Do more than belong: participate. Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. Do more than dream: work.

William Arthur Ward

We decided to address affordable housing first in a special edition of our newsletter.  At the May 12 council meeting, the Council will be asked to approve the recommendation of a staff selection committee: a 99-year ground lease for development of an affordable housing project at the “Machado” property, bayside MM88.6; 4 vacant single family zoned lots, a total of 2.42 acres, purchased by the Village in 2021 for $1.8 million. Two lots are mostly scarified, 2 have hardwood hammock.

Last Wednesday, only about 20 residents attended the Comp Plan workshop in person.  Half were there because of the “Machado” affordable housing project.

See both proposals received: PRR-2026-209

The selection committee is recommending the Council give ANF, a large for-profit corporation located in Davie, Florida, a 99-year ground lease, to build and manage affordable housing rental units on the property.  ANF included two “schemes” in their proposal - scheme 1: 32 units which would require a zoning change; scheme 2: 16 units. Current zoning allows 4 affordable housing units on each of the four lots.

In the minutes of the selection committee meeting, it was clarified that while all the units are shown to be on the two scarified lots, the two hammock lots must be considered for density purposes to allow 16 units. The resolution approving the selection did not restrict the location of the dwellings to the scarified lots.

Habitat for Humanity also submitted a proposal, suggesting 9 individual single family ownership homes.  

Ensure Compatibility of New Development: Policy 3-1.6.5

The proposal being recommended for the Machado property is to provide two multi-family buildings, with either 32 units (Scheme 1) or 16 units (Scheme 2).   

Which of the proposals submitted seems to ensure a level of compatibility with the existing single family neighborhood? ANF’s or Habitat’s?

Islamorada may be too far “out of balance” with almost 6000 homes and only 140 deed restricted as affordable.

But every single affordable housing allocation should be carefully thought out so that the Village benefits to the maximum.

Does the Blueprint for Balance establish the proper goals based on actual demand and viability?

• Type of housing long term - rental or ownership; single family or multi-family?

• Blending with our community character?

• Viability with the high cost of land and construction costs?

• Desirability to potential occupants in spite of high cost of living and wealthy demographics in Islamorada?

The 23 pages for the Housing element in the proposed “Blueprint for Balance” Comp Plan has 60 Housing Policies, about double what the existing plan has.  

What is the community vision of future housing in Islamorada? Does the “Blueprint for Balance” draft do an adequate job of establishing goals for the Village’s residential community, providing for a balance of housing sizes and types for expected and desired current and future populations?

Extreme Housing Costs - a windfall or a disaster?

The rapidly escalating cost of Islamorada real estate has created an extreme windfall for some - developers, realtors, and those homeowners cashing out and moving to less expensive areas.

But where will we get the teachers, firefighters, and maintenance workers to replace our departing friends? Those leaving are being replaced by wealthy homeowners and investors; not with electricians, plumbers and teachers.  

Small homes, apartments and mobile homes all are in jeopardy of being sold and demolished just for their building rights! Or converted into a lucrative short term rental.

Example 1:1/2 acre oceanfront vacant lot on Lower Matecumbe, for sale for $2.8 million with a building right (from a 500 sq ft dwelling). With typical construction costs, expect a 5000 sq ft home costing $3 million on top of the $2.8 land cost.

Result: an estimated $6 million home, or more, replacing a tiny affordable 500 sq ft one bedroom home.

More and more examples pop up all the time where small homes, apartments and mobile homes are replaced with mansions! In a few years will Islamorada have any small homes left?

How does the draft “Blueprint” deal with this issue?  Are there policies provided to promote some balance?

The Manager’s question: How much of the Village budget for the current fiscal year is from property taxes?

Saunder’s answer – 20% of the $93 million budget. 

It might seem reassuring for taxpayers to know they had to pay just 20% of the total budget. But are they distressed that a Village of 7000 residents has a budget of $93 million?

Yes, the total dollar amount in the budget summary is $92,592,300, approved last September with only a handful of residents present for the vote. Click here for the one-page budget summary.

The $93 million represents the total funds the Village has available for the year.   Not all of the $93 million are funds the taxpayers are responsible for.  

Included in the $93 million:

…$23 million in Fund Balance/Reserves - we hope don’t need to be spent

…$1.6 million in interest earned mostly from funds in reserve

…$1.7 million income from the marina, a self-supporting enterprise fund

…$15.8 million from the wastewater self-supporting enterprise fund  

…$2.1million for the building department funded by building permit fees.

…$9.3 million for canal restoration funded via grants.

…Numerous other projects approved while funded from state, federal and TDC grants.

The General Fund: The basic government services - these are the onesfunded by our property taxes. Current year was budgeted at $25 million of the $93 million total….$25 million for the main operating account that keeps our basic government running.  It covers Administration, Finance, Fire and Rescue, Law Enforcement, Legal Services, Public Works, Parks and Rec.  

$18 million of the $25 million for general government services will come from property taxes.  So, 72% of the cost to run the Village government comes from our property taxes.  The Village Manager’s 20% figure was a bit misleading.

The Manager could have asked a better question: How much have the property taxes paid by Islamorada property owners increased in the last 5 years? 

The answer: Village property taxes have increased from $11.5 million to the current $18.3 million…  up 58% in 5 years. 

Manager Saunders tried to suggest the $18 million in property taxes in Islamorada is minor. Just 20% of all the funds available.

But the $18 million to run a town of 7000 residents results in a difficult expense for many of our citizens.

The $18 million in property taxes this year could have been worse. Last September, the Council approved an increase in total property taxes of $2.6 million.  To keep it at that level, they decreased the Fund Balances/Reserves by $5.8 million - otherwise the increase in property tax would have been significantly more.

And to assure the reduction in fund reserves didn’t get us into trouble, council approved a $20 million line of credit for emergencies last fall.

We hope Saunders will again appoint a Budget Task Force to find ways to improve the process.  Let’s work to improve the costs for our residents most at risk - those whose income is at the lower end in our “wealthy village.”  For those who rent and may be at the mercy of landlords trying to make ends meet.

We believe Village Manager Saunders has demonstrated he can find ways to reduce costs. Now with a year under his belt – we expect major improvements this budget season. 

And we hope all Islamorada taxpayers watch the process with us.

We believe there are several ongoing issues that need special attention:

• The budget

• The Comprehensive Plan revisions

• Affordable Housing

We plan to provide special newsletter editions to cover critical concerns.  Watch for them in the coming days!

Yours,

Tom

A Public Workshop was held April 29, 5:30 PM and the revised Comprehensive Plan was presented.

Comprehensive Plans are the backbone of any community planning effort. They outline challenges, identify solutions and provide guidance to staff and elected officials on planning-related decisions.

The best Comprehensive Plans are those that have the support of the entire  community.

There were approximately 20 Islamorada residents in attendance, 4 members of Council and 4 or 5 staff members.  The meeting lasted less than 2 hours. Hopefully many more were watching and will submit questions and suggestions.

But clearly we need many more opportunities for public involvement.  

Over the coming weeks and months the Islamorada Community Alliance will be issuing special editions of this newsletter to cover many of the concerns.  Please get involved.