Urban Sprawl and Our Urban Development Boundary
NOTE: For the history and definitions of Urban Development Boundary, go to Miami-Dade Gov.
Sierra Club Miami works with another local group called Hold the Line, to keep the Miami-Dade County Commission from allowing destructive and unnecessary development outside the Urban Development Boundary. When we fail to do so, everyone is effected. Development without the infrastructure to support it (roads, water, sewage, schools, police, fire, etc) means that while one developer makes his money, other citizens and businesses have to pay for it in higher taxes.
Voters Say Yes to putting two-thirds vote in Charter
Nov 2012: The Charter has been amended to require a two-thirds vote of County Commissioners then in office in order to include additional land within the Urban Development Boundary established by the County's Comprehensive Master Plan. Opponents had argued that a county ordinance already requires this but voters were not convinced that an ordinance wouldn't be ignored or repealed. Now, its in the Charter and the Commissioners will need two-thirds vote to move the line further into the Everglades and cause more sprawl.Expressway Extension will cause more sprawl
Miami Dade Expressway is planning to expand the 836 Dolphin Expressway West to Krome Avenue and then South to the Tamiami Airport. This project would accelerate westward development, threaten agriculture, and damage Everglades restoration.
Sierra Club Miami questions the necessity of this project and is concerned about the impacts to residents, agriculture and America's Everglades. This road may actually increase, not alleviate, congestion on SR 836. Commuters currently have the option of taking several highways into downtown Miami. The existing 836, the Florida Turnpike, the 874, the 878 and the 826. Most of these roads have been or are currently being rebuilt to handle greater capacity. Future and existing toll revenues should be used to maintain these roads and provide for public transit alternatives, not to build new roads into environmentally sensitive areas.
The project will threaten Everglades National Park and nearby federally-protected wetlands. A new layer of highway extending away from the city will fuel sprawl because of its proximity to the Urban Development Boundary. This highway would attract development of agricultural and wild lands buffering the Everglades and pose a direct threat to the $12 billion federal-state Everglades restoration project."
For more info: contact Jon Ullman at jonathan.ullman@sierraclub.org or 305-860-9888
Miami Sierra Needs a New Urban Developement Boundary Team
There are many reasons to fight sprawl in Miami-Dade: protecting the Everglades, keeping your taxes lower, not letting developers run amok, fighting for less traffic not more, protecting your water supply. Whatever your reason, join us. We need to keep pressure on the County Commission and shine a light on them when they try to sell out. We need a team of people to follow the issues, keep tabs on the commissioners, be the watchdogs for this issue. If you are interested, please contact the Miami Group Chair, miami-chair@florida.sierraclub.org, or Jonathan.Ullman@sierraclub.orgReturn to the top of page