State officials appear unwilling to give more residential building permits to Monroe County and municipalities in the Florida Keys until all remaining allocations are expended.
Not only that, Tallahassee is urging the county give some of their allocations to two local municipalities facing more of a need.
County officials expressed their displeasure with the state’s recent “bombshell” during a Dec. 11 meeting in Key Largo. They also say they aren’t in favor of giving out their allocations to other governments as it could open the county to liability.
A letter issued to top state officials in October acknowledged the county commission’s support to request 220 residential building permit allocations; 100 for the county and 40 each for Key West, Marathon and Islamorada. The additional permits for single-family homes wouldn’t affect the county’s 24-hour storm evacuation timeframe, per state models. The decision to award the 220 permits falls under the Administration Commission, which is chaired by Gov. Ron DeSantis and composed of his cabinet members.
“Our request was very specific to match the modeling they (the state) had already done to be able to say ‘Yes, per your model this shows 24 hours … no need to change the statute,’” county Planning Director Emily Schemper told commissioners during a presentation.
Before county commissioners convened for a Dec. 11 meeting, the state informed county staff they wouldn’t approve 220 units unless all the remaining allocations are doled out to applicants. Schemper told commissioners the state also wanted the county to give a portion of its remaining market rate allocations to Marathon and Islamorada. Both municipalities only have a few allocations left to give out. Marathon has 53 applicants who could potentially request one of the 12 remaining allocations through administrative relief.
“Staff was very clear with them (the state) that they would not support something like this because of the long-term liability that the county has,” Schemper said. “We’ve been looking ahead, planning for this and have tried to be strategic.”
County staff recommended commissioners institute a moratorium on any new applications for a market rate residential building permit. They also recommended the county pause on awarding any more ROGO allocations.
Schemper said that would give the county time to process amendments that would stretch the county’s ROGO allocations, 108 market rate and 144 administrative relief, beyond 2026. The county would still be able to issue affordable housing and the early evacuation units to applicants.
Some commissioners, however, weren’t in favor of approving a moratorium during the Dec. 11 meeting.
“I’m not going to make a knee-jerk decision on the future of Monroe County, even if those demands are coming from Tallahassee by people I’m convinced don’t understand the complexity of these issues,” said Commissioner David Rice.
Rice said even considering a moratorium next week is “too soon.”
“This is bizarre, folks,” he said.
Commissioner Holly Raschein also expressed her opposition to approving a moratorium during the meeting.
“I feel like there’s so many moving parts that we need a minute. And I think staff need a minute,” Raschein said.
Commissioners verbally agreed to at least review a proposed moratorium at the Dec. 19 meeting in Marathon.
Commissioner Michelle Lincoln said she gets “heartburn” when hearing the moratorium word. Lincoln asked how many applicants could be affected by a moratorium. Schemper said there’s a ROGO application deadline coming up on Jan. 13, 2025. The county planning commission would then award the top 15 applications based on a points system. Those applicants would be able to pick up their permits in March or April.
Schemper said handing out building permits in February could be placed on hold, if commissioners wanted to institute a moratorium. Monroe County Attorney Bob Shillinger said the moratorium would set up a scheme that would protect the county in the “worst-case scenario” if Tallahassee doesn’t plan on giving the county more allocations.
“This is an ‘Oh, heck moment,’” County Attorney Bob Shillinger said regarding the state’s recent comments.
Commissioner Craig Cates acknowledged support for a moratorium.
“What staff is recommending, I think, is very good, very important … get us past all this and let’s think this out very clearly,” Cates said. “They (the state) wants to (know) how we’re going to use these ROGOs, how many do we need — not how many do we want — to get through this. It’s going to take some time to figure this out for the citizens of Monroe County.”
In November 2023, the FloridaCommerce gave Monroe County a list of options for hurricane evacuation plans, all tied to the possibility of adding perhaps 3,550, or up to nearly 8,000, rate-of-growth-ordinance (ROGO) allocations to the Keys. FloridaCommerce sought input from the county, which then conducted a series of surveys to gather input from residents. Monroe County also began to inventory vacant parcels which could be developed into a single-family residence.
“Over these months, staff and we have put in hundreds, if not thousands, of hours developing a package of information to help us make a responsible decision about future growth in Monroe County,” said Commissioner David Rice.
Along with a moratorium proposal, county commissioners will also consider a resolution on Dec. 19 requesting additional residential building permits beyond the 220. It would require approval from state legislators to modify the statutes governing the Florida Keys as an Area of Critical State Concern.
“The most important thing is having our discussion next week and coming up with a proposal to go forward for the legislative session, whether we have confidence that we’ll be successful or not,” said Mayor Jim Scholl. “That’s what we were asked to do. That’s what we’ve done and I think we should stick to it.”
Marathon passed a resolution on Dec. 10 requesting changes to the laws governing the Florida Keys as an Area of Critical State Concern to increase the required hurricane evacuation clearance time for permanent residents from 24 to 26 hours. Such a move would position the Florida Keys for more rate residential building permits — potentially upwards of 3,550. Key West is expected to consider a similar resolution during a meeting on Thursday, Dec. 12. Islamoada voted 3-2 requesting an additional 200 building permits.
