Proposed county Land Development Code changes include South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island
The Lee County Commission will address proposed amendments to the Land Development Code at a public hearing Tuesday, June 20, including language related to the South Seas Island Resort on Captiva.
At its meeting last week, the county board voted unanimously 5-0 to direct to a public hearing amendments intended to address building height and other development regulations to increase the resiliency of development in flood and storm surge prone areas of unincorporated Lee County.
According to reports from county staff, the proposed amendments for LDC Chapters 30, 33 and 34 — Nonconforming Signs, Building Height, Resiliency Measures, and South Seas — will provide for:
• A one-time relocation of a rebuilt billboard under certain conditions
• An unilateral measurement of building height to be applied county-wide
• Modifications to development regulations intended to increase resilience and reduce vulnerability to flooding and storm surge
• The ability to address issues specific to the rebuilding of South Seas
Prior to the vote, the commissioners sought clarification about the proposed amendments, more specifically on the language related to South Seas and its impact on height and density limitations.
Deputy County Attorney Michael Jacob explained that South Seas currently operates under an administrative interpretation within the LDC that exempts it from the Captiva Community Plan “as long as it’s in conformance with that administrative interpretation.” South Seas wants to use the rezoning process for development changes but cannot as long as the interpretation remains in place.
The proposed language would remove references to the administrative interpretation.
Jacob added that the density limitation on Captiva would not change.
“South Seas would like to excepted from the density limitation and go through the public hearing process to request density in accordance with their future land use category,” he said.
According to the draft ordinance outlining the proposed amendments, Section 34-1805 would add “with the exception of the South Seas Island Resort” to the existing language to read as:
“With the exception of the South Seas Island Resort, the maximum permitted density for hotels or motels on Captiva Island may not exceed three units per gross acre. The redevelopment of nonconforming hotels and motels on Captiva Island will be governed by the provisions of section 33-1628(b). That section will be interpreted to prohibit an increase in the number of rental units and to establish a maximum average unit size of 550 square feet.”
“Nothing in this ordinance addresses density anywhere else,” Jacob said of outside of South Seas.
A handful of members from the community spoke during public comment, including Captiva Community Panel Vice President David Mintz, residents and Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation Chief Executive Officer James Evans. They asked for the item to be tabled for further review.
The attorneys for South Seas spoke in favor of proceeding with the public hearing.
The county meeting will take place at 9:30 a.m. at the old Lee County Courthouse, located at 2120 Main St. in Fort Myers.
Since last week’s meeting, the Captiva Civic Association has initiated an email campaign in opposition to the proposed changes for South Seas.
For more information, visit the CCA’s page on Facebook.
To reach TIFFANY REPECKI, please email trepecki@breezenewspapers.com