Miami commissioners on Thursday put off Mayor Manny Diaz' star-crossed proposal for remaking environmentally scarred Virginia Key after a stream of activists complained the plan doesn't do enough to safeguard and showcase the island's natural treasures.
The deferral of the Virginia Key plan until May means the term-limited Diaz, who has been pushing to win approval of several key goals less than a month before leaving office, won't be at City Hall to see the completion of one of the cornerstones of his administration.
But the commission, by a 4-0 vote, did approve Diaz's ambitious blueprint for more than 200 new miles of bicycle lanes and routes throughout the city, as well as a package of ``green'' measures that include requirements for heat-dispersing roofs for new commercial and residential projects. Commissioner Angel Gonzalez was absent.
In deferring the Virginia Key proposal, the commission made plain its goal is to give city planners time to incorporate ideas from environmentalists, parks activists and others who have been working on alternative ideas for the barrier island's restoration.
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