Miami: Florida Bar complaint vs Adela II lobbyist says Melissa Tapanes lied

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Street vacation or truth vacation? 

On Thursday, the City of Miami Commission will decide whether to let the developers of Adela II at MiMo Bay gobble up NE 64th Terrace, a public access road to Legion Park, and stitch together 17 vacant lots into a 141,516-square-foot mega-parcel just south of the 48-acre park.

But before commissioners vote on vacating a public right-of-way, there’s a parallel controversy brewing that could puts this project’s public record under a microscope.

Miami activist Elvis Cruz has filed a formal complaint with The Florida Bar against lobbyist-attorney Melissa Tapanes Llahues, alleging she violated Rule 4-4.1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct — the one about truthfulness in statements to others. Cruz says that while representing the Adela II developer, Tapanes made seven false statements of material fact during two public hearings — statements that are preserved on the city’s own video recordings.

It’s all timestamped.

At a May 21, 2025 Urban Development Review Board meeting, Tapanes reportedly said: “That one-way road has no access to the park today.” The road in question: NE 64th Terrace. Cruz argues that’s false because the terrace runs from Biscayne Boulevard to NE 7th Avenue — and from there, drivers can turn left and reach Legion Park roughly 104 feet north.

So while it may not have a big neon “PARK ENTRANCE” sign out front, cars can, in fact, use it to get where they’re going.

Cruz further alleges that Tapanes repeated similar statements later, including:

• “64th Terrace has no connection with the public park.”
• “There is no access from 64th Terrace to Legion Park.”
• “Today 64th Terrace serves only MiMo One.”

Those are either false or materially misleading because the street functions as one of only two vehicular approaches to the park, Cruz said. That’s not a minor detail when you’re asking to close a public street.

Read related: Access road to Miami’s Legion Park could become private garage entrance

At the same UDRB meeting, Tapanes allegedly stated: “The park is not historic.”

Legion Park was designated historic in 2017 by the City’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board. Cruz argues that calling it non-historic misrepresented its protected status — especially since the development site sits immediately south of it.

Context matters when you’re talking about scale, massing, and traffic next to a historic public asset.

It also matters when you are using recommendations to boost your application. The seven-page Bar complaint also mentions statements made at a Dec. 17 Planning and Zoning Appeals Board meeting, where Tapanes allegedly told the board the project had been “recommended for approval” by both the Urban Development Review Board and the Historic and Environmental Preservation Board.

Eh, not exactly. Yes, the UDRB recommended approval — but with a condition requiring the building mass to be broken into multiple volumes connected by bridges. Cruz says that condition was not mentioned when she referenced UDRB approval. He also argues that the Historic board’s review was explicitly limited to one lot fronting Biscayne Boulevard inside the MiMo historic district — not the entire 17-lot assemblage and not the proposed street closure.

Cruz includes time-stamped video excerpts where preservation officials and even another attorney from the same firm emphasize that the board’s purview was limited. The written resolution reportedly states: “Approval is limited to improvements to the subject property located within the MiMo/BiBo boundaries.” That’s not an implicit blessing of the whole mega-project.

And definitely not a decision on closing NE 64th Terrace.

Cruz himself attended those meetings, testifying against Tapanes and the developers. “Lawyers in the State of Florida are not allowed to lie or misrepresent facts while representing clients,” Cruz said. “Melissa Tapanes made false statements on the video-recorded public record at two City meetings I attended.

“I had enough.

Read related: Op-Ed on development: Who benefits when Miami conveys public city assets?

Let’s not forget what’s actually on the table Thursday: Closing a public street, creating a super-lot more than three and a half times the maximum normally allowed (40,000 sq. ft. cap vs. proposed 141,516 sq. ft.) and consolidating 17 parcels immediately south of a historic park. When you’re asking for that kind of exception, every factual statement matters.

Or at least, it should.

A Florida Bar complaint does not equal guilt. It simply triggers a review process. The Bar has begun investigating (File No. 2026-70,469(11N), asking Tapanes to respond. Tapanes has not publicly responded to the complaint. Her attorney has asked for and received two time extensions to delay her response deadline, totaling 26 days, even though Bar policy recommends a maximum of one extension of 10 days.

But, as always, timing is the bitch here. Because on Thursday, commissioners won’t just be voting on a street vacation.

They’ll be doing so with a formal ethics cloud hanging over the project’s chief land-use advocate — one that alleges misstatements were made on the public record, on camera, in order to get approvals.

Developers asking for public land is not new. Developers stretching lot size limits is not new. Developers telling boards what they need to hear? Also not new. But when someone files a Bar complaint saying the truth got stretched along with the zoning code — that rings alarm bells.

So here’s the question for commissioners: Before you vote Thursday to vacate a public street, are you comfortable that the public record has been, well, fully accurate?

Because if NE 64th Terrace is about to disappear, the last thing the City needs is the truth taking a vacation too.

The Miami city commission meeting starts at 9 a.m. Thursday at City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, and can be viewed on the city’s website or on its YouTube channel. The whole agenda is viewable here.

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