RedLand is under attack from all angles by developers. No patch of green is safe, as it can serve as a possible development area for Condos or townhomes. We come to you and ask for your help in stopping BlueNest Development LLC from building just east of Orchard Jungle, on 268th street and East of 154th street. This patch of green is home to an abundance of wildlife life, prehistoric solutions holes and rare ferns not found anywhere else. Please see Rezoning Plan Number: CDMP20240016 and Zoning Plan Number: Z2024000242.

BlueNest LLc is proposing to rezone 33.14 acres from Agriculture zoning to Residential Zoning in order to build 500 townhomes intended to fit over 2000 residents in an area with very little space for access roads and to support the additional population .

This development will encroach onto the Orchard Jungle, now Hattie Baur Preserve  and add over 2,000 residents to an area that can't sustain 2,000 additional people.

Current Residences:

-            Major disruption of current residents’ lively hood in order to extend water line from 272th street, through 154 Ave and then east to 268th. Also, severe disruptions when incorporating sewer lines from SW 272nd Street to SW 152nd Court.

-            BlueNest is proposing to build 500 townhomes to house over 2000 people in a secluded area with one way in and one way out. This proposed plan has a canal in the back which prevents traffic from going through, therefore all traffic is directed from 268 through 152nd CT to 272 ST. This is of major concern as it will make it very difficult to commute with limited road access. Expanding new roads would be an encroachment onto existing properties.

Traffic:

-            Traffic is already bad, the proposed roads to this development will bottleneck the entire community and spill traffic onto the neighboring roads!

•            The community is in a Nuclear and hurricane evacuation zone. In case of an emergency, evacuation it will be impossible with over 2,000 people trying to exit with the limited proposed roads. Not to mention, there isn’t sufficient shelters to temporarily house displaced citizens in the event of a major storm. 
• More recently, we had the Wild Fire at Overseas Highway, which serves as an example of what can happen to traffic in case of an emergency. Overseas Highway's traffic was completely blocked from going into and out of the the keys due to the wild fire. Same thing can occur in the neighborhood of RidegeWood, on SW 268 st and 152 CT. 

Resources:

-            Schools:  This is a project that is adding 835 new residents to an enclosed secluded area, where quality schools are very scarce. Current residents are driving 40 minutes north to take their kids to their schools.

-            Police and emergency Services:  The area in the last 5 years, since the uptake in development has seen an increased amount of crime, ranging from theft, shootings, and home burglaries.  Most recently, a homeowner’s dogs were poisoned to death and over 300 parrots were stolen from his property.    

-            The runoff of the development will also end up in the Canal behind it, adding more pollutants to the water that will end up in Biscayne Bay and in our water table of our wells!

Wild Life and EEL

-           BlueNest is encroaching on Hattie Baur and Orchard Jungle Preserve which is a bird migration route.

•            This entire area where the development plan is proposed to be built, receives hundreds of birds species protected under the Federal Migratory bird treaty act, such as the buntings, nighthawks, a variety of hummingbirds, falcons, owls and hawks.

-       Light Pollution, Miami Dade's reviewer Brandon Fennell from Transit wants the corridor to the Busway to be lit up as one of the conditions. This neighborhood has not street light which is why Ridgewood serves as as wildlife haven to the many species already inhabiting this neighborhood. Adding light any where in the neighborhood will add huge light pollution and it will affect rare and light sensitive species such as the bonneted bat, Eastern Screeching owls, Barn owls, Nighthawk, Cotton Tail Rabbits  and others!

-            Folio 30-6933-000-0254 & 30-6933-000-0252 are part of the Subject Property as is shown in Red in the Subject property Map. These folios are right next to Orchard Jungle. These lands are an example of what old Florida looked like before developments. This area houses box tortoises, cottontails, screech owls, barn owls, gray foxes, opossums and racoons which are all part of this delicate habitat.

-            This habitat is filled with prehistoric solution holes and is home to a variety of animals such as Bald Eagle, mammals and rare plants not found anywhere else. This development will be a threat to that natural habitat which is considered an Environmentally Endangered Lands and therefore is protected under EEL and should not be rezone.

-            Additionally, where the county is proposing a third access road, cuts through a parcel that is listed under the EEL, Folio:30-6933-000-0341.

Miami Dade EEL Request:

-            We strongly request that Miami Dade reviews the last piece of land that borders the canal parallel to 268 between 154 Ave and 152 CT, which is the last piece of undeveloped land. We propose that MDC purchase the remaining properties that are currently participating in The Environmentally Endangered Lands Program (EEL) and further develop Hattie Bauer Preserve to the east.

In conclusion, this neighborhood has been around since the 1950s. The current zoning allowed for 1acre built in an agricultural zone as this.

What is the purpose of agricultural zoning and EEL Zoning if a developer can layered up with attorneys to rezone as they please?

It is not right to the land and is not right to the current residents that chose the Redland to escape the city life, to now have the city life encroach on them.