Lies in Wise Government Planning and Spending
Little Havana is Miami’s other
historic neighborhood — known around the world for its Calle Ocho, Latin
Culture, restaurants, nightclubs and decades-long heritage as landing point of
hundreds of thousands of Cuban exiles and other immigrants from Central and
South America.
Though mostly composed of low- and mid-rise development on small
lots, Little Havana is one of the most densely-populated neighborhoods in the
nation.
It also draws more than three million visitors a year.
PlusUrbia is
finishing an unprecedented comprehensive plan for Little Havana.
The
grant-funded Revitalization Plan, done in partnership with the National Trust
for Historic Preservation, focuses on preservation and adaptive re-use of the
classic 1920s and 1930s residential and commercial buildings that provided affordable
housing, jobs and places for mom and pop businesses to thrive.
The plan also
looks at design guidelines, zoning code, transit, mobility, complete streets
and a strong emphasis on increasing park, recreation and open space to promote
better health for residents.
The plan notes that streets make up nearly one
fourth of Little Havana’s land area and that many lots are 100 percent
impervious — not allowing water saturation, contributing greatly to flooding
concerns.
The report suggests special green gutters to collect water along
rights-of-way plus a stormwater utility fee, proportional to properties’
permeable index, which is a classification of estimated rates of vertical
movement of water from the ground surface.
The plan also suggests that property
owners increase lot permeability to minimum standards by code.
An assessment of
lot permeability would be conducted throughout the neighborhood.
Each property
that exceeds a calculated permeability index would be charged a stormwater
utility fee, to make it responsible for water run-off.
Proceeds of the fee
would be used to improve Little Havana’s aging flood control systems.
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