Big changes are on the way, and our quality of life in the Keys is on the line. In Tallahassee, Gov. Jeb Bush, the state legislature and state agencies like the Dept. of Community Affairs (DCA) are discussing growth management "reform." Most of these officials are pushing for a return to greater "local control" of growth decisions. And unscrupulous developers and their friends in local government are licking their chops in anticipation.
Last summer, DCA Secretary Steven Seibert announced a public process to develop new state growth management guidelines. The process, which is now underway, is gathering citizen input through eleven regional workshops and written surveys. The resulting proposals were supposed to be considered during the 2001 Legislative Session. But now the DCA Secretary is pushing for legislative action this year, bypassing the public process. And like most of his colleagues in Tallahassee, he seems to be calling for returning most growth issues to local control.
The problem is that local control is only as good as the local government administering it. Even with our restrictive Land Development Regulations in place, Key West has experienced runaway commercial development with infrastructure insufficient to support it.
The consequences of not following our Comprehensive Land Use Plan are obvious parts of our everyday life: When you're sitting in your car stuck in traffic, when you're circling the block searching for a parking space, when you're looking for a reasonably-priced place to live, or when you can't keep employees because they're chased out of town by our high cost of living.
All of these problems and more stem from a lack of vision on behalf of our city government. As long as there is a profit to be made, commercial development has been given the green light. And this includes not only legal development, but also illegal acts— like hijacking residential ROGO units and turning them into vacation rentals, which has had catastrophic effects on both our housing market and our quality of life.
A perfect example of our city's lack of planning involves its approval of the Simonton Row project, which will be located where Strunk's hardware store now sits. As an incentive for approval, the developer promised the commission that three hundred new low-paying jobs would be created. But nobody ever considered where the people who hold those new jobs will live or where they will park when they get to work.
The project will have other unconsidered impacts as well. Its three big restaurants and an unspecified number of retail shops will attract a lot of people to an already crowded area. When restaurant customers converge there at mealtimes, traffic and parking will be a nightmare. In addition, because restaurants are one of the most intensive land uses imaginable, lots of garbage, dumpsters and big delivery trucks will also be competing for space.
We should call for an end to commercial development until the infrastructure is in place to support the development we have now. It is imperative that we participate fully in the public process for growth management reform because the influence of those who are promoting development that is not sustainable has already been demonstrated.
Citizens need to be banding together now, getting informed, and getting their elected representatives to fight for the best long-term interests of our community.