Testing Testing 1 2 Yes. Perfect. Only for presentations. Yeah. So, I'm just going to leave it here cuz it's already fully charged. You could close that and then that'll stay here for >> Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Good evening everyone. Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry. Good evening everyone. We'll be starting momentarily. If everybody can please occupy their seats. Thank you all for coming. Good evening. A video. Thank Thank you, Luis. Thank you. Once again, thank you all for coming. We're about to call the City of Hialeah Council meeting of April 14th, 2026 into order at 5:38 p.m. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Mrs. Ogvi. Present. >> Mr. Lavega. Present. Mr. Gonzalez. Mr. Marrero. Present. Ms. G. Perez. Present. Ms. M. Perez. Present. >> Mr. Rodriguez. Mr. President, you have a full council. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Can you please lead us in the invocation? Lord, we pray for your continued blessing upon our city, its residents, employees, mayor and council. Amen. Madam Councilwoman Monica Perez, can you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? Everyone, please rise. Face flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. You may be seated. Madam [snorts] Clerk, can you read the meeting guidelines into the record, please? The following guidelines have been established by the City Council. All lobbyists must register with the City Clerk. As a courtesy to others, please refrain from using cellular telephones or other similar electronic devices in the Council Chamber. A maximum of three speakers in favor and three speakers in opposition will be allowed to address the Council on any one item. Each speaker's comments will be limited to 3 minutes. No signs or placards in support of or in opposition to an item or speaker shall be permitted within the Council Chamber. Any person interested in making comments or posing questions on matters of public concern or on any item on the agenda may do so during the meeting. Members of the public may address the City Council on any item pertaining to city business during the comments and questions portion of the meeting. A member of the public is limited to one appearance before the City Council and the speaker's comments will be limited to 3 minutes. Individuals should be respectful of the elected officials and staff and make every effort to speak with a moderate tone, using appropriate language and avoiding personal attacks. Members of the public in the audience shall refrain from shouting or making remarks from their seats to the mayor, council members, or staff sitting on the dais. The public can view public meetings on the city's YouTube page. That was quick. Thank you. All right, we have a presentations. Emergency Management Division. Uh Paul Garcia, are you leading us in this? Where's Paul? Are you leading us in this? I think the Red Cross is involved. There's Help me. Help me out. Come up here. Thank you. You have the floor, sir. Name and address for the record, Paul. Captain. Paul Garcia. 83 East 5th Street Hialeah, Florida 33013 33010. I almost gave you my zip code. I live here, too. I just wanted to thank you all because this is a project that it's been a lengthy one, but a very, very important one for our city. And I just want to welcome the Red Cross and they're going to go ahead and tell you a little bit about it, give you the history behind it, and as to why it is so special, unique, and much needed. Thank you. Speaker, so you can be memorialized forever into our record. Name and address and then you can speak. Thank you for the record. Good evening. My name is Debbie Couch. I'm the executive director of the American Red Cross for greater Miami and the Keys. Our address is 335 Southwest 27th Miami, Florida 33135. >> Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. I'd like to introduce our amazing volunteer, Armando Flores, to give a few remarks. Good evening. My name is Armando Flores. I'm a long-time volunteer with American Red Cross. That's the address for it for the for the Red Cross. And I would like to just take a moment to to on behalf of the American Red Cross, we want to thank the mayor, commissioners, and the Hialeah Department for your continued partnership and support. The facility use use use agreement represents our shared commitment to the preparedness, coordination, and service to the community. By working together, we are better equipped to respond quickly and effectively during emergencies and disasters, ensuring that residents of Hialeah receive critical assistance that they need when they need it the most. We are proud We proudly stand along the side the city of Hialeah in strengthening the resilience, safeguarding the well-being of this community. Thank you. For all you do, that wasn't enough said. Thank you for everything you do for us and globally. Does anybody want to say anything? Is there Go ahead. Thank you very much. Just wanted to say Thank you. Very much appreciate it. Glad to be here. Yes. May I address the chair? >> Yes, ma'am. >> Well, we appreciate your service here and like the President Zogby has said, you're being very humble with your description of what you've done. I've been lucky enough to you know, to share some moments with the Red Cross here in the city. And just to name like one of the the small task that I saw that you did here, which I was very proud of, we worked with fire and we visited many residents in Seminola and we distributed different new fire alert I'm not saying it probably got a fire alarms, right? And you checked the fire alarms, you installed CO2 alarms as well. That was an updated one that you did and that helped lower a lot of their insurance costs and you did that all free to these older residents in in the neighborhood and I had just the pleasure of tagging along and helping out and meeting the residents with all of you. So, thank you for what you do and and whatever we could do, I know that I speak on behalf of the council, we're here to support you in our city. >> Very much so. We are very really humbled by your your cooperation. Thank you. >> Yes, thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much on behalf of all of us. Go ahead. Go ahead. Paulie. >> One one more individual that was a big to do for this agreement. He's a very humble man and he's probably going to get mad at me for doing this, but it is our director William Sanchez. And he's the one that that thought of the facility use agreement as well. He agreed to it. He gave locations. We don't like to give locations because we don't want to ever lead the public with wrong information in case of a disaster does happen. We'll declare and we'll let it be known where, but what led to this was several occasions where multiple family units had to be evacuated. One was a gas leak. One was a partial collapse. There has been There have been several fires where multiple families and of course fires always happen in the middle of the night, worst time ever. So, we just want to make it a point they wanted to make sure with action they showed the gratitude to our mayor for his administration and this council for making sure that this agreement happens because it's not if, it's when something happens again. Hialeah is now ready and our citizens know that they are in a safe city and a city that's preparing for any disaster so that we can be there to help them as a whole. So, thank you all. Thank you. Thank you all of you. Thank you very much. Thank you. I think we're done with the presentations. Comments and questions. Do we have a speakers registered to speak and then we'll we'll read whatever email or something. Go ahead. So, the first registered speaker is Eric Johnson. Eric Johnson. You know what to do. You're a veteran. Thank you, sir. Good evening, council. Eric Johnson representing the Hialeah firefighters. It's a day of thank yous. It's a day of thank you to the mayor, councilwoman Melinda, who actually joined us last week for a burn. Well, we say a burn is we actually host something at our fire station, our training facility. I know the chief's been there. I know Councilman Zogby has a smirk cuz he's been there. Where we actually get them in the gear that we perform our daily duties on. We give them the tools that we break through doors with. We literally make them hold the fire hose, go into a building which is on fire. Of course, we supervise them. Don't freak out. But other than that, it it came out great. I hope the council will join us in its entirety next time we host this event. It gives you an insight to not just the job that we do, but the physical aspects it takes to do the job. It's great if I can tell you about Picasso till I'm blue in the face, but what we want to do is we want to give the opportunity to see Picasso. That's what we want. The next time we do this, probably in a couple months, we would like to prepare in conjunction with our fire chief, we'd like to prepare another event for all of our elected officials, kind of similar to we did in I think it was 2021, the last big one we had. Where we invite the local elected leaders from around the area to see what Hialeah has to offer. We might not have a lot, but we have a lot of heart. We have a lot of soul. We get the job done for less and with less, as I always say. And I want to showcase what we have. Maybe to include things such as vehicle extrication. Instead of telling you why we need a $50,000 set of the jaws of life, I'd like you to pick up that 90-lb tool while you're in your gear and I want you to cut a car open. I want to see what it takes. I want you to have an understanding of why we ask for what we ask to serve and to service the citizens of Hialeah. I thank you all for the continued support. It means a lot to us. In this profession, we might hear the thank you one or two times throughout a career. Some people are always quick to say, "Oh my god, you guys are heroes." Let me remind you, no, we're not. None of us are. None of the cops are. None of the firefighters are. Let me be clear. We are ordinary people simply placed in extraordinary situations. We chose this. If this job costs our life, we have served with honor. It's what we do. Thank you for your continued support. May it never stop. Love every single one of you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Eric, the mayor had a close call, I heard, during the burn film. I'm not going to call him out and say he had a close call. >> understand what happens