The City of Miami Beach started the new year by announcing the appointment of the Mayor’s North Beach Master Plan Steering Committee. The group, which had its first meeting on January 5^th, will act as an advisor to the master plan consultants. Additionally, the City announced that it would sunset the Mayor’s North Beach Blue Ribbon Panel.

North Beach News wanted to acknowledge the efforts of the Blue Ribbon Panel, which has been credited, along with the Mayor and the City administration, in improving North Beach in some major ways. The panel is grateful to City officials like Jeff Oris and Kathie Brooks who were instrumental in assisting the panel in its day-to-day efforts.

“The Panel’s mission was to find ways to revitalize North Beach so it can become a thriving Miami Beach neighborhood serving the needs of residents, local businesses and our visitors,” said City of Miami Beach Commissioner and Blue Ribbon Panel Chair Ricky Arriola. “I am most proud of bringing Dover Kohl onboard to develop a master plan, as well as helping create a venue for residents to share their ideas and concerns with the City. I believe that the Mayor’s new steering committee will continue the good work of the Blue Ribbon Panel. The Steering Committee members are all deeply committed to realizing a better North Beach, that commitment is the key to a successful master plan.”

Mayor’s North Beach Blue Ribbon Panel

The Blue Ribbon Panel formed after the appointment of a new city administration, new City Manager and Mayor. Committed to making North Beach a priority, the group was tasked with initiating a plan to begin improvements to the North Beach community.

“Prior to the change in administration, North Beach got attention but no one was focused on it,” said President of Urban Resource and Blue Ribbon Panel Member Daniel Veitia. “No one was creating a dialogue on how to improve the area holistically.”

Overtime, the panel thrived and is now proud to announce over 20 accomplishments. Veitia said it wasn’t difficult for him to choose his top three successes stories.

Trolley System

“Past administrations said creating a trolley system that North Beach residents could use couldn’t be done because of the cost,” Veitia said. “Thanks to the new city administration, the mayor and the panel we now have a trolley. It was completed within a year and we have 50,000 residents using it.”

Normandy Fountain

“Fixing the Normandy Fountain was a simple but important fix” Veitia said. “For years, the City knew that the fountain didn’t work but nothing was done about it. Under this new administration, the fountain was restored quickly and the commercial district is as vibrant as ever. Prior, there were complaints of homeless people in the fountain and now we don’t have that problem.”

The Bandshell

The panel was also instrumental in the reactivation of the Bandshell, according to Veitia. Those changes included a renovation and curated programming by the Rhythm Foundation, which manages the historic building.

Many North Beach activists supported and backed the panel like President & CEO of the North Beach Property Owners Association, Matis Cohen.

“I think the Blue Ribbon Panel was very successful in creating a venue for discussing the very complex dynamics of North Beach,” said Cohen. “You have a disparity in opinions between residents and the commercial and the Blue Ribbon Panel set the stage for open dialogue between different groups to accomplish goals.”

Mayor’s North Beach Master Plan Steering Committee

Comprised of a diverse group of activists, the steering committee is primarily tasked with advising the master planners. The committee, Chaired by Margueritte Ramos, hopes to accomplish a lot via the committee.

“We hope to maximize North Beach’s potential,” Ramos said. “Our vision and mission is to make our neighborhood a great place for families and visitors.  With our extensive waterways, we have everything for water lovers including kayaking, paddle boarding and snorkeling, to name a few… We have amazing and updated parks with North Shore Open Space being designed by West 8. We hope to build on this improvement by determining the right projects for Town Center, the West Lots and the Library Property.  We hope to suggest where hotels will serve our neighborhood best.”

Potential for North Shore Open Space Park

This is the first Master Plan that takes into account North Beach in its entirety and will be economically feasible, according to Ramos.

“What we need is a comprehensive plan that assesses the needs of our community and provides a blueprint for the future,” said Veitia. “We have Dover, Kohl, one of the top planning firms in the country looking at a microcosm of an internationally known city to get us where we need to go.”

“Before Town Center is developed, we want the planners to determine what type of development we want to introduce, its impacts on our community and look at traffic. The planners are instrumental in starting and guiding these conversations. We should envision a vibrant town center with a strong business presence, where restaurants can thrive, offices for local residents to occupy and a pedestrian friendly experience where you can support local retail.” says Veitia.

You can find more information regarding the master plan by staying tuned here, or visiting www.plannobe.org