One thing was clear from Wednesday's County Commission meeting: our residents are worried about how more development will affect our infrastructure. And they’re right to be concerned. 

At the September BOCC meeting last week the County Commissioners voted on whether or not to change the language of the established Comprehensive Plan to give the developers of the proposed Publix in Tavernier, along with 86 affordable housing units, the ability to accept the 86 early evacuation ROGOs without having to do the required 1-1 exchange for regular ROGOs.

The topic of how many ROGOs the Monroe County BOCC are going to ask for from the State at the end of the year has become an all important subject of interest for everyone in the Florida Keys.

At this month’s BOCC meeting, Sr. Director of Strategic Planning & Libraries, Kimberly Matthews, presented the County staff’s current progress and plan for public participation in determining the number of ROGO permits Monroe County will ask to be awarded by the State of Florida at the end of this year. Community feedback on this decision is essential in determining how many ROGO permits to request.

At this month's BOCC meeting, CEMEX Construction proposed a Small Map Amendment, which would allow them to obtain the 86 building permits necessary for their workforce housing units, but not require them to follow the rules of the existing Comprehensive Plan

The most recent ROGO workshop and BOCC meeting this past Wednesday left me feeling anxious for the future sustainability of the Florida Keys. It is essential that we are informed of the important decisions being made, so I wanted to recap the meeting for you.