|
FLORIDA CITY
Development plan ignites furor
A proposed development for 18,000 people on wetlands near Florida City
would cripple efforts to restore Biscayne Bay and the Everglades,
environmentalists say.
BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI
AND CURTIS MORGAN
aviglucci@herald.com
A
developer wants to build what amounts to a small city on protected
wetlands outside Florida City, a project that if approved could open the
door to development of broad swaths of now-untouchable farm and open
lands elsewhere in South Miami-Dade County.
The
developer, Atlantic Civil, has presented the rough outline of a project
of startling scope to regional planners -- 6,000 dwelling units, nearly
400,000 square feet of shops, two schools, 240 hotel rooms and a cinema
multiplex.
The
estimated population -- about 18,000 -- is more than double the current
population of Florida City, which is seeking to annex the site.
The
1,500-acre site sits in a flood-prone zone outside the county's boundary
for urban development and in the middle of a broader wetlands zone
considered integral to multibillion-dollar efforts to replumb the
Everglades and restore natural water flows to Biscayne Bay.
Although still preliminary, the plan is already raising considerable
controversy.
The
developers downplay the site's environmental importance. They say their
project is critical to the revitalization of Florida City, a poor,
mostly black municipality of 8,500 that has been struggling economically
since Hurricane Andrew hit in 1992.
''It's essentially the future of Florida City,'' said Ed Swakon, an
engineering consultant to Atlantic Civil, which owns the site and about
1,800 acres surrounding it. The developer would restore that additional
wetland acreage, now choked by illegal dumps and invasive plants, as a
natural conservation area, Swakon said.
But
environmentalists contend the parcel is inappropriate for the project,
which county planners say would not be allowed under existing
regulations.
''A
suburban development would certainly ruin all potential for restoring
the land,'' said John Adornato, regional representative for the National
Parks Conservation Association, which has been pressing the state and
the county to buy the parcel for years.
If
its developers succeed in bending the county's Urban Development
Boundary, environmentalists contend, the project could also set a
precedent and make it easier for others to build on protected lands.
INCREASING PRESSURE
The
boundary line, established in the mid-1970s to slow the incursion of
urban development onto agricultural and ecologically sensitive areas,
has been moved only once since 1993 -- for a 436-acre warehouse
development in West Miami-Dade. But the line is coming under increasing
pressure amid a development boom in deep South Miami-Dade.
Aside
from ecological impacts, environmentalists also worry about the effects
on nearby rural areas from new roads and heavier traffic.
The
Everglades Coalition, an umbrella group of 45 organizations, issued a
letter opposing the project as ``destructive urban sprawl.''
The
proposal is also raising concerns from Monroe County, where officials
worry such a massive development at the gateway to the Keys could hinder
hurricane evacuation. The project would abut U.S. 1 and Card Sound Road,
the only land routes out of the Keys.
SUBSTANTIAL HURDLES
The
project faces several substantial regulatory hurdles, including review
by the South Florida Regional Planning Council, which issues advisory
opinions on major developments. The council has never supported a
project outside the Miami-Dade development boundary, executive director
Carolyn Dekle said.
The
decision will rest with the Miami-Dade Commission, which would have to
amend the countywide plan governing development and agree to move the
urban boundary south about 1 ½ miles.
There
is one other immediate obstacle. County planners are in the midst of a
major study of the effect of development on water quality and supply
south of Bird Road to help determine where and how much future growth
can be accommodated. County policy is to leave the urban boundary where
it is until the study is concluded within the next two years.
Swakon, the property owners' consultant, said they plan to file a
petition by mid-April asking to move the line.
In
the meantime, the proposal has prompted the South Florida Water
Management District to reconsider whether it should try to buy the
tract, said Thomas Olliff, assistant deputy executive director.
NEGOTIATIONS FAILED
The
land has long been on state and county purchase lists, but negotiations
with Atlantic Civil were unsuccessful when district appraisals put the
value at $8.8 million to $9.3 million -- far short of what the owners
think it's worth.
Some
critics, in fact, believe Atlantic Civil may be trying to force a public
buyout or to win approval of a previously filed application to establish
a rock-mining operation.
Swakon confirmed the company is still pursuing the rock-mining plan,
which is also opposed by environmentalists. Atlantic Civil already holds
permits to dig a lake and fill part of the property for agricultural
use.
''The
owner of this land has been trying to get as many things on the table as
possible,'' Adornato said.
Atlantic Civil presented its plan to the regional council last month,
just weeks after Florida City applied to annex the property along with
several smaller adjacent parcels, all now in unincorporated territory
governed by Miami-Dade County.
Last
month, the county's boundary commission recommended approval of the
annexation.
QUESTIONS RAISED
But
Florida City's application has raised questions about its intentions.
The document repeatedly pledges to keep current county zoning and
land-use designations and to respect restrictions imposed by the urban
boundary, which limits development to one home per five acres.
''The
prevention of inefficient and costly urban sprawl, and conservation of
agricultural and critical environmental resources will be priority
objectives,'' the application reads.
Florida City Mayor Otis Wallace could not be reached. City community
development director Bill Kiriloff referred questions to private
planning consultant Henry Iler, who prepared the annexation application.
Iler
said he was unaware of Atlantic Civil's plans when he wrote the
application.
''We
had no knowledge of any specific development plans for the site,'' Iler
said. ``They did mention they had future plans for the property, but
they were not specific.''
ROOM FOR GROWTH
Florida City has been looking to annex nearby land to diversify its tax
base and to ensure room for growth, especially as the small municipality
finds itself hemmed in by annexations by neighboring Homestead and the
proposed incorporation of the Redland, Iler said.
But
Florida City's plan all along has been for small rural homesteads, he
said.
''We
are looking for rural development,'' he said. ``The city would love to
have five-acre ranchettes.''
Iler
said he doesn't know where city officials stand regarding Atlantic
Civil's plan.
If
city officials favor annexation, Florida City's support might carry
political advantages for Atlantic Civil. But it has few obvious legal
advantages, since the county would retain control over land-use
designations and the development boundary.
The
annexation application goes next to the county's Planning Advisory
Board, but no hearing has been set. County planners, however, have said
annexation is ''incompatible'' with current development rules.
Environmentalists say the county should hold the line.
The
proposed development, they say, would be a significant obstacle to the
Biscayne Bay coastal wetlands project, an ambitious plan for restoration
of a 13,600-acre stretch of land from the Deering Estate south to the
Turkey Point nuclear plant.
The
Atlantic Civil site occupies a good chunk of the project's proposed
footprint.
The
goal of the plan, part of the $8 billion Everglades restoration plan but
still years from reality, is to restore the natural flow of water from
the Everglades to Biscayne Bay to revive the struggling sea grass beds,
mangroves and wetlands in Biscayne National Park.
RESTORING CONDITIONS
It
would do that by replacing what was lost when drainage canals replaced a
natural slough once known as Long Glade that directed and filtered water
flowing into Biscayne Bay.
The
plan envisions backfilling canals, which funnel polluted farm and
suburban runoff into the bay, and building new storm water treatment
areas, culverts, pumps and flow ways.
But
the developers say the environmentalists' concerns are overstated.
''They keep waving their arms and saying this is an important component,
but it's not,'' Swakon said.
Atlantic Civil is willing to work Everglades and Bay restoration into
its design and might do the job better and faster than the government,
he said.
''It's quite possible that the development could implement parts of the
Biscayne Bay coastal wetlands project soon, with less costs and probably
better than they could do themselves,'' he said. |
