More on the UDB

Another rare mid-week post 'round these parts...

Looks like someone in the Miami-Dade County commission is on the right path regarding the UDB line.

Adding a new wrinkle to the debate over sprawl and the South Florida environment, the chairman of the Miami-Dade Commission wants to draw a permanent development boundary in rural West Dade.

The county already has a line limiting growth, known as the Urban Development Boundary, but it is designed to be moved when commissioners believe expansion is necessary -- which they did last month, despite controversy and a mayoral veto.

The new line, proposed by Chairman Bruno Barreiro, would create a development-free zone beginning somewhere west of the current boundary and extending west into Everglades National Park.

''There has to be a substantial buffer to the Everglades,'' Barreiro said during a speech to the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club, a South Beach civic group.

Unlike the current line, which can be moved every other year by a two-thirds vote of the commission, Barreiro said the permanent line would be enshrined in the county's charter.

Creating it that way would require a referendum, as would any subsequent changes. new line would not replace the UDB; the area between the two lines would remain largely off-limits now but could be cleared for development in the future.

Barreiro, who voted to move the urban boundary last month, wants to hire experts to study the area's unique ecosystem and suggest where the line should be drawn.

It's only part of the issue, and doesn't address poor zoning and planning inside the line and overall commission ineptitude, but it's a start.

Read the entire article here.

Hold The Line

Yesterday's approval by county commissioners (via a veto override) of two projects just outside the Urban Development Line (UDB, or The Line) surely will continue to draw plenty of criticism for an apparent lack of concern for urban sprawl and environmental issues.

I see both concerns as legitimate. What I do question here is the significance of "The Line". The UDB is intended to keep sprawl from consuming the Everglades, but in reality it is an arbitrary line set by county officials which is actually a pretty good distance east of the Everglades National Park.

Let's consider the two projects approved yesterday. One is a Lowe's at Tamiami Trail and SW 137 Ave. For those of you not familiar with that area, it is a location which is pretty much built up with homes and commercial centers to the east, south and southwest. To the north and west (where the Lowe's will sit) we have a cement plant and lots and lots of environmentally disastrous melaleuca trees. Is this what we're holding the line for?

What's better for that site: endless strands of melaleuca, or a Lowe's that will serve the thousands of homes in that area? That's something the hardline Hold-the-Liners should consider.

The other site is a commercial center on Kendall Drive and SW 167 Ave. Again, an area with homes and businesses just to the east. The only difference here is that there are no melaleucas in the immediate area, just old strawberry fields.

Don't get me wrong, I am in favor of limiting sprawl as much as reasonably possible. But an unintended consequence of the arbitrary line and efforts to limit sprawl by not approving projects literally steps on the other side of the line is that we are perpetuating the old problems that sprawl brought to our area. It's not the sprawl itself that is bad, it's the lack of planning that went along with it that is damaging. What is better for people who for many good reasons choose to live in the far western suburbs: a 20-minute traffic-clogged commute to the nearest store, or a shorter drive, bike or walk to a commercial center? I think the latter option should be the desirable one.

I would be very much in a favor of an urban development line that has real meaning and purpose. One that takes into consideration the needs of the community and the needs of our environment. One that can't be simply moved at the whim of a county commissioner. The community needs to get together and agree on something that makes sense and serves everyone's interests. It's not easy, but until we do this, we're going to continue with battles over things such as building a Lowe's in a melaleuca forest.