WHAT’S NEXT FOR SMALL, OVERRUN KEY LARGO PARK?

Latest Proposal Calls For Abandonment

Asmall park once considered to be a hidden gem to residents of a quiet Key Largo neighborhood became all too familiar to visitors over the years.

An overrun county-owned park, located at the end of North Bay Harbor Drive in the Sunset Point and Bay Harbor subdivisions, is closed during the busier times of the week. However, the land could be completely shut off to visitors and area residents who don’t live in the neighborhood if the county proceeds with a possible abandonment of the right of way.

Discussions were underway to potentially replat the property and take it out of a county-platted right of way. That needs 100% of the homeowners in the community onboard, but County Attorney Bob Shillinger said there was one homeowner who was holding out, thus preventing the move.

As a result, property owners are proposing an alternative that would see the county abandoning the right of way and handing it to abutting property owners. Shillinger said code prohibits the board from abandoning rights of way that end in the water. But an amendment to the rule could create an exception to the prohibition, if the two abutting property owners agree that they would dedicate the right of way’s open space for the use and enjoyment of homeowners within the entire subdivision, he said.

“It’s a departure from what previous (county) boards have done with roads that ended in the water,” Shillinger said. “They’re trying to address their circumstance.”

Shillinger said the abutting owners’ interest in the property would have to go to the homeowner’s association, which would have to be a valid nonprofit that could take over and maintain the open space.

“This would greatly limit it from a right of way that ends in water that is open to any member of the public to just a limited set of people who live there,” Shillinger said.

Abandoning county-owned land that contains access to the water contradicts language within the Tavernier Liveable CommuniKeys program, which covers the area from Tavernier Creek Bridge to MM 97. Language states that boards protect and maintain all existing public shoreline access points within the planning area.

Shillinger said while the process for amending code is relatively simple, amending the Liveable CommuniKeys plan isn’t as easy.

“It could take nine months to a year,” he said.

County Commissioner Holly Raschein said it’s a huge consideration and a change from previous decisions. But it’s also a quality of life issue for residents affected by the overcrowd- ing, she said. Raschein added that the county should be cautious with such a decision and examine how it could negatively affect other properties in the Keys.

“I think there’s a solution here and what that looks like remains to be seen. Above all, they deserve a resolution,” Raschein said.

Ty Harris, local attorney representing Sunset Point and Bay Harbor Homeowners Associations, said he believes very few properties in the Keys would be affected by the proposed code change to abandon the right of way. Harris said the code change would only apply to properties that are dedicated to the county and not deeded.

“We’ve put some conditions that would further whittle down the ability for neighborhoods to control these ends of the road and to essentially turn them into pocket parks,” he said.

Michelle Bono, secretary for the Sunset Point Homeowners Association, and Tom Ferguson, of the Bay Harbor Homeowners Association, spoke in favor of the abandonment in a bid to preserve their neighborhood.

“Water access shouldn’t supersede concerns of neighborhood residents,” Ferguson said.

County Commissioner Michelle Coldiron said the Liveable CommuniKeys was created before someone could search social media or Google a fun place to picnic and party. But any change to the code would have to be narrow and specific, she said. Mayor Craig Cates said he wants to see how such a move would affect other communities before proceeding.