Rants / Letters From Readers

COCONUT GROVE

HOME DEPOT FAILED

TO FOLLOW THE LAW

This will serve as a response to the fears that Home Depot will retrofit into the former Kmart and we will lose Walgreens and Milams.

First and foremost, Walgreens purchased the Oil Can Change on the corner of Bird and U.S. 1, so there is no concern for the drugstore -- it will be 150 feet away. Walgreens has always wanted a drive-through pharmacy, and Home Depot never allowed sufficient space for that.

Home Depot will not be retrofitting into the Kmart space because of its failure to comply with the law passed well in advance of the filing of the retrofit plans with the city. The law is plain and clear on this. There is no argument for grandfathering the Kmart Certificate of Use, because the Kmart Certificate of Use lapsed more than six months ago and Home Depot did not attempt to maintain the use.

The Max Strang plan, which ''few'' have chosen to call the community plan is the only pending permit Home Depot has arguable rights to for utilization of this site, and it must overcome the zoning board's denial of the city administration's granting of the permit. The Max Strang plan may become the community plan when Home Depot does away with the use of contractors and their day laborers and when they respect the trees intended to be destroyed that were appealed by the Treeman Trust. There are other necessary accommodations that must be made, including the proper storage of inflammable liquids as well as the storage of pesticides and other toxic material next to Bridgeport Avenue. The fire last Sunday morning at Grove Gate, which received little publicity, clearly illustrates the need to protect the neighborhood from the storage of the explosive materials as well as the potentially lethal toxic materials.

What if Home Depot were operating and these inflammables caused a cascade effect and brought toxic materials over the wall of Home Depot? There are moms and dads on Bridgeport with infants and toddlers who deserve a heck of a lot better of this so-called community plan, a plan that fails to address the storage of significant quantities of the toxic substances.

You may remember reading of the fire at a Home Depot in Boston that brought a cloud of toxic material to the neighbors for days. We do not want to risk that in the Grove.

There is still work to be done, but, all of you out there, please take stock that Home Depot failed to follow the law. Why? Those reasons could be anyone's guess.

Keep in mind the Oct. 12 fundraiser for Linda Haskins, which Home Depot lawyers hosted where they raised more than $250,000.

When they began to retrofit, the city failed to make them follow the law. A judge will easily find they failed to follow the law and they will lose their permit to retrofit.

MARC SARNOFF

COCONUT GROVE

Editor's note: Marc Sarnoff is a candidate for the District 2 Miami City Commission seat.

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