Miami-Dade commissioners voted 9-3 on Sept. 1 to let Kelly Tractor build a 2.7-million-square-foot headquarters on 246 acres of wetlands.
The project, west of Northwest 137th Avenue near the Dolphin Expressway, is the first approved beyond the county's Urban Development Boundary, or UDB, since 2013, Bisnow reported. The vote overrode a veto Mayor Daniella Levine Cava issued Feb. 1. The decision sets a countywide precedent for how commercial projects can win approval outside the boundary that separates urban Miami-Dade from wetlands and farmland.
Levine Cava signaled she would not block the revised plan a second time, telling the Miami Herald the protections for environmentally sensitive lands in the new version were "extensive."
Caterpillar Dealer Outgrew Its Doral Facility
The site sits in unincorporated Miami-Dade near Sweetwater. Plans call for indoor storage, administrative offices, classrooms, training facilities and sales offices for the Caterpillar dealer, which has outgrown its Doral facility. Kelly Tractor, a family-owned company based in Miami-Dade since the 1960s, first submitted plans in May 2023.
Text Amendment Strategy Draws Criticism From Environmental Groups
Rather than asking the county to move the UDB line, the company used a "text amendment" that rewrote what can be built outside the boundary. That approach drew sharp criticism from environmental groups.
"It doesn't move the UDB," Laura Reynolds, science director for the Hold the Line Coalition, told the Miami Herald. "It just makes it irrelevant."
Environmental groups say roughly 162 acres of wetlands sit on the development site in the North Trail Basin. The Everglades Coalition described the basin in a letter to commissioners as one of the county's most important remaining wetland landscapes, The Real Deal reported. Those wetlands filter pollutants before water reaches Biscayne Bay and the Everglades, recharge the drinking water aquifer and reduce flooding.
Kelly Tractor Commits to Wetlands Preservation, Emergency Support
Under the approved plan, Kelly Tractor committed to preserving at least 63 acres of wetlands on the site and about 20 acres elsewhere, putting roughly 80 acres into public ownership. Commissioner Raquel Regalado, widely seen as the swing vote after previously opposing the project, voted yes and praised the wetlands commitment.
The company also agreed to give the county priority access to its equipment during emergencies and advance notice before selling its current Doral headquarters.
Three Commissioners Vote No, Cite Available Land Inside UDB
Commissioners Danielle Cohen Higgins, Vicki Lopez and Micky Steinberg voted no. Commissioner Marleine Bastien was absent.
Cohen Higgins, who noted the application had been deferred eight times, called the outcome "an example of attrition," saying supporters kept deferring until they had enough votes, Political Cortadito reported. She said sufficient land exists inside the UDB for Kelly Tractor to build what it needs.
Deputy Mayor Roy Coley told commissioners that Kelly Tractor had demonstrated an economic need for expansion given its international equipment business and its role in emergency response across South Florida.
County to Draft New Rules for Future UDB Exceptions
In July, while the Kelly application was deferred, commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution directing county staff to draft new rules for text amendments outside the UDB. The resolution, sponsored by Regalado and co-sponsored by Commissioners René García and Steinberg, would require future applicants to demonstrate need, avoid sprawl and mitigate losses to environmentally sensitive land.
Bisnow reported that Kelly Tractor did not respond to a request for comment on the vote.
