To learn more about Commissioner Sorenson's efforts to hold the UDB, fight for smart growth, and bring sustainable "green" development to Miami-Dade click here.

Commissioner Sorenson is working to "Hold the Line" on urban sprawl by advocating to keep the Urban Development Line in place. The Commissioner has worked for years to develop smart growth plans with input from the community. These plans call for sensibly scaled developments along the transit corridor that promote pedestrian friendly, mixed use town centers. Many of these Urban Center plans are now becoming law, with the Naranja Community Urban Center enacted in the Summer of 2005.

To learn more about the Urban Development Boundary and Commissioner Sorenson's efforts to Hold the Line, click here.

Ensuring Affordable Homes for Working Families
Commissioner Sorenson has been working to ensure that her smart growth initiatives also provide homes that the average working family in Miami-Dade can afford. While builders have been pushing to perpetuate sprawl as a way to create "affordable" homes, the Commissioner has been working to find better ways to plan for a healthy mix of homes through infill development, concentrating urban density close to main transit lines, and by advocating for creative financial solutions that would reduce the tax strain on older residents.

Making Miami-Dade the Solar Capital of the Sunshine State
Starting with the oil shocks of the early 1970’s, the search began for clean, renewable energy alternatives to fossil fuel. Even with the wildly fluctuating availability of Federal funding for research and development of non-fossil, non-nuclear energy alternatives, many renewable energy types have advanced to the point where they are now becoming cost competitive with “traditional” fuel types. Miami-Dade is uniquely positioned as a strong potential user of alternative energy technology and as an export hub to emerging markets in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Africa and established markets in Europe.

Commissioner Sorenson has developed a comprehensive plan to build a foundation for the growth of the solar energy industry in Miami-Dade County. To learn more, click here.

Growing Jobs in Agriculture
Agriculture is a mainstay of the Miami-Dade economy and comprises a substantial portion of Commissioner Sorenson's district. Commissioner Sorenson has worked tirelessly to find ways to keep the Redland a vibrant agricultural area. She has worked to limit residential sprawl and advocated for the development of programs and business opportunities that also protect the rural character of the Redland.

To learn more about Commissioner Sorenson's agricultural intitiatives click here.

Building Better Communities
Commissioner Sorenson was a strong proponent of the building better communities bond issue that the voters of Miami-Dade passed on November 2nd, 2004. A list of capital improvement projects slated for District 8 communities is available on the Bond 2004 website. Of particular note is the creation of an innovative plan to keep agricultural lands available for farming. The Bond issue for parks and green space included funding for a voluntary program for purchasing development rights from agricultural land owners.