7/17/12

SERVICES SUBSCRIPTIONS DIGITAL NEWSPAPER

Miami Herald: Document View

MIAMIHERALD.COM MIAMI.COM MOMSMIAMI.COM DATA SLEUTH ELNUEVOHERALD.COM

The Miami Herald > Past Articles >

Archives Search
HOME NEWS SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS LIVING OPINION JOBS CARS REAL ESTATE SHOP CLASSIFIEDS

Archives & Research Center

Search Archives

Miami Herald (archives from 1982 - Current) El Nuevo Herald (archives from 1982 - Current) NewsLibrary.com (archived articles from hundreds of newspapers) For Show Most recent matches first From

all documents

Redeem Coupon

Advanced Search Basic Search

Help FAQ

Pricing

To request photographic prints visit http://www.miamiherald.com/store. Visit http://www.miamiherald.com/store for full page reprints with photos and graphics.
Return to results About your archives purchase: Your purchase of 25 articles expires on 07/17/2012 8:44 PM. You have viewed 8 articles and have 17 articles remaining.

Miami Herald, The (FL)

May 28, 2005 Section: Special Section Edition: Final Page: 19WW Memo:PINECREST HISTORY

PUSH FOR SERVICES LED TO NEW VILLAGE

JENNIFER MOONEY PIEDRA, jmooney@herald.com From the beginning, they knew it would be a challenge. But that didn't stop them. More than a decade ago, Evelyn Greer and Gary Matzner, both attorneys and residents of what is now Pinecrest, began a grass-roots campaign to incorporate. Like so many of their neighbors, Greer and Matzner were unhappy with the services being provided by the county and wanted to control their own police, fire and zoning matters. ``We went around and called different people involved in the community,'' Matzner said. ``They were receptive.'' The process began in 1994, when meetings were held at local schools to discuss whether it was feasible for an area with about 15,000 residents at the time to become a municipality. During the same time, Aventura also was eyeing cityhood. . TAX CONCERNS But some Pinecrest residents worried that their taxes would increase after incorporation. Those concerns were eventually put to rest. The boundaries were established - from Kendall Drive to Southwest 136th Street and Old Cutler Road to U.S. 1. The most important issue, however, was the possibility of Pinecrest having its own police department. Before incorporation, Miami-Dade police patrolled the streets of Pinecrest. Residents complained that Miami-Dade police responded too slowly to their burglar alarms. Several neighborhoods paid extra for off-duty state troopers to patrol their areas. ``In certain affluent areas, there were no police,'' Matzner said. ``They weren't allocated to Pinecrest.'' In September 1995, nearly half of Pinecrest's registered voters headed to the polls and overwhelmingly showed their support in the first vote on incorporation, approving it by a 2-1 margin. The turnout was greater than in Key Biscayne or Aventura, which incorporated in 2001. THE CHARTER After the vote, county commissioners named the five members of the charter commission who would draft the new municipality's most-important document. They were Matzner; Lynn Dannheisser, former city attorney for South Miami; and Merrett Stierheim, the former schools superintendent and county manager, who at the time was president and chief executive officer of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. The village charter, which specifies how the municipality would be governed, stated that a majority of voters must approve proposed property tax increases. The charter was approved by voters in March 1996 - a victory for incorporation advocates. ``It was exhilarating to see our hopes realized,'' Greer said. With Pinecrest officially its own entity, the next step was for voters to elect leaders to represent them on the Village Council. Greer beat two other attorneys to become the first mayor. She served two terms, until last year, when term limits forced her to step down. She is now a member of the Miami-Dade School Board. A runoff election decided the village's first council members. They were lawyers Barry Blaxberg and Robert Hingston; retailer Cindie Blanck; and Dade County School system supervisor Leslie Bowe.

nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=10A8248B0F94C5FE&p_docnum=1

In less than a year, Pinecrest will celebrate its 10th anniversary. Because of incorporation, Greer said, the village has become one of the most desirable places to live in

1/2

7/17/12

Miami Herald: Document View

In less than a year, Pinecrest will celebrate its 10th anniversary. Because of incorporation, Greer said, the village has become one of the most desirable places to live in Miami-Dade County. Copyright (c) 2005 The Miami Herald
RSS | My Yahoo | Newsletters | Widgets | Mobile | Alerts | Twitter About The Miami Herald | About the McClatchy Company| Terms of Use & Privacy Statement | Contact Us | Advertise Partners: El Nuevo Herald | Newspaper in Education | WLRN | Miami Herald News | CBS4 WFOR-TV| More
Copyright Miami Herald Media Co. All rights reserved

nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=10A8248B0F94C5FE&p_docnum=1

2/2