The Monroe County Land Authority Executive Director Cynthia Guerra joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the county.
About half of the Land Authority’s spending goes toward conservation land, with the other half primarily supporting affordable housing.
The agency manages several thousand parcels throughout Monroe County, including land owned by the Land Authority, property owned by the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners and some state-owned properties managed under lease agreements.
Guerra said the Land Authority’s stewardship work includes removing invasive plants, restoring habitat following storms and other disturbances, planting native vegetation, cleaning up solid waste and trimming trees that encroach on neighboring properties.
“There’s a lot going on on the conservation side,” Guerra said.
The Land Authority’s acquisition program dates back to the 1980s, while its formal land stewardship program was established roughly 10 to 12 years later.
Guerra said conservation land is located throughout the Keys, often in relatively small parcels that collectively contribute to larger protected areas.
The agency is also continuing to acquire additional conservation property.
“We’re working very hard to acquire more conservation land,” Guerra said.
In some cases, acquiring land can serve multiple purposes. Guerra said conservation purchases can also retire development density, reducing the potential for additional buildings in the Keys.
“It’s hard to imagine that you could do any land acquisition in the Keys that doesn’t benefit the environment in one way or another,” she said.
The Land Authority also plays a role in affordable housing.
Guerra identified Habitat for Humanity as one of the agency’s principal partners. Under that model, the Land Authority purchases a parcel and Habitat for Humanity identifies a family that contributes sweat equity and funding toward construction of a home on the property.
The agency also works with the Key West Housing Authority and other multifamily affordable housing developers. Guerra said an affordable housing project currently is underway on Sugarloaf Key.
“We’re kind of spread out all over the Keys in terms of these affordable housing projects,” Guerra said.
Guerra encouraged residents to help protect the conservation properties by avoiding invasive exotic plants, choosing native landscaping, not dumping trash in natural areas or rights of way and respecting property boundaries.
The Land Authority does not always use fences or signs around its properties because officials want to avoid interfering with viewsheds. That can sometimes make property boundaries difficult for neighboring homeowners to identify.
Maps showing the Land Authority’s conservation properties are available through its website, although Guerra said the maps are generally too broad in scale to definitively determine whether a particular property borders Land Authority property. Residents can contact the agency directly for that information.
Conservation properties are protected under a conservation lands ordinance and are not sold to private owners.
Some properties acquired solely for density reduction can be treated differently. Under certain circumstances, those parcels could be sold to an adjacent homeowner, but the homeowner would have to sign a unity-of-title agreement permanently retiring the development density from the property.
Guerra said the Monroe County Land Authority is somewhat unusual compared with similar programs elsewhere in Florida because it was created by state statute and has responsibilities that extend beyond conservation land acquisition.
Other Florida counties have conservation acquisition programs, she said, but many are established through voter referendums and funded through mechanisms such as bonds or surtaxes. Those programs generally focus solely on conservation.
The Monroe County Land Authority also handles density reduction and affordable housing.
The agency’s primary source of funding is a share of the tourist impact tax, commonly known as the bed tax. Guerra said the Land Authority receives half of a 1% share that is divided with the county.
A smaller, regular source of revenue comes from a surcharge on admission to state parks in unincorporated Monroe County. Visitors to parks such as John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and Curry Hammock State Park pay the surcharge, which is directed to the Land Authority.
Guerra said tourism-related revenue provides a significant source of funding for the agency’s conservation and land management efforts.
The Land Authority, established in the 1980s, continues to balance conservation, development-density reduction and affordable housing as it manages land throughout the Florida Keys.