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County officials listen
to developers, not public
This letter is for
[county Planning Commissioner] Donna Windle and the public to explain
what is truly happening in our county regarding the issue of affordable
housing.
If anyone were to go to
the County Commission, Workforce Housing Task Force and Planning
[Commission] meetings, one would see how things are fixed. These boards
are filled with developers, Realtors, bankers, persons whose interests
obviously lie with development, and no matter what or how many citizens
voice opinions during these public meetings, our words fall on deaf
ears.
It's gotten so brazen
that, in desperation, the public has had to pull their own money into
funds to afford lawyers and court stenographers to have any chance to
fight against developers. Trailer park residents have to band together
to fight their eviction notices. We, the taxpayers, have to battle
against our own public officials, who have been neglecting and defying
the will of the people.
We are overloaded as to
the number of inhabitants already living in the Keys. Traffic, parking,
drinking water, beach advisory warnings, hurricane evacuation, our dying
reef, etc. are over-burdened and the impact of more persons living in
the Keys will only bring more damage. We live in a region
environmentally sensitive, "built out" and we need to start protecting
it.
As to ... affordable
housing, ... there is no study, research or plan as to who needs this.
Buildings are going up and I see many unfilled, yet, plans and permits
for more "unaffordable" construction continues. The public needs to see
names and lists of individuals or families, with their incomes, who are
slotted to go into any house built under "affordable." How do we know
tourists or high-income persons will not live in these "affordable
houses."
The county is allowed 250
building permits a year. [Mayor Mario] Di Gennaro soon goes to
Tallahassee to ask for 3,500 [building allocations]. Who are the 3,500
building permits for?
Regarding the work force:
We should not sell houses for affordability, we should rent and only to
persons working or living in the Keys full time.
Regarding increases in
height and density: We cannot trust our public officials to make this
decision. Voters should decide with no rush; there is no emergency.
In the meantime, people
are being evicted from their homes. Fifteen trailer parks have been
closed the past two years. It's one thing to make money; it's another
when people are evicted from their homes for developers to make money.
Recently, the county paid
$3.13 million for a restaurant, $2 million to sink a ship, $7 million
above guaranteed contract for construction at Key West airport and [has]
given land away for free to developers.
Instead of bending over
for developers, the county should focus on the people who need help and
use county money to protect its full-time residents. Trailer parks are
true affordable housing in the Keys, which should be protected by buying
these properties and allowing these residents to then rent from the
county. Leave trailer parks as trailer parks!
Diane Beruldsen,
Stock Island
Housing committee
is focused on development
Since the [Monroe
County] workforce
housing committee has opted to publicize its work, I would like to add
my observations. After attending two meetings of the committee, I have
ascertained the following:
1. That most
conversations at these meeting are centered on changing our
comprehensive plan to allow for taller buildings (above 35 feet, current
regulations) and more density (about twice as many buildings per acre as
now allowed);
2. That the lowering of
hurricane evacuation times (allows more development).
3. That the committee is
dissatisfied with the tier system agreement (once again, the emphasis
being on more development);
4. That the committee is
not responsible for building even one affordable home to date;
5. That if they ever did
build anything, it would not be affordable for the people they are
supposedly building it for; and
6. That they should
rename the committee the Keys Development Committee.
Ron Miller,
Key Largo |
