marcos Acevedo, 1530 Northeast 191 Street, Miami 33179. Yes, sir. Thank you in advance, council and mayor, for letting me speak on this unfortunate incident or item. I'm a 37-year veteran teacher from Miami-Dade County Schools and a business owner. My mother's Marina Acevedo. at 642 Southeast Fifth Avenue, the house that I grew up in for 55 years. And that makes me the man that I am today, all the values that I've learned. This house has been part of my life. Now I go there every day and take care of my elderly mother for the things that she can't do anymore. Beep, beep, beep, beep. that's what you're constantly hearing those are those trucks that are backing up well those sounds that i hear when i visit my mother instead of bird sounds cars kids playing or airplanes because we're close to the airport however she has endured these sounds every day and that's changed her life into the person that cannot sleep She has anxiety. She's worried. She's taking more medication for the simple fact of this illegal entity that has been functioning and being allowed by the city of Hialeah. Those obnoxious sounds come from the constant movement of commercial vehicles packing up into the shipping and receiving area of this catering service that has been allowed to conduct business in a residential area. adjacent to my mother's property. Her house has always been a sanctuary, and this has been taken from her one day at a time. Now we can no longer have a conversation on the front porch or the back porch. Why? The answer is very simple. The council knows that a commercial vehicle is coming in, backing up loading, unloading goods. Don't get me started on machinery equipment. to fix these commercial vehicles yes we've been out of auto repair shop which takes place without compliance from the city the jobs steering jobs hydraulic jobs the list goes on I have a time frame all this illegal and the city has no idea what's going on Furthermore, I can no longer mow the part of my alley that pertains to my mom's house because it's been closed illegally. These people are trying to petition to close an alley that has already been closed without permission. We've been taken advantage of for many years. How this has been allowed to happen and the city not be aware. So now we're aware of this legal use of commercial vehicles plus an alley closure.

now it's a turn for the city and the mayor to do what's right my man and my father have always taught me to do what's right thank you thank you sir i think that if this development happens we're gonna hear from the lobbyists later but if this development happens those problems will be over

The point is, you asked a question of what does this have to do with the development?

There is a residential- Please, thank you.

The answer is quite simple. In order for the applicant to build their development, they need the city to convert a residential R1 lot that's been zoned residential since 1928. They need the city to convert that to commercial. Without that, the development cannot happen. That residential lot, which we discovered recently, discovered very recently, is essential to the operation. And we have no beef with International Air Catering. We have no beef with them. The beef here is with the landlord, the owner of that land. Yoram Itzhak, who's the person that controls Okeechobee, Hialeah, who owns that land, he is illegally, has been for years, since 2006, illegally allowing, why would he provide a lease to someone and say, you can use this for a commercial operation Commercial trucks, if it's a residential lot, that's just a fraudulent thing to do. We got you. Thank you, sir. Okay, that's the point, and that's why this is important. Thank you, sir.

Thank you everyone.

Item eight, Madam Clerk. There are none, sir. Board appointments, Madam Clerk. Proposed resolution appointing Sebastian Santiago to the Youth Advisory Committee as Council Member Zogby's appointment for a two-year term beginning on August 25th, 2026 and ending on August 24th, 2028.

Well, Sebastian is a wonderful young man. He's a high school student, so he's home studying instead of being here, which is commendable. Did you come? I didn't see you. Sorry. Thank you, Sebastian. I thought we would have excused you. And he was an intern. You were an intern, right, for the mayor's office during the summer, right? Did you break anything while you were there?

No. That's it.

student government president at westland high who else was student government president there you weren't no all right he didn't win that election he didn't win that election he didn't win congratulations to you and i and i and thank you for offering yourself as my nominee for this position uh can i have A motion. Thank you. A motion from Councilwoman Perez, Jaylene Perez, and second from Councilman Luis Gonzalez. Please call the roll.

Mr. Marrero.

Yes.

Ms. G. Perez. Yes. Ms. De La Vega. Yes. Ms. M. Perez. Yes. Mr. Gonzalez. Mr. Rodriguez. Yes. Mr. Zogby.

Yes.

Motion carries. The item is approved.

Thank you, Santiago. Congratulations. Thank you, Mr. Santiago. Thank you. All right, consent agenda. Would anyone like to pull any items from the consent agenda? And this extends to the public. Any items that they want to pull and discuss from the consent agenda? Otherwise, pleasure of the council.

Motion.

Motion for the entire consent agenda from Councilman Luis Rodriguez.

Second.

Oh, okay. Second from Councilman Luis Marrero. Please call the roll.

Ms. G. Perez. Ms. De La Vega. Yes. Ms. M. Perez. Yes. Mr. Gonzalez. Mr. Rodriguez. Yes. Mr. Zogby. Yes.

yes mr marrero yes motion carries the consent agenda has passed thank you okay so we're up to 11 administrative items madam clerk this is going to be a doozy can you read it a 11a into the record and drink some water first

SECOND READING AND PUBLIC HEARING OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 98 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES ENTITLED ZONING ARTICLE 1 IN GENERAL CREATING CODE SECTION 98-8 PLANNING AND ZONING FEE SCHEDULE TO PROVIDE FOR A PLANNING AND ZONING DIVISION FEE SCHEDULE ATTACHED HERE TO AND INCORPORATED HEREIN AS EXHIBIT A AMENDING ARTICLE 2 ADMINISTRATION DIVISION 7 ZONING CHANGES Section 98-195, Fees. Creating Code Section 98-197, Administrative Fees. Amending Division 9, Administrative Variances. Section 98-259, Application. Amending Article 3, Plans and Plots. Division 2, Site Plans. Section 98-318, Fees. Amending Division 3, Subdivision Plots. Section 98-347, Criteria for Approval. Amending Article 5, Zoning District Regulations. Division 1, Generally. Section 98-416, Tenant Certificates. Amending Division 3, R1, One Family District, Section 98-496, Primary Use. Amending Division 24, M3, Industrial District, Section 98-1452, Recycling, Construction and Demolition Debris, Processing Facilities or Systems, Special Use Permit. Amending Article 6, Supplementary District Regulations, Division 3, Buildings and Structures Regulations. Section 98-1670, Construction of Prefabricated Buildings and Section 98-1680, Pigeon Lofts. Amending Division 5, Uses, Subdivision 8. Assisted Living Facilities, Section 98-1957, Application for Conditional Use Permit. Amending Subdivision 9, Residential Care and Treatment Facilities. Section 98-1987, Residential Care and Treatment Facilities. And Section 98-1989, Community Residential Homes. And Section 98-1990, Reasonable Accommodation. Amending Subdivision 12, Family Daycare Homes. Section 98-2033, Compliance with Fire Code. Amending Division 9, Easements and Rights of Way. Section 98-2153, Public Alleys. Amending Division 11, Landscaping. Section 98-2234, Landscaping and Irrigation Certification and Recertification for Residential Office, Commercial, Industrial Properties, and Multifamily Developments. Section 98-2237, Fees. Amending Division 12, Antennas and Towers. Subdivision 3, Radio Antennas. Section 98-2326, Permits. Amending Article 7, Concurrency Management System. Division 2, Concurrency Review Procedures. Section 98-2462, Review of Application for Development Order. Amending Chapter 74 of the Court of Ordinances entitled Signs. Article 3, Regulations. Division 1, Generally. Section 74-149, LED Signs and Section 74-150, Billboard Replacement Program. Amending Division 3 District Regulations, Section 74-218, Signs and Other Districts. Amending Chapter 78 of the Code of Ordinances entitled Solid Waste, Article 4. Supplemental Regulations for Garbage, Waste, and Recycling Dumpsters, Section 78-111, Administrative Waiver of Dumpster Enclosure Requirements. Repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith. Providing penalties for violation hereof. Providing for inclusion in code. Providing for a severability clause. And providing for an effective deed.

Go ahead and read A into the record. Item 11A is on second reading. Open for public discussion. Open for council discussion. Otherwise, pleasure of the council. Oh! Go ahead, sir. Make my address again, Jose, please.

Jose, all the 788 Southeast Park Drive. I want to speak on this item and in general, something that we've been doing for a lot of years. And Mayor, I don't want to compare you to... steven bovo but one of the things i would always say that we got to be transparent with the public we write administrative orders that nobody can understand i'm pretty sure not one person the city council understands what they're voting for here i want to go back when we legalized a three friends park we traded a house for a park that turned into a lightweight it was written with this kind of language and i remember telling councilwoman perez called the woman rodriguez and council Man, you, Mr. Zogby, and nobody believed me because it was written in this language. And I also want to say what the ethics department, what they told our planning and zoner and our attorney for planning and zoning, that what Hialeah is doing is illegal, but it's not ethical. I'm not saying this is not ethical, but we cannot understand it. The recommendation that the ethics board gave us was to present everything in English and Spanish. Dade County presents everything English, Spanish, and in Creole. The signs that we put in the properties, This senior lady, she's fortunate that her son-in-law, you could tell Wally, okay, well, versus what happens in these meetings, we have residents all over Dade County that this is happening to them, and they don't have a representation. Those orange signs that we're putting in homes, it has a barcode. I spoke in Miami Beach recently, Miami Beach and Miami Dade County and City of Miami, And there are the council people that they look at you, they respond to your emails, they pay attention to what you're saying. It's pretty disheartening here. You speak and everybody goes on their phone, on their laptop, everybody just dozes off and they're gonna vote on something they don't even understand. That's like the big issue. People come here and speak. I think they deserve respect to listen to what they're saying, listen to them, not go on your phone, not go on your cell phone. It's pretty disheartening, but there's a lot of unhappy people residents in Hialeah, and Mayor, I hope, not that you clarify this, what's going on, but I hope these kind of practices stops. I hope those orange signs that we're putting are written in English and Spanish, like the planning and zoning. The ethics board said it was unethical. I hope those barcodes that we have, they're supposed to tell you about the project just in every other city. Our barcodes only tell you, they send you to the landing page. There's a lot of things we could be doing to be more transparent to inform the residents more. One of the things I asked Mr. Councilman Marrero to come with me to other cities and see how they're more transparent, everything's just more available. I didn't mean to speak on the second part, but it's very, just Arnie, you come in here, you care about your community, you're gonna talk and then right away, half of you go on your cell phones and then, like the part I said earlier about our park should be open to residents on Sunday as important, but you gotta go on your cell phones. I just hope you realize what you're doing and you take this serious and thank you.

Thank you, sir. Motion?

uh do i have a motion on 11a do i have a second uh motion from councilman luis gonzalez luis rodriguez you see i knew he was gonna second it and second from councilman luis uh gonzalez thank you call the roll mr la vega miss m perez

Yes, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Rodriguez. Yes. Mr. Zogby. Yes. Mr. Marrero.

Yes.

Ms. G Perez motion carries. The item is approved.

Thank you. Uh, item 11 B madam clerk, please.

Second reading and public hearing of proposed ordinance amending chapter one entitled general provisions of the city of Hialeah court of ordinances, creating section one dash 14 to be entitled advertisement and notice by publication. to provide for publication of legally required advertisement and notices on a publicly accessible county website, repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for inclusion in code, providing for a severability clause, and provide for an effective date.

This item 11B is on second reading, open for public discussion or council discussion, or pleasure of the council. Motion on item 11B from Councilman Luis Rodriguez.

Second.

Second from Councilman William Marrero. Please call the roll.

Ms. M. Perez. Yes. Mr. Gonzalez. Mr. Rodriguez. Yes. Mr. Zogby.

Yes.

Mr. Marrero.

Yes.

Ms. G. Perez. Ms. De La Vega. Motion carries. The item is approved.

Thank you. Item 11C, Madam Clerk.

SECOND READING AND PUBLIC HEARING OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR AN AD HOC LEGISLATIVE ADVISORY BOARD TO REVIEW THE CITY CHARTER PRIOR TO THE 2029 DECENNIAL REVIEW AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS AS TO POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY OF Hialeah CODE OF ORDINANCES AND OTHER LEGISLATIVE MATTERS PROVIDING FOR THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD ESTABLISHING THE BOARD'S TERM, ORGANIZATION, DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND STAFFING REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH

providing penalties for violation hereof providing for a severability clause and providing for an effective d thank you item 11c is on second reading and open for public discussion or discussion from the council or pleasure the television was that you sir thank you a motion from councilman uh william marrero second from councilwoman jaylene perez please call the roll

Mr. Gonzalez? Mr. Rodriguez? Yes. Mr. Zogby?

Yes.

Mr. Marrero?

Yes.

Ms. G. Perez? Ms. De La Vega? Ms. M. Perez? Yes. Motion carries. The item is approved.

No. Item 11D, Madam Clerk.

SECOND READING AND PUBLIC HEARING OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER TWO ENTITLED ADMINISTRATION ARTICLE TWO ENTITLED DEPARTMENTS, OFFICES AND DIVISIONS. DIVISION EIGHT ENTITLED FINANCE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF HAILEAH SPECIFICALLY BY AMENDING SECTION 2-236 TO ESTABLISH A GRANT ADMINISTRATION DIVISION. and creating Section 2-241 to be entitled Grants Administration Division, repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for inclusion in code, providing for a severability clause, and providing for an effective deed.

Thank you. Item 11D is also on second reading, open for public discussion or our discussion or a motion.

