Rogo Challenge

The case was won (everywhere except KW due to a wording technicality – 300 ROGOs). This was a very successful outcome. That is, until this spring’s legislative session where new laws were created both to prevent/ squash similar challenges in the future and to “reinstate the other 1,000 ROGOs”. Ultimately, LS lost, however, we did more and organized more than on any other topic in recent years, because any new development needs to protect existing residents and be sustainable.

Rogo Challenge

Beginning in 2018, Last Stand challenged the status of the ROGOs (building allocations) after then-Governor Rick Scott presented Keys communities with 1,300 additional building allocations which violated both growth limitations for the Keys as well as the state-directed 24-hour safe hurricane evacuation mandate.

Last Stand ultimately participated in a legal challenge (both via testimony from a then-Alternate board member and former president of LS) as well as financial support for the lawyers who tried the case through DEO courts and finally up to the 3rd District Court of Appeal.

Last Stand’s challenge to the ROGOs was successful because

● LS educated the public through many emails and newsletter articles

● LS spoke before the BOCC repeatedly

● LS had several Calls to Action including letter-writing campaigns and a Petition which more than 1,000 people signed.

● LS partnered with many/multiple Keys civic and environmental groups (the list includes: the Florida Keys Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, Florida Keys Citizens Coalition, Florida Keys Environmental Fund, Inc., Friends  of the Lower Keys (FOLKs), Island of Key Largo Federation of Homeowners Associations (IKLFHA), Key Deer Protection Alliance, Inc., Last Stand, Lower Density for Lower Sugarloaf LLC (LD4LS), Save Summerland Native Areas, Cudjoe Gardens Property Owners Association, South Point Homeowners, LLC, Sugarloaf Shores Property Owners Association (SSPOA))

● LS wrote press releases and had a great deal of coverage in Keys (and even Miami) newspapers

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Balancing Development and Preservation: Last Stand’s Position on Key West Housing Amendments

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However, Last Stand opposes incorporating aspects of the Florida Live Local Act into Key West's zoning code. They highlight concerns over reduced setbacks, increased height limits, and diminished public input, warning these changes could harm the environment, neighborhood character, and quality of life. Last Stand urges rejection of these amendments, calling for more public input and careful evaluation of their long-term impact.

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Ann Olsen Warns BOCC: Overdevelopment Threatens the Future of the Florida Keys

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