Big Pine Key's Little Brother - No Name Key
Most talk is how Big Pine Key is trying to keep from being overrun by the "Big City" Keys they are squeezed between, Marathon and http://floridakeystreasures.com/keywest/You might be amazed to find out that there are Islands that see Big Pine Key as the "Big City" Key they are trying not to emulate.
Even in a chain of islands whose residents have been known for their odd manners and general aversion to conformity, No Name Key has always stood out. Or rather it has tried not stand out. The residents of the island prefer anonymity to celebrity, and want to stay that way. But huge interest in properties on the island and its bigger neighbour, Big Pine Key, is giving them a headache.
No Name Key, has lovely waterfront homes but no electricity. Residents have fought for years to keep their refuge off the grid. Now the rocketing price of properties on the neighbouring island has led developers and City types to No Name, and the newbies want to change it, reports the Miami Herald.
"The locals who have been here for 30 years are moving out because they can no longer afford to pay the property taxes," said one resident.
In 1968 there were about 500 people on Big Pine Key and No Name Keys — the two primary Keys where the majority of the tiny indigenous key deer population is found. Today there’s about 5,000.
The local key deer population is under threat from human growth. “Big Pine Key and No Name Key are the main emphasis of the herd, because they’re the only significant Keys that have standing fresh water on it. And while the deer can withstand brackish water, certainly they prefer fresh water, ” says Kevin Pierce of Florida Environment.
The problem starts on Big Pine Key. Nestled between Marathon and Key West, Big Pine Key, one of the widest islands in the Keys, has long been the haunt of hippies, fishermen, dope smugglers, equestrians, the working class and those choosing to forgo convention.
"You can come in here with a foot-long beard and nobody looks at you or anything. You can come in here with any kind of clothes as long as you have clothes on," said Capt. Dan McLaughlin, owner of the Key Deer Bar & Grill, named after the federally protected white-tailed critter that darts through this island’s back streets. "They are eccentric, and they have got their own ways, and you are not going to change them."
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Even in a chain of islands whose residents have been known for their odd manners and general aversion to conformity, No Name Key has always stood out. Or rather it has tried not stand out. The residents of the island prefer anonymity to celebrity, and want to stay that way. But huge interest in properties on the island and its bigger neighbour, Big Pine Key, is giving them a headache.
No Name Key, has lovely waterfront homes but no electricity. Residents have fought for years to keep their refuge off the grid. Now the rocketing price of properties on the neighbouring island has led developers and City types to No Name, and the newbies want to change it, reports the Miami Herald.
"The locals who have been here for 30 years are moving out because they can no longer afford to pay the property taxes," said one resident.
In 1968 there were about 500 people on Big Pine Key and No Name Keys — the two primary Keys where the majority of the tiny indigenous key deer population is found. Today there’s about 5,000.
The local key deer population is under threat from human growth. “Big Pine Key and No Name Key are the main emphasis of the herd, because they’re the only significant Keys that have standing fresh water on it. And while the deer can withstand brackish water, certainly they prefer fresh water, ” says Kevin Pierce of Florida Environment.
The problem starts on Big Pine Key. Nestled between Marathon and Key West, Big Pine Key, one of the widest islands in the Keys, has long been the haunt of hippies, fishermen, dope smugglers, equestrians, the working class and those choosing to forgo convention.
"You can come in here with a foot-long beard and nobody looks at you or anything. You can come in here with any kind of clothes as long as you have clothes on," said Capt. Dan McLaughlin, owner of the Key Deer Bar & Grill, named after the federally protected white-tailed critter that darts through this island’s back streets. "They are eccentric, and they have got their own ways, and you are not going to change them."
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Posted @ 9:09 PM Post URL 
1 Comments:
The Reality of Solar Electricity on No Name Key:
No Name Key is the largest solar community in the Florida Keys. There are 43 homes powered by a combination of solar, wind, generator and battery power.
Solar energy has its limitations; it works great on sunny days, but doesn't produce electricity at night, or on cloudy days.
It is obvious to most experts that solar energy must be used in conjunction with commercial electricity if it’s going to be a viable source of alternative energy.
The beauty of this “grid-tie” method is that you produce electricity when conditions are optimal, and you use electricity from the electric grid when you require extra. If you produce more than you need, you sell it back to the electric company so that others can use this clean energy.
We NNKers are not proud of our generators but are forced to use them to run air conditioners and other appliances when solar isn't enough.
Generators spew huge amounts of greenhouse gases, toxic air pollutants and create an enormous level of noise pollution.
The “green” solution would be to allow No Name Key to hook up to the commercial electricity grid so we could be a model for sustainable solar communities nationwide.
No Name Key was never a planned “solar community”. Homeowners were promised utilities by developers and the electric company.
We currently don't have commercial utilities because one woman decided she didn't want neighbors.
When she bought her property, she knew a 13-home development (Galleon Bay) was being built next door. She spent years fighting this development. However, here is when things got hinky. This woman got herself appointed to the Monroe County Planning Commission in 2001 and helped craft “P61-01.
I’m going to quote text from this LDR because I think you’ll find it as preposterous as I do: “To Establish a New Land Use Overlay District that will PROHIBIT the Following Types of Public Utilities: Central Wastewater, Potable Water, Electricity, Telephone and Cable”.
This LDR affected only No Name Key. So, in 2001, in Monroe County, in the USA, a law was created that prohibited an existing community from receiving public utilities. Are you kidding me? Though this woman directly benefited from the LDR, she voted to approve it, without recusing herself.
To add insult to injury, this occurred concurrently with her as a named intervener in an ongoing lawsuit filed by neighbors to electrify No Name Key.
But, what happened is history. The truth is a supermajority of homeowners on NNK (70%) want public utilities.
We even volunteered to pay for these services. We are not pro-development or commercial power junkies as the local media portrays us.
The majority of our solar systems cannot provide the electricity we need to power any approved wastewater systems.
We need grid power to meet 2010 advanced wastewater standards and to help clean our air and water pollution.
We want fair treatment and a “green” No Name Key.
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