Remarks by Walter Fajet
128 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 4 of 6
- Play at 1:49:22
“Do any of you guys have any comments before I ask for a motion one way or the other to either affirm or deny? Anybody have any comments to make?”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:50:14
“No I mean if you have a Again, they're going to have an opportunity if we affirm the recommendation of the Board of Adjustment to deny this variance, they will have an opportunity to come back and do the full blown presentation and get, you know, questions from us. But, you know, I mean, I think I think that if we have comments that lead us towards a decision, right, if you guys have a motion, I'd rather not get caught up in the weeds going into the”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:51:11
“OK. So if we affirm this evening, then it's dead.”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:51:54
“OK. So do you want to make a motion then to deny the Board of Adjustments recommendation of denial of the application, meaning that they would come back?”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:53:22
“I don't know how we would find a compromise, though, right?”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:53:36
“But the variance request is what is... Yeah, I mean, if I could just chime in, right? Like when you... I appreciate the investment that you've you've made in the city and that your kids live here. I mean that's we we've all got many many years of living here and respecting and loving the city as well. When you do a variance it's it's it's it's presidential right like you're doing something that then people can be like hey you did this. This isn't the time this is that this all right okay.”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:54:13
“Well, you're talking right now and you're not at the mic. And I'm not inviting you to speak. I'm making a comment. It is presidential even if just how we are perceived in terms of what we approve. And it seems to me that if the setback is 30 feet and you're asking to move it to eight, that's like a 73.33% encroachment into the setback. That's a lot. That's... A lot. And like I... I would end up being conflicted how I just don't see how I can approve something like that when you know the the the criteria that have to be met in terms of like true hardship for why you are doing it again you're I…”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 1:58:13
“Come to the mic, please, so that we can have everything on the record.”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:02:31
“Councilman Perez-Crespo, you had a question. Do you want to ask it while they're up there?”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:05:57
“I got to stop you because I feel like this is going in all kinds of different places. I know, I get it. Thank you. You guys can be seated. Thank you. Before I ask for a motion, do you want to chime in, Landy? You've got an interesting, you know, you've got a perspective on this. As an architect, vice mayor, you want to just chime in?”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:06:50
“Yeah, I mean, again, like the modernization, the aesthetics, all these things are important. To me, I feel like it's all irrelevant when it comes to a significant, can you have a very significant encroachment? I mean, it's 73% encroachment. It's a lot. To me, I feel like it's too much. Erica, do you know what the vote was on the? It was 4 to 1, sir. It was 4 to 1.”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:08:23
“It doesn't lock you in to make the decision, but it does serve to.”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:08:35
“Individually. OK. All right. George, did you have a motion? Do you want to make a motion to affirm or deny the BOA?”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:08:56
“So we're either affirming their recommendation to deny the variance or setting it for a hearing.”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:10:04
“Okay, so a hearing will be set for an upcoming,”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:10:12
“Feel free to work with the city clerk's office ahead of that meeting so that they already have all your materials and your PowerPoint so that you can be ready for that.”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:10:25
“Okay, so we move on to 12B, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Miami Springs, Florida, supporting Florida Department of Transportation FDOT Alternative 5-B for the design of the intersection located at State Road 953, which is Northwest 42nd Avenue, State Road 948, which is Northwest 36th Street, and State Road 25, which is U.S. 27 or Okeechobee Road, known as the Iron Triangle, providing for transmittal and providing for”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:12:47
“And I can I give a little update based on absolutely okay so we met with FDOT at least 3 or 4 times. At different times and they've it's been kind of like They've come out and always said everything that they had, but we've been very consistent as a city, going back to my predecessor, to Maria Mitchell, who was the mayor at the time. We didn't want an overpass. And we have just kept coming back to them, kept bringing back in, are there any options? Are there options to do things at grade rather than do an overpass? They could never get past the fact that their main charge is to help the…”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:15:11
“If they're going to give us an overpass, I'd rather be pushed south and I'd rather that we gain space. That doesn't happen. And none of this is guaranteed, right?”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:15:55
“we even discussed with them and you could speak to this we even discussed options like you know can you make lejeune an overpass to help get people out of out of there but it that wasn't feasible because there's already so many highway overpasses and and bridges there along the way so it really seemed to me like we kept calling them in and they kept saying we need to have an overpass in order to move the westbound traffic off of 112. So this proposal to give us space to move everything south and take take the land from the county that to me that It I feel like as you said JC it's a win win. I…”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:17:50
“it's just something that fdot requested um because of the positive reception and there's still a possibility the county says no we're not going to give you our land in which case we're back in the same fight they're going to be putting an overpass and we're going to be losing land in that corner uh well unfortunately we can't take public comment now but please reach out to us alex with with any questions and we'll we'll bring that up uh gentlemen do you have any uh any thoughts on the matter”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:19:02
“I would add that we've been having meetings and town halls and stuff with FDOT, and they always were... we have to do an overpass it's the you know it's the only way we have to do an overpass we have to do an overpass as much as we would talk about it and get feedback from the residents when they do the next open house guess what the plan was to do an overpass and we kept fighting it on our own as a city please can we you know like we you know we've we've been We've been, you know, trying our very best to get, you know, to get some kind of say in this. But I think that this is an option that…”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:21:22
“We just always preferred not to do it with an overpass.”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:22:38
“So yeah, if the county doesn't agree to give up the land and do this version, then guess what version we're defaulting back to.”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026
- Play at 2:22:50
“And we will keep fighting that one. But this was an opportunity for us to You know compromise based on all the fighting we've been doing so. So we need to vote on this resolution like to entertain a motion then to approve 12 be.”
City Council · Aug 10, 2026