if something God forbid God forbid were to happen to the mayor? >> We like this mayor. >> become the mayor. >> corrected, but Carl, you and I will speak silently, you know. >> All right. We'll talk. Thank you. Thank you very much, Eric Johnson. >> chair. Yes, ma'am. Did somebody say they want >> Yes. >> Go ahead. Yeah. Mr. Johnson, and I I just want to say thank you to you. I want to say thank you to Fire Chief Perez and the entire team for hosting that burn. It is my second time doing it, but even even now as a second round, I will say I had to stop, breathe. It's not only physically, but mentally, too. Going into a fire is just it's an experience that um I can't even describe it, but what I can tell you is that leaving that burn, you have an understanding as to what our men and women in the fire department do. And I think these type of activities are so important. I hope you continue to do it because it really gives us a true understanding of how important it is to have the right gear, to have the right equipment. Um The the fire hose was so heavy. I didn't I I kind of let the mayor kind of just take take it cuz it was just too much. And there was a point in there where I I almost tapped out and said this is just too much for me, but I'm glad I I went through it. And thank you for that. And I hope that you guys continue to do it cuz I think it's really, really important for all elected officials, not only here, but everywhere to truly understand day in and day out what you guys need and and what it is to what it is required of you guys to serve our residents and keep everybody safe. So thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Vice President. Yes, sir. Keep it brief. Very satisfied taking a zero in your class. That was brief. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else or we'll call the next speaker, Madam Clerk? Juan Santana. Sure. Name and address. Juan Santana, 5601 West 10th Avenue. Um went to the dog park a couple times. It was locked a couple times, but luckily enough the park director and everybody in your staff, Mayor, worked very well to correct everything. Um I had to pick up after some other dogs that left their mess there, but it's okay. Uh these things happen. Um you know, you you you continue showing your leadership. You continue leading by example and keep on doing what you're doing. Uh hopefully we can continue to correct other departments like again, I've been asking for several public records. I came the last time. Um you know, I'm going through some issues right now with court being pro se and you know about this being an attorney. Um I've asked for several public records. Come to find out they don't charge the state attorney's office. They don't charge the public defender's office. But you know, I'm an officer of the court and then when you request something, you should be also granted the same thing. Uh you know, the same leeway. Uh especially when I ask for records here, it's been a headache forever. And unfortunately the incompetency of the director of the department. And hopefully the more you merge different departments, hopefully we can start cleaning up uh people that have been here too long. You know, they I think they established roots that they think they're a valuable employee. And unfortunately the performance of this employee has always been negative after negative after negative. And I suggest you look into it even with uh previous employees that used to work in the department. And it's just been nothing but negative. You know, but Mayor, hopefully you can look into some more. I reached out to your staff several times. Um you know, when yesterday they want to continue and say, "Let's go ahead and go through this ride together." Uh at the end of the day, I know that I'm going to be victorious. You know, and then we'll go from there. But um you know, I also talked about previous administration here. Uh the program that I think you guys approved for $20 million. Right? This program's not working. You go and you email back the system and it's not communicating. I had to tell one of the staff members from the clerk's office. It's not working. You know, so I had to give it to her. I said, "Please reopen it because I didn't tell them to close it." Right? I'm just trying to see if we can go ahead and work this out before paying $300 and $20. You know, and come to find out she doesn't pick the lowest staff member that with the lowest pay to review it. She's picking the mid-tier ones. You know, so she's doing it on purpose. You know? So and I have 25 seconds. If you want to say anything, I'm going to be here. That way I don't walk away like we did the last >> No, that's not the way this works. So just use your your time and then that's it. Go on. We vehemently disagree with you. Plus now you have a public defender is our knowledge. You're no longer pro se on that. So have him contact the city or her. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you. Uh our next speaker. Jacqueline Jacqueline Gilbar Zua. Thank you, ma'am. Name and address for the record and you have up to 3 minutes. Um my name is Jacqueline Gilbar Zua. My address is 460 East 23rd Street, apartment 414. I am here as a lifetime resident, as an educator, and as a newly elected secretary to the Women's Club of Hialeah. Um I came to commend you Mayor Carballo because I was watching one of your interviews the other day and you hit close to home. Um you were talking about the blocking of the sidewalks. I definitely agree with you. Elderly people need to walk. People walk their dogs. And the reason why I say that it hit close to home because one of my students um a couple of years ago um did not make it. He was walking his siblings to school. There was a car blocking blocking the sidewalk and unfortunately he was struck. So um basically I am here to ask you if there is any way that I can assist in this endeavor either raising raising awareness in the community, um making sure that it's the city is enforcing this initiative. Um but definitely I commend you on that. That is something that has been my pet peeve for years. The sidewalks are for our residents, for our elderly folks, for our kids. And as of 36 days till the school is over, we definitely need to be careful and keep an eye on those sidewalks so that our children are safe as well. So if there's anything that I can do to assist, please reach out to me. Thank you. Thank you. Chief, I don't know if you can provide maybe an update in some of the enforcement that we've been able to crank up. Good evening. George Fuentes, 5555 East 8th Avenue. Um I've had weekly conversations with the Mayor in regards to our proactive enforcement of not just commercial motor vehicle parking in our city swales, but also sidewalk parking. Uh I know off the top of my head our neighborhood resource team which I assembled last week alone they issued approximately 99 citations. That's almost 100 citations uh that incorporated uh sidewalk uh vehicle parking. So our officers are out there proactively addressing this issue. Um any complaint that we receive, we handle immediately, but we're also going out there and not waiting for the complaint, but going out and enforcing. Thank you, Chief. And you know, I've I've done a couple of the ride-alongs. I've seen you know, people call the non-emergency number to report especially when there's an egregious amount of vehicles blocking. Um obviously it's it's a big big problem and we're sort of behind the eight ball on it, but we are um trying to increase the enforcement as much as practicable. Obviously, you know, we we need a lot more police officers. We need a lot more PSAs. Those are things that we're actively hiring for. And so as we get more personnel on boarded, it's going to be easier. There's going to be more bandwidth to do that, but it's something that we're doing definitely especially in the evenings when the officers have a little bit more time. The calls obviously drop around the evening hours. So it's something we're working on. Again, it's it's a it's a difficult situation and it also has a code uh component as well because the reason why you have I mean, sometimes it's somebody that's lazy, but a lot of times it's you know, house has 15 cars. And that's why they're parking them there. So that's why we've also increased our code enforcement efforts. And uh we're doing something around 300 or so uh new code cases per week. Uh so you know, the numbers are certainly adding up as the weeks and weeks go by, but uh there's a lot of properties in the city. There's well over 50,000 properties. So it will take some time, but you will start seeing those changes. Thank you. Um thank you, Mayor. Uh Madam Al Al Oh my god. Jacqueline, Miss Jacqueline. The last name I forgot. Albar Zua. Albas Albar Zua. It's Albar Zua. Albar Zua. I love it. Thank you. The number he said, the non-emergency number. Tell all your friends and all your neighbors. 305-687-2525. Call. When you see it, report it. If there are other emergencies out there, other priority calls, they will go first. But they can never erase your call. That will never be erased. So whether it be half an hour, 45 minutes, an hour, they will get there. If they were just visiting and they're gone by the time the officer gets there, nobody gets a citation. But if they're still there, especially with these egregious uh things that are usually overnight. So if you see anybody parking in that middle lane in any street, you know, where you're supposed to turn and they park there overnight, 687-2525 or on the side wall. Call. They will get to it. Tell everybody you know. That's what we need cuz if the officers don't see it, you're our eyes and ears out there. Thank you so much. Thank you. Uh do we have any other registered speakers, Madam? No, sir. No. Any any comments that went Oh, Sorry, I came late. Go ahead. Go ahead. I came late. Sorry. Name and address. Jose Albar 788 Southeast Park Drive. Yes, sir. Uh I think yeah. Go. Sorry. Huh? You want us to turn the clock back? Uh thank you. All right. All right. Yeah, I I want to congratulate the Mayor and the new city council. We've gotten off to a great start. Mayor, you've gotten the trust of the city and and they're behind you. I think you're the one to take us to the new level of a city along with the new city council. Uh we can always be known as the place where your car breaks, you take it to Hialeah. Apartment building, you go to Hialeah. Uh kitchen cabinets, you go to Hialeah. We would always be known