Last Stand Calls for Stricter Development Regulations at Monroe County Board of County Commissioners Meeting

Key West, FL—Yesterday, Ann Olsen, President of Last Stand, delivered a powerful address at the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting, urging the commission to take decisive action to address overdevelopment in the Florida Keys. The discussion centered around the County’s decision to request more new building allocation permits (ROGOs) from the State, allowing for additional development in the Keys.

Olsen began by expressing gratitude for the commission’s recent directive to recalculate the number of buildable lots, calling it “a step in the right direction,” but emphasized that further action is essential to protect the fragile environment and infrastructure of the Keys.

She pointed to significant flaws in the Hurricane Evacuation Model that forms the basis for current development allowances. Olsen highlighted the unrealistic assumptions used in the model, such as undercounting permanent residents and assuming that vacation homes are unoccupied during emergencies, which skew the analysis in favor of more development.

“What’s been lost in this conversation is that the Hurricane Evacuation Model is simply the agreed-upon surrogate for carrying capacity,” Olsen said. “It’s easier to quantify than the environmental damage resulting from overdevelopment, but the impacts are real and worsening.”

Olsen cited alarming statistics and real-world examples of the environmental toll overdevelopment has already taken, including:

  • The Florida Reef, now 98% dead, was in far better condition when growth limitations were imposed in the 1990s.

  • There has been an increase in hurricane intensity due to warming oceans, with recent storms like Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene intensifying faster than ever before.

  • Impaired water quality, frequent fish die-offs, and endangered marine species being affected due to nutrient pollution.

  • Ongoing wastewater disposal issues, including Marathon’s delayed switch to deep well disposal after years of litigation and dangerously high levels of pollutants found in Stock Island waters.

Olsen also referenced the 1995 Final Order from the Governor and Cabinet, which stated that the Keys’ environment is the foundation of its economic base and warned that continued degradation could be irreversible. She urged the commissioners to consider the long-term economic losses to tourism and fishing if development continues unchecked.

“If you won’t do it for the environmentalists who only want to protect and preserve the Keys, do it for the business owners whose livelihoods depend on robust tourism,” Olsen implored.

In her closing remarks, Olsen encouraged the commissioners to read Last Stand’s Environmental Carrying Capacity White Paper, which is backed by scientific data, and weigh the true costs of exceeding development limits—not just the legal costs but the irreversible damage to the environment and the burden on infrastructure.

Last Stand remains committed to advocating for responsible growth management and ensuring that development in the Keys does not exceed the capacity of its natural systems and infrastructure.

For more information on Last Stand’s efforts to protect the Florida Keys, visit our website at www.KeysLastStand.org.

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