Miami-Dade mayor vetoes project near Biscayne Bay, citing Hurricane Ian and flood risks

Facing the first expansion of the Urban Development Boundary in nine years, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava on Thursday vetoed legislation allowing a nearly 400-acre industrial complex to be built on farmland currently outside the boundary that divides the suburbs from agricultural land and the Everglades.

The veto of the County Commission vote to move the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) sets up a final showdown on the proposed South Dade Logistics and Technology District.

READ MORE: Miami-Dade commission OKs project that critics say threatens Everglades restoration

Commissioners approved the site on Nov. 1 with eight votes, which would be enough to overturn Levine Cava’s veto when the board convenes for its regular meeting on Tuesday. But if a commissioner who voted yes doesn’t show or switches their vote, the veto could be sustained.

Environmental groups fought the proposed project off Florida’s Turnpike near Homestead as bad for Everglades revitalization because a federal group planning the next phase of wetlands restoration is considering that area for projects.

Levine Cava’s planning staff recommended against it, saying enough industrial space already exists within the UDB to accommodate economic growth and the proposed development sits in a low-lying area about three miles west of Biscayne Bay that’s vulnerable to severe flooding during a hurricane.

“It encourages development in areas at risk of storm surge, putting more properties at risk in the future, especially concerning in light of the devastation we just witnessed following Hurricane Ian,” Levine Cava said in a statement.

Developers behind the project touted it as a reasonable next step in Miami-Dade’s urban expansion, with elevated streets and buildings to mitigate flooding issues and the potential for more than 7,000 jobs that will provide alternatives to long commutes for residents in South Miami-Dade. The project site sits south of Florida’s Turnpike and north of Moody Drive (Southwest 268th Street).

Throughout 2022, developers Stephen Blumenthal, David Brown and Jose Hevia failed to win enough support on the commission to move the UDB for the first time since 2013.

That changed Nov. 1 when Commissioner Raquel Regalado switched from a no to a yes, citing the developers’ new offer to purchase about 625 acres of environmentally sensitive land outside the UDB and donate it to a county preservation program.

That left four commissioners on the no side: René Garcia, Sally Heyman, Danielle Cohen Higgins, and Eileen Higgins.

Miami-Dade’s charter requires a two-thirds vote of all sitting commissioners to move the UDB, and a two-thirds vote of all commissioners present at a meeting to override a mayoral veto.

To sustain her veto, Levine Cava likely needs to retain support from the four commissioners voting no and prevent one commissioner from the yes to vote to override.

Commissioners on the yes side were: Jose “Pepe” Diaz, Oliver Gilbert, Keon Hardemon, Kionne McGhee, Jean Monestime, Regalado, Rebeca Sosa and Javier Souto. Miami-Dade’s County Charter requires commissioners to take up the mayor’s veto as their first item of business at Tuesday’s meeting.

In a statement, the developers behind the project said Thursday that Levine Cava “chose to kill hope for thousands of South Dade residents...We look forward to the veto override vote.”

In a press conference at County Hall, Levine Cava said she was reaching out to commissioners in hopes of moving a member to her side. “I’m working very hard to secure the votes needed to sustain the veto,” she said. “I’m very hopeful commissioners will understand the gravity of the vote.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2022 at 3:04 PM.