for that. We would always be short on police. We would always be short on on fire officers, on all the equipment. You weren't here for the budget, but the budget every year we pass it. We we recommended mandatory maintenance we don't have and then we have all these problems that just compound. I I want you to to just consider what I'm about to say, consider and run it by people that know about marketing, especially branding, and I want to give two examples. Uh when Dade County in 1997, Dade County was known as Dade County visionary start of Miami, the world city. Everybody knows Miami. They thought about changing it to Miami-Dade County. There was a lot of opposition. It it barely passed when we brought up to the voters, but it passed. I want to talk about Alvin Chapman. Alvin Chapman was a visionary. He knew downtown Miami there was space available. It was in the center of the city and Miami was known. He had a problem because he had to get rid of the trucks in downtown and he built that tunnel, very controversial. He had to get rid of homeless and they built all the shelters. But the name change was key because everybody knows Miami. We got a taste of what we could be with with our factory town, with with all these worlds. So, we have people go to factory town, but they're not using our hotels, they're not using our restaurants. All right? So, I want to show you just for you guys to consider people are going to think the same thing they thought about Alvin Chapman, but I want to show the slide. So, I I want to talk about Cutler Bay. When when Cutler Ridge, remember when Cutler Ridge was a minority black black neighborhood, poor, when they changed to Cutler Bay there was a lot of opposition, right? Cutler Bay has tripled their tax base. They have parks going up everywhere. Our last park was built in 1997. And we have something Cutler Bay doesn't have. We have location, location, location. We have space available. This to the average person said, "Oh, highly I would never go for it, right?" I spoke to one of the major developers and and they told me perfect, but that's a good idea, but I would never go for it. Mayor, if anybody could do it and any city council could do it, with education, you have you you have the way to talk and you have the influence. I just hope just consider this, right? Maybe next year, maybe next year or the year after. Mayor, you don't have the resources in the budget. You were left with hardly no money in the budget and you saw it when you tried to open up Bucky Dent Park. And you can't raise taxes because that'll be the end of your political career, but increasing the tax base, this is an option. I'm just asking you please think about it. Thank you. Thank you. Um if there are no more registered speakers, do we have any comments, Madam Clerk? Yes, sir. Jessica Santana with the home address of 5601 West 20th Avenue, Hialeah, Florida 33012 requested that her email be read during this council meeting for the record. Number one, can the city council meeting start at 7:00 p.m. in order to give working class residents a fair opportunity to attend the in-person meetings? I am not interested in joining virtual. There's a lot of traffic delays and it is impossible to make it at 5:30 p.m. arriving from any direction. Two, can the restriction of not being able to yield your 3 minutes to another speaker be lifted? Thank you. Thank you. Unless otherwise desired by the dais, things will remain status quo. If everybody agrees, we'll go to announcements of amendments and corrections to the agenda, Madam Clerk. Consent items X, Y, and Z have been added to today's agenda. Administrative item 11A is postponed indefinitely per the request of the property owner. Consent item G, administrative item 11C, and zoning item 16D are postponed until the city council meeting of April 28th, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. Thank you. Board appointments 9A, Madam Clerk. Proposed resolution reappointing Julissa Enriquez as a member of the Planning and Zoning Board as Councilmember Monica Perez's appointment for a 2-year term beginning on April 14th, 2026 and ending on April 13th, 2028. Councilwoman Perez, would you like to add anything? Thank you, sir. Yes, ma'am. Julissa is my appointment. She's been representing me already. I believe now it's going to be 2 years and um I think she's a very sound voice. She's very reasonable. She's a business owner. She's a mother of two young girls here in our city and I think it's nice to have a different perspective that sits on that P&Z board and consider different options throughout our our zoning process. So, I ask for the support of the council to reassign her to my seat. Good choice. Would you like me to consider that a motion? Yes, sir. And I need a second. Thank you. Thank you, Madam. Thank you. Second. And a second from Council Vice President Melinda De La Vega, sorry. Call the roll, please. Mr. Rodriguez. >> Yes. Mr. Zogby. Yes. Mr. Marrero. Yes. Ms. G. Perez. >> Yes. Ms. De La Vega. Yes. Ms. M. Perez. Yes. Mr. Gonzalez. Yes. Motion carries. The item is approved. Thank you. Um 9B, Madam Clerk. Proposed resolution appointing Eduardo Mena to the Veterans Affairs Committee of the City of Hialeah as Council President Carlos Zogby's appointment for a 2-year term beginning on April 14th, 2026 and ending on April 13th, 2028. Thank you. Uh Eddie Mena is an upstanding citizen, Marine veteran, my friend, my neighbor, and a friend of Colonel William Perez. So, thank you. Say hello to everybody up here, Eddie, and thank you for volunteering, Eddie. Thank you to the mayor and to the city council members. Uh honor and pleasure to serve again. Thank you so much. Thank you, Marine. Uh I need a motion, please. Motion. >> through the chair. >> Yes, ma'am. I think you made an excellent choice. Uh President Zogby, I I've had the pleasure of knowing Eddie and obviously the Colonel. Um and Eddie always volunteers. He's sweating, he picks up turkeys, he walks it to the the seniors' cars at a moment's notice. So, and without holding a title here in our Veterans Board. So, thank you, sir, and and I look forward uh to the work he's going to do here on on President Zogby's seat in our Veterans Board. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you. Is that a motion? >> Yes, sir. Motion. >> So, we'll have a first from Councilman Luis Gonzalez, a second from Councilwoman Monica Perez. Please call the roll. Mr. Zogby. Yes. Mr. Marrero. Yes. Ms. G. Perez. >> Yes. Ms. De La Vega. Yes. Ms. M. Perez. Yes. Mr. Gonzalez. Yes. Mr. Rodriguez. >> Yes. Motion carries. The item is approved. Thank you both for your service. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Uh item board appointment 9C, Madam Clerk. Proposed resolution appointing Juan Pablo Acosta to the Historic Preservation Board of the City of Hialeah as the mayor's appointment for a 3-year term beginning on April 14th, 2026 and ending on April 13th, 2029. Mayor. Thank you. Um Mr. Acosta is a lifelong Hialeah resident over 38 years, born at Hialeah Hospital and educated at St. John the Apostle Catholic School. Uh over 20 years experience in construction, has a strong expertise when it comes to planning, development, and he's personally invested in the city that we all love. Mr. Mayor and council, thank you and thank you for this honor and the opportunity to serve you on this historical board. And I I look forward to obviously serving you, the city, and our constituents. So, thank you again. Mr. Acosta, thank you. And so you get the merit you deserve. For the record, your name and address so we know who spoke here today. Absolutely. Juan Pablo Acosta, 7 7947 West 15th Court, Hialeah, Florida 33012. 14, I apologize. Now now you're part of Hialeah history, sir. >> Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Thank you. Do I have a motion? >> Through the chair. Yes, ma'am. Um I just wanted to to add to the mayor's comments that I'm proud to also support Juan Pablo Acosta's appointment. You go by JP? Great. Great. Um I actually had the privilege and the honor of serving on the Historical Preservation Board before I was appointed. It's such a special and important board here in the city. Um JP's not only a resident of Hialeah, but has also chosen to raise his family here, which speaks volumes as to, you know, the dedication and and and what his impact to the city will be just to make sure he's raising his family right in in in a great community. I see also that you brought your whole family here, which which is great. They're very involved in the community also, not only involved in in St. John's, but also involved in Immaculate. Mayor, I know you owe a visit. >> in Immaculate. >> [laughter] >> You owe a visit there. But I Yes, you see, Immaculate's everywhere. But I believe JP will be a great appointee there. So, I would like to >> Thank you for your comment. That is a motion. >> Yes, absolutely. >> Motion from Council Vice President Melinda De La Vega. If I may, I Yes, ma'am. >> Second and thank you, sir, and bienvenido a la familia. Gracias por el apoyo. And thank you to you and your family for serving on our board. Thank you, Ms. Perez. >> I second. Second from Councilman Monica Perez. Please call the roll. Mr. Marrero. Yes. Ms. G. Perez. Yes. Ms. De La Vega. Yes. Ms. M. Perez. Yes. Mr. Gonzalez. Yes. Mr. Rodriguez. >> Yes. Mr. Zogby. Yes. Motion carries. The item is approved. Thank you. you. again. evening. Have a great night. You too. Board appointment 9D, Madam Clerk. Proposed resolution appointing Luis Morales as a member of the Planning and Zoning Board as Councilmember William Marrero's appointment for a two-year term beginning on April 14th, 2026 and ending on April 13th, 2028. Thank you. Willie Marrero, do you want to brag about him a little bit? And bit Thank you. I'm reappointing Luis Morales. He was formerly on the board. He did a great job then. I ask you all for a vote of confidence and so reappoint him to the Planning and Zoning Board. I don't know if there's anything you'd like to add, sir. No, thank you so much for the opportunity to continue to serve. Thank you. So with that, I motion. Second. >> a motion from Councilman William Marrero and a second from Councilwoman Katherine Perez. Please call the roll. Miss Katherine Perez. Yes. Miss Delavega. >> Yes. Miss M. Perez. I just wanted to add, if I may. Yes, you may. I can't leave out Luis. Luis always helps us too. He always goes to all our food drives. He He's always sacrificing from his time and his energy and giving back