For decades, Miami-Dade has protected a bright line to stop urban sprawl into the Everglades, called the “Urban Development Boundary”; this is one of our best tools to protect the Everglades and our drinking water. Recently, you were asked to let our County Commissioners know that you want them to Hold the Line on Miami-Dade County’s Urban Development Boundary and deny moving the boundary to accommodate a nearly 800-acre industrial development outside of it. A total of 786 community members advocated for natural resource protection and voiced their opposition to high-impact development beyond this boundary.
The final vote was scheduled for May 19, 2022, at County Hall. The chambers were completely packed, with many more outside the meeting room. The developers needed to secure the votes of nine of the county commissioners.
After a tense and dramatic day of public comments, presentations, and debate, the County Commission voted 5-7 on a motion to deny moving the Urban Development Boundary. With the developers realizing they did not have the nine votes needed to move forward–Commissioners agreed to hold a third and final vote the following week, on Wednesday, June 1. The applicant for the project asked for the vote to be deferred. The line is held.
Another vote is scheduled to take place on September 22, 2022.
Building this massive project represents a significant threat to Biscayne Bay, the Everglades, our agricultural community, and our drinking water. While we are disappointed that this development has not yet been voted down, we are using this opportunity to continue to spread the word about this threat to the Urban Development Boundary, the future of Biscayne Bay, the Everglades, and our community.
Originally published at https://www.miamiwaterkeeper.org/mdcs_udb_still_at_risk