City to look at climate change in comp plan

BY PRU SOWERS

NEWS WRITER

Government policy wonks will have a chance to help create long range development plans on April 3, when planning officials hold a public workshop on proposed updates to the Key West comprehensive plan.

The plan, which sets out long range development, environmental and historic preservation goals, as well as other priorities, was updated in 2013. However, elements of five separate areas need to be revised either because they were not amended in the 2013 update or in order to conform to regional plans. Gathering input from the public is an important part of that process, said Nicole Malo, the city’s long range planner.

“We’re gathering information now. We want to give as much opportunity as we can for the public to give comments,” she said.

The five areas slated for planning amendments are updating the water supply plan to conform to a regional plan already in progress, the local building permit allocation system, port facilities, historic preservation and climate change.

Including a separate chapter on climate change in the Key West comprehensive plan would be a first, Malo said. But the idea will be to write climate change planning goals with regional – not just the city’s – infrastructure in mind, dovetailing with a sustainability action plan Monroe County is currently working on.

 “Because all of South Florida adheres to the same science on climate change and sea level rise and because we have shared natural resources and critical infrastructure, our approach is the same,” she said.

Once any amendments have been regionally coordinated and finalized, they will be brought to the planning board for review sometime in June or July, Malo added.

Anyone interested in commenting but unable to attend can email comments and suggestions to Malo at nmalo@keywestcity.com. The meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3, at the Harvey Government Center, 1200 Truman Ave.

 

 

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