All developments recommended for approval at Marathon’s Sept. 16 planning commission session were greenlit again at the Marathon City Council’s Oct. 8 meeting. But concern over a new development at the site of the old Yard Arm Motel between 61st and 62nd Street Gulf, as well as discussion of ordinance changes that could allow Marathon to accept additional affordable housing units from other Keys municipalities, made for one of the longer sessions in recent memory.
Boaz Rosenblat, a 61st Street resident who plans to purchase and develop the neighboring property with 20 homes, a ring of food trucks, a tiki bar with an entertainment stage and nature walk, fielded a barrage of questions from the council over traffic concerns for the project, largely centering on a proposed entrance to the residential homes from an already-narrow 61st Street. Rosenblat said he was concerned with bringing residential traffic through the commercial portion of the project closer to U.S. 1, repeatedly asking to pursue options for a one-way traffic pattern or widening 61st Street to alleviate safety concerns.
“(This development) is an exponential growth on what is going to happen on that street,” said councilman Jeff Smith. “I’m assuming we’re going to put boat trailer parking underneath the units, because I didn’t see anything dedicated in there. We know that’s what’s going to happen with five-bedroom vacation rentals, which is what this is going to be.”
“As far as if the city wished to widen (61st Street), I’m not sure I would be willing to pay taxpayer dollars to widen the road to go to a private development,” added Mayor Robyn Still.
“The 20 homes are a potential for significant income to the community in taxes, including the businesses,” said Rosenblat. “We’re creating a conservation easement which benefits the community and creating lots of other opportunities, and we’re trying to find a way that’s give and take, as opposed to just asking.”
“I appreciate that, but I have a feeling our taxpayers are not going to feel the same way,” replied Still.
Following a motion by councilman Luis Gonzalez, the council voted unanimously to approve the project, adding conditions of entrances and exits exclusively from U.S. 1 and an on-site grease trap for food trucks. Though the planning commission previously recommended a prohibition on “electric music” for the entertainment stage, the council approved amplified music to be played in accordance with the city’s noise ordinance.
Affordable housing transfer
Following 3-2 split opinions by the planning commission, the council approved a pair of ordinances that would allow for the transfer of unused affordable housing allocations from other Keys jurisdictions via modifications to Marathon’s land development regulations and comprehensive plans.
Ordinances 2024-11 and 2024-12 refer to remaining allocations from a pool of 1,300 early-evacuation affordable housing units awarded to the Keys following Hurricane Irma by then-Gov. Rick Scott. Language in the new ordinances removes a 300-unit cap on units to be accepted and distributed by Marathon, as the city has already distributed all of its original 300 units.
Speaking to clarify conflicting reports on the implications for the ordinances, Gonzalez and Planning Director Brian Shea confirmed that of the 1,300 units originally given to the Keys, roughly 630 units have yet to be distributed, split between unincorporated Monroe County, Key West, Islamorada, Key Colony Beach and Layton.
“To clear up the misinformation: These are not new units,” said Gonzalez. “This is just the 1,300 that were awarded, fought for and partly distributed. This is going to give the city of Marathon an avenue to potentially receive more allocations, not from a new pool, but from the 630 that remain in the county. I want to be very clear and say this multiple times: We are not acquiring 1,300 new units.”
Councilman Kenny Matlock, who in previous sessions has repeatedly advocated for duplexes and single-family homes as opposed to larger apartment-style complexes, took issue with language in the bill providing for acceptance of “any additional allocations which may be authorized by the Florida Administration Commission, Florida Statute or transferred to Marathon that are not accepted by other Florida Keys municipalities or Monroe County.”
“The open-ended number is what scares me,” he said. “If (another municipality) does say yes (to a transfer of units), now we have to do it. If a developer is able and willing and has the property and finances, it’s hard to tell them no.”
Shea clarified that language governing the 1,300 units restricts their use to larger multi-family developments only. Speaking with the Weekly following the meeting, he said the language regarding “any additional allocations” would only apply to early-evacuation units given by the state in a similar manner as Scott’s 2018 award.
“This is merely the avenue to allow us to be able to accept (more units) if we decided we needed them,” said Still. “Then we have a couple layers after that when we can ask questions.”
City Manager George Garrett said the transfer of any units would need to take place via an interlocal agreement with another jurisdiction, a process that would likely take more than six months with multiple steps for review.
The council approved both ordinances in their first hearing in 4-1 votes, with Matlock as the lone “no” vote.
In Other News:
The council unanimously approved the following developments:
- Four additional residential units at 59740 Overseas Highway on Grassy Key, built in lieu of the previously-approved on-site fuel sales and construction of a marina and convenience store (Resolution 2024-95).
- A replat of property at 4800 Overseas Highway, located behind the newly-constructed Crystal Cove apartments, for future development as nine single-family lots. Future construction will include eight single-family homes, as the site’s one existing home will remain (Resolution 2024-96).
- A boat storage facility at a now-vacant lot at 2 Coco Plum Drive (Resolution 2024-97).
- An eight-bay 13,200-square-foot commercial warehouse with elevated office space at 420 69th Street Ocean (Resolution 2024-98).
