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| THE MIAMI HERALD |
| Posted
on Sun, Apr. 17, 2005 KENDALL COMMUNITY COUNCIL Group fights development on Everglades' edge BY JONNELLE MARTE jmarte@herald.com The Kendall Community Council joined the Hold the Line Campaign, a group working to keep the Urban Development Boundary from moving further west. Wednesday night, the Kendall Community Council joined the fight to keep high-density development out of the land that borders the Everglades. Council members voted unanimously to join the Hold the Line Campaign, a group of community activists looking to stop movement of the Urban Development Boundary -- a line that provides a transitional strip of land between the urban areas of South Florida and the swampy areas of the Everglades. ''Companies bought the land in hopes of developing it,'' said Gilberto Osorio, program director of the Urban League of Greater Miami. The boundary ``protects the sensitive and agricultural land.'' The campaign, started in early March, has been joined by seven municipalities and 49 organizations, ranging from homeowners associations to environmental groups. According to Osorio, it ``promotes in-fill and redevelopment.'' Council members said they feel moving the line will only cause more problems. ''The weather here is either hot, or rainy and hot, and we need open space,'' said council member Peggy Brodeur. ``We would be destroying the very reason that tourists come here.'' Vice Chairwoman Millie Herrera said she feels the new development would bring additional traffic that the already congested streets of Kendall wouldn't be able to handle. ''It would spread our money thinner because we would have to create the infrastructure [for the new homes],'' Herrera said. ``It's going to hit us.'' In other news, the council talked at length about possible future improvements for Indian Hammocks Park. They discussed things like increasing the lighting, extending the hours, and adding pools and sprinklers for kids and families. They also talked about their plans to build a community center, a senior center and a possible cultural arts center. Council members said they will continue the discussion at their next meeting May 19, where they have invited experts from the parks department and that they encourage Kendall residents to attend. |