Better or just bigger? Urban Development Boundary shows Miami-Dade faces a choice | Opinion
In Surfside, quality of life is not an abstract concept — it is built into our DNA.
We know that decisions related to growth will either preserve our amazing, one-of-a-kind hamlet, or destroy it.
That reality is shaped not only by our decisions, but by land-use choices made across Miami-Dade County. Enter Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, whose veto of the proposed expansion of the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) clearly demonstrates that she well understands this critical concept.
The UDB exists to guide growth thoughtfully, directing development to areas with existing infrastructure while protecting the natural systems that support our water supply and help manage flooding. Weakening that boundary encourages sprawl, stretches public resources and increases pressure on established communities. The impacts: more congestion, greater infrastructure strain, higher costs, lower quality of life and, ultimately, if allowed to mindlessly progress, gridlock. Game over, with our version of Mayberry gone forever.
From both a community and real estate perspective, predictability and common-sense matter. The right land-use rules allow residents, property owners and businesses to make informed decisions and long-term investments.
Piecemeal rules consistently deliver what you would expect: exploitative development that encourages the “make as much money as you can and get away with as much as can be gotten away with” approach, all while leaving residents holding the bag.
In Surfside, we work every day to protect our fragile quality of life. We believe that our job is to take care of the residents who currently live in our community. Our residents value the safe, walkable streets, neighborhood character and a strong sense of control that they have always had and that they expect will continue.
Smart development decisions support the aforementioned priorities; mindlessly allowing expansion does not. Moreover, pushing growth outward — or turning our cities, towns and villages into miniature versions of Manhattan — helps only a few. Can you guess who?
There is a clear fiscal and aspirational choice ahead. Does Miami-Dade wish to be bigger — or better?
Bigger means more: concrete, crowding, traffic, sprawl, crime and even less of the quality of life that we all currently experience. Better means we take care of those who already live here, that we first fix what is broken before adding “more” and that we agree there is a tipping point related to “too much” — and that we are likely very, very close to that dangerous fork in the road.
Levine Cava’s veto is a reaffirmation that smart planning is everything, and that protecting quality of life for our residents is non-negotiable. Fortunately for us, the county mayor is smart, gets it and has again demonstrated that strong leadership means making the hard decisions. Bravo.
Charles Burkett is mayor of Surfside.