CORAL GABLES, Fla. – As a coalition of Coral Gables residents led by Bonnie Bolton and her attorney David Winker continue a legal fight to preserve “The Garden of Our Lord,” the City of Coral Gables and Century Crystal Group LLC, received development project approval from the city’s board of architects on a 4-3 vote Thursday morning.
The property owner is seeking to develop what some community members argue is a historic and treasured area for reflection.
There are coral rock walkways, bench walls, a grotto, “and it is a war memorial,” Bonnie told Local 10 News in August, in reference to the garden’s long history of showcasing memorial plaques that pay tribute to war heroes.
“We are hoping it can be stopped and we are going to plow through,” Winker told Local 10 News after the ruling. “This is not architecture...this is a mathematical equation. They are just trying to maximize the space.”
“The decision today was a major disappointment, at least three of the members understood and listened to the neighbors,” said Bonnie. “We only had five days’ notice of this hearing, yet we were able to get about 45 people to speak out and to write letters, about twelve people attended the meeting and spoke out there.”
The Change.org petition hundreds signed to save the garden makes mention of the limited number of public gardens. Although on private land and while the current property owner has not allowed public access, Bolton says the prior owner did open the garden to community members.
You may remember in January, the Coral Gables Historic Preservation Board decided the garden did not meet the criteria for designation as a local historic landmark.
Winker told Local 10 News Thursday that he doesn’t blame the developer since they have a fiduciary duty to its shareholders to maximize profit.
“We depend on our elected representatives to push back on that and say we want something that fits in our neighborhood more,” he said. “There is nothing around here that looks like this, it doesn’t fit. It is not consistent with anything in the surrounding area and that is where we need our elected officials, our boards, to protect us and represent residents and say no this does not reflect, what we want.
Artistic renderings document the scale of the proposed project which includes residential units, school-used space and so-called “live-work” units.
“It looks really nice,” said Miguel Perez, who lives nearby. “I do think there should be something incorporated for the public, something of a park, for dogs event.”
“I think it does look very nice and I think it is going to compliment the area. There is nothing quite like it,” he added.
Perez told Local 10 News that he likes the look of the renderings but adds that preserving green space is also of interest.
“I think there is a way the developer, the city, and the neighborhood can make a deal and get a public space somewhere around the area so there could be more green space,” he said. I rather not lose more green space than what we have and maybe gain something from this project. I mean, it is beautiful, and it has the Mediterranean feel, but I do think that there is something to go to the table and actually talk about it and get some more green space.”
Winker feels that a compromise can be made to help save the garden.
“There is a compromise, and it seems to be the compromise would be to preserve the garden,” he said. “I mean the garden would be a beautiful part of this project.”
Despite the ruling, Bonnie has not changed her stance on her fight to preserve the historic garden.
“We are fighting to save our neighborhood,” she said. “It is really going to cast a shadow in the neighborhood.”
“He wants to change the setbacks tremendously from what is allowed in the code, he is seeking tremendous variances, and we are just opposed to those details in the project as it has been presented,” Bonnie added.
Board of architects who approved the project:
•Glenn Pratt
•Peter Kiliddjian
•Hamed Rodriguez
•Callum Gibb
Board of architects who denied the project:
•Luis Jauregui
•Alain Bartroli
•Judy Bartroli
The board of architects declined an invitation for an interview to explain their votes.
Local 10 News also requested comment from the City of Coral Gables, whose board members voted to approve and deny the preservation of the garden.
The next step in the process is a planning and zoning board meeting.
Winker told Local 10 News that the 11th Judicial Circuit said they plan to review Bonnie’s case on Nov. 9 as she continues to appeal the city’s historic preservation board decision.
Read the notice of review below.