A woman walks outside Miami Beach City Hall to vote during early voting for the general election on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, in Miami Beach.
Miami Beach voters will head to the polls in August to vote on six ballot questions about real estate, residency requirements and a new park name in South Beach.
Election Day is Aug. 23 and there will be two weeks of early voting from Aug. 8 to Aug. 21 at Miami Beach City Hall and the North Shore Branch Library. There will be vote-by-mail drop boxes at the two early-voting sites. The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot from the Miami-Dade County Elections Department is Aug. 13 at 5 p.m.
More voter information — including a sample ballot — is available at votemiamibeach.com.
Referendum 1: Naming Alton Road park ‘Canopy Park’
The first referendum on the August ballot asks whether voters want to name a newly opened 3-acre public park in South Beach as “Canopy Park.” The park, built between Alton Road and West Avenue from Sixth to Eighth streets, was one of the public benefits promised in a development agreement for the construction of the Five Park condo tower next door. The City Commission first proposed “Sunset Park” after that name received the most votes in an online poll, but later changed their support to “Canopy Park.” It is up to voters to make the final decision and give Canopy Park a thumbs up or down.
Referendum 2: Architect on Board of Adjustment
Referendum 2 asks voters whether to require the city’s Board of Adjustment to include an architect. The board oversees applications for variances to the land development rules and appeals of administrative decisions. Currently, the appointed board is comprised of two citizen members at-large and five members