Miami Herald

FLORIDA CITY

Mayor vetoes plan to annex land

Florida City's effort to annex a swath of land outside of the county's development boundary was vetoed by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez.

Posted on Sun, Jun. 12, 2005

BY NOAKI SCHWARTZ

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez vetoed a move by Florida City to annex nearly 2,000 acres of undeveloped land, effectively quashing what critics called the first big push to move the county's development boundary.

''I think this is an attempt to do something that is absolutely not in the best interests of the citizens of Dade County,'' Alvarez said. ``We'll see what happens.''

The veto filed late Friday could be overturned by commissioners, but it will be a challenge. Those who support the controversial annexation will need two additional votes to get enough to override the mayor's veto. It takes nine of 13 commissioners to override. And many of those in the opposing camp are unlikely to be swayed.

''I voted against it and will continue to do so,'' said Commissioner Rebeca Sosa.

Florida City wants to absorb a swath of land outside of the county's Urban Development Boundary, which is designed to prevent urban sprawl into the Everglades. Critics fear this will open the door for development on open lands elsewhere outside of the boundary, threatening wildlife and wetlands.

Commissioners on Tuesday voted 7-5 -- with Javier Souto absent -- to support the 1,727-acre annexation. The support came despite an avalanche of recommendations against it from within County Hall. Alvarez, County Manager George Burgess, the Department of Planning and Zoning, the Department of Environmental Resource Management and the Planning Advisory Board all opposed it.

Alvarez has called the annexation push premature, saying commissioners should wait until a key watershed study examining the appropriate long-term use of the lands has been completed. The first phase of the study is scheduled to be completed in November.

''The expansion of our community must be managed carefully and options maximized to increase development within the UDB,'' he wrote.

Reaction to the veto has been mixed. It comes at a time when developers are snapping up hundreds of acres outside of the county's development zone in anticipation of expanding its urban border.

Florida City Mayor Otis Wallace, who said the city has no intention of developing the area beyond current limits, was disappointed but not surprised.

Wallace has complained that critics are unfairly linking the city's annexation effort with a proposal floated by Lennar Corp. to build a massive neighborhood near Florida City. The commission would have to move the development boundary to allow for the project, which would roughly triple the city's current population.

''I never in my wildest dreams anticipated a request for annexation to take on the life that it has,'' Wallace said. ``I remain steadfast that our application is about annexation and not about moving the UDB.''

But Commissioner Sally Heyman, who voted against it, wondered out loud if that was true. Florida City, she said, has 1,500 acres available inside the development boundary on its western edge.

''Not here, and not this place, if there are alternatives,'' Heyman said about the sensitive wetlands in the proposed annexation area.

At least one commissioner warned that their happiness with the veto could be short-lived.

''I'm very pleased,'' said Commissioner Katy Sorenson, ``but it's really only the first skirmish in the war on our quality of life.''