which have caught our
neighbors' attention....
working together
to improve their
community
wrote that if you wanted to know what was really going on in our country:
“Buy the New York Times, and read between the lines.”
So, might it also be said that one way to know what is really going on in Monroe County is to buy the
Key West Citizen or the Keynoter, and
"read between the lines"?
We’ll let our readers decide. Herewith are a few recent headlines from those publications.
- Waterfront Market to Close
- National condo converter buys West Isle
Club
- Time-share sales boom despite sluggish
market
- One of Florida Keys' only two oncology
centers closes office
- Rent hikes hit Duval businesses
- Why is water pollution so hard to
understand? (Letter to editor)
- Prices too steep for former residents to
visit (Letter to editor)
- 30% rule goes to commission
out of Old Town."
Response on this issue has been so great
that we have created another page:
Click here
of the renters there regular working people?
Is this where we realize that pure market
forces and unbridled "property rights" are
going to be the death knell of the normal
economic functioning of our community?
properties" is still there; it's just a matter of
how much you are able to spend.
we must be prepared to travel to the
"mainland" for quality medical treatment.
"not for profit" Tropic Cinema. And has
anyone noted the number of vacant
commercial properties for sale or rent
around Key West? Can this situation be
related to the shortage of worker housing?
people and too little land. (He does not
blame it on the Key West chickens.)
"What did they expect: once you're out,
you're out."
Many of us realize that we can't afford to
move to another location, even within the
city or county.
attempt to craft an "Affordable Housing"
ordinance.
Are we finally going to get ready to tackle
this problem?
Click here
BY BECKY IANNOTTA
Citizen Staff
Landlords seeking advice on how to keep rents low without going broke received little encouragement at a
housing meeting last week.
The group hoped to appeal to the Property Appraiser's Office to base assessments on the income generated
by rental homes rather than the statewide standard of "highest and best use" for a property. That standard is
driving up assessments of marinas, boatyards and homes surrounded by upscale developments.
Changing the assessment method to give landlords a tax break would require an amendment to the Florida
Constitution, state Rep. Ron Saunders told the group attending a Community Housing Committee meeting on
Wednesday, led by Key West Housing Coordinator Paul Clayton.
"A constitutional amendment requires 60 percent of the vote and we didn't have a 60 percent vote for
[reducing] class size," Saunders said of a popular amendment voters passed in 2002. Amendments could pass
with a lesser percentage then.
The state of Florida spells out specific factors for property assessments with minimal room for variation, said
Karl Borglum, assistant property appraiser.
"Quite frankly, there's nothing more subjective than value," Borglum said, adding that his office determines
value by gauging recent sales of comparable properties.
Rental units are not protected by the 3 percent annual cap on assessments offered to homeowners' primary
residences under the state's Save Our Homes amendment. Those assessments, considered, commercial, in
recent years have increased 10 percent or more, forcing landlords to raise rents to cover taxes or sell. Many
of the rental apartments sold in recent years were converted to condominiums, drawing as much as $400,000
for 500 square feet of living space.
Borglum, however, said slumping real estate sales should help some.
"We've gone from 2,400 sales per year to about 1,600 now," he said.
riannotta@keysnews.com
as always, are
welcomed.
will we let it go the way of the rest of South Florida?
www.kwna.org
The "Four Stages"
Bob Kelly's Blog
The Real Key West
