Design review board meeting lacks quorum; applicants told staff will advance recommendations

At an early-morning session of the City of South Miami Design Review Board, members failed to reach a quorum and the meeting ended without formal hearings or votes. Lourdes, a chambers staff member, told applicants that "If there is no quorum, your projects will proceed with staff's recommendation, which means you can continue on your next step on the, development process, and so forth."

The lack of a quorum was confirmed after roll call; board members noted that four members are required to transact business and that the board currently lists five seated members. Mariano Corral, a Design Review Board member, said the repeated absences were frustrating: "This is gonna be a continuous problem. That's the 2nd time in a row." He added that the situation meant applicants present that morning would not receive live board feedback.

Members and attendees discussed ways to proceed when attendance is short. Lourdes instructed board members to email any comments so she could compile them and forward them to applicants, saying she preferred written comments so she could "email them to the applicants." One participant suggested creating an alternate or substitute member position to ensure business could continue when regular members are unavailable.

A board member urged staff to contact commissioners and fill vacancies, saying, "We have vacancies. They need to be filled." Another participant noted the municipal code requires seven members and that a third absence could trigger automatic removal from the design review board, a point raised to underline the staffing shortfall. City Clerk Nikki said she had already "reached out to the commissioners to also see if we could get more board members as well."

Because no formal motions or votes were recorded, there were no board decisions taken at the session. Staff told the applicants present that staff recommendations would govern any immediate progression of their projects and invited members to submit written comments for staff to include in the administrative record. The meeting concluded with brief thanks and an early closing after staff and members agreed to follow up on filling vacancies.