M E M O R A N D U M
To: Honorable Members of the Town Council
From: Council Member Michael P. Callahan
Date: March 20, 2019
Re: Preserving Lincoln City Park
REQUEST
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A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF CUTLER BAY, FLORIDA, DESIGNATING LINCOLN CITY PARK AS A NATURAL PRESERVE; PROVIDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
The Town of Cutler Bay (the "Town") currently has ten (10) parks to serve residents and guests. Lincoln City Park is a .6-acre passive park located at SW 212 Street and 99 Avenue. The park is undeveloped with an abundance of native trees such as live oak and slash pines (Attachment "A").
On November 28, 2018, the Town received the results of a Natural Forest Community (NFC) Quantitative Evaluation and found that the Park scored 63; qualifying as an environmentally endangered land for tax reduction purposes or a Natural Forest Community (Attachment "B"). Natural Forest Communities (NFC) are rare upland plant communities that are protected in Miami-Dade County. These plant communities typically consist of Pine Rocklands and Tropical Hardwood Hammock habitats that contain a large diversity of native plants, many of which are found only within Miami-Dade County (Source: Miami-Dade County Office of Regulatory and Economic Resources). South Florida's historic Rockland habitat has been reduced from approximately 180,000 acres to about 3,000 by development and agriculture.
The Town Council desires to preserve and restore Lincoln City Park and use the property as an opportunity to raise awareness and educate future generations of the rare plants, animals and geologic features that are part of this community's natural heritage.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Town Council adopt the attached Resolution, preserving Lincoln City Park as a natural habitat.
ATTACHMENTS
> Attachment "A" - Lincoln City Park Aerial
> Attachment "B" - Natural For...
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