Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward believes lobbying in Monroe County has gotten out of control, and he's urging the County Commission to lay down the law -- both figuratively and literally.

Monroe County commissioners and county staff have been courted aggressively in recent years by developers, contractors and would-be county vendors.

For instance, owners of property around Stock Island's Safe Harbor and their attorneys heavily lobbied the County Commission to change its land use plan to allow construction of a hotel and posh condos along the waterfront, as well as generous exemptions to height, density and other growth regulations.

After the commission rejected the most recent series of proposed amendments last month, Safe Harbor property owner Roger Bernstein successfully lobbied for yet another vote on the issue. The commission again rejected the proposed changes.

At times, the lobbying for Safe Harbor became so intense, with developers' lawyers working at cross-purposes, that it clearly hastened the derailing of the waterfront development efforts.

The commission also was lobbied by trash haulers in recent months as the expiration dates of county contracts approached -- and public pressure mounted to put the contracts out for bid. The county instead chose to renew existing contracts.

Most recently, the commission was lobbied by wastewater contractors who sought to take over a county wastewater project -- even though the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority was well into the design phase of the project. Two separate firms pitched proposals to replace current plans for a central treatment plant with a cluster of smaller treatment facilities spread throughout the Lower Keys.

It was such instances of lobbying that prompted Ward to do some lobbying of his own -- to convince commissioners of the need to prevent influence peddling.

Ward is asking the County Commission to adopt a lobbying ordinance that would establish rules for lobbyists, commissioners and county staff.

"This is something that is pervasive and we need to get a handle on it," agreed Upper Keys Commissioner Sylvia Murphy.

Ward recently sent commissioners copies of a lobbying ordinance enacted by Miami-Dade County. That ordinance requires lobbyists to register with the county clerk "five business days before being retained as a lobbyist or before engaging in any lobbying activities." Miami-Dade County charges a $490 annual registration fee for recording, transcribing and maintaining records.

County Attorney Suzanne Hutton is reviewing similar ordinances from around the state to determine what she thinks would best meet Monroe County's needs. Hutton said she hopes to have a proposed ordinance for the commission to consider at its meeting later this month.

Commissioner Kim Wigington has expressed interest in sponsoring a lobbying ordinance. She said she would like to strengthen public disclosure rules pertaining to lobbyists, and help shield staff from inappropriate influence when evaluating responses to requests for proposals for county contracts. She also proposes sign-in forms at commissioners' offices that state the purpose of visits.

"The public deserves to know who influences their county officials, whether it's the courting of a commissioner by a developer or pressure from bidders for lucrative contracts," Wigington said. "If followed, the process set in motion by the ordinance would leave a clear trail of evidence whether a commissioner was pressured to place something on the agenda as a favor to a developer, or lobbied to change county policy to benefit a select few."

Wigington said groups like homeowners' associations should be exempt from registering, but lawyers definitely should be required to register.

"A lawyer who gets paid to represent a client by lobbying county officials is one of the purest forms of lobbyist," Wigington said. "The county's history with lobbying lawyers has proven to be the most troublesome."

tohara@keysnews.com