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Monroe County asks regional council to require evacuation modeling for massive Miami-Dade development
Summary
Monroe County sent a resolution to the South Florida Regional Planning Council saying a proposed 7,800-unit City Park DRI near Miami Executive Airport "does not meet sufficiency requirements" because it excluded required evacuation (time) modeling, and asked the applicant to run a regional model or, absent that, provide sheltering for all residents.
Monroe County commissioners voted to send a resolution to the South Florida Regional Planning Council finding that a proposed Development of Regional Impact (City Park DRI) in Miami-Dade County "does not meet sufficiency requirements" because the application excluded required regional evacuation (time) modeling. The resolution asks that the applicant either fund and run the state-standard time model or, if modeling remains unavailable, provide sheltering accommodations for 100% of the development's residents.
Staff told the board the DRI would add roughly 7,800 housing units and an estimated 21,000'2,000 new residents near Miami Executive Airport. Emily, a county planner presenting the draft resolution, said the applicant provided 1,100 shelter spaces (about 5% of projected residents) and "did not conduct the time model or any other regional evacuation study," and that the county's position is based on a contractual agreement that required the evacuation modeling. The resolution directs the county clerk to transmit Monroe County's finding to the South Florida Regional Planning Council and also to copy Miami-Dade County leadership.
Commissioners pressed staff on public-safety implications. One commissioner noted Monroe County has only two evacuation lifelines out of the Keys and said adding 20,000 more residents on major evacuation routes would increase congestion and evacuation time. Staff said they had been coordinating with Miami-Dade emergency management and the Florida Department of Transportation to collect traffic-flow data and urged that the regional model be run so decision-makers can quantify impacts rather than rely on estimates.
The board voted, on a motion and second, to approve the resolution and transmit it to the regional planning council. The motion passed with no recorded opposition during the meeting.
The action is a formal, local-government request to the Regional Planning Council and does not change Miami-Dade's pending review; Miami-Dade remains the approval authority for the DRI.
