To highlight the pressing challenges facing our region, CUES, in partnership with the South Florida Regional Resource Center produced a video called the South Florida Story. First shown at the national conference of the Alliance for Regional Stewardship, it has also been shown at the Vision Broward holiday party. Much of the information from the video comes from CUES’ latest regional indicators report, Charting the Course: Where is South Florida Heading? Take a look for yourself by clicking here. We are happy to share copies of the video on cd or dvd to any organization wanting to share the “South Florida Story” with more people in our region. Please contact MaryBeth Burton for a copy.

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On January 12, CUES Director Jim Murley moderated the meeting of the Peer Review Panel for the draft Broward County Amended Interlocal Agreement for Public School Planning (ILA). The Panel was made up of experts selected for their knowledge of public school concurrency and their familiarity with the provisions of Senate Bill 360. Panel members included Maria Cahill, Planning Director of Morris-Depew Associates, Inc. in Tallahassee; Lorraine Duffy Suarez, Manager of Growth Management for the School District of Hillsborough County in Tampa; and Nancy E. Stroud, Esq., with Lewis Stroud & Deutsch, P.L. in Boca Raton.

Panel members analyzed the amended ILA work products; commented on the soundness of the approaches, assumptions, and data; and served as a sounding board for new ideas and approaches. The Panel also provided information on best practices in meeting Florida’s school concurrency requirements. The Panel’s comments were summarized in a report. CUES Regional Coordinator George Gadson and Senior Fellow Jean Scott served as the panel coordinators.

The convening of technical resource and peer review panels is a special service provided by CUES. Peer review panels can be a valuable tool for bringing an objective, outside, and professional perspective to a planning process and provide an additional level of review by experts who are carefully selected for their knowledge of the issues and planning products under review. They facilitate good decision making by providing an additional level of expert review and evaluation, which helps to ensure that a planning process and products are based on the most accurate data and assumptions, hold up under technical scrutiny, and benefit from the lessons learned by other communities. The results are more successful plans and a higher level of public confidence in the planning process and products. For more information on the use of these panels, contact Jim Murley at 954-762-5255. Information on the Broward County Amended Interlocal Agreement for Public School Planning can be obtained from Chris O. Akagbosu, Director of the Growth Management Division of the Broward County Public School’s Facility Management, Planning, and Site Acquisition Department at 754-321-8352.

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CUES Senior Fellow Frank Schnidman organized and led a two day portion of a study tour for 18 Korean real estate professionals who were making a four-city study tour, "Understanding American Urban Mixed-Use Development." Frank took the group on a walking tour of the Brickell Avenue corridor in Miami and visited numerous projects in Miami and in Coral Gables, including Espirito Santo Plaza, Mary Brickell Village and the Four Seasons Hotel and Tower in Downtown Miami, and the Gables Grand Plaza, 55 Merrick, 1300 Ponce de Leon, and 1600 Ponce de Leon, in addition to the Village of Merrick Park and a Trolley tour of Coral Gables.  This is the third study tour Frank has arranged for this Korean group, and they will return again next year.

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Phase II of CUES’ Monroe County work on drafting amendments to the County’s 2010 Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations to implement the mandates of the 2005 and 2006 working waterfronts legislation is well underway. Dr. Lenore Alpert, CUES Assistant Director for Research, made a presentation on this project to the Monroe County Marine and Port Advisory Committee at its meeting in Marathon on January 10th. MJ Matthews, Senior Research Associate, and Camille O’Brien, Research Associate, also participated. Additional meetings were held that week with County planning and marine resources staff, along with a representative from the Florida Department of Community Affairs. Work is also progressing on the marina siting plan for Monroe County. The South Florida Regional Planning Council (prime contractor) is preparing the marina survey and analysis for the County, serving as advisors on the different phases of the project, and coordinating the overall research effort.

CUES and its partners, the Center for Environmental Studies (CES, the prime contractor) at FAU, the CEPEMAR Group, and Dr. Diego Lirman of the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) participated in the January 18th meeting of the Maritime Industry and Coastal Construction Impacts (MICCI) team of the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative. Dr. Lakhdar Boukerrou of CES lead the discussion on our latest draft of the Cumulative Impacts Methodology for MICCI projects. The meeting was held at the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center on Dania Beach.

MJ Matthews, CUES Senior Research Associate, attended the January 12th meeting of the Biscayne Bay Regional Restoration Coordination Team at RSMAS. The Team will host a panel discussion on the algal bloom in Biscayne Bay on February 9th from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. This meeting is open to the public and will be held at the RSMAS Auditorium, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL  33149. Phone: 305-421-4000.

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