In a stunning turnaround, Florida legislators first abandoned an attempt to overthrow Key West’s voter-approved limits on cruise ships in their town, and then only hours later added an amendment killing the limits to another bill, which has now gone to the Governor for signature.
Key West, like Venice, has complained for years about huge cruise ships overshadowing the waterfront and local low-rise buildings, as well as a huge volume of shore-trippers overwhelming the small town shops; many in the town have felt that the cruise-ship atmosphere was driving away the longer-term visitors who keep its local lodgings and restaurants busy.
Last year’s vote, which won by substantial margins called for limiting the number of visitors disembarking from cruise ships to 1,500 per day, banning ships over 1,300 capacity and giving priority at the port to cruise lines with the best environmental and health records.
The push to overturn the regulations was supported heavily by the cruise industry and some local businesses. It was originally abandoned when it was pointed out that the bill would strip all ports in the state of any ability to create and enforce local regulations. After reconsideration, the legislators apparently decided that wasn’t a problem.
