I think we can all agree that our Village has a unique environment that is an integral part of our lives and worth protecting.

When developments don’t or can’t follow the restrictions in place, the Village allows them to “mitigate.”

 I want to explain the concept of mitigation. Dictionary definition: “making something less severe, dangerous, painful, harsh, extensive, or damaging.”

Using mitigation as a land use tool is one of the most critical elements of our Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations. Its purpose is to ensure development activity minimizes the negative impact on community character, the environment, traffic, and affordable housing in our Village.

So mitigation is intended to make development “less severe, dangerous, painful, harsh, extensive, or damaging.”

I believe mitigation regulations are outdated, insufficient and often have been ignored.  Too often mitigation in place is not achieving its intended purpose.

 

If required restrictions are not feasible, the developmental activity must include a mitigation plan to ensure a minimal impact to the community.

Examples:

Many owners/builders cut trees in a hammock property without a permit:

You can see numerous examples of this driving through town. Many hammocks are bulldozed, ignoring the habitat protection intended.

Some owners/builders do not get caught. Some do and get penalized…but is the penalty effective? What is the current penalty?

The penalty is often inconsequential to the wealthy property owner. It does not discourage the cutting down of hammocks thick with native trees when the property owner plans to build an estate home from setback line to setback line. The resulting fee may be a minuscule portion of the cost of the $10 million mansion being built.

inappropriate clearing is a regular occurrence in the Village.

Nuisance impacts on surrounding residential properties:

Restaurants and bars with outdoor seating are a perfect example.  Is limiting the seating, parking and hours of operation sufficient as a requirement to mitigate the harm to the neighbors?

Ask residents who live near a local brewery/restaurants. Mitigation is not reducing the noise.

Traffic: Islamorada is the ONLY government jurisdiction in Monroe County, that does not require the Level of Service (LOS) on U.S. 1 to be maintained at an acceptable level for each traffic segment within the jurisdiction.

WHY IS THIS?

In every other area of Monroe County when development adds more trips to any individual traffic segment within their jurisdiction and the County LOS Traffic Study shows the segment below the acceptable level of service, mitigation is required for new development. But not in the Village.

Currently the only County traffic segments that are not at an acceptable level are the traffic segments through Islamorada.  Yet Islamorada code allows our municipality to ignore the problem unless the entire county is below the accepted standard.

Affordable Housing:

When a development generates a need for additional workers, the developer must mitigate the demand for housing for the workforce created by the proposed development.

A majority of the developments approved by the Village pay an in-lieu fee intended to be used to help mitigate the workforce housing shortfall… instead of providing  housing for the new employees.  

 

The in-lieu fee for a new tourist business is $25/sq ft of the new business property.   

A 5000 sq ft business would therefore pay $125,000 to the Village to support housing projects to accommodate additional employees being adding to the workforce.

What would the $125,000 from a new 5000 sq ft business buy in Islamorada? Maybe a used mobile home.

 

“Mitigation” criteria is extremely critical. And perhaps totally out of date.

Comprehensive Plan Workshop  

There will be a presentation Wednesday April 29 at 5:30 PM at the Islamorada Community Center. The draft of the new Comprehensive Plan will be presented following 18 months of efforts by Able City East. 

Go over every issue. Do not let someone tell you that we are in a hurry because we should not be. It is better to get it right! Be thorough. We have waited 18 months for this document, and it must not be flawed when it becomes the new law.

Mitigation is just one issue, of hundreds, outlined in the proposed Comp Plan. Each issue will be critical in Islamorada’s future. 

Be a part of the process and ensure a bright future for our friends and families. Attend the workshop and participate!

This is our Constitution!

Residents! Pay attention!

 Yours,

Tom