The Miami-Dade County Commission is seriously considering allowing skank developers to destroy more of the Everglades because, apparently, they can't see any reason not to.
Sure, the South Florida Water Management says that there isn't enough water to support new development in that region, and construction in that area will pollute our existing water supply; the Biscayne Aquifer. The aquifer is refreshed from water filtering down through the ground along the eastern reaches of the Everglades - exactly where thegreedy scumbags developers want to build.
Sure, the Florida Department of Community Affairs vetoed the idea, and submitted reports that show that development not only will have a negative impact on the immediate area, but the county as a whole.
Sure, a vast majority of the county's population is vehemently opposed to this action.
So what is the compelling reason to ignore professional advice and voters wishes?
And make no mistake: more western expansion is stupid.
There are basically two kinds of projects under discussion: one involves housing, and the other involves Lowe's, the home improvement chain.
HOUSING
Miami leads the nation in Urban Sprawl. Sprawl occurs when developers create new housing tracts beyond current living space. This spreads out the population, which doesn't sound too bad until you consider that most of the jobs stay back in the downtown areas. Developers lure potential homeowners to the far reaches of sprawl by dangling lower costs; the property costs less because it's not really in a terribly desirable location. Suckers people buy the homes because they ARE so cheap. The ultimate result is that the fabric of community is torn up because everyone is spread very thinly over a wide area. School costs increase because students have to be transported farther to schools.
Ah HA! This is where adrooling moron County Commissioner will say "But wait! The Skank Developer has promised to BUILD a school! And we need more schools anyway!"
They gloss over the fact that the school would be built as part of the new development.
And while it's true that we DO need more schools - or at least more classrooms - we don't need them in the Everglades. In fact, the schools we already have out in the western reaches of sprawl are underutilized. We need schools downtown, and back in core communities. A school built in a development we don't need will also be under-attended. It will only become a drain on our school system since it will cost more to staff it, and to supply it. And since there won't be enough students in the area to fill it AND the schools downtown are overcrowded, the School Board will try to solve both problems by busing students out west. In buses that use diesel fuel at $4.50 a gallon.
Which is why the Florida Department of Community Affairs has told the Commission to reject the requests to move the UDB.
LOWE'S
Lowe's wants more stores in Miami-Dade County. And honestly, so do I. So does anyone who has had to deal with the utter disaster that Home Depot has become in the last decade.
So as Lowe's was shopping around for land, it found that it could buy land outside the Urban Development Boundary for a lot less than land inside the UDB. That's because, of course, you can't BUILD on land outside the UDB.
And Lowe's knew that when it bought the land anyway.
So now they are crying to the County Commission that they've spent a lot of money, that Miami-Dade needs more Lowe's, that the people who chose to live far away from all the core communites with their shopping centers really, really NEED a home improvement store near them.
Of course, thesuckers idiots ill-advised consumers knew they would have to drive some distance back to the big shopping centers, just as Lowe's knew it couldn't build on the land it was buying.
CONCLUSION
If you like drinking water (or even simply having access to it); if you hate being stuck in traffic, if you hate seeing your property taxes climb while schools fail to educate our children, and if you believe that our County Commission should make decisions based on "compelling purpose," you need to call your commissioner and raise some hell.
And drop a note to Lowe's while you're at it. Tell them what I told them: if they open outside the UDB, you'll stick with the loathsome Home Depot.
Sure, the South Florida Water Management says that there isn't enough water to support new development in that region, and construction in that area will pollute our existing water supply; the Biscayne Aquifer. The aquifer is refreshed from water filtering down through the ground along the eastern reaches of the Everglades - exactly where the
Sure, the Florida Department of Community Affairs vetoed the idea, and submitted reports that show that development not only will have a negative impact on the immediate area, but the county as a whole.
Sure, a vast majority of the county's population is vehemently opposed to this action.
So what is the compelling reason to ignore professional advice and voters wishes?
"(where) it does say is we need a compelling purpose?''
- Commissioner José ''Pepe'' Diaz
That's a flat admission from a commissioner that the County Commission isn't acting on our behalf, but is making stupid decisions because it can. This is exactly why people call Miami-Dade a Banana Republic.
And make no mistake: more western expansion is stupid.
There are basically two kinds of projects under discussion: one involves housing, and the other involves Lowe's, the home improvement chain.
HOUSING
Miami leads the nation in Urban Sprawl. Sprawl occurs when developers create new housing tracts beyond current living space. This spreads out the population, which doesn't sound too bad until you consider that most of the jobs stay back in the downtown areas. Developers lure potential homeowners to the far reaches of sprawl by dangling lower costs; the property costs less because it's not really in a terribly desirable location.
Ah HA! This is where a
They gloss over the fact that the school would be built as part of the new development.
And while it's true that we DO need more schools - or at least more classrooms - we don't need them in the Everglades. In fact, the schools we already have out in the western reaches of sprawl are underutilized. We need schools downtown, and back in core communities. A school built in a development we don't need will also be under-attended. It will only become a drain on our school system since it will cost more to staff it, and to supply it. And since there won't be enough students in the area to fill it AND the schools downtown are overcrowded, the School Board will try to solve both problems by busing students out west. In buses that use diesel fuel at $4.50 a gallon.
Which is why the Florida Department of Community Affairs has told the Commission to reject the requests to move the UDB.
LOWE'S
Lowe's wants more stores in Miami-Dade County. And honestly, so do I. So does anyone who has had to deal with the utter disaster that Home Depot has become in the last decade.So as Lowe's was shopping around for land, it found that it could buy land outside the Urban Development Boundary for a lot less than land inside the UDB. That's because, of course, you can't BUILD on land outside the UDB.
And Lowe's knew that when it bought the land anyway.
So now they are crying to the County Commission that they've spent a lot of money, that Miami-Dade needs more Lowe's, that the people who chose to live far away from all the core communites with their shopping centers really, really NEED a home improvement store near them.
Of course, the
CONCLUSION
If you like drinking water (or even simply having access to it); if you hate being stuck in traffic, if you hate seeing your property taxes climb while schools fail to educate our children, and if you believe that our County Commission should make decisions based on "compelling purpose," you need to call your commissioner and raise some hell.
And drop a note to Lowe's while you're at it. Tell them what I told them: if they open outside the UDB, you'll stick with the loathsome Home Depot.
I'm glad/sad to see that it's not just the Home Depots up here that are rife with teh suck. And though it is appalling, I'm not surprised that the push to pave the Everglades has finally begun. When even Port St. Lucie is getting too full, the only way for the politicians to protect their phony-baloney jobs is to expand west. I'm really only surprised that it took this long. Trantor, here we come.
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