{"id":213819,"date":"2026-04-01T00:12:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T00:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/213819\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T00:12:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T00:12:28","slug":"let-our-people-breathe-miami-gardens-council-blocks-el-dorado-warehouse-plan-after-resident-outcry-local-news-updates-the-miami-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/213819\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Let our people breathe’: Miami Gardens council blocks El Dorado warehouse plan after resident outcry | Local News & Updates | The Miami Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Miami Gardens residents won a major victory last Wednesday after the City Council voted 4-3 against a controversial rezoning<\/a>request tied to El Dorado Furniture, killing a proposal that would have converted a 4.21-acre parcel near Venetian Gardens from single-family residential to heavy industrial.<\/p>\n

The ordinance would have allowed the company to expand its warehouse operations southwest of its current location. But after weeks of community organizing, petitions and public comments, a majority of council members decided to block the plan.<\/p>\n

Mayor Rodney Harris and Councilwomen Linda Julien and Katrina Wilson, who represent the area, voted in favor of the ordinance. Vice Mayor Robert Stephens III, Councilman Reggie Leon, and Councilwomen Katrina Baskin and Dr. Michelle Powell voted against it.<\/p>\n

\"Disagreement\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Residents stand up when Myya Passmore asks them at the podium to show disagreement against the item.<\/p>\n

(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

Traffic concerns<\/p>\n

The decision followed extensive public comment through which residents raised alarms about traffic, pollution and transparency. City planning staff said the applicant had made several changes since the proposal first came before the council in February.<\/p>\n

\"Traffic<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Residents hold signs raising alarms of pollution and traffic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

Residents and councilmembers had raised concerns about traffic in the Venetian Gardens neighborhood. Myya Passmore, a local organizer and resident since 2019, said she has repeatedly requested safety improvements.<\/p>\n

\"Myya<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Myya Passmore, organizer and resident of the Venetian Gardens neighborhood.<\/p>\n

(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin the last two weeks, we\u2019ve experienced about seven accidents caused by cut-through traffic that comes through the residential area. We\u2019ve seen two hit-and-runs and two cars that hit homes and a gate,\u201d Passmore told The Miami Times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She added that large trucks making wide turns on Northwest 42nd Avenue already disrupt traffic flow and warned the expansion could worsen congestion.<\/p>\n

City staff and the applicant, however, maintained that the expansion would not increase traffic. Planning and zoning director Reginald White said the developer agreed to add a landscaped buffer wall, connect sidewalks in front of the site, relocate commercial vehicle areas away from Northwest 44th Court, and enter into a restrictive covenant limiting the site to warehouse use.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Opposing\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Residents hold signs opposing the rezoning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

White and the applicant pointed to a traffic analysis showing no significant increase in trips. Bill Pfeffer of Bowman Consulting, representing El Dorado, said the study evaluated both warehouse operations and national trip-generation standards.<\/p>\n

\"Bill<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bill Pfeffer of Bowman Consulting, representing El Dorado.<\/p>\n

(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of the trips generated from this warehouse facility are actually generated from a sale that takes place at a showroom off-site,\u201d Pfeffer said. \u201cThe reason we\u2019re expanding this warehouse is to better circulate those shipments internally. The number of trucks entering and leaving the site today will be the number of trucks entering and leaving the site in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that the expansion \u201cwould only add seven peak hour trips,\u201d according to the Institute of Transportation Engineers manual, arguing that the project would maintain current traffic because El Dorado would not add driveway access on Northwest 44th Court.<\/p>\n

Health concerns<\/p>\n

Residents, however, said the traffic analysis was not enough and argued the city should not move forward without a broader look at air quality and existing neighborhood conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough we heard from the consultants that allegedly there’s going to be no increased traffic at this location with the rezoning, we can’t say for sure that that’s the case,\u201d said Z Spicer, a resident and Catalyst Miami\u2019s climate justice community organizer.<\/p>\n

\"Passmore<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“This is our health. If you\u2019re not tracking [air quality and traffic], and you\u2019re just giving a nice PowerPoint, how are we really assessing how this will impact us?\u201d -Myya Passmore, resident<\/p>\n

