Felix Pardo, an architect and candidate for the Coral Gables City Commission, claims to bring four decades of experience on city boards, including the Board of Architects, Planning and Zoning Board, and the Blue-Ribbon Committee to the Group II race in this April 8th municipal elections. But as development becomes an election issue in the City Beautiful, Pardo’s record reveals a perceived troubling pattern: silence.
In 2011, the City Commission voted to increase height and density allowances in the Central Business District (CBD). At that time city records show, Pardo, with years of board experience already under his belt, said nothing.
In 2021, as a member of the Blue Ribbon Committee, Pardo was again in a key position when the Regency Park project, the same project he has been attacking his opponents in his campaign materials, was presented to the City Commission. Residents who participated in public meetings, asked for limited density reductions and green space incentives in the heart of the CBD, raising their opinions in pre-agenda meetings and during public comment. According to city records, Pardo, with his architectural background and zoning expertise, didn’t participate in these meetings much less speak publicly about it.
The Regency Park project returned to the City Commission multiple times between 2021 and 2023. It also came before the Planning and Zoning Board—where Pardo once served. And yet, after reviewing city records, not once did Pardo speak out on this issue. As a matter of fact, his political ally, Commissioner Kirk Menendez voted in favor of the Regency Park project every time the item came in front of the City Commission.
Based on campaign materials publicly available, Pardo’s campaign has been trying to position him as a voice of caution on development. However, there doesn’t seem to be a track record of opposition to anything or of – at least - caution during the years he was actively serving on city boards with a clear view of all the projects that were coming before the city commission.
We have reached out to Mr. Pardo to explain his silence over the years on development matter and how, legally, the city could roll back zoning entitlements without exposing Coral Gables taxpayers to lawsuits, as happened with the failed downzoning of Edgewater Drive—a case that cost the city dearly and ironically resulted in more rights for the developer. At the time of publication, we had not heard back from Pardo.
