Barbara

As we stated earlier, South Seas’ third revised Plan Application to build 196 new condominiums and two new hotels with a total of 435 rooms has again been rejected as insufficient by the County. At this time, South Seas has yet to submit a fourth revised Plan Application. A hearing on the Plan Application will not be […]

Captiva Civic Association’s (“CCA”) challenge to the Land Development Code (“LDC”) amendments that increase building heights, density, and intensity on Captiva and South Seas is scheduled for trial in the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) from Aug. 19 through Aug. 22, and then continuing on Aug. 26. In response to the Judge’s initial Order, we advised the Judge […]

Circuit Court Judge James Shenko denied Lee County’s Motion to Dismiss our legal action to enforce the 2003 Settlement Agreement which confirmed the 912-unit density limit on South Seas. The Settlement Agreement provides that “the total number of dwelling units on South Seas Resorts is limited to 912. No building permits may be issued by the County for dwelling […]

On Tuesday, July 9, Judge James Shenko in the Circuit Court of the Twentieth Judicial District listened carefully for more than an hour to the oral arguments of the County attorney and the CCA attorney on the County’s Motion to Dismiss CCA’s Complaint. CCA’s Complaint seeks an Order from the Court declaring that the 2003 […]

Our legal challenges to increased building heights and density on Captiva continue on the three separate fronts discussed in prior emails. There have been some significant developments and here is the latest update. Captiva Civic Association’s (“CCA”) challenge to the Land Development Code (“LDC”) amendments that increase building heights, density, and intensity on Captiva and South […]

With incredible support from the Captiva and Sanibel communities, our legal challenges (on at least three separate fronts) to increased density and building heights on Captiva and South Seas are moving steadily along. Here is an update. City of Sanibel Votes to Intervene Captiva Civic Association’s (“CCA”) challenge filed with the Division of Administrative Hearings to […]

On April 25, 2024, the County’s Zoning Section again rejected South Seas revised Plan Application dated March 25, 2024 for reasons not unlike its January 18, 2024 rejection of the first South Seas Plan Application dated December 18, 2023. In its April 25 letter, the Zoning Section again stated that the application did not provide enough […]

With yesterday’s preliminary decision by the Florida Department of Commerce, the Captiva Civic Association (“CCA”) and the “Protect Captiva” coalition have now met the two preconditions required to request a hearing before an administrative law judge who will determine if the Land Development Code amendments passed by Lee County to permit increased building heights and density […]

The “Protect Captiva” coalition wants to bring two linked documents to your attention. Both support the Captiva community’s contention (and continuing legal actions) that increasing building heights and density on Captiva and South Seas is unlawful and inappropriate on a fragile barrier island. A public information request by our legal team uncovered a document entitled “South Seas […]

In its letter to South Seas homeowners, some of which was reprinted in the Santiva Chronicle, the new owners of South Seas distort the facts while criticizing community groups working to “Protect Captiva” from overdevelopment on South Seas. We take this opportunity to correct the record. 1. South Seas writes: Last December, South Seas unveiled a Redevelopment Plan that would maintain […]