Long regarded as a symbol of suburban sprawl, the Kendall community around Dadeland Mall could be transformed into a traditional downtown, a place where people stroll along tree-lined streets and sit at sidewalk cafes, under an ambitious zoning plan approved Thursday by the Miami-Dade Commission.

The plan sets strict rules for how developers must build in a district anchored by two Metrorail stations and centered along Kendall Drive from South Dixie Highway to the Palmetto Expressway.

The zoning rules will move buildings closer to the street, create covered colonnades reminiscent of cities like New Orleans and hide parking garages behind offices, shops or apartments.

"We are changing the genetic code for designing buildings in downtown Kendall,'' said Victor Dover of Dover Kohl & Partners, town planners who helped draft the rules. "When you are there, you will be able to walk.''

County commissioners embraced that vision, voting 10-0 to approve a plan that supporters described as the first of its kind in the county.

But others were openly skeptical of a plan that will allow taller buildings in some locations and encourage more intense development.

Attorney Richard Friedman, a vocal opponent of the transit tax proposed last summer by Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas, condemned the plan as a Trojan Horse for more development in an area that can't bear more congestion.

Friedman, who works in the area, predicted "demonic traffic congestion,'' and he questioned a key assumption in the plan: That residents will get out of their cars and walk in South Florida's soggy climate.

"In Manhattan, maybe, you walk the streets,'' he said.

Others urged approval, saying the plan could put the brakes on urban sprawl and an automobile culture that defines how much of South Florida looks.

"Miami was built for the automobile. I don't think that is sustainable,'' said Marlene Cutler, a Kendall activist. "I'm hoping we can have something better.''

The seeds of the plan were planted last year at a series of meetings sponsored by Chamber South, a local business group. A steering committee of residents, developers and others then worked with Dover, his associates and the planning firm of Duany Plater Zyberk and Co. to draft the plan.

Dover and others say the plan would:

Create "extroverted'' buildings with doors and windows that face the street and graceful colonnades that provide shelter and shade for pedestrians.

"It's a great way of dealing with the climate,'' Dover said.

Cluster the tallest buildings around the two Metrorail stations. Buildings would grow slimmer as they rise in the sky, creating a terraced look that would allow more light and fresh air to reach the street below.

Building height would be regulated by stories, not height, encouraging developers to build structures with loftier spaces.

Developers would be limited to 25 stories -- a restriction that could result in taller buildings than the current 300-foot limit.

Require developers to set aside green space that could be assembled into large parcels and transformed into public squares and parks.

Backers of the plan concede it will take time for the rules to make a difference. Much of the area is developed. But Dover said it is never too late to chart the course of future development.