to the city in any way he can. So thank you to you, your wife and your daughter that you're raising here in our city and and to your parents who lived on the block. Uh the Hialeah mafia is strong here with families. And uh and thank you for your service and of course I say yes. Thank you, Luis. Another excellent pick. So. >> Yeah. How Are we done with the roll? >> No. Miss Gonzalez. Yes. Mr. Rodriguez. >> Yes. Mr. Zogby. >> Yes. Mr. Marrero. Yes. Motion carries, the item is approved. Thank you, Luis. Have a great night. Congratulations. Thank you. All right. Moving on to consent agenda. Would anyone in the dais want like to pull any of the items on the consent agenda? And this is open to the public as well. Any item from the consent agenda? Speak now. Oh. Oh Hold on a second. Jose, don't worry. I won't I won't let you go. Anybody up here? Otherwise, Go ahead. Go ahead, Jose. Please. I I I want to pull the consent agenda dealing with Parks and Recreation, Sparks Park. It's number Which one? U. U like umbrella. No, you can't pull that one today. Okay, you got it. We're going to come back to you. Don't leave. Uh otherwise, uh pleasure of the council on the remaining consent agenda. Motion. Motion from Councilman Luis Rodriguez. Second. Second from Councilman Willie Marrero. Please call the roll, Madam Clerk. Miss Delavega. Yes. Miss M. Perez. Yes. Mr. Gonzalez. >> Yes. Mr. Rodriguez. Yes. Mr. Zogby. Yes. Mr. Marrero. Yes. Miss Katherine Perez. >> Yes. Motion carries, the consent agenda has passed except item U. Thank you. Um Madam Clerk, uh read the um item into the record. Proposed resolution waiving competitive bidding and authorizing the mayor, his designee and the city clerk as a testing witness on behalf of the city to enter into two agreements attached here to as exhibit A and B and incorporated by reference herein with Florida International University for professional consulting services and the creation of a conceptual master plan for Sparks Park in the City of Hialeah and authorizing the issuance and execution of a purchase order in an amount not to exceed $37,750 and providing for an effective date. Mr. Jose, your name and address for the record and and go ahead with your comments. >> Jose Alvey, 788 Southeast Park Drive. You know, it's a small world, JP. Mom and my mom, they worked in Kim Color, a factory for for 20 years. They're like best friends. I had no idea. It's like, wow, but So yeah. Um Mayor, you weren't here during the budget. I I I want to share what's going on in our city. So we have a building impact fee when the new buildings, new construction, 5% of it It's millions of dollars goes for new parks. That's the intent of new parks. You see the park City of Miami, City Miami Beach, they're building these beautiful, huge parks. The last The last park we opened up was Roberto Casas Park in 1991. We haven't opened up a recreation center for the 1991. Even Opa-locka in North Miami have opened up beautiful parks. I say that because Okay, it's meant for new construction. We're twisting it and we're we're remodeling Sparks, but this should be just part of the general fund, right? We remodel Sparks Park or we would get county fund, which that's another issue. We're getting very little from the county. The last thing the county did for us was Milander Auditorium and Walker Park, but that was during Julio Robaina when they did that. So that that's the first step. Okay, grant from the state We know we got something from the state, but using the park impact fee, if you read into that, we're twisting the law that you know, we're getting by with it, but the intent of park impact fees are for new construction, new parks, something new. I I had a taste of of what's going on like they were charging $6 to pick up eggs in the Easter egg hunt. We never ever did that ever and every city offers that for free. A large part of the population can participate in the programs. Mayor, that's not what you're doing. That's the budget you were I talked about it. You were given a pool and in back then you don't have lifeguards for the pool and I I I I thank Melinda Delavega. She fought for the last minute. We had like one day to approve the budget. And I hope this already happened this year. I hope you're a visionary. The park impact fee, we need new parks. Like we we need space, you know, we have all these We don't have a baseball league in Hialeah. Yet we have Miami Springs as a league, Miami Lakes as a league and they're using our parks, you know, it's it's like, you know, we need parks. We need more space. Impact fees and you have a hard job because they didn't leave you money in the budget, right? You have no money in the budget. They were so clear and uh the the directors of departments, we we we slashed maintenance. That that's going to come up and we're going to have to deal with those issues that we slashed. I hope you get a chance to talk to department heads. And next year, I know you have a plan. I know you have a vision. I'm We have a well-rounded I don't know how how much I want to say. I want to say a a good word from Marbelys cuz I asked for a problem. She's always really nice to me. She's an attorney. She has the longest band tenure other than Ralph Granada. I mean, she has all these credentials and she's always been nice to me even though I I give her a hard time and she has a great staff. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Um pleasure of the council on item U of consent agenda. Motion from Councilman Luis Rodriguez. Motion Um second. Second from Council Vice President Melinda Delavega. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Miss M. Perez. Yes. Mr. Gonzalez. Yes. Mr. Rodriguez. >> Yes. Mr. Zogby. Yes. Mr. Marrero. Yes. Miss Katherine Perez. >> Yes. Miss Delavega. >> Yes. Motion carries, the item is approved. Thank you. Administrative item B because A is postponed indefinitely, Madam Clerk. First reading of proposed ordinance amending chapter two entitled administration of the code of ordinances, article five entitled finance division two entitled fees and charges and in particular amending section 2-873, subsection A to increase the city's standard violation and lien research fee from $375 to $500. Repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for inclusion in code, providing for severability clause and providing for an effective date. Thank you. Item B is on first reading. Open Not open to public discussion, but certainly open to our discussion in the dais. Otherwise, pleasure of the council on B. I'll say something on this. I think it's worth every penny. Yep. It's going up to $500, but it's so fair to let the buyers know exactly what's going on with the property, so there are no surprises before they actually close on it. So they get a lien search, violation search. That's something we started a few years ago. So there are no surprises. It does protect the consumer. Otherwise, pleasure of the council. Sir, I just wanted to add that we're processing about 236 requests a month. >> Wow. Um and so in order to meet the demand, we've had to add two staff members to our additional And people close in a in a in a prompt and quick manner, so I I I think we need this. If they get delayed, they don't close and people lose money. Um thank you, Madam Clerk. Um pleasure of the council on um administrative item B. Motion. Motion from Councilman Luis Rodriguez. >> Second. Second from Councilwoman Katherine Perez. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Mr. Gonzalez. Yes. Mr. Rodriguez. Yes. Mr. Zogby. Yes. Mr. Marrero. Yes. Miss Katherine Perez. Yes. Miss Delavega. >> Yes. Miss M. Perez. >> Yes. Motion carries, the item is approved. Second reading and public hearing is scheduled for April 28th, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. Okay, so item C is postponed until April 28th, okay, the next meeting. So I guess we can move right to unfinished business. Anyone? Item 12. Otherwise, new business? Right. So, we're going to move over to land use and zoning. So, uh have a good night, Mayor. Can you please I guess uh by the administer the oath? Will all those persons who will be testifying on an item, please stand and raise your right hand? Do you swear or affirm that the evidence you're about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? If so, say I do. Let the record reflect that all have responded in the affirmative. All right. 15A, Madam Clerk, land use amendments. First reading of proposed ordinance amending the future land use map of the city of Hialeah comprehensive plan pursuant to section 163.3187, Florida Statutes. Small-scale development amendment to change the land use designation from low-density residential to transit-oriented development district for the property located at 1081 E 17th Street, Hialeah, zoned R1, legally described herein. Repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith. Providing penalties for violation hereof. Providing for severability clause and providing for an effective date. Item 15A on land use is on first reading, not open to public discussion, but certainly we will allow the lobbyist, Cesar Mestre, to speak on their behalf. Name and address if you would. >> Good evening. Cesar Mestre, offices at 8105 Northwest 155th Street, Miami Lakes, Florida. Thank you, sir. I know that there's a companion item to this and I was going to make >> Um I know there is. 16I. >> 16I. Thank you. Who? Thank Was that you? >> If I can do one presentation, I would appreciate it. Bless you. Thank you. 16I. Go ahead, sir. Yes. Do you want us to jump over if we don't have any opposition? If it's okay with with the council, I would appreciate it. Yes. To do both together. Sorry, sir. A. Sorry, sir. Expediting fee. Expediting. Go ahead, sir. Please. You have the floor. Good evening. This is a property located at 1081 East 17th Street, Hialeah, Florida, which is on for two different things today. Land use plan amendment and the rezoning. The land use plan amendment, this is second property on 7th Street, 17th Street on the north side, just east of East 11th Avenue. The developer of this property is requesting that it be changed to TOD, transit-oriented district. And this developer, David Ortiz, who's present here today, is actually the one that did the first TOD development in the area. He's done several of them, and as a matter of fact, he's done one right next door to this property that we're here before before you today. Right now, it has a house that was built in 1949. It's a 1,120 square feet. It's