Strip away the extraneous discussions about Key West’s dearth of workforce and affordable housing and the dire predictions of unchecked commercial development in residential neighborhoods, and Key West City Commissioners faced a pretty simple decision Tuesday evening on the Casa Marina zoning change:
Are we going to hand an international Real Estate Investment Trust, a REIT, an open-ended preferential zoning change in exchange for, well, dormitory-style worker housing that might or might not include space for a couple cops or fire fighters?
It took commissioners about 90 minutes to go from presentations and public comments to a resounding five-to-two denial of the zoning change request. Only Commissioner Mary Lou Hoover and Mayor DeeDee Henriquez supported it. Commissioners Lissette Carey, Aaron Castillo, Monica Haskell, Sam Kaufman and Donie Lee voted no.
And the applicant promptly pulled the request. The message was clear: Deny the zoning change and we’re going home. (Or likely more accurately, we’re going to figure out how to build those transient villas without it.)
In case you’ve not been following along, here’s a brief primer: In 2023 Park Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s largest publicly traded lodging investment companies, began the process of seeking a zoning change that would switch 3.36 acres of land at 811 and 715 Seminole St., across from the Casa Marina Resort, from Historic Residential to Historic Commercial.
The change, if approved, would come with the development of 21 transient rental villas and 25 workforce housing units — and a commercial laundry, retail space and a significant increase in the Casa Marina Resort’s lodging footprint in the residential neighborhood.
Park Hotels & Resorts, the REIT spun off as an independent company by Hilton in 2017, holds the Casa Marina Resort under the Hilton brand. The Casa Marina is one of about 40 high-end resorts held by Park. Among them are other highly visible brands like Marriott and Hyatt. Park trades on the New York Stock Exchange as PK, and as of Wednesday midday, its share price was $10.92, down from $17.24 on April 2, 2024.
Since 2023 the zoning change request has wound its way through city planning staff and the Planning Board. It’s been pulled and postponed, modified and stipulated, opposed and supported. Protect Our Residential Neighborhoods, a new grassroots organization drawing significant membership from Casa Marina neighbors, galvanized opposition that filled the commission chambers Tuesday.
After commissioners did their pro forma declarations of legal-under-the-Sunshine Law “ex parte” communications, meaning they’d individually had conversations with folks representing Park to discuss the request, City Planning Director Katie Halloran walked them through the pros and cons of the request.
READ THE PROPOSAL AND THE CITY STAFF REPORT
Casa Marina zoning | It’s a really, really bad idea
And then she recommended the request be denied. There are 12 pages of reasons and they boil down to this: It’s a really, really bad idea. The request fails to comply with the city’s land use development criteria and its precedent-setting approval could open the doors for similar zoning change requests across the island.
A layman would say — and opponents in the room and on the dais did say: Let them pay for their own worker housing just as other local businesses are doing. This boils down to granting a multinational investment company an unrestricted zoning change — without an approved Major Development Plan — so that Park can increase transient rentals in an established residential neighborhood.
Park wants 21 new transient rental villas to enhance the Casa Marina Resort brand. It appears it figured adding buzzwords like “workforce housing” and promising there’d be spots for cops and firefighters would sweeten the deal. Even that sweetener is suspect since units sure don’t look like “home.” They’re more like dormitories with shared living spaces.
Five of the seven commissioners were having none of it and that was clear even before the vote. Commissioner Hoover, who represents District 5, in which the Casa Marina is located, remained steadfast in her support, even in the face of inappropriate boos and catcalls from the audience.
As the clerk called the vote, you could hear a pin drop. No. No. No. Yes. No. No. Yes. That last one was the mayor.
Mayor Henriquez’s support for the zoning change surprised me. She ran a tight meeting and never once voiced an opinion. She didn’t respond to audience questions that repeatedly asked commissioners to explain their positions. She was stoically silent until she cast the final vote. One word. “Yes.”
Her reasoning is likely to be important if Park comes back with another way to keep the cash flowing out of the Casa Marina and into its shareholder accounts. So I emailed her and asked. Her response explained her initial reluctance to support the change, why she shifted her position over the months and her commitment to housing.
“This decision didn’t come lightly. … I voted yes because this project included workforce housing units, units designated for hotel workers and units for essential workers like firefighters and police officers—an opportunity that was difficult to turn down given our ongoing housing challenges.

 My hope is that this highlights the urgent need for affordable housing in Key West.”
I disagree with her vote, but I sure don’t fault her thinking.
Here’s what she shared with me:
“This decision didn’t come lightly. To be transparent, my initial vote on this project was no. However, as time passed and the development plan changed throughout the workshops between Park Hotel and the Neighborhood, my perspective shifted.

 I voted yes because this project included workforce housing units, units designated for hotel workers, and units for essential workers like firefighters and police officers—an opportunity that was difficult to turn down given our ongoing housing challenges.

I have to consider the needs of the community as a whole. The will of the commission ultimately voted no, and I respect their decision. My hope is that this highlights the urgent need for affordable housing in Key West.”
0 Comments