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Logic has left
building
Inverse logic, convenient memories, and convoluted
thinking seem to permeate the discussions of the Monroe County Board of
County Commissioners these days. What, you might ask, makes now any
different from other times?
Very little would have to be the truthful response.
But the contrary logic and factual content of our reports from county
leadership just don't seem to mesh with any form of reality we have come
to expect.
The current fight over the controversial Tier
System is one case in point. In a totally unexpected move, and one sure
to spawn legal challenges, commissioners voted to dump one of three land
designations, and reduce it to just two. The logic behind this, as we
heard in meeting after meeting, was so that property owners weren't
placed at a competitive disadvantage with their neighbors when it comes
time to sell the property. It was also opined that if more land is made
available that can actually be developed into residential units, it
might actually bring the cost of a buildable lot in Monroe County down
from the rafters to somewhere around the window sills.
We can understand not setting up unfair competitive
programs for land owners. Our question has to be, "Why does ROGO stay in
place?" There isn't a soul in the county who doesn't know ROGO is so
weighted toward the wealthy that unless you come well-heeled to the
table, you will probably not have the strength to build once your number
comes up.
In a nutshell, the Tier System was originally
designed to direct development away from lots that were considered more
environmentally sensitive than their neighboring properties, and direct
future growth into areas where more building had already taken place,
more land was scarified, and less environmentally valuable land would be
destroyed to make way for million-dollar homes.
Tier One lands were those where building was
discouraged, lying mostly on sensitive lands of high value to the Keys
ecosystem. Tier Three lands were those of little value to the ecosystem,
where building already was well underway, and more encouraged. Tier Two
lands were those where some building had taken place, the lots contained
environmental sensitivities, and were designed to present a buffer
between the pristine and the totally scarified.
It was Tier Two the commissioners elected to junk,
eliminating the buffer zone and offering up another 1,500 buildable
lots. For the growth community, this makes sense. We'll withhold
judgment on the big picture for now.
Our real problem arises when commissioners tie
affordable housing to the creation of 1,500 more buildable lots. The
sentiment here was if there were more buildable lots, the county could
purchase and build on more of them at a cheaper price without spending
mega-bucks on mitigation.
Let's examine that a little more closely. The price
of a buildable dry lot in Monroe County starts at around $120,000. That
could be because there are only so many. That could also be because
that's what the market will bear. Lots that were previously designated
Tier Two, are now considered buildable lots. So now, instead of
thousands of lots that can achieve permits by simply purchasing them, we
now have 1,500 more lots.
In today's real estate market, how can any commissioner believe the
price will reduce drastically enough to make a serious difference?
And what stops the moneyed from now purchasing all
the buildable lots? The answer: Nothing.
We are also told that environmental groups that
have challenged the county's agreement with the state for more money to
buy lands, sewer the county, and build affordable housing, have cost us
$8 million extra to buy those lands because the county was unable to buy
them. In fact, we're told that the commission authorized the purchase of
100 lots each year upon which to allow the development of affordable
housing.
Excuse us?
The pot of money used to buy those lands has never
changed. In fact it increases with each passing month. How much land
have we bought?
Next to nothing.
And now we've made Tier Two lands, which could have
been purchased more cheaply, as pricey as Tier Three. Excuse us again.
We are also told that there are no permits to be
used to develop workforce housing. The pot of affordable housing ROGO
allocations has remained virtually untouched in the last two years.
According to most county staffers, the demand for single-family,
one-unit workforce housing allocations has no waiting list. Excuse us
again.
Once we strip the spin and whitewash from these
arguments, none of them hold much substance.
We could have bought land. We had permits to use.
We chose not to.
And then we have the audacity
to blame the environmental community for standing up and being heard.
We can conclude only one thing from all this.
Instead of progress, we would rather punish folks for not agreeing with
us, point fingers of blame, and then sit back and watch the market rate
housing money machine continue to churn.
Illogical. Convoluted. Just plain idiotic from many
points of view. |
