{"id":243947,"date":"2026-04-23T23:08:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T23:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/243947\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T23:08:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T23:08:26","slug":"miami-dade-commissioners-defer-controversial-kelly-tractor-project-amid-environmental-worries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/243947\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami-Dade commissioners defer controversial Kelly Tractor project amid environmental worries"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIAMI \u2014 Miami-Dade County Hall played host to another discussion Thursday on a controversial proposal<\/a> by heavy equipment dealer Kelly Tractor in an area that includes acres of wetlands that environmental advocates say will further degrade groundwater quality.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s previously been blocked<\/a> by Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.<\/p>\n

Company representatives said their development project, located in west Miami-Dade near Northwest 137th Avenue and the end of the Dolphin Expressway, will bring much-needed jobs. <\/p>\n

Company owner Chris Kelly added the county has allowed another private business to develop a property right next to the proposed location of their development project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe county commission three years ago passed the Tamiami 137, which is a truck terminal with plans show a terminal with parking for trucks, and so we kind of followed that application because it\u2019s pretty much right next door to ours,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins pushed back on that comparison.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if it\u2019s good for the goose, it\u2019s good for the gander? He is operating under logic that\u2019s rather linear,\u201d Cohen Higgins said. \u201cThat application was different. It\u2019s not the exact same application. The difference with that truck parking application is that we really did at that time have a true need for legal truck parking in our community. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur residents were experiencing heavy truck parking that was unauthorized and that in and of itself created extraordinary environmental damage, not to mention disruption in traffic and quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some commissioners raised concerns over the proposal, others expressed support, including Commissioner JC Bermudez.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any problem with this project,\u201d Bermudez said.<\/p>\n

Some commissioners expressed concern about the process this application took to reach County Hall \u2014 via text amendment \u2014 which, in effect, moves the county\u2019s Urban Development Boundary designed to prevent urban sprawl and protect natural resources, including the county\u2019s aquifer, in an area flanked by \u201ctwo environmental extraordinary precious resources,\u201d Cohen Higgins said \u2014 the Everglades and Biscayne Bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to put a stop to this,\u201d Cohen Higgins said. \u201cAnd my concern regarding precedent is that if we continue to have applications that come in the form of text amendments, as opposed to applications to move the Urban Development Boundary, we\u2019re going to get a plethora of them. And our Urban Development Boundary is going to cease to exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Levine Cava, in vetoing the amendment, said the project should have been a UDB proposal, which would have required more data and specifics.<\/p>\n

The item was deferred to the full board meeting on May 5.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe applicant would need nine votes, as opposed to the general majority votes, as long as the mayor vetoes,\u201d Bermudez said. \u201cIf the mayor vetoes, you need a supermajority to override the veto. So that\u2019s the real issue at hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut in the end, we need to make a decision and we need to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the Hold the Line Coalition<\/a>, the project will remove \u201c247 acres of land available for agriculture\u201d located \u201cwithin the North Trail Basin and contains Wetlands of Regional Significance.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also within \u201cthe core foraging area of the federally threatened wood stork, within consultation area for the endangered Florida bonneted bat as well as just east of the (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Florida Panther Focus Area,\u201d according to the group.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Raquel Regalado pitched a different path forward to protecting the wetlands and mitigating disruptions to the county\u2019s aquifer.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy request at the last meeting (was) to create a habitat with a corridor to protect the wetlands, to increase the covenant, and to give ownership of the wetlands to Miami-Dade County is the path forward,\u201d she added. \u201cWe cannot prevent property owners from wanting to do things on their property, even if that is outside the UDB, including building homes. They can do certain things. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to preserve our wetlands for our aquifer. And that I agree with the mayor on. We just disagree on how we get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/p>\n

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