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July 19, 2007
| From: Paul Caruso
[mailto:pcaruso@texas.net] Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 10:49 AM To: Hutton-Suzanne Cc: Trivette-Andrew; Neugent-George; BOCC_DIS3; BOCCDIS4; BOCCDIS5 Subject: Re: Monroe County Meeting July 19, 2007 Hello Suzanne, I was appalled to hear today that Monroe County Property Appraiser Ervin Higgs is about to begin tagging properties that are under the NAS Key West 2007 AICUZ map. What part of yesterday's BOCC meeting did I miss? I cannot believe that this official can arbitrarily "tag" homes without any directive by Monroe County. I believe that the BOCC's directive to the Navy is to launch ( no pun intended) public workshops to explain their actions was a victory for the citizens of Monroe County. Now this person takes it upon himself to mandate "tags" which will deflate the value and restrict the marketability of Monroe County real estate. Mr Higgs admits that he is a long standing member of the NAVY LEAGUE and a supporter of Navy actions. And he also states that he is a resident of Key Haven and sleeps fine. That is conflict of interest at it's Best. Higgs' attitude concerns me and other residents of this area. First, the BOCC agreed not to adopt the 2007 AICUZ map until all Navy documents requested by the public have been received and citizen workshops are initiated to address the publics concerns. So, what map is Mr Higgs intending on utilizing for his "Social Bigotry" campaign? Is it 1977? Is it 2004? Is it 2007? I believe that Monroe County officials must ask Mr. Higgs to recuse himself from this matter until an agreement is reached between the Navy and Monroe County citizens until an AICUZ map is adopted. If Mr. Higgs' actions are condoned and he institutes these discriminatory policies, Monroe County will be inundated with litigation from all sides. I expect your office to investigate this matter fully and justify Mr. Hicks' self proclaimed campaign of "Social Bigotry" against the Citizens of Monroe County or immediately censure him publicly. I await your immediate response. Regards Paul S. Caruso www.Stop The Planes.com *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** From: Suzanne, The AICUZ property record tag was requested by Comm. Spehar while the Board was requesting that affordable deed restricted properties, along with Tier designations and No Name Key (no utilities) properties, etc. be appropriately tagged to alert the potential buyer and title offices when property purchases are being finalized. The Property Appraiser did not propose that himself. As the BOCC has not formally adopted the AICUZ, and further amended its LDR’s appropriately, I don’t believe that was a request that can be formally acted upon at this time, but you will probably be able clarify that for Mr. Caruso where I cannot. There was no formal motion or vote approved that I heard to the issue. The Property Appraiser said he already has deed restricted properties for affordable housing notated on the property card. He did not address the Tier, No Name Key utilities issue, etc. The Tier System is still under legal challenge and DCA final review, so as such is not yet officially enacted as a working planning classification system. However, any property record information of zoning or property restrictions overlays, historic district, etc. that are enacted are very helpful to prospective buyers, etc. Otherwise, the appropriate information is often difficult to pull out; an individual would need to be knowledgeable enough to ask the right question to discover some of these designations. If such is reflected on the property record, it’s much easier for someone to ask the Growth Management office for information as to what certain designations represent either before they purchase or when they are looking to obtain building permits. Sincerely, Monroe County BOCC District 4 9400 Overseas Hwy., Ph: 305 289-6000 Fx: 305 289-6306 Office Email: boccdis4@monroecounty-fl.gov *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** From:
Hutton-Suzanne [mailto:Hutton-Suzanne@MonroeCounty-FL.Gov]
I did not
understand that your office was
going to start reflecting in the property record cards that properties
are in
the ACUIZ. However, as you can see below, there seems to be some
belief
that you will be doing that. Can you provide any enlightenment? 305-292-3470 *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** From: Lynn
Garcia *********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
Thank you for presenting your question regarding the ACUIZ overlay map(s). I am always disturbed when personal accusations are made prior to determining the truth. It is unclear to me where it could have been heard that Mr. Higgs, Monroe County Property Appraiser was pursuing a specific course of action regarding the ACUIZ when that is not, and has never been, the case. While I would not presume to speak for Mr. Higgs directly as I believe that he is more than capable of this task himself, I would explain the process of this office as it concerns this type of issue. The Property Appraiser’s Office (PAO) has been asked to provide this information on its property records. This request has also been made regarding a great many other pieces of information. The PAO weighs each request in context with the importance of the data; the existence or non-existence of a State imposed mandate; the data’s relevance to the PAO function (property rights / property value); its necessity as it applies to the function(s) of other County agencies and its possible benefit to the public. This list is by no means exhaustive. However, before any information is attached to our records we must confirm the accuracy and legal status of the information. Then the PAO must merge the databases and alter our programming to facilitate the additional data. For example, the Tier information has been available for some time now but since the Tier system has not yet been fully approved (to the knowledge of the PAO) the information has not been attached to our records. In fact, the applicability of the Tier System to property value in Monroe County has been rejected by several Special Masters at Value Adjustment Board hearings specifically because of its legal status. The Tier classification will ascribe specific property rights, which may affect value, to parcels of land within the County and at such time as this plan is finally approved and implemented the PAO may attach Tier classifications to its property records. Since this process is not yet complete, the final decision has not yet been made. In contrast, Affordable Housing classification typically in the form of a deed restriction, is already attached to property records and viewable on both the hard copy property record cards and on the Property Appraiser’s website. There is typically no question as to the accuracy or legality of a deed restriction; just an estimation or measurement of the impact of those restrictions. In the case of the issue currently in focus the 2007 ACUIZ map has not yet been approved or accepted by the BOCC to the best knowledge of the PAO. At such time as this issue is finalized the PAO will review the request and the data available and determine the appropriate action. Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your request for information. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact this office, or myself personally. Karl D. Borglum Assistant Property Appraiser Monroe County *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** |
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