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Commission rejects proposed ROGO pause; lengthy debate centers on housing trade-offs
Summary
After extended debate, the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners voted 3-2 to deny an interim development ordinance that would have deferred issuance and processing of new market-rate and affordable ROGO applications while the county pursues comprehensive-plan and land-development-code changes intended to create a new workforce market-rate RO
The Monroe County board on Jan. 15 declined to adopt an interim development ordinance (R3) that would have paused acceptance and approval of new market-rate and affordable ROGO (Rate of Growth Ordinance) applications beyond Jan. 15, 2025 while the county processes comp plan and land development code amendments intended to create a new “workforce market-rate” category.
Planning staff presented timelines showing that, under current distribution schedules, the county would issue roughly 62 of the 92 remaining normal market-rate ROGO allocations during 2025. Staff said a temporary pause could preserve roughly 44 additional market-rate units to be reclassified into the new workforce pool and would lengthen the time before the county exhausted its existing allocation inventory from approximately 2030 to 2031. Staff also described a plan to fold 144 administrative-relief units into the workforce pool during the comp-plan amendment process.
Commissioners and municipal representatives debated competing imperatives: the state’s Commerce department had urged counties to use what they have and focus on workforce housing, while local delegations and city officials said they prefer to spend down allocations for immediate housing needs. Steve Williams, Marathon city attorney, told the board Commerce emphasized use of existing allocations and prioritizing workforce housing but did not use the word “moratorium” during his meeting with Secretary Kelly.
After extended discussion, the board voted on a motion to deny the interim ordinance. Roll call: Commissioner Cates — No; Commissioner Lincoln — Yes; Commissioner Raschein — Yes; Commissioner Rice — Yes; Mayor Scholl — No. The motion to deny passed 3–2, so the proposed deferral ordinance failed.
Why it matters: The decision determines the short-term pace at which Monroe County will issue growth permits tied to ROGO allocations and affects how many future units can be directed into a newly proposed workforce category. The board and staff agreed to continue working with state Commerce and the county’s legislative delegation on a comp-plan amendment to request additional units and to fine-tune local timelines.
Staff will proceed with the comp-plan amendment work outlined in the presentation and plan follow-up meetings with Commerce and the county’s legislative delegation.
