The Following article was written in The Key Noter on Saturday January 6, 2007.
Moratorium Put on Hold
It would have disallowed condo conversions
According to the Key West City Commission, condo conversions may be a thing of the past.
“This war is over. Why try to fight a war that the invisible hand has already taken care of for us?” Mayor Morgan McPherson said. “The idea of condo conversions is pretty much dead. The market caught up with itself.”
The City Commission tabled a resolution Wednesday that would have put the owners of transient properties on notice about potential changes to the land development regulations, after several commission members voiced hesitancy to enact what would be a de fact moratorium on condo conversions.
Commissioner Mark Rossi, originally finding support within the attractions and tourism industry, proposed the resolution after blaming a slowdown in the tourism economy on converted units.
“I believe that this is very detrimental to our heritage and to our city,” he said. “We all know here that our economy is based on tourism.”
Similarly, Ed Swift, owner of the Historic Tours of America, said that without the resolution, “We run the risk of creating a disaster for ourselves and ruining our economy. Don't let [condo conversions] continue; you do so at our peril.”
Not everyone agreed with the dire assessment.
Several local lodging staff argued that too much responsibility for a sluggish economy was placed on conversions.
“As a business owner in Key West, I am also very concerned about any situation that may affect business growth, however, blaming a soft market in one area of business solely on transient units converting to non-transient units I believe is not correct,” Ocean Breeze Inn owner Jim Coontz said in a letter.
Several commissioners agreed.
Commissioner Clayton Lopez requested more time to research the situation and possible implications. And Commissioner Bill Verge said, “I'm not a big fan of a moratorium. I don't think it works.”
The resolution was tabled until further notice.
No statues
There will always be plenty of people to surround the Southernmost Point buoy in Key West, though none of them will be cast in bronze.
The City Commission split Wednesday on allowing artist Seward Johnson to set his seven bronze life-like sculptures around the buoy later this month.
With Commissioner Dan Kolhage absent, there was no one to break the 3-3 vote, causing it to fail.
Many in the community - including several Key West Art in Public Places board members - showed up to support the site-specific artwork.
However, several commissioners worried the life-size statues would take up too much room on an already crowded sidewalk.
Lopez, Verge and McPherson voted to allow the sculptures, while Rossi and commissioners Harry Bethel and Jose Menendez voted against.
The Following article was written in The Key Noter on Saturday January 6, 2007.
