Florida has experienced an enormous influx of residents from other states, and South Florida has felt those changes particularly intensely. People want to move here for the weather, the water, business opportunities, and the lifestyle. There is nothing wrong with that. We live in a beautiful place, and it is understandable that other people want to enjoy it.
But what happens to the people who were already here?
That question needs to be part of the conversation whenever local government considers changes that affect housing, waterfront access, boating, and established businesses. Growth can bring investment and opportunity. It can also create pressure that pushes longtime residents out of the communities they helped build.
Coconut Grove is a clear example. As Miami becomes more expensive, we need to make sure its success does not come at the expense of the people and traditions that made it worth moving to.
People Moving Here Should Respect What Was Already Here
There is a difference between moving somewhere because you appreciate its character and moving somewhere expecting that character to change around you.
Coconut Grove has a boating community. Boats, marine businesses, sailors, and people living aboard are part of that identity. They should not suddenly become unwelcome because surrounding property becomes more expensive or someone would prefer a different view.
Someone purchasing a waterfront condominium deserves to enjoy their property. But that purchase should not give their preferences greater weight than those of someone who has spent decades using the bay responsibly.
The same consideration should apply throughout Florida. Existing residents should have a meaningful voice in what happens to their communities.
Welcoming new neighbors and protecting established communities can happen together. The responsibility of local government is to make room for both.
Biscayne Bay Is More Than a Waterfront View
Biscayne Bay is beautiful to look at, but its value goes far beyond the view from a balcony.
People sail here. They fish here. They maintain boats, operate businesses, and spend time with their families on the water. For some, their boat is also their home.
Those uses matter.
When we discuss the future of the waterfront, we need to consider the people who actually use the water. A boat should not be treated as an eyesore simply because someone would rather see an empty stretch of bay.
There are legitimate concerns about unsafe vessels, pollution, and navigation. Those deserve attention. But the conversation should stay focused on those problems instead of becoming a general argument against boats or the people aboard them.
Biscayne Bay should remain a place people can participate in, with room for responsible boating alongside its other uses.
Public Water Should Not Become Someone's Private Backyard
Public water is different from private property. That distinction needs to remain central to how we discuss waterfront policy.
Buying property beside the bay should not mean buying control over the surrounding boating community. A more expensive address should not translate into a stronger claim to decide who belongs on the water.
We should be careful about decisions that gradually make public spaces function like private amenities.
That can happen without anyone putting up a fence. If restrictions remove established users and the remaining options are beyond their financial reach, access can become exclusive in practice.
We need to ask who benefits from a proposed change and who bears its cost.
A cleaner, safer bay benefits everyone. Removing responsible boaters simply to satisfy preferences about the view is a different objective, and it should not be confused with public safety or environmental protection.
Grandfather Established Local Vessels and Businesses
At the hearing, I asked commissioners to consider a specific protection:
“Consider something about grandfathering in local vessels and local businesses that have been operating in these areas for generations.” — Colby Uva
That request comes down to fairness.
People who have established their lives and livelihoods around an area deserve consideration before new restrictions change whether they can remain there.
Grandfathering should be seriously evaluated as part of that process. The county should explore a workable way to recognize established vessels and marine businesses while maintaining appropriate safety and environmental requirements.
The details matter. Officials would need to determine eligibility, documentation, and the conditions for continued participation.
But those implementation questions are reasons to work on the proposal. They should not become excuses to dismiss the people it would protect.
A responsible local boater should have a chance to comply with clear expectations and remain part of the community.
Enforce the Problems We Actually Have
If the concern is pollution, address pollution. If a vessel is unsafe, address its condition. If someone is obstructing navigation or trespassing, address that conduct.
That is the approach I want to see.
A maintained vessel with a responsible owner should not be lumped together with an abandoned or dangerous boat. Living aboard does not, by itself, tell us whether someone is taking care of their vessel or respecting the environment.
Broad restrictions risk overlooking those differences.
They can also put the burden on people who are easier to reach and already willing to cooperate, while the underlying problems remain unresolved.
The county should explain what specific conditions it is trying to improve and how each proposed measure would improve them. Residents deserve a clear connection between the problem being described and the restrictions being considered.
Where Are People Supposed to Go?
Before telling people to leave, government should address a basic question: where are they supposed to go?
“Move to a marina” is only a practical answer if a suitable slip is available, affordable, and permits the intended use.
An option that exists on paper may not be available to the person being displaced. A waiting list does not provide somewhere to put a boat today. A monthly price someone cannot afford does not solve their housing problem.
These details need to be established before decisions are made.
If restrictions could displace people, the discussion should include actual alternatives, their capacity, their costs, and the time required to arrange a move.
Otherwise, we are asking people to absorb a major disruption without knowing whether compliance is realistically possible. That is especially serious when the vessel involved is someone's home.
Working Waterfronts Need Room to Keep Working
A waterfront community depends on more than residential development.
It also needs people who repair boats, maintain equipment, support marine operations, and keep vessels running. Those businesses need practical access to the water and enough stability to plan their work.
When evaluating changes, we should consider the effect on the entire community around an established marine business.
A business may support an owner, employees, customers, and other local operators. Disrupting its access can create consequences beyond the vessel or location directly affected.
We cannot celebrate Coconut Grove's maritime identity while making it increasingly difficult for marine activity to continue.
Protecting that identity requires more than preserving photographs and telling stories about what used to be here. It requires leaving room for people to keep doing the work that gives the waterfront its character.
Local Knowledge Deserves a Place in the Discussion
Longtime boaters and marine operators should be part of developing solutions from the beginning.
They may be able to identify practical problems that are easy to miss in a meeting room: whether an alternative location is workable, how a requirement affects daily operations, or why a proposed timeline is unrealistic.
Their experience is useful.
Public participation should provide an opportunity to influence the outcome while options are still being developed. People should not feel that they are being invited to speak only after the central decisions have already been made.
That includes people living aboard, whose housing situation may make these decisions especially consequential.
Listening does not require agreeing with every request. It requires taking people's circumstances seriously and explaining how those circumstances were considered in the final proposal.
Growth Should Create Opportunity for Existing Residents Too
New investment can benefit Miami. The question is whether those benefits reach the people already living and working here.
If growth produces more expensive property while longtime residents lose access, face displacement, or watch their businesses become unworkable, it is reasonable for them to ask what that growth is doing for them.
A successful community should offer existing residents a future within it.
That means considering continuity alongside new development. It means recognizing that a person's connection to a place has value even when they cannot compete financially with the newest arrivals.
This is not a demand to freeze Miami in time. Communities change. But the direction of that change involves choices, and local government should make those choices with established residents in mind.
Protect the People Who Made This Place Home
People moving to Florida should be welcomed. People who have been here for decades should also be able to trust that their community will consider their future.
For Coconut Grove, that means protecting responsible access to the bay, evaluating grandfathering for established vessels and businesses, and addressing specific problems with clear, practical measures.
Before imposing restrictions, ask who will be displaced and what options they actually have. Give local boaters a meaningful role in shaping the solution.
Miami's success should create opportunities for the people who helped make it what it is.
We have to protect our locals. Biscayne Bay should remain a living, working part of this community.
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