Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has vetoed a plan for an industrial project outside the county’s Urban Development Boundary (UDB), citing environmental concerns, particularly regarding wetlands. The project, proposed by Kelly Tractor, would have been built on 245 acres west of Sweetwater, with more than 160 acres of the site consisting of wetlands.
On January 22, county commissioners approved a text amendment that would have allowed Kelly Tractor to construct its new headquarters for selling, storing, and repairing heavy equipment. This decision went against recommendations from Miami-Dade staff members, who argued that there is enough land available within the UDB for industrial development and questioned how the company would address mitigation of affected wetlands.
Levine Cava’s veto sets up another confrontation between her office and the county commission over UDB expansion. A supermajority vote from commissioners will be needed to override her decision when they revisit the issue on February 18.
Kelly Tractor has operated in Florida since the 1930s and currently bases its operations in Doral. The company has stated it needs a larger facility to support local infrastructure projects like highways and airports.
In a memo issued Sunday, Levine Cava explained her reasons for blocking the project: “The presentation of a text change in this case enabled substantially less specificity and commitment on the future development than an application that followed a UDB amendment process.” She also noted that proposals using text amendments bypass traditional procedures required for developments outside the UDB.
During discussions with commissioners on January 22, Kelly Tractor agreed to mitigate any portion of unmitigated wetlands elsewhere in Miami-Dade but did not commit to prioritizing mitigation in the North Trail Basin as requested by county staff. Levine Cava emphasized that these wetlands provide flood protection, water filtration before reaching Miami-Dade’s aquifer, and serve as wildlife habitats.
Chris Kelly, president of Kelly Tractor, declined to comment directly about the mayor’s veto. He referenced a 2017 engineering study prepared by CH2M for Miami-Dade County which had found that Kelly Tractor’s property was suitable for a new wastewater treatment plant—a plan that was never realized.
Building outside Miami-Dade’s UDB is controversial due to concerns about suburban sprawl onto farmland and environmentally sensitive areas like wetlands and parts of the Everglades. Such proposals are rarely approved and often face additional challenges even after approval.
A similar situation occurred in 2022 when county commissioners approved the South Dade Logistics & Technology District on 379 acres outside the UDB after several public hearings and concessions from developers Stephen Blumenthal and Jose Hevia. Mayor Levine Cava also vetoed that project but was overridden by commissioners; however, litigation later halted development efforts in court in 2024.
