Plan would pave over wetlands near flood-prone Sweetwater. Last vote is Thursday
A proposal to build a sprawling, heavy-equipment depot on protected wetlands outside Miami-Dade County’s Urban Development Boundary, and adjacent to some of its most flood-prone neighborhoods, is drawing opposition from county planners and environmentalists.
The proposal, which would amend the county’s growth-management plan, comes before the county commission Thursday for a final vote.
If approved, more than 245 acres owned by Kelly Tractor outside the development boundary, just west of Sweetwater, would be designated as the “MIA Transportation and Infrastructure Support Area.” That would allow the company to move forward with plans to pave over about 160 acres of disappearing wetlands to relocate its headquarters and construct buildings covering 2.2 million square feet to sell, store and repair heavy equipment and construction machinery.
The project — on wetlands that attract endangered snail kites and rare wood storks — would also include 20 bays with cranes capable of lifting 70 tons. A fueling facility, truck wash, helicopter pad and freight rail terminal would also be located at the site.
Founded in the 1930s in Clewiston where it provided mostly farm equipment to citrus and sugarcane growers, Kelly Tractor is now headquartered in Doral with offices around the state to supply heavy equipment, including hydraulic drills for excavators. In its application, the company said the facility is critically needed to support the county’s infrastructure, including highways, airports, Everglades restoration, prisons and rock mines, by having specialized equipment more conveniently located.
But county planning staff and environmentalists who oppose it argue those wetlands are too critical to flood control and recharging drinking-water supplies.
”People complain when it floods. Well, when it floods, this is the reason,” said Laura Reynolds, science director for the Hold the Line Coalition. “This isn’t the right location.”
Kelly Tractor did not respond to a request for comments before deadline Tuesday.
The wetlands lie just west of Northwest 137th Avenue, wedged between urban Miami-Dade and the sprawling Everglades water-conservation area. Nearby, the South Florida Water Management District operates an 800-acre emergency-drainage basin constructed in 2000 after the No Name Storm flooded about 90,000 homes in the county.
In its report recommending denial, county planning staff said Kelly Tractor had failed to show why it couldn’t just expand at its current site, where it owns 50 acres already designated for industrial use. The company also failed to show a need for such a large expansion outside the development boundary. And even if it wanted to move, county planners said more than 700 acres of land within the urban boundary are available for industrial use.
In addition, they said, the wetlands targeted by the project are considered among the best remaining in the county, in the North Trail wetland basin. The application also fails to include any plan for mitigating the damage to the wetlands.
”They’re very functional. They’re part of the solution for flooding for [Miami-Dade County],” Reynolds said. “ Sweetwater floods all the time and, you know, these are the things that should be considered when we make these decisions.”
While consultants for Kelly Tractor reported the wetlands were degraded and “no longer contains biological and hydrological functions,” a county survey in 2024 found the opposite, describing them as intact wet prairie. Furthermore, planners said, taxpayers would be stuck with the cost of expanding roads and water and sewer lines to service the project, something the county growth plan warns against.
Making the change through a text amendment rather than apply for an amendment to county growth maps, Reynolds said, allows the company to create a “bespoke” change to county growth rules.
“They’re creating this new category in a text amendment. They’re saying that they’re servicing rock mines and Everglades restoration with their big farm equipment, and they’re like, this is an awesome company and we couldn’t do anything without them, so we should bend over backwards and let them pave over 200 acres of wetlands,” she said. “Well, no. The CDMP [the county’s Comprehensive Development Master Plan] says ‘no.’ ”
This report was produced by Miami Herald news partner WLRN Public Media.