The state needs to let Miami-Dade contain urban sprawl and leave our UDB alone

Miami-Dade County’s Urban Development Boundary (UDB) is more than a planning tool, it is a promise to protect our drinking water, reduce flooding risk, preserve farmland and safeguard the Everglades that define South Florida. That is why we stand united in opposition to House Bill 399 and any attempt to lower the threshold required to expand the line. The legislation would reduce the vote threshold to move the UDB from a super majority of the 13-member County Commission, regardless of which commissioners are present for a vote, to a simple majority, which could be as few as four votes.The UDB is a 78-mile-long legal divide the county created to separate urban development from rural and environmental land. For decades, it has directed growth inward, where roads, water, sewer and transit infrastructure already exist, rather than pushing development into environmentally sensitive lands and flood-prone areas. It protects the wellfields that supply our underground drinking water. It supports our agricultural economy and protects the wetlands of the Greater Everglades that still remain outside of Everglades National Park. And it shields taxpayers from the enormous cost of extending infrastructure far beyond the urban core.