Hotel added to working waterfront

County OKs eleventh-hour amendment to land-use laws

BY BECKY IANNOTTA

Citizen Staff

Monroe County's proposed plan to save its working waterfront now includes a hotel that would double as a hurricane shelter at Safe Harbor on Stock Island.

The County Commission on Wednesday accepted the last-minute addendum to a comprehensive land-use plan amendment aimed at preserving boat yards, fish houses and dock space rapidly being lost to development. The addendum paves the way for a hotel in a multimillion-dollar renovation of Safe Harbor.

Several boards and committees worked for months on the comprehensive plan amendment calling for no net loss of working waterfront and allowing for increased density in some areas. The state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) , which regulates growth in the Florida Keys, must approve it.

Representing Safe Harbor property owners, who plan to build a boardwalk, fish market and shops with commercial fishing boats unloading their catch at nearby docks, Key West attorney David Paul Horan stressed the importance of having a shelter that can withstand Category 5 winds at the deep-water port. He said local utilities, hospitals and law enforcement chiefs told him they would use the shelter.

"They're going to be arguing over who gets how many units," he said.

Growth Management Director Andrew Trivette argued against Horan's addendum, saying hurricane evacuation is separate from preserving working waterfronts.

"My fear is it will dilute this issue, which is working waterfront," he said, adding that his staff could more fully address hurricane evacuation and shelters if given more time.

The addendum says that lodging facilities capable of doubling as hurricane shelters will not affect county evacuation times, and that they do not detract from water-dependent uses.

In addition to the addendum, confusion over three versions of the comprehensive plan amendment overshadowed months of work by the county Planning Commission and Marine and Port Advisory Committee.

The Planning Commission, after three public meetings, negotiated with developers and fishermen during a revision of the original version authored by county planning staff. The planning staff then crafted a third version that was approved by the county's Marine and Port Advisory Committee.

Planning Commissioner Sherry Popham urged commissioners to approve the version her board approved.

"No net loss was achieved by a wide range of interests," she said, adding that it was least vulnerable to changes and was created by "very unlikely teammates."

Today is the deadline for sending the comprehensive plan amendment to DCA. The next time the county can send proposed changes is after the first of the year, Trivette said.

County Commissioner Dixie Spehar said the first of the year was too late, and pressed the commission for approval on Wednesday. The County Commission voted 5-0 to approve the comprehensive plan amendment, with Commissioner George Neugent saying he approved of the working waterfront portion but not the addendum on the hotel/hurricane shelter.

riannotta@keysnews.com