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Court Nixes Homestead Jetport
The former Homestead Air Base area was battered by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. In the aftermath of the disaster, as reported in last August's Atlantic CoastWatch, Miami-Dade County and Florida state officials pushed hard to enable Homestead Air Base Developers, Inc. to build a major commercial airport on the site allowing for 236,000 flights a year or sixfold the previous military traffic.
Local communities expressed serious concerns. Environmental groups opposed the proposal, citing the proximity of Everglades National Park (8.5 miles) and Biscayne Bay National Park (2 miles), and the absence of a completed federally-required Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS).
Showing little interest in such arguments, the county last year won approval for the proposal from the state's Governor and Cabinet. But the Tropical Audubon Society and the Sierra Club Miami Group, supported by other organizations, appealed this ruling. Last December Florida's Third District Court of Appeals overturned it and awarded opponents a big win. In its decision, written by Judge Robert Shevin, the court delivered a sharp rebuke to Florida authorities. It found that the state and the county had erred in proceeding without the information to be provided by the SEIS. The judge added that habitat, stormwater, and noise management plans, needed to show that the project would be appropriate for the region, had not been prepared. He cited Florida law specifying that any expedited action must be "consistent with the state's responsibility to protect the environment, manage growth, and fulfill its proprietary responsibilities."
While Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas was quoted as calling the court's ruling no more than a "procedural delay," Barbara Lange of the Sierra Club Miami Group reckons it unlikely that the county will attempt another major move on Homestead until after the SEIS and the other studies have been completed. That process could last until the end of the year. |
