The Miami Herald

DEVELOPMENT

Posted on, Feb. 25, 2006

Developers tack conservation onto bids

The drama of the urban development boundary line mounts as remaining developers sweeten their pitches with land and water plans after one drops out of the fray.

BY TERE FIGUERAS NEGRETE
tfigueras@MiamiHerald.com

After a leading developer this week dropped a project that would have required moving the urban development line, others with projects pending before the county are undeterred -- and are hoping add-ons such as water conservation and transit connections will boost their case.

But state warnings this week that Miami-Dade County doesn't have the resources to accommodate development outside the boundary could jeopardize the prospects for the eight developers with proposals still pending before the county commission.

''This was always going to be tough for someone to get the line moved,'' said Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, who has spoken against several applications. "And it just got a lot harder.''

On Thursday, developer Masoud Shojaee's Shoma Corp. dropped its application to build a residential development in Kendall. Shoma cited an increasingly hostile climate toward development, as well as a warning from Commision Chairman Joe Martinez to draft a plan to ease traffic -- something Shoma said it was unlikely to accomplish before the April vote.

The boundary is designed in part to prevent urban sprawl into the Everglades.

The remaining eight applicants have shown little sign of following Shoma's lead. They've retained a phalanx of lobbyists, including a former county manager, commission staffers and even a one-time county commissioner, to plead their cases.

MAKING CONCESSIONS

One developer, Adrian Homes, has taken an aggressive approach in sweetening its pitch to the commission.

Its project, called Eureka Palms, would place residential development on more than 100 acres near Southwest 184th Street and 157th Avenue. But it also promises to donate land for a public elementary school, a fire station and transportation purposes -- such as a possible train station for a rail plan floated by Commission Chairman Joe Martinez.

''It's become expected practice,'' said attorney Jeffrey Bercow, who is representing Eureka Palms. "It's what developers need to do in a modern age of [dwindling] governmental resources.''

Bercow said the project's engineers and consultants are also working on a water plan -- one of the serious shortcomings cited by the Florida Department of Community Affairs in its blunt review, released Tuesday, of the proposed projects.

Bercow said the plan will likely focus on water conservation. Coming up with a viable blueprint for reusing wastewater or tapping into alternative water supplies will be unlikely, he said; the county's water system isn't set up to implement any solutions the Eureka team may proffer.

HOSTILE ATMOSPHERE

The additions to the Eureka project won't appease staunch opponents to moving the line.

''These piecemeal concessions just aren't enough,'' said Alan Farago, director of the Everglades Defense Council. "Now you see this mad scramble to cobble together a response to problems that everyone knew was coming for years.''

'FEVER PITCH'

Shoma attorney Stanley Price said the inhospitable political atmosphere, coupled with problems drafting a traffic plan, convinced his client to drop his gambit.

''This is the single most emotional issue I have ever had to deal with in all my years of practice,'' said Price, who was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1972. "It's reached such a fever pitch that God forbid someone mentions stepping over the line -- it's like you're killing their first-born child.''

Shoma had a contract to purchase the Kendall land on condition the zoning changes came through -- a prospect that looked increasingly grim, Price said. Lobbying costs and other expenses for the zoning change reached ''well into the six figures,'' he said.

''Why are you going to keep paying me money if you're just going to keep banging your head against the wall?'' Price said.

The Miami Herald

Posted on Sat, Feb. 25, 2006

State sent strong growth-management message

Miami-Dade County received a strong message from the state last week: Curb your appetite for urban sprawl, and fund programs to balance growth pressures with environmental sustainability. County commissioners should pay attention and act upon this signal.

Our state is full of natural treasures recognized throughout the world. With Florida Bay to our south, Everglades National Park to our west and Biscayne National Park to our east, Miami-Dade is a paradise that would be degraded by new development without the infrastructure or water to support it.

The Department of Community Affairs recognized this in its report to the county recommending that commissioners deny all development proposals outside of the Urban Development Boundary. Citing water supply, traffic congestion and impacts on schools as reasons to deny new development, the state was clear: Urban vitality must be balanced with environmental health and quality.

This is a message that Audubon of Florida and its environmental partners have been promoting in its campaign to hold the UDB. We commend the state for its responsible action. The recommendation came on the heels of a decision by the state Department of Environmental Protection and the South Florida Water Management District to deny Miami-Dade's request for more water because the county has not developed plans for alternative water sources, reuse and conservation. Essentially, the state said that Miami-Dade cannot pull more water out of the Everglades to quench its thirst.

Past decisions to expand our urban areas have led to a community burdened with traffic congestion, overcrowded schools, houses flooded during hurricanes and a water supply that has run out. Our natural treasures need to be restored rather than further degraded. The fisheries of Biscayne and Florida bays are declining, colonies of roseate spoonbills are pressured and Florida panthers and wading birds are finding an ever-shrinking and unhealthy Everglades habitat.

Programs such as the federal and state Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and the county's South Miami-Dade Watershed Study and Plan aim to restore our natural spaces. The success of these programs depends on responsible county actions to balance growth pressures with environmental realities.

During the November 2005 hearings on the new development proposals, the County Commission looked to the state for guidance on local growth-management decisions. The state has sent a clear message, ``Enough is enough.''

The County Commission should heed these messages from the state and put our quality of life and our natural treasures on the track to health. They should vote No on the nine development proposals to extend the UDB and Yes to policies that support sustainable growth, water conservation and environmental restoration and protection for future generations.

DAVID ANDERSON, executive director, Audubon of Florida, Miami