A proposal to place 88 units of affordable housing on Lower Sugarloaf Key cleared a major hurdle Wednesday evening when the Monroe County Planning Commission unanimously approved a major conditional use permit for the project.
The Planning Commission’s unanimous vote on Wednesday came after hours of testimony by a large group of Lower Sugarloaf Key residents opposing the project, called the Dockside & the Landings Apartments on South Point Drive. They called the project too dense and not compatible with the surrounding neighborhood.
The project would be pushing the maximum densities allowed, Sugarloaf Key resident Stuart Schaffer said. The residents said the project would dwarf the surrounding neighborhood in size and scale.
They also argued the project would bring too much traffic, which would not only cause congestion and delays on South Point coming onto U.S. 1 but would present safety hazard as well.
“If it was half the size maybe we could live with it,” Sugarloaf Key resident Jose Pagan said.
“It’s a really nice project but the wrong spot,” Sugarloaf resident Paul Tozzi added.
Several people spoke in favor of the project, arguing it was necessary to help battle the affordable and workforce housing crisis in the Keys.
Lindsey Anderson, executive director of the Florida Keys Community Land Trust, said her groups plans to build roughly 30 homes in the lower Florida Keys but has only built about eight. That group currently has 140-person waiting list, she said.
Anderson argued the people who will live in the homes will be construction workers and electricians who provide essential services in the Keys.
“These homes are necessary for people who provide the day-to-day services for the people in the Florida Keys,” Anderson said.
The developers and their representatives said they have held a few meetings with the residents that were not required to better understand their concerns and have modified the proposal to address their concerns, such asking for a bus stop and an additional turn lane onto U.S. 1 and have increased the amount of parking by 16% more than the county requires.
“Dockside will serve as a true community asset,” and the project once completed will be “strong hurricane resistant housing,” in the Lower Keys, Steven Kirk, president of the development company Rural Neighborhoods, said.
Key West restaurateur Joe Walsh has partnered with Rural Neighborhoods on the project.
After hours of public testimony, the Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend a major conditional use permit for the project. The Monroe County Commission still has to approve some of the plans for the project before construction begins.
