Low-noise generator is approved

The Pinecrest Village Council gave its approval for a local car dealership to install an emergency generator to be used during power outages despite opposition from residents.

Kendall Imports LLC had asked to install a generator at its Toyota dealership, at 10943 S. Dixie Hwy., in December 2004. But the council said no, fearing the noise would disturb nearby residents.

But Mayor Gary Matzner said this time around, the dealership is proposing a different generator that barely produces any noise.

Also, it will be in a different location, farther from homes with a wall as a buffer. He said he went out to the site with other village officials to hear it for himself.

“There was no noise,” he said. “If it was running right now, it would sound like your refrigerator.”

But some residents, who made other complaints about the dealership unrelated to the generator, said they still fear it will add more noise to the community, which already deals with the sound of traffic from South Dixie Highway and other noise from the dealership.

“I oppose any machine that will make any more noise,” resident Joseph Uribe said.

Some council members said it would help the community to have the business up and running after a storm. The application was approved unanimously.

The council deferred a controversial request from Pinecrest East LLC to replace two single-story duplexes with seven two-story townhomes on a 28,000-plus square-foot site between Southwest 120th Street and Southwest 81st Road.

The current zoning allows for townhomes.

The council postponed voting on the final plans to give the developer time to meet with residents who want changes, including trees and fencing along the backyards that border their properties. The application will be heard at the May 18 meeting.

In other business, the council:

• Deferred an item asking the Miami-Dade County Commission to allow Pinecrest to annex a strip of land called the Snapper Creek Canal Commercial District, bounded on the north by Southwest 67th Avenue, on the west by South Dixie Highway and the south by the canal. Matzner is first going to meet with the new mayor and manager in South Miami, located immediately north of the property.
• Discussed hiring an assistant village manager; a position that has not been filled since the former assistant manager left in 2004. Village Manager Peter Lombardi has been out for medical reasons for several weeks. He is expected to recover and return to work soon, Matzner told the council.

Pull Quotation

“There was no noise. If it was running right now, it would sound like your refrigerator.”

Attributed in print to Gary Matzner, Mayor of Pinecrest. Repeats the body quotation; not a separate interview.