The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

Sides gear up for fight over Everglades development boundary line
By Mc Nelly Torres

Miami Bureau -- Sun Sentinel

Posted July 23, 3005

Searching for quiet nights, clean air and less traffic, Pamela Gray moved five years ago from Miami Beach to the outskirts of Homestead, the gateway to the Florida Keys.

But as urban sprawl began to take over in 2002, Gray's commute to her South Beach office turned into a daily headache. To elude the monstrous traffic, Gray took different routes. And when the commuting time exceeded two hours, Gray, 41, quit driving to work.

"It became impossible no matter the route I took," said Gray, a real estate agent. Gray shut down her South Beach office two years ago and now works from home.

Gray's frustration foretells a battle over growth. As developers increasingly eye untouched land in western Miami-Dade County, environmentalists worry that politicians will soon allow the sprawling housing developments and congestion that has clogged much of South Florida to invade the Everglades.

At issue is Miami-Dade's three-decades-old Urban Development Boundary, the county's buffer between heavily populated areas and the Everglades. Although county officials are not yet considering a plan to move the line, developers and their representatives say that is inevitable because Miami-Dade needs more land for affordable housing projects to accommodate its growing population.

County officials already are under pressure to choose sides, now that Florida City annexed 1,700 acres beyond the boundary.

Environmentalists say that would open the door to rampant growth. They fear that if Miami-Dade permits the kind of growth Broward County officials allowed in the last decade, more homes could endanger environmental restoration projects, affect flood control and water supply. Other opponents include Florida Key residents who worry that more traffic would hamper hurricane evacuations.

"Broward County has developed all the way up to the Everglades," said John Adornato, a representative for the National Parks Conservation Association. "And until now the boundary had protected the sensitive wetlands down in South Miami-Dade as it was supposed to do."

Opponents of development near the Everglades were discouraged last month when the Miami-Dade County Commission voted to override Mayor Carlos Alvarez's veto of its vote to approve Florida City's annexation.

County officials say environmentalists are mistakenly confusing the Florida City issue with the fight over the Everglades.

"We can't be hypocrites and say just because it is Florida City we won't allow them to annex the land," said Jose "Pepe" Diaz, who voted for the annexation. "This was not about the line. I'm not going to hurt a city based on speculation. We'll deal with that issue when it comes to us."

Florida City Mayor Otis Wallace has insisted that development would entail one house per five acres of land, the maximum allowed by law.

But a pre-application filed last year by landowner Steve Torcise of Atlantic Civil Inc. proposes a high-density project of 6,000 residential units, including a theater, hotel, and three schools besides retail and office space.

Homebuilder Lennar Homes Inc., which signed an option with Torcise to buy most of the land, is heading the project, dubbed Florida City Commons. The South Florida Regional Planning Council must review the application first.

Alvarez said he is worried the proposed development would harm the environment, as the annexed area is part of the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Area. It also could hinder the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, he said. "It is common sense that moving the line has been the real motive from the beginning," said Alvarez, who sided with county staff against the annexation.

That would set up a huge battle between developers and groups such as the Sierra Club, which is against any development outside the boundary.

"We can't grow more because we are constrained by the Everglades and the ocean," said Rod Jude, chairman of Sierra Club Miami Group.

But Miguel De Grandy, a former state legislator who represents Florida City and several developers, including Lennar, contends the proposed project is miles away from the Everglades.

"The government has a right to eminent domain," De Grandy said. "If the property is so important to the environment why won't the government take it?"

To minimize concerns over water flow to the bay, Edward A. Swakon, a consultant with Lennar, proposed a sprayer canal that would direct water around Florida City Commons on the way to Biscayne.

Swakon, who spoke at a recent public forum held in Homestead, also noted the schools and a community center -- part of the project -- would also serve as hurricane shelters for residents including those living in the Florida Keys.

Lennar representatives have assured the project's critics that the company would not harm the environment and that it would address transportation and other concerns. But some are still skeptical..

Islamorada Mayor Robert Johnson said most municipalities in Monroe County, where over 80,000 residents live and thousands of tourists visit every year, passed resolutions opposing the annexation.

"Where will development end in South Florida?" Johnson said. "People said we need to draw a line on the sand, I'll say we need to draw a line on the land."

Though county commissioners would need to approve any modification on the urban development boundary, Gray thinks it's only a matter of time before construction trucks invade much of the county's undeveloped land.

"Nobody wants to slow down and think about the traffic or if we have enough space and what about the people who already live here," Gray said.

Mc Nelly Torres can be reached at mntorres@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5004.