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| THE
MIAMI HERALD |
Posted
on Sat, Apr. 23, 2005
Developers eye Miami-Dade
buffer land along Everglades
By CURT ANDERSON
Associated Press
MIAMI - To fish hatchery owner Paul Radice, the
tropical farmlands sandwiched between the bustling glitz
of Miami and the vast Everglades are ideal for his operation
because of a development boundary line drawn two decades
ago.
The well water, unpolluted by parking-lot runoff, is
a perfect natural temperature for his tanks of exotic
koi and African cichlids. Traffic is light and there
are few strip malls, fast-food joints or other intrusions
of urban blight. Roadside stands selling produce such
as tomatoes, mangoes and sweet corn dot the only subtropical
farm region in the continental United States.
Now, to the dismay of some farmers like Radice and allied
environmental groups, housing developers are snapping
up Miami-Dade County's dwindling open land in hopes
of convincing local politicians to push the development
line towards the threatened "River of Grass"
to the west.
While some farmers favor the proposal because it would
allow them to sell their land for a high price, Radice
says new residents would "change the character
of the area, and they'll want the area to change with
them."
Plans by major developers such as Lennar Corp. and D.R.
Horton call for more than 16,000 homes to be built in
high-density neighborhoods on land that is now outside
the line, known as the urban development boundary. Unless
the line is moved, development on that land will continue
to be restricted to one structure for every five acres
- not what the developers want.
Horton's proposal, a planned community called "Providence,"
envisions more than 5,000 homes, office and retail space,
schools and parks on 854 acres.
Battles over urban sprawl are increasingly common around
the country, especially in areas where cities have erected
no-growth boundaries such as that in Miami-Dade County.
What makes the South Florida debate unique is the area's
history as America's key winter vegetable growing area
and its location between the environmentally sensitive
Everglades - currently undergoing a 30-year, $8.4 billion
federal-state restoration - as well as Biscayne Bay
to the southeast and Florida Bay to the south.
"The Everglades has been recognized as a unique
environmental system in the world," said Jamie
Furgang, Everglades policy associate for Audubon of
Florida. "The preservation of the urban development
boundary is going to be essential to restoring the quality
of the system."
The proposed changes also pit farmers against each other:
those who want the area to remain rural and those who
want to sell land for lucrative profits.
Katie Edwards, executive director of the Dade County
Farm Bureau, said her organization views the boundary
as a violation of property rights. Many landowners outside
the line say its existence prevents them from getting
top dollar for their property, forcing them to continue
sometimes unprofitable farming.
"They are saying, 'I want options. Give me a choice,'"
Edwards said. "We believe market forces should
determine the position of the urban development boundary."
The boundary, first created in 1975, has been moved
in mostly small segments several times, most recently
in 2002 for a 435-acre industrial park. The question
for local politicians this time is whether the Miami
area's explosive population growth warrants moving it
again.
Miguel De Grandy, an attorney representing Texas-based
developer Horton, said the proposed developments are
needed to meet demand, especially with real estate prices
soaring in South Florida. He said the project is aimed
squarely at middle-class people who are increasingly
priced out of owning a home.
"The line was never intended to be a line in stone.
It's not intended to be permanent," De Grandy said.
"The bottom line, which people aren't addressing
in this debate, is what are we going to do with the
people? We are blessed with beautiful weather and people
like to come here. They are not going to stop coming."
It's up to the Miami-Dade County Commission to decide
whether the boundary should be moved. The Miami-Dade
mayor, Carlos Alvarez, said he opposes any change because
county planners have concluded there is sufficient available
land for housing for the next 15 years. He also said
more houses mean demand for more government services,
possibly meaning higher future taxes.
"I can feel the pressure and certainly hear the
pressure of the special interests wanting to move it.
There's a lot of money involved," Alvarez said.
"I think we have to be very careful. The key to
this is planned growth."
Most members of the commission say they will wait until
completion this fall of a comprehensive study on proper
land uses within South Florida's watershed, which includes
the Everglades and Biscayne Bay. "That study will
be crucial," Alvarez said.
The pro-boundary forces, many joining a coalition called
"Hold The Line," are making their first stand
against a proposal by the town of Florida City, on the
southern tip of the Florida peninsula, to annex nearly
4,300 acres of land near an intersection that thousands
of people cross on their way to the Florida Keys.
That would take control of zoning for the land from
the county to the city. And one developer has already
proposed transforming part of it into 6,000 new housing
units, retail shops, offices and a movie complex under
one developer's plans.
A hearing on the annexation proposal is scheduled in
May. Florida City Mayor Otis Wallace insists the annexation
and development are separate issues, but opponents say
the city's expansion would mark the beginning of the
end of the Miami-Dade boundary line.
"If that happens, it's just a matter of time before the boundary
is moved," said Pat Wade, a plant nursery owner and pro-boundary
activist. "Agriculture doesn't stand a chance." |
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