Cape residents prepare for fight to keep Hunter’s Run Golf Course green
Developers have withdrawn a proposed change to Cape Coral’s Future Land Use Map that would have seen the demolition of Hunter’s Run Golf Course and the rise of multiple four-story multi-family apartment buildings. The move to withdraw the proposal came after an uproar from community members surrounding the golf course.
“The problem with greenspace is, once you take it away and put up buildings, it’s gone,” said Barbara DeSouza, a resident of the Hunter’s Run neighborhood. “And you can’t get it back.”
DeSouza, with roughly 250 other concerned citizens, were in attendance at a community meeting organized by Keep our Parks and Rec, a local organization created in response to the proposed amendment that would allow the land occupied by Hunter’s Run Golf Course to be rezoned from parks and recreation to multi-family housing.
“We’ve gained over 300 followers on our Facebook page in only 48 hours. And it’s a private page,” said Charlie Pease of Keep our Parks and Rec, a Cape resident who lives in the Hunter’s Run neighborhood and spokesperson for the organization.
However, despite the organization’s growing popularity and the developer’s move to withdraw its original proposal, Keep our Parks and Rec members have no illusions about the fight being over.
“I knew they withdrew it last Wednesday,” said Pease to a packed audience at New Hope Church, where the group met Monday evening. “But they’re bringing it back.”
Pease was referring to an anticipated filing of an amended ordinance proposal, as the developer’s original proposal failed to get the recommendation of the city’s planning staff. The reasons set forth in the recommendation for denial included the plan’s failure to align with the city’s Comprehensive Plan, and concerns about the health, safety, and welfare of the community, as well as concerns over land suitability, traffic, and city infrastructure.
“They’re going to put all the retention basins in there,” said Warren Wilgus, another community member in attendance at the Monday meeting. “They’re going to fill all over. So, are we now going to be in a flood zone, costing people thousands of dollars in flood insurance?”
Other attendees, like Edward Castillo, worried about the potential for crime and property value loss.
“I’m going to touch on the subject of property loss for everyone in this neighborhood,” said Castillo. “Someone else’s gain is a whole neighborhood’s loss.”
Privacy was also a topic of concern, with attendee Sheryl Scalamero adding, “I don’t want to have somebody build a four-story building overlooking our pool. I already have an issue in a bathing suit.”
Burrowing owls may also present a problem for developers, according to Michele Mold, of Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife. “You guys have three owl burrows,” said Mold to the crowd. “Not one, but three. So that’s three pairs. One was (found of GPS) before I arrived and we found the other two.”
Attendee Al Camp pointed out a notion many in the room agreed with: “There aren’t enough affordable golf (courses) in the Cape. And Hunter’s Run is one of them.”
Pease, who MC’d the event, questioned the process.
“I want to talk about politics for a second,” said Pease. “Because here’s what actually happened in my opinion, in our opinion.”
Pease said the developer’s original zoning ordinance proposal was placed on the Planning and Zoning Commission’s meeting agenda so the Commission could make a recommendation to City Council. Council could then have the final vote at a regular meeting, which in this case was already scheduled for April 19.
That was awfully quick with little room for public input, Pease contends.
“They were trying to ram this through, before we could have a voice,” said Pease. “Politicians don’t do something like this unless they have the votes lined up. Period. They believed this was a done deal.”
Before ending his comments, Pease touched on a few further arguments backed by Keep our Parks and Rec, such as exploring using Cape Corals GO Bond to purchase the Hunter’s Run property. In 2018, Cape Coral voters approved a $60 million expansion of the city’s parks and recreation amenities. The approved 15-year general obligation bond will fund major parks and recreation improvements throughout the city. However, Pease noted that this option was unlikely.
Pease also pointed out that the old Cape Coral golf course, a 175-acre green space, was abandoned for more than a decade and sat run-down and overgrown for years without being rezoned out of parks and recreation.
Pease then floated the idea of purchasing the Hunter’s Run Golf Course as an equity group, amongst those members in attendance at the Monday meeting, to which he received a large applause. He also thanked Cape Corals Friends of Wildlife as being instrumental in their efforts to support the green effort.
A representative for the developers, Joe Mazurkiewicz, of BJM consulting and a former Cape Coral Mayor, was also given time on stage to speak to the crowd. And while he said he was on the same page as Mr. Pease for the most part, he denied any backdoor deals happening between the developers and City Council.
“There no was backroom deal made. This did not get expedited. This has been in the planning process since before the hurricane. It came up like every other case that comes up.”
Mazurkiewicz went on to explain why the original proposal and its enactment ordinance was voluntarily withdrawn from the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting agenda by the developers, stating that the developers were going to have to adhere to similar demands made during past zoning disputes.
“You are going to have to meet the same demands (the City) made for the other developments,” said Mazurkiewicz. “Linear park around the outside, have a hundred-foot set back, enhance buffering around the outside.”
Before his five minutes were up, Mazurkiewicz managed to ruffle a few feathers as well.
“This project will not survive as a golf course. That’s clear. Golf courses are a thing of the past in Southwest Florida,” Mazurkiewicz said to guffaws.
“You folks want to keep it a golf course, God bless you,” Mazurkiewicz said. “You want to make it parks and rec. I understand that the owner approached the city about selling it to the city and the city had no interest in it.”
Mazurkiewicz also got candid about the need for multi-family homes in Cape Coral.
“I’ve been doing land interest in Cape Coral since 1985,” he said. “The last thing we need in Cape Coral are single family homes… We need some other residential offerings.”
Before the meeting closed, District 5 Cape Coral City Councilmember Robert Welsh gave some remarks, thanking the crowd for its input.
“I wanted to hear from all of you tonight. As your representative, I wanted to hear what your thoughts were … I wanted to speak with the developer. I also wanted to help you best represent your voice through city council,” said Welsh. “After reviewing everything, and seeing how the community has come out against this, I tend to agree with you guys right now.”
During the final words of the meeting, Pease reiterated the underlying theme of the night: “We will not compromise on this issue,” he said, adding that it’s not just about our neighborhood. “This is a city wide issue.”