Appellate Panel Rejects Push to Stop Miami's Magic City Innovation District

Opponents of Miami’s sprawling Magic City Innovation District lost their push to stop the project over concerns about gentrification and high-rise development in the Little Haiti neighborhood where most buildings are one and two stories.

The Miami-Dade Circuit Court appellate division shot down a petition that sought to reverse City Commission approval and denial of a neighbor’s request to intervene. Intervenors on city zoning changes could be allowed but slow the process.

Warren Perry, who lives across the street from the project, was denied intervenor status by the City Commission in June 2019 when it gave final approval to the Magic City Innovation District. He filed his petition against the city the following month.

Judges Maria de Jesus Santovenia, Daryl Trawick and Lisa Walsh in a unanimous opinion disagreed Tuesday with the claim that the project violates Miami 21 zoning, the comprehensive neighborhood plan and other regulations.

The commission “was entitled to rely on the recommendation of its planning staff,” the judges said.

The panel’s task was to decide if there was enough competent evidence provided to the city, and the panel concluded this threshold was met.

The judges agreed with the city’s denial of Perry’s request to intervene, saying he failed to show how he would be impacted more than the general community, the threshold question to gain standing.

Perry’s request was filed at the last minute after the commission denied requests by Family Action Network Movement, a social services organization for Haitian women new to South Florida, and Perry is one of its members.

Perry spoke for the first time at a public hearing in March 2019, more than a year after Magic City filed its application, and the city already had held four hearings, the panel noted. The Family Action Network asked to intervene in November 2018 and was denied in March 2019 after being allotted two extensions to support its request. Perry asked to intervene in June 2019 at the final hearing when the commission was taking a final vote.

“Mr. Perry could have requested intervenor status at any of the prior hearings. He did not,” the panel wrote. “The tardiness of Mr. Perry’s motion was an appropriate consideration by the commission in denying his request.”

His intervenor request filed by Family Action Network’s attorneys “appears to be nothing less than an attempt to obtain de facto substitute intervenor status for FANM,” the panel wrote.

Perry’s attorneys, Meena Jagannath and David Winker, said in separate statements the city snubbed Little Haiti’s concerns.

The opinion overlooks “serious substantive and procedural issues” with Magic City, opening the door for future Miami projects to do the same, said Jagannath, co-founder of nonprofit public-interest law firm Community Justice Project Inc. ”The city must not continue to brush aside the well-founded concerns of community members, especially on projects of this size that stand to change the environment and neighborhood forever.”

Winker, who frequently represents the underdog on city issues, said losing these types of cases is “tough” and “public participation was purposely tamped down” by city officials.

Magic City, which was allowed to intervene in the court case on the city’s behalf, focused on its benefits as a job creator.

“The unanimous decision of the court is a huge win that will allow the Little Haiti community to receive all the benefits from the Magic City Innovation District, including the historic contribution package of up to $31 million in payments into the Little Haiti Revitalization Trust,” said Neil Fairman of development partner Plaza Equity Partner.

The pledge angered opponents as it substituted a previous promise to include affordable and workforce housing units in Magic City.

Plaza Equity is partnering with Metro 1 and Dragon Global, including Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte as an investor, on developing 18 acres with over 8 million square feet of real estate. This includes 2,630 residential units, 432 hotel rooms, 2.2 million square feet of office space, 6,081 parking spots and over 215,400 square feet of civic space.

The development, roughly from Northeast 60th Street to 64th Street and from Second Avenue to Fourth Avenue, already has some tenants in retrofitted warehouses.

Fairman pointed out the county has prioritized the area for a commuter rail stop on the Brightline tracks.

“We are excited to move forward with the development and to continue our work with the community,” Fairman said.

Residents have argued they won’t be able to afford to live or shop at Magic City and may be priced out of the neighborhood after the project is built.

“This could have been a development that benefits the community,” Winker said, “but is instead another loss for the Little Haiti community as our elected leaders failed to yet again effectively negotiate on behalf of residents.”

Read the opinion: 

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Miami’s Magic City Innovation District Could Displace 3,000+ Little Haiti Households, Study Says