Development
Perhaps the most contentious debate throughout the Keys is the one over development. Are we built out? Do we have room for more development? If we don’t continue growth, how will we continue to be able to afford to support our residents? To avoid any confusion regarding my position on this, I’d like to share a few thoughts.
I am a businessperson and a property owner. I understand that without some economic growth, a community stagnates and flounders. I also understand that we live in a region of limited land in a sensitive ecosystem. This is both a constraint on our growth and the reason our County is so coveted by tourists, investors, developers and those of us who live here full and part-time. It’s why our land values are so high — this combination of limited supply and high demand for a unique environment and unparalleled lifestyle.
Recognizing these factors, and with the understanding that the unique qualities of the Keys are what make the Keys so valuable, I support redevelopment that complements our character, respects our environment and is consistent with our existing Comp Plan and Land Development Regulations. That’s also why I support the Area of Critical State Concern, and believe in working with the state Department of Community Affairs to balance our needs of sustainable growth with our valuable resource and national treasure.
Recognizing also that times may change, it’s inevitable that folks will come before the Commission requesting variances, and these must be considered on a case by case basis. If exceptions or changes to our Comp Plan and our LDR’s would provide a demonstrable and compelling public benefit, we’d have to give them careful consideration. It seems that many of the proposals now at issue for new commercial developments (like airport hotels) that exceed height regulations have not demonstrated to the public’s satisfaction that they provide a compelling benefit.
In sum, I support sustainable growth and logical redevelopment, not unfettered expansion at the expense of those cultural and environmental factors that make us so unique, and will consider changes to our regulations in light of any potential public benefit.
