On the surface, it looks like Miami-Dade is just giving its environmental watchdog agency its independence back. But the devil is in the details. Buried in the county’s $12.9 billion budget vote this Thursday is a last-minute “restructuring” that environmentalists say will actually weaken the Division of Environmental Resources Management — better known as DERM […]
In what smells an awful lot like another scripted rubber-stamp moment, the City of Miami Commission last week passed the controversial Transit Station Neighborhood Development (TSND) ordinance, which gives developers the green light to drop a 12-story tower next to single family home within a one-mile radius of any Metrorail, Brightline or Tri-Rail, too. Existing […]
Long-delayed developments on Watson Island are back on the drawing board and two new projects could go before voters on the November ballot. Miami city commissioners will consider on Thursday two new plans for the small isle on the MacArthur Causeway, which connects Miami to Miami Beach. One of them would change the proposal for […]
And, in Miami, the old Sears could become 1,000 homes A massive complex 751 homes and close to 10,000 square feet of retail space just north of Homestead, a project that has been in the pipeline for 18 months, will go to the Miami-Dade County Commission Thursday for a requested change in zoning. The proposed […]
A downsized version of the Ponce Park Residences, an Allen Morris project that’s been pitched to the city of Coral Gables at least four times in the last three years, will be considered Tuesday by the city commission. This time, the proposal is for a 9-story building — down from an original 16 — with […]
Did anybody really think that the South Dade Logistics & Technology District was going to be the last attempt to cross the Urban Development Boundary, an invisible line meant to keep urban sprawl from penetrating the Everglades? ¡Claro que no! Instead, the Miami-Dade County Commission’s fervent dedication to and intentional push to up zone farmland […]
After he won his fake “agritourism” item — which is really a free-for-all at the Redland for food trucks and wedding parties — Miami-Dade Commissioner Kionne McGhee had an impromptu rally at County Hall with his supporters and called other constituents liars and interlopers for opposing his measure. “Some of the things you heard on […]
Rishi Kapoor offered to buy a city-owned property for $9 million The developer who paid Miami Mayor Francis Suarez $170,000 to “consult” while he navigated permits and zoning for his developments is also paying “rent” to Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago while he builds his luxury condo on Ponce de Leon Boulevard and seeks other […]
Developers are making noise and moving earth at start of nesting season What the hell do they think they are doing at the abandoned Calusa golf course turned natural preserve? Trucks are rumbling through. Heavy earthmoving equipment are parked at the perimeter of the lake. Development should be halted completely. A court ruled, and the […]
Pinecrest voters have the chance to get more control over development in their village through a referendum that would require a public vote for practically all zoning code and land use changes. If it passes next week, any attempt to increase density, height and floor area ratio, or to create new zoning districts — or […]