"The Sunpost" report asks Lowe's or the Everglades? Good quote from the article by Cynthia Archbold – an exchange between Commissioner Katy Sorenson and the Lobbyist Mayol:
But Sorenson wondered aloud how many of the residents understood that Lowe's wants to move the UDB and doesn't have to. "We have available land right next door," she told them, referring to 16 acres within the UDB that the chain store operator already owns. "We can have our cake and eat it too," she said.
As for the promise of a new high school, Sorenson called it "wishful thinking." She noted that Lowe's isn't offering to give away part of its land, but to sell it. She asked Mayol, "What kind of contract do you have with a charter school?"
"We don't," he replied. "We're waiting to see what the school district wants."
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Also see South Florida Business Journal:
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 9:38 AM EST
Controversial Lowe's store gets initial OK
South Florida Business Journal - by Paul Brinkmann and Oscar Pedro Musibay
The Miami-Dade County Commission has given initial approval to a proposed Lowe's Home Center outside the county's urban development boundary.
The commission voted 8-5 on the Lowe's application, although environmental advocates said development outside the boundary would further degrade the area's water supply, traffic flow and wildlife habitat near Everglades National Park. Developers and other project supporters say new roads for the development would ease congestion and the store would provide a needed retail outlet. To sweeten the pot, Lowe's offered to provide resources for a new charter high school.
The County Commission considered 13 controversial development amendments on Tuesday, four of which would move the urban development boundary west toward the Everglades. Out of those four, two were handed to the state with a favorable recommendation, one was rejected and one was passed to the state with no commission recommendation.
Lowe's has tried to get permission to build in western Miami-Dade County before, but faced opposition because the county needed permits to expand water capacity. The South Florida Water Management District recently granted those permits.
Tuesday's vote moves the Lowe's application to the Florida Department of Community Affairs for review, with a favorable recommendation.
"We've spent billions on Everglades restoration. We don't want to see anything that would affect that," said Julie Hill, a policy associate with Audubon of Florida.
However, Jose Rodriguez of Concerned Citizens of West Dade said the area is not the Everglades and has already been disturbed by development.
"The school is the biggest plus," he added.
Hill said the Audubon group realizes the area is not pristine wetlands, but any chance of restoring it would be eliminated by more development. Other groups opposing the developments include Clean Water Action and the Sierra Club.
County Mayor Carlos Alvarez can only veto the entire transmittal of applications to the state, not individual projects. Spokeswoman Suzy Trutie said Alvarez would not comment on the urban boundary proposals until he had a chance to review them.
The Miami-Dade Planning and Zoning Department recommended denial of the amendments to the comprehensive master plan that would move the boundary. The boundary was set in the 1975 to limit the sprawl of new roads, homes and businesses that already consume most of the available land in South Florida.
The southern part of the state has been experiencing drought for more than a year. Lake Okeechobee, the area's backup water reservoir, is at an all-time low level.
Applicants pushing for approval of the projects said a new permit allowing more water reuse will provide enough for expansion, but opponents argue the new water permit is needed for existing development.
"We need the water," said Mark Oncavage, conservation chair of the Sierra Club's Miami Group. "Our first priority is to protect natural resources."
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