Proposal to expand Surfside memorial onto collapse site fails

Driving the news: The proposed ordinance would have allowed the commission to grant Damac more design flexibility for its planned condo project on the site in exchange for giving the town a 10-foot easement on the property.

• The town is already planning a memorial park on the adjacent 88th Street, which would have been expanded onto the Champlain Towers South property under the proposal.

What they're saying: Chana Ainsworth, whose parents died in the collapse, said during the meeting that she supported getting as much of the memorial on the property as possible.

• "It's disappointing, but the whole situation is disappointing," she told Axios after the vote. "We're completely helpless."

David Rodan, whose brother and three cousins died in the collapse, criticized the proposal for giving Damac "preferential treatment."

• "We just want a memorial as close to Collins Avenue as possible," he said during the meeting.