Capt. Steve Friedman
Candidate, Islamorada Village Council, Seat 2
Statement for the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce, Village Council Candidate Forum
October 1, 2024
Opening statement.
My sincerest apologies for not being with you this evening.
Long before we knew we’d be urged to seek a seat on the Village Council or be invited to tonight’s forum, we booked a four-day fishing tournament in the Lower Keys.
I trust the small business owners amongst the Chamber’s membership will appreciate and understand our commitment to our customers.
As a fishing guide, our business works every day with other small business owners — gas stations, bait shops, grocers, marinas, hotels, restaurants — that all depend on the health of our local waters. We believe our water is Islamorada’s economy and we will make protecting it the priority.
With my two decades of running a small business in the Keys coupled with a BA from Drake University in Spanish and a Master’s from the University of New Mexico in Latin American Studies (with an emphasis in political science and community and regional planning), I am ready to serve on our Islamorada Village Council.
My wife Kristine and I just sent our son off to college and our daughter attends Coral Shores High School. We call Islamorada home because we love the water — we must protect it to maintain our quality of life. Thank you.
Question #1 — Environmental challenges are critical to the future of Islamorada. In your opinion, what are the two most pressing environmental issues facing our community?
Our Village Council — working closely with Monroe County — has been leading the way on getting ahead of the curve on sea level rise.
Climate change is our new reality. The recent hiring of a Sustainability & Resiliency Coordinator and completion of a comprehensive Vulnerability Assessment that examines sea level rise, rainfall and tidal flooding are a great start toward planning for our future.
Next year we will also see the completion of our Roads Elevation Study outlining ways to mitigate and protect our roads from rain and tidal flooding as well as sea level rise.
It is critical we get ahead of sea level rise to protect our families and our quality of life.
Secondly, our Village must be efficient and fiscally responsible while providing quality public services that also protect our local waters from pollution and over-development.
Our economy depends on healthy, pristine water and we learned the hard way a decade ago when 40,000 acres of seagrass died off in Florida Bay just how impactful our government’s actions — or inactions — can be on our local economy.
Question #2 — In considering the dimensions of the BPAS issue, what concerns you the most?
The current Building Permit Allocation System (BPAS) that regulates all new residential development has been essentially exhausted by the Village of Islamorada.
Additionally, it’s been almost a quarter-of-a-century since the Village updated its comprehensive plan which is intended to serve as a guidepost for Council decisions on all future residential and commercial development.
Fortunately — after multiple drama-filled Council sessions — the Village has retained a professional consulting firm to help update the comprehensive plan. This is a critical first step.
I’m a big believer in planning your work, then working your plan.
My goal is to make our comprehensive planning process a community conversation. The Village Council should encourage more engagement from our local residents in our planning process. We must be accessible, transparent, and welcoming of more input and expertise from our residents.
Finally, my belief is all future residential and commercial development must be fair and equitable; respectful of property rights; responsive to strains on our infrastructure; fiscally responsible; compliant with state and federal statutes that protect our fisheries, migratory and nesting birds, etc.; and most importantly: extremely sensitive to our environment and water quality.
Our entire economy is intertwined with the health of our region’s water — so we must plan accordingly.