zoned low-density residential, and the land use is low-density. It's zoned R1. It's located within the TOD, traffic-oriented district, and in particular to it's located in the transfer station subdistrict. Can you go to the next slide? This is just showing you the land use and the zoning. Next slide. This is the property right there. As you can see, it's the second one from the corner. Uh immediately to the left of it, you can see that there's the top of a building. That's the one that has already been developed by this gentleman. Uh he's done several other ones on 24th Street, uh which have come out very nice. I know he's invited the council uh to see them. Uh some of you were not here at that point, but uh he wanted to make a point. Uh he's Hialeah-born, Hialeah-raised, Hialeah High grad. Um and he makes a point of hiring Hialeah contractors, Hialeah architects, uh people with a lot of connections uh to Hialeah. He hired me when my office was in Hialeah, and that's the reason he hired me. Uh but I just wanted to make sure that you guys were aware of that. He goes above and beyond. He puts uh really good finishes, good materials, um stainless steel appliances, marble tops, high ceilings. Uh all of his buildings are very similar. Um so that's why I bring that up. He could, based on the square footage of the lot, which is 8,250 square feet, develop up to 23 units on this property. That's not what he's asking for. He's only asking for 12. It is a four-story mid-rise development. He's already done the property next door, as I told you before, it's located close to the Tri-Rail, close to the Metrorail stations. That's why the area was designated TOD way back when they developed this when they did this. It encourages high-density development. Um the property the project is is compatible with the planned future character of the district. Supports the city's vision. Uh the pump station in this area is in okay status. It's consistent with your comp plan, and it increases the housing opportunities. The project has been already submitted an application for school concurrency. We're waiting for that to come back, but that will be uh I'm sure that's going not going to be a problem. Next slide. This is showing you what has been designated as the TOD station area. And as you can see on the bottom corner, there's a little circle there. That's where the property is located within the district. Next slide. This is what the building looks like on the corner. This is the one that's already built. And the next one is the proposed new building. Uh basically both ends, very similar, four stories. Uh they have 12 units, two bedrooms, two baths. There is no variance requested for parking. We have the minimum parking, which is 18 spaces for the 12 units. There is a small setback variance, which is only where the lobby is and where the stairs are. Um there is no mixed use on this one, which for this area your planner has actually said it's good because it keeps the character of the residential area instead of bringing in the commercial. Also, this street to the south is your industrial warehouses are located there. Like the Leah Arts District is that that area there. So, this combined with that will create a very walkable uh good area for for Hialeah. There's a landscape mitigation that will take part when your site and concurrency plan review uh takes place. There's no commercial, as I told you before. The first floor is where all the parking spaces are located, and then the other three floors have four units each, two bedroom, two bath. No parking variance. There will be on-site drainage system that will be part of the plans, and there have been certain conditions that the planner requested before the planning and zoning board. Uh we have submitted a proposed declaration of restriction, which incorporates the conditions that were set forth. So, based on that, we would be respectfully ask you to vote for approval. And if you have any questions, I or the developer are here to answer any questions. I hear the council. Second. All right. So, easy money, uh Cesar. Uh motion from Councilwoman Luis Gonzalez, second from Was that Was that you, ma'am? Councilwoman Monica Perez. Unless anybody has anything to say, call the >> Through the chair. Yes, ma'am. Cesar, um the the the neighbor the neighbors, I know you said um they built on the building to either the right or the left, right? >> The one located to the east of the present one, yeah. How many stories is that? >> Exactly the same, four stories. Four stories. What about to the to the west? There's single-family homes there still uh to the west. They're still family homes. And nobody has Nobody showed up to Nobody has, as far as I know, submitted any type of complaint >> complaint, and nobody showed up to your planning and zoning, and I don't think there's anybody here today, either. And the same thing happened with the one on the corner. Um I I think the neighbors know already uh he's developed another one a few blocks up uh that this area has been designated as a change area to be a little bit more high-density. And there's no privacy issues with like the fourth story into a single-family like kind of four story looking into >> Nobody has brought that up as of yet, but we are complying with a 6-foot uh cement wall between the properties as required by the code. Claudia, do we ever have any I'm just just in general, not not just on this project, but when that happens that we build up next to a single-family home, I would think that the fourth or the highest floor can see into the right to the backyard of the neighbor. Planning and Zoning Claudia Hasbun. So, basically we review it in terms of architectural elements. For example, we recommend that no balconies are those areas. So, it's just windows. So, they cannot you know go out into a balcony and peek on somebody's yard. So, but those are the kind of architectural elements that we include. We of course we require landscaping mitigation trees and so forth and so on. Thank you. We have two motions on the dais. And so, unless there's any other comments, we can call the roll. Mr. Rodriguez. Yes. Mr. Zagby. Yes. Mr. Marrero. Yes. Ms. G. Perez, Ms. de la Vega. Yes. Ms. M. Perez. Yes. Mr. Gonzalez. >> Yes. Motion carries. The item is approved. Second reading and public hearing is scheduled for April 28th, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. Thank you. Unless anyone up here has any objection, if they do, please state it. We can move on to item I in the zoning for so Caesar can earn an even easier night. Is this your only item here tonight? >> the only item tonight, yes. Oh, you're starving tonight. Okay. Madam Clerk, if it's okay with everybody, can we read item I into the record 16 >> tips on the way out. There you go. First reading of proposed ordinance rezoning property from R1 one family district to TOD transit oriented development district granting variances to allow one a single use four-story multi-family residential building containing 12 dwelling units where mixed commercial and residential units are required. Two, a front setback of 6.75 ft where 20 ft is required. And three, 6% pervious area where a minimum of 10% is required. All contrary to Hialeah Code of Ordinances section 98-1543, section 98-1544, and the Hialeah Landscape Manual updated July of 2025 section E, and granting a partial waiver of minimum landscape requirements through landscape mitigation pursuant to section 98-2235 for the property located at 1081 East 17th Street, Hialeah zoned R1 legally described herein providing for conditions, repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for severability clause, and providing for an effective date. Basically, same thing on first reading only open limited to our discussion up here in the dais. Um barring any discussion from anybody, pleasure of the council. Motion. Motion from Councilman Luis Rodriguez. Second from Councilman Luis Gonzalez. Please call the roll, Madam Clerk. >> Mr. Zagby. Yes. Mr. Marrero. Yes. Ms. G. Perez. Ms. de la Vega. Yes. Ms. M. Perez. Yes. Mr. Gonzalez. Yes, yes. Mr. Rodriguez. Motion carries. The item is approved. Second reading and public hearing is scheduled for April 28th, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. Thank you. Thank you all. Have a good night, Caesar. Thank you. Um Good night. Good night, David. Thanks. Um Madam Clerk, item zoning item 16A, please read it into the record. Second reading and public hearing of proposed ordinance rezoning property from C1 restricted retail commercial district to R2 one and two family residential district granting variances to allow one a lot width of 50 ft where 75 ft are required. Two, a lot area of 6,550 sq ft where 7,500 sq ft are required. And three, a lot coverage of 32.5% where the maximum lot coverage is 30%. Subject to conditions all in contrast to Hialeah Code of Ordinances sections 98-544, 98-2056 subsection B2, property located at 2334 West Fourth Court, Hialeah, Florida zoned C1 restricted retail commercial district and legally described herein repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for severability and for providing for an effective date. Thank you. Um zoning item 16A is on second reading open to public discussion. Certainly open to our discussion. Do we have a representative here? It passed on first reading. Anybody um Does anybody have any questions for our zoning director? On 16A? But right now we have a motion from Councilman Luis Gonzalez. Any reason they're not here? Uh no particularly. They were you know notified, advised, and everything. They we have been communicating with the applicant. They accepted all the conditions of planning and zoning and they were here the first reading, so. Ms. Mayor. The second and this was tabled after the second reading or actually it was postponed to today? See. The applicant withdrew from the last time? No, no. Um it we needed to advertise it correctly. Oh, okay. I thought it was on the applicant. >> But the applicant was aware and he agreed to come today for second reading. Otherwise, there's no issues. The conditions were agreed to and they >> He accepted all the conditions. We have a motion from Councilman Luis Gonzalez. Second. We have a second from Councilman Willy Marrero. Please call the roll, Madam Clerk. Mr. Marrero. Yes. Ms. G. Perez. Ms. de la Vega. Yes. Ms. M. Perez. Yes. Mr. Gonzalez. Yes. Mr. Rodriguez. Yes. Mr. Zagby. Yes. Motion carries. The item is approved. Madam Clerk, 16B into the record, please. >> Second