The Miami Herald

A clash, no vote on boundary

Posted November 22, 2005

The Miami-Dade County Commission did not cast a formal vote on any of nine applications to amend the Urban Development Boundary. Opponents complained they were not allowed to address each application.

By Matthew Haggman, Tere Figueras and Noaki Schwartz
mhaggman@herald.com

A daylong hearing Monday on whether to open up more than 1,000 acres of vacant Miami-Dade land to build shops, subdivisions, offices and warehouses ended in acrimony even though no action was taken on any of nine proposals to expand the development boundary.

Dozens of speakers were angered when Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Joe Martinez restricted their ability to voice objections.

Many audience members thought they would be allowed the standard two minutes to respond to each application as it came before the commission. Instead, Martinez told them they could speak once -- for a maximum of two minutes.

No commissioners objected to the chairman's rule change.

''A cynical mind could say that this was a way to cut down public comment,'' said Cynthia Guerra, executive director of the Tropical Audubon Society.

Neisen O. Kasdin, former Miami Beach mayor and now a lobbyist for the Latin Builders Association and the Builders Association of South Florida, responded that Martinez "was trying to avoid the same people coming up, voicing general objections again and again.''

What followed was a several-hour procession of speakers objecting not only to expanding development rights but to the rules imposed by Martinez.

In the end, the County Commission postponed until Nov. 30 formal votes on the nine applications by developers to move the Urban Development Boundary, the line that limits large-scale development on the western and southern fringe of Miami-Dade County.

There will be no public comments on the nine applications at that time, Martinez said.

Combined, the projects are the biggest push in years to move the boundary.

Established in 1975, the UDB limits any development outside the line to one dwelling per five acres. Many consider the boundary a vital check against increased sprawl and an important green buffer between highly developed areas and the Everglades.

Proponents of moving the boundary counter that the county is largely built out, and that the line must move to accommodate the region's swelling population.

The line has rarely been moved in recent years. Not since 1993 has the line been moved for residential development. Only after a bruising fight was the line moved in 2002 for two industrial projects, Beacon Lakes by developer Armando Codina and another development led by a group including state. Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera.

DUELING T-SHIRTS

Mayors, city councilmen, environmentalists, neighborhood activists, lobbyists, lawyers and school board members packed the commission chambers Monday. Many opponents, hoping to fend off developers' applications, were clad in green ''Hold the Line'' T-shirts.

Supporters of moving the UDB wore white T-shirts emblazoned with the words: "Say Yes To The American Dream.''

Opponents were quickly dismayed when Martinez, in the midst of debate on the first application, stopped the proceedings midstream.

The rule change came during public discussion of an application by the City of Hialeah, the only UDB application introduced Monday. The city's mayor, Raul Martinez, had already outlined benefits of converting a landfill outside the UDB into a commercial development.

Several opponents were called up to speak -- including Miami Beach Mayor David Dermer, Miami-Dade School Board member Evelyn Greer and Miami Lakes Councilman Michael Pizzi.

Their comments mainly touched on the perils of moving the UDB in general, prompting Raul Martinez to raise his hands in a helpless gesture. ''I'm being beat up for all the other applications,'' he said.

CHANGE ELICITS GROANS

That's when Chairman Martinez, who is not related to the Hialeah mayor, announced the change -- prompting groans from the audience.

One man stood up, shouted angrily at Martinez, and stormed out just as the chairman summoned a sergeant at arms to escort him from the chambers.

Greer also protested, asking Martinez to "allow me to speak on the issue of each application.''

Martinez's response: "I wouldn't stand in front of your board and argue with your procedures.''

Minutes later, the chairman left the dais for more than an hour -- missing at least half a dozen speakers, including a representative of the National Park Service.

Guerra said opponents, already outgunned by legions of lobbyists working for the building industry, were at an even greater disadvantage as a result of the procedural change. The reason: Attorneys for the developers and landowners seeking the other eight changes will get the final say -- without rebuttal from opponents -- on Nov. 30.

''Not only will they get the last word, they'll be able to discount everything we've said,'' said Guerra. She said she had to severely curtail her comments on the nine items to fit into the allotted time.

The commission chairman defended his decision, saying that he wanted to include all public comment at Monday's meeting. That way advocates for either side would not have to return.

ENDED EARLY EVENING

Most people assumed the meeting would stretch well into the night.

But the commission ended the Monday proceedings shortly after 7 p.m. The reason: Commissioners Katy Sorenson and Sally Heyman, considered sympathetic to the Hold The Line campaign, were scheduled to perform in a charity production of the Vagina Monologues. Pat Wade, a member of Hold The Line, a grass-roots organization seeking to stop all of the applications, predicted that there won't be as many opponents showing up on Nov. 30 because it is a ''tremendous burden'' to carve out time to spend the entire day at the commission.

Speakers Monday ranged from a septuagenarian fruit grower from the Redland to a soft-spoken high school student whose voice broke with emotion as she pleaded with the commission to vote against moving the UDB.

Others argued that moving development further out would overwhelm already strained roads, sewers and schools. They noted the Miami-Dade Department of Planning & Zoning has concluded there is enough land inside the boundary for development until 2018.

Gihan Perera, a member of the Miami Workers Center, challenged the building industry's claim that an expanded UDB would provide more affordable housing in South Florida's high-priced market and stimulate the economy.

Perera said the county should concentrate on improving housing inside the urban core. "People want to live in their neighborhoods with their families. They don't want to be shipped out to the Everglades.'

Kasdin, who spoke on behalf of builders, has long maintained that urban infill isn't enough by itself to meet the county's housing needs.

FOR BOUNDARY CHANGE

A handful of residents spoke in favor of moving the line, including Kendall resident Lily Romero, who said new homes were needed out west. They also argued that new construction will bring new jobs.

Eric Stephens, a Keys landowner, added: "People should be able to do what they want with their property.''

Chimed in Commissioner Nathacha Seijas: "I like him.''

A vote by commissioners to deny any individual application on Nov. 30 will end the bid. But a vote to transmit the application will send it to the state's Department of Community Affairs for further review before coming back to the county commission for an ultimate vote, likely in April.

Opponents hope to knock off several applications now rather than giving developers, lobbyists and consultants more time to press their case in coming months.

In addition to the nine applications, two builder groups, the Latin Builders Association and Builders Association of South Florida, are also seeking a change the county standards that guide government planners when assessing future county housing needs. Critics allege the requested changes would make it easier to move the UDB in years to come.