(He's also a parent and an Islamorada resident and taxpayer.)

A much delayed Comprehensive Plan update: What is Islamorada’s game plan?

Senate Bill 180 passed in Florida’s 2025 legislative session, 18 months ago. It included an increase in the required hurricane evacuation clearance time for Monroe County from 24 hours to 24.5 hours, with the State of Florida allowing up to 900 additional Keys ROGO/BPAS allocations. 

Monroe County was awarded 657 additional allocations, Islamorada 75 of the 900 total. 

The 900 must be spread over at least 10 years, limited to no more than one allocation per vacant lot. Workforce housing is to be the priority.

What has the Village done? Do they really care about addressing workforce housing as a priority?

To this point - nothing has been done for over a year. Islamorada governance has not publicly discussed any specific plan as to the use of these new allocations. 

And there are no guiding limitations in our “new” comp plan.

Monroe County, by contrast, did approve a plan.  The County submitted a plan to the state. Florida’s Department of Commerce had two recent objections to the amendments the County Commission approved in July 2026 to their Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code:

• Their amendments do not adequately reserve new allocations for deed restricted affordable housing.

• They fail to justify allowing existing early evacuation units in coastal high-hazard velocity flood zones.

In July, County Commissioners created a new category, market-rate workforce housing. This category is intended to use about 80% of new allocations for property owners who are members of the workforce and earn at least 70% of their income in the county.

But the state objected to those workforce allocations being only market-rate, not including some deed restricted affordable units among the 657. 

What about the objection to allowing the units to be placed in a V flood zone?  

Last November the Islamorada Council approved a change that would allow 300 affordable housing allocations (granted by the governor after Hurricane Irma) to be located in a V flood zone after an objection from Florida Commerce. 

The Village argued that there was such a critical need for affordable housing in Islamorada that there should not be any restrictions as to location. 

We believe the Village was wrong and argued against it.

The Village demonstrated the critical need by providing that same old “2007 Workforce Housing Support Study.”

This study has been used to justify more local development as long as there are at least some affordable units included.  “Affordable housing” has been the Trojan horse (see Greek story later newsletter) to trick the village into many bad building decisions.

How is it even remotely possible that the Village makes decisions based on studies over 15 years old!  Where is a current study with valid current data?

It is no wonder there is chaos in our housing and building situations.

Will Commerce revisit that flood zone decision for affordable housing?

Affordable housing in a flood zone defies logic. Higher construction, insurance, and maintenance costs in flood zones will make workforce housing rents unaffordable to the folks they’re supposed to help.  

Additionally, those with transportation hardships would be less likely to evacuate early as required.

The inescapable question remains: What has the Village done, if anything, to address the 75 new potential BPAS allocations?

Is the Village staff or council waiting for the new comp plan?

The only comment in the “final draft” of the amended Comp Plan, “Blueprint for Balance,” simply states: 

“Detailed procedures …. shall be established and maintained in the Land Development Regulations…”

But what are they?

Able City East presented the “Final Draft” of the amended Village comp plan on September 30, 2026.  At that workshop they stated that the next steps would be a public hearing by the LPA and then two public hearings by Council to approve the entire 243 page document in bulk.

Is this new “Blueprint for Balance” truly representative of our needs and ready for prime time? Did it close the decades old loopholes that have helped the overdevelopment and exploitation of our islands?

We can’t wait to see what Florida Commerce has to say about our new comp plan. Is it ready for use as a viable Village plan for the next decade or so?

Able City claimed Islamorada has had far more opportunity for review and updates than any area they have worked in.

I disagree and think they just want to move on.

We are allegedly an area of “critical state concern.”  Let’s hope that Florida Commerce is diligent and thorough in their review of our amended comprehensive “Blueprint.”     

Let’s hope the State does have critical concern about protecting our fragile environment, our limited infrastructure and our quality of life. 

With any holes in the plan we may face years of degradation of the place we love.   We cannot let that happen.

Tom