THE QUOTES PAGE

Q. Will expanding the Urban Development Boundary in Miami-Dade County increase our affordable housing stock, as advocates claim?

"No. It's a shill."
Mitchel Friedman, Pinnacle Housing Group
(affordable rental housing developer)

"The cost of construction isn't going to be any cheaper out there than it is anyplace else."
Michael Wohl, Pinnacle Housing Group
(affordable rental housing developer)

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"In Miami, just like in New Orleans, you have a system where the rules are stacked in the developers' favor,'' he said.

"They want to spend your tax money building more and more subdivisions in the only place that water can drain to.''

The largely undeveloped land that lies to our immediate west is as crucial to the county's flood control plan as it is to preserving the Everglades.

But as of July, developers had filed 11 different applications asking the county to allow higher density development at the county's western fringe. More development out west would replace natural drainage area with concrete while additional houses would put even more pressure on what is already a strained system.
-Tim Will, Mayor of Surfside
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'We encourage all municipalities to join us in the fight to protect every resident's right from Miami Lakes to Florida City, to a future with 'livable communities' . . . our children's future with air they can breathe and water they can drink . . . a future with unpolluted natural resources, farms and wildlife . . . a future with schools not so overcrowded to be able to learn and roads not so congested to be able to get to the schools.

"If we all do not take this step, together, in holding the Urban Development Line, to preserve the already-teetering balance between nature and sustainable communities, then surely we will, individually, suffer the loss of quality of life for all our children to come.''
-Wayne Slaton, Miami Lakes Mayor
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Mr. Winton said if the county expands the boundary and creates neighborhoods closer to the Everglades, cities and the county would have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on infrastructure.

"They would have to run water and sewer systems from scratch, build roads, sidewalks, lighting, landscaping, parks, school, etc. ... Those dollars should be put into municipal neighborhoods like the City of Miami, Hialeah, Miami Gardens and Opa-locka ... other communities that desperately need infrastructure improvements," Mr. Winton said.

"The City of Miami has a lot of stake in this issue," Mr. Winton said. "I don't know what we really ought to do but I am personally not in favor of expanding the urban development boundary, because I think over the course of 20 years it's going to cost us greatly."
-Commissioner Johnny Winton - Miami Today 3/2005
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"It makes sense to study and analyze it and I think that everyone, every resident in Miami-Dade County, has a stake in this issue," he said. "I would hope that someday someone would come here and tell us... the plans and impact to our ecosystem."
Commissioner Thomas Regalado - Miami Today 3/2005
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Gov. Jeb Bush has questioned the wisdom of moving the line, citing "grave concerns."
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The UDB line is that "Line in the sand" meant to contain urban sprawl, protect natural areas and protect important natural resources like our drinking water.
- Cynthia Guerra, Tropical Audubon Society
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It's about learning from and fixing past mistakes that have eroded daily life, such as inadequate roads that have doubled driving time to clients, robbed time from family and multiplied stress. "It's a growing and thriving community, but we need to take care of these issues and not just grow because we want to grow."
- Millie Herrera, Miami Herald 3/4/05
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Let's talk about reality. All the big developers care about is making money. That's why they want the line moved. If we end up moving the line, the county is going to eventually have to spend money on providing infrastructure to those areas and that is going to take money away from areas that need it.
- Hattie Willis, President of Communities United
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The consequences of moving the Urban Development Boundary line will drain South Florida's most valuable resource, its water supply. It also will continue to drain the county's financial resources to build roadways, sewer and water lines, schools and amenities, keeping all of us in a constant state of gridlock and leaving older neighborhoods in decay.
- Nancy Liebman, President of the Urban Environment League