To the editor:

I wanted to take an opportunity to respond to last week’s letter to the editor regarding me and the Mast Canal. I want to clarify the timeline and the facts surrounding the Tommy’s Car Wash property. The fate of this canal was decided prior to me. And when I listened to concerns from both the property owner and residents in 2021 and 2022, I wrote an article to set the record straight so that everyone had an opportunity to be educated on the facts. And not just what many were claiming to be true.

A property owner is required to develop their property in a manner consistent with the zoning. As long as the property is developed consistent with the zoning, it is considered an allowed use. City Council does not have the authority to tell the property owner what to build or what not to build, as long as it is consistent with the zoning. The city is not at liberty to force them to build something different on their property.

The zoning of this property was changed to C, commercial, in 2011. The C zoning district permits a wide variety of retail, office, restaurant and service uses as permitted uses “by right.” By right means that if the application demonstrates compliance with the Land Development Code and other applicable regulations (e.g., stormwater), the development must be approved. All such approvals are administrative. There is no public notice or comment on permitted uses.

In hopes of clarifying this issue further, asking City Council to tell the commercial property owner what to build on the property would be similar to council telling a residential property owner what model home they should build on their lot — council does not have the authority to do so.

When a group of residents, in 2022, entertained purchasing the property from the owner, the owner didn’t want to sell. Council does not have the authority to demand anyone to sell their property.

Regarding the filling of approximately 80 square feet of the Mast Canal, the permit needed was filed between the property owner and the Army Corps of Engineers. The property owner received approval of the permit. Residents with questions/concerns regarding this permit contacted the ACOE prior to the permit being issued.

The westerly 80 feet of the Mast Canal was vacated by City Council on Sept. 19, 2016 by Resolution 105-16. Vacation of rights-of-way require three types of notification: newspaper advertisements, notices to property owners within 500 feet of the property, and a sign on the site. All three of these requirements were met and there were also two public hearings on the topic. At the first public hearing, there were no speakers and at the second hearing there was one speaker. This is an important point to clear up any misconceptions or concerns that residents weren’t notified of the vacating of the canal.

I tried to facilitate a meeting between several residents and the property owner back in 2022 in hopes to have both sides explain their concerns and work together on the best path forward, but because of bad behavior on both sides of the issue, the meeting was refused.

I hope this clarifies any misinformation.

Jennifer Nelson

Cape Coral