Preliminary report done for Park Avenue houses

The following is from the City of Miami's Planning Department, it's a Staff Report and Recommendation regarding the property at 3701 Park Avenue.

The City of Miami Historical and Environmental Board meets on Tuesday, July 5 at 3 pm at City Hall (3500 Pan American Drive) this is on the agenda.

On May 12, 2016, Commissioner Ken Russell directed the City of Miami's Preservation Office staff to prepare a preliminary designation report for the residential structure located at 3701 Park Avenue. The purpose of this preliminary report is to establish if there is sufficient evidence to warrant a more thorough investigation about the significance of this structure. 

3701 Park Avenue contains two structures on the lot, consisting of the main residence which is a two-story Craftsman Style home and a one story chauffeur quarters, both constructed in 1916. The main residence contains three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and one half bath with a large ground level screened-in terrace that is supported by thirteen columns. Commons areas are located on the ground level with sleeping areas on the second level.

The columns that support the rear terrace are rumored to have come from the Royal Palm Hotel, which was demolished in 1930. Due to the lack of the documentation when the hotel was demolished it cannot be proven as to whether or not the columns actually came from the hotel or not. Pictorial documentation of the Royal Palm Hotel shows several styles of columns from the exterior and interior of the hotel, however when comparing the various photographs, there is not a clear match
between these columns and the ones that are installed at 3701 Park Avenue.
Structurally the home is wood frame construction with a painted stucco finish on the exterior walls and coral rock stone acting as a base for the front porch and encasing the chimney. Windows in the main house are primarily single-hung in configuration with the original screened-in front porch enclosed with a mixture of fixed and casement windows.

Constructed in 1916, 3701 Park Avenue is an example of a Craftsman Style residential structure. This residential structure is representative of its time of construction however, it does not rise to the level of architectural significance that is necessary for individual designation. In addition, the research that has been conducted thus far has not yielded the level of information necessary to warrant individual designation. Staff asks that the HEPB direct the Preservation Office to prepare a final designation report to allow additional time for research and outreach to potential sources of historic information.
The property may be eligible for designation under the following criteria as numbered in Section 23-4(a) contained in Chapter 23 of the City Code:
(1) Exemplify the historical, cultural, political, economic, or social trends of the community;
(5) Embody those distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style, or period, or method of construction;

Staff Recommendation:
During the preliminary research, the Preservation Office has not found
substantial material regarding the significance of the property. However, the
Preservation Office would ask that the Historic and Environmental Preservation
Board (HEPB) direct the Preservation Office to prepare a Final Designation report
to allow additional time to conduct further research and review materials that may
be available through other sources. This will allow staff the time necessary to
conduct the further research required to finalize the analysis as to the significance

of the structure. 

Saving an historic house on Park Avenue

The fight to save our history is ongoing. A house that is slated for demolition, that South Grove neighbors are trying to stop, but it may be too late, is at 3701 Park Avenue, which is in perfect condition, as you can see by these recent photos.

The home, built around 1916-17, originally had the address of 4134 Douglas Road, it was built for Frederick Henshaw Pollars, Sr. and his wife Anne Durling Pollard from Boston, MA. Their children attended school at Ransom Everglades, originally called the Adirondack Florida School.

The demolition permit has been approved. The 15-day appeal period has passed. But no one was notified of the plans. The neighbors should be legally notified so they may appeal if they wish. This is almost a daily occurrence in Coconut Grove. Older, historic homes are being destroyed so that larger, newer homes can take their place, sometimes more than one house on one plat of land. It's all about money, nothing more. These same homes in New England, for instance, will be sold and resold for generations and remain the same year after year, in Miami and Coconut Grove, greedy developers are in and out and have no regard for the neighborhood or its history. 

According to Ann Pollard, Frederick and Anne's granddaughter, "The home is frame construction - the exterior being stucco and coral rock and the inside wood lathe and plaster walls.  When I lived in the home it was 4 bedrooms and 3 baths upstairs along with an office (my nursery when I was born). Downstairs was the kitchen, butler's pantry, dining room, living room with fireplace and a foyer/family room. The columns were taken from a hotel to create the large patio with the indoor planters."

