| At the heart of the "working
waterfront" Comprehensive Plan amendment Monroe County submitted (and
the State of Florida rejected) is the plan for a luxury hotel, outside
of the Rate-of-Growth (ROGO) allocation system, at Safe Harbor on Stock
Island. The county is appealing the State's rejection, and
Last Stand filed for status
as an intervener in the case, in support of Florida DCA's rejection.
Details about the hotel proposal are in the July 21 editorial from the
Key West Citizen, below: |
Despite the spin, 'it's about building a
hotel'
For months we have observed the razzle-dazzle
public relations effort by the representatives of New Stock
Island Properties, the developer of a proposed Safe Harbor
project known as Old Island Harbor.
The developer is seeking special consideration from the county
and state for a variance to use 22 acres of submerged bay bottom
to calculate density, a variance from the 35-foot county height
restriction, and a grant of 300 "free" building allocations in
order to build a luxury hotel that could also serve as a
hurricane recovery center.
This well-organized public relations team is spearheaded by
local attorney David Paul Horan and includes Ty Symroski, former
Key West and Monroe County planning director, development
consultant Owen Trepanier, Michael Eveleth, general manager Old
Island Harbor, and Jim Hendrick, former Monroe County attorney.
They also employed the services of Burson-Marsteller, a global
public relations firm, headed by legendary spin-doctor Mark
Penn, who was chief strategist for Hillary Clinton's campaign.
This team's PR spin began in earnest by outlining positive
benefits of the project: Preserving the working waterfront,
providing a refuge of last resort for emergency personnel and
recovery workers, preserving commercial and recreational
boating, and stimulating the economy. The spin included
"improving the quality of life of local fisherman, tradesmen and
artisans."
While we agree that these are admirable goals we wonder why very
little mention was made of their true agenda: development of a
luxury resort hotel for mega-yacht owners, who typically fly-in
and need luxury accommodations.
Apparently the density and height variances and the Rate Of
Growth Ordinance exemption for 300 units are necessary to make
this hotel financially feasible. It is estimated that purchasing
the needed ROGO allocations on the open market could cost
between $30 million and $40 million. The developers have also
disregarded the Navy's concern that this hotel would be in a
high-noise zone, in the flight path of military training
flights. That makes it a very noisy luxury hotel.
This spin wobbled to a stop when the state Department of
Community Affairs rejected the County Commission's new
amendments to its comprehensive land-use plan — amendments that
included everything the developer requested. The DCA stated that
the amendments are not "in compliance" with Florida Statutes,
and the county did "not adequately address potential
encroachment issues with the naval air station."
Undaunted by the DCA ruling, Horan reactivated the spin machine
in Tallahassee, now staffed with high-powered lobbyist and
former state attorney general Jim Smith and former DCA attorney
Sherry Spies, in an attempt to persuade DCA Secretary Tom Pelham
on the value of their hotel. This apparent attempt to influence
the DCA process generated controversy and a sharp rebuke from
Richard Shine, DCA's assistant general counsel.
During Thursday's settlement negotiations, the DCA responded by
reaffirming its opposition to the ROGO exemption and the use of
submerged bay bottom to calculate density for the hotel. We
concur.
State Emergency Management Division Director Craig Fugate
recently demonstrated the ability to decode the spin machine
when he said: "It's not about building a public safety building.
It's about building a hotel."
Director Fugate, we couldn't have said it better ourselves.
— The Citizen |
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