Noise claims drown out plans for Island Gardens growth

The sweeping development known as Island Gardens is moving forward with plans to turn a choice piece of waterfront property in Biscayne Bay into a first-class resort destination.

But it can’t seem to shake its history of controversy.

Last week the city’s Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board (PZAB) was set to hear a request from Island Gardens’ developer Flagstone Property Group LLC for an exception to allow a waterfront specialty center in an Urban Core Transect Zone.

The City of Miami owns Watson Island and leases a portion of the island’s northwestern corner to Flagstone, generally at 888, 730, 700 and 954 MacArthur Causeway.

The request for a zoning exception was ultimately deferred to the board’s July 20 meeting after prolonged debate about the uses on the property, currently and when the project is fully built.

An attorney for Flagstone asked for the deferral to afford more time to work with their architect and tenants to refine the planned retail spaces, amounting to 221,000 square feet with a mix of general retail and food and beverage establishments.

Deferral votes are often quick matters, but a complaint of loud noise emanating from the current uses on the property led to lengthy discussion.

James Torres, president of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance (DNA), objected to the deferral and asked the board to consider a condition of granting the waterfront specialty center noting that the city’s noise ordinance would be enforced at Island Gardens.

Mr. Torres was allowed to submit a letter to PZAB via city staff that reads: “The applicant, doing business as Island Gardens, has on occasion blasted loud music at residential communities in Park West and Downtown’s Central Business District until 3 a.m., taking advantage of the exemption in the city’s noise ordinance for city-owned properties.”

The letter points out that the city’s noise ordinance exempts city-owned properties from its requirements.

An assistant city attorney explained that the city cannot cite itself. That same attorney acknowledged to the board that this self-exemption “oftentimes creates frustration for neighbors and the like who have to hear the noise … they are told ‘we can’t cite ourselves.’ The city commission has tried to address it, perhaps removing the exemption for city-owned property, but I don’t believe the issue has been resolved.”

Noise complaints from residents are certainly not uncommon in a growing city, and Miami is in the sound mix, from the everyday buzz of activity and construction and traffic to the temporary blast of the Ultra Music Festival now reestablished in its longtime home in Bayfront Park.

The Downtown Neighbors Alliance has been battling the boom for years and is already voicing its concerns about what ultimately will be allowed at Island Gardens.

In his letter to the city, Mr. Torres, on behalf of the DNA, is requesting added wording in a list of proposed conditions for the waterfront specialty center at Island Gardens.

Mr. Torres said the city’s Planning Department has included a condition regarding loud noise.

“The exception use before you today includes a condition (see Condition 4) prohibiting the playing of music between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. We thank the City Planning Department for including this important condition. However, this condition does not control the volume of music that can be played by applicant daily, until 11 p.m., leaving a significant loophole for the applicant to exploit,” wrote Mr. Torres.

He added, “Condition 7 states ‘Any noise generated on site shall conform to Chapter 36 of the City Code noise regulation.’; however, since Chapter 36 exempts city-owned properties from its requirements, this condition is self-exempting, and thus rendered meaningless.

“Therefore, on behalf of the 30,000 residents of Park West and the Central Business District, we request that PZAB add the following at the end of Condition 7: ‘The exemptions to city-owned properties or facilities in Chapter 36 shall not apply to this exception,’” he wrote.

Attorney Iris Escarra, representing Flagstone, noted that current uses at the property are allowed under a temporary use permit and entirely separate from the request for an exception to allow the waterfront specialty center.

Under Miami 21 zoning, the waterfront specialty center is a type of specialty district for alcohol service establishments.

Waterfront specialty centers allow 50% of all establishments within the center to have certificates of use (CUs) or temporary certificates of use (TCUs) for alcohol service establishments. Under the same section, waterfront specialty centers must be located on city-owned property.

Ms. Escarra told the board, “The application before you is tied to the upcoming development. I just want to be clear, what’s happening there today is happening under a different permitting criteria than the proposal before you.”

What’s there is known as The Deck at Island Gardens, described on the Island Gardens website as: “Miami’s most exquisite super-yacht marina outdoor lounge” offering “high-energy dining, stunning city lights and all night long entertainment starting at 5 p.m.”

The vote to defer the matter was approved 6 to 2.

Board member Anthony Parrish voted against deferral and wanted to do something to offer the DNA a remedy before the project comes back for review in late July.

Mr. Parrish suggested a resolution to have the board ask city staff to look into a remedy to the loud noise, to “direct you to come up with a solution.”

Talk of such a resolution was put off until later in the meeting and then not acted upon.

It resulted in Mr. Parrish expressing frustration and abruptly leaving the meeting at about 9:40 p.m. – more than three hours after it began and before it was officially adjourned.

Chairman Charles Garavaglia left right behind him, requiring Vice Chair Melody Torrens to adjourn the meeting a few minutes later.

Regarding the fact that the city cannot enforce its own noise ordinance on city-owned property, Mr. Parrish had said, “That is insanity – and I’m leaving.”
The assistant city attorney suggested there may be other remedies, like putting noise control rules into contracts with lease-holders of city-owned property, revoking temporary use permits, filing for an injunction and more.

As required by the city charter, city voters approved leasing the island site to Flagstone for the development back in 2001.

For years, Flagstone kept promising that Island Gardens would be a mega-resort destination with dual hotels, fractional residential units, high-end retail stores and restaurants. But the land sat idle for more than a decade, frustrating some city officials.

In May 2017, city commissioners unanimously found Flagstone in default of its ground lease on the island.

Commissioners said they were fed up with excuses from the developer who, after many years, had built little to none of the upland portion of the planned resort. A deep harbor marina was completed in 2016.

Flagstone representatives defended the prolonged arrangement, saying the economy and litigation from third parties had been major factors in delaying progress on the project, along with construction of the PortMiami tunnel.

One month later, Flagstone Island Gardens LLC and Flagstone Development Corp. sued the city in circuit court, seeking in excess of $122 million.

On March 22, 2018, the court found in favor of Flagstone on the liability portion of its claims for breach of contract and declaratory relief. A trial to determine the amount of damages owed by the city was set, unless a settlement was reached.

In May 2019, the city commission approved a negotiated settlement of a $20 million with Flagstone.

The settlement cleared the way for construction to continue on the resort development.