{"id":134704,"date":"2026-01-28T09:13:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T09:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/134704\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T09:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T09:13:10","slug":"mayors-call-for-redevelopment-agencies-freeze-gets-cold-shoulder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/134704\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayor\u2019s call for redevelopment agencies freeze gets cold shoulder"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"www.miamitodaynews.com\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Advertisement\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Written by Miami Today<\/a> on January 28, 2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Mayor\u2019s<\/p>\n

A budget-related call by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava for a moratorium on new or expanded community redevelopment agencies in Miami-Dade got a reaction of thanks but no thanks from county commissioners last week.<\/p>\n

While there was no vote on the mayor\u2019s report, which the commission itself had requested last September, commissioners made clear one by one that they support requests for two new redevelopment agencies and the expansions of four more in the face of a price tag that the mayor hung on them of $758 million added to future budgets.<\/p>\n

The report had been requested by Commissioner Ren\u00e9 Garc\u00eda. It sought a list of achievements agency by agency, county financial contributions to the agencies over the past five years, projects for the next five years, and reimbursements by several agencies that are required to reimburse the county. Sen. Garc\u00eda had not sought a recommendation on new agencies or expansions.<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s 13-page report, however, listed in boldface her recommendation for a moratorium on community redevelopment agencies (CRAs).<\/p>\n

\u201cPending actions to create, expand, or extend CRAs will have an estimated minimum impact of approximately $758 million on the county\u2019s future budgets,\u201d she wrote. \u201cGiven the ongoing uncertainty of the ongoing fiscal environment, I am recommending that the county adopt a moratorium on the creation of any new or expanded CRAs.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that \u201capproval of any of these requests is not advisable given the current and future needs of the county \u2013 it is critical that we maintain the financial stability needed to invest in and properly manage countywide assets and infrastructure, while maintaining the essential services on which our community depends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the CRAs on the table, the City of Miami is seeking one in Allapattah that the mayor\u2019s team estimates will cost the county budget $250.5 million to $475.9 million over 30 years. A CRA proposed for the City of South Miami would cost the county budget $56.7 million to $107.5 million, the mayor\u2019s report said.<\/p>\n

A move to expand the boundaries of the Naranja Lakes CRA and extending its life would cost the county $268.4 million for the extension from 2033 to 2044, the mayor\u2019s report said. An expansion of boundaries of the Northwest Seventh Avenue Corridor CRA would cost the county $2.38 million, the report said.<\/p>\n

A move to expand the boundaries of the West Perrine CRA would cost $6.7 million and an expansion of boundaries of the 79th Street Corridor CRA would cost $75.6 million, the mayor wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re heading into a budget year with real uncertainty,\u201d the mayor told commissioners last week. \u201cGiven that, and as mayor, it\u2019s my responsibility to signal when we should be cautious with our operational needs. I am a strong CRA proponent since their creation and \u2026 this report proposes a temporary pause on their expansions until we can assess the impact of decisions in the Florida Legislature.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she did not specify those decisions, no fewer than eight separate pieces of legislation would whittle away the county\u2019s property tax revenues \u2013 some of them markedly \u2013 with no offering of another revenue stream to fuel spending on county services. That concept, which has strong support from Gov. Ron DeSantis, is shaking counties and municipalities across the state.<\/p>\n

Sen. Garcia immediately called for limitation of CRA spending to only such county priorities as affordable housing, transportation, and water and sewer.<\/p>\n

Other commissioners, however, pointed to the economic development that the 15 current redevelopment agencies can provide and talked about broader use of their funding. Commissioner Oliver Gilbert III hailed the single purpose of the Miami Gardens CRA of an arts center. Commissioner Raquel Regalado said the aim of the proposed South Miami CRA is to build infrastructure, not housing.<\/p>\n

Multiple commissioners said the mayor\u2019s report is a good start so thank her for it \u2013 and essentially put it on the shelf as they request more information on various aspects of CRAs.<\/p>\n

As the report notes, the state created a vehicle for the agencies to battle slum and blight in areas across the state. Once a CRA plan is approved, a trust fund is established and the total taxable value of real estate in the area is set at a fixed base year. From 50% to 95% of added tax values from revenue increases above the fixed base in the district go not to the county but to the CRA to spend for specific purposes.<\/p>\n

\u201cCRA taxable values have significantly increased above the county\u2019s average growth due to the extensive real estate investment and redevelopment activities occurring in those areas,\u201d the mayor\u2019s report said. \u201cOver the last five years, the county has contributed a total of $445.376 million to existing CRAs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Advertisement Written by Miami Today on January 28, 2026 A budget-related call by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":{"0":"post-134704","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hialeah","8":"tag-hialeah","9":"tag-hialeah-headlines","10":"tag-hialeah-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}