Islamorada council members continue to seek a pause on any new applications coming into the village’s planning department for a building permit.
Coming off approval in May to extend a moratorium on new market rate building permits from August to February 2025, council members on July 9 voted 5-0 in favor of an ordinance to place a six-month pause on any new applications seeking administrative relief. Property owners who want a building permit and submit an application into the village’s system, known as BPAS, can apply for administrative relief if they haven’t received a permit during four consecutive allocation periods.
Then, council members can grant the administrative relief request and either dole out a building permit, offer to purchase the property at fair market value or suggest “other relief as may be necessary and appropriate.”
Council members discussed a moratorium in May as they mulled administrative relief applications for two village property owners. Those applications will be heard at an October meeting; they won’t be affected by the moratorium, which pauses the acceptance of new applications for administrative relief.
Village Attorney John Quick said the moratorium on new administrative relief applications likely wouldn’t take effect until February or March of 2025. That means property owners who are eligible for administrative relief could still file applications until that time. Council members still must approve the ordinance on second reading before it’s sent to the Florida Department of Commerce for review and approval.
“This is just for new applications. If anyone has submitted apps for administrative relief before the effective date, they would not be subject to the moratorium,” Quick told council members.
Islamorada’s Local Planning Agency voted 6-1 to support the six-month pause on the acceptance of new applications from those applying for administrative relief. Chairwoman Deb Gillis was the lone “no” vote.
“It’s just my personal belief that we’re kicking a lot down the road,” Gillis said.
A proposed moratorium seeks to give Jennifer DeBoisbriand, planning director, and her staff time to come up with a comprehensive plan on how the remaining permits through administrative relief would be doled out to applicants. The village has 58 applications from property owners seeking a market rate building permit and five applications from those seeking a market rate permit who donated land to the village.
As for administrative relief permits, the village says only 23 remain.
Per the proposal, “nothing in the ordinance should be construed or applied to abrogate the vested right of a property owner to complete development of a parcel when the property owner can demonstrate by substantial, competent evidence that a government act of development approval was obtained prior to the ordinance’s effective date; the property owner has detrimentally relied, on good faith, by making substantial expenditures; or that it would be highly inequitable to deny the property owner the right to complete the development.”
