A pair of property owners are not happy regarding a city staff condition tied to their requests for vacation of a narrow strip of their canal front — hefty cash contributions to Cape Coral’s new tree bank.

Three property owners whose requests for vacation were presented to a hearing examiner Tuesday had the the condition included among staff’s recommendations, with two facing five-figure contributions with a combined total of more than $54,000.

Eric Feichthaler, the attorney representing the property owners, told hearing examiner Anne Dalton the city should take initiative to correct the tree fund conditions of approval as the city has never had a resolution regarding the payment of such a fee.

“We never had any prior knowledge of a contribution to a tree fund and unlike the one who had a $2,800 fee, ours is a 2,100 percent increase on the per-square-foot charge,” Feichthaler said. “In addition to not being authorized to impose a charge, there doesn’t appear to be any procedure to how it’s determined. That number shocks the conscience.”

One applicant, Freedom Boat Co., owns a two-lot platted site in southern Cape Coral at the end of Montclaire Court, with frontage along the Monticello and Monterey canals.

The applicant requests to vacate an unexcavated canal right-of-way and platted easements adjacent to the canals, which would enlarge the property slightly to the waterfront.

City staff recommended approval with conditions, including that Freedom Boat make a one-time, nonrefundable contribution of $32,722.11 into the city’s General Tree Fund, enacted by Cape Coral City Council in December as an option for developers looking to reduce the number of trees required or non-single family projects.

Those funds would be used by the city to acquire and plant black or red mangrove trees on property owned or managed by the city to enhance water quality, or any other appropriate purposes in accordance with the city’s land development code.

The contribution would need to be completed prior to advertising the adoption of the resolution approving this vacation request. Should the City Council not approve the vacation request, the city would return those funds.

In a second case, the owners, Ho Thy and Phan Trang, sought to vacate a canal right-of-way and platted easement at their Southwest 52nd Street home. As a condition of approval, they would have to contribute $21,691.94.

A third hearing asked for a contribution of $2,800, which would only be returned if the City Council does not approve the vacation request.

Feichthaler said he believed that case happened before the tree fund existed, but that none of the applicants knew such a contribution needed to be made.

The city has installed a new methodology based on what the land was worth, using Lee County property records to determine assessed cost per square foot and multiplies that by the requested vacated area, and halves that, rather than a set fee.

Feichthaler said the contribution of one property was about $28 per square foot, while the home with the lesser fee was $1 per square foot.

Resident James Lear said he agreed with Feichthaler, adding that there was no fee requirement prior to the cases brought Tuesday, nor could he find anything about the tree fund in an ordinance or anything.

“I don’t know how the math came out, and I also disagree with the $2,800 fee for commercial property, which would have a higher impact,” Lear said. “I don’t think the public as a whole would approve continuing to make these payments. This should be voted upon as an ordinance.”

Feichthaler said he is a supporter of trees and supported a tree ordinance when he was mayor in 2006. However, the fee as tendered by city staff is not the way to do it.

Further, the payment must be made in full before it goes to City Council, meaning the landowners would have to find the money somehow, despite having no notice of the fund payment.

“My client will have to find $32,000 for the privilege of being heard by the legislative body and only promises reimbursement only if denied,” Feichthaler said.

The HEX will make her recommendations within the next few weeks. The cases then will come before City Council for final determination.