It is a travesty that the Leaseholder/Developer is proposing to build 651 rental units on the Bahia Mar site and they don’t have a clue about the market they are building for. They have not performed a market study. Worse, the Planning and Zoning “professional” staff and the less sophisticated of the P&Z Commissioners have not even asked the question. The fact is that the market for rental units on the barrier island between 17th Street and Sunrise Boulevard has been in decline for the last five years. The tables above reveal this trend has been continuing over the last two years. In the last 12 months the number of units rented has declined; the average rental price has declined, and; the days on the market has risen. In spite of a significantly improving economy and general housing market. This is corroborated by anecdotal evidence from beach realtors and their customers who complain about the increased congestion, traffic, noise, power disruptions and flooding from storms, concerns about rising sea levels, and increases in Insurance, taxes and maintenance costs. These same concerns are reflected in a similar decline in the market for condominium sales. The Bahia Mar proposals not only fly in the face of reality. The proposals will worsen the reality by further undermining the existing housing market on the barrier island with a double barrel impact: adding to excessive housing supply and adding to the negative factors such as traffic congestion that are driving residents from the barrier island. This is the worst possible result of ignorant public policy and destructive economic development.