Emotions ran high inside the Cape Coral Library meeting room Tuesday night, as more than 100 residents gathered to support the opposition of a possible future development in the Cape.

Protect Out Wetlands in Cape Coral, a local ground-roots organization made up of local residents, presented its case as to why the Redfish Pointe development south of Rotary Park would deplete wetlands and destroy a natural buffer against storms.

A trio of speakers shared different insights as to why they say the proposed development would not just be harmful to wildlife and nearby residents, but to taxpayers throughout the city.

“It’s great to see the turnout tonight,” said Joseph Bonasia, the Southwest Florida regional director of “http://FloridaRightToCleanWater.org” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>FloridaRightToCleanWater.org, and Citizens’ Climate Lobby Volunteer Liaison to U.S. Sen. Rick Scott’s office. “We had a great turnout when we held our first event in July, and here, it hasn’t abated at all. There’s a great deal of passion in our position for this, for very good reasons.”

Bonasia was one of the three speakers to talk to the crowd of 135, along with Environmental Policy Director of Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation Matt DePaolis and Protect our Wetlands member and Cape resident, Paul Bonasia.

Redfish Pointe, which sits just east of Tarpon Point totaling 350 acres, has more than 4,500 linear frontage along the Caloosahatchee River. The “Redfish Pointe Mixed Use Preserve District,” Future Land Use text amendment, was submitted to the city. The 110.22 acres for development improvement plans features a 90.37-acre mixed use site to include 800 residential units, resort hotel, restaurants, retail shops, office space, and parking garage.

Members of the organized group say the wetlands provide critical protection from storms, such as Hurricane Ian, and would increase flooding, destroy critical wildlife habitat, disrupt the hydrology and ecology degrading the natural character and appeal of Rotary Park, increase traffic congestion, and strain infrastructure.

“From a citizen point of view, especially for hundreds of families that live in that vicinity, we’re talking about future storm protection,” Joseph said. “I got flooded a foot of water, but as (DePaolis) said (in his talk tonight), it could have been three or four feet. I don’t want to compromise the storm protection we currently have. If they build on this land, they’re going to do that. On top of that, it’s a wildlife haven. So much of the rest of Cape Coral is just houses and crowded. Rotary Park is so popular because of its natural character. We think wildlife has a value.”

Organizers say the landowners, the Zemel Trust, going under the name of ZZW Development, LLC, have proposed building an entrance road at the intersection of Rose Garden Road and Southwest 6th Place through a section of Rotary Park to reach their landlocked property. This road would cross a Conservation Easement signed in 1991 between the City of Cape Coral and the State Department of Environmental Regulation. The easement states that the wetlands will be preserved forever in their natural state and specifically states no roads are to be built on it, they said.

“If they build, they are going to shatter the best thing about that neighborhood,” Joseph said. “It’s peaceful. It’s quiet. For the years during construction, we are going to be hearing all that noise. We couldn’t tolerate that.”

Protect out Wetlands in Cape Coral members, through public records requests, also say the trust is looking to rezone some the property from preserve to mixed-use, and change the zoning to define what parts of the property will be residential and commercial.

Annette Barbaccia of Miloff Aubuchon Realty Group, has represented the owners since 2017 when they first approached her with the idea they wanted to sell. Barbaccia told The Breeze in September the two parties met and discussed what could be a potential fit in the area, and what should be preserved and not touched.

Barbaccia said environmental consultants were brought in to examine the property, and identified that a section in the middle of the 350-acre site that contained many exotics and could be developed. She points out only one-third of the property will be marked for development, while the remainder will be preserved.

Barbaccia said the landowners will convey 54 acres of high-quality natural resource property to the city in exchange for the 2.24-acre roadway connection to Rose Garden.

A future developer would have to obtain approvals from the DEP and Army Corps of Engineers for any design and development of the property.

As for flood mitigation, Barbaccia said the landowners have consulted with engineering experts, and that if anything, the development could improve potential flooding to homes in the vicinity.

“(A potential developer) will make sure all of the water is retained on the property,” Barbaccia told The Breeze in a September interview. “In fact, (the expert said) it could probably be even better, especially if we do plantings. Because right now, everything has been devastated. The buildings and other barriers can help serve as that, as well. Two hundred and forty acres are still going to remain as they are.”

Joseph Bonasia said early talks with city staff have not been favorable for the development, but that residents need to keep their foot on the gas.

“Our city staff have grave concerns and doubts about the development and what is being said on the development side of things,” he said. “(The land owner’s) environmental study in inadequate. Their aerial assessment of the wetlands is inadequate. All these years, they have yet to explain how this is not going to increase risk of flood. It’s a state law. You must deal with the peril of flood. To me, from my point of view, their focus is cashing in. They’ll get to worrying about the community after the fact.”

Paul Bonasia, at a recent City Council meeting pleaded with the landowners to sell the land to a conservation group. Lee County’s 20/20 Conservation program made a bid for the land in 2011, but the offer was not accepted by the trust. The landowners had an asking price of $50 million.

With new funds being available from the state after Hurricane Ian to help preserve natural land that serves as storm buffers, Joseph Bonasia said that could be a route for the city to take.

“(City staff) could immediately reach out to our commissioners,” he said. “I have reached out to a couple of our local officials, our state senator and representative. One of them told me that all (staff) has to do is say no to this, and it won’t be developed, so you don’t have to worry about purchasing it. We don’t buy that.”

With the asking price from the trust being far away from what 20/20 had offered, Joseph said it’s imperative city staff does not approve the development.

“It’s one thing to spend three or four million dollars of taxpayer money to purchase this,” he said. “Heck, storm protection is expensive, and this comes with all those extra benefits. But it will be horrendous if taxpayers have to pay tens of millions of dollars, and we’re going to have to make that point very, very clear.”

For more information on the development, visit redfishpointe.com.

Residents interested in learning more and getting involved in environmental protection locally can visit protectourwetlandsincapecoral.org.