County adopts revisions, halts delivery of Comp Plan

BY SEAN KINNEY

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

The Monroe County Commission has adopted revisions to the 2030 comprehensive development and land use plan simultaneously delaying transmission of the document to state officials for review and approval.

The so-called comp plan is a voluminous document that guides future development and redevelopment as it pertains to the county’s sensitive environment and marine and upland resources.

The commissioner discussion and public comment on Oct. 7 focused on the county rate-of-growth ordinance (ROGO) and potential for inverse condemnation, or takings, lawsuits.

The comp plan and ROGO system are required by the state by way of Monroe County’s long-standing designation as an Area of Critical State Concern.

ROGO allocates building permits based on maintaining a 24-hour evacuation clearance time in the event of an approaching hurricane. Each type of unit—hotel, single-family, transient—is assigned a number of vehicles that are, in turn, plugged into an evacuation model measuring clearance time.

Takings lawsuits occur when a private property owner attempts to exercise building rights but is unable to obtain necessary permits because of laws, largely based on environmental concerns, that curtail building.

To mitigate that liability, commissioners amended the comp plan to include language asking for state and federal aid in acquiring private land for conservation thereby avoiding any lawsuits.

Commissioners Danny Kolhage and David Rice proposed the changes, which also reference allocations for affordable housing.

With the change, “We don’t take all the financial responsibility for takings cases when the state was our partner,” Rice said.

“It’s the county’s intention that the state share the burden of these liabilities the state has put on us in terms of inverse condemnation,” Commissioner Heather Carruthers said.

Kolhage called for state and federal partners to “start funding a serious land acquisition program.”

Commissioner George Neugent gave his opinion that it would be difficult to convince state-level players to buy up land for conservation.

“I applaud you in calling the state out,” he said. “I just think getting the state to buy into acquiring what we’ve identified as developable lots is going to be a very difficult task.”

The commissioners moved to make available all affordable housing building permit allocations at the same time rather than on a yearly basis. The idea is to be able to accommodate any large-scale potential development of low- and very low-income housing.

Deb Curley of Cudjoe Key told commissioners they need to set income levels that correspond to low- and very-low income residents who would qualify to occupy any affordable housing.

“I think the issue, as I see it, with affordable housing is the definition of what’s affordable. Until that’s addressed in a really concrete way, I think we’re just spinning our wheels.”

She mentioned service industry workers who are continuously displaced as trailer and RV parks are converted to more upscale and lucrative properties.

“They’re not going to be able to go into the present definition of affordable housing. They’re not interested in buying a house; Habitat for Humanity is out of their reach. There’s no hammer over the head of developers to give them affordable housing that they actually can afford to live in, to move into, once they’re displaced.

County Growth Management Director Christine Hurley explained that her department is working on housing income limits affixed to county median income that could be added to the comp plan.

She also said a rule requiring a certain percentage of any development be dedicated to affordable units is in the works. Key West has a similar law on the books that requires 30 percent of any development be designated affordable.

“That will be a study we will conduct and amend code or comp plan in the future. You have to have a rational nexus for requiring a developer to do something.”

As for state dollars for land acquisition, Hurley said it has been a priority of county lobbying efforts in Tallahassee.

“We’re trying to make the Keys an important investment for the state,” she said.

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