HIALEAH, FLA. (WSVN) - A battle is brewing in Miami’s Brownsville neighborhood. Hialeah officials are looking to annex some land, but residents are against the move.
It was a packed room inside Hialeah City Hall, Tuesday night, filled with frustrated people in Miami-Dade’s Brownsville neighborhood and many residents took the podium.
Members of the Brownsville Church of Christ have been gathering day after day this week to learn of the potential annexation.
According to Pastor Harrell Hebron, the city council agreed not to annex the church Tuesday night because of the strong opposition.
“I want to know when you are going to reach out to us, the business people and let us know what is going on,” said one man to the councilmembers.
Councilmember Jesus Tundid said he has had the idea for a long time and he presented the feasibility of the idea at the meeting.
“We need to figure out our community is sustainable and make sure the services we provide today are sustained for the long run,” he said. “We don’t plan on raising taxes. We are never gonna do that, so we need to find ways to generate revenue, and this was one option.”
The City of Hialeah has commissioned a study looking at the possibility of annexing roughly 130 acres of Miami-Dade County as a method of bringing more income into the community. Concerns were also raised if the city annexed the land where an industrial complex and more than 250 residential homes sit.
A portion of Brownsville, a historically black neighborhood, falls within the boundaries of the annexation plan.
“It is an attempt to take away the economic gain of the community,” said Hebron. “To gradually enter into the community and pushing out those who have created historical prints.”
One Hialeah councilmember said she isn’t sure if it’s worth it for the city.
“As the purpose of a number, it doesn’t make a lot of sense as a city,” said councilmember Monica Perez. “I hear a lot of concerns, with streets and upkeep, and if that was me, I think I wouldn’t want a different administration or group of council members.”
Outside city hall, there was even more anticipation as residents plan to keep their opposition going.
“We need to save our community,” said Dorothy. “That’s what we got to go. We gotta do what we gotta do.”
According to the study, the first year of incorporation would cost about $4.7 million just to bring extra fire and police protection to the community. The second year would have a decreased cost of $1.8 million.
Since 18% of the area is residential they do not have to put it on a referendum for the residents to vote.
This proposal has a long while to go, and if it goes anywhere, the city will look at the feasibility study that was presented at this meeting to decide what, if anything, they decide to do with it.
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