Neighbors sue to stop mowing, spraying and cutting of trees
In an obvious attempt to skewer the results of mandated environmental studies to verify the existence of threatened and endangered wildlife, the owners and developers of the old, abandoned Calusa Golf Course — which has become a natural preserve in the midst of suburbia — have cut down trees, mowed the lawn and sprayed for weeds or bugs.
What’s the hurry with all the activity all of a sudden?
Well, February is the start of nesting season for the protected Florida birds that live, feed and nest in what the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission has already confirmed is a rookery for the endangered tri-colored heron. The approval last year from the county to turn the 170 acres into 550 homes hinges on required tests to ensure development doesn’t threaten the endangered Florida bonneted bat, which has been spotted on the property, and the birds that feed and nest there. Those tests start in March.
Read related: Calusa veto never came but Miami-Dade’s Alcaldesa promises ‘protections’
And it helps the developer if they can scare away or kill some birds before anyone starts counting them.
They are also doing this even though they are still in court over the planned development. The Save Calusa group of neighbors filed suit in December, challenging the rezoning from park space to high density residential, claiming that the county failed to give proper notice — because the item was deferred from one meeting to another — and that the golf course owner failed to protect the threatened animals. The owners and the county were required to file a response to the lawsuit on Jan. 23 but sought an extension.
They are just stalling so they can do as much damage as possible before the wildlife tests are done.
Save Calusa had to file an emergency motion Thursday asking a judge to immediately stop any more disruptive activity. “We are asking the court to tell them to knock it off,” said attorney David Winker.
You know, because the county sure isn’t doing anything.
“It’s unfortunate that residents have to spend their time and effort policing this developer, because none of this would be necessary if the county would just enforce its own rules,” Winker told Ladra.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava promised there would be protections when she failed to veto the commission’s approval of the rezoning. And developers didn’t wait long to test her will.
In two weeks, developers had big equipment out there tearing trees out of the ground. DERM staff inspected the site and explained that the owner was doing a “limited removal of Brazilian pepper, an invasive exotic, to access areas for environmental testing like soil sampling — testing required by the permitting process.”
Video taken by neighbors show there are birds that are clearly confused and upset, flying and walking around the debris as if they lost something.
Read related: Tree removal at Calusa causes concern for promised wildlife protections
The property owner was fined $500 on Dec. 16 for removing a large, healthy black olive. But these are the same speculators who paid $20 million or so in a secret settlement to get out of the covenant that would have kept the land a golf course. A $500 fine no es nada.
Neighbors have gotten other activities on video. They’ve posted photos and videos online of lawnmowers driving some white egrets crazy, workers hauling a boat to the lake — maybe to poison the birds food source — and spraying for weeds. They alert county officials who just give one excuse after another.
“The activity shown in this video is regular, ongoing routine maintenance on the lake and shoreline to control aquatic vegetation growth in and around the lake,” the Miami-Dade Department of Environmental Resource Management said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
Are they stupid or complicit? Ongoing routine maintenance?!?
This golf course has sat abandoned and there has been zero maintenance — demolition through neglect, actually — for more than 10 years. Why do they need to mow the lawn and spray for weeds if they’re just going to tear it all apart to build 550 homes?
Read related: Miami-Dade Commission votes to kill Calusa preserve for Kendall developer
“DERM has continued to closely monitor the site and conducts weekly site visits as part of the county’s commitment to enhanced monitoring and oversight of this project,” the statement said.
Well, apparently, the owner and developers of the property have found a way around that close monitoring. Pft.
On Thursday, the Save Calusa organization and Amanda Prieto, who represents the hundreds of neighbors who oppose the development, sued the county and the developers asking a judge to stop any “further actions to drive away wildlife.”
“Nesting is about to begin,” Prieto told Ladra. “We want to make sure its as peaceful as possible.”
Calusa developers try to scare away wildlife before county mandated study added by Ladra on
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