Watch Hold the Line on You Tube!
(click image) Meetings
- Take
Action NOW!
Although we successfully defeated one application, we still
have a long way to go. County Commissioners voted to transmit
with a recommendation of adoption an application for a Lowe’s
store in Doral and a retail project in West Kendall. Both of
these projects impact fire and rescue service response times,
traffic, and wellfield protection zones which protect our water
supply from degradation.
A
special thank you to Commissioners Sorenson, Heyman, Gimenez,
Moss and Sosa who fought for the all of Miami-Dade County
residents citing water needs, infrastructure deficits and
a surplus of available lands for residential, retail and industrial
use within the Urban Development Boundary! Thank you for being
stewards of smart growth for Miami-Dade and not succumbing
to developer driven public policy!
TAKE ACTION NOW! Hold
The Line Needs You! Click
here to voice your opposition to development outside the current
Urban Development Boundary (UDB).
GET INVOLVED!! The
future of Miami-Dade County is at stake. County Commissioners
are under pressure to move the Urban Development Boundary, in
order to accommodate land speculators and big developers. Some
massive development plans are already being reviewed by state
agencies. Nearly one dozen applications to move the UDB have
been filed with the county and will be reviewed by the county
commission in the coming months. There
will be public meetings
and chances for you to be educated on the issues and to become
involved. Hold The Line believes that the needs of current taxpayers
and residents must be fully accounted for, before any decisions
to build new cities in areas that are already overburdened with
traffic, inadequate schools, and parks. Our drinking water needs
and environment must be fully protected. You must help, if you
care about your future, your neighborhood, or your community.
Help us Hold The Line!!
Urban Sprawl
Strikes Again
A look at
any aerial photograph of Miami-Dade County will show you where
the Everglades meets development and rooftops give way to marshy
wetlands. In a 1975, the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) was
drawn along the southern and western boundaries of Miami-Dade
County in an effort to create a buffer between metro Miami and
Florida’s Everglades.
In 2006, the Hold the Line campaign successfully to kept the
UDB from being moved to accommodate sprawling development that
would strain Miami-Dade’s already backlogged infrastructure.
Four new pending applications have been filed to open another
178 acres of Miami-Dade to development outside the line. An
additional application is expected that seeks to add another
7,000 residential homes to the county’s roads, schools,
and utilities increasing both traffic and pollution.
South Florida can’t
afford to pave wetlands and permit new developments that will
draw from our already taxed water supply and jeopardize the
Everglades.
Action:
We need people and organizations to join the Hold the Line
Campaign and send the message to lawmakers. To learn how you
can help fight sprawl, please contact us at (305) 489-5949,
or htl@cleanwater.org.
Imagine
a Miami where we all have our American dream.
It can happen when we work together.
Everyone
agrees that growth is an opportunity to improve our Miami-Dade
community, but growth must be fair and include our needs.
We want safe neighborhoods, clean air and water. We want transportation
choices beyond mind-numbing traffic.
The big picture has to be kept
in mind, including the well-being of existing communities.
We are for housing choices for all families in vibrant cities,
suburbs, towns and rural areas.
To get there, we need to put
all options on the table, take all costs into account, and
fairly evaluate the big picture.
We must make our region growth-ready:
that means finishing the job of existing infrastructure needs
and protecting what we have as we look to our future together.
Our first campaign is to persuade
Miami-Dade decision-makers to "Hold the Line", the
Urban Development Boundary that separates urban areas from
environmental and agricultural lands.
Discuss,
learn, and communicate on UDB and issues related to the South
Miami Dade Watershed Study on: eyeonmiami.blogspot.com
South Dade Watershed Study Adopt
a Plan Campaign to rescue, protect and preserve a beautiful
Miami-Dade County! CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
The Votes Are In On April 19, the Miami-Dade
County Commission voted on 5 applications to move the UDB line.
The Commission approved one application in recently annexed
land in Hialeah. It was approved by a vote of 13 to 1 (Commissioner
Katy Sorsenson was the lone opposition on this request).
Over the
last year 10 applications were put forward to move the line
or make expansion easier in the future. Of the original 10,
5 were withdrawn before the Commission vote and 4 were denied
during the hearing on April 19. The State Department of Community
Affairs will decide if the movement of the boundary will go
forward for the Hialeah project. Hold the Line retains concerns
over this application and is sending an open letter to the
State with our objections which will be posted shortly.
There are still 2 developments
so large they will have regional impact, affecting three counties:
Monroe, Miami Dade and Broward. They are called DRI’s:
Developments of Regional Impact. These 2 large scale developments
south of Florida City and west of Kendall are cities in themselves,
slated for as many as 18,000 people each, and would have far
bigger impacts to quality of life. Please stay tuned!
See
how the Commissioners voted on the UDB and please acknowledge
those commissioners who Held the Line by email or phone with
your appreciation, just as you may have already urged them
over the year to Hold the Line.
Please
call or email the following County Commissioners who took
a stand to Hold the Line:
Youth
and Future of Miami-Dade Stand Up to Protect the UDB!
"The Miami-Dade County Student Government Association
is proud to join the Hold The Line campaign in its efforts
to stop county commissioners from moving the urban development
boundary line. We as students believe that our environment
is precious and unique to our state and that it should
be kept intact and untouched. As President of an organization
that represents over 360,000 students throughout Miami-Dade
County, it is my job to look out for the students' best
interests. We urge the Commission to oppose all remaining
applications to expand the UDB."
Ronald Bilbao President,
Miami-Dade County Student Government Association