The hotel that Mrs. Pollard refers to was Henry Flagler's Royal Palm Hotel which opened January 16, 1897. 13 to 15 of the original Royal Palm columns are part of the house at Park and Douglas. Since Mrs. Pollard's house was built in 1916, it is assumed that the porch with the hotel columns were added after 1930 since that is the time the Royal Palm was demolished. You can see similar columns here at the Royal Palm Hotel.

This was the first large hotel in Miami, which stood at the mouth of the Miami River - it is where the Epic condo is now, formerly the Dupont Plaza Hotel, along with the InterContinental Hotel and so much more of that area where parking lots once stood. Bayfront Park downtown was part of the grounds of the Royal Palm Hotel, too.  It's the whole area of land to the right as you go from Brickell over the river to downtown. It's on the north side.

The kitchen today at
3701 Park Avenue.

The Royal Palm was torn down in June 1930. It started to deteriorate after such a short span of time. The great hurricane of 1926 damaged it severely. It could not open for the winter season that year (it only opened in winter). In 1928, Joseph P. Greaves, head of the hotel for 22 years, died and the construction of the SE 2nd Avenue Bridge required demolition of the hotel's west wing (eminent domain?). It was declared a fire hazard and that was the end.

Miami Wrecking and Salvage was in charge of demolishing the hotel and selling off what was left and the columns ended up at the Park Avenue house.

Megan Cross Schmitt, City of Miami Planning & Zoning Department Preservation Officer, claims that "The NCD-3 overlay language states that all demolition waivers are to be referred to the Planning Department for review under the Tree Preservation Ordinance, not the Historic Preservation Ordinance. This is why there is no report prepared by the Preservation Office for the buildings that are applying for demolition waivers. Is this why not one of the neighbors was notified about the demolition?

NCD-3 is the Coconut Grove Neighborhood Conservation District. But even looking at the city's Miami21 appendix of conservation districts, they call Douglas Road (Douglas Avenue); the plans aren't even written correctly. (See page 15 for NCD-3 info). 

Miami 21 states, "The intent of the Coconut Grove Neighborhood Conservation District NCD-3 is to establish a protective series of legislative elements to preserve the historic, heavily landscaped character of Coconut Grove's residential areas; enhance and protect Coconut Grove's natural features such as the tree canopy and green space; and protect the architectural variety within the unique single family neighborhood that comprises Coconut Grove. The community of Coconut Grove predates the City of Miami, and is known for its character, derived from lush landscaping, and naturally occurring vegetation and trees, and its unique property sizes and shapes; bay views; geologic features; proximity to Biscayne Bay; public open space; recreational opportunities; commercial services; and a special character imparted by its tropical vegetation and historic structures. Properties shall not be platted, re-platted or configured in any way that destroys a median, green space, landscape easement or road configuration that contributes to the character of the subdivision within the NCD-3 area."

Does the city even read and implement their own laws or are the lobbyists and developers in charge?

Megan went on to say, "I know that you and some of your neighbors are frustrated by the demolitions that are occurring throughout Coconut Grove. Unfortunately, the NCD-3 language as it currently stands does not offer the kinds of protections against demolition that you have mentioned you would like to see."

As usual, the City doesn't have a clue and really doesn't care about preserving anything. As long as they can make money from permits, taxes and the like, they will approve any job, any demolition and feign ignorance. Neighbors were never notified of the demolition plans and never had time to appeal. The largest tree on the property is not even part of the plans drawn up, most likely because it is going to be chopped down. And if found out, a nominal fine will be paid, as part of doing business.

"The greed, lust and zeal for bigger concrete sprawl and fat property tax revenue has all the City of Miami Commissioners, Mayor, and all related department heads are looking the other way as the charming character of our neighborhood just gets bulldozed and replaced with zero lot line McMansions," says a next door neighbor. 

The idea is to mitigate the removal and/or destruction of the columns. How do you mitigate 100 year old columns that are part of Miami's history? And what about the house itself? Other than greed, what is the purpose of destroying the house?

I hate to sound like a broken record, but it's time that Coconut Grove secede from the City of Miami. 

