Builders' slow invasion of Glades under way

With Miami-Dade commissioners voting to expand the development boundary west last month, other projects are sure to follow, and some warn of negative consequences.

Posted on Sun, May. 04, 2008

BY CHARLES RABIN

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It may be a slow leak, but each hole punched in the imaginary wall that is Miami-Dade County's Urban Development Boundary makes it easier for more development on the county's western fringes.

That's why last month's decisions by county commissioners to allow a Lowe's home improvement center and a commercial plaza outside the boundary are so significant: As attorneys and lobbyists line up new applications to build outside the line over the next two years, their arguments will become more difficult for commissioners to disregard.

Why shouldn't there be neighborhoods beyond Southwest 137th Avenue along Eighth Street, lawyers will insist, when there's already a home improvement center -- along with a promised charter school for at least 2,000 students -- out there?

What's the point of limiting housing beyond Southwest 167th Avenue and Kendall Drive, they will say, if there's already an office and retail center?

''It's going to come,'' warned Commissioner Katy Sorenson, the loudest anti-sprawl voice on the 13-member commission.

Right now, there is only one application to build beyond the imaginary line that stretches mostly along Krome Avenue.

Lennar Homes and developer Edward Easton want to build a small town called Parkland -- homes, stores, schools and civic centers mixed within 961 acres between Southwest 162nd and 177th avenues, and 136th and 152nd streets.

''The answer isn't sprawl and it isn't 100 percent infill,'' said Lennar's Rey Melendi, who is also president of the Builders Association of South Florida. ``It's got to be a healthy balance because not everybody wants to live in a mid-rise or a high-rise.''

Public hearings on Parkland will start this summer, but it will likely take at least 12 to 18 months to move through the lengthy regulatory process required for such large developments. Construction would not begin until 2014.

''Ours is not an application for tomorrow,'' he said. ``We're thinking of the future and planning for the future.''

A big winner from last month's commission vote: Developer Sergio Pino and his partners, who own a 53-acre tract of land directly west of David Brown's just-approved commercial center at Kendall Drive and Southwest 167th Avenue.

The development line is now adjacent to Pino's property. And though he said he hasn't put much thought into building there -- Pino said he's more worried about selling current empty inventory inside the boundary -- he said the time will soon come when people want to live in affordable homes out west that are within walking distance to shopping and entertainment centers.

''People will want ice cream and want to walk to the ice cream parlor,'' he said. ``They will want to go to the movies, and walk to the movies.''

If he does apply to build there, he said the commission will approve it ``because it will make sense.''

''It will definitely be part of a [county] master plan,'' he said.

FAMILIAR ARGUMENTS

The arguments for and against development about a dozen miles west of downtown Miami haven't changed much over the years.

Environmentalists ask why there's a rush, especially since the county's own planning department determined there's enough room for development inside the boundary for the next two decades. Why stretch services like police and fire to the limit? Where will water come from? Why add to traffic congestion and mess with the delicate ecosystem of the Everglades?

Developers, on the other hand, see a field of dreams: big open spaces ripe for homes and theaters and stores. Why deny hard-working families the chance to get away from the hectic day-to-day life of the big city? Out west is a safer environment for kids to grow up, they argue, and an affordable alternative to the outlandish prices being asked for homes nearer to the coast.

So far, county commissioners say they have been selective in deciding who can build outside the boundary. For more than a decade, only industrial, retail and commercial developments have been permitted.

During last month's vote, Commissioner José ''Pepe'' Diaz held up a copy of the county's Master Plan, saying it allows for expansion if the commission finds a compelling reason.

Diaz's main reason: Lowe's has offered to sell some of the land it owns for a charter high school, which would serve neighborhoods that currently feed to nearby Braddock and Ferguson senior highs.

But the county school district says there is no need yet to build outside the boundary.

Ferguson is 26 percent above its designed capacity of 3,165 students, but Braddock serves about 3,700 on a campus built for 4,200.

Last month's decision came against the wishes of the county's own planning staff and state regulators, who had concerns over water and who said there is simply no need to build outside the boundary.

''We stated our case and people presented their side of the story, and the commission made their choice,'' said County Planning & Zoning Director Subrata Basu. ``That's the way it works.''

Though the commission voted to allow development, it's likely to be a while before any shovels hit the ground. On Wednesday, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez vetoed the votes, which are likely to be overridden by the Commission at a meeting Tuesday.

There could be lawsuits, as well. Hold The Line, an umbrella organization that represents about 100 environmental groups, has threatened a lawsuit, and its representatives say they will ask the state's Department of Community Affairs to join in.

THREATS TO FUNDING

Time magazine ran a recent online piece theorizing that each time Washington sees county commissioners vote to build further west, it hinders the state's chances of receiving the billions of dollars it desperately craves for Everglades restoration.

Sorenson calls it a ``very compelling argument.

''If they see the local community doesn't give a hoot, they're going to spend their money elsewhere,'' she said.

She said you can see the negative effect of destroyed wetlands simply by looking at what happened to New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina.

''The wetlands absorb the rainfall,'' she said. ``When you pave over them, you create more flooding.''

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a strong proponent of Everglades restoration, said it's tough enough getting money for the environment with the current sagging economy and pressing budget needs.

''When new development is allowed too close to the Glades, it does cause some to question our commitment to saving the River of Grass,'' he said.

Sometimes a lone voice on the dais, Sorenson warns that special interests are paying attention to the line, so it's time for concerned residents to do the same.

''It's looking at the greater good of the community and looking at it for years to come,'' she said. ``OK, now we have stores, so let's put up some houses. It's going to come. It's just one little chip at a time. It all adds up.''

Miami Herald staff writer Matthew I. Pinzur contributed to this report.