Remarks by Rhonda Anderson
124 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 4 of 5
- Play at 5:03:55
“Yes. We talked about landscaping both the north and south side of Phoenicia. I want to talk to you also about residential parking units. We do have historic buildings around, especially on the Antia side with apartment units in them that depend upon having some residential parking. Is this something that the developer is willing to work with the city in establishing a residential parking permit program for those buildings that are already existing? On the street.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 5:05:26
“That's very beneficial, especially in this neighborhood. where you have historic buildings that have zero parking available. Let's talk about traffic for a moment. In Galliano, notice that there's a couple of intersections where there's no crosswalks. And I've heard a number of complaints about speeding on Galliano. No high intensity markings for the pedestrian crosswalk, no stop signs, no speed tables, nothing to slow down traffic. Is this something that the developer is willing to have the traffic study done and follow staff's recommendations on the signs, et cetera?”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 5:06:33
“Yeah, you have at least four blocks straight that people can go without any stop signs and there have been complaints.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 5:06:55
“Can you also look at the traffic flow westward in the traffic study? Because there was one comment on, based upon that, is the traffic is coming out on both Phoenicia and Antia. Is there any recommendations that can be made to improve the conditions in that area?”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 5:07:47
“And the size of the trees that you're gonna be installing, You meaning the developer? Have you committed to put in trees that are at least how tall?”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 5:08:19
“Mayor, I do have additional comments before we take a vote, but I wanted to get some of these questions answered before we move forward.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 5:54:39
“Thank you, Mayor. And thank you all for being present and providing your comments. Great cities require great schools. And that's something that George Merrick strongly believed in. We got the University of Miami. The land was donated there. It's a big sacrifice that Merrick made. Coral Gables Elementary School was built, and so was Ponce de Leon, which was then both the high school and the junior high, and still serves our community to this day in a junior high capacity and a direct route for Coral Gables residents or anybody to go to Coral Gables High. This school provides a missing gap.…”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 5:57:24
“Because that happened down on US 1. And as you heard, we ended up with RTZ zone, five foot sidewalks, minimal step backs. I'm just going to call them ugly buildings because the county is not going to do what our Board of Architects does, the quality is not going to be there. Live Local has been amended every single year and is now allowed to be on test-type properties or church-type properties. And we already have one on South Swatheye Street. There's no park or green space. There's no community benefit. There's no pad. And my last comment is people focus on stories as opposed to height. When…”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 6:01:08
“For all my reasons previously stated, yes.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 6:04:24
“And before we take the vote, I just want to note that if you look at the height, a lot of people talk about stories. We're actually talking about less height than what the adjacent properties have, both on the east and west side. So before my colleague left distorts the facts, that is the basis for my moving this forward.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 7:09:35
“JUST A QUICK SUMMARY. I'M VERY PROUD TO HELP FOR OUR CITY TO HELP SUPPORT THE ORANGE, JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL AND MS. BALIN HAS DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB DURING HER LEADERSHIP ON THIS ROLE. SO I'M A YES VOTE ON THIS.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 8:00:56
“Thank you, that was a lot of information to understand.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 8:05:11
“Very well done. One last point to add is we have reduced the permitting fee for living seawalls in order to try to incentivize residents to utilize them.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 8:26:38
“Where? There's a clicker. Oh, oops. Okay.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 8:34:05
“I think you enjoyed watching the presentations, especially since, was your granddaughter there?”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 8:49:03
“I'll second with a correction of a typo on Menendez's last name. There's an extra M. We'll fix that.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 8:50:49
“I was just going to comment on that. I see you're out of the boot.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 8:51:57
“It's a beautiful project, and I take it that the comment we had earlier today that Alan Morris was contributing an additional $11 million was... It's not $11 million. I didn't want to bring it up.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 8:55:26
“So just on a more serious note, I'm sorry, I couldn't resist the early one. What your client and you did best to was listen to the comments that we received, really enhancing this part to the next level. And the architecture that was put in, really stepped it up to excellence. And that's what we're looking for in this park. And we'll get it done right. And I think that it will be the showcase for our city. The band show is going to answer a lot of questions or a lot of problems in our city for making it a spectacular area for people to gather.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 9:00:34
“I just want to thank you and your client once again for being willing to save The trees that were healthy. I mean it wasn't easy And if any of you have doubts about how much effort was put in Paul Gables magazine did cover this and the sausage tree came from one side of Lejeune To the other side of Lejeune, and I'm still amazed we got it over there But the crane lifted it over the bill It was spectacular. But it also shows the level of commitment that your client and you worked on to make it happen. So thank you. And thank you on behalf of the community.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 9:58:59
“I'll move it, and I'll just reiterate that this talks about property not being, you know, used for off-street parking. It shall not be paved, which will be consistent with maintaining the property for Byrds and Ibis. All this particular ordinance does. So I'll move it.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 10:01:11
“I have a question for the city manager. We received today an alternative location. which staff has not had an opportunity to look at. I'd like for staff to look at this and provide feedback.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 10:06:07
“Okay. Mayor, I do have a question for you. Are those locked?”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 10:06:12
“Okay, because like St. Mary's is having a problem with that. A lot of illegal dumping. I mean, if waste management can work with businesses to have them locked, unlocked, that'd be a great solution for them.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026
- Play at 10:15:48
“I do have some questions. And while the director's up there, it's an appropriate time. Because we do have the mobility hub coming, and we're breaking ground on a particular date. And I wanted to hear your evaluation of the impact on availability of parking and recommendations.”
City Commission · Jul 7, 2026