County Raises Metrobus and Metrorail Fares to $2.75

Metrobus and Metrorail fares will rise from $2.25 to $2.75 after the County Commission voted 9–4 for the 50-cent increase following more than an hour of debate. Fares now cover about 11% of the cost of each ride, the sponsor said, with the general fund paying the rest.

Miami International Airport is moving to end its deal with the developer of a planned on-airport hotel. The developer said the project no longer works on the site after the FAA found that the 150-foot design would create a three-degree radar blind spot, airport staff told the County Commission.

The County Commission voted to hold off on spending more on closing the burned-down Resources Recovery waste-to-energy site in Doral until the county negotiates with the City of Doral over what the city will contribute. The motion was offered by a commissioner who argued that the work protects Doral property values.

AFR Estate LLC is asking the county to designate its property at 7248 SW 42nd Terrace as a brownfield area, a state designation that opens the door to cleanup incentives for redevelopment. The County Commission held the first of two required public hearings, and the owner's environmental attorney spoke for the application.

An ordinance on the South Miami Community Redevelopment Area, including a redevelopment trust fund, passed first reading at the County Commission. The area is bounded by SW 62nd Street, SW 76th Street, Red Road (SW 57th Avenue) and SW 62nd Avenue.

The county approved an agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation that sets the rules for the project development and environmental study of the Bear Cut Bridge on the Rickenbacker Causeway, which FDOT will ultimately approve.

A marketing partnership tied to Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto VI, set in a fictional 'Vice City' modeled on Miami, drew a long debate at the County Commission. Some commissioners said the game misrepresents the community, and others said the deal brings in money from a release that will happen regardless.

An ordinance revising the minimum size requirements for the county's retail entertainment district planned area development zoning passed first reading. The public hearing and second reading were set for the Oct. 20 meeting.

Two land-division items passed in the County Commission's public hearing block: a waiver of plat for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami and the plat for Redland Gardens South.

Miami-Dade is moving to run its own septic program. An ordinance adopting state rules to implement the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's delegation of on-site sewage authority to the county passed first reading, with the public hearing set for the Oct. 20 meeting. The program had been handled by the state Department of Health.

Miami-Dade will have a permanent Lucy Fernandez Boater Safety and Bay Education Advisory Board, created by an ordinance the County Commission approved on second reading. A friendly amendment, accepted by the sponsor, named the board after Lucy Fernandez, who was killed in a boating crash. Creating the board was the main recommendation of the mayor's boater safety task force.