Saying increased development on Captiva Island will fuel economic growth, a majority of the Lee County Board of County Commissioners Wednesday voted in favor of zoning application that unless stopped by a court, will substantially increase South Sea’s footprint on the fragile barrier island.
But a coalition of groups that have been fighting the county and South Seas says their battles are far from over.
“The Protect Captiva coalition is growing every day,” said Lisa Riordan on Thursday. The coalition is comprised of several civic groups such Riordan’s Sanibel Captiva Community Foundation.
For 50 years, Lee County’s Land Development Code has limited growth on the northern third of Captiva Island to no more than three housing units per acre. A single hotel room equals one unit. That effectively set a cap at no more than 912 units. South Seas resort is nestled among clusters of privately owned villas. The cap applies to both the resort and privately owned homes.
But two years ago, the commission voted to remove South Seas from the confines of the land development code. At the time, county officials tried to persuade a skeptical public the removal had nothing to do with South Seas wanting to increase its footprint.
The masses didn’t buy it and fought by filing claims in court. There have been some wins and some losses. Wednesday’s vote is considered a loss – for now.
The vote allows South Seas to quadruple the number of hotel rooms and to build taller multi-family dwellings.
The vote in favor of South Seas was 3 to 1, with Kevin Ruane dissenting. Ruane governed on Sanibel Island for 13 years. Commissioner David Mulika was absent.
“I want the people to know that I absolutely do hear what you say and do take into consideration what you say,” Hamman said explaining his decision to support South Seas expansion. He said he found no reason to disagree with a hearing officer’s decision to allow South Seas to move forward with its expansion plan.
“I think there’s an opportunity here to allow something that I think is compatible with the way Captiva operates,” Hamman said.
The vote followed three hours of testimony from people like Riordan who opposed the zoning change.
“The Sanibel and Captiva community concerns have been completely ignored for more than two years,” Riordan told the board before Wednesday’s vote. “We were forced to file lawsuits and are dependent on the courts. That was and is not our first choice,” she said.
A judge recently ruled in favor of Protect Captiva saying South Seas was mandated with not break the 912 unit threshold set decades ago. South Seas plan breaks that threshold tremendously. In spite of the judge’s ruling South Seas went ahead and asked the county for a zoning change, which it ruled on Wednesday.
Riordan told the board the opposition’s first choice is to have elected representatives represent the will of the masses and not a single business entity.
“To date you have failed to do this—instead exempting South Seas from the long-standing regulations on our fragile barrier island and working in what seem to be to all a hand-in-glove relationship with one property owner. …Today’s hearing is your last chance to stand up for us.”
The majority of the Board ignored the public’s testimony about public safety, traffic and evacuation concerns, environmental impacts, and the inadequate capacity of the sewer plant at South Seas to process increased wastewater.
Protect Captiva will be appealing the board’s decision. In a statement released Thursday Riordan said, “Everyone knows county staff and the majority of the Board of County Commissioners have been supporting South Seas’ efforts to increase density and building heights on the resort. Everyone also knows it will be Florida’s appellate courts that will make the final determination about what can and cannot be built on South Seas …These cases can be won.”
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