Community Background Report

Islandia

County

Miami-Dade

Boundaries

North: Biscayne Bay
South: Atlantic Ocean
West: Biscayne Bay
East: Atlantic Ocean

Community Type

Neighborhood

History

Islandia, up until March 2012, was a municipality. However, the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) has abolished the island as a city, making it a neighborhood within the unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County.

Islandia has a short, yet controversial history. Islandia, the twenty-seventh municipality incorporated in Miami-Dade County, is the smallest village in Florida. The village is located on Elliot Key in Biscayne Bay, eight miles across the water from Homestead. During the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, the island served as haven for refugees of wrecked ships and as a fishing area for the Tequesta Indians. Elliot Key became popular in the 1860s as settlers from the Bahamas came bringing their agricultural skills; however, they soon found that the ground was comprised of coral rock that was not compatible with farming.

In 1906, Islandia had its own school district and was home for nearly 100 permanent residents. On June 22, 1961, thirteen of Islandia’s eighteen registered voters voted to incorporate the village. U.S representative Dante Fascell introduced a bill to congress in 1966 that would make parts of Islandia a national park. In October of 1968, President Lyndon B Johnson authorized $25 million to convert portions of Islandia into the Biscayne National monument. The federal government purchased all but five of the thirty-three islands.

In 1990, an investigation by the State Attorney’s office found that the village had been operating under an illegal government. The voters who participated in the elections did not reside on the island and voted in other Miami-Dade County precincts although they held property in Islandia. The nine residents who resided on the island were ineligible to vote because they did not own Islandia property.

Since 1966, Islandia has lost most of its real estate to Biscayne National Park. Of the 180,000 acres existing at the time of Islandia’s incorporation, only 667 acres remain and only 16.69 of those acres are above water.

Community Dynamics

As of the census of 2010, there were 18 people, 3 households, and 3 families residing in Islandia. The racial makeup of the city was 100.0% White (11.1% Non-Hispanic White). Hispanic or Latino of any race were 88.9% of the population (44.4% Salvadoran, 38.9% Guatemalan, 5.6% Peruvian).

There are 3 households out of which 2 had children under the age of 18 living with them, 3 had a female householder with no husband present living together.

The population was spread out with 6 under the age of 18, 8 from 25 to 44, 3 from 45 to 64 years, and 1 from 65 years and over. The median age was 31.5 years.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,214. The per capita income for the neighborhood was $32,064.

Business Landscape

Islandia has no infrastructure, no school, no sewers, no courthouse, no shops and no road leading in or out. The Village’s intended use as a bustling real estate spot and a tourist attraction never quite materialized. In the proposed comprehensive plan, the landowners called for limited commercial development, such as convenient stores and gas stations, no road construction, no schools, no sewers or landfills on the island, and no cars allowed on the island. The village never got past the initial planning stages of development. Three plans to build causeways failed since the 1940s, as have several resort schemes.

Real estate battles between property owners, the state government and the National Parks Service have come to define the controversy of Islandia. In 1989, Islandia property owners attempted to gain state approval for a comprehensive development plan of a residential development containing about 300 houses; the state rejected it. As of 1990, the village’s only legal residents were a caretaker, an angler, and seven Park Service employees along with their family members. Since half of the members are park rangers, most are unsympathetic towards the village and its development.

Transportation

Islandia is located in the upper Florida Keys on the islands of Elliott Key and other nearby keys, such as Totten Key. There is only one road, Spite Hwy on Elliott Key.