Nelson needs to join fellow commissioners
In the week and a half
since the Monroe County Commission unexpectedly and unanimously voted to
strengthen a temporary moratorium on natural habitats in unincorporated
Monroe, the decibel level has been getting awfully high in the circles
that concern themselves with growth management in the Florida Keys.
The vote was unanimous
because county Mayor Murray Nelson was absent from the meeting. Since
then, he has made his views known, blasting the proposed amendments to
the moratorium in a widely circulated letter and in comments on the
radio.
The mayor has put in
countless hours working on a growth management agreement with the state
and no doubt it is irritating when your fellow commissioners veer off in
an unexpected direction. But the mayor should remember that all the
commissioners are elected countywide and each has equal rights and
responsibilities when it comes to growth management.
While it is
entertaining for journalists and public policy wonks when the
temperatures rise among our public officials and active citizens, we'd
like to request that everyone involved in this fracas take a few deep
breaths, step back and simply look at this matter in perspective.
The so-called
moratorium — which does not apply to all lands — is only proposed for
one year. The real work, crafting land development regulations that will
incorporate the substantiated findings of the Florida Keys Carrying
Capacity Study, lies ahead. The measure we're discussing now is simply a
time-out, a short-term stop gap intended to protect the natural areas
until the long-term plan is worked out. Its starting date is Jan. 14,
2004, which means it would not apply to building applications in the
pipeline before then. There are more than 300 of those — enough to fill
a couple of years of permit allocations all by themselves.
The amendments
proposed and unanimously approved at the April county commission meeting
were a refreshing change in the county's approach to growth management
because they were clear and easily understandable. Over the last year
and a half, commissioners, developers and environmentalists alike have
been frustrated with the confusing, inconsistent and changing terms and
definitions used in these discussions. The county's growth management
staff, which is overwhelmed and plagued with constant staff turnover,
bears a great responsibility for these problems.
The commissioners who
voted to amend the moratorium are to be commended for bringing clarity
and fairness to this issue. Using existing maps, county staff can tell
property owners simply whether they are in or out. An option for appeals
is also provided, so if the information is inaccurate, it should be
simple to suss out.
Mayor Nelson has been
objecting to the proposed amendments on just about every ground except
for homeland security. On the radio yesterday, he questioned whether the
Keys received a mere $10 million instead of the hoped-for $18 million in
wastewater funding in this year's state budget because of the moratorium
amendments.
That is a craven
misrepresentation of how the state budget process works. The Keys
received the same amount of water quality funding as Miami-Dade County —
a great achievement that we should be celebrating. Department of
Environmental Protection Secretary Colleen Castille, Sen. Larcenia
Bullard and Rep. Ken Sorensen deserve tremendous credit for bringing
home that kind of bacon. The mayor should not be attempting to exploit
the intricacies of the state budgeting process for political points.
Instead, he should
listen to his fellow commissioners and figure out if they can all find a
way to protect natural lands in the short term and work together in
crafting the long-term plan in the best interest of the Keys — one that
is consistent, easily understandable and fair. |
