page_title: Wisteria Island
section_title: Annexation attempt
hierarchical_section_title: Wisteria Island / History / Annexation attempt
caption_attribution_description: English: Wisteria Island at Key West, Florida, U.S.
context_page_description: Wisteria Island, also known as Christmas Tree Island, is a federally owned, uninhabited island in the lower Florida Keys 645 yards northwest of the northwestern corner of the main island and city of Key West, Florida, Monroe County, United States. It is located 280 yards north-northeast of Sunset Key, its closest neighbor.
  Wisteria Island's area is 106,346 square meters. The nickname Christmas Tree Island comes from the large number of Australian pine trees that grow there. Large numbers of liveaboard boats are moored near the island.
context_section_description: In April 2007, F.E.B. owner Roger Bernstein formally requested that the city of Key West annex the island, which had been considered a portion of unincorporated Monroe County. This would have allowed 168 units to be built on the island, due to the denser building codes of Key West compared with those of Monroe County. On May 1, 2007, the Key West City Commission, in a 5–2 vote, approved the first reading of an ordinance calling for the annexation of the island. Public opposition soon mounted and the second reading was tabled several times while voters gathered signatures for a petition opposing the high-density development plan. By July 10, 2007, over 3,000 signatures had been collected.
  In a Key West City Commission meeting that evening, attorneys for Christmas Key Management Corporation announced that F.E.B. was withdrawing its request to have the island annexed to the city of Key West. At the same meeting, opponents of the plan announced that they would seek the inclusion of a non-binding referendum on the issue in the October 2007 city elections in order to gauge city support for curtailing development. One week later, a motion to include the referendum in the October 2 Key West City election ballot was turned down after several citizens and City Commissioners questioned its necessity after F.E.B. withdrew its annexation request.
  In the wake of the failed county proposal, Key West Mayor Morgan McPherson proposed that the city of Key West purchase the island for conservation purposes. The idea, which was discussed in several City Commission meetings, was eventually tabled and the subject dropped.
caption: Wisteria Island
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