Miami-Dade commission votes to move Urban Development Boundary, Mayor Levine Cava not happy
MIAMI - The Miami-Dade commission's vote in favor of expanding the Urban Development Boundary by adding acres of sprawling development in the heart of South Dade's agricultural community is not sitting well with Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
On Tuesday the commission voted 8-4 to expand the boundary just north of the Homestead Air Reserve Base. "It is within my power to veto and I am looking at all those options," said Mayor Levine Cava.
The vote came after Commissioner Raquel Regalado dropped her opposition to the South Dade Logistics and Technology District. It's a proposed 380-acre mix of warehouses and other commercial businesses south of the Turnpike and north of SW 268th Street," according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald.
"Very disappointing vote," the mayor said, arguing, "This is something that is not needed. There is no need, no plan, there's not proof it's beneficial to the environment," she said.
Levine Cava said the county has been dealing with an affordability crisis, worsening traffic, flooding, and contamination of Biscayne which are the result of poor planning in the past and misguided development. She said Tuesday's vote repeats the mistakes of the past.
"By voting to move the urban development boundary, we are doubling down on past mistakes - increasing the risk of flooding for residents in South Dade, stifling our vital agricultural economy, and threatening the health of Biscayne Bay and the Everglades," she said.
Farmer George Suarez from GS Farms in South Dade is concerned that this could open the door to more expansions of the UDB. "Once they take a little bit, they're going to want to take it all, and eventually there's not going to be any land for farmers anymore and once you don't have farmers in South Florida, where are you going to get your food in the winter," he asked.
According to the Herald, the proposed new district was opposed by environmental groups and farming advocates. It was also opposed by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio for its potential to interfere with a federal Everglades restoration project.
Miami-Dade's own planning staff had opposed the project, saying the county had enough industrial land available without moving the boundary, according to the Herald.
Commission Chair Jose "Pepe" Diaz supports it. He said it will lead to good-paying jobs in the area and clean up the land. "It's full of arsenic, it's full of all the things, the pollutants that for years have been going into Biscayne Bay and this property itself can be fixed and improved and provide a lot of jobs for people in the South Dade area," Chairman Diaz said.
The mayor has ten days to decide if she will veto the plan. She needs 5 votes on the commission. Right now she has 4.