Planning board bows to the developers

After observing the county Planning Commission operate as pretty much a rubber stamp in the effort to make the Keys a place for the rich and famous, I decided to add my voice to those who say stop.

I live at King's Pointe Marina. My wife and I are both professionals, and but for our ability to live on our boat, we could not afford to live here. I spent several years of my professional life working as a planning director. The goal of government planning should be to provide a balanced growth and development process for the entire community.

Here in the Keys, the Planning Board for the county operates to approve plans for luxury marinas, condos and yacht clubs. There is little or no consideration for the needs of the 95 percent of us that cannot and do not want to live in luxury. We came to the Keys to work, live and contribute to a well-rounded community.

The headline in the April 12, 2007, Citizen tells the story, "Luxury marina resort project OK'd." The developer Cortex describes the proposal as "the most prestigious private marina complex in the Florida Keys."

The comments of [the] commission chairman are characteristic of the non-planning policies being practiced by the Planning Board. He is quoted as saying, "The board needed to make the decision that day." He also stated that the decision on King's Pointe is final and doesn't have to go before the full County Commission. We, as tax-paying citizens, should be asking why these statements were deemed necessary. After all, the County Commission appointed Mr. Cameron.

The Planning Commission also overruled several staff recommendations and a re-quest by the Navy civil engineer/planner to delay the decision to give the Navy officials time to discuss the noise and safety issues.

The attorney representing the developer apparently got everything he wanted. Even though there are review periods built into the process, he stated, "We are 30 days away from pulling permits." All Mr. Koenig had to say was "I guarantee" and all would be all right. So now we are left with the luxury development going full steam ahead, and at some time in the future the affordable housing might get built.

Now let us fast-forward to The Citizen dated April 15, 2007. The U.S. Navy has voiced its concern about the approval of the King's Pointe Marina. The Navy's operation at the Key West Naval Station could well be threatened by the marina development. The Navy contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to the financial structure of the Keys. The training being conducted is crucial to the defense of the USA. The officers [or] enlisted men stationed at the air station certainly will not benefit from the luxury marina development. The question to ask then is, "Did the Planning Commission take any of these factors into consideration before making its decision?" The answer is, of course, the commission considered these factors. In fact, the commission chose to intentionally ignore the most relevant data, which clearly shows that the King's Pointe Marina is in the updated noise zones and instead relied on the 1977 maps in approving the development.

Lastly, the state Legislature passed laws requiring each county to send any plans affecting land use near military bases to the base commander for review and comment. Was this done?

So despite the rush to judgment by Mr. Cameron and the Planning Commission, there is time for the citizens to make comments about the development and perhaps use the proper laws and standards applicable to the projects.

Dwight M. Wells

Key West