| Wisteria Island owners request delay in county vote
In view of overwhelming opposition to a high-end
development, and while waiting for the City of Key West to weigh in, the
owners/developers of Wisteria island have asked the Monroe County Board
of County Commissioners (BOCC) to postpone action to approve (or not)
the changes in development rules needed to build 75 homes plus a marina,
bar-restaurant, on the offshore island which under current county
development rules could accommodate two residential units. The
BOCC earlier had asked Key West city commission for their opinion
on whether the rules should be changed, since Key West would receive the
brunt of the impact from the proposed development. From the July
16 Key West Citizen: |
Island owners seek vote delay
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA Citizen Stafftohara@keysnews.com
Developers have asked the Monroe County Commission to postpone
voting on their proposal to redevelop Wisteria Island, which was
scheduled for Wednesday.
The Bernstein family made the request Wednesday, almost two
weeks after Key West's planning director sent Monroe County's
Growth Management director a letter asking for more detailed
information on how the planned development and a mooring field
surrounding the island would impact city-provided services.
As the closest municipality, Key West most likely would be
tapped to provide utilities such as power and water and services
such as police, fire, emergency rescue and trash collection to
the proposed homes, transient rentals, shops and a
bar/restaurant.
"We are diligently working to provide all data and analysis
requested by the city so that the city can conclude its impact
review and provide its input to the County Commission, thereby
facilitating a thoughtful and informed decision," Owen Trepanier,
a planner working for the Bernsteins, wrote in the letter,
co-authored by family's attorney. "However, given the timing and
extensive nature of the city's request, I don't believe we can
deliver a full and complete analyses prior to [Wednesday]."
County Commissioner George Neugent said he thinks the developers
pulled the proposal because they lack the board's support.
Neugent, Commissioner Mario Di Gennaro and Mayor Sylvia Murphy
have said publicly there are too many unanswered questions and
doubts that Key West residents support the development.
Commissioner Kim Wigington has said she fears it could set a
precedent that would lead to development on other offshore
islands. She also thinks developers want to delay the vote until
after the November elections, when they may get a more favorable
vote. Neugent and Di Gennaro are up for re-election this year.
"The developers might get a no vote from those running and
possibly a yes vote after the election," Wigington said. "I
guess they counted to three or possibly four."
The Key West City Commission on Tuesday is slated to vote on
Mayor Craig Cates' resolution opposing the development.
Bernstein contends the delay was requested to give the city time
to complete a "good faith analysis" of the impacts of the
project.
"That can't be done before [Tuesday] or [Wednesday]," Bernstein
said. "We want to get moving on this. The sooner or quicker the
better."
Christine Russell, a Key West resident and one of the leaders of
what she calls the "Resistance Movement" to prevent the
development of Wisteria Island, is urging people to attend the
meeting anyway.
"People still need to attend this meeting because this is not
over, and the county commissioners still may discuss it," she
said. The commission must decide whether to grant the request or
vote despite it.
Under current development regulations, two single-family homes
can be built on the 21-acre offshore island. The Bernstein
family and its partners, the Walsh family, which owns the
adjacent Sunset Key, has agreed to build no more than 35 homes,
a 35-unit hotel encompassing 85 bedrooms, five affordable
housing units for workers, shops and a bar/restaurant. They also
have proposed a 116-ball mooring field -- a component that
hinges on the state's willingness to swap state-owned bay bottom
for the developers' nearby bay bottom.
tohara@keysnews.com
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