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Proposed by Conchs or not, Watermark still misses the mark by a long
shot
BY GEORGE
HALLORAN
Guest
Columnist
Watermark. I
guess if it was either Watermark condos as currently planned or Jabour's
funky old RV trailer park, I would settle for the park for a few more
years. But it was never a choice between the two. Jabour's is gone
forever. Developers have purchased the property for a reported $15
million, and something has to happen. And whatever is built should
conform to the laws now on the books.
The HARC
(Historic Architectural Review Commission) board knuckled under to the
developers months ago. Last week, the Planning Commission also knuckled
under in a 3-2 vote. Two commissioners asked that the law be upheld on
three points:
1. Some
buildings are still 40 feet or more high. The law says they can only be
35 feet unless they have a pitched roof. They are higher than all nearby
buildings, again contrary to law.
2. The
floor-area-ratio (FAR) is well above the average adjoining properties.
It is 20 percent higher than the law allows. That ratio is a good
indicator of "mass," or how big a building looks to a person on the
street. Watermark's extra floor space translates to at least 20 percent
more profit for the developers, and 20 percent more "in your face"
structure for the rest of us to look at.
3. The law
calls for "two and one-half stories." Two of Watermark's buildings are
four stories, any way you look at them. The top floors, to be considered
half-stories, have to be less than one half the area of the floors
below. They aren't.
At the
planning meeting, the developers got up and bragged about how many
generations they have been here. As though they should be able to break
the law because of who their parents and grandparents were. They had a
lot of support in the audience. But most of the people who spoke up for
the project stood to make money on it. And all of them had been
sold a bill of goods by Jim Hendrick, attorney for the project, who
keeps telling everyone that Watermark is perfectly legal.
Well, in his
opinion, it is. But Hendrick's opinion is just that, his opinion. And he
tailors it to fit his client's needs. Hendrick is experienced, smart and
very successful. And he fights hard for whoever hires him. Too bad he's
not our city attorney. At the Planning Commission hearing, our actual
city attorney Bob Tischenkel, also appeared to cave in. First he opined
that FAR had no bearing on this case. Then, when asked by the Planning
Chairperson about some legal details, instead of giving her the answer,
he deferred to Hendrick, who could barely hold back the chortles as he
set us all straight.
The current
Key West law says that any questionable area in the codes should be
decided in favor of the city and the citizens of Key West, not
developers. So far, on this project, it has been the other way around.
The
developers, in addition to wanting special status because they are
Conchs, also wanted their backs patted the other night because they had
made so many compromises from their original demand to build 100 units
and two big restaurants. I don't think so. First, they still are
not within the legal building envelope and second they ought to be
ashamed that they tried to push through a far more massive and illegal
project in the first place.
As
fifth-generation Conchs, they should be proud of this island, and doing
what they can to protect its charm and abide by its laws. Not acting
like greedy newcomers, riding into town with nothing but money on their
minds.
Yes, something
has to be built, but it can be done with good taste and still make money
for all its investors. It never had to be a big fight for the neighbors.
It could have come in properly within the zoning codes on day one and
been under construction by now.
The fight is
far from over. The project still has to pass the City Commission, the
state Department of Community Affairs and any court tests that may crop
up. And the neighbors may be willing to keep their attorneys on the job
a little longer.
And by the
way, if your great-great-grandfather sailed in here a hundred years ago,
you aren't really a fifth-generation Conch — only a fourth. Because your
great never became a Conch. He was just a very wise outsider who
immigrated to Key West and then stayed because he loved it, like so many
of us.
George
Halloran is a local building contractor, a former Key West city
commissioner and former president of Last Stand. |
