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Residents expressed outrage Wednesday over a mega-development project that is under construction on Watson Island.

They are upset over the impact it will have on traffic along the MacArthur Causeway.

"I have over 220 emails that have been sent to me in the last few days -- everyone in opposition to this," Gerald Posner told commissioners.

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Construction has already begun on the Flagstone Island Gardens project on Watson Island.
City leaders agreed that the project could make it more difficult for people to get to Miami Beach.

"It is wrong for our community, our businesses and our residents," Mayor Philip Levine said.

The Flagstone Island Gardens project will include two hotel towers and more than 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Construction crews have already shored up a seawall where a marina will be built.

The project has experienced several delays over the years, with the developer making changes to the project.

"They have a right to move things around," Cesar Garcia-Pons, deputy director of the Miami Planning & Zoning Department, said.

The mayor and commissioners agreed to spend more than $200,000 for a traffic study that could have zero impact on the development. The project was initially signed off by the city of Miami and sits on property that voters approved for development years ago.

And for fun, some NIMBY propaganda on the project:

• Video Link

Euphemistically named “Island Gardens” by its private developer this monstrosity should realistically be named “The Watson Island Strangler”

It looks beautiful on paper. But, this twin-towered 50 and 35 story hotel complex with 605 rooms and over 350,000 of shopping mall activity, and a base alone the size of the American Airlines Area, will dwarf everything around, and block the sight lines of everyone on the bay from South Beach to downtown Miami.

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http://www.local10.com/news/miami-beach-...-island-megadevelopment-project/30704566