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Development sprawls to salty Stock Island
BY TRAVIS JAMES
TRITTEN
keysnews.com
STOCK ISLAND -- A
Stock Island makeover may be in the works -- or in planning parlance, a
visioning.
From the role of the
shrimping industry to the placement of trees along side streets, the
county plans to piece together a blueprint for the future of Key West's
closest neighbor.
Residents and business
owners will be asked to play a prominent role in creating guidelines for
harbor areas, businesses and streets, once the county signs on a
planning contractor and the project gets off the ground, possibly this
winter.
"This will be how the
community foresees its future," Project Manager Maureen "Mo" Meehan
said. "The county has no preconceived ideas."
Some say they are
concerned about preserving the way of life island residents have carved
out over the years -- commercial fishing and decades-old businesses.
All residents will
have an opportunity to sit down with county planners during a meeting on
the project Thursday at 7 p.m. at Florida Keys Community College, Room
P202.
Proposed renewal of
the gritty island may be a sign of the changing face of the Florida
Keys, namely the ever-growing dependence on tourism.
Tourist-related
development is spreading out from the nearly built-out Key West and may
endanger the survival of Stock Island's commercial fishing fleets and
the many trailer parks that are the bulk of the Lower Keys' scant
affordable housing.
But by fostering
responsible redevelopment, the county hopes the project may also protect
the unique character of Stock Island.
Andy Griffiths manages
a charter fishing service and is landlord of Shrimp Road properties that
house 74 tenants -- electricians, a cabinet maker, a fish house and a
construction company are just a few.
Griffiths says he is
keeping a wait-and-see attitude about the visioning project.
"This has so many
angles to it," he said. "One angle says they are coming to help us, oh
God, lock your doors."
There may be
widespread distrust of county planning because few have seen beneficial
results from county redevelopment, Griffiths said.
"If you are not a
really big gun, you get stepped on and we are all scared to death that
we will get stepped on," Griffiths said.
On the other hand, the
island may need help preserving its historic character, he said.
Another Stock Island
mainstay, the commercial fishing industry, will also be watching the
planning project closely, said Greg DiDomenico, executive director of
Monroe County Commercial Fishermen, Inc.
"The concerns are for
commercial fishing infrastructure," DiDomenico said. "There are probably
several properties that are in jeopardy of being turned into something
else."
Though it has waned in
recent years, Keys commercial fishing still contributes $100 million
annually to the Keys and the state economy, and needs to be given a
place in the future of Stock Island, he said.
The project may be
long-running and will include large amounts of public input. In the end,
the island will have a master plan that each resident will be subject
to, whether anchoring their pleasure craft or planting landscaping.
The same process is
planned across the Keys. The island chain's comprehensive land-use plan
dictates how the county will develop for decades to come, but the
one-size-fits-all approach of the plan may not do enough to preserve
diversity in communities from Key Largo to Key West, Meehan said.
That's where the
community visioning comes in, dubbed the Livable Communikeys Program by
the county.
The top choice for the
planning project, Coral Gables-based Wallace, Roberts and Todd, compared
the island to another one of its projects, the Key West Bight.
The bight has gone
through many changes in the last 25 years.
In 1975, the bight was
still home to the bulk of the commercial shrimping fleet. But by the
late 1980s, commercial developers had driven up prices and pushed the
shrimp boats to Stock Island, according to the company.
The city was concerned
that the public would lose its access to the waterfront -- and to the
feel of old Key West. Though the shrimpers never returned, its
redevelopment plan ensured that residents and visitors could remain on
the bight.
The county may have a
lot more factors to deal with than public access when the master plan is
created.
DiDomenico wants to be
assured that the lobster fishermen, shrimpers and other commercial
fishermen aren't again pushed out in favor of other development.
Griffiths said he just
wants to be sure he can continue his business.
"I don't want them to
come in and say I can't be doing what I've been doing for the last 10
years," Griffiths said.
ttritten@keysnews.com |
