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County balks; state cuts funds
BY TRAVIS JAMES TRITTEN
keysnews.com
The county
commission unanimously agreed Wednesday to ban development for a year in
its designated Conservation and Natural Areas, some of Monroe County's
most pristine upland forests.
The state
Department of Community Affairs asked the county to go further by
including all 2-acre forests. The county refused and the agency cut back
on some landmark concessions for affordable housing it agreed to during
a Jan. 6 meeting.
The decision
was a disappointment to many environmental advocates who say the ban
doesn't go far enough to protect important habitat.
Here are the
changes made by DCA following the county's decision:
* Only $3
million, instead of $20 million, will be sent to the county to purchase
land for affordable housing.
* The county
will lose 47 of the 181 home-building credits agreed to earlier this
month. The credits may be restored in the future. The 47 credits will
instead be sent to Marathon, which has complied with DCA environmental
requests.
* The
Conservation and Natural Areas map must be included in public hearings
when the moratorium is approved.
* The county
must hash out a schedule of public hearings to ensure land development
regulations are created to replace the moratorium within a year.
The ban is
only temporary until the county can create a permanent way to protect
the forest lands.
The
Conservation and Natural Areas designation was created with 4-acre or
larger parcels, but county Growth Management said it can spot smaller
patches for conservation.
However, it
claims many of those smaller areas are poor quality habitat.
"The
fragmentation has become so great ... that the habitat quality has
become reduced," said Marlene Conaway, director of county Planning and
Environmental Services.
Environmentalists contend that forest patches as small as a half-acre
can support migratory birds and other animals.
"These
tropical forests are a treasure and deserve to be protected," said Joan
Borel, a member of the group Last Stand.
Instead, she
claims the county has stalled and tried to protect the smallest amount
of property possible.
Borel and
others asked that the moratorium cover all upland forests for two years.
The true test
of the moratorium agreement may be a review Tuesday by Gov. Jeb Bush and
the Florida Cabinet.
The Cabinet
will review the county's environmental progress in 2003 again after
allowing a one-month extension for the county to cobble together a
last-minute conservation plan.
If the Cabinet
finds that no sufficient progress was made to protect hammocks and other
uplands, the county could lose 20 percent of its yearly allotment of
home-building rights. |