Jose Aldi. Oh, go ahead, sir. Hi, Jose, LZ788, Southeast Park Drive. Yeah, I've been interested in this a lot, the grants and how much money is available. And I've been asking you guys how important it is to get extra grant writers. For every $100,000 you spend on a grant writer, you're going to get millions. We're low income. We're marginalized. All these things are the woke people. They don't matter. They're woke. All these... COMPANIES ARE OFFERING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO RESIDENTS OF CITIES AND WE'RE NOT TAKING PART OF IT. I HOPE THIS MEANS WE'RE GETTING MORE GRANT WRITERS. I HOPE THIS MEANS THAT IT'S GOING TO EXPAND HOW THIS APPLIES TO GRANTS. I KNOW GETTING RID OF ALL THESE GRANT WRITERS WE HAD WHEN I WORKED FOR THE CITY WASN'T A GOOD IDEA. JUST WHAT ROD MARTINEZ DID TO THE CITY, ALL THAT WAS GRANTS, YOU KNOW, GRANTS AND FEDERAL MONEY. AND WE HAVE ALL THESE COMPANIES THAT WILL ONLY GIVE US A PENNY, THESE BIG COMPANIES IN HIALEAH. I HOPE YOU HAVE A PLAN TO GET MORE GRANT WRITERS AND APPLY FOR MORE FEDERAL, STATE, AND ESPECIALLY ALL THESE CORPORATIONS LIKE PUBLIC, CBS. THEY GIVE AWAY A LOT OF MONEY, BUT I APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT I SAID EARLIER, BUT IT'S VERY, I WAS BISSED OFF, YOU COULD TELL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR.

PLEASURE OF THE COUNCIL ON ITEM 11D. MOTION. Motion from Councilman Willie Marrero. Through the Chair.

Yes, ma'am. That kind of just brings up a good question. I'm just curious, do we have grant writers or

So that's what we're creating here. We're creating a grants division, which existed very long time ago under the previous mayor that went away. And so we're bringing it back and it's going to sit, that department will sit in finance and that'll have an administrator run the division. Then I'll have writers under them. Right now, currently, we have one person that services all the grants for the city, and then we have one person in police. And so the idea is to try to consolidate all those efforts and add additional personnel so that we can pursue additional monies. You know, we basically did an analysis, and there's up to $150 million potentially of grants out there that we could be tapping into. And so that's the reason we're sort of doubling down and investing on grant writers.

Awesome. Thank you. Motion.

And we have a second from Council Vice President Melinda de la Vega. Please call the roll.

Mr. Zogby?

Yes.

Mr. Marrero?

Yes.

Ms. G. Perez? Ms. de la Vega? Yes. Ms. M. Perez? Yes. Mr. Gonzalez? Yes. Mr. Rodriguez?

Yes.

Motion carries. The item is approved.

Thank you. Item 11E, Madam Clerk.

First reading of proposed ordinance amending chapter two entitled administration, article two entitled departments, offices and divisions, division 21 entitled infrastructure and asset management department of the court of ordinances of the city of Hialeah, specifically by renaming the infrastructure and asset management department to the public works department and renaming the chief of infrastructure to the chief of public works, providing for a severability clause, repealing all ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for inclusion in the code, and providing for an effective deed.

Changing that again. Item 11E is on first reading, open for our discussion or questions. This item is presented by Human Resources. Does anyone, pleasure of the council, or any questions? 11E. Motion from Councilman Luis Gonzalez on 11E.

second from councilman luis rodriguez please call the roll mr marrero yes mr perez mr la vega yes mr m perez yes mr gonzalez mr rodriguez mr zagmi yes motion carries the item is approved second reading and public hearing is scheduled for september 8th 2026 at 7 p.m thank you and we have already addressed

F11F. So we're moving on to 12, unfinished business. Or 13, new business. And yes, ma'am, you have the floor. Yeah. I have a meeting next month for you.

So I have some questions for our budget director, Pedro, or CFO, right? Is that correct? With your permission, Mayor. Pedro. By the way, great job. You're doing an incredible job. Thank you. I just want to ask you a couple of questions. So I know we have a meeting coming up on Monday. I just want to know a little bit better about the budget timeline and the process that we have in place at the moment so I can educate myself a little bit.

Sure, absolutely. Good evening, Mayor, Council Members, Pedro DeFaria, Chief Financial Officer. So typically the budget process begins in January or February. We send out budget documents to different departments where they basically provide their wants and needs for operating capital budgets. Then our budget team, which is a very lean team, they spend a couple of months and basically digesting the budget, refining, see what we could fund, getting information from the state or different revenue sources. Once that happens, we basically prepare what's called a preliminary budget, which is like the first step of the budget, which we just completed. We meet with the mayor, we refine what are his priorities, and then we're at the proposed level, which is when we're gonna present to you all next week, Basically, what the city and the mayor intends to fund in the upcoming budget at that point, you can basically provide us your feedback. We can do whatever we need to change. You know, at the end of the day, it's the mayor's budget, but you all approve the budget. So we do take your feedback not only on that day, but also, I would say in previous meetings, right? Just like how the gentleman just mentioned the grants division. We listened, we heard, and we created the division because that's what our residents wanted. So next week, once we meet, we'll basically finalize the proposed budget. You'll get a nice 300-page book that's basically the same stuff you see every year. That's a description of what departments do, their priorities, their accomplishments from the prior year, and their future outlook. But and then obviously, and in September, we have two statutorily required public hearings, which represent the budget to the public.

Got it. Um, the timeframe when that you process the budget, the preliminary budget, and you provide it to the mayor. During that time, you're obviously waiting for the department has to provide you with everything before you present anything with to the mayor. How long does that take from January to

Typically, I would say this year, we're a little delayed in the sense of there's a lot, new administration, a lot going on, a lot of changes that we've been processing. But just a couple of weeks it takes once we receive it from them.

Okay. I would like to propose for next year. I know this year was a little crazy. So I would like to propose for next year if we at least the council, and I don't know if my colleagues agree or not, that at least the council obtains the preliminary budget two months in advance like that we have. If we have any questions or any concerns, we bring it up. Also, if we have any ideas of any capital projects or anything that we want to bring up, I think it's the time in those two months to have time and um bring it up to see if we can budget something i understand it's the mayor's budget and the mayor obviously makes the ultimate decision but i feel like we all should work together since we all live here in the city and we think that certain things can be you know improved and i think it's important that to see i would like to propose that like if next year we can do it ahead of time um and try to get the budget to the council at least two months in advance and that's something i can further discuss with the mayor about it

Oh, absolutely. I totally agree. And I was trying to push the team to see if we could get it even sooner this time and have those sessions with the council as soon as possible. We were shooting for July or even early August. But one of the concerns that we've run into is even up until today, this morning, we just received updated statistics from the state as to how much money we're going to actually be receiving. And I mean, look, everybody always says zero-based budgeting, but the reality is 95% of the budget is already fixed based on the contracts that we're under and many other things. So that 5% that we can really play with, a lot of it has to do with what revenues are we going to get. We didn't get the revenues from like half penny and some of these other funds until less than seven days ago. We just got the communications one this morning. And so as these numbers come in is when we can kind of say, okay, what are we going to do with this? uh pot of money so that's sort of the constraint i mean we'd love to do it sooner the the county does it sooner but the county also you know they're our big brother and so they have other funds that they tap into the the amount of discretionary money that we can really play with we don't get that until literally now in august and as soon as we get it we basically act on it and then that's why the meetings are scheduled um for next week what we did do differently this year than years past Is that typically the budget hearings are done separately and they're done a lot later in the month of September. I remember. Like, on the council, sometimes we would, we literally went into the last day in September and 1 year, we even have to push it to October because we had a storm that came in in September. So we tried to front load. The budget meetings as early as possible this time to give everybody the opportunity to. you know pitch in uh your ideas and and your comments and your feedback which we do appreciate um so that's why we're doing the meetings a lot sooner we tried to push the timeline basically i think realistically this is like the soonest soonest it could happen but next year if we could do it sooner we'll do it sooner like a preliminary or meeting that we can do a preliminary meeting with each council member individually

And like that, we have an idea, we have any ideas, we can bring it up during that preliminary meeting. So when you guys do the proposed budget, you guys take something into consideration from the council.

Absolutely. That's all.

If I may, through the chair, I concur. That's an excellent point, Councilwoman. And I think that in the past, we've also discussed having included in the book that we did have it several years ago, but we didn't last year, the budgeted proposed positions versus the fulfilled positions. I don't know if that's included this year, but I did say that.

Yeah, it'll be a supplemental document that we're giving to you. It won't be in the budget book itself, which is what we publish, and it has certain requirements from the GFOA board, but we'll definitely give those other information you asked for, including employee salaries and what's filled and what's vacant.

per department, citywide. Okay. And then the ones that have been vacant. I know in the previous years, we've had kind of like a statistical data for like the last five years. So it will show how many have been budgeted for and how many have been fulfilled in the last five, seven years. We've had that in the previous years. Is that included in this one?

What we provide is the budgeted positions. It's tough to give what was filled at a time because it's a rolling number. And our previous system didn't have that information. I think, thankfully, Workday, which is our new ERP system, has information that you're looking for. But as far as what was vacant or filled during the year, Sometimes there's a position that's filled one day and it's vacant the next. So it's tough to figure out, okay, what are we reporting for that position?

But I think your point is that, you know, it was kind of like this. I remember the conversations in the years past is like, is that accurate? Like the number of vacancies that we have and stuff. One of the things I told Pedro early on is I said, listen, let's go to every department. If you have a vacancy, you need to post it. I need to hire someone. If you don't hire someone in a short period of time, we're going to remove the position. So we did do that exercise with all the departments to clean up. There was a lot of stuff out there that really shouldn't have been out there. So we did that exercise earlier in the year. We identified some savings by doing that. So really what's vacant right now, which is about 10% of the positions, right? About 150 positions on a 1500 person, um, city that is basically about average and those are just you know somebody that gets terminated or somebody that retires those are within the norm that 10 norm but we don't have right now like how we had in the past basically all these shell positions that didn't really exist or whatever so we cut down on that i think that's your question but uh we definitely can provide a vacancy report uh obviously like pero said that changes every day you know some days

And just adding on to what the mayor said, I'll give you an example. I have four divisions under finance management. The only vacant position I have out of the four is the new grants writer, and that's it. Everything has been filled. It's a very lean city. And for example, our budget team is three staff. I think for a lot of those at 15, Miami Beach is at ten. So we keep the numbers down and we're just trying to make sure they're all filled at the same time.

Just to quote Amando Hidalgo, I know that this is a living reading document and it will change. And so if we could have it a month in advance, even if you don't have to print it, because I know there's a lot of costs, it's a very thick encyclopedia. Even if we could have a digital file, we could use the PDF option to search whatever we need if it's a hefty file. Something like that that we could work with and be under the understanding that numbers may change, but at least to look it over because it is a hefty read. And then we're walking into this meeting that we have with you on Monday, and we're not prepared to ask you the questions. So I think that I would like to have something, and I've said it every year, And we usually walk into that meeting without having the document prior, you know, and we leave without it also that same day. So it's just out of respect to our time and to us, you know, doing this thoroughly, the process has to change or improve a little bit, I think.

And we agree. And you have my word. We're going to get it to you guys sooner next year. Maybe not the budget book itself, because like the mayor said, we get revenues like today. So you can't publish that until you have the final numbers. But I could give you the content, the core information that you need to make those important decisions of the remaining non-discretionary funding that we can use.

Right.

Okay. I appreciate that. Thank you. You're welcome.

Thank you.

Through the chair. Pedro, I have a question. I know we're meeting next week. Will we be able to walk away with the budget book so that we can read it and go through it before our actual first budget meeting?

I will give you not the book itself. Our team is putting it together. But a lot of it's the same information, narrative, org chart, stuff like that. But we'll give you a sizable handout that you can take back with the key information that you're looking for, including positions, salaries, the entire capital budget, all those different things like that. And you'll have basically a snapshot of what the city's funding this year.

Okay. When do we make it public? I know our first budget meeting is September 8th, I believe.

Yes, it has to be published. I believe it's, I think it's three or five days prior to that meeting. The tentative budget has to be posted. It'll be printed some point next week.

Okay. And will we be advertising it to the public? Just last year, we had, I think, less than five people attend. So it would be nice to kind of get.

Yeah, it's published the same way that we do, you know, basically for any meeting. And we tried to combine it with the council meeting so that anybody that's at the council meeting would also hear all the information. So we'll do the budget meeting first at 530. And as long as that takes, and then we'll resume with the regular council meeting. So that's how we did it to try to get more attendance and everybody's already here.

Right. So residents, you know, don't say that we don't include them in in these decisions. And then lastly, is just to kind of echo on what, you know, last year, I know we went through all the vacancies and we found some vacancies that were 10 plus years. Right. So are we we went through that kind of eliminated a lot of those very single vacancies.

open position and again either somebody was hired for that position and it's no longer vacant or we eliminated the position um basically you know and it's no longer on the books so we'll get a report of any vacancies maybe six and again i know a vacancy could have happened yesterday right but maybe something that's been six months plus or

Yes, we'll give you that specific data you're looking for at that time. Thank you. You're welcome.

