Miami-Dade commissioners voted 9-3 on Tuesday, Sept. 1, to let Kelly Tractor build a headquarters on wetlands outside the county's Urban Development Boundary (UDB).

The approval ends a 14-month fight that drew a mayoral veto and sustained opposition from environmental groups. For Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay, the vote weakens the growth boundary that has checked sprawl into wetlands and farmland south and west of the suburbs.

The heavy-equipment dealer plans to construct up to 2.7 million square feet on a 246-acre site west of Northwest 137th Avenue near the Dolphin Expressway. Kelly Tractor, the local Caterpillar dealer currently based in Doral, used a text amendment to the county's development plan rather than requesting a formal UDB expansion.

Environmental advocates say that approach lets developers build outside the boundary without formally moving it.

"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."

The site sits in the North Trail Basin, which the Everglades Coalition has called one of the county's most important remaining wetland landscapes for managing South Florida's hydrology. Just over 162 acres of wetlands sit on the property, according to The Real Deal.

Under the approved plan, Kelly Tractor commits to preserving at least 63.1 acres on site and another 20 acres elsewhere through a county program. Environmental groups say the company would still pave roughly two dozen acres of wetlands.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava vetoed the commission's first approval on Feb. 1. She called the original application inadequate on wetlands protections and said it "utilized the text amendment process to circumvent existing Urban Development Boundary (UDB) policies."

Her veto message noted the site carries a "Wetlands of Regional Significance" designation.

She did not veto the revised version. She told the Herald the proposal is "substantially different" and that "the protections for environmentally sensitive lands are extensive."

Commissioner Raquel Regalado, who had previously opposed the project, voted yes after Kelly Tractor pledged to donate additional wetlands to the county. She said the revised plan "puts roughly 80 acres of wetlands into public ownership."

Three commissioners voted no. Commissioners Danielle Cohen Higgins, Vicki Lopez and Micky Steinberg dissented. Commissioner Marleine Bastien did not attend the meeting. Cohen Higgins posted on X after the vote:

@DanCohenHiggins: "It only took fourteen months, nine hearings and eight deferrals but Congratulations Kelly Tractor! Condolences Environmentally sensitive wetlands!"

Kelly Tractor, led by fourth-generation president Chris Kelly, has operated from its Doral facility since 1971 and says it has outgrown the location. Supporters argued the project would create higher-paying jobs.

Opponents note the text-amendment process required only a conceptual plan, leaving unclear how much additional wetland beyond the preserved acres could be affected. No next legal or regulatory milestone has been publicly announced.