Recent photos by John Nordt / historical photos courtesy of State Archives Florida

' Lot splitting in favor of growth over preservation'

Along with a lot of other people we attended the Historic Preservation Board’s meeting on Tuesday, regarding 3701 Park Avenue in Coconut Grove. This is a 35,000 ft., lot being split into two, and now designated as an historical house. The developers did a thorough presentation on how they would preserve the original 2300 ft. house, demolish the 4-car garage/chauffer’s quarters (which straddles what was originally two lots a"nd then build two 5000 ft. homes on the property. They have obtained support from some neighbors as well as some stiff opposition, not to the renovation of the older home (which will go from 2300 ft. to 5000 ft. plus), but to the lot split.

3701 Park Ave. Coconut Grove

Their lawyer seemed in agreement that this is actually a ‘building site’ by NCD-3 code and therefore needs a warrant to divide it into two 18,000’ lots. Their argument was that by going through the historic preservation board, they were being open and transparent, publicly showing their plans and hoping the board would approve waivers on lot width and the splitting, among others.  Arguments that this was the realm of the planning and zoning board and this would set a bad precedent on lot splitting resulted in deferral until the next meeting on December 3, when the head of P/Z is supposed to show up and bless or deny the lot split. The sense is they’ll approve it anyway, as P/Z apparently didn’t object the lot split when meeting with the historic housing board.

We thought it would be good for you to dig into this a little more. The former owner spoke up on how that lot itself was part of the heritage of the property. The lawyers for the developers tried to make the case that early 20th century houses were customarily 50-80 wide and ½ acre deep, which approaches these dimensions. They cited homes in the NE of the US. That might have been true there, but certainly that is not the style of early homesteads in the Grove, which had large lots and smaller homes. That rebuttal, voiced in the meeting, was left unchallenged.

In the end, this looks like typical lot splitting in favor of growth over preservation. Our position was that part of the historic designation should have included the lot itself, in its full size. We simply don’t have a lot of large lots like that left in the Grove and they are being routinely split.

The problem with the warrant process is two-fold: 1) only abutting neighbors are involved and they often don’t get notified or realize the importance of protest within 15 days 2) the city can grant the subdivision anyway, even over protest. It is an uneven application of the intent of the law, which is to curb increased density.  If you have the resources or activisim, you can win, otherwise, you lose.

When this development is done, any trace of the historic look/feel of that property will be permanently gone. The garage/quarters gone, the old house renovated but ‘tacked onto’ an expansion which nearly triples the size of the residence, and a brand new home built on the other half of the property.

Having said all that, the developers at least aren’t plopping down more ‘box homes’ and have thought out this carefully, and have solicited input from neighbors.

In the end, however, this is just another lot split and loss of a big lot with an historic home to a more densely populated couple of lots.

For many of us, that just doesn’t feel right, especially to the former owners and people who have lived in that house and spoke up in opposition.

Just thought we’d let you know. La Brisa is a great example of a way to preserve a grand old home and estate, as was Marta Week’s handing over her 8 ½ acre estate to Deering Estate 2 years ago. It is a pity this one isn’t going a similar route, or at least approval of the new custom home but not the building of a second. 

Frankly, passing legislation that strictly forbids subdividing lots would go a long way to avoid all the exceptions that are routinely given.  And Francisco Suarez’s proposal to ban starting construction on a lot until final plat approval would fix some other problems, like illegal subdividing and then starting construction and claiming it is too late to follow the law. 

John Dolson
Director
DSP Geosciences and Associates, LLC

More on the Park Avenue house

I spoke with Ray Castellanos who is the owner of the house at 3701 Park Avenue. Ray owns Authentic Construction along with his wife and and partner Manny Fernandez.

Authentic Construction builds custom houses and Ray, who lives in the Park Avenue house with his family, may or may not demolish the old house to make way for something new. Ray says that he loves Coconut Grove and they moved here because they want to live here. The property has two lots, the old house is on the east side and if he can keep the house as-is, he will. On the west side he will build another house, which will fit in with the neighborhood, he encourages neighbors to reach out and guide him. I found it strange to hear that no one has reached out to Ray; he says that everyone has emails and complaints going back and forth but no one has even bothered to speak with him to hear his plans. 

I think the red flag was the fact that he is a home builder and that there is a demolition permit for the house.

