Commission vote went opposite of intent
EDITOR:
Last Stand and a group of Key West residents have sued the city
of Key West and Parrot Key Associates over the issue of the
transfer of transient rental licenses.
The city's encoded purpose for the transfer of transient
licenses is to remove daily rentals and their accompanying
disorder from residential neighborhoods and to promote permanent
housing in their place. Therefore, city regulation states that
such a license transfer can originate only from a property in a
zone where transient licenses are not currently permitted.
In 2006, as part of the development plan for Parrot Key (the old
Hampton Inn on North Roosevelt Boulevard), the City Commission
reversed the regulation and its intentions on a last-minute
request by the developer. This purported reversal allowed
transient licenses to be transferred from zones where they are
permitted (e.g., from hotels like the Hampton Inn), an action
nullifying the city's transient license transfer ordinance and
its intent.
This change, by its nature, is a legislative action that
requires public notification, two hearings by the City
Commission and public input. This was not done and therefore we
believe that the City Commission's 2006 action is invalid.
Last Stand strongly believes in public input to the legislative
process as well as promotion of the quality of life fostered by
the removal of transient licenses from neighborhoods and saving
permanent housing for Key West citizens. Hence, the lawsuit to
reinstate the original ordinance and its intent.
Albert Sullivan
President, Last Stand
Key West |
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