Miami-Dade Commission Lifts Ban On New Cities

MIAMI-DADE (CBSMiami) -- Miami-Dade County Commissioners lifted a nearly five-year-old ban Tuesday that prohibited neighborhoods from incorporating and becoming independent cities.

According to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald, the city voted 11-0 to approve ending the ban.

The ban, which was implemented in 2007, was created out of concerns about what elected officials believed were too many neighborhoods seeking to break away from the county without enough preparation or studies on how it would it affect the county as a whole. The county feared loss of control and revenue, according to the Herald.

The move stymied the efforts of several communities considering incorporation before the ban was imposed. They were the Sky Lake and Highland Lakes neighborhoods west of Aventura, the Fontainebleau community near Sweetwater, and portions of North-Central Miami-Dade east of Hialeah.

Two other groups, in Biscayne Gardens and on Fisher Island, had also taken early steps to become a city. Miami-Dade already has 34 municipalities.

Commissioners didn't decide questions about paying annual fees tot he county as a price for incorporating or whether the towns would get a share of money Miami-Dade collects in a half-penny transportation tax, according to the Herald.

The move could also prompt other clusters of the county to consider exploring cityhood and eventually reshape Miami-Dade government.

Those who support incorporation said cities encourage more accountability and more local control of land-use and tax issues. Critics said it fosters disparity between wealthy and poor areas and leads to boundary disputes.

The commission will hold public meetings on many of the matters relating to incorporation in the future.

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