Soon the Grove will resemble an urban downtown
This is an open letter to Commission Ken Russell:
Ken,|
We are steadily, ruthlessly destroying The Grove.
The Grove we love is so appreciated because of its trees and gardens. New developments have an 80% footprint, no trees, no gardens and soon The Grove will resemble an urban downtown.
I urge you to visit the hideous developments in Ann Court, just down the road from you as prime examples of the vandalism.
Do you agree?
What can be done before it's all trashed?
Andy Buys
Coconut Grove
(Andy also sent the letter directly to Ken).
Ken,|
We are steadily, ruthlessly destroying The Grove.
The Grove we love is so appreciated because of its trees and gardens. New developments have an 80% footprint, no trees, no gardens and soon The Grove will resemble an urban downtown.
I urge you to visit the hideous developments in Ann Court, just down the road from you as prime examples of the vandalism.
Do you agree?
What can be done before it's all trashed?
Andy Buys
Coconut Grove
(Andy also sent the letter directly to Ken).
posted by Tom Falco at 12:01 PM
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18 Comments:
I agree look at the coconut grove bank location as they are building right up-to the side walk and so did the new high-rises down the street. The developers version of open space is the park across the street. More concrete more selling = more money at the expense of the quality of life in the are (turning it urban)
I agree wholeheartedly. On my street, three soul-less town homes have been and/or are in the process of being built. It is ironic that the developers like to come and stand on the sidewalk in front of my 1928 home, to bask under the cool shade of my two huge, beautiful sea grape trees. I am all for progress, but what about restoring old homes, rather than demolishing them? This is, of course, a rhetorical question. I realize that it's all about profit. It is heartbreaking to see the charm of old Florida and all the stunning tropical flora slowly - but steadily - seep out of The Grove. Such a shame.
Nature is relentless.
Living things grow and change.
Dead things stay the same…..and then rot and decay.....
"God these new houses are hideous and so gaudy" - Bahamian settlers in 1928
I agree. The huge McMansions are overtaking the smaller homes in the North Grove. The Center Grove is covered with duplexes. Oak trees are being cut down without permits and the developers are happy to pay the fines of $1,000 to $2,000. Some trees have been cut down on property that is not owned by the developers and nothing happens to them. Many emails have been sent to Ken Russell and our emails have been ignored. What happened to Ken's promised that he would be a different kind of politician that would care about the people in the Grove. I fear we have been duped once again.
Since I moved to Barbarossa Ave in 2005 one McMansion was built next to me and now two more are being built on the other side of me on Anne court. I no longer can pick avocados from the tree they cut down. And just a block away are two more McMansions. These huge homes look so ridiculous in what was a historic neighborhood with beautiful foliage. what a shame the whole neighborhood has changed.
Posting your concerns are a wonderful way to vent, but they really accomplish little more than that. It would be best if you state your concerns at P&Z and Commissioner Meetings, meet with your Commissioner, arrange petitions and actually do something positive that will help motivate our City to preserve the Grove and the quality of life that you desire.
It is hard to take the guy upset about the "hideous developments" on Anne Court seriously since he doesn't even know how to spell the name of the street. Must be a visitor just traveling through....
;-)
What is happening to Coconut Grove is a shame. The character of such a beautiful area is being destroyed, little by little.
The writer who said more than venting is needed is correct. A petition should be started, an organization formed, talk to your commissioner, get positive changes made.
And don't be afraid to use your real names when posting.
Elvis Cruz
631 NE 57 Street
Miami, FL 33137
The City of Miami should work into the deals that they enter into with these developers; that these developers should work to ensure that the foliage and overall ambiance of this place is not destroyed in their efforts to make legal tender.
Please remember that the fines to remove trees is often less than the process to get a permit. The process should be streamlined and the fines need to be higher, including jail time for any tree person that cuts without permit.
Hard to see who really cares since most of you are Anonymous and you you may see each other in the future and actually may be able to talk about this problem and make a difference. I am still pissed about that tree cut down across from Local. What happened there . On the plus side Dinner Key Auditorium is gone and should have been gone years ago. Get out and play folks.
Reid is right!! Let's get our names out there and put an end to this!!
So are any of those that are posting comments here at all concerned of the fact that Russell has not yet responded to Buys concerns directly to him or even posted his own response and efforts to address this issue as a comment?
This line of thinking is short-sighted. Urban pockets like the Grove, South Miami, Coral Gables are precisely where new in-fill development should be happening. Granted it should be to scale and sensitive to existing neighborhood conditions, but the last thing we can afford is more wayward sprawl. Developers engaging landscape firms like Raymond Jungles and Enzo Enea are a sign that new projects will add additional greenery.
SMS has a great point. Part of the reason traffic in Miami is so bad is the urban sprawl westward. In-filling is one way to alleviate this. I do wish we could focus on more affordable housing though. It would help with in-fill and also help attract a younger demographic. But I can only imagine, if people are complaining about a 2 million dollar house being put up next door, what their reaction would be if somebody was putting in three small 250k houses instead.
The Grove is just south Brickell now. Nothing more, nothing less.
Get used to it, because it's only going 1 way.
Responding to a constituents concerns and requests is just common courtesy that is expected from those we elect even if they are novices. It should not also require a steep learning curve.
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