First clearing efforts at Seven Islands results in calls to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Developer ‘deeply concerned’ mangroves were mistakingly removed by contractor
Neither the city of Cape Coral nor the Army Corp of Engineers issued permits for the removal of mangroves along the shoreline of one of the Seven Islands.
An application for the project to become Gulf Gateway Resort & Marina had been submitted to the federal agency but it had been withdrawn, officials said Thursday afternoon.
“The USACOE has an application in-house for the project, but it is currently in a withdrawn status pending a design change,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Public Affairs Specialist Peggy Bebb said via email.
“No mangroves were approved for removal,” Bebb said. “No stop-work order (cease and desist order) has been issued — the Agent for the applicant visited the site upon learning of the work and advised the contractor to stop work and has since visited the site to verify the work has indeed been halted.”
Following the stoppage of clearing along shoreline where protected red mangroves were removed, city officials said the only permit the city had issued was for the removal of invasive species with those permits not including shoreline work.
According to Cape Coral officials, the city does not issue permits specifically for shoreline work. Activities involving shoreline alteration, particularly those affecting mangroves or other protected resources, are regulated by state and federal agencies, including the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the USACE.
“For this site, the City issued a clearing permit (CLEAR26-000002) on June 9,” the city’s Communications Office said in an email to The Breeze Thursday morning. “This permit was limited to the removal of nuisance vegetation, invasive species, dead trees, underbrush, and stump removal, including hauling and disposal. It did not approve the removal of any protected mangroves, which falls outside the City’s jurisdiction. All clearing permits issued by the City of Cape Coral include inspections for swale stabilization and erosion control.”
City officials stated an inspector visited the site this week, and that, “No violations of City code were identified in relation to the permitted work. The only observed issue involved mangrove removal, which is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, not the City.”
To clarify roles, city communications staff reiterated that the city is responsible for enforcing its local codes and reviewing permits within its authority.
“The City is not responsible for oversight of shoreline work regulated by other agencies, nor for contractor actions that fall outside the scope of a City‑issued permit,” staff stated in the email.
“At this time, the site has been inspected by City staff, no City code violations have been identified, no citations have been issued, and the City has not taken enforcement action, as the observed issue is outside its jurisdiction,” the email continued.
In an email to The Breeze on Monday, a spokesperson for the developers provided the following statement: “Gulf Gateway Resort & Marina LLC was deeply concerned to learn that mangroves were mistakenly removed from the Seven Islands property. The vegetation work that was underway on the property by the contractor was intended to be strictly limited to the removal of non-native invasive species, including Australian pine and Brazilian pepper. The necessary permits for that work were obtained by the contractor from the City of Cape Coral prior to commencement. Gulf Gateway Resort & Marina LLC is communicating with the various local and federal agencies to coordinate the next steps.”
The Breeze was first alerted to an issue with clearing along the shoreline of protected red mangroves by Cape resident and professional geologist, David Scott.
Scott said last Thursday he noticed some equipment in the water in the area, and that on Friday he witnessed the clearing of vegetation along the bank.
“They had ripped out an indisputable over 570 feet of existing red mangrove along the bank,” Scott said on Monday, adding photographs of the work being done.
Scott, who is familiar with mangroves having studied them for 30 years, and is responsible for tens of thousands of plantings of the species in the area, said he contacted the Army Corps of Engineers to make them aware of what was happening. Scott is also familiar with the project, dating back to concerns he had about the seawall installation when plans were drawn up in 2024.
Scott said he spoke with an USACE supervisor about the “clearing of brush.”
“Well, the ‘brush’ is entirely red mangrove,” he said. “They’re disturbed past the shoreline and water level, and there was no turbidity curtain. Even if it was to remove exotic vegetation, they weren’t doing that properly.”
Scott added that due to the history of Cape Coral and its man-made canals and the dredging that was performed in the city’s infancy, natural forests along the banks of canals perform a vital environmental function, he said.
“I’m not pointing fingers, people just didn’t understand back then the importance of that forest,” he said. “And I’m a realist, I know there’s going to be many thousands of people living on the Seven Islands in the future. It’ll be a very large development there. But at the same time, we have laws that govern how you develop things.”
To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com