Friday, July 16, 2010

The mooring field at Wisteria Island will make Key West an affordable cruising destination, just as the Boot Key mooring field did in Marathon. This mooring field will differ from the current city mooring field by its location in Key West Harbor, the close support facilities on Wisteria Island, and its stunning views. Boaters will spend in local restaurants, attractions, stores, and use marine services, fishing guides and boatyards at a time when the commercial fishing industry is in decline. Additional spending in Key West from the boaters should exceed $2 million annually, based on expenditures from Boot Key.

Wisteria Island will provide hundreds of thousands of dollars of sales tax revenue every year for the city and county, and school taxes and real estate taxes for the county. It will provide needed jobs during construction and permanent jobs in operation of the mooring field and facilities.

There will be several affordable housing units on the island and 30 percent of the moorings will be designated for work-force housing with affordable rates guaranteed. There will be a free anchorage area for those who want to anchor out and not pay for the services available to mooring field patrons.

Locals will have access to a 2-acre natural area on Wisteria Island. Locals will have access to snorkel or dive the Lightship Wisteria wreck. Local boaters will have dockage access for use of the bar and restaurant facilities. This is true access from the family that brought Bernstein Park to Stock Island. Right now, there is no safe, legal public access to the island, which has squatters and criminal activity and is posted for no trespassing for safety reasons.

The managed mooring field will remove the derelict vessels and protect the water quality in Key West Harbor by enforcing mandatory pump-out and ending the discharge of raw sewage.

I must reiterate that there are no plans to dispense fuel on the island.

The mooring field will not burden the city infrastructure. According to a concurrency analysis prepared by Trepanier & Associates, and reviewed and supported by the county planning staff and the county Planning Commission, there is enough utility capacity for sewer, water and power, and we will pay fees for utility use. We will provide scheduled water taxi service from Wisteria to Key West, cutting down on harbor traffic and also on the piles of dinghies stacked on the Key West waterfront. We will have parking on the mainland, but we expect very few cars from boaters and guests.

Wisteria is a man-made spoil (dredged) island that is covered with invasive exotic species. Three qualified county-approved biologists confirm that Wisteria is not environmentally sensitive and that it is not a bird breeding area. While obviously an island, it does not meet the county's definition of "offshore island."

The requested mixed-use commercial (MC) designation for Wisteria Island is consistent and compatible with surrounding properties in Key West Harbor and the distressed nature of the island. It allows us to build a first-class, 100 percent public-access managed mooring field that will protect the environment and ensure boater safety. Amenities will include restrooms, laundry facilities, a ship's store and docks.

Anything else that might be built is subject to future Monroe County approvals with input from the city of Key West. The county application does not permit future building, but rather limits development on Wisteria Island. The MC designation applies only to Wisteria Island, thus a precedent is not being set. We are working through the process as required, openly, and seeking no special treatment.

The city of Key West sent a 13-page letter to Monroe County on July 2. The letter requested additional data and analysis needed by the city in the area of wastewater treatment. The city letter also requested additional information regarding the operation of the proposed mooring field and the impact of the future upland development on the city infrastructure. Responses to the questions are being prepared now. We request that the City Commission, at its July 20 meeting, direct this matter to the city Planning Board with adequate time to review the documentation.

This is a good, low-impact project by my family, who has lived in the Keys and who have a history of doing good works for the citizens of Monroe County for over 50 years. Key West residents actively participated in the county's public hearings and we look forward to fair consideration by the city, the county and the state.

Roger M. Bernstein, whose family owns Wisteria Island, is a partner in a development group seeking to develop the island.