reading and public hearing of proposed ordinance granting a variance to allow an existing accessory building with a floor area of 832 sq ft where the maximum floor area allowed is 500 sq ft pursuant to Hialeah Code of Ordinances section 98-1666 for the property located at 7200 West 11th Court, Hialeah, Florida 33014 zoned R3 multiple family repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for severability clause, and providing for an effective date. Item B, 16B is on second reading open for public discussion and um certainly open for our discussion. And you, sir, are in case anybody wants to ask you a question. >> Uh my name is Julio Perez. Address 16160 Southwest 107th Place, Miami, Florida. I have a power of attorney from the owner. I'm here to represent them. Um most of the changes have already been made and we are um you know excited to move forward with the repairing of the building which is what triggered all of this. Thank you, sir. Anyone have any questions? No. Motion Motion Who said Did you say motion? Willy Was that you, Willy Marrero? Motion Councilman Willy Marrero. Did you need to comment anything? Anybody? >> No. Just motion. Motion from Councilwoman I'm sorry, Council Vice President Melinda de la Vega. Please call the roll. Thank you. Ms. G. Perez. Ms. de la Vega. Yes. Ms. M. Perez. Yes. Mr. Gonzalez. Yes. Mr. Rodriguez. Yes. Mr. Zagby. Yes. Mr. Marrero. Yes. Motion carries. The item is approved. Have a good night, sir. Thank you. Thank you. Uh item 16C, Madam Clerk. Second reading and public hearing of proposed ordinance granting variances to allow one north side setback of 0 ft where 5 ft 1 in is required. And two, 0 ft landscape buffer facing East 47th Street where a minimum 7 ft landscape buffer is required contrary to Hialeah Code of Ordinances sections 98-1372 and 98-1706 and the Hialeah Landscape Manual updated July of 2025 section D for the property located at 4698 East 10th Lane, Hialeah zoned M1 industrial district repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for severability clause, and providing for an effective date. Uh item 16C is on second reading open for public discussion. And any comments from the dais or any um Okay, we have a motion. I have a question. Do we have a motion just for the record from Councilman Luis Gonzalez. Madam uh um Claudia, can you come up here as well? I'm looking at the picture here. And and anybody else, believe me, I'll give you time. This is like a vehicle storage here. What's happening here? They are developing a warehouse and with a parking lot next door. So, the use will be according to the zoning the existing zoning of M1. So, they could use it to for storage purposes. >> For storage. Correct. But they're going to build a warehouse. Correct. With a yard, but it's still going to be vehicle storage that you know of. It is what What is it? Go ahead. Yeah. Go ahead. Name and address for the record again. >> Valerie Hernandez Moy, 13031 Northwest 5th Street, Plantation, Florida 33325. And you are Um the lobbyist here or No, sir. No. Um it is my parents' business. I'm a beneficiary. It's under their trust. Um so Okay. >> this. And you want to build what here? What What are you what are you asking me to do? >> Um so this building caught on fire several years ago um and so we are currently dealing with a 40-year um recertification as well as the rebuilding it. Um so we went to building after we did building zoning once the paper went through zoning, um there are few few parameters because where the building currently stands. So we're just going to build back up and it's going to be um storage for the business. Thank you. Does anyone have any questions for Magali? We have a first from uh Luis Councilman Luis Gonzalez. We have a second from Councilman William Perez. Please call the roll. Marrero. Uh I'm sorry. I changed your name, Willie. You're good. >> William Marrero. I'll add a third one. Oh my gosh. Mr. La Vega? Thank you. Yes. Ms. M. Perez? Yes. Mr. Gonzalez? Mr. Rodriguez? Yes. Mr. Zogby? Yes. Mr. Marrero? Yes. Ms. G. Perez? Motion carries. The item is approved. Thank you. Have a good evening. >> Good night. Thank you. Item D is postponed. Yippee. Okay. So we're moving right to item 16E in zoning, Madam Clerk. Second reading and public hearing of proposed ordinance granting variances to allow one six parking spaces where 11 spaces are required, two one parking space to back out onto the right of way where back out parking is not permitted, three 0% pervious area where 10% pervious area is required, and four 0 ft landscape buffer between off-street parking and West 8th Avenue where a minimum 7 ft landscape buffer is required contra to Hialeah Code of Ordinances sections 98-2189 and 98-2190 in the Hialeah Landscape Manual updated July of 2025 sections D and E and granting a partial waiver of minimum landscape requirements through landscape mitigation pursuant to section 98-2235 for the property located at 2440 West 8th Avenue, Hialeah, zoned M1 Industrial District repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for a severability clause, and providing for an effective date. Uh item E 16E is on second reading open for public discussion and certainly open to our discussion. Do we have the applicant to the Um no, sir. The property owner The chair this the ALF, right? Yes. They'll take care. Yeah, okay. I remember. The property owner and the tenant had advised us that they will not be able to attend to tonight's meet hearing. Through the chair. Yes, ma'am. Um Claudia, so what why is it again that we don't allow back um backing out? Only we allow backing out parking only in what it calls, you know, low-density areas. So basically single-family homes and duplexes. Any other zoning classification does not permit the backing out of property of So why where did that come from? >> visibility. So basically you don't see the cars are coming on the right of way. Right. And 8th Avenue super busy. So 8th Avenue why are we allowing it? It's 8th Avenue in the Seminola area, so it's not as busy as in other, you know, areas of 8th Avenue. I will understand that if, you know, north of 49th Street and and that area that is busier. Uh but this is in front of the park, so it's not as busy and the property was already operating in several other warehouses. They have unfortunately that condition as well. This is in front of what park? Is that um is it It's actually a fire station. Yeah. It's through Is this next to the >> station. I'm sorry, not a fire station. And so um just so I understand was it what what came about putting the backing out there? Is it because that's they have to put something there and that's the only thing that I could I mean Cuz there was four parking spots there, so it I just I went home that day and I was like, why did we take out four parking spots to put one back out that we don't usually allow anyways? They whenever they proposed on a sketch, that a sketch didn't have the dimensions. This lot doesn't allowed to put four parkings here and four parkings here. You don't have the space. So the only way that they were able to do it is the four parkings um parallel to the street and one backing out. If we were to ask no backing out, they will have to lose another parking, so they will ended up having instead of a six parking, they will have five five parking spaces only for their operations. So it was to diminish to increase even more the parking. So the four parking spaces that are in that right now is not to code. It's not. There is not enough space. Cuz I looked at the pictures and there's four parking spots on this side, four parking spots on that side. So that's why I was just like, why are we taking Yeah, they're in the garbage. There is not the side. No, there is not even a space for now. So basically now you have a very narrow driveway and everything converts to that to to that area. So there is not enough space to have 18 is a regular parking space. The minimum of a driveway it should be 20 ft. And then for this property this which is only What she's saying is that cuz I agree with you. 50 ft wide. I saw it and I thought the same thing. It made no sense to to reduce the parking. What she's saying is the center. The part where you back out in the middle of the warehouse that there it's not wide enough to like back out. But it it's losing it's losing parking. It is. It's losing parking because it's very narrow. Right. Before they used to have these parkings like this and this parking like this. This area if you have 50 ft only, this is a 50 ft wide lot. It's pretty small. This parking space is 18 ft. So it's 18 ft plus 18 ft, you ended up with only a 12 ft wide um driveway. All right. And and as our expert you don't I just want to make sure, right? Cuz I feel like we're not experts at all this, but you would say that it would be safe on that on 8th Avenue for there to be that back out. I can I will not take responsibility for the safety and the driving behaviors of people in Hialeah. So um if your concern is that we can eliminate actually the backing out of that space, so they uh they will have to go back um to request instead of six parking spaces, they will provide five parking spaces, so that parking space will be eliminated. I would have left it as it is and I would have just taken one of the spaces for the garbage and I would have left it like that. But then I mean You you cannot leave that. I mean, the driveway doesn't as they have it before, it was not up to code. So they cannot maintain the four and the four parking spaces even if you eliminate one. Okay? So if you want to bring the property to, you know, to the standards of the code, they will have to provide that. We can put it back and eliminate that backing uh parking space, but then we'll have to advertise and and do the whole, you know, project again. The The thing is with unless anybody has any more comments, we're inheriting the sins of our fathers. This place and and and we're in a tough spot. This should never have been approved. A space that large with a limited amount of parking spaces, but it's not the owner the current owner's fault or the current interested tenant's fault. And if we hold them to today's standards, we kill them. And they'll never be able to rent it. And they're they're they're suffering what some other administrations did. Um these buildings were rebuilt in the '70s probably, so it has nothing to do with anybody who we know has been here. So that that's what's happening with some of these older commercial properties. I agree with you. And and we're limiting the amount of spaces for people that to go there and then they have those buses cuz there's a bus there now. You know, they have those those ALF vans for their participants and then we're limiting that too plus the workers. I feel like we're fixing this, but then they're going to still have to solve where to park for the employees. I don't know. Are you you done, ma'am? You done? