Petition Drive Seeks Voter's OK for Land Annexation - By Mandy Bolen

Petition drive seeks voters' OK for land annexations - BY MANDY BOLEN Key West Citizen Staff

KEY WEST — A group of residents has formed the Wisteria Island Committee to prevent the city from annexing the island, or any other land, without the approval of Key West voters.

The committee is working to amend the city charter to require voter approval in a binding referendum, meaning city officials would be bound to act based on the results.

"This change in the city charter would make annexation issues much more transparent and would provide for the taxpayer voters to have the last word," said Bruce Ritson, committee chairman.

Annexation is the first step toward developing property, because once the city gains control of an area, it is subject to the city's building laws and entitled to city services.

Developers had requested the city annex Wisteria Island, owned by the Bernstein family, but later withdrew their request without explanation. Soon after, the City Commission voted against placing a non-binding referendum on the Oct. 2 ballot that would have asked voters if they wanted the city to annex the island.

City Commissioner Bill Verge suggested and supported the referendum that was defeated.

"It's up to the citizens now if they are serious about this and want to rally," Verge said Wednesday.

Ritson filed a Petitioners List with the City Clerk's office late Tuesday, showing 15 names of Key West residents who support the charter change and are willing to begin collecting the signatures necessary to have a citizen's initiative put on the city's Oct. 2 ballot.

Such an initiative requires that 10 percent of the registered voters in the city sign a petition supporting the ballot question, according to the city charter. As of last week, there were 13,984 registered voters in Key West, according to a representative of the Supervisor of Elections office, meaning the annexation question will require about 1,398 petitions.

Ritson and the committee members, who include City Commission candidate Barry Gibson, on Monday will begin collecting the required signatures. First, City Clerk Cheri Smith has to verify that all 15 petitioners are registered voters, but Smith is out of town until Monday.

Also, City Attorney Shawn Smith has to approve the language and content of the petition, but he also is out of town until Monday.

"We have 30 days from Monday to get the signatures," Ritson said. "We plan to do it in about five days. We'll be at food stores, drugstores, everywhere."