Even as work crews ready the storied Coconut Grove Playhouse’s gutted front building for restoration, a group of neighbors who have been fighting a plan to reopen the historic 1927 theater for years have gotten it blocked once again.
A Miami-Dade County plan to reconstruct the long-shuttered theater, 13 years in the making, failed Wednesday night to win sufficient support from a city of Miami board after objecting neighbors persuaded a minority of members to vote against needed new zoning approvals.
After a contentious four-hour-plus hearing, the city planning and zoning board voted 5-4 in support of a list of zoning waivers and exceptions that county officials say are essential for the project to move forward, but that was one vote short of the six-vote supermajority required for approval. Two board members were absent…