On Thursday, Sept. 3, the Key West City Commission voted on three Higgs Beach items. Two passed on the consent agenda. The first was a $510,248 contract with Beach Raker LLC to clean the beach every day through Jan. 25, 2029. The second was an application for up to $500,000 in state money toward a $1 million restoration of the sand. The third item was $188,130 to start designing a master plan for the park, and the Commission voted 5–2 to postpone it.
So far, the city's spending at Higgs Beach covers the basics of keeping a beach open. The things neighbors argue about, like the courts, the dog park, a hockey rink and the playgrounds, are still a drawing with no construction price. That leaves Casa Marina residents a real window to weigh in before the plan returns to the Commission.
Why the city is in charge now
Monroe County owned the 16-acre site from 1949 until this spring. On April 1, the City Commission voted 5–2 to take it over. Keys Weekly reported that the transfer came with about $3.7 million in grants and insurance money for repairs and improvements.
That money may not stretch far. Above the Fold, a local news site that has followed the plan closely, reports that the city estimates the crumbling Higgs Beach seawall alone at $3.7 million. It also lists Astro City, the long-neglected children's playground, as another urgent need. We found no confirmed work dates or closures for either project.
What has actually been approved
The two items that passed on Sept. 3 are the ones beachgoers will feel first.
| Item | Status as of Sept. 3, 2026 | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Daily beach cleaning, Beach Raker LLC | Approved, $510,248 | Seaweed, trash, litter and debris removal through Jan. 25, 2029 |
| Beach restoration and nourishment | Application approved | Up to $500,000 from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, matched by up to $500,000 from the city's Fort Taylor Fund |
| Master plan design task order, Bender & Associates Architects | Postponed 5–2 | $188,130 to turn a staff concept into a schematic plan |
The cleaning contract had a single bidder. The order of the sand project matters. The $1 million is meant to rebuild sand volume and restore the beach's shape after the seawall is stabilized, so the new sand is tied to the seawall repair happening first.
What the drawing proposed
Everything else people have heard about Higgs Beach comes from one concept. In its Sept. 1 report, Above the Fold said city staff started the plan from a "bubble diagram of use areas." Landscape architect Keith Oropeza's proposal would have built the conceptual master plan from that diagram. The concept included:
- 16 standard pickleball courts and one tournament court on the northwest side of the park near Casa Marina Court, with landscaping along the northern edge to screen views and sound. The concept said the courts would not have lights.
- A covered hockey rink, 120 by 200 feet, to replace the existing rink at 1800 Bertha St. That rink got a new Matéflex tile surface in December 2025.
- A dog park split into large-dog and small-dog areas, with shade structures, seating and porous artificial turf.
- A pump track, an artificial-turf multipurpose field, new parking, support buildings and themed playgrounds.
The $188,130 would have paid only for early planning. The scope left out construction documents and construction administration, and no estimate has been released for building, running or maintaining the full concept. If approved, the plan would go through the Development Review Committee, the Tree Commission, the Planning Board and the Historic Architectural Review Commission, and then back to the City Commission.
Why the Commission hit pause
Above the Fold reported the vote the day it happened. Commissioner Aaron Castillo made the motion to postpone and Commissioner Mark Rossi seconded it. Mayor Sam Kaufman, Vice Mayor Donie Lee and District 5 Commissioner Chris Massicotte joined them. Commissioners Monica Haskell and Lissette Carey voted no.
The comments from the dais focused on process, according to the Key West Citizen's account:
"To give direction to our architect, we really should do our homework first." — Mayor Sam Kaufman
Lee questioned the artificial turf in the dog park and called for a public workshop. He also asked whether the city needs to pay a consultant to run workshops it could hold itself. Massicotte said the city should give Bender & Associates "a very clear direction" before hiring them.
The turf question matters for anyone with a dog. Above the Fold cited a 2026 peer-reviewed dog-welfare study in which one artificial-turf surface reached 146.8 degrees, while natural surfaces in the same conditions stayed under 104 degrees. The outlet also noted that the result does not show how every turf product would perform at Higgs.
The ground under the dog park
One limit on the plan comes from history, not money. In 1860, more than 1,400 Africans rescued from three illegal American slave ships were brought to Key West, and hundreds died there. Ground-penetrating radar has found more than 100 probable graves near Higgs Beach and along Atlantic Boulevard. Only a small part of the African Cemetery is formally marked.
Graves have been identified inside the dog park area, so the proposal bans digging there and requires any improvements to be built above the existing grade. At the Sept. 3 meeting, Massicotte recalled changes made to the dog park across Atlantic Boulevard after graves were found there. Haskell said any work at the site has to follow federal and state historic preservation rules. Arida Wright, who organizes the annual Day of Remembrance at the African Cemetery, spoke with Sebai Sekayi Khita Hetep of the Rose Diversity Group. They asked the Commission to consider a sacred space or ancestral shrine, plus signs explaining the site's significance.
Any new layout for the dog park, the parking or the paths along Atlantic Boulevard will have to work around these graves.
What neighbors asked for on Oct. 3
Massicotte agreed to lead public meetings, and the first one was held Saturday, Oct. 3, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Higgs Beach. The Citizen reported that staff would collect the feedback and consider it as plans develop.
The editor of Key West Island News wrote a column about the meeting. She counted about a hundred people at one of the band shells, along with city staff, the mayor and several commissioners. The wish list she described was long:
- More lights for the tennis courts, and more pickleball courts with lights
- Bigger dog parks for small and large dogs, with more grass and more waste bags
- More parking, playgrounds and better sand for beach volleyball
- Rebuilding the Reynolds Street Pier to its full length
- Expanding the African Cemetery to recognize graves under the road, the dog park and other parts of Higgs Beach
Some speakers asked for open space, walking trails, protection for turtle nests and wetlands that help reduce flooding. One attendee suggested making Higgs a beach and park for locals, where families can cook out and swim without paying for chairs and umbrellas. The column also described both band shells as badly undermined by seawater erosion. That is the columnist's own observation, not an engineering finding.
Some requests, like court lights, conflict with the concept, which left the pickleball courts unlit. Others, like the full-length pier, were never in it. The open-space requests compete with the courts and turf field for the same acres.
The dates on the calendar
- Sunday, Oct. 11. The Southernmost Half Marathon starts and finishes at Higgs Beach. Atlantic Boulevard between Reynolds Street and White Street is scheduled to close from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m.
- Between now and November. Before the Oct. 3 meeting, the Citizen reported that staff would compile resident feedback and consider it as plans develop.
- Thursday, Nov. 5. The city's Legistar file 26-5776 lists the Bender & Associates task order on that day's City Commission agenda.
- Through Jan. 25, 2029. Beach Raker LLC's daily cleaning contract runs whatever the master plan becomes.
Agenda materials for the Nov. 5 item, including the original Higgs master plan proposal and the cover memo from Engineering, are attached to the Legistar file for anyone who wants to read the concept before the meeting.
Higgs Beach is the open space at the end of the block for much of Casa Marina, and whatever is built there will shape these streets for years. If you own nearby and want to talk through how the Higgs plans might affect your property, Dan Serban follows each Commission step and is glad to compare notes. Contact Dan.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
