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Cape City Council faces item-packed agenda

Chiquita Lock removal, noise and fertilizer ordinances among issues up for consideration

By CHUCK BALLARO - | Aug 6, 2020

The Cape Coral City Council may be in for a long night Monday.

According to the agenda received, there will be 19 public hearings, with two of them being very familiar to those who follow city government regularly.

There also will be a third item on the consent agenda that likely will get some interest — the consideration of a resolution to file a permit application for the removal of the Chiquita Lock and also approve an engagement letter with Manson Bolves Donaldson Varn law firm.

Approval must be received from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for removal of the lock, and requires a permit application to be submitted for review.

The city has been using Manson Bolves Donaldson Varn for its expertise in this type of permitting process.

In March, the Florida DEP upheld a decision made by an administrative law judge in December to deny a permit by the city to remove the lock.

The lock, located in the South Spreader near Cape Harbour, was built during the city’s infancy to protect the outer waters of Charlotte Harbor, but is now considered by city leaders to have outlived its usefulness.

In a letter to the city attorney, the firm said this could again go to litigation. If it does, this case could cost the city as much as $400,000.

As it is a consent item, it will automatically pass if the item is not pulled from the agenda for discussion.

The city council also will set the dates for the two public hearings on the budget to Sept. 4 and 17, at 5:05 p.m.

Originally, the city had set the dates for Sept. 3 and 17. However, the Board of County Commissioners set its first public hearing Sept. 3, and state statute says hearing dates scheduled by the County Commission and School Board shall not be utilized by any other taxing authority, necessitating the change.

The city will also consider 12 sales of surplus property, many of which was bought during the land purchase the city made in 2012.

The long-debated noise ordinance will again come before council. This time, there will be a proposed change to the ordinance, with an omission of the requirement of no amplified noise outside a building between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Another ordinance change will come regarding the use of fertilizer and how the run-off in stormwater results in the pollution and high nitrogen and phosphorus content in the county watersheds.

Cape council meetings begin at 4:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1015 Cultural Park Blvd.