Ray told me that the demolition permit on the property was already there when he bought it. He moved in to the house with his family to get the feel of the place, to see if it was livable.

Ray invited me over to see the house personally, but I wanted to file this story and didn't have time to see the house first, but I will go by soon. In fact, many of you will have the opportunity to meet Ray, as he is interested in attending the meeting about the Tree Canopy at Plymouth Church on Wednesday night (7 pm).

"I dont know how much I will be able to afford, but the goal is that my family and I stay in the two story home and we build a house on the second lot," says Ray. Two lots face Park Avenue, according to the city.

"If I was to win the lottery tomorrow, and I could build myself a house, well I am going to build myself the coolest 3000 sq foot house possible," says Ray. 

I'm not sure how that preserves the old house. But let's hope Ray doesn't win the lottery if that's his plans. 

Ray's company does a lot of construction in Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor and Key Biscayne. And he says he is surrounded in these communities with white boxed houses. But he doesn't feel that they belong in Coconut Grove.

"It pisses me off to drive by the South Grove and see a big mansion coming up and overpowering the neighboring house. That upsets me. I love urban planning, I love cities [but this doesn't belong in the neighborhood,]" he said.

A problem with the house on Park Avenue is the street light on Ingraham and Douglas that is always flashing inside the bedroom window. And there is always loud traffic on the street - even at 3 am. But he does want to preserve the house if he can. "I've been speaking with a responsible architect who has served on the city's historic board. I think it's a responsibility, I would like when people come over they can say, this is what the old Grove was like," says Ray.

I asked Ray about the 100 year old columns from the Royal Palm Hotel. He says he met with someone from the HistoryMiami museum and discussed the columns. He also met with Megan Cross Schmitt, the City of Miami Planning & Zoning Department Preservation Officer, who went over to the house to see them. "Even if no one wants the columns, I won't get rid of them, I feel responsible for them," says Ray.

He told me that the columns aren't even authenticated yet, they need to be authenticated to be sure they even came from the old hotel. "If the house goes down and the museum only takes a couple, I will use the rest on the new house," Ray says.

He went on, "I am open to recommendations from anyone who does this kind of salvaging. Please keep in mind I build high end homes, my crew does very detailed work, but I would like to find someone who specializes in this kind of work," if it comes to that.

"I am all in. I am living in Coconut Grove. I would like to do my part to keep the neighborhood the way it is supposed to be."

One thing that I feel will comfort people is that Ray has been consulting with arborist Bob Brennan, a fellow Grovite. Ray wants to protect the vegetation. Now if he could find someone to guide him with the old house in it's restoration. 

Before we spoke, Ray told me, "I believe in the values that you are fighting for. I think that when we speak you will find that I am not an enemy, I may actually be able to help the fight."

Continued tomorrow. 

First steps in protecting over-development

The Historic and Environmental Preservation Board (HEPB) met on July 5 to consider historic designation of the property at 3701 Park Avenue but they are having trouble finding sufficient evidence that the 100 year old house qualifies as historic. Of course that makes no sense as properties that are half that age have been considered historic. The fact that the new owners want to divide the property into more than one lot is not permitted under Miami21 NCD-3 code, so that should have some bearing on this case. The subject will be brought up at a future meeting.

What's interesting about this is that while this one piece of property is in everyone's sight, other properties all over the Grove are being destroyed in the name of greed. Every time you turn around, there's an empty lot and just as fast as the old house on that property was destroyed, new houses are going up. More than one on one plat of land.

On July 14, at a City Commission meeting, residents spoke about the former Battersea Woods property at Ingraham Highway and Battersea. A 1901 house was destroyed there and much of the tree cover, which was substantial. The developer removed almost all of the trees. Plans are for a total of seven new houses on this site.

The presentation by residents had some sway with the commission. There was a discussion on the property rather than the usual rubber stamp approval. Commissioner Ken Russell addressed the issue as a violation of the code, the failure of the developer to obtain a warrant for the subdivision. With no warrant there is no process for neighbors to object to the project. There is no notification of abutting neighbors, no notice, no opportunity to appeal the decision. 

The item was deferred until a July 28 meeting, so that further investigation can be done. The developer has two houses under construction without a permanent plat. Denial of the re-plat would send a message to other developers that there is a downside to doing subdivisions which are not in accord with the code.

