Battle Heats Up As “D-Day” Nears

For many in South Miami Dade especially people living in the vicinity of SW 184th Street and Old Cutler Road February 25th are the day when their neighborhood could change forever. Final decisions on the Palmer Trinity Zoning application (#VPB 07-012) will be made by the Palmetto Bay Council (Mayor Flinn, Vice-mayor Robinson, Councilman Feller, Councilman Neidhart, and Councilwoman Stanczyk) on February 25, 2008 at the Southwood Middle School 16301 SW 80th Avenue.

The Site

The Plans

Nearly Five hundred yard signs opposing the application have popped up around the area as February 25th fast approaches. Concerned Citizens of Old Cutler, Inc (CCOCI) who is leading the opposition to this application has ordered 200 more signs.  In an email to supporters Joan Lindsay, President of CCOCI asked supporters to volunteer for a couple of hours in the few remaining days to help them distribute yard signs, flyers, and signature cards.  CCOCI wants more signs on the major streets and avenues in the Village of Palmetto Bay (SW 136th St., SW 144th St., SW 152 St., SW 168th St., SW 77th Ave., SW 82nd Ave., and SW 87th Ave.).

 

In an appeal to the community Joan Lindsay said "If you know anyone who lives on these streets or avenues, please help us get them on board, so we can place a sign in their yard." Realizing they need a very large turnout at the hearing, and to achieve that it would be important for them to keep up our efforts through the week-end CCOCI wants as many people as they can mobilize and has requested volunteers to bring a friend to help them spread the word. Volunteers should go to 8120 SW 182 Street for supplies and instructions all day Friday, or between 9 AM and 1 PM on Saturday.  

The Board of CCOCI and many others have worked hard on this issue since June, 2005 and last week things came to a boiling point when some youths driving a silver Infinity, license number W151HU, were allegedly seen stealing a yard sign in the neighborhood of SW 76th Ave and SW 174th Street on February 14.  They also allegedly trespassed on a neighborhood home owner’s property and had words with him when confronted.

Battle of words also raged in the neighbors section of the Miami Herald in the Sunday February 22nd edition in the Soapbox column where supporters and opponents of the school's plans wrote letters with opposing views. Comments opposing the plans were also posted on the http://beautifulcity.us website. Summing up the community's feelings about the project one guest user wrote "We are devastated to learn our sheltered little home in a beautiful protected hammock will soon be within a few feet of an Olympic sized swimming pool used by 1600 noisy teenagers! This is not the Palmetto Bay living we envisioned and for which we pay taxes". Summing up the feelings of people supportive of the application another Guest User wrote "Grow up! ALL of you are ridiculous! grow up! the expansion will benefit the community and the need for valuable education in this area"

The hearing starts at 7:00 PM.  but CCOCI has asked its supporters to show up at 6:30 PM, and according to some sources Palmer Trinity has told their supporters to be there by 6:00 PM.