(Myya Passmore)<\/p>\n

Passmore said the issue goes beyond a single presentation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our health,\u201d Passmore said. \u201cNo traffic study has been done, and it comes off a bit biased because they’re doing their own studies saying what won’t happen. If you\u2019re not tracking [air quality and traffic], and you\u2019re just giving a nice PowerPoint, how are we really assessing how this will impact us?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Cheryl Holder, founder and co-chair of Florida Clinicians for Climate Action, urged council members to consider the health consequences of diesel exhaust and industrial encroachment in Black communities.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dr. Cheryl Holder, founder and co-chair of Florida Clinicians for Climate Action, speaks at the meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere you live, work and play is more impactful for your health than your DNA,\u201d Holder said. \u201cTruck diesel exhaust releases fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which gets into children’s lungs, increases the risk of asthma, lung disease, heart disease, and then cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents with existing health conditions echoed those concerns. Lynette Hickenbottom, a 73-year-old resident and two-time cancer survivor, said she lives with the effects of poor air daily.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hear a lot of stuff about the traffic analysis, and I heard very little from the people who own the place about the air quality. That is so important,\u201d she said. \u201cI take asthma medications, and this is my survival every day.\u00a0I must know that it’s below 50 \u2014 the air quality \u2014 because if it’s above 50, it’s poor air quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lynette<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lynette Hickenbottom, a 73-year-old resident and two-time cancer survivor, holds a sign urging council members to vote no.<\/p>\n

(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

Referring to a recent warehouse fire, she added, \u201cWe all remember March 6 with the burning of the warehouse, and what it actually affected me, and I live way over that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Applicants and city staff noted that environmental and health studies aren’t required for zoning decisions. However, Passmore cited the city’s Land Development Regulations<\/a>, emphasizing that potential harms or benefits should not be overlooked just because they are \u201cindirect, intangible or not readily quantifiable,\u201d and argued that officials can still weigh broader impacts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCriteria F says you have to care about things you can\u2019t always see, like the air we breathe,\u201d Passmore said. \u201cWe are facing a triple threat of emissions from Opa-locka Airport, 826 expressway, M-DCPS bus depot, and the existing industrial and commercial district.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hickenbottom<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lynette Hickenbottom, a 73-year-old resident and two-time cancer survivor with asthma, displays the medicines she takes every day while speaking to the dais.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

Dais turns tense\u00a0<\/p>\n

Councilman Leon seized on those concerns and pushed to delay the vote so that the city and the applicant could explore air quality testing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to accomplish is that our residents made a concern, and we were elected to take care of our residents,\u201d Leon said. \u201cThey brought it to us. It\u2019s our responsibility to let our people breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson said she did not oppose studying air quality but objected to delaying a business that had followed the city\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I disagree with is penalizing a business that may not be responsible for the air quality issue,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we are concerned about our residents and we believe that all of the factors that we’ve just enumerated, then what we need to do is do a comprehensive study to really discuss what this area is subject to, but not at the expense of someone who has complied with the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exchange escalated when Leon pressed further.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut these are our residents. Don\u2019t they deserve it?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Wilson fired back.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t do that. Don\u2019t put any residents on me, because that\u2019s unacceptable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

After a brief recess, Leon withdrew the motion to table the item, and the city voted on the ordinance itself.<\/p>\n

\u2018Heart of the city\u2019<\/p>\n

Residents credited the outcome to community pressure. Passmore called it \u201ca good start to listening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how authentic it is, but I\u2019m gonna take this win today,\u201d she said, thanking council members who voted no.<\/p>\n

\"Resident<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Resident Keisha Guyton after the vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n

Resident Keisha Guyton said she felt encouraged that officials ultimately sided with residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel really good that they voted on the residents because, more importantly, residents are the heart of the city,\u201d Guyton said.<\/p>\n

Guyton argued businesses should not be prioritized over the people who live nearby and questioned whether the company had invested in the community. She also expressed disappointment with Wilson\u2019s stance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt that she was more concerned about giving the corporate more contingencies than thinking about the quality of life of the residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Guyton said the win proved a vital point.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe power of the people is greater than the people in power,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miami Gardens residents won a major victory last Wednesday after the City Council voted 4-3 against a controversial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":213820,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[97624,97627,97625,97620,97623,123,97622,97619,125,124,97621,97626,97628],"class_list":["post-213819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-black-community-health-and-air-quality","tag-community-organizing-miami-gardens","tag-diesel-exhaust-concerns","tag-el-dorado-furniture-warehouse-expansion","tag-industrial-rezoning-opposition","tag-miami","tag-miami-gardens-city-council","tag-miami-gardens-rezoning-vote","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-venetian-gardens-traffic-concerns","tag-warehouse-rezoning-denied","tag-zoning-and-environmental-justice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213819","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=213819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}