Overdevelopment in the Florida Keys Poses Significant threats to our Community and Our Way of Life

• Residents have the right to fully understand the public safety, fiscal, environmental, and quality of life impacts of more development. And our decision-makers have the duty to do so.

• We urge Monroe County and the Florida Keys municipalities to conduct a transparent, objective, and data-driven analysis before requesting any additional residential building allocations (ROGOs).

• It’s not just about today; it’s about preserving the economy, livability, beauty, and vibrancy of the Florida Keys – for current residents and future generations. Our Keys, Our Future.

ENVIRONMENTAL CARRYING CAPACITY

Before any development from additional ROGOs is permitted in the Florida Keys, it is essential to determine if the environment has recovered enough from past development “to withstand all impacts of additional land development activities.” Legal limits were put in place in 1995 to prevent development from overwhelming the Keys’ natural systems and infrastructure.

The last and only Carrying Capacity study, conducted in the 1990s, revealed that the Keys had exceeded their limits, losing vital upland habitat and unable to sustain the impacts of water pollution from sewage and runoff. This, along with the 24-hour hurricane evacuation maximum, led to the legal requirement of "maximum buildout," restricting development to sustainable levels and safer evacuation.

As pressures like rising sea levels, impaired water quality, and loss of both the reef and upland habitat mount, we must ask: has the environment recovered enough, or would more development push it to the tipping point from which our fishing and tourist industries cannot recover?

Property rights & takings liability

Decisions about authorizing additional residential development in the Florida Keys must be based on a careful analysis of potential "property rights" liability, rather than assuming the government will be fully liable to pay for "takings" claims on all undeveloped or "buildable" private lots

As an Area of Critical State Concern, the Keys offer substantial defenses against takings claims. Any legal analysis should thoroughly compare potential liabilities to the far greater costs to public safety, our tourist and fishing industry-based economy, the environment, and quality of life for Keys residents.

Traffic & Infrastructure

The bi-annual Keys-wide Traffic Study is another tool meant to address “capacity” issues and curb development. Yet, two Keys-wide Traffic Studies have received failing grades, reflecting the increase in traffic congestion, and both were ignored. Traffic directly affects residents' quality of life, and many are now signaling, “enough is enough.”

Similarly, the strain on infrastructure is evident. Drinking water pressure has been reduced to prevent more breaks. Wastewater treatment plants’ breaking pipes and shallow sewage wells pollutethe marine environment (pharmaceuticals, “forever chemicals”, bacterial contamination) causing spinning fish and fish kills, decimating sea grass beds and coral reefs, and even new pipes and facilities are failing, leading to sewage spills. Streets are flooding on sunny days due to rising sea levels, and roads and bridges are in dire need of repair—much less expansion. The warning signs are all around us.

Affordable workforce housing for Locals

There is a critical need for more affordable workforce housing in the Keys. To be clear, the need is for more housing for the Keys workforce that is actually affordable.  County leaders have long recognized, however, that we cannot simply “build our way out of the current affordable workforce housing crisis.” Too often, and for too long, local government has relied more upon building than implementing effective strategies to improve the affordable workforce housing crisis.