September 29 Wednesday Lecture Series: John Dellagloria

On Wednesday, September 29th, 2004 from 5:30 - 6:30 PM at the FAU Downtown Campus, room HEC 1110A-B, the Wednesday Lecture Series begins with North Miami City Attorney John Dellagloria (A pre-lecture slide presentation on North Miami will begin at 5:15). Refreshments will be served and guests are welcome.

This Florida Atlantic Planning Society sponsored event represents the continued commitment to academic and professional excellence DURP and FAPS have made with the Wednesday Lectures.

Workforce housing in South Florida continues to be a serious problem that is frequently discussed but all too seldom implemented. The explanations of why this is occurring, what it means and what should be done about it all vary. Clearly this is a crisis that will need to be addressed now and in a much more efficient manner then has been the case in the past.

The City of North Miami provides one of the only (if not the only) programs in South Florida that may have the answer.

The City of North Miami with a population of approximately 60,000, is an economically struggling city with a large immigrant population and an annual mean household income of just under $30,000. A high poverty rate, plagued with code e nforcement incidents, depressed property values, land use conflicts, functionally obsolete buildings and a shortage of decent low and moderate income housing, the city needed to reinvent itself and its economy. In 1994, The North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency was established.

Graduating from the University of Miami School of Law in 1979, John Dellagloria has served as City Attorney of North Miami since 1996. Mr. Dellagloria is the creative force behind the City’s innovative Community Redevelopment Agency - one that has resulted in what will undoubtedly serve as a national model for the creation of affordable housing. His city’s cutting edge revitalization efforts are succeeding in developing Biscayne Landing . The creation of this upscale development (on formerly environmentally-challenged land) will not only energize the city’s tax base but will generate TIF funds that will be used for much needed area improvements benefiting North Miami‘s existing residents. This approach, using a public/private partnership will allow the city to add an inventory of affordable housing by creating one affordable unit for every market rate unit. This is a CRA that represents true development without displacement.

An article entitled “Looking for Smart Growth in Redevelopment: Lessons from an Evolving South Florida Success Story” can be found at http://www.catanese.org/cra/docs/04_April_schidman_article.pdf and for a preview of Biscayne Landing visit http://www.hsa-env.com/Biscayne/biscayne_landing_site.htm.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn more about your community and the specific issues planners are faced with today.

For more information call Bill Nemser e-mail Billnemser@hotmail.com.