Letter to Gov. DeSantis

Letter to Gov. DeSantis

Dear Governor DeSantis,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Upper Sugarloaf Residents Association (USRA), a small island homeowners organization situated in Monroe County, in the lower Florida Keys, roughly 19 miles up the road from Key West.

We find it difficult to understand that the Florida Legislature recently presented to you a bill which if you sign or allow to become law, you and the FL legislature will bypass the will of local Key West residents and override their resolution to control the size and suitability of visiting cruise ships. The wise majority of Key West residents did not vote to ban cruise ships, but actually, to manage them.

A few years ago, our island community fought a legal battle that pitted residents against a business owner whose business proposal, if enacted, would have decimated our community character and lowered our property values. We won. That business lives on, and we continue to be neighbors.

As stated in Monroe County’s 2015 Planning Commission Resolution No. P36-15:

“The geographic nature of the archipelago that is the Florida Keys provides for the existence of individual island communities.  Each of these islands has their own distinct character, and it is difficult to evaluate and quantify this character without the assistance from those who are permanent members of these communities.”

We all know that tourism is an important economic generator in our state. Unhealthy tourism is when one industry demands full market share on available limited resources. Business diversity and ecotourism is an important factor in supporting island communities to thrive and keeping communities alive. We ask you to protect our coral reef, support our fishermen, and VETO SB 1194.

Healthy Tourism = Home Rule.

Sincerely,

Vera Vasek

President

Upper Sugarloaf Residents Association