There are 17 Community Plan Areas in Lee County — with many having 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 — whether rural, coastal or agricultural or otherwise distinct.
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 that a public meeting takes place on Captiva for rezonings or variances. Captiva’s Plan and Code are attached here and here.
Without notice or consultation with the affected communities, on Aug. 25, the County Staff submitted more than 300 pages of proposed amendments to eliminate Community Plan Areas, Community Plans, and Chapter 33 of the Land Development Code. The Staff claimed that the Plan and Code provisions were outdated, and that the changes would increase efficiency, reduce unnecessary regulations, and “will not change allowable densities and intensities within Lee County.”
However, on Captiva alone, the proposed amendments eliminate the strict three-units-per-acre limit on hotels 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, possibly rising to 75 feet above base flood elevation and 90 feet above grade. Other important regulations protecting Captiva are also removed.
Currently, three County advisory committees (LPA, EROC and LDCAC) have been asked by Staff to recommend the proposed amendments to the Board of County Commissioners. One committee has made the recommendation, and two are meeting this week. It is folly to suggest that these volunteer committee members could, in this short amount of time, determine the impact on the many diverse Lee County communities of removing and rewriting major sections of the Plan and Code. The Captiva Community Panel and CCA have sent letters of concern to the committees, which are attached here and here.
The Board of County Commissioners was initially scheduled to fast-track the amendments on Sept. 16, but Commissioner Ruane asked that the meeting be moved to Oct. 7 to give County residents more time to respond to the changes. Commissioner Ruane’s motion was seconded by Commissioner Mulicka, who agreed that the amendments were too much too fast.
The various Planning Communities are in the process of forming “The Lee Communities Coalition” with the hopes of protecting Community Planning and the Community Plans. The Panel and CCA have been in touch with the Coalition, and CCA will determine how “Protect Captiva” can best assist in the efforts.