Through the chair. Yes, ma'am. Just to answer council vice president inquiry as to publishing the budget on our website. Just pursuant to Florida Statute 166.241, Mr. DeFaria is correct. The tentative budget must be posted on the municipality's official website at least five days before the budget hearing and is to remain on our website for at least 45 days as required by state law.

If I may, to the chair, I have one more question. Another topic that I remember that we brought up was how much of the department was funded through grants? How much did they receive in order to function? I don't know if that's something that's included in the.

If it's grant, any grant funds are budgeted in what's called a special revenue fund, and those will be available as well. And you'll see in the handout, you'll see how much we received in state, well, plan to receive in state, local, and federal funding.

For example, there's some positions that I know, like in the fire department, that that position is budgeted through grants. But then we also have maybe a position budgeted through that salary. So that's what I want to know. I want to know which position has a grant, but yet we're also budgeting for them in their salary.

Sure. Okay. Yeah.

Just so that I can understand how to.

Thank you.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

If there's nothing outside of, let's get to 13A, Madam Clerk, please.

Report to the City Council of Financial Disclosure submittals for the year ending in 2025. Every current board, committee member, and employee has complied.

okay uh thank you for that if there's nothing else in new business we're going to move on to zoning and uh go ahead madam clerk administer the oath well all those persons will be testifying on an item please stand and raise your right hand

Do you swear or affirm that the evidence you're about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So help you God. If so, say I do.

Let the record reflect that all have responded in the affirmative. Thank you. I just want to make an announcement. I am going to strictly follow zoning items.

from here on in if they are on first reading absolutely no public comments will be allowed outside of the presenter if it's if it's on first reading absolutely no exceptions no public comments please until after until the second meeting second reading on these items so uh our first uh 15A, final decisions, Madam Clerk.

Proposed resolution affirming final decision number 000289-26 of the Planning and Zoning Board authorizing a street-side setback of 12.41 feet where 15 feet is required for the legalization of a metal roof terrace for the property located at 703 East 37th Street, Hialeah, zoned R11 Family District, providing for conditions, providing for enforcement of conditions, and providing for an effective date.

Thank you. Does anyone have any questions? I'm not sure if the property owner is here or from Claudia or pleasure of the council on 15A.

Claudia, is this just, this is. Just to get some information on

Claudia Hasbun, Planning and Zoning Official. Councilwoman, this is basically a legalization of an existing metal roof. They are reducing the setback, the separation from the property line for the corner, the side street setback from 15 feet to 12 feet. We also ask them and condition that the metal roof should not be enclosed, that they need to address all the issues that we found during our site plan review. And the owner is here if you have any questions.

Thank you.

Um, through the chair. Yes, ma'am. So, just for clarification of counsel for counsel's sake, in regards to the final decision, you could either affirm that the decision, or you could affirm with conditions, or you could basically override the planning and zoning boards decision. But those are your options today whenever you're presented with a final decision. And we have a couple on today's agenda.

Thank you. So this is something that was discovered, a violation, and now they're complying.

Yes. Yes, sir.

Any further questions or pleasure of the council on 15A? Motion with conditions as stated for 15A from Councilman Luis Gonzalez. Second. Second. You want me to give it to Willie? Second from Councilman William Marrero. Please call the roll.

Ms. G. Perez. Yes. Ms. Dela Vega. Yes. Ms. M. Perez. Yes. Mr. Gonzalez. Mr. Rodriguez. Yes. Mr. Zoghbi.

Yes.

Mr. Marrero.

Yes.

Motion carries. The item is approved.

Thank you. Item 15B, Madam Clerk.

Proposed resolution affirming final decision number 000354-2026 of the Planning and Zoning Board authorizing an interior north side setback of 6 feet or 7.5 feet is required for a proposed metal roof for the property located at 5605 West 14th Lane, Hialeah, zoned R11 Family District, providing for conditions, providing for enforcement of conditions, and providing for an effective deed.

This is a final resolution. And do we have the petitioner here or Claudia's here for any questions?

Through the chair. This is also a legalization for metal roof and the owner property owner is also here.

and really here sorry through the chair yes ma'am really here it's that the metal roof should be seven and a half feet and what he has is six correct okay is a reduction of a foot and a half motion motion from council vice president melinda de la vega on 15b

second second from councilman william marrero please call the roll mr la vega yes miss m perez yes mr gonzalez mr rodriguez mr dogby yes mr marrero yes miss g perez motion carries the item is approved

Thank you. 15C, Madam Clerk.

Proposed resolution affirming final decision number 000333-2026 of the City of Hialeah Planning and Zoning Board authorizing a rear setback of five feet or 7.5 feet is required for a proposed gazebo and a distance separation of one foot between the main structure and the proposed gazebo where 10 feet is required for the property located at. 5080 East 9th Lane, Hialeah, zoned R11 Family District, providing for conditions, providing for enforcement of conditions, and providing for an effective deed.

Thank you. 15C is the petitioner here. If anybody wants to talk to him, Roberto Amador and Claudia's here. Just in case. Does anyone have any questions for Mr. Amador, for Claudia? Motion.

motion from councilman uh um william marrero second from councilman luis gonzalez ms m perez yes mr gonzalez mr rodriguez oh he's he's away mr zogby yes mr marrero yes miss g perez miss de la vega yes motion carries the item is approved thank you claudia

16A, land use amendments.

Second reading and public hearing of proposed ordinance amending the future land use map of the city of Hialeah comprehensive plan pursuant to section 163.3187 Florida statute small scale development amendment to change the land use designation from low density residential to office and professional services for the property located at 590 East 8th Avenue Hialeah zoned R11 family district legally described herein. Repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith. Providing penalties for violation hereof. Providing for a severability clause and providing for an effective deed.

Motion.

Okay.

We have, for the record, we have a motion from Councilman William Marrero. This is on second reading, though. It'll be open for public discussion. if anyone wishes to do so if not we do have a motion from william marrero on 16a and we have a second from councilman luis gonzalez on 16a please call the roll mr gonzalez yes mr rodriguez he's opposite mr zagmi uh yes mr marrero yes miss g perez

Yes. Through the chair before Ms. Perez, am I able to ask a question to the applicant? Yeah. What exactly is being built here? Is it a resident right now and it's a home?

That's it. And we have a yes.

Your vote is yes. Ms. Zala-Vega?

we reviewed this one this second reading this is second reading yes ms m perez no motion carries the item is approved thank you we are up to well you're up i guess uh item 16b madam clerk please and then we'll stack these right you have a couple more with this correct so Did somebody say something? OK. Let's read it into the record. Hugo, second, right?

First reading of proposed ordinance amending the future land use map of the city of Hialeah comprehensive plan pursuant to section 163.3187 Florida statute small scale development amendment. to change the land use designation from low-density residential to commercial for the property located at 652 SE 5th Avenue, Hialeah, currently zoned R1, legally described herein, repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for a severability clause, and providing for an effective deed.

Okay. Again, this ordinance is on first reading, only open to the presenter, to the lobbyist of this proposed ordinance. So go ahead, name and address of the record and the floor is yours.

Good evening, Mr. President, Madam Vice President, Hugo Arza, 701 Brickell Avenue. Representing the property owner, joined by my colleague, Joey Vasquez as well as a representative of ownership. I have 1 presentation that covers the item that Madam clerk has already read into the record 16 B, but my presentation also covers 17 F and H, which are companion zoning. She said F and H. Yes, certainly not. Yeah. go through my presentation three times. So I think we've highlighted it on the presentation, which applies to which. But there are three separate items here this evening. I'd like to, I guess, just take an opportunity to address before I get into my comments. It was obviously a little unorthodox. It is first reading. There's no public comment. However, obviously, you heard from neighbors, neighbors that we did hear from and that we've spoken with through counsel. From the moment of planning and zoning on, I want to bring just a couple of points to bear very, very quickly when we received not only staff's recommendation of approval, which I want to thank for on all 3 items. But when we received in the case of 1 vote, 5 to 1, in the case of 2 votes, 5 to 1 recommendations of approval from PNC. And in the case of a 3rd vote, a unanimous 6, nothing vote of approval from the planning and zoning board. We proffered personally a condition that we would remove the trucks from the smaller 5,000 square foot property located at 652 Southeast Fifth Avenue, which is the subject of the land use application, the very narrow question on your first item here, and then also the subject of rezoning later. We have done that. I mean, I feel like I have to correct the record. I think the gentleman who spoke said that we had not done. So we have photographic evidence to that effect. That is part of our presentation here this evening. And I said to the planning and zoning board, and everybody up here has known me in one capacity or another for many years that I wouldn't stand up here this evening. And that's the commitment we made at Planning and Zoning, that before we got the first reading, we would not allow there to be any additional parking on that small wedge site. And I'm going to show you that site. That's one issue. The second issue obviously is to just take a broader perspective on the property. The very vast majority of this property is already commercially zoned. The rezoning and land use changes for 5,000 square feet of a more than half acre lot that fronts on Okeechobee. Commercial conditions, the use of trucks, 4 o'clock in the morning or at 7 o'clock at night or 10 o'clock at night have been and are allowed by your code in C2 and C3, which is what those properties enjoy today and have enjoyed for 30 plus years in the businesses that have operated there. So, obviously, undoubtedly to have maintained, although no code enforcement violation had ever been brought on that little small wedge, which I'm sure as people just performed out there, didn't realize. I mean, the zoning code doesn't actually put a line out there, right? I mean, people just, you know, continue to park trucks on this small piece of land that is residentially zoned. And to the comment that somebody made, obviously this proposal, which by the way is a clean brand new building, and we're going to get into that, would fix all of that situation. But the balance, the great majority of this property can be utilized commercially in accordance with your city's rules and regulations. And in fact, until the very code enforcement violation was read in by the neighbor saying that they had called it in and the number that they gave certainly not a planning and zoning where the step planners recommendation says any code enforcement violations zero. In fact, you wouldn't be allowed i've been doing this long enough you're not allowed you know we wouldn't come up if there were pending code enforcement violations so i bring up those points not to minimize and and and to in any way take away from our desire to answer questions work with neighbors and try and be good neighbors the first step we took in order to be a good neighbor was to make a commitment at planning and zoning that we would immediately remove trucks from that little area Will the balance of the property continue to be utilized in accordance with its current zoning of commercial? It will. Will there be trucks and uses for all of those buildings that are on Okeechobee? Of course, Okeechobee is a commercial corridor. What we're proposing, which I'll get into now, is to add that little piece of 5,000 square feet to a brand new development. that I think will also help, I believe, address in the long run other concerns. Because what we're proposing now is an enclosed self-storage facility with some limited ground floor retail that might have a coffee shop or a storefront, and then going up with self-storage, which we've shown evidence into the record of much lesser use. In fact, your commercial zoning today is a much more intense zoning then. And what we're proposing to do in that is is much less intense than what is operating legally there today which is businesses um the catering company and all that so um i wanted to just kind of clarify some of those points because it's unorthodox you know they obviously spoke during public comment maybe an hour ago and i didn't want those comments to continue to ring unanswered even as i went through my presentation so if i get um asked to go to the second slide so here's the the property we're talking about we're going to talk a lot about you know or i'm going to point out that little but it's that little um corner at the top right and that little triangle and there's other graphics that will show that is the subject of the land use and the rezoning to add it to be commercial. It is currently R1. But the balance where you see those buildings and no one ever claimed that a building was put up in that little wedge parking was occurring there which we've now eliminated but the balance and where all those buildings all of that is commercially zoned today nothing could would happen even if we didn't propose this project those businesses could continue to operate there um today in accordance with your code um legally so i think that's important um so we're um like i said it's about an acre uh just just a tad under an acre which means that approximately of the you know little less than 43,000 square feet total of the property. 5,000 square feet covers the small residentially, current residentially zoned lot, and the other 37,000 or so feet are already appropriately zoned commercial. So if we could go to the next slide. Sorry, through the chair?

Hugo, so just to understand, the property that is located on Okeechobee, right, like the square, that's all commercial, but the little triangle on the top is residential.

