Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has vetoed an industrial development project planned for 245 acres outside the Urban Development Boundary (UDB), citing environmental and procedural concerns. The decision comes after county commissioners, acting as the comprehensive development master plan and zoning board, approved a text amendment on January 22 that would have allowed Kelly Tractor to construct its headquarters on land west of Sweetwater, including more than 160 acres of wetlands.
A supermajority vote by county commissioners is needed to override the mayor’s veto. The commission is scheduled to revisit the matter on February 18.
Kelly Tractor, which has operated in Florida since the 1930s and is currently based in Doral, supplies heavy equipment such as hydraulic drills for excavators. The company argues it needs a larger headquarters to support local infrastructure projects like highways and airports, according to reporting by South Florida NPR affiliate WLRN.
Despite recommendations from Miami-Dade staff members to deny the project—citing available land within the UDB and insufficient mitigation plans for wetlands—the county board moved forward with approval. Staff had previously identified the wetlands at the proposed site as having high environmental value.
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 stated that proposals submitted through text amendments bypass “robust growth analysis and planning procedures” typically required for traditional UDB expansions.
At the January meeting, Kelly Tractor agreed to mitigate any unaddressed wetland impact elsewhere within Miami-Dade but did not commit to prioritizing mitigation in the North Trail Basin as requested by county staff. Levine Cava highlighted that wetlands provide important functions such as flood protection, water filtration before reaching aquifers, and serving as wildlife habitats.
Chris Kelly, president of Kelly Tractor, declined to comment directly on the veto but referenced a 2017 engineering study commissioned by Miami-Dade that had identified their property as suitable for other major infrastructure uses—a plan that was ultimately not pursued.
Development proposals outside Miami-Dade’s UDB have historically faced significant challenges. In 2022, commissioners approved another large-scale project—the South Dade Logistics & Technology District—but only after multiple public hearings and developer concessions. Levine Cava vetoed that initiative as well; however, her veto was overridden by commissioners before litigation stalled progress in court two years later.
