SMALL, OVERRUN KEY LARGO PROPERTY COULD CLOSE TO VISITORS FOR GOOD UNDER LATEST PROPOSAL

A no parking sign is posted at the end of North Bay Harbor Drive in Key Largo. KEYS WEEKLY FILE PHOTO

A public access point once considered to be a hidden gem to residents of a quiet Key Largo neighborhood became all too familiar to visitors over the years. 

Overrun county-owned property, located at the end of North Bay Harbor Drive in the Sunset Point and Bay Harbor subdivisions, is closed during the busier times of the week. A place once packed with beach goers and those looking to enjoy a day by the water doesn’t have any public facilities such as a bathroom. There’s also no parking, meaning visitors can only arrive by foot, bike or dropoff.

With quality of life issues deteriorating over the years within the community, the land could be completely shut off to visitors and area residents who don’t live in the neighborhood if the county proceeds with a possible abandonment of the right of way. 

Discussions were underway to potentially replat the property and take it out of a county-platted right of way. That needs 100% of the homeowners in the community onboard, but County Attorney Bob Shillinger said there was one homeowner who was holding out, thus preventing the move. 

As a result, property owners are proposing an alternative that would see the county abandoning the right of way and handing it to abutting property owners. Shillinger said code prohibits the board from abandoning rights of way that end in the water. But an amendment to the rule could create an exception to the prohibition, if the two abutting property owners agree that they would dedicate the right of way’s open space for the use and enjoyment of homeowners within the entire subdivision, he said. 

“It’s a departure from what previous (county) boards have done with roads that ended in the water,” Shillinger said. 

Shillinger said the abutting owners’ interest in the property would have to go to the homeowner’s association, which would have to be a valid nonprofit that could take over and maintain the open space. 

“This would greatly limit it from a right of way that ends in water that is open to any member of the public to just a limited set of people who live there,” Shillinger said.

Abandoning county-owned land that contains access to the water contradicts language within the Tavernier Liveable CommuniKeys program, which covers the area from Tavernier Creek Bridge to MM 97. Language states that boards protect and maintain all existing public shoreline access points within the planning area. 

Shillinger said while the process for amending code is relatively simple, amending the Liveable CommuniKeys plan isn’t as easy. 

“It could take nine months to a year,” he said. 

County Commissioner Holly Raschein said it’s a huge consideration and a change from previous decisions. But it’s also a quality of life issue for residents affected by the overcrowding, she said. Raschein added that the county should be cautious with such a decision and examine how it could negatively affect other properties in the Keys.

“I think there’s a solution here and what that looks like remains to be seen. Above all, they deserve a resolution,” Raschein said. 

Ty Harris, local attorney representing Sunset Point and Bay Harbor Homeowners Associations, said he believes very few properties in the Keys would be affected by the proposed code change to abandon the right of way.

“We’ve put some conditions that would further whittle down the ability for neighborhoods to control these ends of the road and to essentially turn them into pocket parks,” he said. 

Tom Ferguson, of the Bay Harbor Homeowners Association, spoke in favor of the abandonment in a bid to preserve their neighborhood. 

“Water access shouldn’t supersede concerns of neighborhood residents,” Ferguson said. 

County Commissioner Michelle Coldiron said the Liveable CommuniKeys was created before someone could search social media or Google a fun place to picnic and party. But any change to the code would have to be narrow and specific, she said. Mayor Craig Cates said he wants to see how such a move would affect other communities before proceeding. 

“I respect the issues you have here in the Upper Keys from the daytrippers from Dade County, which you don’t have in the Lower Keys,” Cates said.

County officials have spent more than a year dealing with the overcrowding of Bay Drive property. Commissioners aimed to curb the cars parked along the roads and people packing the park by closing between July and September 2021.

The public access point eventually reopened but closed to visitors during the busier times of the week. People can only visit the park by foot, bike or dropoff Tuesdays to Thursdays from 7:30 a.m. to sunset.  No-parking signs were posted in front of the park and surrounding areas.  

Last July, county officials discussed minor improvements to the bayside property to allow for some off-street, paid parking for nonresidents. Specifically, the county sought to move the park fence back 50 feet to provide eight to 10 parking spaces. Another option detailed some 20 parking spaces by moving the fence back 100 feet. County commissioners opted for smaller parking numbers. 

Talks last year also revolved around parking through use of a phone application and making the county-owned land available to local residents for free.

Jim McCarthy is one of the many Western New Yorkers who escaped the snow and frigid temperatures for warm living by the water. A former crime & court reporter and city editor for two Western New York newspapers, Jim has been honing his craft since he graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 2014. In his 4-plus years in the Keys, Jim has enjoyed connecting with the community. “One of my college professors would always preach to be curious,” he said. “Behind every person is a story that’s unique to them, and one worth telling. As writers, we are the ones who paint the pictures in the readers minds of the emotions, the struggles and the triumphs.” Jim is past president of the Key Largo Sunset Rotary Club, which is composed of energetic members who serve the community’s youth and older populations. Jim is a sports fanatic who loves to watch football, hockey, mixed martial arts and golf. He also enjoys time with family and his new baby boy, Lucas, who arrived Oct. 4, 2022.