There weren't many meaningful issues to discuss in tonight's Commission meeting, but one issue grabbed all the attention. On the surface, for as long as we remain on the surface, the issue was about how and where boats and RVs are kept in the Village. On the surface, we had to consider how much of whose rights to impact. The boat/RV owners didn't want their opportunity for fun infringed at all. (It wasn't always clear what fun owners were having with their vehicles. Some of these vehicles, by admission of their owners, did nothing but sit on the properties.) Some who don't own boats/RVs wanted a neighborhood that did not seem cluttered with these vehicles. They wanted boats and RVs to be hidden away behind fences or in back yards. If that wasn't possible, they wanted owners to have special permits that would expire if the boats or RVs weren't registered, or not replaced, and when ownership of the houses was eventually transferred.
Bryan Cooper, Noah Jacobs, and to some extent Barbara Watts adopted the posture of wanting to provide the most uninfringed rights possible for Village residents. At least for the ones who owned boats and RVs. There was little consideration, perhaps none, for those who didn't own them and didn't like the intrusion.
And this is where the slow leak began to manifest itself. What was really at issue, or parallel and close to the fun-and-property-rights issues, was what kind of neighborhood we want. Ron Coyle put it most clearly, though with considerable inconsistency. Ron says he likes boats. He considers them "art." He has one in his own front yard, though he says you can't see it, because it's partially buried and now full of vegetation. So Ron's view was that Biscayne Park is a "working class" neighborhood where people should be free to pursue working class interests. Like having boats and RVs in their front yards. And Ron wouldn't limit those vehicles, either. If you want one, have one. If you want two, have two. Presumably, Ron would approve having two of each. And judging from his own property, he wouldn't be bothered if they didn't work, or were in a state of disuse or even decay. That's just Ron's idea of "art." So he says.
And part of Ron's argument was that if the Village starts to intrude on people's ownership and display of boats and RVs, with heavy-handed Codes and heavy-handed code enforcers, we'll wind up being like Miami Shores. Which we, or Ron, doesn't want. Ron says if anyone wants to live the way they do in Miami Shores, all neatened up and tidy, they should move to Miami Shores. It's high class over in Miami Shores, and we're not high class in Biscayne Park. So concludes Ron Coyle. (But then, Ron suggested we petition Miami Shores to annex us. He wants to start a petition so stating. So Ron is willing after all to have a higher style in the neighborhood, but apparently only if we can call ourselves Miami Shores.)
Except Ron also doesn't think we should annex the "dump" east of the tracks. I don't know if Ron has seen the area he doesn't want us to annex, but it's about the same level of dump as parts of Biscayne Park are. Especially the parts with boats and RVs.
Ron's got himself in a bind. And he had Bryan Cooper, Noah Jacobs, and to an extent, Barbara Watts to legitimize that bind for him. The sad fact of the matter is this: Cooper, Jacobs, and Watts are so busy with what they tell themselves is looking out for the little guy, or simply being contrary and battling authority figures, that they have lost sight completely of what this neighborhood is, what it could be, and what it should be. They live in their own little dumps, and they don't mind one bit. In fact, they'd like us all to live in a dump.
So tonight, they began the process of leading Biscayne Park on a path of deterioration. Where many of us talk about wanting to improve the neighborhood, strengthen the Codes, and promote pride in Biscayne Park, these three want a look that could include things like decaying boats and RVs, maybe rusted cars, and any debris at all. Hey, "property rights," you know? I'm not sure how much more damage they can do between now and December, but two of them have to answer to the voters then. I really hope the voters' answer to them will be no.
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