From Miami21: "The single family residential district is intended to protect  the low density residential and dominant tree canopy characteristics of Coconut Grove and prevent the intrusion of additional density” When developers  violate this code they are taking existing homeowners’ property: the healthy sustainable grove environment we share with our neighbors. 

Commissioner Russell says: "Grovites are suspicious that the code is not being followed with regard to lot splitting and tree removals. Large lot homes are being split into little ones for profit. Trees are being removed to make space. My team and I have walked through the process of this particular case. Lot splitting without a warrant is illegal in Coconut Grove's Neighborhood Conservation District. A warrant is a process that triggers public input and the right for neighbors to appeal once they have been notified of the application. In this case, no warrant was issued, so at this week's commission meeting I hit the brakes instead of the rubber stamp."

It's not OK to wipe out suburban nature of the Grove

Miami City Planning department has a plan to increase the supply of housing in Coconut Grove by changing government regulations (up-zoning) to allow more units in the same space and District 2 Commissioner, Ken Russell has said he will sponsor the amendment. 

The Planning Department tried to sell us on their proposal in a workshop ostensibly to gather resident input. Neighbors had little opportunity for input, not many attended. Everything in the workshop was about the City’s agenda. We asked to have 15 minutes to show the existing strength of our current NCD code, based on the court tested language of Coral Gables code, we were denied.

In NCD-2, it is believed there is both a need for affordable housing and an appropriate social benefit for residents displaced by condemnations, and demolition by neglect. The increase in supply will lower housing costs of buying and renting, perhaps appropriate as 85% of residents are renters. It is proposed that this area, by residents’ choice, will become part of a Community Redevelopment Area (CRA). Affordable housing needs would be met by allowing developers to over-develop many NCD-2 areas in exchange for building some low income and workforce housing. 

In NCD-3, where residents have not been offered a choice, the proposed amendment would also increase supply, overburdening a fragile infrastructure, and it would lower the price of homes, so you could only sell or rent your home for less money. Where 85% of residents are owners, not in need of affordable housing, it is NOT appropriate. The average household income is $111,414 here, per the latest census data; the free market has been found to work well in allocating housing where people are prosperous. Should one of the most affluent areas in the city be entitled to subsidized housing? I have not noticed the need for such a public benefit among my neighbors.

At first I thought the idea of 450 ft. ancillary rental buildings, another part of the proposal, was interesting, maybe I could rent it as an Airbnb, use it for guests, or rent to a U of M student. But on further reflection, if all of my neighbors did it, with no additional parking or sewage, not so good. I’m O.K. with the existing cottages that are here, but having a lot more would be a problem. Where people live in the sub-urban areas of the Grove, residents need a car, each car contributes 30,000 pounds of Co2 to the atmosphere per year on average; better if U of M students live in a dorm or student housing close to campus. 

Further this would be a clear step toward making all of the single-family districts into DUPLEX Zoning. NOT What Residents WANT.  

At 3701 Park Avenue, the planning director used the existence of a 700 ft. ancillary cottage to justify creating two building sites where there was formerly one claiming it did not increase density. Center Grove homeowners often lament their district having been rezoned as Duplex, creating a much denser Urban character, let’s not allow it to happen in either of  the NCD- 3’s or NCD-2’s single family districts.

It would be better if the city followed their own plan for growth: density in the city core, along transportation and mixed use commercial corridors. The present proposal, would homogenize NCD-2 and NCD-3 codes for two very different & distinct areas. My thinking is that a plan more nuanced than the present proposal is needed not only to save the environment but also to maintain property values. 

BOTTOM LINE  It is NOT OK to WIPE OUT the sub-urban nature and character of the sub-urban areas of Coconut Grove. It is NOT OK to COMBINE NCD-2 and NCD-3 codes & swirl them around to become homogenized & UPzoned in the overall mix of Miami 21 code. 

What do you think? Let Commissioner Russell KNOW that you want him to protect your property rights, not perhaps unwittingly “deal them away” while making a very bad deal for the community. You own the property, your homes’ and you believed the Neighborhood Conservation District Zoning would protect your neighborhood’s character, livability and value. Protect the UNIQUE historic community you call HOME make sure it is there for the next generation.

