Moratorium for money approved
Specific details of partial ban coming later
By Alyson Matley
amatley@keynoter.com
The Monroe County Commission agreed Tuesday to stop issuing building
permits under the rate-of-growth ordinance in some areas in return for
getting state money to address a variety of local environmental issues.
The length of the moratorium will likely be six months to a year. The
specifics will be outlined when commissioners meet Jan. 21.
The tentative deal was reached between the commission and state
Department of Community Affairs Secretary Colleen Castille.
In a 4-1 vote, commissioners approved the conceptual plan that would
impose the moratorium, increase the number of affordable-housing permit
allocations for the county, and bring in $113 million in state funds for
land acquisition.
Commissioner George Neugent voted against the agreement, saying it
does not go far enough to protect the Keys environment.
Castille asked for Tuesday’s meeting after telling Gov. Jeb Bush and
the Cabinet last month that Monroe County had not made the grade when it
comes to environmental protection.
Each year, Keys governments are graded by the governor and Cabinet on
whether they are making state-mandated progress on protecting the
islands’ fragile environment. If the localities are judged as not making
progress, the state can impose punitive measures, since the Keys are
designated an Area of Critical State Concern. In Monroe County, those
punitive measures would likely mean reduced building permits
Castille said the county’s proposal to pledge some $140 million to
upgrade wastewater treatment is acceptable. However, the obstacle to a
good report card for the governor and Cabinet was the county’s inability
to institute a moratorium this past summer.
"You’ve pledged a tremendous amount of dollars for [wastewater]," she
told the commission. "The most important element is habitat protection
and how we can accomplish that between us."
The moratorium would apply to native upland areas with two or more
acres of native vegetation. During the hold on development, the county
would agree to:
- Adopt specific maps identifying levels of
sensitive land.
- Revise ROGO, which limits development due to
hurricane evacuation times, based on those maps.
- Revise local environmental regulations according
to those maps.
- Prepare a land-acquisition master plan.
In return, the state would, among other things:
- Allocate $113 million for land acquisition.
- Help the county in legal defense of any claims
alleging taking of property rights related to the county land-use
land.
Of 18 speakers from the public Tuesday, nearly all spoke in favor of
the moratorium. Many said affordable housing does not have to compete
with land acquisition.
"Housing is not directly opposed [to land acquisition]," said Tina
Henize. "Please do not allow even one more unit of low-income housing to
be swapped for market-rate housing."
State Rep. Ken Sorensen presented Castille with a list he said DCA
could use to help the county comply with the state’s environmental work
plan. Among his recommendations were 150 affordable-housing permit
allocations outside the ROGO system.
"We just lost a teacher of the year for Monroe County because that
person could not afford to be here," he said.
County land-use attorney Jim Hendrick advised the commission that,
with some care, they could pass a temporary moratorium without running
the risk of another takings lawsuit. Last year, the county settled such
a suit for $5.9 million.
State statutes, he said, protect government from suits as long as a
moratorium is clearly limited. He suggested that a moratorium limited to
six months or a year would not make for a taking.
Hendrick also warned that any changes to the land-use regulations
must provide that landowners be justly compensated for land left
unbuildable. He warned that the law not be left open-ended, or "it looks
like you’re holding down the property owner until you get a right to his
property."
In her
report to Bush, Castille gave Marathon a passing grade and OK’d further
permit allocations. For Islamorada, she’s holding off recommendations
until she meets with the Village Council. |
