Houses passes Keys dedesignation
BY ANN HENSON
Citizen Staff
The bill that takes the
Florida Keys
out of state control passed the state House of Representatives on
Thursday with a 92-to-26 vote.
The Senate companion bill
has one more stop — the Transportation and Economic Development
Appropriations committee on Monday — before the full Senate votes on it.
The House bill, sponsored
by state Rep. Ken Sorensen, R-Key Largo, returns control over growth
management issues to the county for the first time in more than 30
years.
The state seized control
when the county was failing to keep development in check. The state has
mandated that the county upgrade wastewater systems to clean nearshore
waters; provide affordable housing; protect habitat for endangered
species; and control growth enough to evacuate the Keys within 24 hours
of a hurricane.
Pending Senate approval
and the governor's signature, the bill takes effect in the fall of 2009
after the county has demonstrated that it has met all the commitments
required by the state, according to a press release issued by Sorensen.
The bill and amendments
are a culmination of efforts by Sorensen, environmentalists and the
state, he stated.
"A lot of hard work and
negotiation went into this good bill," said Sorensen. "We have been
under the watchful eye of the state for too long and our progress has
not gone unnoticed. The passage of House Bill 1299 is the beginning of
the process by which Monroe County will obtain true independence."
Amendments to the bill
allow the county to retain the benefits afforded to areas of critical
state concern, such as letting the county tap into special funds and
keep its Land Authority.
The bill also serves as a
"going-away present" for Sorensen, who is leaving the Legislature this
fall due to term limits.
He has said that freeing
the county of state control would be his legacy.
That freedom may come
with a price.
Department of Community
Affairs Secretary Thaddeus Cohen last week would not say whether the
state would continue to support the county in lawsuits from property
owners who cannot use their properties the way they wish because of
state-imposed laws. Hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake,
according to county officials. |
