WHAT’S YOUR VISION FOR KEYS DEVELOPMENT? COUNTY SURVEY STARTS WITH ROGO/BPAS KNOWLEDGE

a map of a number of small houses
Over the next year, county and municipal leaders will be tasked with arriving at a final number of building allocations to request from the state in 2025. KEYS WEEKLY FILE PHOTO

The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is committed to a robust public participation process regarding the state-mandated hurricane evacuation modeling discussions that will continue through January 2025. But, do you know what ROGO and BPAS mean and why they are important for the future of the Florida Keys?

Monroe County community members are invited to take a survey, the first of several, that focuses on understanding the community’s current knowledge of the Rate of Growth Ordinance (ROGO) and Building Permit Allocation System (BPAS), where you currently get your Monroe County information, and where you would like to get future information from. The survey can be found by scanning the QR code.

LINK: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MCROGOSurvey1

The nine-question survey shouldn’t take too long (approximately 3 minutes). Additional surveys will be available in June to help gauge what the community wants to see moving forward.

Monroe County continues to host workshops and updates during regularly scheduled BOCC meetings and will be meeting with nonprofit and civic groups throughout the summer regarding the Department of Commerce’s hurricane evacuation modeling to gauge public interest in finding the “sweet spot” of the number of ROGO/BPAS allocations the county and municipalities would like to request from the state. The hurricane evacuation modeling is based on a Florida statute requiring that Monroe County residents be able to evacuate the Florida Keys within 24 hours before a storm. The allocations could potentially be issued over the next 10 to 20 years, with implications for growth in the county and potential liability in takings cases. To learn more about these terms, why they are important, to view the process, or to see upcoming meetings, visit www.monroecounty-fl.gov/rogo2024.

The survey is available until Friday, June 7 at 5 p.m.