Ken's email: krussell@miamigov.com
Or he responds faster to tweets: https://twitter.com/kenrussellmiami

John Snyder Coconut Grove

Appealing in the name of the NCD-3 Code

The City Commission will be hearing the appeal of the Historic Environmental Preservation Board (HEP) on Thursday, January 26, regarding the splitting of the property at 3701 Park Avenue into two single family sites.

For over 100 years, the site has been the location of one house. It was built for the Pollard family and owned and occupied by them for over 40 years.

According to the Save the Grove group, "The ancillary accommodation, attached to the 4 car garage, was originally occupied by a driver, Percival, and from 1946 by the widow of Mr. Pollard, as the second generation of Pollards occupied the primary home. From 1956 to 1997 the home was occupied by the Graves family and from 1997 to 2002 by the Kingsbury family. In 2002 the house was bought by Roger Treese who retained the property until it was purchased by the development company in 2015. The house and ancillary building is constructed of Dade County Pine, noted for its resistance to termites and other superior properties as a building material . By most accounts the buildings are in good shape with the possible exception of the ancillary  building’s  sleeping porch. Here's an article on Dade County Pine called "The Wood That Would Be Steel."

"After designating the Primary and Accessory building as Historic, HEP approved a waiver to divide the single family site into two single family sites, waive the lot width requirements for a large lot, demolish Mrs. Pollard senior’s cottage with attached garage, and reduce several setback requirements. The sleeping porch of the primary home is also to be removed. Neighbors appealed the waiver. The appeal will be heard on January 26 by the City Commissioners." 

Also from Save the Grove: "There have been two new warrant applications in Coconut Grove to divide single family building sites into multiple building sites. We believe that approving them would be a violation of the NCD code which requires that warrant applications be reviewed according to the intent of the appropriate transect. Since the NCD-3 code has a very clear intent which precludes destroying the diversity of lot sizes, splitting of single family sites regardless of the number of component lots making up a single site, canopy, and lush landscaping; it cannot be construed that placing sub-divisions derived from single family sites where very large houses are being built in our neighborhood is allowed.  In any case, threats to the integrity of our Neighborhood Conservation District neighborhood continue to emerge, and while good progress has occurred, we continue to have serious threats with which to contend."

Save the Grove's mission is to protect the nature and character of Coconut Grove’s low density, tree canopied neighborhood. We seek to accomplish this through advocating for thoughtful enforcement of our Neighborhood Conservation District, NCD code and to enhance that code by reasonable requirements for green space and lot to building ratios.

Please be aware of posted notices and notices sent to your house, Please share them with Save the Grove by emailing a copy to savethegrove16@gmail.com. Please send them asap, as there is only certain number of days to appeal.

Grove Village Council meeting is Friday at City Hall

The Coconut Grove Village Council meets Friday, November 18 at City Hall at 6 pm.

On the agenda:

- Opportunity for Members to add agenda items
- Treasury & Budget Update
- Police  / Net Office Report

- Presentation “Give us a Break” by Hank Resnik 
- Discussion Items
NCD / 3701 Park Appeal 
West Grove Housing Study
Ban on Use of Polystyrene 

- Old Business
Recap Grove 2030 Self Governance Event
NCD / Vacant Lot requirements
Housing Summit 

- New Business
GROVE 2030 Parks and Open Spaces

City Hall is located at 3500 Pan American Drive. 

Save Virginia Key Rally

There is a Save Virginia Key Rally (from the Boat Show) on Saturday August 29 from 10 am until noon.

Join the rally to preserve beautiful and public Virginia Key. Members of the rally would like to move the Boat Show amd have city leaders follow the 2010 Master Plan which does not include a marina of any size. Even though the Miami Boat Show and City of Miami act like it's theirs, it's in public hands and the natural resources are protected. Environmental permits are required.

Meet up at 3701 Rickenbacker Causeway, Arthur Lamb Road.

9 am- Coffee and silent paddle to site
10 am - rally along the causeway
Noon - lunch
1 pm - Move down the Key for a day of service - tree planting and beach cleanup at the historic Virginia Key Beach Park (Orange pavilion)