Correct, correct. There'll be a slide that will show that in color from your master plan and your zoning code. Right, so requests here today, the small-scale land use amendment, that's the first item that you have here before you. You have to change the land use because that one has residential land use for the $5,000. or so odd square feet of that lot. And then the rezoning of that lot to C2, curiously, something that doesn't happen very often, a portion of our property is actually a higher, more intense zoning category. We have C3 on a portion of our property. We're actually down zoning that portion. We don't need the highest, most intense zoning use that your code permits for that parcel. And so we're unifying the entire site with C2 zoning. We have some variances that I'll walk you through later And the explanation for them and our justification and our substantial competent evidence for them and then the alley vacation and again, you'll see it. And this is a common. I mean, I think most of you that have been in the city a long time know that these alleys were created. The alleys are not transit alleys that our neighbor does not access their property. I mean, they obviously come in through the front. They park, they go to their front door. This is at the rear of their property. We are not. and cannot by law take away their portion of their alley. They can still access whatever they have through their property. What we're doing is because for the portion where we're on both sides, we're closing it so it can be part of our property because we're on both sides there. And so again, I'll show this shortly in some graphic depictions. Next slide. So, here's what we're proposing, which is a self storage facility again, ground floor retail. We are not asking for any kind of height variance actually allows even greater height. Obviously, I think you all are very familiar with the nature of as a, as a commercial corridor and 1 of the principal corridors of. This part of town as a commercial quarter, this is from a height standpoint, absolutely allowed. You can do self storage. You can do the retail uses that we're proposing. We're not asking for changes that allow us to do any uses that we can't otherwise do. We're changing that little corner and we're getting the project approved. But in terms of what you see on the screen, that is allowed in C2 and C3. So the property, the 90% of the property that already has commercial could have something like this, and it could be configured slightly differently if you wanted to leave out a portion. But we don't think with common ownership, and we don't think with access points that it makes sense. And you'll see what we're proposing long term for that little small triangle, which is going to be at grade surface parking for people that are going to come and go to the self-storage facility, not the parking of trucks. And we're happy to include a condition that says that you can't have any trucks. One other really important point, and we get to it later, is we committed at the Planning and Zoning Board to limiting the hours of operation for the business. And so this will no longer there will no longer be 24-hour operations. No longer, the self-storage facility wouldn't have 24 hours. Again, today, that is not in the books. Commercial zoning would allow you to operate there. We made a commitment long-term for the redevelopment of the property that will ultimately not permit a business such as the one that's been there today, a family-owned business for 30 years, that might have to operate at three or four o'clock in the morning. We made that choice as part of a future redevelopment, but for the time being, certainly they can continue to operate there. So again, we made concessions and we certainly listened to The concerns of neighbors, and we're able to memorialize that as part of your recommendation of approval that you have from and we'll get to that in a minute. But with the building there, I wanted to sort of touch on that point next slide. So, here's the proposed site plan, so I think what's most important here, black and white site plans are hard to look at the little. Top in this in this case, now the top corner, that is the triangle that is currently residential. And as you can see, what we're proposing is surface parking. graded just in a future development, a parking lot where any one of us might go and park to either utilize the ground floor retail or because as most of these self-storage facilities are used, you go a few times a year, you grab Christmas stuff, you drop off things, you know, maybe, you know, you're, you're going to, to, to store some extra stuff. A kid comes home from college and you need some space. I mean, these are, these are all true things in my life. So I suspect that they happen to others. Um, the self storage facility, that's not where there's going to be any kind of truck. That's just going to be a resident, a regular parking space where any of us can just go in our regular car or CV park and then walk into the building. So long-term in terms of the redevelopment of this site, that would be then, um, an area that would just serve as parking, but again, not in support of a commercial operation and not with trucks, but with simply the users of this proposed project. Next slide. So again, we've talked a lot about some of the project just in referring to it. And again, the community and the benefits. Look, I mean, anybody who drives up and down Okeechobee, I mean, there's a lot of older inventory, older buildings. And when folks are able to Assemble a larger piece of land and makes sense that they get redeveloped and you've seen it in other portions of the alternative candidly is to allow what is there, which is legally there for 95% of the property to operate as whatever it's doing, which it's operated like that for a long time. And as we go through this process and may continue to operate for some time, but. Obviously, new construction, increased ad valorem taxes to the city, jobs, additional opportunities or amenities for the city, and then the ground floor, which when we first proposed it, to be very candid with you, when we first proposed the project, it was just a self-storage facility. And in having conversations with staff, there was a desire to see if we could activate that ground floor a little bit, because that's the kind of thing that neighbors could use, right? I mean, now there's perhaps a place you can walk to to grab a cafe or to do whatever, a little store, whatever might be there. And so we included that. even though that meant we had to test it through traffic and you have a traffic study that shows that this is acceptable with your city standards even though we had to test it in all of these fashions and all those are you know evidence that you have in your record we did it at you know i think the staff suggestion a claudia suggestion um because it made for a better project and that's how you can bring something new to the area but also i think provides something for those residents that exist today We could have stuck with it and just said, we'll just do self-storage. And then there wouldn't be much use for anybody in the neighborhood to go there unless they got a self-storage unit. Our hope is that this is something that in the long term might be a place somebody, like I said, goes to grab a coffee or go to a store that might be there. And that isn't going to be just the twice a year someone goes to self-storage. Hopefully that's something that others use. We included that in our project, you know, in working with your staff. And I think it makes for a better project. Next slide. So here is, I believe, was it vice president that you wanted to see the, here's your triangle. So that is the triangle. So all of the red, the balance of the property, everything along frontage, everything with the frontage is already commercial, commercial land use and commercial zoning. The yellow portion is a portion we are changing. And again, and you'll see it with the alley item, the portion that's in white there that pertains to both sides, we would, Just include as part of our project, it does not affect our neighbor to the north as you're looking from here, which their alley, they can continue to access through their property. I mean, that's not we can't stop that your city attorneys and your city wouldn't permit that. So, just to be very clear on what this does, and that's the small scale land use amendment, changing it to the to the commercial land use next slide.

You go a question just I'm looking at this and I see the square footage on the triangle. The 1, that's currently. residential and you want to convert it to commercial because of the uh irregular shape of this lot although it's residential it's not really conducive to build a house on i would imagine if someone wanted to construct a home there with that shape i'd be before you try to get a handful of variances for a home because the triangle lot are very difficult your step backs are yeah and it it

That isn't lost on us. And I suspect historically it's why there was common ownership with some of the other sites. And historically it was utilized. Admittedly, candidly, we found out through this process and we realized when we first made the change, hey, we're going to clean this situation up now. And obviously the more acute problem of trucks being parked there that are a nuisance to our neighbor, we addressed. I mean, we did not. here until the night of the planning and zoning board and we took care of that situation and i'm going to show you some photographs how we've cleared that area but to your point yes it is not lost on us that it is an irregularly shaped parcel that would likely need to be you know done or built out in a way that even if there was a home there um and then you know you could put a two-story home on there and you might have to because of the shape which would then perhaps create a different set of issues for a neighbor Again, completely allowed in your R1 to have a two-story home, but that could be rather than surface parking, which of course is never going to be intrusive. We are not proposing a residential use. So the fact that our building is six stories, no one's living there. No one's looking out. No one's consistently there peering over into neighborhoods. I've been up here with many residents. applications in this city and others where, you know, there's a building that comes up and it's a residential building and it's going to be next to single family homes. And you've, you know, certainly got the privacy concerns, but this, this is a, you know, a commercial use with security. And again, that's going to be shut down and not open in the overnight hours. So a very different condition than what could even exist there today. So that's the land use. And that's the 16 B item that you have on first reading today on the top right-hand corner, which is to change it to the commercial land use. Next slide. The rezoning companion, I'm not going to belabor this point. If you change the land use, then you've got to change the zoning to something commercial. We would change it to C2. We note, however, that the corner parcel, that's the one I said it's very unorthodox, very unique. In my career, doing this for a few minutes and a little bit of gray hair, I don't recall down zoning a property, right? Like willingly as an owner. I mean, if this, you know, wasn't being developed this way, that corner parcel as C3 could have an even more intense use. But because what we are proposing is allowed in C2, we are proactively taking and requesting that the city bring down the zoning on that little area that says C3. To the C2 that its neighbors enjoy. So, I mean, in the long run, 1 could argue that that little portion is also being brought down in intensity because we didn't, we didn't really need it again. Not something that's commonly asked for. Obviously, the rezoning of the R1 to C2 so that it's all combined is the part we need more for our project. But we went ahead at staff's request and. Unified the zoning or made a request that we would unify zoning at C2 that is item 17 F. that is the 1st reading of your zoning application.

Through the chair.

Yes, ma'am.

Hugo we. our planning and zoning asked for it to be C2 or the- No, no, no.

We made that commitment even before we ever got the planning and zoning.

Why would anybody go down? I'm just curious.

Because we didn't need it for the project we're proposing, which begs the question that if someday we don't build this project, this owner could say, oh, I had more zoning on the corner and I gave it up. But we believe in our project, and if we can get our project approved, I mean, this is a reputable and serious business owner that plans to move forward with this project. So it is not typical. It was not asked for by P&Z, but it was in conversations with staff that we made the decision to bring it down to C2. It's an unnecessary change in some respects. I mean, if for whatever reason the C3 portion remains C3, we would still be able to develop the project we're proposing. But just that way, the map was unified.

Is there something that you can't do in C3 that you could in C2?

Yeah, I mean, there are certainly more intense uses. And I think, in fact, my slide, right, Joey?

That you can't do in C3?

Yeah, we have the C2 uses. There are C3 uses that are more intense. I could probably create like a little chart for you to give you that for second reading. I didn't look at it that way. I looked at it more in the other direction, but I'd be happy to sort of clarify for you what some of those more intense uses. But suffice it to say, you all up there have been doing this long enough to know that sequentially c1 c2 and then c3 goes on intensity the least intense the kind of middle intensity and then c3 is your most intense commercial zoning category in which a lot of uses are permitted thank you Next slide. So that's 17F. I think I made that point. Part of 17F is also some requests related to our site plan. So let me get into those, and I do want to just speak clearly on them. So self-storage, and I've worked on, I don't know, eight or 10 in different jurisdictions over the last 10 or 15 years when self-storage has kind of popped up a little bit more. I don't remember them as a kid. It wasn't a thing. Maybe there was one somewhere. But we all have seen them. And even your city obviously has a number of self-storage. They generate a lot less parking needs. And so your code is static. It just says, you've got a building, x square footage, give me this much parking. It's a big building. It's 116,000 square feet. And that makes sense that we would be required to have a substantial amount of additional parking. We are required by code to have 68 spaces. We are providing 51 on site and six that are on street parking spaces, which we're not counting. Our variance request is to go from 51 to 68. But there will also be six street parking spaces. You may say, well, how do you justify this variance? What is the evidence that says, hey, they're not going to be short in parking? So what we did with the city, and we'd employed in other places, and I think the city has done, is we went and did not a conceptual traffic or parking analysis based on crunching numbers but we went to a location and we hired a company to go to a location to measure the part the the number of cars that go to a comparably sized unit um just outside the city limits but not very far a couple of miles away from here that the city agreed with the the the company that was hired to do so was complimentary, right? Like this is something that is going to be similar to what we're proposing for. And that study and that evaluation in real human beings showing up and parking and a person there with a clicker, not just crunching numbers on a spreadsheet, which I don't mean to denigrate anybody who works with spreadsheets, but I think we can all sort of understand that sometimes the numbers on a paper aren't the same as what you view. Those consultants went out there and confirmed that the demand is only 45 spaces that in fact what we were proposing um exceeded the demand that they showed when they went out there and tested that um particular location and said okay we're seeing what we know intuitively which is that again the the vast majority of a building being self-storage you're not going to have at any point and in fact we were told that at no point were there more than 10 to 12 cars ever at that particular self-storage facility and again Common practice and what we've all done, and I'm sure if you've been to a self storage facility, it's not the kind of place that's usually overrun. It's not a daily occurrence or daily location. So again, the evidence we presented to justify that. Variance was is has been submitted to the city has been reviewed by the city's team and professionals and. We would not, I am confident, enjoy a recommendation of approval from. Claudia and her team this evening if we had not shown to their satisfaction that this was something that could be justified. The code is there to provide relief in those instances in which it can be justified, and we believe that it can. Landscape buffer variance, this is not, let me take off the table, we are not reducing any variance or any landscaping adjacent on the buffer or on the property line that meets our neighbor, so the neighborhood. what we're doing is if i could actually go back to um one of the previous uh slides we're doing it along southeast fifth so right there you can see it what we're doing is on in the in the famous triangle the right line, I was terrible at geometry, whatever that right line is called, the one that fronts Southeast Fifth, in order to provide for our parking, we got rid of the landscaping buffer there, which is seven feet. But on the north side, which is the side that we share with our neighbor, we have the full seven feet. We have our landscaping. We are not asking for any relief. The relief is solely so that we could actually do some parking Up against the street and not lose 7 feet of landscaping to a street, which is less typically less necessary visually. Even from, we would readily admit, and we would not have gotten this far because I would have told our client, we're not going to remove a buffer and we're not going to remove landscaping next to a single family home. And we are not doing that. That request doesn't do that. So it's simply for that little portion that fronts the street. Next, let's go back to the slide. Perfect. And then the loading space variance. And this speaks a lot to, again, because of a commercial building and the size, you would typically think if this was a regular business with 116,000 square feet that you're going to need a lot of trucks and that you're going to have 18 wheelers and that you're going to have all of that coming in. So there's three big areas. commercial loading truck areas that have to be provided for a building of this size. Again, our evidence that we submitted in connection with the parking variance and our practice, and again, staff's recommendation of approval, showed that the very, very, very vast majority of people going to a self-storage facility are not showing up in some huge truck the very vast majority of people are showing up in their automobiles or suvs and bringing stuff in and out we are still providing one loading dock but we're not providing the full complement of what's needed so if somebody does come in with a u-haul or something like that there will be a place for them but of course if they're coming in with a regular car they can just park in a parking space and we've seen it all right they have like the little um rolling carts and you put your stuff and you know Same model and same situation. Next slide. That was 17F, by the way. I think I went through all of your items. Parking and traffic, again, we went through this as I explained it. Cell storage means less traffic. The impact, all of this is in your substantial competent evidence. The 45 spaces that we showed at a complementary location versus what's needed or what we're providing here versus the code, and that's what generates our variance request. And also, you know, just sort of some of the numbers behind all of that. All of that is contained in this slide. Next. So here are some of the other permitted uses in C2. And again, the vast majority of the existing commercial property c2 there would be even more intense uses but if we weren't trying to change the little triangle and we weren't proposing this self-storage facility and they just wanted to redevelop tear it down and just redevelop on the same footprint forget about adding or you know any other portion those are all the uses many of which i heard you to look would be far more intense than a self-storage facility from hospitals to hotels and motels the city has tried long and hard to get rid of that on the Okeechobee corridor. But part of the reason why they're on Okeechobee is because that's allowed in this zoning category. You know, banquet halls and, you know, hardware stores.

