Miami Shores Home Rule Under Fire

Miami Shores Village is once again struggling to fend off high-density developments from entering its boundaries, although this time the will of the voters may not be enough to stop the clock.

Mayor George Burch has grown increasingly concerned over higher governments preempting the village’s local zoning regulations. The state’s Live Local Act took effect in July 2023, right on the heels of a tense debate over the Shores’ comprehensive plan through which low-density proponents ultimately got their way.

The Live Local Act overrides municipal zoning rules by granting developers higher height and density privileges in exchange for affordable housing. A developer could essentially build a multifamily development in an area zoned for commercial, industrial or mixed use – utilizing the highest density allowed anywhere in the village – so long as the project allocated at least 40% of its residential units as affordable housing for at least 30 years. This could occur without so much as a public hearing for the village.

On top of that, the county’s Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) plan is in full effect, with construction on the northeast corridor planned to begin next year. The northeast corridor is a proposed 13.5-mile commuter rail route linking downtown Miami to Aventura using the existing Florida East Coast Railway/Brightline corridor, and it passes right through Miami Shores.

Although there will be no station in Miami Shores – with the nearest being in north Miami and Little Haiti – part of the SMART plan consists of increasing height and density for transit-oriented developments along its routes.

The impositions from higher entities on the village’s zoning preferences have led to discussions on just how Miami Shores can maintain home rule in a state and county with differing priorities.

“The real issue is, who’s going to control what occurs here in the village? … They’re taking away our ability to zone our own village, and I think that’s something we need to fight,” said Burch at a Dec. 5, 2023, council meeting.

Home Rule

Home rule was adopted into the Florida constitution in 1968, granting municipalities the ability to pass local ordinances without prior state approval and paving the way for local government as we know it.

In recent years, however, there have been claims that the Florida Legislature is imposing an attack on home rule with a series of preemptive laws, from local density regulations to public education – not to mention the Florida Supreme Court’s ongoing study on potentially consolidating the state’s judicial court system.

The argument, however, is less based on legal grounds than on the philosophy that governments are most effective when closest to the governed. Home rule has never been absolute. That is, local municipalities can enforce their own legislation so long as it doesn’t conflict with state law. It’s why governments have to be careful when trying to circumvent the repercussions of the Live Local Act.

“There’s not a lot of developers that are coming in necessarily under Live Local,” said Miami Shores Village attorney Sarah Johnston, “but where cities are being challenged is when they’re a little too on the offense in terms of what they adopt.”

Even Miami-Dade took a position when the Board of County Commissioners adopted an item encouraging the Florida Legislature to exempt its rapid transit corridors from the Live Local Act in November 2023.

It’s unclear what the directive in Miami Shores Village would be, if any, to combat the Live Local Act, as well as the county’s transit plan. That’s in part due to a lack of consensus among the council on whether anything should be done at all.

Conflicting Philosophies

Burch seems largely alone in his desire to sway county and state representatives away from the preemptions. Vice Mayor Jesse Valinsky, for one, said he doesn’t want to cause trouble or find the village stuck between the county and the state. Councilmember Daniel Marinberg said he believes any attempt to circumvent higher law will only lead to a crackdown on the village with even more preemption.

Worth noting, though, is that Marinberg is much more inclined to welcoming new developments to the village in the first place.

“To me, this all goes back to, how are we going to pay for all the stuff that we need to get?” Marinberg said. “Are we ever going to allow more density?”

The village has long grappled with how to fund much-needed improvement and infrastructure projects, such as that of the Miami Shores Country Club or for septic-to-sewer conversions. Burch rejects the idea that high-density projects are the answer; although they may bring in increased tax revenue, they’re just as likely to multiply expenses if the existing infrastructure can’t support them to begin with.

Yet Marinberg and Councilmember Sandra Harris are part of the lot that equate such philosophies with stagnation.

“We’re the only people sitting here who don’t want progress in our village … We know the issues. We’ve been talking about them for 30 years. What’s the plan? Somebody’s going to have to get uncomfortable,” said Harris.

Marinberg added at the December 2023 meeting that it may have been his last. He is considering resigning in part due to a lack of progress within the village, although he also cited a new state financial transparency law which requires elected officials to provide financial disclosures of purchases over $1,000.

The law has led to a wave of resignations across the state, especially in small municipalities where underpaid or voluntary politicians do not have the time, resources or will to cooperate. It has also been criticized as another attack on home rule.

Criticisms on Decorum

Disagreement, although typical among legislative bodies, is seemingly more than just a symptom of business as usual in Miami Shores nowadays. Over the past couple of months, some have begun to criticize Burch for creating an unwelcoming work environment, beginning with the resignation of Claudia Hasbun, who served as the planning and zoning director.

In October, Burch introduced an agenda item, later withdrawn, reprimanding Hasbun for “speaking negatively” of the village to this publication after we quoted her in a story just weeks before. To be clear, Hasbun did not speak directly to the Biscayne Times; comments she made from the podium to the village council at a September 2023 public meeting were reported.

She later resigned and took a job with the city of Hialeah.

At the Nov. 7 meeting, councilmembers discussed the importance of maintaining decorum with village staff after Marinberg read an email written by Burch for village manager Esmond Scott into the record.

The email urged Scott to act quickly on septic conversions amid ongoing pollution of Biscayne Bay. The final line read, “Einstein said the difference between intelligence and stupidity is intelligence has its limits.”

Burch stayed quiet during the discussion, although he addressed the matter at the December meeting, during which Scott himself came forward to express how offended he had felt by Burch’s emails. Burch said he does not regret his words, adding that he feels as mistreated on the council as those who have accused him.

“You’re very unhappy and you don’t feel that I think correctly or speak correctly or act correctly, and you’re going to tell me how I should do that … I tell you what. The answer is recall,” said Burch.

Burch later told the Biscayne Times, however, that he has no intention of resigning on his own.

Councilmember Jerome Charles has suggested that the council attend a half-day retreat to address its dysfunction, although the idea was rejected by Burch and labeled as a “kumbaya moment.”