Monroe County staff seeks direction on expired Key Deer habitat plans, urges amendments to local rules
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Summary
County planners told commissioners the Habitat Conservation Plan and FEMA biological opinion for Big Pine Key and No Name Key expired in 2023, and recommended letters to FEMA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife plus local code changes to preserve endangered-species protections while shifting permit consultation to federal agencies.
Monroe County planning staff told the Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday that the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and the related FEMA biological opinion (BiOp) for Big Pine Key and No Name Key expired in 2023 and recommended the county ask federal agencies whether they intend to update those documents.
The recommendation from Michael, planning staff, asked the board to direct staff to send letters to FEMA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking whether FEMA plans to pursue a new BiOp for FEMA’s administration of the National Flood Insurance Program and to confirm whether Fish and Wildlife will undertake direct consultation on endangered-species impacts. “If they are not going to pursue that update … US Fish and Wildlife Service is the appropriate agency to determine whether permits issued in Monroe County impact endangered species,” Michael said during the presentation.
Why it matters: The local HCP and BiOp underpinned Monroe County’s permit referral process for developments on Big Pine Key and No Name Key. Staff said those documents previously allowed the county to provide mitigation and to screen permit applications for impacts to listed species such as the Key deer. With the expiration, staff argued, the county should clarify roles and, where necessary, amend the county comprehensive plan and land development code to remove references to the now-defunct documents without weakening long-standing endangered-species protections.
Staff’s proposal and next steps Staff presented draft letters to FEMA and Fish and Wildlife asking whether the agencies plan to update the BiOp and requesting confirmation that FEMA need not continue community-assistance visits every six months related to the BiOp. The draft Fish and Wildlife letter states the county’s view that applicants should consult directly with Fish and Wildlife rather than through the county’s referral process.
Michael emphasized that the proposed local amendments would delete references to the HCP, BiOp and the county’s permit-referral chapter 01/22/2012 and would change code section 118-13 (adopted in 2014) so property owners would consult Fish and Wildlife directly where federal law requires species review. “The intent of these proposed amendments is to address those two defunct documents. It is in no way intended to reduce protections of endangered species in the Keys,” Michael said. He listed local protections that staff intends to preserve explicitly in any amendments: clearing limits for native upland habitats, open-space protections for wetlands and mangroves, ROGO allocation limits that steer development to already developed areas, and Tier Overlay District rules.
Questions and public comment Commissioners and members of the public raised concerns about whether the changes would give property owners additional development rights; Michael and staff repeatedly said they would not. Commissioner Lincoln said staff confirmed the proposed amendments would not increase building rights on Big Pine Key. A member of the Key Deer Protection Alliance told the board she planned to submit written comments and asked to be kept informed.
Board direction After discussion the board directed staff to send the draft letters to FEMA and Fish and Wildlife and to begin processing amendments to the comprehensive plan and land development code to remove references to the expired documents and to direct applicants to Fish and Wildlife where federal consultation is required. Commissioners asked staff to preserve existing species protections in any code changes and to return with draft amendment language for review.
What remains uncertain Staff said if FEMA or Fish and Wildlife respond that they will not update the BiOp, the county will move ahead with the local code amendments; if the agencies indicate they will update the BiOp, staff can pause local code changes. The timeline for federal responses is unknown. Staff also said some species now listed by Fish and Wildlife were never included in the original BiOp and therefore are not captured by the county’s referral maps, a separate gap staff intends to address in the amendments.