Is this mislabeled? Should this be under C3?

No, no, this is correctly labeled as C2. I think the explanation here is that our use... ultimately as proposed is less intense than many other uses that can be done in C2 and of course also in C3. To the vice president's question, there would be and can be another chart that I'll prepare and give you. Well, if you didn't do anything with the corner piece, that little piece could also have these C3 uses. This is just C2. That's what we got. Again, this is just more as a comparison point. And I think you all see this when you sit up there. When you are Evaluating a redevelopment, it is not only appropriate, I think, to look at what's being proposed, but also what could be there today and what exists today. Those are almost like three different buckets that you choose from what exists today. What could happen if you just redeveloped in accordance with what's there today? And that's what this one addresses. And then obviously our proposal requires the changes that we've proposed, which we believe in the long run will actually be more complimentary to the neighbors. We really do believe that because of the commitments we've made and because of the nature of the use and because you get rid of it being a. Whatever C2 and C3 might allow, repair shops and all of these things, which again can legally continue to operate there if we don't do this. And not lost on anyone is the potential for Live Local, which hovers over everyone on any commercial site. A nearly one acre site on Okeechobee could be ripe for something like that. It's not what this owner wishes to do, but it is a good point that that would also be permissible.

Does C3 allow all of this?

Yes. All your C3 incorporates all your C1 and C2. You add, you don't, yeah. Next slide. alley vacation we talked about this and again i hit on this point um to the to the extent that it's on we're on both sides we're seeking to incorporate it and close it um we are not and cannot by law and your city would not allow us to and your city attorneys wouldn't permit us to close out or not let them access their own alley from their backyard but yes i mean our portion can be closed and that's why again we we have no objections we have conditions in in accordance with that because you've got to relocate any utilities that might exist we have not uncovered i believe we've uncovered one but the conditions are you got to relocate if there's any fp l or comcast lines and the like we make that commitment your city has closed a lot of alleys over the years and that commitment is always or that requirement is always made of your owners that are seeking to to take their portion or in this case both sides of the alley because they're on both sides of the street um next slide and that's 17h so staff recommendations again we enjoy staff's recommendation and the planning and zoning board's recommendation of approval on every item that you have here before you this evening and we heard the concerns and again we most acutely addressed the issue of parking trucks in that area immediately and before we stood here today next slide Um, here's the planning and zoning board meeting. Um, and again, you know, kind of in smaller type, all of the conditions, rezoning variance conditions. And I think the pertinent want there again was that we would prior to showing up here this evening, we would not have any trucks parking in that little wedge, which is the property closest to our neighbor. Next slide. And this is the area now with no trucks. And so again, I started with it because it was fresher in my mind when I started speaking, you know, a little while ago and I apologize, but obviously, you know, we've got opposition and we have to be very clear and establish our record. That is those pictures were taken August 25th, which I think is today. So they were taken earlier today. So we are not, we've removed the trucks. It is now clean and vacant. The pictures that were introduced into the record of planning and zoning undoubtedly had trucks. When it came to our attention, we addressed that my client agreed with our condition. Previous slide had also had those hours of operation conditions, which again, we were happy to include, which in the long run means that this location, if this development is approved, we'll go from a place that can, and probably will continue to have 24 hour operations on. everything that fronts Okeechobee to something that will be closed overnight for the self storage and any of the stores or restaurants. And there will be a period of time every night where a neighbor can enjoy more peace and quiet than candidly they can today as the commercial zoning permits much more. Those are the photographs. Next slide. Again, you know, particularly when we know and we were of course aware from planning and zoning and then from the comments during the initial part of the meeting that there were these concerns we have reached out to the owners those of you that know me know that we don't try not to um you know the owners have um through their representatives to be fair not necessarily the gentleman and and and the owner here this evening but through their representatives have chosen to sort of address us or deal with us sort of uh emails um earlier this evening um thank you He's still here. I was approached by someone who does what I do for a living, who says, oh, I've been hired to oppose your project from a zoning standpoint. I suspect you'll hear from him at second reading. Meanwhile, we sent an email the next day saying, why don't we go out and meet out there on the site and talk about what these conditions are? And we were and I will be very candid, told it's too hot. We really don't want to meet there. OK, well, let's meet somewhere else. But it was clear that. They want to just pick at what may have been done incorrectly rather than address the project that's coming. I like to focus on how can we be good neighbors now and in the future as we propose a project. And quite candidly, we were stymied in our efforts to meet. And I don't say that very often, but I think it's important for all of you to hear that because you know me and you know that I would have made that commitment of planning and zoning. And we have the evidence where we sent an email and we're told, now we'll keep dealing with this. And the way to deal with it is they now have two lawyers. involved in this rather than working and talking to us. That's fine. I'm a lawyer, too. We'll continue to have discussions. And I'm not closing the door on those. But we also try and be good neighbors. And that's what we're trying to do. So hopefully, after this evening, we'll have an opportunity. And I have some faith that the zoning attorney that's been brought on board, more knowledgeable about the process that we're going through, a zoning process, you know, will help me sit down and maybe address any additional concerns and see if there's anything else that we can do. We remain committed to that, and I want you all to hear that. So happy to answer any questions you have. I appreciate you for your generosity and time this evening, and I look forward to your questions tonight and to the second reading. Thank you. Thank you, sir.

Through the chair.

Yes, ma'am.

Okay, Hugo, walk me through how, okay, just so I know, what is existing there

not on 652 because 652 is a triangle i know that's a vacant lot and you saw the pictures now that it's fake right a series of one pictures of it with the truck yeah i mean a series of one story i mean i i don't think we actually focused but it's a series of one story commercial uses that front but our access from the back that front the the building in front of the triangle what is there now A building with, among other things, the gentleman you heard from, one of our tenants that operates the catering company and other businesses that operate legally under your current zoning.

Okay, so there's smaller businesses there.

Yes, yes.

And then your applicant purchased that land?

Correct. Finished purchasing the last piece in 2024 so that they could create enough to propose a new project. And it was... sometime last year that they came to see us and then we started working through this but yes there are it is now owned by the same owner but there are numerous tenants um utilizing the different you know areas any i i see there's a restaurant but i don't know what's next to it well how many floors does that have right now i think everything is one story right yeah it's one story i don't think any of them are have a second story okay that was my question as to what was there now i think

Anyone else we're still before we move on to the connected items. Remember, we're still on 16 B, the land use.

If I may, for this project.

Yes, ma'am.

I know that we saw the map that had some of the parking and you shared that it's 45 recommended spaces with six on the street parking, right?

The 45 number, if I'm not mistaken, is the number we generated from our study of, we are right.

So it would be 45, it would be 39 then and six on the street?

No, we're providing, no, we're providing 51. So the study reflected that 45, we are providing 51 plus the six on the street.

Got it.

We, that is, we can't ask for a variance because we can't count the street parking, but we, you know, it's also going to be the street parking next to our business. And we all know that people who tend to park there are going to be the people going.

So that street parking is, is.

Is going to be open to the city.

Is the one that's in the triangle that's facing this.

No, no, no. This is the street parking along 5th.

No, the parking, the 45, or the, I'm sorry, the 51 that you're going to do is on that triangle that's adjacent to the residence.

No, there's only nine spaces there. Nine of the 51 are there. If we can pull up one of the earlier slides.

The one that you turned into a C2.

The buildings go down that exist on, if the slide, I think.

So the spaces will be on that corner lip, on the corner.

They'll be throughout the site. Let me show you the site plan. So back.

three or four i have it here currently there's a storage unit that's there on okeechobee that has it all on the first floor and the building's kind of lifted above it so hugo i'm sorry is the parking below the building and the building's raised up there there is covered parking yes but if you if you go to slide five Because I know that there's one like that right now on Okeechobee.

Yeah. So right there. So the vast majority, I don't have a clicker, but the triangle has... Can you go back to the other photo?

I'm sorry, the colorful one. That one, okay. So then this is the retail on the first floor, right? And then the parking's on the backside of that property?

Yeah, you can't see the parking from here. I could, you know, we could certainly try and show you. This is the bird's eye view. As you can see, the building is like sort of that white area in the bottom. And then you've got the parking that's out over all the way around. So you see there's only nine spaces in the triangle. All those other, you know, what you see as little parking spaces is how we get to 51.

So there's nine in the triangle and the remainder out on the street.

No, no, no, no. It's I can't. They're all here.

Southeast Fifth Avenue.

They're all in here.

Underneath.

Inside our property. Correct.

And that's covered.

Yes. Not all of it, but yes, a portion of it.

And it's how many floors?

Six. Six total, which again, your code allows you to go. I believe it's to eight stories, but we're not.

But the first floor is retail.

And the first floor is retail. But yes, no, the parking on the triangle is just those nine spaces that you see. If you look at that top part, that's the triangle. There's six and three. Those are the nine spaces that would be there. So there'd be no building there. There'd be nothing else there.

All right. Thank you. Through the chair, Hugo, is there? I know right now there's a nine parking spots in that triangle. And that's really the one that concerns me because it's the one that affects the resident residents. Because it's not only your the residents at 652, right? It's also the residents in the front, because you have residents, you have two residents in the front. But is there plans to build something there?

In the triangle?

Yeah.

No, no, no. I mean, again, even to the point that I think the council president made, I mean, it's a unique little situation.

Can't build a house, but developers can get creative.

I mean, on a 5,000 square foot lot, it would be very, very difficult, Madam Vice President. I mean, particularly something commercial, when you do the setbacks, I mean, you'd have to put up a shed, but we're not proposing to do anything like that.

OK, so there we are asking for a variance for the landscaping.

The landscaping variance is just simply so you see the three spaces that are here. So the three spaces, I wish I had like a clicker, but like the three spaces, that front, south, east, fifth, you see how there's three grade spaces in the triangle. Let's keep our eye on the triangle. So there's six spaces that abut sort of to the top. And then there's three. Those three don't have the seven-foot landscaping boundary that is needed um buffer sorry that's where it's coming the seven foot landscape buffer that is required um we push them up closer to still within our property but so we don't admittedly have additional landscape and a buffer to the sidewalk and the street but we do have it to our neighbor so there's no landscaping after the parking and before the sidewalk for those three spaces to the to the sidewalk and the street but not to the house Yes. I mean, there'll be a fence. I mean, it's separated.

What kind of fence?

I knew you were going to ask that. I think it's masonry at that level, but I'll check. Yeah, masonry at that level. What kind? Masonry, brick, solid, not chain link, not wood, but brick, masonry. Yeah. Yeah, so you're behind a masonry wall. Cars will be seven feet closer than they would have been if there had been some landscaping there. But again, at most, someone walking a little stretch on a sidewalk, that's not consistently next to someone's house. I would not have gotten this far without insisting that we do have our landscape buffer and all of our landscaping abutting our neighbor's property.

sorry uh another question that i have i know in the code right or the declaration of restriction correct they're asking so no commercial truck or equipment correct in that property

In all of it. I mean, we're not going to store commercial trucks or equipment on site. It's not going to be one of those places that you can rent like a space and keep your boat. I mean, this exists in self-storage facilities or rent the space and keep your work truck. None of that will be allowed. You cannot have any space. overnight commercial truck parking. We took all of that off the table. Again, all of that is allowed currently in commercial zoning and you could do all of that. Will not be allowed moving forward. That commitment and then the hours of operation commitment, which I'm going from memory because I have it in a different slide, but I believe we said 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock for the self-storage facility until 6 a.m. I think that's right. 6 to 12, sorry, midnight to 6 a.m. So again, you heard and can appreciate that there's work going on. Today, legally, putting aside the triangle, legally on the part that's commercial, trucks can be coming in at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning. There's a business and a family that's been running a business there. This is a new project, and this would not have that, and there would be a period of time, in addition to the fact that it would no longer be the kind of location that's going to have a bunch of trucks coming because it's self-storage and maybe a cafeteria and a store. not generally going to be where people bring but the declaration restrictions has the additional restriction that we will not have any overnight parking any work trucks any thing like that which is again because of the experience i have sometimes the locations will allow people to rent the space none of that can happen and the last question is what is what will be placed between the other

Six parking spots that will face the neighbors.

Landscaping. There's a buffer. So there's seven feet and then there's landscaping. And I certainly could bring you, I mean, your landscaping plans are part of your package. And of course, on the same masonry wall.

Six feet, eight feet.

Seven. A seven foot wall with landscaping would go there.

Is there any way we can make that fence higher?

I think it's a question of the code. We probably have to ask for a variance. I don't think we have. Yeah, well, I think Mr. Arecio is going to check the code. I believe we're at code limit. If we're not, we'll go up to whatever code permits.

we'd be hard pressed to agree to a condition that exceeds your code without a variance but some of them codes were made because of safety it's very hard to scale a wall in a building that might be on fire when it's over six feet seven feet they originally did those you know to for that for easy access to the police and fire and things like that if I made through the chair

Claudia, if I could ask you something. There is a massive center for this, this exact self-storage on Okeechobee. How close is it to this proposed project?

Let me double check and I will get back to you. But currently we have two other self-storage facilities.

On Okeechobee, we have two other ones. This would be the third.

This will be the third.

I don't know if this is a little bit too much of an exaggeration of having these self-storage on this road because they're very tall, massive projects as well. I mean, is there that much of a need for this kind of project to have now a third one on the same main road? Is that all that we're attracting there on Okeechobee, these self-storages? We can't get more creative?

If the market requires, that is what is currently in the code. And the market is basically, you know, making their numbers for these type of uses.

I mean, I don't know. To have a third one on Okeechobee, I think it's a little bit excessive. That's just what I think. And it's eight floors.

It's six.

Six. Well, it seems massive in the photo that you're carrying. Yeah, I mean. And it's just.

Councilwoman may not need.

To have a third one on Okeechobee. It's just. Yeah, you.

I mean, you have a big city.

To me, it's like it's a lack of creativity. You know, this is our main road here in the city. And we keep on approving these excessive things back to back. You go a quarter of a block and there's another huge. Yeah.

Yeah. no i know look and i appreciate it a lot of i'm just being honest no and i i just have different standards i appreciate that you heard one of the complementary uses that are being put on a lot of corridors like this is you get residential you got live local projects and so because i think there is a recognition that a principal corridor you know, might enjoy some different kind of uses. I can speak to the need, you know, clients, property owners who spend a lot of money to purchase property, hire all sorts of professionals to go through this, don't get projects approved unless they feel that there's a financial need. It's not for your city. I mean, Claudia and the city doesn't ever evaluate and say like, do we need this? know particular type of use they look at the code and say is this permitted and that's um you know but you know my client wouldn't move forward with this but i hear you and you know perhaps longer thinking there's other things that city can do but it is believe it or not fairly narrow and it's on okeechobee so it's also not the kind of place that you're going to get big retail, because you'd have a very difficult time getting in and out. So actually that's where the lower traffic use is very beneficial and ultimately more beneficial than someone trying to be more creative, but maybe bringing in a more intense use. You might get a slightly lesser building, but it'll be far more traffic. Those are the balancing things your planners do. This is the project before you, because this is what my client as a property owner believes that they can make work. And again, they wouldn't go through all of this to be like, forget it. This is, this doesn't, there's no need for this. They're doing this because they believe that there's an aid.

yes sir yeah that's what we have to look at we have to look here in front of us is what could be built right now what is it that you are proffering to build we want a motel we want a multi-family we want something to me the the extent of what you're uh representing here for your client is the least intense of views of what right now could be built here. There was a lot of issues in the history in the past about motels. Motels were built here because this was the quarter of all the truckers that brought everybody here and it was commercial and all these things could happen. But you're coming down with, you know, the development coming to C3 to C2, what you're offering is really is a property where the intense of the use is really minimum compared to what it could be. And with all due respect, and it's a business study and laissez-faire, hands off of the government, Milton Friedman is, government has nothing to say. What kind of business should be here, there, whatever? It's a private sector. And tomorrow, the private sector will determine what it's going to be. We just regulate the safety. We regulate the intent of the use or whatever. We have nothing to say. The use that you can have right now, it's a motel. It's a hotel. multifamily, which the intent of the use is going to be a lot more, including a motel and dangerous for the residents. For me even to think that there's two over there, two other properties like that, we don't need any more. Well, the private sector determines that. Government should not. Government knows nothing and everything that government does, basically, interferes with the potential of the economic boundaries of whatever it is that we can do in the private sector and the jobs and whatever we create. There's nothing government can do better than the private sector. Not in the beginning capitalism, not in the middle, not even today. The use that you are proffering here right now is the least intensive use that could possibly be in that property in Okeechobee Road. And for that, I motion to approve.

If I may, through the chair?

Yes, ma'am.

So just to address, I agree with some of what you say, Councilman Gonzalez. However, I believe that there should be hands off, but there shouldn't be throwing the papers up in the air and just make decisions that we have no kind of urban planning, no districts, no respect for certain corridors, no quality of life to bring to our residents in certain areas. If you're raising a family here, you don't wanna have an excessive amount of one item, because then you're gonna have to travel outside your city for other ventures, whether it's restaurants, whether it's hospitals, whether it's parks. You need to plan appropriately and have a balanced natured zoning throughout your city. And that's part of planning and having urban planning. And I believe that Doral has done a really good job of that in doing those districts. And that's all I'm proposing. I agree. I think that government shouldn't have such a stronghold. And I believe the private sector should have a say in what happens. But you hear these complaints. You hear it throughout the city, whether it's we have too many medical clinics. and the vans are parking in in the parking lots and they take over the shopping centers um so it's it's a main road and those main roads we could get creative it doesn't have to be a motel it could be many other things that we see in other cities but it requires creativity that's all i'm saying and i and i would i would say i mean to echo both thoughts i mean i think if the code

Evolves and I know Claudia is looking at different ideas and prospects down the road if the code evolves and has other concepts and I'm very familiar with the route and do a lot of work there. Yeah. I mean, I think when those things are in place at some point, but I think to the councilman's point, what's in place today and the only. The only thing I would add is not only is this a more a less intense use that we're proposing. What is there today will remain there until this is developed. And that is certainly a lot more intense. And that is really what our neighbor putting aside the triangle, which we won't park in and address that issue. And that code enforcement violation, honestly, is going to go away because they're going to go out there and they're going to take a look at it and say, like, OK, you're not doing this anymore. Putting that aside. The trucks beeping at 4 o'clock in the morning, the use of the commercial, all of that area, that all legally remains today. That's an additional counterpoint. Not just, could it be something else? Is this the less intense thing it can be? But that third bucket I spoke about, what is it that would remain there that, frankly, is, I think, a lot of what this neighbor is understandably complaining about? A truck at 4 AM. Our commitment, you won't be hearing anything at 4 AM. This doesn't move forward. We decided this wasn't worthwhile or the city decides not to approve this. Those businesses will remain there. I don't mean that as a threat. It's just that's a reality. They've been there for 30 years. They're not going to go anywhere. We're going to continue to lease out to the gentleman who has a catering company. And that truck will have to get to the airport by 5, and they're going to make noise at 4 o'clock in the morning. Your code allows all of that today. We're taking so many of those things off the table. I hear your thought. I look forward to working with Claudia, with you, on districts. We do it in other jurisdictions. And your city has done it in other places, on 25th Street and the like. So it's not like your city's not familiar with it. oaky might require a good look that way but what you have before you today here i am confident in the long run is going to be less noisy and less impactful from a traffic standpoint than what exists today um and i you know i urge you to keep that in the back of your minds or maybe the front of your minds as you make a decision this evening and in two weeks through the chair yes ma'am i just wanted to say that um council member gonzalez you know you

I do agree with you on some items, but the beauty of this government, right, is that we can agree to disagree and we're up here respectfully to have conversations. And it's okay if we disagree, right? I will say, I think since day one that I've been here, I've always kind of expressed to anybody who comes up here is that I would love I would love to see less high rises, right? I don't wanna take away from residential. So it hurts to change an R1 to a commercial. But in the space that there is there now, we can't say that that is the least, right? Because there's a restaurant there now, there's a business there now. And I think the community around there can benefit from restaurants, can benefit from retail. I think they would benefit more from that than they would from a storage area that there is already others in place. But again, I'm one of seven. And that is, again, the beauty of having seven of us up here to discuss that. But I would have to say that I disagree with this project. I feel for the resident and I just, I don't want to continue to encroach into the residential area. the space that's there now i mean it's already commercial right it's the it's continuing to encroach on it but um ideally i would have liked a less aggressive project more commercial retail restaurants um benefit from madam vice president i hear what you're saying i can also tell you unequivocally that every one of those uses you just uttered are far more intense from a traffic standpoint

Well, and I get that.

The traffic doesn't. Okeechobee is a traffic site, right? But when you have restaurants, that's something that everybody can enjoy.

Of course, I appreciate it.

Leave Hialeah. So many people leave Hialeah for restaurants and entertainment and stuff. And I would love to just.

And I appreciate that. I just when your team tests. infrastructure and test impacts, they do look at those things. And in fact, pretty much all of the ones you mentioned, from retail to restaurants, have far more intense impacts. And so, again, it's possible the neighbors might enjoy them more, but they would certainly have more traffic. And that might be a trade-off that people would be willing to make versus less traffic in a taller building. And that's a fair... way to look at this among other ways for sure but i just think it's important to note it's not equally it's not apples to apples necessarily when it comes to impacts there are changes in impacts but i appreciate your comments i you know we'll certainly take them into consideration second we who do we have a first one oh we had okay thank you uh yeah um

First from Councilman Luis Gonzales. Second from Luis Rodriguez. Okay. I'm still thinking about all these three things. Go ahead. Call the roll.

Mr. Zoghbi?

Yes.

Mr. Marrero? Yes. Ms. G. Perez? Yes. Ms. De La Vega? No. Ms. M. Perez? No. Mr. Gonzales?

Yes.

Mr. Rodriguez, motion carries. The item is approved.

Second reading and public hearing is scheduled for September 8th, 2026 at 7 p.m. With the permission of my colleagues, let's go to the associated, let's jump to the associated items in zoning, which would be 17F. Would you like to read that into the record, Madam Clerk?

First reading of proposed ordinance rezoning properties from C3 extended liberal commercial district to C2 liberal retail commercial district for the properties located at 489, 491, 493 and 499 East Okeechobee Road, Hialeah. And from R1, one family district to C2, liberal retail commercial district for the property located at 652 Southeast Fifth Avenue. Hialeah granting variances to allow 51 parking spaces where 68 parking spaces are required. One loading parking space where three loading parking spaces are required, and zero-foot landscape buffer adjacent to three proposed parking spaces, where a minimum seven-foot landscape buffer is required. All contra to City of Hialeah Code of Ordinances Sections 98-2189, 98-2202, and the City of Hialeah Landscape Manual updated July of 2026, Section D, for the properties located at 455, 475 East Okeechobee Road, Hialeah, And folio numbers 04-3120-005-1280 and 04-3120-005-1290. Currently zoned as C2, 489, 491, 493, and 499. East Okeechobee Road, Hialeah, concurrently zoned C3 and 652 Southeast Fifth Avenue, Hialeah concurrently zoned R1, repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for a sorority clause and providing for an effective deed.

Thank you. 17F is on first reading. not open to public discussion but if anybody has any more questions or pleasure of the council motion motion from councilman luis rodriguez second second from councilman luis gonzalez please call the roll mr marrero yes miss g perez

Ms. Dela Vega? Ms. M. Perez? No. Mr. Gonzalez?

Yes.

Mr. Rodriguez?

Yes.

Mr. Zogby?

Yes.

Motion carries. The item is approved. Second reading and public hearing is scheduled for September 8, 2026 at 7 p.m.

Thank you. Item 17H, Madam Clerk?

First, reading a proposed ordinance approving the closure, vacation, and abandonment of the existing 12-foot alley located in East Hialeah to the west of Southeast Fifth Avenue, extending northwesterly approximately 193.30 feet between lots 18, through 25 block 7 of the East Hialeah plot and track 7 of the revised plot of block 7 of the subdivision of East Hialeah containing approximately 2,053.78 square feet as depicted on the plan attached here to it and made it part hereof as Exhibit A and legally described herein, repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for a severability clause and providing for an effective date.

17 h's on first reading and um Any questions or pleasure of the council? Motion. Motion from Councilman Luis Gonzalez. Second. Second from Councilman Luis Rodriguez. Please call the roll.

Ms. G. Perez. Yes. Ms. De La Vega. Ms. M. Perez. No. Mr. Gonzalez.

Yes.

Mr. Rodriguez. Yes. Mr. Zogby. Yes. Mr. Marrero.

Yes.

Motion carries. The item is approved. Second reading and public hearing is scheduled for September 8, 2026 at 7 p.m.

Thank you all. We'll see you in two weeks. Thank you, sir.

I just wanted to say something about the comments that were going back and forth. I think it's just my opinion. It's a valid point. Many cities do create an urban map, a master plan, right? But we have to be careful in situations like this. What we can do in the future is, which we've done before, Claudia hasn't been here that long, but we have areas in the city, for example, around us, we can't open another car wash. There are certain businesses they don't want anymore in certain areas. When they envisioned the downtown, they didn't want, you know... Palm Avenue to be for the car wash and everything. We could certainly create an overlay district, Claudia? Claudia, right? In something like this, like with the discussion that was had that there's too many businesses of this, there's too many businesses of that, and it's a valid point. But if we wanted to really create a situation where we take an area, let's say it's Okeechobee Road and say no more of these storage and no more of this, we would have to beforehand create like an overlay district or another area which would say this is if you want to do a change of use of zoning or something this is all you can have it will no longer be this type of business the confusion is we get caught up with that decision where where we look at a business that's abundant and then we say well i don't you know i don't like it there but that that that's where the problem is because uh we we have to be careful telling people how they can invest their money and what they can build there if it's legal to build they weren't asking for anything that was unusual what he's asking for in this case was a variance in parking and a buffer and things like that it wasn't converting like the triangle So this is something that there's nothing in our books that say they can't do it. And we have to be careful with that. But we certainly can't consider in the future, which is a wonderful idea to have, right, certain urban planning, which will say. And we did that years ago where Okeechobee couldn't have tall buildings. And then the city said we want to develop the Okeechobee in downtown. So we can do that in different zones, right?

So during the master plan, one of the items that it was evaluated, it was the Okeechobee Road. And what we did with the current regulations that we have and frameworks that we have is we expanded the neighborhood business district that allows for mixed use, allowed for residential to be in certain segments of Okeechobee Road. However, we need to be very careful with the status statutes that we have and property rights that we have and the uses that we currently have in the code. Whenever you're taking away those type of uses, we need to go into Bear Harries and other type of statutes where we need to be mindful. That's why whenever we get into these applications, we can negotiate, for example, in that corner in C3, the main difference is in that side corner, you could have potentially a gas station operating 24 hours a day with cars coming in and out, trucks, et cetera, because it will depend on the kind of you know, gas station that is over there. It doesn't have to be restricted to just single, to cars. It can be trucks, it can be et cetera. So at the moment that we have those type of applications that we can see, and the applicant is willing to say, can you lower down so we can be uniform with your stoning? That is the opportunities that we have. The uses also in the residentials, a lot of comments that we have been receiving is whenever we have residential, you have balconies, you have windows, looking into somebody else's backyard. So those are the conditions that we take advantage whenever we're dealing with this application. Yes, probably I would love to see something more active in those corridors. But as I mentioned, truly, that is the market that many times is forcing what it's occurring in those corridors or in those properties, not just corridors.

We'd have to create an ordinance like that. Like we have with pawn shops and things like that. Like we limit them, right? But since we don't have it for this, that's what it is. We have to be careful and it's their money. It's there, yes, and we do have that freedom, that right to deny it, but we have to be careful. If we don't want it there, we have to create an ordinance prohibiting certain businesses in certain areas if we really feel that there's too many of them. And I agree, there's a lot of too many businesses. We do have too many check cashing, too many clinics, too many pawn shops, too many. And it looks kind of... it's it's kind of a depressed City it makes things look we do but we would have to create things prohibiting them in certain areas or allowing them only in certain areas this is the tricky thing about this and I know it's it's a challenge for us because we'd love to see something else there I'd love to see something else there but we just you know it's allowed and and And if we don't like it, it's a tough one because now we don't want to get into how people should spend their money, whether we need it or not. I hope the guy did his studies because there's going to be a lot of money invested in this. And I hope he was right about it. You know, we never know.

I made through the chair. I think that's an excellent point, Councilman. And you're right. We have it for the pawn shops. We have it for the gun shops. We have it for the vapes, the vape stores. I'm not really aware what other business has this imposed in the ordinance, but I would be interested in kind of getting a review on that. If you have any other businesses that are included in these restrictions of radius of being near one another, I would love to get a study on that. And I know that this is something we've discussed in the past. When we did the Hialeah 2050 plan, we asked, what are the excessive business tax licenses? Because we were talking about the clinics. We were talking about the envios a Cuba that are in literally every single shopping center, sometimes two in a shopping center. So, and it's excessive, it's excessive. So if we could get some kind of information on that. Yes, ma'am.

What business have restrictions, right? What business have restrictions? Distance and yeah, okay.

Through the chair, I want to say that I love that idea and I think that's a great idea. Are we able to do what we recently did with the boats, the discussion? Are we able to do a workshop?

That'll come up in the committee. Y'all pass an ordinance having to do with the ad hoc legislative committee. So now that it's been once the mayor signs, obviously the ordinance, then it will go into effect. And I don't know when the first meeting will be scheduled, but that's something that could definitely get discussed during those sessions.

Okay.

Because that's where we'll discuss any ordinance changes and zoning ordinances too can be discussed there. Absolutely. Love it. Thank you. You're very welcome. So we're up to, we're back to 17A, right? Yes. Is that what you said? Yes. All right. Thank you. Yeah, we ready?

Second reading and public hearing of proposed ordinance granting a special use permit pursuant to Hialeah Code of Ordinances Section 98-161 to allow an outdoor storage area for bulk materials and equipment and granting variances to allow the proposed outdoor storage area to be enclosed by a 12-foot high tubular steel fence, where an 8-foot high masonry wall is required, 1,552 parking spaces, where 1,611 parking spaces are required. Contracts of the City of Hialeah Code of Ordinances Section 98-1371. and section 98-189 for the property located at 1650 West 37th Street, Hialeah, Zoned M1 Industrial District, legally described herein, providing for conditions, repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for a severability clause, and providing for an effective deed.

One moment. Are you going to speak about this item, particularly the storage they want to build? Yeah. Is that what you're going to talk about? Are you in opposition of that?

I want to talk about... On the storage?

Specifically, please, not about our parks and our pools. Are you going to talk about this item and how it... Sir, I'm a professional, okay?

last time i'm talking real serious about a health issue i'm hoping people you make fun of that i'm not going to talk about that i was talking about a health issue encouraging everybody to go get a medical checkup and you make fun of that about this item and i'm not making fun of anything okay but you respect me i have the first amendment right to speak on this not on this item yes it's about this item yes

All right, go ahead. Name and address for the record.

And I hope you respect my First Amendment right. I mean, I'm not here to clown.

No, no, don't be the First Amendment rights. You're not an attorney. You can't give legal advice in this state. I asked you a simple question. I'm not denying you your First Amendment rights, so stop going out on those tangents, okay? Thank you.

I ask that you respect me.

Make an address for the record.

Jose Aldi, 788 Saudis Park Drive. I ask that you respect me because I have... I had a serious concern with the selfish and I'm helping everybody. You know, that's not a joke. It's this. It's not about this item. I'm going to talk about the item. I have the right to speak.

About this item. You had comments and questions. I have the right to speak. Go on.

You're a council president. I hope you act like a council president. Acting like a council president. All right. Thank you. I appreciate that. Go on. Right. I appreciate that. Go on. Okay. This item, like every other item, because it's legal, doesn't mean you're allowing. You're the ultimate city planner in the city of Hialeah. Because something is legal, it's going to make a profit. This discussion, I hope the attorney jumped in. I mean, because something is legal, something's going to make a profit. Milton Friedman, yeah, he said that, but you're the ultimate. This has nothing to do with this item. Yes, it's about this item.

Okay.

mr ozzy just so you're uh you're aware the applicant for this item has been waiting now hours in order to be heard about this item this is a quasi-judicial proceeding that means that the applicant has a right to be heard and anybody that wants to speak as to the item specifically as to what exactly is being proposed can do so and the applicant even has their right to cross-examine whoever is speaking on the item. So that's why Council President is trying to keep the quorum, stick to the issues at bar, which is basically this proposed zoning item.

That being said, thank you, Madam Attorney. That being said, if you could speak about, if it's directly about this item in particular, fine. If not, I'm going to have to ask you to abandon it.

I'm going to speak about this item, but you have no right to tell me what to speak on.

I absolutely have the right. I'm going to speak on this item. You can't tell me what my rights are. You can't tell me what my rights are.

I have the right to speak what I want to speak. Okay, go on. You can't tell me what to speak when I'm sitting in the United States. Yes, I can.

No, not in the United States. State stuff. Go on. Go on. Go ahead. It's not going to be about this item. Go on.

Okay. So whether this item or any item is what's best for Hialeah, not that it's going to make money or it's going to make a profit or whatever, you're the ultimate planner in the city of Hialeah. So this item and every item you do what's best for the city of Hialeah because you're the ultimate planner. We have Claudia, I thought she recommends things, but you're the ultimate part of our planning. So that's what I wanted to say. And thank you.

You're welcome. Pleasure of the council for any motion on 17A. From? Rodriguez. That was Louis Rodriguez. And William Marrero for a second on 17A. Thank you. Call the roll.

Ms. Dela Vega is absent. Ms. M. Perez? Yes. Mr. Gonzalez is also absent. Mr. Rodriguez? Yes. Mr. Zogby?

Yes.

Mr. Marrero? Yes. Ms. G. Perez? Yes. Motion carries. The item is approved.

Thank you. Item 5, I'm sorry, 17B.

Second reading and public hearing of proposed ordinance rezoning property from R11 Family District to OOPS Office and Professional Services for the property located at 590 East 8th Avenue, Hialeah, zoned R11 Family District, legally described herein, repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for a severability clause, and providing for an effective date.

I'm sorry, we had the accompanying item, right? Yes. I should thank you for your patience. Does anybody have any questions? This is a second reading. Does anyone have any comments or questions on this for pleasure of the council? Who did first? Thank you. William Marrero, Councilman William Marrero for a first, and Councilman Luis Rodriguez for a second. Please call the roll.

Ms. M. Perez? No. Mr. Gonzalez is absent. The zoning for the dental office. Mr. Rodriguez?

Yes.

Mr. Zogby?

Yes.

Mr. Marrero? Yes. Ms. G. Perez? Yes. Ms. De La Vega? Motion carries. The item is approved. Thank you.

So we're going now to 17D, right? Yes, sir. Yeah. Okay. Go ahead.

First reading of proposed ordinance rezoning property from R11 family district to P parking district for the property located at 390 East 43rd Street, Hialeah zoned R11 family district legally described herein. Repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for a severability clause and providing for an effective date.

Thank you. This item is on first reading, not open for public discussion, but we will now allow the lobbyist, Mr. Lucas, right?

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

President, Madam Vice President, council members, good evening. It's been a long night. Thank you. Good evening. And thank you for your indulgence. May I approach and have you hand this out, please?

Yeah. And then name and address for the record, sir. Thank you.

john lucas 2655 south lagoon road suite 810 core gables florida on behalf of the applicant thank you sir uh latin proud as the council will recall or for those who were present i was here on august 11th the matter after presentation received a motion to deny which was not seconded and the matter was deferred based upon a motion second discussion for this evening. So thank you for allowing me to appear once again. I presented to you a illustration that'll give you a pictorial representation of what the proposed improvement is intended to look like if the council sees fit to approve a request for a change of zoning from R1 to P. Uh, we do have the recommendation of planning staff as well as proposed conditions, which the applicant has agreed to as the council will recall when we last met on August 11th, there was further discussion and a indication of a concern. of what happens to the parking lot that is being proposed for this change of zoned area itself and mr president i think the conversation uh centered around what happens to the parking lot is it going to be secured are we going to have loitering that occurs in the evening hours and the like there was an additional condition that was included within the proposed declaration of restrictions that evening and provided by mr recio and actually there were two conditions One, with respect to the maintenance of the right-of-way improvements that are required under the Declaration of Restrictions. The Declaration actually includes specifics with respect to curb, gutter, turf, landscaping, and the like. The second more significant addition was a provision which appears under the owner's commitments in paragraph 1 . The parking lot shall be secured to prohibit access from 43rd street when the business is not in operation, but in all events between the hours of 11 PM and 5 AM that has been agreed to by the applicant as well. By way of just a historical perspective and very briefly given the lateness of the hour, Fluttery has been in existence since 2008. It's enjoyed considerable success. As a result of that success and an increase in the customer base itself, there have been changes that have been necessitated, including those operationally. There have been concerns that expanding the footprint for this particular business, which is located at the southwest corner of East 43rd and 4th Avenue, including the additional lot that you see which is the farthest portion of this property to the west so you have three parcels here you have the immediate corner where the restaurant is located there's a 25 foot parcel uh adjacent and contiguous to it and then you have the residential parcel that is then appended to it proceeding to the west when we talk about size The restaurant property itself has 12,900 square feet, more or less. The 25 foot strip that is adjacent contiguous to it is roughly 3,450 square feet. And then of course we have the residential lot, which we're requesting be changed to P for parking, which is 8,625 feet. I would like the council to indulge me and to consider this to be more of a solution and not an added problem. This is a betterment for the community. What the continued success of Frutería has brought about is the need for being more self-contained. The council will remember in years past, we had a situation where we were looking for a change of zoning for the 25 foot parcel located in the middle. That was changed from R1 to C1 in order to align it in terms of its use with the actual Frutería restaurant itself. What the reason for that was, is there were complaints that there was more storage taking place in a container on site, as well as perhaps another adjacent and nearby property, which was not permitted. The change of zoning that occurred on the 25-foot lot itself allowed for the construction and development of a two-story storage facility, which is now housing all of the equipment and the necessary appurtenances for the operation of the restaurant itself. But that solved the problem with storage, and it was a good solution there. But what it didn't solve was the second issue, which was one of parking. And the neighbors were concerned that there was a lot of activity. There was impediments to the right-of-way itself, traffic up and down the street, people parking in the swale areas and the like that was not conducive to the residents itself or the residential neighborhood itself. Hence, appendage of this now residential property which was purchased in around 2021 demolished with permits at that time it's a vacant lot itself what this particular lot allows to happen is is for the creation of an additional 26 parking spaces utilizing the same existing driveway connection we don't have to add another driveway connection it allows for into the planning staff's recommendation uh converting what is the swale area into a curbed area with landscaping, all of which is going to be undertaken at the cost and maintenance expense of the owner itself. We are improving the footprint upon which this business is located, allowing it to self-contain and to deal with its own parking demand, as well as its storage, and to eliminate the types of impediments and complaints that have been raised by the by the concerned neighbors themselves i would like for you to view this as a betterment i would like for you to take a look at the actual i think i uploaded or sent something to the clerk's office to go ahead and upload into the system but i think the illustrations that you have before you right now um indicate precisely what is going to be uh developed there now in terms of concerns the council member may very well say well you know what happens if there's a violation that's built into these declaration of restrictions and the restrictions themselves and I don't know whether or not those have been made a part of the records for the council have they been yes if we have a a list of restrictions here I'm not sure if it's unabridged I got you Well, we do have the restrictions and I can tell you that the owner's commitments, they appear at page two of the document that I had received. They are under paragraph two owner's commitments. The owner shall adhere to each of the following. We then have paragraph one through J, which is all inclusive. And as I mentioned previously, not only on August 11th, but with respect to the new additions themselves have been agreed to by the owner. Now, with respect to other changes that were recommended uh at the planning and zoning and also agreed to by the owner instead of a six foot high concrete wall it'll be an eight foot high concrete wall the first 10 feet of the proposed wall will be reduced in order to achieve a line of sight or not present any kind of an impediment to access getting on and off the property all improvements within the uh the site plan itself are going to include as i mentioned earlier the landscaping within the swale area All of which will have to be approved by the city street division installed and then permanently. And the emphasis is on permanent permanently maintained by the applicant itself. The other prohibition is signage. And there was some concern in the early years that there was signage out there that was not desirable for that particular area. There's also a limitation where the owner will not be placing any signage on the property other than directional signage itself, such as parking at. You have to forgive my accent. It's not born and raised here and still trying. I'm here to answer any questions that you have. I would implore you to give us a favorable consideration here and to recognize the commitment on the part of the owner to do the right thing, to take control of the parking situation in the same manner in which he is taking control of the storage issue, which had been raised as a concern previously. I'm here to answer any questions should you have it through the chair? Yes, ma'am.

I'm sorry I have 1 question. They're only doing the business there for because I see here a sign in front of that business that I could fish market coming soon.

I'm not even aware of that signage. You see it on the building itself?

Yeah, it's here on Google. Maybe it's an old picture, but I'm just, you know, I don't know if they're going to build within La Frutería another business of fish market. That's why I'm asking.

I can't speak to that issue, to be honest with you.

That's my only...

It says La Sirena Beach. Yeah. Fish market coming soon.

Well, let me ask you this. If there were a fish market as part of La Frutería, I mean, it is a restaurant. Would that be an impediment or otherwise be found objectionable? And is it permitted under the city code in order for you to have that type of an operation there? Because if it isn't permitted...

It is, Claudia, right? It is. You can have outside sales. You can't put an additional, like a little truck with frozen or fresh fish. No. But if it's within, they can...

They cannot have it outside, but they could have it inside.

They can serve it and offer it inside the business.

Yeah. So with respect to businesses that might be considered as a right, I think the main concern and something that I would acknowledge is this. The key here is making sure that we have a parking facility that is going to eliminate the conflicts, both the pedestrian as well as the vehicular conflicts on 43rd Street that has been complained in the past. that problem is solved by putting in a parking lot that has all the landscaping all the bells and whistles everything needed in order to preserve at least the sanctity of a serenity rather of the neighborhood itself but also to eliminate the on-street right-of-way impediments that have been complained of with regard to traffic itself it's a question of really the volume of vehicles that go and come from that particular location. Having instead of only 12 parking spaces for a business that continues to grow, But to have 38 parking spaces is something that is a betterment. It's something that can certainly remove the types of objections and impediments that we have discussed in the past and which have caused us to be where we are today. So we're offering this as a solution. We don't want it to be a part of the problem. And we've agreed to the enforcement actions that have been articulated within the declaration of restrictions that will keep the property honest.

Any questions for Mr. Lucas? Mr. Lucas, I just wanted to say something also. I've been following this business for years. They've been getting complaints and I've been getting calls from the owner too. No, push and pull. The main problem with this business was its lack of parking. That was the main problem. And that was the biggest disturbance in the neighborhood. People were parking in the residential swales and then tossing their garbage, you know, their containers, their clams, they get the food with just tossing them right on the sidewalk. And there wasn't really anybody monitoring that and all that. This solves that problem. This is a parking, this will be 26 more spaces. That's 26 less cars that will impact or would have been a nuisance in the neighborhood. I do get it. They've been successful and that's a good thing. They've been growing, they've outgrown, right? Their footprint and they need this now. If I was a neighbor there, I would love to have only houses around me, but that is not the case. What is in play here is that one lot that's residential, and they want to turn it into a parking lot to contain everything within their business so they don't have to use parking around the neighborhood. Like you said, have it all contained within the business. If I were the neighbor of that, I would rather have a parking lot than a house. A parking lot, especially with these restrictions at 11 o'clock at night, you're saying it closes, it reopens at 5. In a private home, if you get bad neighbors which abound, there may be no quiet all night long. There could be parties. There could be people, you know, rambunctious people, noisy people, bad neighbors. There's no control over that. This one is a lower impact. It's a lower impact for that. Like a house is a risk. We know what happens in houses where you can have neighbors who are bad neighbors and nuisances, much bigger nuisances than if you had a parking lot next to it. I think the business is there and they needed more parking and the business made the investment. This wasn't cheap to buy the lot and to demolish the house that was there. And I get it. I get it. That will solve. The biggest problem right now that they have that they've impacted the neighborhood with too many cars, but this is 26 additional spaces. This is, this is, I think it's a good thing. I think it's a good thing.

If I made to the yes, ma'am, and thank you for bringing that back. Because, yeah, those were a lot of the concerns when this application came before us and I believe it was also a drive through back when it 1st came and then that was null and voided that. In addition to all the concerns that that the councilman has brought up. Another issue that we had was that the applicant decided to purchase that home and demolish it, going east and west, impeding onto the neighborhood instead of continuing going down north and south and expanding down that main corridor. Now he encroached into the neighborhood and took down, you know, demolished a residence. And then there was the issue of the home that was purchased that's for the storage, that there was back and forth. And there was just a lot of questionable behavior that was happening at the time. And then there was a tower that was built, that that tower is now meant for storage, correct?

There's a there's a two story structures, right?

It looks like a like a structure to building.

It was built specifically for that too.

So then now they're not using the home, because they're so now the home, but the home then got some asphalt poured in front of the home and became a driveway. Is that home now going to be put up for sale? Are they planning on demolishing that home as well and doing something else?

I have no idea what the future plans for that property are, but it is totally separate and distinct from this operation.

Well, no, it's not separate because it was part of the storage of those restaurants. So currently, is the restaurant utilizing that property for the restaurant?

The answer to that is no. The storage facility on site. Now, let's be candid. It was a temporary operation. Measure to deal with the lack of storage on the property. The whole reason for going forward with the rezoning of the 25 foot lot in between the residential and the commercial was for purposes of building this particular storage facility to remove the problem of the lack of storage. The addition or assemblage of the residential lot is intended specifically, uniquely, to solve the problem with parking. So the two main problems that we had that were the, call it the subject of the concerns of the neighbors, were they're storing materials elsewhere offsite. Parking is a nightmare. We've solved both of those. We've attempted to, with a very nice design, a clean design, and one that is going to totally encompass this parking area with the landscaping, the walls, and all of the requirements themselves, insulating it from the neighborhood itself to the president's comments itself. It's a good solution to a problem that has existed far too long.

All right. Mr. Rieskog, did you want to? Yes, if you don't mind.

Thank you, Council President. For the record, Tony Ressio, Law Office at 2800 Ponce de Leon Boulevard in Coral Gables. Good evening, everybody. There is, I just wanted to point out in response to your question, there is a provision in the Declaration of Restrictions that says that the owner shall ensure that the property located at 351 East 43rd Street, which is that property that I believe you're referring to. Next to McDonald's. Shall not be used in connection with the restaurant.

including but not limited to the use of the property for storage at restaurant materials or any other commercial use it's a it's a house it needs to stay a house is there anything in there that that um we could add that it's not to be demolished because i think that that they demolished that property that was next that's now the parking lot without even taking out um a permit they just demolished it without

I can't speak to how it was demolished, whether it was without a permit, but in terms of limitations on the demolition of that house, this is a declaration of restrictions, a voluntary proffer of restrictions. I'm sure Mr. Lucas could speak with his client, and if they're amenable to it, we will add it, certainly.

Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. I would like to express my personal opinion without having spoken to the client. We're talking about an entirely different piece of property itself. One that is zoned residential currently and is not being used for storage or has any nexus, any connection with the operations of the fruiteria itself. I'm not certain and I'll have to review it from a property rights perspective as to whether or not you can impose a obligation on a separate and distinct piece of property as a condition to the granting of a change of zoning on an entirely different and separate property altogether. I'll look into that.

I understand your concern. The way I see it, it was tied because it was being used as an extension of the business. And considering the trajectory of what we saw, the other property was zoned R1 and it was demolished without taking out a permit. The original lot. When the previous director was here from zoning, that's what I was told at the time. And that was one of the reasons that the council had taken such a strong stance because not only were they being bad neighbors, not only did they not follow the rules, not only did the neighbors bring us pictures of littering up and down the block, but then they also demolished the property, a single family home, without going through the proper

you know channels correct so that's that stayed very clear respectfully i would uh refer to the planner's recommendations at the analysis which indicates that the property we're talking about the single family residence was originally approved with the single family residence constructed in 1952 however the structure was demolished in 2021 under permit number 2021 hyphen 7949 so i beg to disagree i believe there was a permit it's indicated in the planner's recommendations and analysis itself but i don't want to belabor that particular point the objective here from the owner's perspective is to ensure that the problems that were perceived and the problems that existed in the context of lack of storage, which caused temporary measures to be used on a totally separate and distinct property has now been fixed. How? Through this council's approval of a change of zoning from an R1 to a C1 that allow the 25 foot lot to be assembled and to be aligned in terms of its business operation with a commercial restaurant itself. So between the commercial restaurant at the corner of 43rd and 4th, you take the 25 foot. And if you take a look at the illustrations, you'll see exactly where that two story building is located. Now, the addition, of the r1 property changing that to p only and linking it perpetually to only the uses associated with the operation of la frutaria is the covenant it's a unified parcel now we have three properties three folio numbers that are linked together forever and limited only to parking as it relates to that operation so What we're trying to do is to build guardrails around the property itself from the standpoint of trying to remove the problems that the council was concerned about previously. And I think we've accomplished that here, particularly with the restrictions that have been agreed to, particularly with the modifications to Maria Fernandez's site plan and conceptuals. We're in a position right now to move forward with your approval in terms of taking the next step to ensure that the lot doesn't remain vacant, doesn't become a dumping ground for anybody, but becomes a useful part of an overall ongoing concern that we can be proud of and know full well that it is not going to impact negatively the neighborhood itself. With that being said, I would implore the council to please consider and to trust that notwithstanding the years of distrust you had for the property and or for anybody associated with the process itself we have the bells and whistles we have the guard rails declaration of restrictions itself that are enforceable from a code enforcement standpoint and from a revocation standpoint when it comes to the granting of the approvals that we're seeking here today

Mr. Lucas, and I want the council to know, and he's the lobbyist, I'm not. This business has been around since 2006, you said, right? Eight. Eight. With all due respect to the people who preceded us, and it could happen to us one day in the future, somebody will look back and say, shame on us, shame on them. They should never have allowed a business like this be built so close to a residential neighborhood a business like this that needs so much parking that has so much movement they should never have allowed it we should never have a lot wait none of us were sitting in this chamber in that we have never allowed it but it's there they allowed it and now this additional parking lot is a remedy for something that should not have been allowed there, but it's there, it's legal, and it's not gonna go away. And right now it's legal for them, for their customers to use swales in the whole block. There's nothing that we can do to prohibit that. That's public right away. should never have allowed this business that has so much traffic to be to be you know licensed there but it's there it's there now and i i look at this as a remedy for something and it's true it shouldn't have encroached shouldn't have had to get to this where it has to encroach into the residential area but there's no other viable solution for this right now except continuing to impact because the owner has no obligation to close the business people can still park outside of the business like they were doing now and uh but this is a remedy for something that wasn't really decided well back then perhaps where we should have said back then you need more more area or if not it's not coming but it's there and they're legally there and they've been there since 2008 which precedes us but this this may be a remedy This may be a remedy for the sins of our fathers, who probably were well-intended. I'm sure they were well-intended. Our job is to promote business in every way we can. So they were well-intended, but it was too busy of a business to put in that small of a space. But we're here now, and that's the way I see it. I wish it wasn't there, but it is, and this might be a solution. for their problem, that's all I have to say, but pleasure of the council or more questions for Mr. Lucas. We have a motion from Frank de la Paz, which is not valid.

Well, I appreciate it. Thank you.

Yeah. i feel like i'm in an auction okay so we don't have a motion so madam clerk what happens now we need to take action do we make them what what do we do deny it we table it we we can that those are the choices

during the discussion there was a condition that was proposed i'm not sure if that's something um that you would like for the parties to go back to the table and discuss or if there's a motion to deny we could take a vote on that if in fact there's a second does anybody have any issue that they're stuck on with this or something we you want them to come back with it or

Through the chair, Mr. Lucas, I think, and I've been kind of open with everybody that anytime something like this comes, you know, for me, changing a residential to a parking, I have a hard time with that. So it has nothing to do with the parking. It's truly just kind of blanket. I've always been no residential, you know, no switching residential to parking.