On Tuesday, Feb. 7, there was a required community meeting relating to a request for a proposed amendment to the Monroe County Comprehensive Land Use Plan as well as the land development code. These amendments intend to provide for specific accessory uses including docks, docking facilities, storage, garages, tiki huts and pergolas on platted vacant lots within the URM and IS land use zoning districts. The members of the Federation are strongly opposed to these proposed amendments.
This law is restricted to unincorporated Monroe County. It is hard to imagine that a similar law in any of our incorporated areas could get any support.
Owners pursuing these accessory uses would be required to retire and remove all development rights on the platted lots. On its face one might argue that we are limiting future development through this ordinance; however, the ordinance will open Pandora’s box of many unintended consequences.
We urge you to consider that currently there are many vacant lots in violation of current land development and code laws, which our government has been incredibly slow to address. Many vacant lots are not maintained now. There are many illegally inhabited RVs, sheds, garages and vessels in IS and URM lots throughout Key Largo already, as well as outdoor storage of commercial materials and vehicles. And because the law states that a platted vacant lot need only be on the same island as the lawfully established principal use, and as the island of Key Largo is 29 miles long, Key Largo will bear the brunt of the violations that these amendments will encourage. Opening up vacant lots to accessory use will surely lead to even more of these violations. This is a recipe for abuse.
Our code enforcement director has suggested that they currently would be unable to enforce the provisions of this ordinance. The result will be a deterioration of our neighborhoods with unsightly conditions and ever-increasing nuisance complaints.
We cannot emphasize enough how unpopular these proposed amendments have been received by our members. Our neighborhoods already struggle with over-crowding and noise. Vacation rentals and party houses impact our peace and quiet. These amendments will inevitably lead to party lots. Please do not add more fuel to the fire by supporting these proposed amendments. Please keep our neighborhoods livable.
Dottie Moses, president,
Island of Key Largo Federation of Homeowner Associations
