Miami-Dade Commissioners Override Mayor's Veto of Urban Development Boundary Expansion

Miami-Dade commissioners have voted to override Mayor Daniella Levine Cava's veto on the expansion of the county's Urban Development Boundary, likely paving the way for a new industrial site on a piece of farmland near the Florida Everglades.

The board had previously voted 8-4 to approve the South Dade Logistics and Technology District measure, a 378-acre development of farmland near the Everglades not far from Homestead.

Levine Cava vetoed the vote last week, saying the environmental factors outweigh the economic.

But on Tuesday, the board voted the override the mayor's veto.

"I am very disappointed that the county commission chose the short-term financial gain of a few over the long-term health and wellbeing of our environment and economy," Levine Cava said in a statement. "Moving the urban development boundary without a proven need to do so threatens all the work we have already done to build a world-class, better connected, more resilient Miami-Dade."

Environmental groups have argued that the development would impact water quality and negatively affect storm surge and flooding, among other environmental issues.

Proponents of the plan said it was designed to account for environmental factors, and will provide jobs to the area. Developers said they'd donate about 600 acres of wetlands to a county preservation program under the deal.

"Nobody has been able to prove that we’re going to hurt the environment by doing this. Nobody could prove that," Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz said.

"Our team took into consideration the advice and concerns expressed by commissioners, county planners and environmental experts," a spokesperson for the South Dade Logistics and Technology District said in a statement. "The result was a smaller, but much better application that balanced the need for economic opportunity in South Dade with the need to protect our natural resources."

The plan to expand the UDB had plenty of public opposition. It took four times until it passed.

"Our federal and state partners have shown clearly that this development will undermine the millions of dollars and years we have already invested to restore Biscayne Bay and the Everglades," Levine Cava said in her statement. "At the same time, the project brings no guarantee of jobs for South Dade residents – while setting a dangerous precedent to allow irresponsible development in the areas most at risk for flooding and sea level rise."

Tuesday's vote isn't the final approval. The state still has to sign off on the project and is expected to face opposition from environmental groups.