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| At the June
21 County Commission, Mayor McCoy stifled public input (against the
advice of the county attorney) on the controversial "380 agreement"
sought by the developer proposing to raze the Seahorse Trailer Park on
Big Pine Key. Among public input denied by the Mayor was
Last Stand's position on the
"380 agreement" and the project. Our stand is stated at the end of
the following letter-to-editor from Last
Stand's president, which appeared in the June 28 Key West
Citizen: |
Letter to editor:
Journalistic brevity is sometimes misleading. Such is the case with the
Citizen story last Thursday (6/22) describing the county commission
discussion of the Seahorse Trailer Park redevelopment and the "380
agreement" the developer seeks, to allow transferring market rate units
from the Big Pine Key to Key Largo.
While it is true that I was deprived of making input to the discussion
("conceptual approval" of the agreement was on the agenda) on behalf of
Last Stand, of which I am President, I want to make it clear that it was
not a case of my or Last Stand's being singled out to be denied the
chance to speak. What happened was this:
The developer, Boca Developers, had bussed about 25 Seahorse Trailer
Park residents to the BOCC meeting to speak in favor of the proposed
project, which is the subject of a "380 agreement". About 8 people,
including myself, were there to present points in opposition. Upon
finding that 30-some people had signed up to speak, Mayor McCoy decreed
that just one person could speak for the
agreement/project, and one person could speak
against it. That is unfair, as not all arguments on either side
can represented by one person.
The county attorney advised the Mayor that everyone who signed up to
speak had the right to do so, but the Mayor's decree prevailed -- after
a fashion. Four or five people, including the developer and his
employees, plus a Seahorse resident and another citizen, were allowed to
speak in favor of the project, and only one person was allowed to speak
in opposition. A second citizen opposed to the project took the podium
for a brief moment to protest the unfairness of the proceeding. It was
grossly unfair that several got to speak in favor while opposition was
limited.
Last Stand's objection to this 380 agreement and its associated projects
is this:
The proposed agreement and its associated projects represent a net loss
of about 30 truly affordable, existing units in the Lower Keys, where
they are sorely needed. The 30 lost affordable units would be
transferred, as market rate units, to Key Largo, and the
developer would get a bonus of an additional 100 or so market rate
units outside of ROGO. In either absolute numbers or in
proportion, this is a net loss of affordable housing, and is a bad deal
for everybody except the developer.
Dennis Henize
Cudjoe Key |
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