Water demand in the Keys climbed 14% in the last five years, despite ROGO’s cap on growth. That’s a striking number for a community with one of the most rigorous growth management systems in the country, and some of the most unique infrastructure and utility challenges. Community organizations want to know what this means for the future. 

Get involved: Monroe County will host a community meeting on Monday, Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Marathon Government Center. The meeting is in person and hybrid, and Zoom details will be posted at www.monroecounty-fl.gov/calendar closer to the date.

This meeting is a chance to tell the County what more you want to see. The code amendment already in the works is narrow: it updates how the County reviews building permits on Big Pine and No Name Key now that the old federal plan has expired. It doesn't address the other protections residents may want carried forward, or new ones. That's what this meeting is for, and it's an open invitation to say so.

The Chapter 122 code amendment itself is tentatively scheduled to go before the Planning Commission in October.

Last Stand and members of Save Our Key Deer, Key Deer Protection Alliance, and Big Pine United also have a meeting with County staff next week to discuss our recommendations in more detail. Those recommendations are laid out in this group letter.

What's changed
The federal Habitat Conservation Plan that protected Big Pine and No Name Key expired on June 30, after Monroe County decided not to extend it. Days before the expiration, the County published a letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stating that many of the HCP's protections would be maintained, and that permits on Big Pine and No Name Key would now be reviewed under a federal framework involving USFWS and FEMA, known as a Biological Opinion.

The County is now processing an amendment to its floodplain ordinance under Chapter 122 of the County Code to reflect that new process. This month, Last Stand attended the County's community meeting and Development Review Committee hearing on the amendment and pointed out where it could be strengthened, including by specifying the legal authority behind the new process and how the process will actually work.

Why we're concerned
The Biological Opinion that is supposed to serve as the new form of protection has not been formally updated, as federal law requires. What we have instead is a letter from USFWS to FEMA saying certain protections will be maintained, without specifying how or under what authority. The County has said those protections are federal requirements under the Biological Opinion, citing the May 27 letter. But the Biological Opinion hasn't been updated through the process the law specifies, and the County has no power to update it. Only federal agencies can do that.

There's a second problem. Florida currently has a moratorium on land development regulations considered more restrictive or burdensome, and the state must review and approve every Land Development Regulation amendment the County adopts. Because the HCP was never part of the Land Development Regulations and has already expired, we're concerned the amendment could be preempted by the state.

This is why Last Stand advocated for extending the HCP. It was locally controlled, required no state approval and no code amendment, and carried forward a framework that worked for twenty years.

What we're asking for now
That option is off the table, so we are calling on the County to establish the HCP's protections independently at the local level, rather than relying on a federal process that gives us no local control. This would have to be done once the state moratorium expires, which should happen next year (unless it gets extended by further legislation.) The group letter from Last Stand, Save Our Key Deer, Key Deer Protection Alliance, and Big Pine United lays out those recommendations more broadly, and the group is working on more detailed proposals. 

It’s been almost two years since the City failed to renew the partnership with the College of the Florida Keys that provided EPA-funded water quality testing at Key West Harbor, and more than 2 months since the last public update from the City about any progress at reinstating such testing. 

Last week, we reached out to City staff for an update about whether either option had been selected, and whether the decision would come before the City Commission. We received a response indicating there had been progress, but without further detail; it didn't specify whether either option was moving forward or whether it would come before the Commission for approval.

Last Stand reached out to Mayor Kaufman for an update. Mayor Kaufman has since requested a discussion item for the evening session of the September 3rd City Commission meeting on the City's water quality testing program — including a request for Stantec to give a presentation as part of that discussion.

We’ll keep you posted on what transpires. For a reminder of how we got here: 

Fall 2024: The College of the Florida Keys presents findings showing that cruise ships were stirring up as much sediment as a hurricane — 33 times in a single year.

December 2024: The City of Key West decides not to renew its testing partnership with the College of the Florida Keys, and CFK is required to remove its monitoring equipment from City property. 

October 2025: The City of Key West selects Stantec as the bidder for a new water quality monitoring contract.

January 2026: The City signs the contract with Stantec but doesn't fund the harbor testing itself — that funding is left to be approved later. Last Stand urges the City to fund the testing within the contract itself. 

April 2026: After public outcry, the City takes up the question of funding the harbor testing. The Commission votes not to fund it.

May 2026: City staff say they've obtained two options from Stantec to get testing done without increasing the contract price, and that they'll evaluate the options before deciding on next steps.

June–July 2026: No update.

Throughout this process, cruise ship industry interests publicly pushed the City to stop and redirect the testing program.

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