LAST STAND

The New York Times
July 20, 2003
By EDWIN MCDOWELL

THE first regularly scheduled cruise ship to call at the Port of Key West arrived in 1969. But not until 1984, when the city upgraded its dilapidated dock at Mallory Square, did Key West have a dock suitable for the larger ships that were already transforming the cruise industry.

In the years since, the decision to open its docks to cruise ships has paid dividends for the approximately two-mile by five-mile island with a population of about 27,000. In the 2002 fiscal year, 927,740 passengers stopped for the day in Key West (cruise ships are not permitted to stay overnight), up from 662,910 in 2000. The combination of port fees levied on the ships, the $8 passengers pay to disembark and passenger purchases in town have all helped to provide jobs in Key West's vital tourist economy.

But not everyone is pleased with the recent dramatic increase in both ships and passengers. Those numbers, last year's especially, seemed to evoke more complaints than ever from residents, environmentalists and longtime visitors. Cruise passengers, they say, jam the streets, cause long lines at restaurants and attractions, and otherwise threaten to diminish if not destroy the city's laid-back style. As a result, Key West residents are divided over whether the city should reduce the number of cruise ships or allow the same number as last year. The complaints are unlikely to subside if the city's projections for this fiscal year are borne out - namely, that 576 ships, or 107 more than last year's record, will arrive in Key West, bringing 1,073,036 passengers, or 145,000 more than last year .

The mayor of Key West, James Weekley, said in a telephone conversation that it is important to protect the island's
quality of life and marine environment. "I occasionally get e-mails or letters from visitors who have been coming here for years who say we need to control the numbers of cruise ships and their passengers, because Key West is losing its charm," he said. Yet while acknowledging that the city and the cruise industry need to strike a balance, the mayor added that it should not come at the expense of jobs, established businesses or businesses that started up because of the cruise ship visits.

Amy Lachat Lynch, the president of Last Stand, a Key West environmental organization, said, "It isn't that cruise ships or the people who arrive on them are bad, but we're concerned about the economic impact of the number of people who come here from almost everywhere and won't come back because of those crowds."

Joseph and Marlyn Brita, Maine residents who flew to Key West late last spring for a two-week vacation, their first visit to the key, were well aware of the crowds when three ships with about 7,000 passengers were in town at the same time, but they were not particularly bothered by them.

"It's a small town but there are a million things to see," Mr. Brita said, citing the Hemingway House, the Aquarium and the Harry Truman Little White House Museum. "But if they increase the number of ships that come here I can see where it will be a problem."

Peter Ilchuk, president of the Key West Lodging Association, agrees with residents who want the city to impose limits. "Key West is very small," he said, "and when you bring in 7,000 to 10,000 passengers on a given day, it's bound to change the nature of the destination."

Both the city and the cruise industry say they are looking for ways to do a better job of spreading out the congestion that occurs at Mallory Square, where two of the three cruise ship piers and many of the best-known restaurants and shops are situated. The city is financing research at Florida International University to determine how to assess the impact of cruise ships on the environment, Key West's economic base and its quality of life.

Meanwhile, critics of the influx of cruise ships have other suggestions. According to Elliot Baron, a former president
of Last Stand, "The only option left for the city to manage the ever-increasing appetite of the carnivorous cruise ships is to regulate supply and demand via the disembarkation fee."

Last month Mayor Weekley proposed that the City Commission impose a surcharge on cruise ships to help offset the cost
of providing security while they are at the city docks and an additional fee atop the current $8 passenger debarkation
fee. Although the commission has approved both proposals, it has not decided what either fee should be.

The mayor also proposed that while cruise ships are at city docks, they be required to pump out sewage through a hose
into the sewer, that they not use incinerators, and that they refrain from playing music or making announcements over the ships' on-deck loudspeakers.

But without actual limits on the numbers of ships stopping in Key West - and so far such limits are only in the talking stage - Mr. Ilchuk of the lodging association said he fears that "we'll find ourselves no longer a charming port city but just another cruise port."