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County expands ban on building
BY TRAVIS JAMES TRITTEN
Citizen Staff Writer
A Monroe County
proposal to ban development in some of its native forests was radically
expanded Wednesday to protect all county hardwood hammocks and pinelands
for one year.
The surprise
amendments, sponsored by County Commissioner George Neugent and
supported by three commissioners, came after months of creating the ban
and could be a major victory for environmental advocates pushing for
wider habitat protections.
Commissioners
agreed to a moratorium as part of a major settlement with the state in
February. State regulators had threatened to punish the county for not
doing more in 2003 to protect fragile forests and nearshore waters from
the effects of development.
"It should make
for an interesting next commission meeting," Neugent said Wednesday
night.
Last summer, a
majority of commissioners rejected a moratorium. But the idea was
resurrected over the winter when the state Department of Community
Affairs recommended to Gov. Jeb Bush and his Cabinet that the county be
flunked for its environmental protection record.
The final
settlement agreement, crafted by County Mayor Murray Nelson, was
hammered out with the DCA in February and required the county to pass a
temporary development ban on forests of 2 acres or larger. The ban is
meant to give the county one year to create permanent laws that protect
tropical hardwood hammocks and pinelands.
The finished
proposal, presented to commissioners during a regular meeting in Key
West Wednesday, protected only 2-acre forests within county-designated
Conservation and Natural Areas. The proposed ban also considered roads
to be forest boundaries, making a 2-acre parcel divided only by a
back-country road immune from the moratorium.
Neugent proposed
dropping the size lot for protection to 1 acre, eliminating the
Conservation and Natural Area requirement and making U.S. 1 the only
roadway that counts as a forest boundary.
The changes will
simplify the process of protection for county staff, said Marlene
Conaway, director of county planning and environmental resources.
The amendment to
the proposal was unanimously approved, without comment, by commissioners
Neugent, Dixie Spehar, David Rice and Charles "Sonny" McCoy.
The proposed
ordinance will return to the commission for a second public hearing next
month.
Nelson, who was
lead negotiator with DCA on the deal, was absent from the Wednesday
meeting. He said last week that there might not be a reason to go ahead
with a building moratorium due to threats of legal challenges from
environmental groups.
Local
environmentalists have said the deal with DCA, which was meant to rein
in growth, in effect rewards the county for poor stewardship by allowing
more growth. The agreement increases the number of building allocations
from DCA, which regulates growth in the Keys. Environmental groups
unsuccessfully appealed to the state to rethink the agreement.
A moratorium
could face stiff opposition from some residents who claim the plan will
violate property rights.
Local property
rights attorney Lloyd Good said the ban will be successfully challenged
in the courts.
"I am afraid as
soon as you pass it somebody is going to come in and say 'I am not going
to bother with administrative appeals, I am just going to knock it out,'
and I think it will be knocked out," Good said.
ttritten@keysnews.com
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