Despite pleas from two municipal mayors and the executive director of the Miami-Dade County League of Cities to defer the decision, the five Miami-Dade County commissioners on the policy council moved forward a proposal to put a five-year moratorium on any new annexation or incorporation applications of unincorporated industrial or commercially zoned areas to preserve tax funds and, thus, services.
Two pending annexation applications from Doral and one from Florida City will be exempt. Also exempt: an incorporation application in Northwest Dade.
Oh, and any annexations of single family areas. This is only for commercial and industrial zones.
“Why isn’t anybody talking about the residential areas? Why? Because they cost more to service,” said Commissioner Kevin Cabrera, who sponsored the item, which now goes to the full commission for final approval. “They want to cherry pick the areas that produce revenue.”
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Virginia Gardens Councilman Richard Block said their town should also be exempt because of attempts for 20 years to annex 450 acres just west of Miami International Airport, a process he called a “merry-go-round.” He mentioned other cities that have incorporated or annexed in those years and wondered if it’s because Virginia Gardens is a tiny square mile area with about 2,100 residents. In 2022, the county’s planning and zoning board recommended approval of the proposed annexation.
“All these other people got their brass ring and they got their annexations rammed through. We got stymied,” Block said. “We gotta be exempted from this ordinance and we gotta have an up or down vote.”
Miami Springs Mayor Maria Puente Mitchell asked for a deferral so the electeds in all 34 municipalities had “time to digest” 
the ordinance. “It came about very quickly and I don’t understand the rush.” She and others said there was no emergency. “It’s either a moratorium for all cities, or none at all,” Puente Mitchell said.
Sweetwater Mayor Jose “Pepe” Diaz, once a county commissioner not too long ago, said he understood how the county works but asked for a deferral so that there could be more clarity and understanding of the ramifications.
“We’re all good friends and we’re all trying to find solutions for our future,” Diaz said, asking the policy council not to “fast track” it.
Well, maybe they’re not such good friends.
“This is not a late filed item. This has been on the agenda for a week,” said Commission and Council Chairman Anthony Rodriguez. “If you guys didn’t catch it ’til Friday, I mean, then, lobby up. I don’t know.”
That could sound like the chairman is basically telling people to go through a gatekeeper.
Cabrera, who sponsored the item, said all the proper notice had been made and that it was an emergency because of the budget shortfall the county could be facing for the next five years, in part due to the establishment of the constitutional offices. “It’s a financial emergency,” he said, mentioning an item that passed the commission meeting last week to hire a consultant that would identify efficiencies and cost savings in different departments.
“We’re at a pivotal point in time with the constitutional offices being added,” Cabrera said. “If we continue to allow these areas that support these services, not support these services, what are we going to do?”
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He cited a memo from Mayor Daniella Levine Cava dated last July that says the proposed annexations of industrial and commercial zones “create significant financial impact” that could lead to adjusted services. “And adjusted services means less services,” Cabrera said.
Additionally, straw polls in both Miami Springs and Virginia Gardens indicated that a majority of the business owners and commercial property owners did not want to be annexed, Cabrera said. Business and property owners west of the MIA zone protested the proposed annexation into Virginia Gardens in January of 2023.
“Why should we raise taxes on small businesses to fund government that is out of control,” Cabrera said. “It’s not those small business fault that your millage rate is through the roof. Why don’t you review your finances.”
“Ultimately, a lot of these are land grabs,” Cabrera said.
Tough talk from someone who is going to be vacating that seat soon for an ambassadorship to Panama.
“A lot of people said they haven’t had time to digest this. It’s eight pages. It’s very simple. Unless its an exclusively residential area, there is a moratorium on annexations. It’s not that hard. If you and all the lawyers and all the members and all the city attorneys, village attorneys, town attorneys can’t figure out eight pages in more than a week, then I don’t know what to tell you, that’s very concerning.”
He saved his harshest words for Diaz.
“Mr. Diaz I know has called everybody under the moon, has not called me, the sponsor of the item. For somebody who says he has a lot of experience in county government, that’s kind of concerning,” Cabrera said. “And when he talks about process… it seems he has short term memory. In 2021, when he rammed through his annexations, which that was a ramming through, committee was waived and then he used his superpowers that is for emergencies related to Covid.”
Read related: Sweetwater annexation adds to tax rolls as Jose “Pepe” Diaz eyes mayor’s seat
“So if we want to talk about process, process was definitely not followed.”
He also reminded Diaz that he had voted in favor of two earlier moratoriums in 2005 and 2007.
“And those were about land grabs. This is because of financial issues,” Cabrera said. “We are protecting the county taxpayer.”
He said the five year term was necessary because the future of the constitutional offices and their costs are still unknown.
Commissioner Rene Garcia said he has always thought the county should all be incorporated and the county commission could just work on regional issues. But he supported the measure because of the uncertainty of future revenues and costs.
“It is a financial crisis, a financial issue that we have that we don’t know what it’s going to look like,” Garcia said.
Miami-Dade to halt commercial annexations, incorporations for 5 years added by Ladra on
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