For years, Coral Gables – also known as The City Beautiful for its impeccably-manicured affluence – has been trying to annex an unincorporated area on its northern border called Little Gables.
Little Gables is made up of single-family homes and it’s home to a trailer park for dozens of low-income families. In the past, they have resisted annexation by Coral Gables because they fear it would result in their eviction — if not homelessness, given how impossible it’s become to find affordable housing in Miami-Dade County.
But last month Coral Gables finally secured enough petition signatures in Little Gables to start the annexation process, which would first require permission from the county.
Coral Gables now says it would not remove the trailer park — even though it violates its notoriously restrictive zoning codes. And it insists the deal would be good for Little Gables in terms of services.
READ MORE: Financial anxiety weighs on Miami trailer park residents forced to move out for new development
On The South Florida Roundup, WLRN’s Tim Padgett spoke to Tess Riski, the Miami Herald’s Coral Gables and Miami reporter, about the possibility of annexation and the fears of eviction from trailer park residents.
“I think the city of Coral Gables has made some changes to its approach … that have made this a more palatable proposition,” she said.
In her coverage, Riski spoke to County Commissioner Kevin Cabrera, who represents the area of Little Gables. He told the reporter that from his understanding, the trailer park would stay and he would hold the city to that decision.
One concern is that trailer park residents will be fined based on the Coral Gables zoning codes.
“Code enforcement is a concern for some of the residents. Whether there would be issues with their particular trailer that they are unable to afford to fix or the trailer park overall that maybe the owners decide is not worth it to invest in,” she said.
But she said that rules surrounding zoning codes in the area would likely be grandfathered in.
“If annexed, they're not going to go and tell everyone ‘You have to get rid of your chain link fence.’ They're going to say ‘Once you replace your fence, it has to be following our rules.’ It might not be an overnight thing," she explained.
Riski says higher property taxes as a result of annexation is another fear for trailer park residents. “They typically own the physical trailer, but they rent the plot of land that it's on. So they could be priced out,” she said.
The Titan Development company manages and owns the trailer park in Little Gables. If the area is annexed, it could take on the affluent Coral Gables cachet that can lead a development company like Titan to feel a real urge to sell the property. But Riski says they’ve left the door open to what could happen in the future.
“There isn't a clear commitment from them about what exactly the future could be if annexation happens," she said. "They seem sensitive to the needs of the trailer park residents.”
The Coral Gables City Commission will be discussing the annexation at their meeting on Nov. 14. For more information visit coralgables.com
Listen to the entire conversation by clicking on the audio link above this story.
