A Miami appellate court has given neighbors of the historic First Miami Presbyterian Church in Brickell a seat at the table in the review of a major new development planned at the site, finding they were improperly denied the opportunity to participate in the process. The ruling does not stop 619 Br ickell, a 75-story, 296-unit condominium slated for the area behind the church, but it sends the city’s historic-preservation review back for further proceedings. The church had sought to remove an educational building and parking lot at the back of its three-acre property from the historic protections covering the site, but the court found that nearby residents should have been allowed to participate before the city approved the change. First Miami Presbyterian traces its roots to 1896, when Miami’s first formal Presbyterian congregation was established as the city was taking shape. Henry Flagler later helped fund the congregation’s first permanent church building in 1900. The current Mediterranean Revival-style church at 609 Brickell Ave. was built in 1949. In 2003, the City of Miami designated the property historic, covering the church, the educational building behind it and the parking lot at the rear of the site. The church applied to the city on July 6, 2023, seeking to remove the educational building and parking lot from the historic designation. The city’s Historic and Environmental Preservation (HEP) Board held hearings on the request in July and December 2024. At the Dec. 3, 2024, hearing, Alan Barson, a member of the board of directors of IconBrickell Condominium No. Two Association, requested intervenor status on behalf of the condominium association. Intervenor status would have allowed the association to formally participate in the proceeding, including presenting evidence and questioning witnesses. The HEP Board voted 5-3 to deny Icon 2’s request and unanimously approved the church’s application to remove the educational building and parking lot from the historic designation. Icon 2 then appealed to the City Commission, arguing it had been improperly denied the opportunity to participate. On April 10, 2025, the commission denied the appeal for lack of standing and upheld the HEP Board’s decision. The association then took the dispute to the appellate division of the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. In a unanimous July 16 ruling, the three-judge panel found that Icon 2 was entitled to participate under the city code because its property is within 500 feet of the church and the association had shown that its interests were different in kind and degree from those of the general public. Icon 2 is the closest of the three towers in the IconBrickell complex to the church property. Tower 2 is about 160 feet away, separated from the church by a narrow stretch of land known as Brickell Park. The tower has 560 units and about 1,300 residents, according to the court. The association argued that changes to the church property could affect its residents through construction noise, dust and debris, increased pollution and reduced air quality, as well as potentially affecting property values. It also argued that construction could affect Brickell Park, which the IconBrickell Master Association is responsible for maintaining. The court found those interests, along with Icon 2’s close proximity to the church property, were enough to give the association standing under the city code. Per the code, an eligible intervenor can present evidence, call and question witnesses, introduce exhibits, respond to evidence presented by others and make final arguments during the proceeding. The court found that Icon 2 was denied procedural due process before both the HEP Board and City Commission and that both bodies had failed to follow essential legal requirements by denying the association the opportunity to intervene. The court therefore threw out the HEP Board and City Commission resolutions approving the change to the historic designation and sent the matter back to the city for further proceedings consistent with the ruling. The decision does not determine whether 619 Brickell should ultimately be built or whether the educational building and parking lot should ultimately remain under historic protection. The court also did not decide whether Tower 2 actually abuts the church property, resolving the case instead under the city code’s provision for properties within 500 feet. The Brickell Homeowners Association, which supported Icon 2’s effort to participate, welcomed the decision. “The Court’s decision affirms exactly that principle, a good outcome not just for one community, but for every Brickell resident who believes decisions that shape our neighborhood should be made fairly, and in the open,” Ernesto Cuesta, president of the Brickell Homeowners Association, said in an Aug. 13 statement. The appellate court’s decision leaves the historic-designation issue to be reconsidered through a process in which Icon 2 can participate. The city had until Aug. 17 to seek further review of the appellate decision. As of Aug. 18, the city had not publicly confirmed whether it had appealed the ruling. The post Neighbors back in game in Brickell First Presbyterian Church fight appeared first on Miami Today. ...read more read less