Two mostly wild areas of the Florida Keys, separated by more than 80 miles, share similar utility conundrums.</p><p>People live in both but federal coastal-protection rules and Monroe County land-use policies serve to limit new access to utilities -- specifically, sewers on North Key Largo and powerline electricity on No Name Key.</p><p>The federal Coastal Barrier Resources Act, which limits utilities that could encourage development in sensitive areas, affects both North Key Largo and No Name Key.</p><p>After lengthy discussions on both sites during Wednesday's Monroe County Commission meeting in Marathon, board members concluded without voting that it is not time to start issuing permits allowing hookups on either island.</p><p>No Name homeowners Robert and Julianne Reynolds, and James and Ruth Newton, have sued to get the permits.</p><p>But the commission took no vote on a settlement offer from them -- basically, to drop the case -- essentially rejecting their attempt to get power from Keys Energy Services, County Attorney Bob Shillinger told the board.</p><p>"It's pretty clear that a majority of the commission wants to end this," Commission Mayor George Neugent said of the No Name Key lawsuit.</p><p>"It's how it ends," Commissioner Heather Carruthers said of lingering differences.</p><p>"We could make any decision and we'll see further litigation," Commissioner David Rice said.</p><p>More than 20 residents and lawyers spoke to commissioners about No Name Key's situation Wednesday, both pleading for power and seeking to keep the status quo.</p><p>Commissioners earlier met with Shillinger in private to review the settlement offer from plaintiffs' attorney Barton Smith. In the open meeting, Shillinger said he could not recommend accepting the offer. "Terms proposed are problematic," Shillinger said.</p><p>"This offer was beyond ludicrous," Commissioner Sylvia Murphy said.</p><p>In June, Lower Keys power utility Keys Energy Services installed 62 poles and transmission wires on No Name Key at the urging and financing of many of the island's residents.</p><p>But homeowners need permits from Monroe County to plug in. Current county land-development rules enforced by the state prevent issuing those permits on the sparsely settled island, which has long made do with solar panels and generators. A smaller group of No Name Key residents want to protect that unique status.</p><p>Commissioner Danny Kolhage, who joined the commission last month, said he would have voted to the keep the island off the electric grid but the poles and powerlines, coupled with a less-restrictive opinion from federal wildlife managers, "changed everything."</p><p>"I don't see destroying that [$750,000] investment," Kolhage said. "There are poles and powerlines running in front of people's homes that they can't hook up to."</p><p>"Change can and does happen.... We're acknowledging the fact that power is there," Rice said. "What appears to be a majority of the community, and I believe this to be the case, is requesting power. At this point I see that as a reasonable request."</p><p>The No Name Key issue now likely will proceed to a scheduled January court hearing on the lawsuit.</p><p>Commissioners told staff to start working on a process to consider changing land-use rules to allow some utilities at existing homes while protecting undeveloped areas. That could take a year or more.</p><p>The Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District faces a similar Coastal Barrier Resources situation in its push to lay sewers to 32 developed properties on North Key Largo.</p><p>The sewer utility can install collection pipes but the county cannot issue electric and plumbing permits needed for homeowners to connect to them.</p><p>Requiring nearly all the Keys to install wastewater systems with mandatory hookups has been the federal government's "virtual prime directive for the last 30 years," wastewater district attorney Ray Giglio said.</p><p>Sewer connections would be "very beneficial to the environment up there," treatment district General Manager Margaret Blank said.</p><p>Environmental activists Naja Girard and Ed Davidson said making development rule changes for the sewer utility could have wide and unexpected consequences.</p><p>"It's important to know where the boundaries are to changing longstanding policy," Girard said.</p><p>North Key Largo has been flashpoint on development issues for 30 years, Davidson said. The sewer district "has not done as much homework as it needs to."</p><p>Commissioners told wastewater staff to confirm that no federal money banned under the Coastal Barrier system could be linked to the North Key Largo system. Land-development rules also would have to be changed, Shillinger said.