Many, if not all, Islamorada residents are aware that the Village’s “Constitution” is our Comprehensive Plan.
We have been without one for several years.
Developers, speculators, land use attorneys and their minions are driving trailer trucks through the loopholes that need to be remedied. Is this intentional or incompetence?
Draw your own conclusions but here are the facts:
On April 9, 2024, the Village Council gave direction to the Village Manager to seek the services of a professional consultant to UPDATE our Comprehensive Plan.
The Council approved the $112,000 contract with Able City East on Oct 10,2024.
They were contracted to Update the Village’s Comprehensive Plan, with a projected completion and implementation date in 12 months?
We are now up to 17 months for this 12-month project.
Unfortunately, it appears we are still months or maybe even years away from completion/implementation? Again, I question why? Our Village Manager and planner owe us an explanation. It appears that the powers that exist think that nobody cares.
Perhaps new development benefits from this slow walk.
Updated Comp Plan?Instead of receiving a draft with Updates to the Village Comp Plan, we have received an all-new proposed Comprehensive Plan from Able City. The difference between amendments that improve our existing Plan and an all new plan are like the difference between night and day.
Updates that must be approved by the Florida Commerce Department must be in legislative format with new text inserted underlined, and words that are to be deleted stricken with hyphens. (Florida Statute 163.3184 C3)
Even if the draft is considered a “brand-new” Comprehensive Plan, it is clearly intended to update the existing Plan. Just semantics.
Without the legislative format it is extremely time-consuming and confusing to figure out what has been changed, what new text has been added, and what has been deleted. The legislative format is intended to make that job easier. Without the appropriate formatting the review is next to impossible.
If the intent was to make the document easier to read and navigate I think the effort failed. Most residents would likely be overwhelmed by the task of figuring out how this new plan and the updates will change life in the Village.
Spell it out? Bottom line…Format the Plan correctly.
Other observations- The future land use map is too small in the draft and not legible. Every single property owner should be entitled to see how their property has been treated in a “new” Comp Plan. Haven’t we learned that from experience? Will every property owner be specifically informed?
During the creation of the first Islamorada Comprehensive Plan over twenty years ago, 18 public meetings were held, with standing room only. The public was able to thoroughly consider every Goal, Objective and Policy, every property on the maps.
Local land use attorneys still, after over 20 years with the current plan, find continuing obscure loopholes to help their clients beat the system. Here we go again, new plan, new loopholes!
To complicate things further: Senate Bill 180 that passed the legislature last year, bars local governments from adopting or enforcing any “more restrictive or burdensome” planning rules for three years after the 2024 hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton.
That takes us until Oct 1, 2027 even though none of those storms damaged Islamorada or the County. Unnecessary and misguided, but, we were told, there was a legislative fix. Where are our lobbyists and Legislators in Tallahassee on the status of this issue?
Please explain? The legislative session ended without a much-needed fix.
The Village should continue the update process, with public workshops in the coming months. Now we have significant time until the fall of 2027!
Let me quote from the Able City East plan, page 228: “Public participation is at the heart of the Islamorada Comprehensive Plan. The Village recognizes that in order to build a plan that truly reflects community priorities, residents, business owners, civic organizations, and elected officials must be directly engaged throughout the process.”
It has been about a year since there has been any public involvement in the update process. Finally a workshop - April 29, 2026!
Who is in charge of this update? Is it the Village Manager and our Planning staff? Be transparent and embrace your constituents. You can do better. Our fear is that land use attorneys and their accomplices are getting more input than we are.
The draft contains 11 main elements, including areas like Future Land Use, Transportation, Housing, Conservation, Sustainability, Recreation and Open Space, and more. Each element deserves a separate public workshop.
When we finally adopt this new Comprehensive Plan, will it be in cinque with the prior Land Development regulations and other Village Code? Doesn’t that extend the process even more?
Village Council, management, State Legislatures and lobbyists: We await your responses. There are a ton of unanswered questions.
This important process has been neglected and poorly executed.
Step it up or tell us why you can’t.
Elections have consequences.
Tom Raffanello
