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By MICHAEL FAY Citizen Keys reporter The Monroe County Com mission did not fire Mary Lin Johnson from the Zoning Board Friday and ordered that new administrative procedures proposed by the zoning board be re-written. The suggested rules changes for the Zoning Board’s public hearings, passed unanimously by the board early this year, would change the way that major real estate development project reviews are conducted by the Zoning Board. Johnson, 17 days ago in Marathon, blasted the com mission for its inaction in reviewing the Zoning Board’s proposed rules changes, a legal requirement before the proposed zoning procedures could be adopted for use at public zoning hearings Friday the Zoning Board's proposed rules changes were torn apart as illegal and unfair by Tavernier attorney Fred Tittle, and Commissioners Ken Sorensen and Ed Swift in an hour-long review of the proposed new rules County Attorney Lucien Proby and County Administrator Kermit Lewin were also ordered by Monroe County Mayor Jerry Her nandez to monitor the next two meetings of the Zoning Board and to report back to the Commission their observations of the meetings Hernandez’ directive came after Sorensen read an editorial recently published in a local weekly newspaper that blasted two Zoning Board members for the quality of their work on the Zoning Board Sorensen, after reading the editorial, charged that Zoning Board meetings are marred by “gross violations’ of law and “opinions” presented as fact while professional, expert testimony is rejected Commissioner Wilhelmina Harvey criticized the Zoning Board members who ‘‘don't ask questions and sit there and vote yes” for major real estate development projects The latest commission battle about the Zoning Board’s work was triggered by the Zoning Board’s voting down of Ocean Harbour, a major develop ment project proposed for Plantation Key John Stormont and Mary Lin Johnson voted against the project that favored Ocean Harbour by a 3-2 vote which technically defeated approval for the project because county law required a majority plus one vote for approval. The commission Friday ordered a workshop com mittee of the Zoning Board, Proby, Lewin and Zoning Department Director Dr Jeff Doyle to review and rewrite the proposed Zoning rules changes The commission Friday additionally passed a resolution that urges the City of Key West to create a land use committee to work with the US Navy in Washington DC, to free Federal land in the Truman Annex to the Key West Redevelopment Agency (RDA The Commission also passed a second resolution that calls for the release of Tank Island (COMMISSION, Page 2)
Newspaper Details
Key West Citizen
Key West, Florida, US
Mon, Aug 08, 1983
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Alisca N.
USA 02 Aug 2026
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