| In the context of settlement talks between Monroe
County and Florida Department of Community Affairs in the case of the
county's "working waterfront ordinance", the state has told the county
to reach agreement with the US Navy regarding development in the Air
Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ). At issue is a hotel
proposed beneath the approach path to the Navy airfield on Boca Chica.
(Last Stand is one of several
interveners in the case, in support of Florida DCA's rejection of
several provisions including the hotel proposal.) Details follow
in this September 25 article from the Key West Citizen: |
DCA to county: Reach
development accord with Navy
County told to resolve compatibility issue
in noise, crash zones
By TIMOTHY O'HARA Citizen Staff
Stopping short of a mandate, the state Department of Community
Affairs (DCA) told Monroe County officials Tuesday that it wants
the county to reach an agreement with the U.S. Navy about what
kind of development will be allowed within the flight paths of
aircraft training at Boca Chica Airfield.
For more than a year, Monroe County has balked at adopting the
most recent version of Naval Air Station Key West's Air
Installation
Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ) maps. During that time, the County
Commission has approved several residential projects in areas
subject to loud jet noise and the potential for aircraft
accidents.
The Navy has voiced its objections about such projects to the
DCA, which oversees the development in the Keys. But very little
came of those objections until Tuesday, during a meeting in
Tallahassee between the county, the DCA, the Navy and developers
seeking to build a resort and residential units beneath the Navy
flight paths.
The county has held firm to the position that state law requires
it only to consult with and take recommendations from the Navy
-- not to adopt the AICUZ maps. County officials stuck with that
position Tuesday as they made their case to DCA staff for
allowing the development. The county is proposing amendments to
its comprehensive land-use plan that ostensibly would help
preserve public access and historical use of Keys waterfront.
Controversial provisions of those amendments allow increased
density, an exception to county height restrictions and
construction of an upscale resort on Safe Harbor on Stock
Island. The proposed development also falls within the Navy's
high noise and accident-potential zones.
Prior to Tuesday's meeting, the Navy submitted a detailed letter
outlining its concerns about the amendments, and about
developers' plans
to place hotels, condos and apartments within the flight zones.
The Navy noted that the county is seeking increased density in
areas where it has not been permitted for more than 20 years.
Military officials recommended that commercial fishing or
maritime industrial uses be encouraged, rather than residential
uses.
They noted that Key West and Stock Island rank 12th in the
country in commercial fishing landings.
The Navy also noted that commercial fishing and residential uses
are typically incompatible due to noise, odor, and hours of
operation. The
Navy letter points out that a previous version of the amendments
called for "no net loss" of commercial marinas and docks, but
that clause was eliminated from the version submitted to the DCA.
Fish house owner Charlie Renier, who is among the investors
seeking to build in Safe Harbor, questioned why he and other
developers are being singled out now. He claims the county and
state have approved residential projects even closer to Boca
Chica Airfield.
Renier and his partners asked if the state could move forward on
the amendments now, and later work out an agreement between the
county and the Navy about the AICUZ issue. He said every day
approval of the amendments is delayed costs his company money.
"It's like it's never-ending," Renier said.
The DCA rejected the amendments earlier this year, and the
agency is currently working with the county, Navy and property
owners to craft
amendments that achieve the goals of working waterfront
preservation.
County Growth Management Director Andrew Trivette said Tuesday
that adopting the AICUZ maps would expose the county to property
rights lawsuits.
Trivette said the Navy should either bear the cost of lawsuits
or pay people for property it doesn't want them to develop.
The Navy has suggested including notices in public property
records disclosing the fact the developments are in an area
subjected to loud
noise and a potential for plane crashes.
Assistant County Attorney Bob Shillinger countered that the
county does not have the "resources or the expertise" to place
the notices on
property records.
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