| The Monroe County Commission decided to ask the
cities of Key West and Marathon if their respective city governments
were in favor of the proposals for hotels on county airports in those
cities. Last Stand opposes the
proposed hotels for various reasons. The letter below, urging the
Key West City Commission to reject the proposal for a hotel at the Key
West International Airport, is from the July 27 Key West Citizen. |
Airport hotel plans should be rejected
The Key West City Commission should reject the
county's offer to build an 18-story hotel at the airport. There
are two good reasons to turn the offer down.
First, an 18-story hotel is at least 15 stories beyond the
height limits. The city charter requires that if the Board of
Adjustment would approve a variance for habitable space above
the height limit, it still must go before the voters. Time after
time, citizens in Key West have spoken out against changing the
height limit, and it is very unlikely that this project would be
the exception.
Second, neither the city nor the county should set themselves up
in competition with private concerns in order to raise revenue,
no matter how many hundreds of thousands per year it may be. The
significant subsidies in this proposal will harm the interests
of current hotels and innkeepers by adding competition with a
lower cost of doing business.
If there is an economic need for hotels in the city or the
county, developers will justify building them within the Rate of
Growth Ordinance. If the need for additional hotel rooms is
great enough, developers will find a way to tear down condos and
build hotels.
If Key West or Marathon needs an emergency operations center
that will house workers in a hurricane or other emergency, then
the city or county should bring a proposal to the table that
relies upon city, county or state funding.
If city or county government needs additional revenue, it should
look to the taxes under its control or continue the difficult
process of cutting costs while maintaining essential services.
Mark E. Songer
Key West |
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