The following comments, opposing changes to Miami-Dade County’s urban development boundary (UDB), were submitted on behalf of Friends of the Everglades by attorney Richard Grosso. CLICK HERE to read the comments in full.
Repealing the systematic approach to UDB amendments that has existed for years would greatly harm the comprehensive part of comprehensive planning in Miami-Dade County. The UDB is the cornerstone of the County’s land use planning approach that is so necessary to protect its fragile and increasingly scarce farmland, Biscayne Bay and Everglades national parks and ecosystems. Considering UDB amendment applications on a consistent schedule allows for a holistic approach to planning and reflects the fact that such amendments should be rarely granted.
To change this long-standing approach and allowing anyone at any time to request an expedited UDB amendment will create a scattershot situation where the Commission does not have a sense of the entire picture of how cumulative impact of that and other changes to the CDMP and land use pattern. The current time limits on UDB applications are among the features that have been cited as evidence of the strength of the UDB. They offer stability and certainty to all involved. To revisit the County’s most important, critical, and impactful land use planning policy randomly undermines the public’s interest. The current proposal would weaken the UDB mechanism and process that is the central feature of the CDMP.
