Carrollton makes a mockery of conservation

There's an article in the Miami Herald regarding the Carrollton/Villa Woodbine issue, we've discussed it here many times already.

What struck me about the article was a quote by Carrollton Headmaster Olen Kalkus, where he says, "I've watched the high rises going up in the Grove and we think a school would enable us to save Villa Woodbine and make sure it looks even better."

Make it better? They are turning a 5600 square foot villa into a 45,463 square foot school. That's making it better?

That's eight times larger than the current house. There will be a significant decrease in green space and lots or concrete surfaces added. Flooding already is a problem in the area and the Carrollton plan will only worsen it. And traffic, well, that will be a disaster since these kids all need a private car ride in for each of them, rather than buses for all of them.

Coconut Grove is being taken over by corporations and this property will be one of them. Carrollton School is a fictitious name. The Convent of the Scared Heart of Miami, Inc. is a corporation that owns Carrollton, the president of the convent is the headmaster of the school, Olen Kalkus. 

Carollton is the destructor in this incident, not a high rise, which hardly would be zoned for this low rise housing community. It's a house that they want to turn into a school, and Kalkus says he wants to save the property.

Headmaster Kalkus ignores the issue of all the trees that will be destroyed in the process and apparently cares nothing about the environment, traffic or neighbors' wishes. 

The HEP Board (Historic and Environmental Board) will discuss the issue at the next hearing Tuesday, December 3 at 3 pm at City Hall (3500 Pan American Drive).