State oversight critical to sustaining the Keys

Earlier this month, the Monroe County Commission sent the state its annual progress report on goals associated with the Keys' designation as an Area of Critical State Concern.  

In this report, the county maintains it has "made substantial process," but freely admits it "has not completed all the objectives of [its] work program" and that the state Department of Community Affairs "may want to continue" the Critical Concern designation.

The county is in the 12th year of this 10-year work plan, which began as a five-year program in 1996. Over the years, we have expended much ink on this topic. However, we believe a years-long push toward de-designation — an unencumbered status sought by many developers and elected officials — warrants uncorking the ink barrel once more.

In 1975, the state applied the Critical Concern designation to Monroe County in an attempt to protect the fragile Keys ecosystem from the runaway development of the '50s and '60s.

This included state oversight of local government to counterbalance a lack of ability — or desire — to control development. Many who had sought to slow development viewed the designation as gaining the state as a partner in protecting a national treasure — a treasure that includes Everglades National Park, Florida Bay, Keys hardwood hammocks and one of the largest coral reef ecosystems on Earth.

This county's work program requires substantial progress in areas such as affordable housing, nearshore water pollution, habitat protection, growth management and hurricane evacuation. While we harbor concerns in all of these areas, development remains the central concern. The profit potential of limited land in a premier tourism destination on subtropical islands generates immense pressure on government to allow development.

Even with state oversight, nearly 3,000 housing allocations have been issued in unincorporated Monroe County since the advent of the Rate of Growth Ordinance (ROGO) in 1992. That's an average of one every 45 hours for the past 15 years. This statistic doesn't include new development in Key West and other municipalities.

But it is mostly the exceptions and loopholes that worry us. We've seen redevelopment, which has the potential to vastly improve our communities, pushed beyond limits by developers. Mobile homes, recreational vehicles and hotel rooms magically morph into rows of spacious three-story luxury town homes. Exceptions are created for density, height, setbacks and impacts on infrastructure.

Sometimes it appears the role of elected officials is to enable developers to bend and circumvent as many development rules as possible.

This less-than-stellar growth-management track record is clear evidence that de-designation would trigger a gold rush among developers.

Already, poorly planned development has resulted in damage to the marine environment that provides the economic foundation of the Keys tourism industry. (Sorry, Duval Street, but booze, T-shirts and eccentricity alone don't draw 4 million visitors a year.)

All things considered, the Area of Critical State Concern designation has been, is, and will be a valuable tool in maintaining a balance of sustainable growth, environment and quality of life in the Keys. Protecting this national treasure is indeed a work in progress, and it requires indefinite state oversight by those less vulnerable to Keys development pressures. It is in the best interest of everyone — especially future generations.