Miami Dade Developer pulls out.

Another developer has pulled out of the fight to open hundreds of acres of land to intensive development -- less than 24 hours before the Miami-Dade County Commission begins its final hearings on the proposed expansion today.
Backers of a plan to build on more than 70 acres of farmland near Homestead -- including commercial and business spaces and up to 270 homes -- withdrew their application Monday afternoon, according to Chairman Joe Martinez's office.
The application, filed under the name Barry Brant Land Trusts, and represented by attorney and former county commissioner Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, is the fourth of the controversial proposals to pull out in recent weeks.
Those opposed to moving the Urban Development Boundary, which was created to shield agricultural and environmental land from sprawl, hailed the latest surrender.
But they remain concerned about the remaining five applications, which could bring a big-box home store, offices, warehouses and retail shops to hundreds of acres near the Everglades.
The commission is expected to vote on the issue over a three-day hearing that begins today.
''Every day that passes, we hope another one will pull out,'' said Cynthia Guerra, an environmental activist and a member of the loosely knit Hold the Line campaign.
Diaz de la Portilla did not return calls for comment Monday evening.
His client was the only one of the remaining applications seeking residential development.
Andrew Dolkart, a consultant to several developers seeking to move the development boundary, said the latest withdrawal is understandable.
''The residential applicants just don't have the votes,'' Dolkart said. ``It is simply a political equation.''
Major home builders Shoma, Adrian and Lucky Start, whose bids to build homes on the far west and south fringes of the county were much larger than the Brant application, all cited a lack of support on the commission dais for their abrupt pullouts.
The developers also cited Martinez's request that residential builders come up with plans to ease traffic -- a major concern in Martinez's congested West Kendall district.