The following article appeared in the Miami Herald on Friday, October 31...BY MATTHEW HAGGMAN
Days before a group led by home builder Lennar launches an effort to win government approval for a new suburb on Miami-Dade County's western fringe, two of Miami's most prominent developers said the project should be rejected.
On Thursday, Armando Codina, South Florida's biggest commercial builder, and Jorge Perez, the region's largest condominium developer, said now is not the time to allow construction of a 19,000-person community near the Everglades.
To build the suburb, called Parkland, Lennar must persuade county commissioners to move the Urban Development Boundary, which limits large-scale building along the western and southern edges of the county.
''For residential development, it makes no sense to move the line,'' said Flagler Development Chairman Codina, who himself has twice won approval to move the UDB for offices and industrial parks.
''There are lots of opportunities within the boundary to build residential right now . . . But all applications should be judged on their own merits,'' said Codina, who made his comments during the Urban Land Institute's annual meeting in Miami Beach.
Perez, chairman and chief executive of Related Group, took his objection a step further.
''I think it's immoral to move the boundary,'' said Perez, who has focused on building condos and restaurants in urban areas.
''The urban boundary was done with a lot of planning and thinking,'' said Perez, also speaking at the ULI meeting. ``And that type of suburban development, when it comes to issues like the aquifer, the environment, traffic, it is the wrong type of urban policy.''
The developers' remarks come as Lennar and a group of prominent business leaders partnering in the Parkland project are set to begin public hearings Monday to win county approval for an expansion of the UDB.
''It's a shame that two developers would be so quick to react without having seen the merits of the project,'' said Jose Cancela, who heads up communications for the Parkland builders. ``Especially Armando, who has been the recipient of UDB moves on more than one occasion.
``As for Jorge, I would say he is highly motivated to make that statement because of the glut of condos that he is stuck with right now.''
The Parkland group is seeking government approval to put nearly 7,000 homes, shops, offices, a hospital and schools on 961 acres west of Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport. The rectangular patch of agricultural land west of the UDB runs from Southwest 162nd Avenue to Krome Avenue and Southwest 136th Street to Southwest 152nd Street.
Miami-Dade County's Department of Planning and Zoning already has recommended that county commissioners deny the boundary change, saying there is plenty of room to build within the UDB and that the project is contrary to county policy encouraging infill and urban redevelopment.
Lennar, one of the nation's largest home builders, and its partners contend that Parkland is an example of smart planning, with schools and offices within walking distance of homes and eco-friendly construction.
Among those partnering with Lennar on the project are Century Homebuilders President Sergio Pino, commercial builder Edward Easton, lobbying firm chief and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Chairman Rodney Barreto, Sedano's supermarket President Agustin Herran and U.S. Century Bank Chairman Ramon Rasco.
If approved, the project would be the biggest change to the UDB for a residential project in two decades. The developers hope to start delivering homes in 2014, after the credit crunch has eased and the current outsized inventory of unsold homes in Miami-Dade has shrunk.
