Governor scolds Keys officials
County given two weeks
to reach sewer agreement with FKAA
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA
Citizen Staff
TALLAHASSEE
— Monroe County will not receive permission to build more homes until it
reaches an agreement on sewer projects with the Florida Keys Aqueduct
Authority, Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet said Tuesday.
Bush and his Cabinet
delayed approving a proposed plan that would clear the way for more than
100 new affordable units in the Keys. The county was told to come back
to the Cabinet in two weeks with an agreement with FKAA in hand.
During the meeting, Bush
chastised county officials for their refusal to work with the FKAA on
sewer projects.
"I have this theory about
the Keys. We can't keep saying, 'It's the Keys,'" Bush said. "You're
smart; you're grown up. Come on — it's funny, but it's a pain in the
butt for the state government.
"I'm tired of it," the
governor said.
A deal brokered by County
Commissioner Murray Nelson in late 2003 called for the state to
immediately issue 140 building allocations for affordable housing. The
state also would boost the county's annual building permit allotment
from 158 to 197, restoring the number of permits it withheld three years
ago. Seventy-one of the annual building permits would be specifically
for affordable housing; the other 126 would be for market-rate housing.
Cabinet approval on Tuesday would have codified the deal.
The governor and Cabinet
also had questions about the county's proposed Tier System for
protecting environmentally sensitive land.
Bush and the Cabinet will
reconsider the deal after the county and FKAA concur on how to fund and
complete wastewater projects. Each board will meet Aug. 17 to vote on an
agreement to be hashed out in the next week by county officials and FKAA
staff. The county will present the plan to the governor and Cabinet on
Aug. 23.
Cohen's visit was pivotal
The County Commission
voted last month to refuse to pay for any more wastewater projects
unless it controlled them. State Department of Community Affairs
Secretary Thaddeus Cohen, who oversees growth management issues in the
state, came to the Keys last week to help bring the two sides together.
If Cohen hadn't sat down with the two sides and persuaded them to start
working together, the governor said he would have voted a definite "no"
on the plan Tuesday.
Under the plan, the state
also would spend $20 million on affordable housing in the Keys, with the
county being required to contribute $10 million. The county has bonded
$10 million and tapped another $3 million in a reserve fund for
purchasing land for affordable housing.
The state has pledged $93
million to buy environmentally sensitive land in the Keys.
The proposed deal follows
years of struggles between the county and the state Department of
Community Affairs, which must approve all land-use decisions in the Keys
because of its status as an Area of Critical State Concern. In the past,
the state has penalized the county by withholding building allocations
when it wasn't making substantial progress in restricting growth or
protecting the environment.
Before issuing more
building permits, Bush said he wanted assurances that the county and
Aqueduct Authority will work together on water quality projects that are
feasible to both taxpayers and ratepayers.
Stock
Island resident
speaks
Bush heard testimony from
Stock
Island resident
Kim Wigington, who called the county's
Stock
Island wastewater
project a failure and recounted how it was the subject of a Monroe
County grand jury investigation. Wigington told the governor and Cabinet
that residents are paying more than they should because of design flaws
and the location of connection lines.
Nelson refuted some of
Wigington's assertions and told the governor and Cabinet the county is
living up to its end of the agreement.
The Keys are facing an
"affordable housing crisis" and the county needs the permits immediately
to remedy the housing shortfalls, Nelson said.
After the meeting, Nelson
said the county would work with the state and the Florida Keys Aqueduct
Authority on meeting the goals of the county's land-use plan.
"The journey of a
thousand steps starts here," Nelson said.
County
Commissioner
George Neugent, who was in Tallahassee to address the Cabinet on a
separate issue, congratulated the governor and Cabinet after their vote.
"You hit a home run,"
Neugent said.
After the meeting, Bush
invited Wigington to his office to talk to him about Keys wastewater
issues. Wigington ran unsuccessfully for County Commission against Mayor
Dixie Spehar last year, with much of her campaign based on the county's
conduct on wastewater.
In October, DCA officials
will report to the governor and Cabinet on the county's progress in
upgrading wastewater treatment facilities, saving and maintaining
sensitive lands and providing affordable housing. A bad report card
could mean the county could receive fewer building permit allocations in
the future.
tohara@keysnews.com |
