Dedesignation bill now getting passed around
BY ANN HENSON
Citizen Staff
The Legislature is
considering a bill to free Monroe County from having the state be its
development watchdog.
The bill removes the
county's 30-year designation as an Area of Critical State Concern, but
allows it to maintain the perks the designation affords for several
years.
Under the designation,
the governor and Cabinet approve all Keys growth management measures and
annually review the county's progress in meeting state-set goals to
improve water quality, provide affordable housing, protect the
environment and ensure adequate hurricane evacuation.
The state took control in
1974 because Keys politicians had succumbed to pressure from developers.
State Rep. Ken Sorensen,
R-Key Largo, who was a county commissioner in 1974, filed the House
dedesignation bill in February. The most recent action on HB 1299 was
Tuesday, when it was sent to the Local Government Committee. Sen. Mike
Bennett, R-Bradenton, who chairs the Community Affairs Committee,
introduced the Senate companion bill, SB [2098]. His committee will have
a hearing on the bill March 21.
The bill allows the
county to continue certain benefits of the designation, such as:
l Levying surtaxes
related to the designation and using up to 10 percent of the revenue for
any public purpose other than infrastructure.
l Having a Land
Authority, which buys land for environmental preservation, affordable
housing and public access, until the County Commission or a state law
terminates it, but not before any outstanding bonds mature.
l Being the state's
codefendant in lawsuits that result from owners' inability to use their
land, called "inverse condemnation."
The dedesignation process
would begin with the state Department of Community Affairs giving the
governor and Cabinet in mid-2007 a written report detailing the county's
success at meeting state-set goals. If the county has made substantial
progress, the Cabinet would terminate the designation in October 2007.
If not, the Cabinet would
redesignate the county and dictate the tasks it must complete within a
year. The Cabinet would evaluate the county each year on Nov. 1.
The County Commission
last year voted 5-0 to support the bill, with caveats to continue the
benefits. Now the County Commission — and some Florida Keys residents —
have mixed feelings about being independent from state rule.
County Commissioner Dixie
Spehar says the board's conditions have not been met. She fears the
state won't stand behind the county in lawsuits and says the wording
about the surtax is vague.
"Why can't they say
something straightforward, that the funding will continue?" she asked.
Commissioner George
Neugent also expressed concern during last week's board meeting, and
complained that Sorensen didn't show commissioners the bill before he
filed it.
"I see things [in the
bills] that concern me, but this was supposed to be brought back to us
before it circulated in Tallahassee," he said. "We have not had that."
Commissioner Murray
Nelson maintains that all board members were e-mailed a copy of the bill
on March 9.
Assistant County Attorney
Jerry Sanders asked the board about a provision that assigns inverse
condemnation lawsuits to Leon County courts, near the state capital, to
increase the likelihood of state participation. The board moved on to
other matters before giving the attorney any direction. |
