Res No 084-16-14639RESOLUTION NO.084-16-14639
A Resolution urging the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commission to
notchange existing zoning of the University Baptist Church property folio30-
4035-052-0010and opposing the Somerset Academy Charter high schoolon
Sunset and 73rd Court.
WHEREAS,onSeptember 9,2015 SomersetAcademy("Somerset")filedavariancetoa
1997Miami-DadeCountyResolutionNo.Z-18-97 tobuildacharterschoolwith2500studentson
Sunset and 73rd Court;and
WHEREAS,under the1997 Resolution aschoolis prohibited inthis area with the
exception of aday nursery limited to96children;and
WHEREAS,under the 1997 Resolution a school canonlybe operated from 9:00a.m.to
1:00p.m.buttheSomersetproposalwouldcallforschoolbeopenedfrom7:00a.m.to4:00p.m.;
and
WHEREAS,the traffic study provided totheCity of South Miami Commission isover
two-years old;and
WHEREAS,onP21 of the traffic study under the heading "School Operations"itstates
"the School will be using vehicular stacking areasforthefew parents that willuse their private
passenger vehicles asa means (of)transportation";and
WHEREAS,on P21 of the traffic study it states,"The School will have a large
percentage of the student body transported onlarge yellow busses;and
WHEREAS,Table 5.4A-2states that 375 of the 2,500 students will arrive and depart on
school busses;and
WHEREAS,onP53 of the traffic study it states "The School is committed to having
15%of the student population using busses;and
WHEREAS,on P24 it states,"The School SHALL not allow for students to walk to or
from this site alone;and
WHEREAS,thetrafficreportlistsonly24asthenumber of bicycleparkingspacesfora
school with 2,500;and
WHEREAS,thetrafficreportlistsZERO(0)asthenumber of schoolcrossingguards
provided by the school;and
WHEREAS,onP54itstates"theintersectionofSunsetandSW74rdCourtwillrequire
tobe controlled bya police officer duringthearrival of students";and
WHEREAS,Table9-0.2TrafficControlResourceOfficerCommitmentrequiresthe
Schooltohavean officer atthe intersection of Sunsetand SW 73rd Court for ONLY thefirsttwo
weeks of every semester;and
Res.No.084-16-14639
WHEREAS,theTrafficReportdonetwoyearsagodidnotmeasureanyvolumes of
traffic WEST of the Palmetto Expressway;and
WHEREAS,according to Mayor Stoddard,the traffic study estimated that 25%of the
students will arrive fromthe north,butthetraffic study DID NOT count the volume of
southbound Palmetto trafficexisting eastonto Sunset northe frequency to which this traffic
presently "blocks the box"of the intersection preventing westbound trafficfromenteringtheon-
ramp tothe southbound Palmetto;and
WHEREAS,emergency vehicles routinely transport patients along Sunset to South
Miami Hospital,and should the addition of vehicles transporting 2,500 children tothe proposed
charter school happen and negatively impact Sunset traffic,a patient's chances of dying inthe
ambulance onthe way to South Miami Hospital increase;and
WHEREAS,the proposed schoolwillbe built onthe south side of Sunset Drive directly
adjacent toone of the last protected rock pinelands in Miami-Dade County -Trinty Pineland
County Park;and
WHEREAS,the South Miami City Commission has been a strong proponent of protecting
threatened rock pinelands andweare concerned that this proposed school may harm the Trinity
Pinelands;and
WHEREAS,in 2014,after a number of complaints by local residents,South Miami's City
Commission instructed city government officials to investigating why just 1%of Somerset
Academy South Miami Charter School's students are African-American when 17%of South
Miami residents are African-American;and
WHEREAS,the South Miami City Commission is concerned that this new charter school
on Sunset willnot provide equal opportunity accesstoall families and students inthe community.
Itisour hope that the admissions process would be open and if this school is approved itwould
become a community asset;and
WHEREAS,dueto proposed drastic zoning changes,concerns regarding increased traffic,
environmental concerns,and concerns regarding whether this school willhavean open access
admission policy.We hope the County Commission willgivethis proposal more scrutiny.
NOW,THEREFORE,BE RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSIONERS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI,FLORIDA THAT:
Section 1.The Miami-Dade County Board of County Commission should reject any
zoningchangeson University BaptistChurchpropertyfolio 30-4035-052-0010 orrequirethe
school andthe church to significantly alterthe current proposal to adequately address the problems
thatwillbe created by increased trafficandtheneedto protect therock pinelands.
Section 2.The City Clerk is hereby directed to transmit this resolution toall members of
Miami-Dade County Board of CountyCommission andall members of the Miami-Dade School
Board.
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Res.No.084-16-14639
Section 3.Severability.If any section clause,sentence,or phrase of this resolution isfor
any reason held invalid or unconstitutional bya court of competent jurisdiction,the holding shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution.
Section 4.Effective Date.This resolution shall become effective immediately upon
adoption by vote of the City Commission.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this j±day of May,2016.
1ST:APPROVE
Page 3 of 3
COMMISSION VOTE:
Mayor Stoddard:
Vice Mayor Welsh:
Commissioner Harris:
Commissioner Edmond:
3-1
Nay
Yea
Yea
Yea
Commissioner Liebman:(Out of Room)