There are 17 Community Plan Areas in Lee County – with many of them having crafted their own Chapters in the Lee Plan and their own Articles in the Land Development Code to meet the needs and challenges of their special communities.
Captiva is one of them – with Chapter 23 in the Lee Plan and Chapter 33, Article IX in the Code amended by the Captiva Community Panel over the years to limit density and building heights, to prevent the subdivision of properties, to limit outdoor lighting and sign pollution, to protect our beaches, mangrove fringe and waterways, and to guarantee a public meeting take place on Captiva for rezonings or variances.
On Aug. 25, the County Staff submitted more than 300 pages of proposed amendments to eliminate all Community Plan Areas, all Community Plans, and all of Chapter 33 of the Land Development Code. The Staff claimed that the Plan and Code were outdated, and that the changes “will not change allowable densities and intensities within Lee County.”
The Staff also stated that many Community Plan provisions were duplicative. However, on Captiva alone, the proposed amendments eliminate the strict three-units-per-acre limit on hotel and motels that has governed and protected Captiva since 1982, and permit building heights in new planned developments to exceed Captiva’s 35-foot limit and possibly rise to 75 feet above base flood elevation and 90 feet above grade. The proposed amendments also relax or eliminate many other Plan and Code provisions that protect Captiva’s natural environment.
The various Planning Communities have formed “The Lee Communities Coalition” with the hopes of protecting Community Planning and the Community Plans. Protect Captiva will assist the Coalition with its efforts.