Your Voice is urgently needed by May 13 to preserve the Urban Development Boundary (UDB), a long-established invisible line that protects environmentally sensitive and agricultural land from urban development.
Miami-Dade County (MDC) Commissioner Kionne McGhee submitted a draft resolution March 31 to develop a “South Dade Industrial and Employment Zone” (SIEZ) in District 9, in an area currently referred to as Urban Expansion Area No. 3. Despite the fact that no developer(s) has/have committed to developing the land, McGhee’s resolution would bypass the traditional Comprehensive Development Master Plan (CDMP) amendment process and asks MDC Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to take a protected parcel of land from beyond the UDB upon approval by the Board of County Commissioners.
If approved, this resolution will preempt the “Urban Expansion Area Report” from the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources that clearly indicates there is ample industrial land capacity for industrial growth beyond 2040 without breaching the UDB. There are presently 565 acres of undeveloped land in District 9 already zoned for industrial use lying east of the UDB.
The proposed resolution, if approved, would adversely impact quality of life in South Miami-Dade by:
- Shrinking available farmland in Homestead by rezoning agricultural land to industrial;
- Reducing significant permeable surfaces close to Biscayne Bay that provide water filtration;
- Generating pollution that would contribute to the bay’s deterioration;
- Contradicting the Biscayne Bay Task Force Report adopted by the Board of County Commissioners to amend the CDMP to protect the bay and restore the Biscayne Watershed;
- Negatively impacting Federal investments by the US Army Corps of Engineers for the Biscayne Bay and Southern Everglades Restoration project (BBSEER), by promoting industrial use in buffer lands;
- Locating an industrial zone in a low-lying coastal high hazard area prone to high flood risk, leading to risks to local businesses and costly investments to provide flood mitigation.
MDC's Infrastructure, Operations & Innovations Committee has deferred its decision on the proposed legislation to May 13.
TAKE ACTION NOW! Please URGE members of the MDC Infrastructure Operations & Innovations Committee to vote AGAINST this resolution.
Note: Tropical Audubon Society will send your letter to MDC Infrastructure Operations & Innovations Committee Chairwoman/MDC Commissioner Raquel Regalado, MDC Commissioner Kionne L. McGhee and to your district's committee representative as a public comment.
