GIANT RETAILER BARRED FROM PROJECT

{Sunday Miami Herald, October 9, 2005, Money Section}

“Walmart is not welcome in Midtown within the City of Miami.”

These are the words of a City of Miami Commissioner (Winton). Walmart is not welcome in the City because of “its image,” extolled Winton. Yet….the biggest box retailer of the mall, Home Depot is welcomed by Winton with open arms in Coconut Grove. Home Depot does not have an image problem (?) when Carl Liebert (HD’s Vice President) stated on the Bloomberg Report (Friday, September 23, 2005), “Thanks to Hurricane Katrina and Rita, our stock is going through the roof.” It is a tasteless statement that does not consider those who suffered during and after these two hurricanes. Of course, to Home Depot, it’s all about dollars and cents.

Coconut Grove, once the Jewel of Miami, is being given to Home Depot on a silver platter by Winton. Apparently, Winton has turned all his attention to the northern part of his District where the Miami Performing Arts Center is under construction. Winton scolded Grove residents who opposed Home Depot by exclaiming he received a great deal of support from that part of his District.

I can’t help but wonder if the largest retailer in the world will accept Winton’s rejection of its presence in Midtown Miami. I can’t help but wonder if this country’s Antitrust laws allow a commissioner to exclude a retailer because of its image. “It’s about the look and feel to the big box,” Winton explained. Wal-Mart agreed to build an urban pedestrian friendly retail establishment (much like Home Depot has in the Grove), but Winton wanted Target because of its image. I wonder if the City Attorney can defend Winton’s remarks from a lawsuit by the biggest retailer in the world. But that brings to bear a new subject for our City Attorney.

For those in the Village of Coconut Grove, we ill always remember that orchestrated question by Winton to the City Attorney, “Mr. City Attorney, can we stop this project (referring to Home Depot in the Grove),” and the City Attorney responded definitively and a little too quickly, “No”.

Then four weeks later, for the Morningside residents (and I mean no disrespect to my friends there), the City of Attorney found a provision in the Code, Section 1305, which provides that the City CAN reject any project, when it is determined to be too big, and incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood, enabling the City Commissioners to reject two ten-story condominium buildings. Did the City Attorney remove the cellaphane from his Code prior to the Home Depot hearing or was it designed not to be mentioned.

Discretion is a funny thing…it is arbitrary and capricious when used by these two. I wonder who the “possible home improvement store” will be in Midtown. Is it Home Depot, Mr. Winton?

Yours very truly,

MARC DAVID SARNOFF

The Grove First

3000 Shipping Avenue

Miami, Florida 33133