shared with 7News in October 2025<\/a>, Williams showed the area that commissioners decided to preserve.<\/p>\n\u201cWhen you walk into the mangroves, you will see lots of crop roots, which are part of the mangrove trees. You\u2019ll see some wetlands, and you\u2019ll see also the animals that occupy the trees, the land and also the water that is back there, it\u2019s beautiful,\u201d said Williams.<\/p>\n
In May 2025, county staff wrote that \u201cthe site has a predominance of native, mature red and black mangroves, provides nursery, roosting, foraging and refuge habitat for many species.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s proposed project would require three acres of that land to construct a 62,000-square-foot warehouse.<\/p>\n
The developer also pledged to set aside just over one acre to maintain the mangroves and waterways, promising \u201cthe wetlands preserved onsite\u00a0will also be enhanced through the removal of invasive\/non-native species.\u201d<\/p>\n
The developer asked commissioners to remove the land from the list to speed up the project\u2019s approval, arguing it would enhance environmental protection efforts in the area while also bringing economic benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to encourage you to move forward with additional development, and you balance the economic interests. We are actually preserving and enhancing the wetlands on the property,\u201d said Edwin Stacker, an attorney for the developer.<\/p>\n
Several residents attending Tuesday\u2019s meeting didn\u2019t buy that reasoning.<\/p>\n
\u201cMangroves, as a lot of people pointed out, act as natural flood barriers,\u201d said a concerned resident.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not fighting for a single acre. This vote is about whether public protections mean anything when confronted by private capital,\u201d said another resident.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe [Florida] Fish and Wildlife Commission estimates that more than 10 acres of Florida\u2019s wild land is cleared every hour for development,\u201d said a third resident.<\/p>\n
\u201cEconomic development does not need to come at the expense of what little habitat we have left,\u201d said a resident.<\/p>\n
Early into the meeting, commissioners had signaled they were already inclined to deny the developer\u2019s request and ultimately made the decision unanimously.<\/p>\n
Both sides warned that the fight over this section of land is not over.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will set a precedent. If you chip away at five mangroves, then the next developer will come in and say, \u2018Well, how about three? Well, I\u2019m gonna take two,\u201d said Williams.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf people truly want to stop it from being developed, then I think the government needs to find the money to acquire it,\u201d said Stacker.<\/p>\n
Attorneys for the developer said they plan to seek approval from the City of Dania Beach.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/p>\n
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