Residents protest plan for canal fill
Some Cape residents are protesting plans to fill in a small portion of the Mast Canal to make way for a car wash.
Those in opposition to the proposed project on Santa Barbara Boulevard and Kamal Parkway lined up to speak during citizens input at Wednesday’s Cape Coral City Council meeting.
The proposed Tommy’s Express Car Wash is set to be built in front of the Mast Canal, where nearly 80 feet of the waterway will be filled to accommodate it if the Army Corps of Engineers approves the permits requested.
Speakers said a car wash would be an eyesore to the area and bring down property values, and that filling in that portion of the canal, where they say dolphins and manatees have been spotted, would negatively impact wildlife.
Rose Thom said residents have been trying to stop the project and to meet with the people looking to build it, but requests have fallen on deaf ears thus far.
“We are not happy about that and we’re not happy they (the city) changed the zoning on it and the public has no right to speak about zoning, especially when it’s on top of residential,” Thom said. “We want to save our manatees and wildlife. They come here, have their babies and they come here because they know it’s safe.”
The property was zoned as commercial/professional until 2011, when it was changed to commercial. The previous owners, ReMax, sold the property and the new owners are planning to build the car wash.
The Army Corps of Engineers has to grant a federal permit to allow plans to shorten the canal a reality. The Corps is still assessing the situation and could deny the permit if it believes the request will negatively impact the environment.
As for city council, officials said while they understand the issue they can’t do much about the project itself at this point, since the zoning does allow for a car wash.
“We can’t tell you what home you can build and we can’t tell a property owner that is within his legal right to be there that they can’t open a car wash,” said District 4 Councilmember Jennifer Nelson in whose the parcel is located. “I can listen, but this is as far as the governing body can go.”
The issue is not one the city can resolve, others on the elected board agreed.
“The Army Corps is in the driver’s seat. That’s who you need to bring your argument up with,” Mayor John Gunter said. “I know you’re frustrated, but the zoning has a broad range of what can go in there. As a city, we can’t pick and choose. They met the criteria and can put whatever they want in there that’s allowable.”
City Attorney Dolores Menendez said that if the city tries to change the zoning now, the property owner could seek damages in court.
Resident Phoebe Ohl said she was disappointed by what she heard.
“Since this has started, we’ve been bounced back and forth between the Army Corps and the city council,” Ohl said. “We feel like we’ve been getting the runaround. If they (the city) can vote to vacate, why can’t they vote to put it back to what it was?”
When ReMax proposed to build an office there, a previous council vacated that portion of the canal, laying the groundwork that now has led to the request to fill the area in question.
To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com