Academica/Somerset Academies is paying $8,000,000 to Christ Journey Church to establish a Charter School that will be paid and funded by Miami-Dade County Public School system on historic Sunset Drive and 73rd Avenue.
• This project threatens our neighborhood with further gridlock by an over 25% increase in traffic from outside our community, thus posing a life-safety issue for emergency vehicles to get to or from Baptist Hospital or South Miami Hospital.
• The plurality of the residents/voters/taxpayers of this community are opposed to this project.
• This matter had been decided through a Florida Supreme Court decision over 18 years ago, allowing a church and preschool of UP TO 99 students from 9am to 1pm with NO SCHOOL ZONE.
• We have DOZENS of UNDERUTILIZED Public Schools in the area and a myriad of church schools of all denominations in the area. We don’t need ANOTHER school – especially one that does not serve this neighborhood!
• This project is NOT COMPATIBLE with our designated EU-1 zoning (area that is only allowed 1 Acre Single Family Residences) that ensures us as residents, voters, taxpayers and investors of this community that our property values will be protected by our elected officials.
THEREFORE, the ONLY vote our Board of County Commissioners can legally conclude on the application submitted by Academica/Somerset is NO!
Dear Commissioners:
Our neighborhood is extremely upset about a proposed zoning exception that has been requested by Somerset Academy Inc. & the University Baptist Church. The hearing Number is Z15-100, set to be heard Thursday, March 23, 2017. Currently this is VACANT LAND (19.43 acres) located on the south side of Sunset Drive (SW 72 ST) & 73rd Court. This property is directly adjacent to one of the last protected rock pinelands in Miami-Dade County, Trinity Pineland County Park. Part of the pineland is within the 19 acres and cannot be developed. A February 1997, Board of County Commission resolution prohibits any school, except for a church day nursery, limited to 98 children, with limited hours from 9am-1pm, and with no school speed zone. It prohibits the development of any private school. This matter was heard and the neighbors prevailed through a great investment of time and money at the time. The September 2015 application coming up for a vote proposes a charter school, operated by Somerset Academy, Inc., to build and operate a K through 12th grade school with over 2000 students, with hours of operation from 7am to 4pm, AND with a school speed zone. This is a safety and environmental issue. This area is already gridlocked with morning and afternoon school traffic, followed by the evening rush hour and we cannot sustain the increased traffic that will be generated by this school. It is also not compatible with a neighborhood of one-acre estates. Our quality of life will be severely negatively impacted.
PLEASE VOTE NO TO Z15-100 application by Somerset Academy, Inc.!
