January 22, 2026 Aventura City Commission Regular Workshop MinutesAVENTURA CITY COMMISSION
REGULAR WORKSHOP MINUTES
JANUARY 22, 2026
9:00 a.m.
Aventura Government Center
19200 W. Country Club Drive
Aventura, FL 33180
1. Call to Order/Roll Call: The meeting was called to order by Mayor Weinberg at
9:57 a.m. The following were present: Mayor Howard S. Weinberg, Vice Mayor Amit
Bloom, Commissioner Clifford B. Ain, Commissioner Gustavo Blachman, Commissioner
Rachel S. Friedland, Commissioner Paul A. Kruss, Commissioner Cindy Orlinsky, City
Manager Bryan Pegues, City Clerk Ellisa L. Horvath, and City Attorney Robert Meyers.
As a quorum was determined to be present, the meeting commenced.
2. Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge was already done at the preceding School
Governing Board Meeting.
3. Metropolitan Urban Center Zoning Overlay Discussion and Presentation
(City Manager): Mr. Pegues introduced the item.
Community Development Director Keven Klopp reviewed the item including the following:
Factors Indicating the Time Has Come for Transit -Oriented Development in Aventura,
Northeast Corridor, 2014 Aventura Comprehensive Plan Land Use Policy 2.2, The
County's Implementation in Ojus (adopted in 2007), Proposed MUC Zoning Overlay (an
incentive for development), Conditioned Upon, and Next Steps. He noted the push for
both the hospital south and mall areas now to provide zoning incentives.
The City Commission discussed the item including the following: conditional use versus
as of right, Live Local, development rights, Aventura zoning versus County zoning,
request to always include Hero housing, funding for schools and other needs, rapid transit
designation, in favor of City oversight, purchasing green areas under the flyovers,
progress of pedestrian bridge from Brightline to Aventura, possibility of providing a
pedestrian walkway on Lehman Causeway, hospital area, review of zoning map, and the
positive impact to taxes.
Mr. Meyers reporting on Senate Bill 180, preventing certain land use regulations, and the
possibility of challenges.
Aventura City Commission
Regular Workshop Minutes — January 22, 2026
Jeffrey Bercow, Esq. - Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin & Tapanes PLLC (200 S.
Biscayne Blvd. Suite 300, Miami, FL) voiced support of the MUC concept on behalf of
Jackie Soffer (Aventura Mall) and the Turnberry Teams.
City Manager Summary: It was the consensus of the City Commission for the
item to proceed as presented.
4. Charter Revision Commission (City Manager): Mr. Pegues, accompanied by
Mr. Meyers and Ms. Horvath, reported on the process to appoint members to the 2026
Charter Revision Commission.
The City Commission discussed the item including the following: requesting prior CRC
member Gary Pyott to serve, providing names for members to the City Manager, and
providing the CRC with items to review possibly including the salary for Commission
members and increasing the number of years the auditing company can serve.
City Manager Summary: It was the consensus of the City Commission for Mr.
Pegues to reach out to the people whose names had been provided thus far, for
Commission members to continue to provide names to the City Manager for
consideration, for the names to be considered to be placed on the February Commission
Workshop, and for the appointments to be made at the March Commission Meeting. Mr.
Meyers will review the Charter section on the process for amendments.
5. Young Stars Showcase Sponsorship (City Manager): Mr. Pegues reported that
the Aventura Marketing Council would be holding the 2026 Young Stars Showcase at the
Aventura Arts & Cultural Center again and had requested the same sponsorship from the
City as last year.
The City Commission discussed the item including the importance of supporting the
Aventura Marketing Council
City Manager Summary: It was the consensus of the City Commission to proceed
with the item on the February City Commission Meeting Agenda to authorize a donation
in an amount not to exceed $9,000 for the use of the facility without a charge to AMC for
the Young Stars Showcase event.
6. Public Works Permit Fees (City Manager): Mr. Pegues recommended that the
public works permit fees be increased, since it hadn't been done in 15 years.
City Manager Summary: It was the consensus of the City Commission that the
fees be raised to align with what Miami -Dade County charged and in line with the City
Manager's recommendation.
The following additional items were discussed:
The City Commission discussed electrical bicycles and the importance of the upcoming
public awareness campaign to educate the public on regulations and safe use. Mr.
Pegues provided information on the enforcement process.
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Aventura City Commission
Regular Workshop Minutes — January 22, 2026
The City Commission discussed property taxes and ways the City could possibly recoup
that revenue should the bill pass to remove property taxes. Mr. Pegues and Mr. Meyers
provided information on looking at other options and meeting with representatives in
Tallahassee.
Mr. Meyers will provide the City Commission with the update from City Lobbyist Ron Book
and a legislative update with topics discussed before.
7. Adjournment: There being no further business to come before the City
Commission, the meeting was adjourned by consensus at 11.27 a.m.
Ellisa L. Horvath, MM , City Clerk
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Approved by the City Commission on February 3, 2026.
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