LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Samuel Kaufman City Commissioner, District II
Dear Editor:
A recent writer to the editor took issue with our local government efforts to advocate opening 166 housing units on Sigsbee Park by the Navy. This is only one step toward comprehensively addressing the critical deficit of affordable housing we face in the City of Key West and the lower Florida Keys.
These units have the potential to provide housing for hundreds of Key West residents without ROGO restrictions and without financial cost or responsibility by the City.
Local Navy command recently toured the Sigsbee housing with two Congressmen, the County Mayor, the County and City Managers to survey a sampling of the units. The units have been vacant and are in need of some TLC. These units are extremely valuable in light of the critical lack of affordable housing.
Opening the Sigsbee housing will help to significantly increase the availability of affordable housing in Key West. But, We need to do so much more! We must all come together and advocate to increase affordable housing.
We need to require all future ROGO allocations to be used for affordable housing which would increase the inventory of affordable units by approximately 650; require strict enforcement of current affordable deed restricted units; require higher fines and greater enforcement of illegal transient rental units; provide incentives to re-development of commercial lands to include affordable housing on second or third levels above storefronts; and, increase the number of privately held permanently deed restricted affordable housing units. We must identify and explore all means available to increase the number of affordable units available.
How many more of our friends, colleagues, neighbors, family members, and employees will need to move away from Key West because they can no longer afford housing?
Enough is enough!
Please get involved in this issue. Talk to your elected representatives, including myself, to share your ideas. I hold office hours on Fridays and by appointment. You can e-mail me at [email protected]. You can call the city commission office to speak with me or to schedule an appointment at 305-809-3844.
Let’s work together to make real progress on this important crises.
Sincerely,
Samuel Kaufman
City Commissioner, District II
City of Key West
305-304-5848 – cell phone
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Commissioner Kaufman left out a serious need in his list of “must do’s” re the continuing loss of our workers, neighbors, business owners, and friends:
“Peary Court” is one of the many needed solutions, and in fact, you could substitute the words “Peary Court” for “Sigsbee” Park ” in the letter’s opening line, and everything that follows would be true. Worse yet, if we lose Peary Court to redevelopment, 500 or more people will either be pushed into the rental market, driving rates up even more, or,worse yet, have to leave the Keys altogether.