It Just Got A Lot Easier To Travel To Key West

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For better or for worse, it just got a whole lot easier to travel to Key West.

Back in 2020, on Election Day, Key West had some amendments on the ballot that had to do with allowing cruise ships to stop in Key West (the statistics they gathered were pretty fascinating!). As we reported back then :

All three of the issues were approved by more than 60% of the vote. This means ships calling at Key West will be limited to no more than 1,300 passengers, and the number of cruise passengers coming ashore each day will be limited to 1,500. Plus, in a nod to Key West’s fragile environment, ships with “better” environmental and public health records will have priority.

The changes would prevent even the smallest of the major cruise lines’ ships from stopping at Key West.

Of course, people who are pro-business balked. However in 2019 (the last year that cruise ships docked in KW for the entire year), of the nearly one million people who visited Key West on a cruise ship (almost half the total number of tourists), cruise passengers only account for about 7% of total tourism spending.

7% of spending, or long-term environmental issues? Which is more important?

It almost became a moot point about 2 months later, when state senator Jim Boyd and representative Spencer Roach (neither one of them represent areas of FL that are anywhere near Key West) introduced a bill that would ban local governments from imposing restrictions on the size and types of vessels entering Florida’s 15 major seaports.

The bill died in the Florida House in April. From the Tampa Bay Times:

The bill began as a broad attempt to prohibit local governments from restricting maritime commerce at Florida’s 15 deep-water ports. But with local governments fighting it and 92 lobbyists registered to work on it, Roach said he and Boyd “narrowed the bill and narrowed the bill and narrowed the bill.”

The final product, SB 426, “was narrowed in scope to the extent that we were not accomplishing what I wanted to accomplish,’’ Roach said Tuesday.

SB 426 passed the Senate last week, but Roach said the turning point came Monday when “staff raised some questions” about the constitutionality of using a general law to achieve a local purpose, something state law prohibits.

At the time, senator Boyd and representative Roach, said they will try again next year, with a new version of the bill.

But apparently, they were impatient.

Instead of waiting until next year, they tacked it onto Senate Bill 1194, a statewide transportation bill, which specifically voids any local referendum or initiative that restricts maritime commerce.

Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law on June 30th.

There was to be a special city common meeting about this on July 6th, but due to Tropical Storm Elsa, all KW City Offices were closed that day. The meeting was rescheduled for July 12th, at which time the Commission will hear from the legal department and explore the best way to move forward.

Expected during the July 12th meeting:

“All city commissioners and the mayor have consistently voiced their support to implement the charter amendments to the extent permissible by law,” Commissioner Sam Kaufman told Keys Weekly on Wednesday. “I expect the city attorney to advise the commission on how to accomplish this. The public can also expect a formal announcement that Mallory Square will not be available for cruise ships that don’t meet the smaller requirements per the city charter. Also, the Commission will likely direct the city manager to negotiate with the Navy to either comply with the charter amendments or allow the City to withdraw from the lease at the Outer Mole pier.”

So as of now, cruise ships can again port in Key West (but it sounds as if their docking at Mallory Square potentially won’t be a possibility anymore). Well, until something else happens and maybe they won’t be able to. But for now, they can. 😉

Feature Image: Pixabay

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary