Remarks by Luis Prieto y Muñoz
433 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 18
- Play at 22:17
“For the bundles of clarity, I'm available neither of those two days. I'm only available the 13th or the 15th. Let's definitely shoot for those days then. Just kidding, just kidding. If you guys, you know, if we have to have this meeting without me again, it's just going to be what it's going to be. No, we definitely should have him here this time. I appreciate you guys so much. Thank you.”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 35:00
“Thank you. I won't opine on the aesthetic. I agree with my colleagues. I appreciate the work that you've put in to try to capture the slew of feedback that you received, and I appreciate that. I am taking a slightly procedural view, and I just want to get a few things right, considering that this is the rescission of a historic designation. I take it quite seriously, particularly because this overlaps some demolition by neglect provisions that become continuously applicable, particularly as this code was recently amended. So my questions are not for you. Don't worry about that. My questions…”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 36:24
“I appreciate that you need to go through it, so no rush on my end. Maybe while you look at that, I can ask Ken the other question, which is, could you walk me through the timing of the covenant? Why a year? Why not a condition of the rescission?”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 37:20
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 38:46
“My understanding is that the foundation of this rescission is precisely to allow the applicant to build a structure that is in fact larger and more mass than the property that was there previously. And under normal terms of a demolition by neglect, he would be constrained to build a structure that is confined by those parameters. So as I understand it, we as a board need to be satisfied of those two conditions, both of them, as I'm reading the code to apply.”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 39:58
“I appreciate that, Ken. Where I'm coming from, I'm just simply reading the code, and it does seem that per the staff analysis, both thresholds are conveyed as a mechanism for the rescission. So coming to page nine of the staff analysis, As a caveat to the above, the HEP board also has within its power, as per 2362H2A, to rebut the presumption of demolition by neglect, and the board may allow for the addition, etc. And it states those two conditions, and those two conditions are unified by an and, not an or. Right. Because I understand... Sorry, go ahead.”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 40:44
“And that's precisely... Sorry, not to cut you off. That's exactly why I wanted to bring this up and why I really wanted to get a full, thorough opinion because... there may be some blind spots in the code with regard to precisely this condition, where a negligent property owner allowed a historic resource to degrade to the point where it was demolished by the city because it was for whatever reason. I don't need to go into those details. He conveys the property and the new applicant, understandably and very equitably, cannot be held to the exact same level standards of care simply because…”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 43:21
“Well, was it regularly inspected and in good condition prior to?”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 43:36
“I mean, so actually, Hugh, I think that does sort of clarify this. So if you're of the opinion, you're a member of this board, and if you determine based on your knowledge of this site that it was regularly maintained or at least adequately maintained... You circumvent my concerns on this point.”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 43:59
“Hugh, let me ask you this in plain terms, because I need to overcome this if I'm going to vote in the affirmative. Do you believe the property owner made reasonable efforts to inspect and maintain the structure free of structural deficiencies in compliance with the minimum maintenance statutes of the code?”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 44:19
“The absolution that's conveyed by this decision.”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 44:48
“My concern, just to state it clearly, we're entering a new phase. This code was recently amended with regard to demolition by neglect. It happened in the last few years. Given the development pressure within the city of Miami, I suspect we're going to be facing this frequently. I think it's very important that we get this right and that we understand... I THINK AS A BOARD AND ALSO FROM THE STAFF LEVEL, WHAT THESE GUARD RAILS ARE PROVIDED FOR BY THE CODE AND THAT WE LOOK AT THIS, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE BOARD HAS DELIBERATIVE AUTHORITY. PER MY READING, WE ARE NOT GIVEN DELIBERATIVE AUTHORITY…”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 46:45
“This is not an encumbrance. So historic designation for many people is a... is a benefit people seek it um so i think from from a i appreciate profoundly where you're coming from i know it's a bit of a hackneyed adage to say that ignorance of the code doesn't absolve you of adhering to it i think that is very much the case here you know i think if you had gone into the city's gis portal and you had looked through the layers it would have been there not to say that everybody should do that every time they buy a property but you know your your sophisticated property developer or at least…”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 47:35
“It does show up as a historic resource. Yes. It's the thing is your title company I don't think would find it because it's not attached to the title. It's a city's designation. It's part of its zoning, for lack of a better concept. So if you have a title search, they don't tell you that it's zoned T3R, do they? It doesn't. It just tells you whether the title is clear and you can acquire it without encumbrance. And again, I'm not trying to make this complicated for you, nor am I trying to belabor this massive agenda with a procedural point. But there's a lot of demolition yet to come on this…”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 48:51
“And if I'm not mistaken, it would be encumbered by the restrictions conveyed by demolition by neglect, meaning it would be restricted to the size, massing, et cetera, of the building that was once there, correct?”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 49:07
“Which comes to this point, which comes to whether we believe the item meets the letter of the code. And that's the part A, which has that and between the two sub clauses. And that's what I'm struggling with.”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 50:34
“Just for clarity, I think the concern here is whether, I don't believe we necessarily, pending opinion of counsel, I don't think we have the legal authority to grant this to you. That's where I'm at with this.”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 51:33
“Let me be abundantly clear where I'm coming from. I don't disagree with you. I think you've done everything we've asked you to do. You have been a part of this process. You have come to us. You have been completely convivial with every element of this. I don't mean to say otherwise. What I'm saying, and provided we find a way to deal with this correctly, I'm perfectly on board with granting it. I agree with my colleagues. I think what you did is correct. I think the modifications are in the spirit of everything we asked you. Where I'm coming from is in rereading this application and going…”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 52:34
“Give me just one second. Sorry. I'll pause so I don't distract him.”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 53:10
“No, it's not. My issue is that that's what we're being asked to do, and I appreciate that, and there are provisions in our code that allow us to do that. And it is in the powers that are conferred to us by the code, which is what I was citing to counsel, which...”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 54:19
“I appreciate that. And I see that as well. My concern, and the way I read that, and maybe I'm misinterpreting that, and that was why the question was directed to staff and not a bully pulpit, soliloquy directed at the poor applicant, was I read that to be a reconstruction, an attempt to recreate the original structure. That's how I read that provision, and I might be misinterpreting that. I'm open to hearing... The different view but that's how that part of the code read to me and I figured in this constant since it is not a reconstruction of the original structure. It is a construction of a…”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 55:16
“Right, but I don't see that as resolving the massing issue, which is addressed by the provision prior to it. And I might just have to be no vote on this and everybody else can go forward if we can't overcome it, but I just, I think it's important to be consistent and to make sure that we're understanding this because it is a little bit too gray for my taste.”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 59:23
“No, that's exactly the concern. All right, so thank you very much. It's simply that.”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 1:01:11
“So in theory, we could just vote to rescind the designation. That was my question for staff. I mean, we are rescinding the designation, but as I read the report, this was determined as a demolition by neglect?”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026
- Play at 1:02:25
“And that's what brings me precisely to this point, which is that we, as I understand it, and again, I do apologize for making this such a dry hearing. I'm trying... I'm just trying to understand this because this is a complex issue and I want to make sure that we're getting it right. So as I understand it, and correct me if I'm mistaken, because there is a presumptive demolition by neglect, because there is a pattern of neglect of the property, which may or may not have contributed to the fire, not for this panel to determine, that therefore these provisions of the code apply. Is that a…”
Historic and Environmental Preservation Board · Sep 1, 2026