The plan to stretch Miami-Dade's urban footprint has hit a legal wall, with the court siding with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) against Aligned Real Estate Holdings LLC, ruling a move to expand the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) came too late to be legal.
The judicial smackdown affirms that Aligned's application, which sought to push the UDB outwards, was brought forth after the statutory deadline and the Second Judicial Circuit Court wasn't having any of it, throwing the amendment out on that ground signaling that when it comes to expanding city limits, timing isn't just everything, it's the only thing.
This development drew words of vindication from Commissioner Cohen Higgins, a known opponent of the UDB project who represents the affected District, she didn't mince words when it came to her opposition to Aligned's ambition, "Today's ruling affirms the arguments and objections I, and so many others, made for almost a year in 2022 pleading with the board to stop this environmentally disastrous UDB expansion," as she was quoted Miami-Dade Government's news release.
Pledging her commitment to the environment and community, Commissioner Higgins added, "I stand now, as I did then, for the maintenance of the UDB in this area and for the protection and preservation of our environment," cementing her role as a watchdog for the ecological balance within her jurisdiction, she looks forward to potential future contests with the resolve that such an issue, should it rear its head again, shall be met with the same fervent community-led resistance.
