The Village of Palmetto Bay would like to address misinformation that’s currently circulating about our planned Tanglewood Linear Park Design Meeting, which was originally scheduled to take place today (April 25).

At the direction of the Miami-Dade County Construction, Infrastructure, Operations, and Innovations Committee (CIOIC), the Village of Palmetto Bay is actively engaging with adjacent residents, County officials, key stakeholders such as FPL, and park enthusiasts through a public meeting aimed at forging a “comprehensive solution” for Tanglewood Linear Park. This inclusive approach is designed to address neighbors’ concerns and ensure any improvements are in sync with the community's aspirations. This underscores the Village's dedication to an open, transparent, and democratic process that values the input of all parties.

The statements from County Commissioners Steinberg, Cohen Higgins, and Regalado, as well as Chairman Gilbert, all emphasize the need for a collaborative approach that considers the interests of the entire community along with the adjacent property owners.

Commissioner Steinberg's invitation for open dialogue, "Are you open and amenable to the discussion that we're having now about making something that works for everybody," calls for unity.

Commissioner Cohen Higgins supports this collaborative sentiment, stating, "If everyone is amenable, I think the deferral of this item so that this process could be worked out amongst the neighbors, the municipality, and my office would be greatly appreciated by all."

Chairman Gilbert points out the practicality of this approach: "You could do something there, you can give every homeowner their buffer, the village could do it also and that can be part of a comprehensive agreement." This illustrates a vision for a solution that satisfies all.

Commissioner Regalado looks to the future, suggesting, "I think there's an opportunity to do something comprehensive... it might be a good idea... to kinda figure that out too and see if sooner rather than later you can use this as a template and finish what you want to do." This foresight encourages proactive planning.

Together, these statements form a strong endorsement for a public meeting where consensus can be built, reflecting a communal spirit and potentially setting a precedent for future community planning endeavors.

On April 18, the Village scheduled a community meeting that would bring adjacent homeowners, County officials, Village administrators, our hired design team, and all other interested residents together to discuss the proposed plan to protect residents’ privacy and turn several vacant lots into a public green space known as Tanglewood Linear Park.

The Miami-Dade County Internal Services Department (ISD) opted to schedule an initial listening session with adjacent property owners who are interested in purchasing that vacant land. The session was scheduled and hosted by ISD for the same time and date as the Village’s park design meeting. The Village Mayor, Manager and Community & Economic Development Director have been invited to participate by Zoom. Because this created a conflict for both residents and County officials, the Village had no choice but to postpone our own design meeting until a future date. We look forward to a public meeting soon with all stakeholders.

The Village fully supports all efforts to engage residents and will participate in the ISD listening session tonight. We have invited residents to come to Village Hall at 6 pm to watch the meeting from our Council Chambers.

We will reschedule our park design meeting to a later date and will disseminate the meeting information in the same inclusive manner that was done previously. Please stay tuned for those details.