|
Setting the
record straight about
Last Stand's
ideals
This responds to the May 5
Citizen guest commentary by Watermark principals Atwell and Parker. The
Atwell-Parker tirade jumped between multiple groups (including Last
Stand), painting them all with a broad brush as "extremists" and
"political terrorists," the reader never sure which group was being
called what. Ultimately, everyone who opposes Watermark for any reason
was branded "this same fringe extremist group."
I cannot speak for various
neighborhood associations which oppose Watermark, and Bill Verge can
speak for himself, but Messrs. Atwell and Parker made some misstatements
about Last Stand which need correcting.
Last Stand does not oppose
affordable housing. We've long supported increasing the ratio of
affordable to market rate; we support employers' paying livable wages;
we're very concerned about redevelopment and conversions that rob the
Keys of affordable housing. Our pending legal action is not to stop
affordable housing. We challenged a state rule change that would grant
Monroe County an unwarranted increase in the growth rate, unwarranted
because of the county's multiyear failure to meet its own work plan for
sewerage upgrades, habitat protection, and acquisition of
environmentally sensitive land. We often oppose projects and public
policies which result in net loss of affordable housing, such as luxury
projects that create low-wage jobs but add no workforce housing.
The Atwell-Parker shotgun
diatribe leaves it unclear which of the named groups is being accused of
what, but I'm not aware of any "intimidation" by Last Stand. We're not
all that scary. We're a nonprofit group of volunteers that for over 17
years has worked "to promote, preserve, and protect the quality of life
in the city of Key West, the Florida Keys and their environs, with
particular emphasis on the natural environment." Visit our Web site at:
http://www.last-stand.org. Simply put, Last Stand's 400-plus members
believe strongly in public participation in public processes, and in
holding officials accountable for making responsible decisions and for
fairly applying its rules.
We support the city's
proposed revised comprehensive plan preamble, which includes a vision of
Key West as "A tropical island with unique community character in
harmony with its environment," a mission statement that calls on us all
"To preserve and protect our island," and, finally, a philosophy of Key
West that "We are all one human family." In the most fundamental of
ways, Last Stand is closely aligned with the mainstream of this island.
Maybe it's the name-callers who are the extremists.
Dennis Henize
President of the Board of
Directors, Last Stand |
