Remarks by Melissa Castro
70 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 3 of 3
- Play at 5:08:35
“Yeah. First, I want to thank every resident that was here and spoke pro and con this development. And the other thing is that this is a quasi-judicial case, so I would want to put on the record that there has been communication via emails and in person regarding this development. I also want to put on the record that I lived in this area for nearly 10 years, so I know this area very well. And I also want to be very sensitive to Crystal Academy. I spent nearly 12 years practicing in this field, treating children and young adults with developmental disabilities or unique abilities. So this is…”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 6:01:13
“I want to put something into perspective and it's that this body is going to approve this development, which is double the size of what our zoning code permits. So my question here is, Why do we have a zoning code? Is a zoning code only for residents, or is it to make exceptions for developers? I think we need to keep that into consideration a little bit. The other thing is, the question today is very simple. Do we protect the neighborhoods we represent, or do we rewrite their protections just for one project? My vote's going to be no.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 6:03:57
“The majority might have the votes to go ahead and approve this, but I would not vote to remove neighborhood protections to try to fit a 9 story building into a low rise residential area. Absolutely not.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 7:10:32
“Through the mayor? Yes. It is my understanding after speaking to the city attorney and to the city manager that really what this legislation is doing is cutting the three-year contract to a one-year contract. This has been a tradition since 1948. And I think Coral Gables prides itself on history and tradition. I think right now, with what's happening in Tallahassee, we are in a difficult predicament. And I understand why this is coming through. But I also understand that we do need to preserve this, that this is important, that this is a tradition. And instead of cutting the contract to one…”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 7:14:28
“For the reasons that we're actually slashing the three-year contract and only approving one, my vote is no.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 8:12:14
“Through the mayor. I want to thank you very much for working on this last presentation for me. You guys did an exceptional job. I pay with Apple Pay everywhere. Sometimes I don't take my purse. I don't only pay with my phone, but I am also able to pay with my watch. I was stuck in the Cocoa Walk garage with my grandfather that's very impatient, and I forgot my credit cards and cash. So I was stuck with a lot of people behind me not being able to pay, pressing the little button for somebody to come and help me. So I think we're working on renewing our garages. I think Menorca is going to be…”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 10:08:14
“Through the mayor's those are those are my items tomorrow We have an early early budget hearing and I think this meeting is gonna go to like midnight right now. So if anybody else wants to Refer any items.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 10:13:46
“Thank you very much. I am the sponsor of this item. The reason we put it back up here is to still we still need a little more time since there's this ongoing Tallahassee homestead exemption. I think the fiscal impact as it is right now is minimal. However, I think it would be fiscally responsible to keep on evaluating the fiscal impact. Monica?”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 10:15:37
“Thank you, Monica. I'll move it. I have some questions.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 10:25:10
“That's that's my concern through the mayor yes Um if you go ahead and second my motion, I'll accept your amendment Yeah, no, I'll second.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 10:36:27
“I disagree with changing it to four years, but I do agree with putting it out on a referendum for having the people vote, so yes.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 10:51:42
“Okay, you said you wanted to take this to an extreme. And I have an idea. I think the reason you really brought this up is to protect your reputation regarding the golf course and the youth center. The reverter clause is here to protect the youth center exclusively for the youth. And I understand where you're coming from. But I think there's something that we need to keep into consideration. And not only the sale of a property, is gonna protect these properties because we can lease it, for example, 99 year lease, right? Also, we can change the land use of these properties as we have done in…”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 10:54:17
“Through the mayor, the language on this legislation specifically states city-owned properties. It doesn't only state parks or golf courses.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 11:02:19
“Can you go ahead and clarify the motion? Because I believe the mayor said the fourth, fifth vote. So what is the motion exactly at this point?”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 11:02:38
“I know, but the mayor next to me after I spoke.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 11:03:58
“In any way that I, whatever way I vote, this has nothing to do with me accepting the reverted clause for the youth center. Once again, that reverted clause there is to protect the youth center strictly for the youth. And the other thing I want to go ahead and put on the record, once again, this could still be leased to somebody else. and you can still change the land use. So this is all smoke and mirrors. But I'm gonna go ahead and vote yes. Yes to no selling parks or recreations as it's stated in the resolution.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 11:27:57
“Yes, I'm the sponsor of this item. I went ahead and I wrote a memo to the Commission. This came about because Commissioner Levy reached out to me actually through social media. He spoke to his administration, this is from the town of Ball Harbor, and they would love to partner with us, not spending any taxpayer funds and using the actual resources that we have. I think it would be a great opportunity, especially in the summer months, to go ahead and have their constituents come to our city and our constituents go to their city. July 14th Town of Bay Harbor will be presenting this in their…”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 11:32:45
“Of course, full disclosure, maybe three years ago or more, shops at Ball Harbor were my clients. They're not my clients anymore. That was before I was commissioner. So there's no ties to actually, there's no benefiting to it. I thought that question was going to come up. And what the mayor said, that how do we benefit? We're mutually going to benefit because staff is going to get together with their staff. And there's no taxpayer funds really being used for this. This is a benefit to our city at the same level. We're not giving more to them than they are giving to us. And the other thing is,…”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 11:35:51
“Through the mayor? One of the things that they discussed was maybe like one day the constituents of Bell Harbor can visit Coral Gables and we can, give them a discount or something like that. I said that our restaurants are privately owned and that I would find that to be difficult, but that I would leave it up to staff to decide what is the best way that we can partner with each other.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 11:36:57
“Okay, if I can go ahead and finish my comments. Go ahead. One of the reasons here was to go ahead and bring constituents or visitors of Ball Harbor. They have a lot of visitors that normally do not visit Coral Gables. That was one of the points, to bring different people into Coral Gables. And maybe we can use the same strategy to do the same, but at the same level. It's not that they're going to benefit more than us or we're going to benefit more than them. It's a mutual agreement to benefit both. And I wasn't proposing nothing crazy, maybe putting it on our calendar or our social media.…”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026