Last Stand Shares County Concerns About 1,300 New ROGO Allocations
Last Stand recommends County and Municipal leadership in the Florida Keys understand all the consequences before accepting an additional 1,300 ROGO allocations for workforce housing announced in a May 2nd press release by the office of Governor Scott. Comments in the County Planner’s June 6, 2018 letter to Department of Economic Opportunity Director Cissy Proctor show that citizen concerns are being heard before the Board of County Commissioners takes the next step. Last Stand remains opposed to any additional ROGO allocations for permanent residents that require evacuation outside of the state mandated 24 hour evacuation period.
There are many safety and quality of life issues related to the Workforce Housing Initiative that need to be considered:
- Low wage workers who need work force housing often are financially constrained or needed by employers to prepare for a storm’s arrival. It is unlikely they will be able to evacuate early.
- Enforcement of a lease provision requiring early evacuation will only be possible after the impacts of too many vehicles trying to leave in the 24 hour phase have endangered every permanent resident in the County.
- Expanding the number of dwellings in the County will further stress infrastructure and increase traffic congestion.
- Limits on growth over the past 30 years have enabled the County to take steps to preserve valuable habitat for threatened and endangered species. Preserving the unique environment of the Florida Keys is essential to maintaining our tourism economy. Exceeding the carrying capacity of land in the Florida Keys already constrains State and Local officials’ ability to protect and sustain environmental resources.
Adding additional vehicles to the 48 hour phase is theoretically possible under the state-wide evacuation planning model. However, State Emergency Managers should request a guarantee from National Weather Service that warnings will always be issued far enough in advance so that the County may safely execute the 48 hour evacuation plan. Given the 2017 forecast experience with Hurricane Harvey, where there was only 32 hours between the first warning and arrival of tropical storm force winds, Last Stand does not believe such a guarantee can be provided.
DEO also needs to clarify how the plan intended to serve “the workforce population” can be implemented and work with funding that is typically necessary to achieve an economically viable construction plan where rental income is limited.
There are many additional questions in the County Planner’s letter than DEO needs to answer before any decisions can be made on the Governor’s offer.
Last Stand continues to urge elected officials to place the highest priority on safety of all permanent residents when planning for emergency evacuations. Don’t roll the dice hoping that everything goes right. Emergency planning needs to work in every situation.
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This is all well and good for filling the pockets of our dearest local junta members, but destroys the dreams of the rest of us who live the good life in Paradise. Greed is a disease that bites deep and cannot be cured by forcing the realization of what one did to get such values. Once a piece of earth is transformed into a profit making gargoyle it will stays that way forever. Ask any overgrown plastic resort town. The last view of true Paradise is only in their green tinted imaginations. Rest in Peace Florida Keys….Forever!