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, thank you, ma'am. Yes, sir. Go ahead. Yeah, thank you. Thank you. In reality it is that in those times, I mean, 8th Avenue wasn't four lanes, it's two lanes. Um and and West 4th Avenue we've made a lot of residential offices even before us, you know, for the residential offices in reality who wants to have their kids you know, and and that's a four-lane highway. Um when I bought my business in 60th Street, it was two lanes. It didn't cross under the Palmetto. Now it does and it's four lanes. So it's not even the fault, it's the growth. The world changed around these businesses. Yeah, yeah. >> [clears throat] >> There's no other option based on the so value of the properties or whatever that they can just go and It's still an investigation. It's really Oh, you know, I'm just pointing out this that all of these big streets were only two lanes back in the days. We didn't have population like that before. Watch the name of the office and invited Ross Kim. West 4th Avenue. I don't know how many years it was, but I don't know. I had no issues. You made it, though. I did. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. >> We have a motion from Luis Councilman Luis Gonzalez. Second. We have a second from Councilman Luis Rodriguez. Please call the roll, Madam Clerk. Ms. M. Perez? Uh yes. Mr. Gonzalez? Mr. Rodriguez? >> Yes. Mr. Zogby? >> Yes. Mr. Marrero? Yes. Miss G. Perez? >> Yes. Miss De La Vega? >> Yes. Motion carries. The item is approved. That was actually a good point. You're right. They did expand that street. Otherwise, they had lots of space in front of their businesses before. I remember. Yeah, thank you. >> I yeah. No, I'm telling you. >> [laughter] >> This one and yours. Uh item meta clerk item 16F, please. First reading of proposed ordinance granting a special use permit to pursuant to Hialeah Code of Ordinances section 98-161 to allow the expansion of the neighborhood business district overlay to permit a three-story mixed-use development including 44 residential units, 670 square feet of fitness center space, and 7,163 square feet of medical office commercial space, and granting variances to allow one residential units on the ground floor where residential units are allowed only above ground floor level. Two, 44 multi-family units 100% with an area less than 700 square feet where 700 square feet is the minimum required except that only 25% of residential units may have a minimum area of 500 square feet. Three, 81 parking spaces through a covenant in lieu of unity of title with properties located at 2855 West 12th Avenue and 2801 West 12th Avenue where 84 parking spaces are required. And four, 21.4% pervious area where 30% is the minimum pervious area required. All contra to City of Hialeah Code of Ordinances section 98-163.0.2, 98-2189 subsection 16, and the Hialeah Landscape Manual updated July of 2025 section E, and granting a partial waiver of minimum landscape requirements through landscape mitigation pursuant to section 98-2235. All as to property located at 1160 and 1170 West 29th Street and 2891, 2855 and 2801 West 12th Avenue, Hialeah, zoned C1 and C2 restricted and liberal retail commercial district legally described herein, repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for severability clause, and providing for an effective date. Thank you. Item 16F is on first reading, not open for public discussion, but certainly for the applicant's lobbyist or anyone up here. And I know you're not Alex Fiallo. Fiallo. So, you're Valerie? >> Yes, Valerie Sanchez. I'm My address is 16400 Northwest 59th Avenue, Miami Lakes, Florida 33014. >> Thank you. What everybody Do you have a presentation? Does everybody want her to give a brief presentation on the project? You have Ready? Thank you. >> Yes, thank you so much. Um I'm also here joined by Michelle Rodriguez. She's our legal liaison. Um this project we're requesting a special use permit to allow for the limited expansion of the neighborhood business district zoning overlay. Uh this project consists of a three-story mixed-use garden style multi-family development by the Prestige Companies who have developed several dozens of projects throughout the city for over 20 years. These are some of the most recent and notable uh developments that they've made. The Amelia District, Flamingo Village, 49 Lofts. Uh Uh the property is currently uh vacant land and two parking lots. Uh it consists of 0.85 acres. It's on the corner of West 29th Street and West 12th Avenue. Uh the property's going to The development is going to consist of 44 one-bedroom, one-bathroom uh residential units, and approximately 670 square feet of fitness center commercial uh space. It's currently surrounded by a medical office, uh Navarro/CVS, two shopping centers, and it's adjacent to medium-density residential properties. Um this is a property that's going to maintain the character, and it's also compatible with the surrounding areas. Move on to the next slide. These are some of the unit types. The first ones you'll see are two corner units. Uh the next ones are interior units. Uh that's going to be the the site plan. Uh if you could go to the next slide. The next one. And these are what the projects are going to look like. Uh This is facing 29th Street, so this is what you're going to see driving on West 29th Street. Move on to the next slide. Uh this is at nighttime facing West 29th Street. And then next slide. And this is towards the interior of of the property. Um We have been in communications with Claudia and your special counsel Tony Recio regarding a declaration of restrictions. Uh we've currently are sent them an executed copy already. Uh that includes um an agreement as to off-site parking which uh Tony and I just discussed this morning. And um it it also includes a reciprocal parking agreement with the medical office to the rear of this property where we will be using time-centric parking with them um and be using have access to their parking spaces as well. Um In addition to to that uh Tony and I also just spoke about a unity of title for our three parcels, and I'll be proposing um a draft for him soon. And I respectfully request for a vote for approval for our special use permit. >> Thank you, ma'am. If I may, to the chair. >> Yes, ma'am. Hi. Hello. Um thank you for your presentation. Can you dive into uh what you just mentioned about the parking situation? Can you give a little bit more detail? Of course. Um so previously we had discussed that we had a um reciprocal parking agreement with the neighbors to the rear of our parking uh to rear of our building. Um previously we had discussed doing a covenant in lieu of unity of title. Um but after Tony and I spoke, we had discussed that I already had that in place. So what we're doing is an off-street parking. It's incorporated into the the DOR that we just executed today. Um the off-street parking would include uh those those parking spaces to to the rear. So in total, it's currently 81 parking spaces between ours and theirs. On the street, how many are on the street? I don't know I don't have it in front of me. So our parking lot uh right now it has 40 Oh, it's not on the street. Yeah, no. It's all um parking to to the rear of of the of the building. >> building, yes. >> Okay, okay. It's not on street. >> No, no, sorry. Sorry about that. Yeah. Okay, thank you. Good chair. Yes, sir. Um these are one project This is a project I'm excited for the area. I mean, the whole area's been I don't know what year the buildings were built in the area, 1950s or 60s, I don't know, but I'm super happy about this. It's going to change the look of the area. I know we have another Prestige building close on Lejeune Road. So super excited about it just so you can more understand. And I know it's going to call new residents that people want to live in Hialeah in a lot larger, neater, and just attractive building. So thank you. And I'm Is that Is that a motion? I have a motion. I'm sorry. Go ahead, ma'am. Second. Oh, okay. Very good. Motion from Councilman Luis Rodriguez, second from Council Vice President Melinda De La Vega. Please call the roll. Mr. Gonzalez? >> Yes. Mr. Rodriguez? >> Yes. Mr. Zogby? Yes. Mr. Marrero? Yes. Miss G. Perez? >> Yes. Miss De La Vega? >> Yes. Miss Anne Perez? >> Yes. Motion carries. The item is approved. Second reading and public hearing is scheduled for April 28th, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Okay, item 16H, please. I'm just kidding. 