On September 22nd, the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) will consider two applications to expand the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) for commercial usage. In District 8 in South Dade, a slimmed down South Dade Logistics and Technology District will be heard for a third time. In District 12,  a proposal for a commercial truck service and parking facility would consume more than 40 acres of wetlands of regional significance in the middle of the Western Wellfields that supply drinking water to county residents.

Both proposals fail the county mandated requirement to demonstrate a need to alter the UDB; in both cases County staff have identified sufficient land zoned for the required use inside the UDB. Existing land inside the UDB makes these applications unnecessary, and if approved will promote sprawl and create harmful impacts to our agricultural sector, drinking water supply, and Biscayne Bay and Everglades restoration efforts. In the case of the SDLTD, the applicants have abused the evaluation procedure by repeatedly submitting last minute project revisions, requesting two deferrals before the BCC, and just last week, contradicting their prior position that the entire site was required for a viable project by reducing the application by half.

We urge the Planning Advisory Board and Commissioners to vote NO on both applications. See more details in our sample letters that follow.