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MIAMI RIVER COMMISSION 
c/o Rosenstiel School
4600 Rickenbacker Cswy,
Miami, Fl. 33149
305-361-4850
Fax: 305-361-4755
  e-mail: mrc@rsmas.miami.edu

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The Miami River Commission’s Economic Development and Commerce (EDC) Working Group met at 3:00 PM, Tuesday, November 13, 2001, at the Rosentiel School, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Dean's Conference room.  Megan Kelly chaired the meeting.  The sign in sheet is enclosed.

The second item on the agenda was a review of the Bassas Shipping Terminal’s City of Miami Special Exception application.  The City of Miami asked the Miami River Commission to provide a recommendation regarding the application.  The Bassas Shipping terminal is currently zoned SD-4 Marine Industrial.  The docks servicing the operational Bassas Shipping terminal were damaged on October 15, 1999, during Hurricane Irene.  On October 21, 1999 Bassas contracted a marine engineer to replace the damaged docks.  As the professional marine contractor has been in the process of obtaining the numerous required permits to replace the damaged docks for over two years, the Bassas shipping terminal has been forced to operate with damaged and unsafe docks.  The City required the special exception because a portion of the new dock plan extends 30 feet into the Miami River.  Upon reviewing arial photographs and diagrams of the federal navigable channel, the EDC noted the 30-foot extension does not impede into the Federal Navigable Channel, and parallels an existing structure.  The EDC unanimously recommended the City of Miami approve the Bassas Shipping Terminal’s special exception, subject to the fact that no portion of the dock is in the Federal Navigable Channel.

The third item on the agenda was a discussion of the “Boat Slip Bank” proposed at three Urban Infill Planning workshops.  The Miami-Dade Manatee Protection Plan identifies all existing boat slips in the Miami River, and restricts the construction of new docking facilities.  Currently, if an existing dock is removed for any purpose, it is essentially lost forever.  The concept of the Boat Slip Bank is when an existing boat slip is removed, it may be relocated elsewhere on the Miami River.  Therefore, the identified baseline of existing slips remains the same, and there is no net loss of existing boat slips.  The EDC unanimously supported the Boat Slip Bank concept during their July 10, 2001 meeting.  In an effort to further develop this preliminary concept, the EDC discussed the method of reallocating slips.  Brett Bibeau suggested a random lottery, similar to the lottery administered by the County to issue Taxi Cab licenses.  Miami Riverfront property owners who want additional boat slips would be eligible to obtain a number in the lottery.  The lottery drawing would be publicly noticed, and occur in the Stephen P. Clark Government Center.  The EDC agreed that although the Manatee Protection Plan affects the entire County, the proposed Boat Slip Bank would only apply to relocating existing slips within the Miami River.  The EDC identified two questions, which need further study and consideration.  First, who would administer the Boat Slip Bank?  Second, has the number of existing slips decreased since the inception of the Manatee Protection Plan in 1995?  Upon further review of the outstanding question, the EDC will revisit the issue, bring it to the full MRC and DERM.

The fourth item on the agenda was a discussion of the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) zone.  HUB designation works similarly to a “local preference” in awarding contracts.  Essentially a contract bid from a business in a designated HUB zone is more likely to be awarded than a bid from a business not in a designated HUB zone. During the September 28, 2001 EDC meeting, Cleve Jones stated that he would have been awarded a recent bid on a federal contract if Jones Boat Yard was in a designated HUB zone, and asked the MRC to research this designation.  Brett Bibeau provided the EDC with information from the HUB zone web site, www.sba.gov/hubzone.  The Miami River’s North and South shores are currently a designated HUB zone from Biscayne Bay to 27^th Ave.  At 27^th Ave the designated HUB zone continues west only on the north shore.  The EDC unanimously moved to incorporate the HUB program in the Miami River Corridor Urban Infill Plan’s list of economic incentives.  The EDC directed MRC staff to determine who is eligible to apply for HUB designation where it doesn’t currently exist west of 27^th Ave on the Miami River’s south shore, and recommended the existing HUB zone’s expansion to include the entire Miami River Corridor if possible.    

The EDC decided to regularly meet on the 2^nd Tuesday of every month, 3 pm, Rosenstiel School 4600, Rickenbacker Causeway.  Therefore, the next EDC meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, December 11, 2001, 3 pm, Rosenstiel School, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway.

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