Still No Pool in Morningside Park

The city of Miami’s District 2 commissioner is gearing up to gather feedback from residents on their preferences for the design of a new and improved Morningside Park. Yes, again.

Where to put various elements of the park’s design, most notably the community pool, has been ensnared in controversy for years. In 2019, former District 2 Commissioner Ken Russell tried solving the issue once and for all, but a lack of consensus and pending flood zone revisions in the area forced the issue to stall once more.

Now, it’s Damian Pardo’s turn. The new District 2 commissioner, elected last year, visited Morningside Park in March to speak with residents about their priorities for the park’s redesign. While many are as steadfast in advocating for their preferences as they were on day 1, others are mostly put off by the continued delay. The pool has been out of commission since 2016.

“I certainly can’t answer for whatever’s happened in the past, but what I can tell you is that the people that are here now are very committed to moving this forward,” Pardo said to residents.

Revamping Morningside Park isn’t solely a matter of political will, though. The issue has been tied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) ongoing process to update flood insurance rate maps throughout Miami-Dade County, which could lead to new flood zones and building standards in Morningside Park to take effect as early as next year.

Flood Zone Changes

According to preliminary map revisions released by FEMA in 2021, the agency is considering changing all of Morningside Park to a coastal AE zone. That means moderate wave action, or waves between 1 1/2 and 3 feet, are expected.

The potential zone change could eliminate one crucial factor of the debate on where to place the new community pool in Morningside Park: the price tag. With just one zone designation for the entire park, there would no longer be variations between building codes and elevation requirements, or all of the costs associated with such.

“If FEMA approves this revision, the structure is going to be the same in any location you put it,” said Hector Badia, interim director of the city’s Office of Capital Improvements.

The map currently in effect in Miami-Dade County, adopted in 2009, designates some of the park’s coastal area as a VE zone, where wave action is expected to reach above 3 feet. That’s where Morningside Park’s original community pool was located, from 1953 until it closed in 2016. The remainder of the park is located in a less risky AE zone, meaning a pool in this area wouldn’t have to be elevated to mitigate flooding, thus costing less money to build.

To comply with the newly proposed maps, the pool would sit at a base flood elevation of 9 feet and the entire structure would stand 22 feet tall no matter where it’s placed.

FEMA hasn’t approved any final changes just yet, however. The agency received a series of requests to appeal the proposed revisions after releasing its preliminary map in 2021, especially for areas along the county’s coast, which includes Morningside Park. Appeals can be sent to FEMA by public agencies or private parties, including developers, and with stricter building codes and insurance rates all at stake, it’s no wonder people had something to say.

A spokesperson for FEMA said the agency plans to issue appeal resolutions by early summer, after which there would be another 30-day mandatory comment period followed by final determinations in fall 2024. The maps would still not take effect until spring 2025 under that timeline.

Making a Decision

Uniformity within Morningside Park’s flood zones doesn’t necessarily make the question on where to put the pool any easier, especially as public opinion on the matter varies greatly.

On the one hand, some residents favor the city’s original plan to relocate the pool further inland because it would maximize usable field and picnic space. They also don’t want an elevated pool along the coast to obstruct views of Biscayne Bay from elsewhere in the park.

On the other hand, many residents who have lived in Morningside and surrounding areas for decades want to see the pool restored to its natural glory in its original location. They want to recreate the community pool that they knew and loved growing up.

The city’s plans to relocate the pool would also entail shrinking an existing loop road and relocating decades-old legacy trees, some of which were planted to honor the late family members of existing Morningside residents. Activist Elvis Cruz, who has long managed the park’s palm sanctuary, said he doubts the trees would survive relocation.

What Could Still Change

Pardo said he will implement a voting system so that residents can weigh in by text on their preferences for Morningside Park before a new conceptual plan is designed.

But with so many moving parts, there’s no telling how long the conversation will last. Besides FEMA’s pending revisions, the agency said it is also reviewing a conditional letter of map revision (CLOMR) specifically for Morningside Park’s shoreline improvement plan.

A CLOMR allows FEMA to comment on a proposed project that would affect the characteristics of a flood source, resulting in potential changes to the flood zone. Once the project is constructed, another request can be made for FEMA to effectuate that change.

Morningside Park’s shoreline improvement plan, which includes elevating an existing baywalk and improving drainage along the coast, is currently out for bid and under a cone of silence, according to city staff.