Article which appeared in
the Upper Keys Reporter
Commission to discuss building
permit
BY ANN HENSON -
5-19-2003
Staff Writer, Upper Keys
Reporter
A concept to raise money
for affordable housing and to buy sensitive lands will be
discussed at next week's County Commission meeting.
Commissioner Murray
Nelson, who came up with the idea, said he will discuss
the matter briefly at the Key Largo meeting. Nelson
suggested creating a sliding scale building permit fee
for the home size and lot size of those who wish to
build. That fee would come to $5 per square foot of
enclosed space and $2.50 per square foot of lot size for
those wishing to build in Tier 3 areas.
The fee would be more
costly in Tier 2 areas, with $7.50 per square foot for
building size and $3.75 per square foot of land. In Tier
1, the figure jumps to $12.50 and $6.25, respectively.
The building of affordable housing would be exempt.
"Instead of giving negative points against the property
in sensitive areas and people buy up property to donate,
you pay a fee that goes to the Monroe County Land
Authority," he said. The Land Authority would use the
funds to purchase sensitive areas with hammock and
property the county is required to buy because it will
not let property owners build there. The fee could
generate more than $5 million per year if 150 houses were
built in Tier 3 areas, where building is preferred. The
Upper Keys alone has 1,000 Tier 3 lots, according to the
county's Planning Department.
To figure out how much
this will impact a homebuilder, Nelson looked at the
third quarter Rate of Growth Ordinance applications for
the Upper Keys to determine the average lot size at 8,933
square feet and average house size at
2,394 square feet .
Using those numbers, the
fee would add an average of $34,302 to the cost of
building a home in a Tier 3 area. The average cost for
building in Tier 2 areas would increase to $50,453 per
house and in Tier 1, the fee adds an extra $85,756 per
home.
The county's Planning
Commission is recommending a two-year moratorium on
building in Tier 1 and 2 areas. And Nelson said if people
owning lots in those two tiers offer them to the county,
the county must purchase the properties due to property
takings laws. But where will the money come
from?
The Land Authority has
about $77,000 left from an $8 million fund earmarked for
purchasing sensitive property.
Once that money is gone,
Nelson would rather take it from the deep pockets" of
those willing to pay any price to build here rather than
placing the burden on existing taxpayers. "I don't want
to expose the taxpayers to this situation," he said.
Nelson said that land is the Keys' only commodity and we
should charge accordingly.
'If the value of property
goes up, so does the fee."
The state should also
kick in money, since it is directing the county to
purchase private property, he said.
To that end, Nelson will
discuss another item, this one on the board's agenda.
He said he is going to
Tallahassee to meet with officials from the Florida
Department of Community Affairs and state Rep. Ken
Sorensen, along with Land Authority Director Mark Rosch,
to discuss the Florida Communities Trust Fund.
Nelson said Monroe County
should be given preference for the state's $66 million in
funds available this year for its buy-land directive.
Ann Henson covers state
and Monroe County government, environment, Key Largo and
is the editor of the Reporter's website. She can be
reached at 852-3216 or by e-mail at
amhenson©keysreporter.com
Related
Links
1.
Resolution No. P26-03 - Possible two years building
moratorium on Center Island and elsewhere for
unincorporated parts
of Monroe County Keys.
pages
1 and 2,
pages
3 and 4
Tim
McGerry, Director of Growth Management
-
letter
to Mayor Spehar on Duck Key and Tier
System
News
article in the Keynoter -
6/7/2003- Commission to consider partial moratorium with
July deadline for complying with Keys capacity study -
moratorium would apply only to unincorporated parts of
Monroe County
News article in Key
West Citizen -
Commissioner
David Rice, "I am a bit uncomfortable initially
telling everyone in Tier 2 that they are part of this
moratorium with no appeals process."
Commissioner Nugent
concerned about lawsuits from property owners, or
were length and scope
Mayor Spehar hesitant
to ban building on such a broad basis, and suggests
duration of moratorium could be too long.
Draft
of Tier
System and Regulatory Changes - dated
4-16-2003
- page 1
Draft
of Tier
System and Regulatory Changes - dated
4-16-2003
- page 2
Draft
of Tier
System and Regulatory Changes - dated
4-16-2003
- page 3
