In 2014, HTL inititiated a campaign against the destructive highway, fundraising and assembling a pro bono legal team. In 2019, the team filed an administrative challenge to halt construction of the highway.
We succeeded in obtaining a recommended order from Judge Suzanne Van Wyk in our favor. On June 15, 2021, Governor DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet voted 3-1 to approve changes to the Miami-Dade Comprehensive Plan allowing for the development of a six-lane tollway outside the UDB and disregarding Judge Van Wyk’s order that the 836 extension is inconsistent with the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, the County’s Comprehensive Development Master Plan and with state law.
That official order was passed on September 21, 2021, and the clock to appeal is ticking.
HTL will continue to assist the plaintiffs, Michelle Garcia and the Tropical Audubon Society, in the appeal. We will also work to deny the 404 permit and the Environmental Resource Program permits by organizing experts, the Biscayne Bay and Southeastern Everglades Restoration plan (BBSEER) and advocating for the acquisition of areas critical to restoration in the Bird Drive Basin.
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