Village Council Candidates Forum - Johannah Brown

Nine seats are up for election on November 7, for the Coconut Grove Village Council. 15 people are running for the nine seats. The Grapevine is giving candidates a chance to tell their story as to why they deserve your vote.  We have asked all the candidates the same five questions and we'll post the results here as they come in.

JOHANNAH BROWN

Johannah Brown

GRAPEVINE: Why do you feel you would be a good Village Council Member?

JOHANNAH:
• I am very engaged in important issues in the Grove.  I have been working since April of 2016 to unravel the problems associated with a weak and unclear NCD code that is causing discord, confusion, discontent among residents, developers and the city.
• I have helped co-found a civic action group – Grove Watch Group that connects neighbors with information on how to protect their neighborhoods from improper development
• I have been involved in a working group with members from various organizations – Grove 2030, Village Council, Coconut Grove Park HOA developing a series of comprehensive recommendations to amend and clarify the current NCD code.
• I have a background in business which provides me the ability to understand complex issues dealing with development.
• I lived and worked in the Bahamas for five years and continued to manage the same operation from Miami for another 5 years giving me invaluable experience working with different cultures and diverse organizations.
• I have developed a unique set of problem solving skills by working in a small company in another culture, in a very remote area.   I find this helps me with trying to find creative solutions here in the Grove.

G:  What would you like to accomplish during your time on the Council? Objectives? Projects?

J:
• Work with Council to push the City to adopt common sense recommendations to improve the NCD codes – namely clarify the restrictions on lot splitting; reductions in allowable FAR; tighter tree and green-space protections; protections against land banking in the Village West and others
• Work with other members of the council to understand and prioritize the needs of the Village West Community – what are their immediate short term housing needs; what are the resources the city and county have at their finger tips that could directly assist the residents in need in the Village west; how does the TUA and NDZ designations affect these resources and the communities access to them;  What is the plan for the CRA;  if the GOB passes – does the city have a plan in place to spend the money; how do we think about Village West in the long term in terms of a vision (additional density, where and how, additional employment opportunities – where and how, commercial development that preserves the community at large rather than changing it completely.
• Work to improve the function of the Council as the hub for information– Develop a plan to make the Council as a center for information for the community; improve the communication platforms; website; email lists; FB page – in order to keep people more engaged with what is going on in the Grove;

G: What is your favorite part of Coconut Grove?

J:
• The People: The great diversity of people, backgrounds, ideas
• Our Roots: Both figuratively and literally – Historic character of homes and neighborhoods as well as the big trees, canopy and the roots that ground them here
• The Laid Back Attitude: Un-fancy, wild and low-key that makes turning down unfamiliar roads an adventure and fun.
• Our Connectedness to the Water: the closeness of the water, ocean breezes, sailing, swimming are all things that make living here that much better

G: What is your least favorite part of Coconut Grove?

J:
• Our inability to translate this laidback, historic nature into a coherent development vision - Center Grove/Business district needs is working on improvements but I don’t see (except for the workshop the BID had recently) any real attempts to create a vision that ties theses things together coherently with a plan.  My fear is this latest round of revitalization will just replace “Mediterranean” with “Modern” and we won’t carve out a long term vision that is economically viable, provides economic opportunity to our community and establishes and preserves this heritage and vibe in our community.  My fear is that we may become the next Miami Beach.

G:  How long have you lived in the Grove? Where are you from? What drew you here?

J:
• We have owned a home here since 2004 and been full time residents since we returned from the Bahamas in 2007.
• We were drawn by the people (friends), the landscape, the proximity to the water and the city and it is not lost on my husband and I, that we settled blocks away from the “Bahamian” section of Miami – the islands are in our blood.

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As these forums come in, they will be all listed here for you to see.

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