BOCC nixes Lower Keys permit office

The Monroe Board of County Commissioners last week decided that it would just be too costly to open a full-service permitting office in the Lower Keys to accommodate what could be as many as 7,500 permit applications in the coming four years.

That is the estimate on how many permits will be needed for property owners in the Cudjoe Regional Wastewater System service area, which spans from Lower Sugarloaf Key to Big Pine Key, to hook into the central system once installation of collection pipes is completed.

That number doesn’t include the more than 7,000 permits that will be needed for property owners inside the Cudjoe Regional to abandon private septic tanks as part of that hook up process.

The approximately 160 properties that will remain on individual septic tanks will need permits for plumbing and current tank abandonment for the new systems, although if those owners choose to become part of the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority’s on-site program, that will cut the number of needed permits as FKAA doesn’t need county permits to perform work as part of the Cudjoe Regional.

Property owners who will be hooked into gravity collection pipes will need plumbing and tank abandonment permits. The former is issued by the county building department, the latter by the county Department of Health.

For those who will finally get hooked into individual grinder pump stations, the same plumbing permit and tank abandonment permit will be needed, along with an electrical permit to install the 30-amp, 220-volt power supply needed for pump operation.

It is the homeowner’s responsibility to get their power supply to the outside of the home and plumbing drains to the grinder station. From there, FKAA will run the power to the pump station and the drain lines to the pipe in the street.

For gravity pipe users, the homeowner is responsible for getting the drain lines to the street to hook into the central collection pipe.

All permitting and hook up for on-site systems is the responsibility of FKAA for those who opt into their program.

County Commissioner George Neugent had suggested that staff look into opening a permitting office somewhere in the Cudjoe Regional service area to prevent folks form having to drive from 12 to 21 miles to reach either the Stock Island permitting office or the Marathon permitting office for applications.

And the permits will probably entail multiple trips.

“That’s a lot of time for someone to invest when we mandate they get the permits to hook into our system,” said Neugent.

But commissioners shied away from the idea of a dedicated permitting office for the Lower Keys when staff placed the estimates at between $85,000 and $142,000 for the first year of operation.

That includes a single intake person who would check applications for completeness and then forward them to the permitting offices in Marathon.

Staff also suggested a more completely staffed office with intake and review and inspection personnel for each discipline necessary that would have run about $300,000 per year.

Staff submitted four potential locations for a permitting office, one, with just an intake person in Neugent’s office on Ship’s Way, a possible one at the Big Pine Community Park, using rental spaces at the Big Pine Shopping Center or rental spaces at a commercial strip complex on Avenue A.

Commissioners balked when they learned that new staff would have to be added to the payroll for a minimum of four years.

“We expect the need for additional permitting personnel to last four years from the time people start pulling permits to the last ones who will,” said County Growth Management Director Christine Hurley.

One of the reasons Neugent raised the issue initially was the number of complaints county officials field on a regular basis about the time it takes to pull a permit.

“What we want is to streamline the process and not have people waiting weeks for permits,” said Neugent.

County officials estimate that property owners in the Cudjoe Regional service area will begin applying for permits sometime late this year, about the same time the treatment plant on Blimp Road comes on line. According to proposed readiness schedules, the first properties, interior Cudjoe Key, might be able to start the hook in process by early next year, however, outer areas like Big Pine Key probably won’t be ready for hook in until late 2015 or early 2016.

Normally the county sets simple permits like these for expiration in 180 days, but Hurley has promised that the permits will remain active until completed so if people want to start the trenching early, they can and not run the risk of an expired permit.

At the end, commissioners directed staff to look into adding additional personnel in Marathon to handle the influx of permits during the duration of the sewer project.

Hurley said she thought that could be accomplished with one permit manager who can enhance the flow of permits, “Shepard” them through the system, and cut back on the lengthy time it currently takes for routine permits.

No final decision will be made until budget time in September.

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