Monroe BOCC Votes In Favor of Tavernier Overlay District
Today the Monroe BOCC Commission voted 4-1, including my opponent, in favor of the Tavernier Overlay District, allowing a plan to build an enormous and unnecessary grocery store to move forward. They voted AGAINST the recommendation of the staff who conducted professional studies and AGAINST the wishes of nearly all residents who took time out of their day to speak. This is exactly why I am running. They caved to the big developers and hid behind the idea of adding 86 affordable housing units.
Tavernier Publix Rendering- Source: https://www.empad.net/publix-tavernier/
I have been having conversations with citizens, listening to what local residents want and voicing those concerns on public platforms, but Jim Scholl is ignoring the pleas of the local community residents. While he stated workforce housing was a top priority in the Florida Keys and particularly this area, the 86 units they are proposing are a drop in the bucket in comparison to the overall affordable housing issue. I’m in favor of providing more housing to our residents and workforce who need it the most, but 86 units in exchange for an unnecessary giant big box store is not the way to do it.
In the meeting Mr. Scholl said, “All of Florida is a traffic jam... Traffic isn’t going to get any better.” I don’t accept that. It won’t get any better if we keep giving big developers whatever they want in exchange for a little bit of housing. US1 is dangerous enough with people being killed or injured almost every day. This particular stretch of road will only become more deadly if this project is allowed to move forward. The biggest responsibility of the BOCC is to keep Keys' residents safe; this will do just the opposite.
“This particular stretch of road will only become more deadly if this project is allowed to move forward.”
As your Commissioner, I will respect the voices in our community and the hard work of county staff for better solutions. Any growth and infrastructure changes that I would support would be consistent with local needs, desires, safety and what makes sense for the future of the Florida Keys.
Our campaign is just getting started and your early support is critical. If you live in the Keys, our first major event is on Monday February 26th at the Hometown Key West Call for Candidates forum in Key West at Salute on the Beach. Sign up to join us at www.chrisformonroe.com, and if you have not yet signed a petition to get us on the ballot, please let us know and we will get one to you!
Sincerely,
Chris Massicotte
