Vidal: Slow plans for creating cities

Two days before a major vote on incorporation, Dade County Manager Armando Vidal urged Metro commissioners Tuesday to put the brakes on a rush to turn neighborhoods into cities.

Fearing the tax loss could hit poor unincorporated areas the hardest, Vidal wants to delay all incorporation moves - including those under way in Aventura, Destiny and Pinecrest - long enough to study ways of protecting the impoverished communities.

“I’ve always advocated doing this rationally rather than haphazardly,” said Vidal. “We need to ensure that what’s developed is equitable to all areas of the community.”

Vidal’s plan, outlined in a memo to the commissioners Tuesday, calls for the creation of a Boundaries Commission to make recommendations on each neighborhood incorporation request. The new advisory commission would review how the proposed city meets several guidelines:

• Any boundaries must include adjacent areas of minority and low-income residents - if those residents want to be included.
• There must be at least 50,000 residents. Vidal says that would help ensure cost efficiency for municipal services.
• The plan calls for the city’s average property value to fall within a set range. That would ease the county’s responsibility by forcing wealthier enclaves to take in poorer ones.

Vidal’s memo frustrated pro-incorporation activists who scoffed at the idea of more study on something several county boards have been reviewing since the early 1970s.

“This is just another stalling tactic,” said Shirley Gibson, a leader in the push to create a city in the North Central Dade area called Destiny.

Jose Rojas, leading West Kendall’s move to incorporate, said it would create “cookie cutter” cities.

Gary Matzner, helping lead Pinecrest’s push for cityhood, had another name: “I call these ‘Goldilocks Cities’ - they can’t be too cold, they can’t be too hot. They can only be just right.”

They attacked the notion that a city must have more than 50,000 residents to be cost efficient.

“What’s he saying, ‘Coral Gables is too small to be a city?’ ” said Matzner. Gables has a population of about 40,000.

Vidal’s plan also called for the creation of 22 elected “community councils” in the unincorporated areas that don’t form cities.

The councils would have authority over zoning in their communities, could choose how to spend money allocated by the Metro Commission and could make recommendations to the county about what kind of services are needed in their area.

Portrait and Explanatory Callout

Portrait identifies Armando Vidal, not Gary. No separate photo credit visible in this report block.

Fearing the tax loss could hit poor areas the hardest, County Manager Armando Vidal wants to delay all incorporation moves.