LAST STAND

County's conservation plan takes new shape

By TRAVIS JAMES TRITTEN

Key West Citizen, July 12

A plan to protect the Florida Keys' environment by banning most home and business construction for up to two years may be scrapped Tuesday.

The county could instead change its Rate of Growth Ordinance, which now allows some building in fragile hammocks, to make acquiring permits to clear pristine upland areas nearly impossible for at least 18 months.

Public controversy exploded and county commissioners were left with serious concerns last month over the legal and financial effects of a wide ban on growth. But the state has warned the county to stop degradation of the environment or face sanctions.

This week, county growth management endorsed the alternative that would give those trying to build in the upland hammock areas a 10-point handicap on the ROGO scale, a rating system that awards building rights to residents who score 20 to 30 points, said Marlene Conaway, director of planning and environmental resources for the county agency.

"Every three months those with the highest points get the permits," she said. "With a negative 10, it is going to mean you are going to have to do a lot to bring your point structure up."

Point ratings are determined by various environmental factors. Lots in subdivisions with paved roads typically start with 10 points on the rating scale, and owners can acquire two points for giving land to the county and aggregation of parcels, or a point for every year they are in the ROGO system, Conaway said.

The plan could create a de facto moratorium -- upland hammock areas now begin with a negative 10 on the ROGO scale -- but could also shield the county from legal concerns related to an all-out ban on growth.

The county was to enact some protection of those areas by this month but will not make the state-imposed deadline. The recently completed Florida Keys Carrying Capacity Study, which the county agreed with the state to use as a guide for growth, found that the hammocks and upland areas in the islands cannot withstand any more growth.

"It looks like we are moving towards the ROGO solution," Commissioner David Rice said, though he cautioned it may be too early to tell which way the county will head during the commission meeting in Key West.

Plans to conserve natural lands have been changing daily and the commission most likely will not come to a decision Tuesday --- but must act soon, Rice said.

"The bottom line is that I think we need to make this substantial move or we are going to see our building permits [reduced] after the governor and cabinet meeting in October," he said. "Without that positive statement, at a minimum we are going to see a 20 percent cut in our building permits in Monroe County."

Each year, the state allows only a limited number of homes and businesses to be built through the ROGO system.

So far, no clear consensus appears to be forming in the Board of County Commissioners.

Commissioner George Neugent said he has created a plan that may fund a moratorium. The lack of county funding to buy private land that cannot be built on has been a major sticking point for the moratorium approach.

"What I am going to propose is that we set aside between $2 million and $3 million a year through the length of the moratorium in only the Tier 1 [the highest quality natural] properties ... so we can start buying up sensitive lands in this Tier 1 area," he said.

Neugent said he still has concerns about the accuracy of the maps used to identify the three proposed land categories, Tiers 1 through 3, and the limited moratorium must be accompanied by a formal review process that would allow owners to dispute their Tier category.

Modifying the ROGO system to stop growth in hammocks may have a more "draconian" effect than the limited moratorium, he said.

County Mayor Dixie Spehar said a resolution vowing to identify land meant for conservation could be yet another alternative. It could send a message to the state that the county is serious about protecting land while also giving more time to deliberate a course of action, she said.

"I am leaning towards the resolution ... that would be the first step in targeting the lands for acquisition," Spehar said. "I do not want to create a moratorium."

Spehar has continued to say the county is working in good faith to comply with state demands to curb degradation of the environment by completing the Carrying Capacity Study and drafting a habitat conservation plan for the Big Pine Key area.

"They cannot say we are not making every attempt," she said.

The issue will be discussed during the county commission meeting at the Harvey Government Center in Key West on Tuesday.