Protect the Florida Keys
Palm
Beach Post Editorial
Wednesday, March 29,
2006
Most readers of this
or any other newspaper in the state do not live in the Florida Keys. So
why should they care if the Legislature drops its oversight of the Keys
to let local officials take over?
Because in the 30
years that they has been an Area of Critical State Concern, the Keys
have been spared overdevelopment that local officials might have
allowed, as they have elsewhere. The state has contributed by spending
hundreds of millions to buy and preserve unique, irreplaceable habitat
in a part of Florida that belongs to all Floridians, many of whom enjoy
it as vacationers. The Keys contain four national wildlife refuges, 22
threatened and endangered species, 6,000 species of marine life, the
third-largest coral reef in the world and more than 80,000 full-time
human residents.
Development, though,
has taken a toll. Sewage has contaminated nearby waters, septic systems
are antiquated; and an overzealous Monroe County Commission is a
constant threat to wildlife habitat. And that's with state
oversight.
State Rep. Ken
Sorensen, R-Key Largo, wants to take away that oversight. His House Bill
1299 has the support of the Monroe County Commission. Under the
commission, a work plan meant to assure adequate sewer and stormwater
coverage has been extended to cover five years, then seven and now 10,
with little progress to show for the talk.
The state has acted
as a counterbalance to the political feuds that threaten the Keys. Last
year, Gov. Bush and the Cabinet refused to allow a sewer construction
deal, part of a trade-off to allow affordable homes. Frustrated by the
dueling political camps, the governor called the local governments "a
pain in the butt to deal with." Still, Rep. Sorensen, who is in his last
session because of term limits, claims to have the governor's support.
In its 2005 annual
report, the state Department of Community Affairs identified four
remaining critical needs for the Keys: water quality, habitat
protection, affordable housing and hurricane evacuation. A carrying
capacity analysis has limited construction to 250 new homes per year and
identified an inventory of ready-to-develop, previously cleared lots
that could last 14 years. Still, the Monroe commission seeks new lands
to develop.
A campaign opposing
Rep. Sorensen's bill contends that state oversight keeps the Keys from
turning into an extension of
Miami,
with high-rise-lined waterfronts and more crowding. In a hopeful sign,
the Monroe
commission's attorney warned, according to The Key West Citizen,
that a recent amendment to the bill is "so broad that you might as well
still be designated."
There's an easier
way of assuring that state protection continues. Don't pass Rep.
Sorensen's bill. |