16G. He's hungry. Manny's hungry. Madam Clerk. >> First reading of proposed ordinance granting variances to allow one, a three-foot, five-inch setback where 45 feet is required, and two, five parking spaces where 21 parking spaces are required, and three, two parking spaces to be located at the front setback where parking in the front setback is not permitted. Four, a dumpster enclosure to be located five feet from the right-of-way along West 48th Street where 10 feet is required. Five, a dumpster enclosure with an interior east side setback of one foot where a minimum of two feet is required. All contra to Hialeah Code of Ordinances sections 98-781, 98-2189, 98-782, 78-108, and section 3-5 subsection H for the property located at 391 West 48th Street, Hialeah, zoned RO residential office district legally described herein, providing for conditions, repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith, providing penalties for violation hereof, providing for severability clause, and providing for an effective date. Thank you. Item 16G is on first reading not open for public discussion but certainly available for Manny Rails to answer any questions or present whatever name and address for the record just to be ready. Manny Rails architect with offices at 18501 Pines Boulevard suite 332 342 Pembroke Pines Florida. Thank you. You have anything to say or would you like to wait for questions? Special project. This is my cardiologist who takes care of me that I had a little incident in December and he said wonderful individual that has inherited and has done some work illegally that I'm here representing him as his architect. Not only am I under contract with him to do 100% of everything but I'm on a personal mission to make sure that this gets done 100% by the book. There's some issues with parking. I've been in discussions with the streets division Jose and we're adding six to seven parking spaces off offsite. We're also explaining in detail that 60 to 70% of the folks that visit this complex are brought in by public transportation. The the doctor comes in twice a week. So basically I've been there like 25 times already and I personally visited 100% of the neighbors within the 500 foot radius and they're not here because I I presented to them the project and they're they have zero problem with what we're doing. So I would love to get approval and proceed and I will stay also during the construction to make sure everything gets done 100%. And that's all I have to say. I've met with De La Vega and I've met with Willie and I've talked to other parts of the members as to what we're doing and with my blessing I would love to get approval on this. Thank you sir. Pleasure of the council for questions. Through the chair. Considering that the lobbyist has indicated that he's spoken to two council members. Can we disclose that at this point? Yeah. Yes. In their office here behind me. The disclosure needs to be from the council members that way every single council that's sitting in this dais could be privy to the conversation and make a vote according to the I want to ask the council members one at a time to pay attention. Madam attorney. You want to ask them one at a time for the record? Thank you. Go ahead. Through the chair. When I met with Mr. Bruce we he just showed me the the plans very overview. There was one thing that I did mention which I just wanted to bring it up again is the parking in this area. You know I I actually happen to drive by often in this area and so the only thing is I this picture here I feel like I know that cars park on the sidewalk. If if there if you follow the plans you'll see that we are eliminating all the backup parking on 48th Street putting landscaping and creating one parallel parking there. That's a mission that I have. I I don't as an architect I don't particularly like people over parking over the sidewalks of course and backing out into any street. That's what we're eliminating here 100%. But just to Barbara just to okay. It just for the record right it was just a general overview of the of the plans and what's being presented here. So I just I know that building's been there. I know I know cuz I've seen the parking let me just go to this page. The third page where you're showing the parking is on SW2. The the the in red these are the parkings that we're adding or they They're adding. We at the owner's expense is putting in offsite parking with their approval. There's a letter here from the the streets department as part of the package that you have that I've met with them three times. They're in agreement 100% of what we're doing. So they're adding here and they're adding here. So the only thing I wanted to request is on West 48th Street. I believe this is the street. On West 48th Street. There's two entrances and Claudia this question's also for you. Where there's the drawings of I believe these are plants trees. Yes. As required by the streets department they require trees. Right. So after after this is built do we go back to make sure because right now there's cars that are parked there and it just it's so ugly for the area. You probably have a good 15 cars parked there from one side of the building to the other. So yes one of the condition is that they get a street permit because those trees are actually in the right of way. They're not in private property. Okay. So that a street permit should include all those street trees. In that case whenever they do the final inspections for that permit they can reassure that those trees are going to be located. Okay so then those curves with the trees will be there and therefore cars won't be able to park there right? And yes. Okay. >> [snorts] >> Thank you. You're welcome. Through the chair. Yes sir. Yeah just for the record yes he did meet with me in my office. It was just an overview of what he was doing. Just pictures in the plans. He let me know that they were going to add more parking off West Fourth. Do you want to add something? Also drive through there on my way home. I've noticed and this is probably an enforcement thing on our end. There's a lot of cars parking that are like for sale. So you'll notice there's like 10 of them and at first it was like one and I'm seeing there's like it looks like there's like a auto mall there so maybe that's a code thing but as well if the resident would be you know or the business owner would be you know aware of this you know and help us with code compliance and calling it in. I'm also going to let them know. We'll follow that up 100%. So yeah cuz I just want to make sure there's extra parking spaces for people that are going to be you know conducting business and using it not as like you're talking about the the service road parallel to Fourth Avenue on the east side. Correct. On West Fourth. Yeah. I've noticed I've noticed a few cars for sale. Yeah I don't know if it's the same person I don't know if everyone's just taking their car there but it's it's it's again I saw one and then I saw like many and it it looks like it's becoming an issue so I just want to make sure that that new parking doesn't get taken up by someone trying to sell cars. So that's I guess for us for our code compliance but just wanted to to make that clear. Pleasure of the council. Motion from Councilman William Marrero. Second. Second. A second from Council Vice President Melinda De La Vega. Please call the roll. Mr. Rodriguez. Mr. Zogby. Mr. Marrero. Ms. G. Perez. Ms. De La Vega. Ms. N. Perez. Mr. Gonzalez. Motion carries the item is approved. Second reading and public hearing is scheduled for April 28th 2026. Thank you. Thank you. We'll see you then Manny. Item H 16H Madam Clerk. First reading of proposed ordinance granting a special use permit pursuant to Hialeah code of ordinances section 98-161 to allow an outdoor storage area for bulk materials and equipment and granting variances to allow one the proposed outdoor storage area to be enclosed by a 12 foot high tubular steel fence where an 8 foot high mason masonry wall is required and two 1,552 parking spaces where where 1,611 parking spaces are required contrary to the city of Hialeah code of ordinances section 98-1371 and 98-2189 for the property located at 1650 West 37th Street Hialeah zoned M1 industrial district and legally described herein. Providing for conditions repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith. Providing penalties for violation hereof. Providing for severability clause and providing for an effective date. Item 16H is on first reading not open for public discussion but certainly open for our discussion. Are you Richie Chapman? No I my name is Douglas Baptist and I'm a project engineer with the CPH. We're the company that's working on that Lowe's. Okay. Are are you registered ma'am? Attorney can you Yeah. I'm in a Oh no I'm not employed by the CPH. I I was contracted. 16H No he's he's not registered. Well that's Lowe's right? Or Hialeah Speedway. Bill Ogden is the owner you know. Uh, long term lease. They're a triple net. Bill Ogden is the actual owner, yeah. Highly speaking. That's So, yeah. Power of attorney yourself. Can he answer any questions maybe technical that the council without representing or Don't don't sell it. Don't pitch us with it. They just answer any maybe any question. Maybe >> [laughter] >> Uh, what what do you Can we or or or If he is in fact being compensated for being here tonight tonight by the applicant, then he would not he would have to register. Okay, this is a Claudia, would you like to This is a storage area at Lowe's. The parking variance, they have more than the parking that they need. So, they're losing some parking by building a storage area, but that's not a big deal here. Am I understanding this right? Right. And in addition to that, uh, Lowe's provided a letter of authorization, so we have that in the record, but you can only answer technical questions basically. Um, so the area is along West 16th Avenue that they want to enclose. Um, but since it's outdoor storage, it's required this a special use permit because it's outside of the warehouse. So, they're removing Well, they're enclosing um, that area of parking. They're maintaining it with a 12 ft foot high uh, fence and to the north e- east and south and to the west is 16 ft, correct? 12 ft facing north, south, and east and the maximum uh, fence height on the west side to 16 ft. Just to be correct. So, it's just a storage area that like a lot of like Home Depot has like they have in their gardens. >> They have it in the garden. >> They have a lot of homeless issues there, a lot of issues, so they do need a high fence there. They do have Yes. And the requirements that we included it was to maintain the landscaping buffer that they have along uh, West 16th and with lighting illuminating that outside of storage as well. Yeah. Any questions from that? I'm a motion, but through the chair also. Yes, sir. Uh, but I've also seen that um, sometimes you're busy and you put pallets back there. So, my enclosure is probably going to look a lot better, too, because it's I'm good with the motion. We have a motion from Luis uh, Councilman Luis Rodriguez. Second from Councilman Luis Gonzalez. Please call the roll. Mr. Zogby? Yes. Mr. Marrero? Ms. G. Perez? Ms. de la Vega? Ms. M. Perez? Mr. Gonzalez? Mr. Rodriguez? Yes. Motion carries. The item is approved. Second reading and public hearing is scheduled for April 28th, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. That was easy. Thank you, sir. See you in two weeks. >> [laughter] >> If you want to speak next time, get with He should get with Uh, Gabby can assist him. Gabby, yeah. If If you're the one they're going to send unless they're going to send Mr. Chapman. Okay, so she'll tell you how to register, so you can officially speak next time. Okay. Should be okay. And guess what? Are we done? So, unless anyone has anything to say, uh, motion to adjourn at 7:13 for the meeting of April 14th, 2026, City of Hialeah? Do I have a motion? Unanimous? Can we adjourn? All right. Meeting is adjourned at 7:13 p.m. Good night, everybody.