Commissioners
consider choices for Implementing Smart Growth/ Tier
System
Monroe
County's Rate of Growth Plan which limits the number
of building permits to be allocated each year has
worked since its inception because property owners
have not decided in unison to submit requests for
building permits. Had property owners done so the
county would not have had sufficient funds to
compensate land owners prevented from building on
sensitive lands.
County
Commissioners has been reluctant to adopt the new
Smart Growth/Tier system method of identifying
sensitive lands for acquisition without a funding
mechanism since under the new plan hundreds of
fair-market-value land purchases might come due coming
due all at once. The new tier system would replace the
county's rate of growth ordinance regulating
development in unincorporated portions of
Monroe.
In
order to meet state mandates to purchase conservation
land , the County needs to find funds quickly to
compensate land owners. Should they be unable to
satisfy the state the county is faced with a possible
cut back of ROGO permits from the state.
Estimates
as to the cost of buying sensitive lands range between
tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars.
The
County Commissioner have been discussing alternatives
for finding funds to purchase conservation land for
some months now. Early on State representaive Sorenson
put forth a plan to tax home sales on a sliding scale
staring at 2%. Such a plan placees the burden of land
acquisition on property owners.
Another
plan put forth by County staff would utilize a 4-cent
per gallon of gas tax that would be paid by the 3
million visitors who visit the Keys teach year, as
well as county residents. A feature of the tax is that
approximately 60 percent of all gas tax is paid by
tourists and visitors, but a gas tax initative would
require legislative approval, as state law directs
that such revenue be used for to road repairs and
highway improvements.
Commissioner
Charles "Sonny" McCoy states, "The tier system is
falling to pieces. Even state statutes have a problem
with it, so we should go with whatever we can to buy
some of those pristine lands."
Commissioner
George Neugent would like set aside at least $1
million a year from the local infrastructure sales
tax, to fund the purchase conservation land. Three of
the five commissioners have not supported his plan,
and Nugent believes that the incorporated cities of
the Florida Keys did not seem interested either.
Nugents stated that local funds would be matched by
the state and federal funds.
Commissioner
Murray Nelson wants any plan the Commissioners choose
to be voted on as a referendum. While County
Commissioners are empowered to adopt any such tax
without voter approval, Commissioner McCoy also would
be in favor of a referendum to decide the gas tax
issue.
Commissioner
Nelson who earlier had drawn up his own
plan
for raising land acquisition funds suggested that the
state Legislature might allow the county to utilze gas
tax revenue for land acquisition since the state has
designated Monroe County an Area of Critical State
Concern.
Commissioner
Dixie Spehar seemed be calling for a go slow approach
on establishing a source of funding for sensitive
lands, and viewed the 4-cent gas tax as extreme. She
counciled that the State's mandate was unfunded and
that the Commission must demand that State and Federal
goverments must each match the County's one third
share of expenses for buying sensitive
land.
