The Allen Morris Company has filed city permits to remove more than 40 trees at the site of its Ziggurat luxury development at 3103 Grand Ave. in Coconut Grove, just days before the city's Aug. 20 tree ordinance workshop where residents can weigh in on how Miami protects its canopy.

The permits cover 46 trees, including 22 specimen trees designated for their age and size, according to Coconut Grove Spotlight reporting on a July hearing where the city's Historic and Environmental Preservation Board (HEP Board) considered an appeal of the removals.

Javier Fernández, an attorney for the Allen Morris Company and the mayor of South Miami, told the Miami Herald on Aug. 14 that the project will not proceed until the permits are approved. He said the developer will replant trees to offset those removed.

Kat Morris, a longtime Coconut Grove resident and canopy advocate who is not related to the Allen Morris Company family, told the Herald that developers are stripping the city of its trees for development.

The Ziggurat, developed in partnership with the Espinosa family, is planned as a five-story, roughly 100,000-square-foot office building paired with a three-story residential building holding 19 ultra-luxury condos priced from $3.5 million, plus about 45,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. Demolition at the site is complete. The project is backed by a $138.5 million construction loan, with completion expected in early 2028.

Board tosses tree appeal on a technicality, not the merits

At a July 22 special hearing that stretched past 1:45 a.m., the HEP Board dismissed an appeal of the Ziggurat tree permits after ruling the appellant lacked legal standing. Attorney David Winker had filed the challenge on behalf of a nearby resident through a newly formed nonprofit that did not include the resident as a member.

The procedural dismissal meant the board never weighed the merits of the removals themselves.

"The fact that we were there until 2 a.m. is a glaring spotlight that this is not working," Coconut Grove resident Genevieve Apaza told the Coconut Grove Spotlight after the July 22 hearing, where her own tree-removal appeal was the only one granted.

The board has faced at least 14 tree-removal appeals since January, compared to one in all of 2025. The surge forced the city to expand HEP Board meetings from monthly to twice monthly.

Residents get a say at Aug. 20 tree ordinance workshop

Miami's District 2 tree ordinance workshop is scheduled for Aug. 20, from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Hangar at Regatta Grove, 3385 Pan American Drive. The session is one of five the city is hosting across commission districts as part of a broader tree ordinance rewrite we reported on Aug. 7. Residents from any district may attend.

Commissioner Damian Pardo, who represents Coconut Grove, has not publicly commented on the Ziggurat tree removals. His office did not respond to the Herald's inquiry.

The city's Tree Ordinance Advisory Committee is expected to recommend changes to the permitting process in early 2027.