The court cases are moving forward. We’ll take them one at a time below.
• The County and South Seas have each separately appealed the Circuit Court decision issued by Judge Shenko limiting density on South Seas to 912 units. The Sixth District Court of Appeal has now scheduled oral argument only on the County’s appeal before Judges Mary Alice Nardella, Paetra T. Brownlee, and Roger K. Gannan on April 30 at 9 a.m. in the Lee County Justice Center, Courtroom 4A, 2075 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Ft. Myers. Oral argument is limited to 20 minutes per side, and arguments are generally webcast. As stated in past updates, South Seas cannot request, and the County cannot approve building permits for condominiums or hotels on South Seas without providing the Captiva Civic Association (CCA) notice so that it has sufficient time to enjoin any development greater than the historic density of 912 units pending this appeal.
• In a related matter, CCA continues to await the Circuit Court’s review of its motion for sanctions and attorneys fees against South Seas and its attorney for filing a frivolous lawsuit claiming that the 912 unit limit in the 2003 Settlement Agreement between CCA and Lee County did not include hotel units – when the evidence is overwhelming that the historic 912 unit limit at South Seas always included both residential and hotel units. Meanwhile, this case has now been transferred to Judge Shenko, and he has set a hearing on CCA’s motion to bar discovery by South Seas on March 23 and also a Status Conference on April 6.
• CCA, RLR Investments and Royal Shell Vacations, 12 South Seas Condominium Associations, and eight Timeshare Associations have together filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari seeking to invalidate the County’s decision to rezone South Seas to permit increased density and building heights. The case has been assigned to Judge Shenko, and he has rescheduled a March 9 Status Conference to April 6. The 20 Petitioners claim that the County’s decision resulted from its failure to provide due process to the Petitioners, that it departed from the essential elements of law, and that it was unsupported by competent, substantial evidence. For example, Petitioners had no right to cross-examine South Seas or County witnesses, while the lawyer for South Seas interrupted and questioned community witnesses. There was also no reliable evidence that the FGUA wastewater treatment plant at South Seas has the capacity to treat increased density, or that the Captiva Island Fire Control District has the equipment or staff to handle the taller and increased number of buildings approved by the County. And of course, the approved increase in density and building heights was not consistent with the historic development pattern on Captiva and South Seas as required by the Lee Plan.
[In a separate Petition for Writ of Certiorari, Suraya (a home on South Seas adjacent to the new Beach House Restaurant) seeks to quash the County approval of the South Seas Rezoning Application because Lee County “willfully ignored the clear mandates of its Land Development Code by not requiring a buffer” between the Suraya home and the new Beach House Restaurant built by South Seas.]
• CCA and the City of Sanibel have together appealed the decision of the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH). The parties continue to await the assignment of a panel of Judges in the Sixth District Court of Appeal and the scheduling of oral argument. The ALJ was wrong in ruling that the Land Development Code amendments, which exempted South Seas from Captiva’s hotel density limits, were consistent with the Lee Plan, which requires the County to “limit development to that which is in keeping with the historic development pattern on Captiva . . . including South Seas.” If the Appellate Court reverses the DOAH Judge, everything the County has done for the new owners of South Seas during the past two years will be called into question.
• On December 23, 2025, South Seas initiated a new lawsuit – this time against the Captiva Community Panel. South Seas claims that the Panel failed to fully respond to its public records request seeking documents or emails relating to South Seas – including communications with members of the community who testified at the County rezoning proceedings before the Hearing Examiner and the Board of County Commissioners. While the Panel may not even be covered by the Public Records Act, the Panel has produced more than 1,000 pages of documents in response to this request. However, South Seas continues to sue community organizations that oppose increases in density or building heights on Captiva – and to run up their legal bills. The Panel has retained legal counsel to protect its interests and the interests of the community.
• We now know that the Rauschenberg Foundation has sold its 22 acres of property on Captiva to South Seas – rejecting the efforts of the Captiva Island Fire Control District and the Captiva community to honor Bob Rauschenberg’s legacy by purchasing and preserving as much of the property as possible for the community and in its current undeveloped state. It is difficult to comprehend the extent to which the Foundation has failed the island community that Bob Rauschenberg loved and personally sought to protect from development. It is a grievous betrayal by the Rauschenberg Foundation. The County has advised South Seas in a Zoning Verification Letter that the 22 acres are governed by the Lee Plan and Captiva Code, which limit development to three units per acre for both residential dwelling and hotel units. Any greater development would require Plan and Code amendments and a rezoning of the property – and efforts of South Seas to expand the resort onto the Rauschenberg property and into Captiva’s Village would generate the same community opposition and prolonged litigation with Protect Captiva that continues to forestall efforts to increase density on South Seas since Timbers Resorts, The Ronto Group and Wheelock Street Capital purchased the resort in 2021.
• On Feb. 5, a silent auction of art generously donated by local artists raised more than $35,000 in support of the Protect Captiva Legal Fund. It was a wonderful fundraising event that reflected our community’s ongoing commitment to protect our fragile barrier island from the continued development pursued by South Seas and Lee County.
We thank you for your continued support of our efforts to Protect Captiva. Your tax-deductible contribution to the Legal Fund can be made here.