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Hold the Line Campaign
(305) 485-5949

Created in 1975, the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) separates urban development from rural and open lands, by creating a vital buffer of land between metro Miami and the Everglades.

It is an invisible line along the western and southern regions of Miami-Dade County separating low-density and urban zoning. Miami-Dade is the only county in South Florida to have established a comparable UDB.
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Hold the Line believes that moving the UDB at any location, whether for a large or small development, will only encourage and lead to truly massive projects (or “Developments of Regional Impact”) that will add thousands of people onto areas that are vital for agriculture, are important for replenishing our drinking water supply, and which help control floods during major hurricanes like Katrina. Stand up for our quality of life and our future! Make sure that our existing communities don’t lose out to the pressures of big developers looking to make big money.

EMAIL: htl@cleanwater.org or call (305) 485-5949 to find out more.

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Please contact the Miami-Dade County Commissioners below who, despite being in the minority, managed to help hold the Urban Development Boundary in 2006 on all but one application at the final Comprehensive Development Master Plan (CDMP) public hearing.

Learn more about the "CDMP" process here http://www.miamidade.gov/planzone/planning_metro_CDMP.asp.

Of 13 Commissioners, 5 Commissioner's votes were needed to maintain the Boundary for each separate request to move the line. (On "odd years" developers and cities can seek to "amend" the CDMP to move the Urban Development Boundary.) While these votes happened in 2006, they fell within the 2005 process for CDMP amendments. More requests can come in 2007.

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.

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 as DRI requests, unlike applications amending the "CDMP" (see above) can happen any year, at any time.