Miami’s assistant city attorney surprisingly denied the city’s historic preservation board a chance to discuss a possible historic designation for the downtown Met Square site.
The attorney, Amanda Quirke, said a pending appeal from Met Square developer MDM Group must be taken up by city commissioners before the preservation board gets a chance to discuss a historic designation, the Miami Herald reported. The board had expected to vote on the designation for the site, where remains of a 2,000-year-old Tequesta Indian Village and Henry Flagler’s Royal Palm Hotel were found, during Tuesday’s meeting. Instead, commissioners are slated to consider MDM’s appeal during their March 27 meeting.
Board chairman William Hopper told the Herald he could not recall another time when the board was prohibited from considering a historic designation. Becky Roper Matkov, president of preservation group Dade Heritage Trust, called the decision “outrageous” and said it “emasculates” the board. [Miami Herald] — Eric Kalis