A second New Town shopping center is slated for replacement — without the addition of affordable housing above the Key Plaza center, which includes Key Plaza Crêperie and the UPS Store.
The Key West City Commission will consider the Key Plaza major redevelopment plan, along with several other significant topics, at its Thursday, Nov. 5 meeting.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Kaufman reiterated his frustration over the city’s failure to require workforce housing be part of any commercial redevelopment.
Kaufman in 2025 opposed the ongoing redevelopment of Searstown Plaza into Conch RePublix Plaza because the plans did not include housing. He plans to raise the same concerns about Key Plaza.
“The problem is, we have to rewrite our laws, our land development regulations, so they require housing. Right now, we can’t demand something that the law doesn’t,” Kaufman said at the press conference.
Since his swearing-in in August, Kaufman has initiated unprecedented weekly or near-weekly press conferences — a move attended and appreciated by local media representatives, who can participate via Zoom or in person in the mayor’s conference room. The absence of a city spokesperson or public information officer has made the press conferences more important to local media.
When the Key West City Commission meets Thursday, Nov. 5, the newly elected District 4 commissioner, Sarah Compton, will not yet be on the dais. Compton will be sworn in at noon on Monday, Nov. 9, so this week’s meeting will be the last for outgoing commissioner Lissette Carey, who did not seek re-election. As one of Carey’s final moves as a commissioner, she is proposing to name the new playground in her district the “City of Key West’s Little Conch Pocket Park” at 2350 Flagler Ave.
The rest of the agenda is hefty, with some significant matters for the commission to consider.
The mayor still wants to hire a firm and spend up to $75,000 — a figure proposed by the city attorney’s office — to investigate the conduct of city manager Brian L. Barroso.
Kaufman is proposing “authorizing the retention of independent outside counsel to conduct an impartial, fact-finding investigation of concerns regarding the conduct of the city manager in the performance of official duties; … requiring preservation of records and prohibiting interference
and retaliation; and requiring a written report to the city commission within 90 days,” the proposed resolution states.
Kaufman acknowledged he won’t likely have the four votes needed to approve the investigation at this week’s meeting, but said at the press conference that he is limited in what he can do. The mayor did attach to the agenda a summary of his concerns about the city manager’s behavior, which included canceling weekly meetings with the mayor and allegedly directing the city finance director not to provide the mayor with certain documents.
Also on tap for the Nov. 5 meeting are discussions of how the city can require third-party vendors to protect residents’ personal digital data, a measure proposed by commissioner Monica Haskell.
Also, commissioner Donie Lee is asking the Monroe County Land Authority to allocate $6.5 million for the replacement and redevelopment of the Lang Milian public housing apartments.
The Coffee Butler Amphitheater is another consideration this week, as Barroso will propose authorizing his office to approve performances at the amphitheater “to protect the deposits received from the promoters of each act,” the resolution states.
The need for such approvals comes from the departure of Rams Head Presents as the amphitheater manager.
Finally, commissioner Chris Massicotte will follow up on requests from the Key West Immigrant Support Network for a police explanation of bicycle stops that lead to immigration arrests.
The commission meets at 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5 and then reconvenes for a 5 p.m. evening session. Visit cityofkeywest-fl.gov for the full agenda.
