County discusses height restrictions, offshore development
Wisteria project takes another hit
BY TERRY SCHMIDA
The end of March has seen a flurry of activity on the important issues of building height requirements and the development of offshore islands in the Keys.
Meeting in Marathon on March 24 the county’s Development Review Committee held a workshop to allow Keys residents to voice their feelings and help shape policy on these matters, which will be critical to Monroe County heading into the future.
Predictably there was disagreement among the various groups who showed up to speak, but it appears the county is leaning towards allowing a 5-foot hike in building height limits to accommodate affordable housing construction, and to help head off flood concerns prompted by climate change.
Groups such as the Key Largo Federation of Homeowners, Last Stand, and the Sugarloaf Shores Property Owners Association, however, gave a thumbs-down to the idea, calling affordable housing a city issue with less importance in unincorporated parts of the county. They suggested the county find another way to deal with those concerns.

Representatives of the exclusive Ocean Reef enclave in Key Largo, however, bucked the trend, arguing for permission to build even higher, due to the community’s “isolation” and the state of some of its older buildings.
“One Ocean Reef representative asked if they could build up existing structures that already exceed the height limit,” said Senior County Planner Mayte Santamaria. “These are buildings that were built prior to the height limit going into effect, and have reached the end of their useful lives. Rather than shoring up these structures over and over again, they want to be able to rebuild them without losing the height.”
County commissioners, such as District Three’s Heather Carruthers welcomed the dialogue.
“Raising the height limit is something we’re going to need to look at,” she said. “If we plan to continue to live here in the Keys, in the face of sea level rise, we’re going to have to make adjustments to allow people to take reasonable measures to protect their homes. It’s the right thing to do. On the other hand, this county is 120 miles long. A one-size-fits-all solution may not work. We need to take a look at the entire county, and not just one part of it.”
On the issue of transferring Rate of Growth Ordinance (ROGO) development units to offshore islands, the county seems to be inclined to steer policy the other way.
And at least one of those potential developments was dealt yet another blow on March 25, when a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by the F.E.B.
Development Corporation against the federal Bureau of Land Management. Both parties claim ownership of Wisteria Island, off Key West Harbor, and F.E.B. has been trying to find a way to develop it for some time. Judge Jose E. Martinez stated in his ruling that his court had lost jurisdiction over the matter more than a half-century ago, in 1963, allowing the Land Management claim to stand.
The next Development Review Committee meeting will be held on either April 28 or May 26 in Marathon, Santamaria said.

 

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