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State lawmakers back off plans to weaken urban development boundaries

Miami-Dade County's urban development boundary protects farms and wetlands from being paved over for development.
Pedro Portal
/
Miami Herald
Miami-Dade County's urban development boundary protects farms and wetlands from being paved over for development.

A bill that could have weakened urban development boundaries, like the one in Miami-Dade County, didn’t make it through the Florida legislative session that ended Friday.

In the final hours, lawmakers removed a section in a larger land-use bill. It would have lowered the commission vote needed to move boundaries in Miami-Dade, Orange and Seminole counties to make way for development.

Another section requiring a study on the effectiveness of such rural boundaries was also removed.

For much of the session, the measures drew fierce opposition from local government officials and environmental groups. Miami-Dade’s boundary was created about half a century ago to protect wetlands and farms from development.

READ MORE: Coalition of South Florida leaders calls for veto of pro-development bill

This is a News In Brief report. Visit WLRN News for in-depth reporting from South Florida and Florida news.

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