After backlash, Miami-Dade commissioner drops plan to create the city of Westchester

After facing a backlash so fierce he resorted to profanity at a town hall, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Javier Souto on Monday released a memo scrapping his push to create the city of Westchester.

With months left before his final term expires after 29 years on the commission, Souto won board approval in January for a study group to consider incorporating the Westchester neighborhood into its own municipal government near Florida International University’s main campus. The proposed city boundaries were between the Florida Turnpike and the Palmetto Expressway, bounded by Southwest Eighth Street to the north and 56th Street to the south. The FIU campus was left out of the proposed city’s boundaries.

Before the incorporation committee had a chance to meet, Souto, a former state senator, is reversing position and preparing legislation to disband the panel. On Monday he sent a memo to the county’s legal department asking for legislation to undo the board’s Jan. 19 approval of the incorporation study.

“As much as I called for repeal, I never expected to actually get repeal — especially from Sen. Souto,” said Anthony Garcia, one of the Westchester residents helping rally opposition to the incorporation effort. “If he’s sincere, I’ll be the first to send him a thank-you note.”

Incorporation opponents spoke before the commission vote, and opposition only grew louder after it passed. Residents of the would-be municipality complained about the higher property-tax rate they would like have to pay once they switched from relying on municipal services from county government, which has a lower municipal-tax rate than 31 of the county’s 34 existing cities.

At a heated Feb. 10 meeting with constituents who demanded he drop the incorporation plan, Souto replied at one point: “I don’t give a s--t about what people here may think,” according to video circulated by residents opposed to the incorporation.

On Monday, Souto released the memo revealing he was ready to give up the fight. The memo to County Attorney Geri Bonzon-Keenan asks her to prepare legislation to disband the Municipal Advisory Committee (known as a MAC).

“In the last month, I have spoken to many persons in our community on both sides of the issue,” Souto wrote in the memo, which was first reported in the Political Cortadito blog, “and have decided to request that the County Commission repeal the Westchester Municipal Advisory Committee.”

The news stunned opponents, who thought they were up for an extended fight to try and block future commission votes in the incorporation process, which culminates in a referendum.

Incorporation efforts are usually unpopular with voters. When Miami-Dade commissioners proposed a new city of Biscayne Gardens last year outside of Miami Gardens, more than 80% of voters within the potential municipality rejected it. The last time Miami-Dade residents agreed to a new city government was in 2005, when Cutler Bay was incorporated.

Another objection from residents opposing Souto’s plan centered on how the commission approved the incorporation process. County rules require incorporation proposals first be endorsed by a petition drive with signatures from at least 20% of the voters within the would-be municipality.

Souto won commission approval to waive the petition rules and form the incorporation study group by a board vote.

Martha Bueno, who is running for the open District 10 seat to succeed the term-limited Souto, said voters she spoke to felt blindsided by the possible city government heading their way.

“It was not just about the incorporation issue. Every resident I spoke to was upset with the way it was done,” she said. “They felt disrespected by him.”

This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 9:11 AM.