M E M O R A N D U M
To: Honorable Members of the Town Council
From: Honorable Mayor Tim Meerbott
Date: June 17, 2020
Re: Supporting the Cutler Bay Properties Acquisition Proposal No. 4 Application Recommended by the Environmentally Endangered Lands Project Review Committee and Requests the Land Acquisition Selection Committee to Expedite the Process.
REQUEST
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A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF CUTLER BAY, FLORIDA, SUPPORTING THE CUTLER BAY PROPERTIES ACQUISITION PROPOSAL NO. 4 OF THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY'S ENVIRONMENTALLY ENDANGERED LANDS PROGRAM; PROVIDING FOR TRANSMITTAL; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
Miami-Dade County's Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program's focus is the protection and conservation of endangered lands. Concerned about the continuing loss of pinelands and other natural areas, Miami-Dade County voters approved a Property Tax that was collected between 1990 and 1992 to fund the acquisition, protection and maintenance of environmentally endangered lands. These lands (secured for preservation) support a diversity of species, outstanding geologic and natural features, and function as a sustaining component of our ecosystem.
The EEL Program and its partners have brought more than 20,700 acres of environmentally endangered lands into public ownership and manages 2,800 acres of natural lands within Miami-Dade County Parks, for a total of more than 23,500 acres protected. According to the EEL Program, the following acquired lands are of most significance: Biscayne Coastal Wetlands, Castellow Hammock, Oleta River Corridor, Rockdale Pineland, and South Dade Wetlands.
Annually, the EEL Program considers proposed acquisition sites by the public. Proposals by government agencies are reviewed semiannually. Each site is inspected by County staff and citizen volunteers who are members of the Land Acquisition Selection Committee (LASC). Following a public hearing, LASC recom...
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