The future of development (and overdevelopment) on Captiva is firmly in the hands of the courts. The South Seas ownership group, consisting of Wheelock Street Capital, The Ronto Group, and Timbers Company, continues its litigation and development strategy under the names of WS SSIR Owner, LLC and WS SSIR Owner Two, LLC.
- Oral argument on the County’s appeal of the Circuit Court decision issued by Judge Shenko limiting density on South Seas to 912 units is scheduled for April 30 at 9 a.m. in the Lee County Justice Center, Courtroom 4A, 2075 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Ft. Myers. The Sixth District Court of Appeal generally tries to live-stream the arguments at this link. Oral argument is limited to 20 minutes per side. The related appeal of the same case by South Seas has yet to be scheduled for oral argument. As previously reported, South Seas cannot request and the County cannot approve building permits for condominiums or hotels on South Seas without providing 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 before Judge Shenko, CCA has filed its Motion for Summary Judgment in the frivolous lawsuit brought by South Seas under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA). South Seas claims, contrary to the overwhelming evidence, that CCA was deceptive when it stated in its Legal Update that the 912 unit limit in the 2003 Settlement Agreement between CCA and the County included hotel units. A copy of CCA’s Motion is attached here. CCA has also filed motions for sanctions and attorneys’ fees against South Seas and its attorney in this case. Meanwhile, South Seas has filed a Motion to Disqualify Judge Shenko from the case, questioning Judge Shenko’s impartiality and claiming that it will not receive a fair trial. CCA’s opposition to the Motion to Disqualify is attached here.
- Oral argument on the Petition for Writ of Certiorari is scheduled to take place before Judge Shenko for 90 minutes on Sept. 3 at 1:30 p.m. CCA, RLR Investments and Royal Shell Vacations, 12 South Seas Condominium Associations and 8 Timeshare Associations have together petitioned the court to invalidate the County’s decision to rezone South Seas to permit increased density and building heights. The 20 Petitioners are, in effect, appealing the County’s decision that failed to provide Petitioners with due process, that departed from the essential elements of law, and that was unsupported by competent, substantial evidence. For example, Petitioners had no right to cross-examine South Seas witnesses; there was no reliable evidence that the FGUA wastewater treatment plant at South Seas has the capacity to treat increased density; our Fire Department does not have the equipment or staff to handle the taller and increased number of buildings approved by the County; and the approved increase in density and building heights violated the Lee Plan.
- CCA and the City of Sanibel continue to await the assignment of judges and the scheduling of oral argument in the appeal of the Administrative Law Judge’s decision in the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH). The ALJ wrongly ruled 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, the County’s rezoning approval will be called into question.
- The South Seas lawsuit against the Captiva Community Panel has been referred by the court to mediation, which will be scheduled by Sept. 22. The lawsuit should be resolved in the Panel’s favor before mediation. South Seas claims that the Panel failed to fully respond to its public records request seeking documents or emails relating to South Seas – including emails between Panel members and 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 Robert Rauschenberg Foundation website states the following:
The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation acknowledges and respects the traditional territories that we are grateful to inhabit. We are honored to assemble on the ancestral homelands of the Calusa and the Seminoles in Captiva . . . We are committed to continue their legacy of preserving the environmental integrity of these remarkable places and cultivating sustainable land use practices.
Yet the Foundation sold its 22 acres of property on Captiva to South Seas – which has just recorded with the Property Appraiser a new Land Condominium Declaration that subdivides the approximate 11 acres of the mostly undeveloped gulf-side portion of the property into 47 condominium units and lots. The Foundation’s Board of Director’s should be ashamed of its monumental betrayal of the Captiva community that Bob Rauschenberg loved and personally sought to protect from overdevelopment, and we suspect that the thousands of artists associated with Bob Rauschenberg and the Foundation, and collectors of Rauschenberg works throughout the world, will soon come to understand the extent to which the Foundation has failed Captiva and the legacy of Bob Rauschenberg.
At odds with the resort’s efforts to plat 50-foot lots, the County previously issued a Zoning Verification Letter stating that the 22 acres of the Rauschenberg property are governed by the Captiva Code which limits development to three units per acre for both residential dwelling and hotel units, and the Captiva portion of the Lee Plan which does not permit a reduction of the minimum lot size on a parcel under the parcel’s current zoning or under any other zoning that would result in a reduction of the minimum lot size. The gulf-side property is zoned RS-1 for residential single family homes with a minimum lot size of 7,500 square feet – 75 feet wide and 100 feet in depth.
Any efforts of South Seas to expand the resort onto the Rauschenberg property to build condominiums or hotels in Captiva’s Village would require Plan and Code amendments and a rezoning of the property – and would generate the same community opposition and litigation that continues to block efforts to increase density on South Seas since Timbers, The Ronto Group and Wheelock Street Capital purchased the resort.
- South Seas announced that Pyramid Global Hospitality replaces Timbers starting on June 18 to oversee all day-to-day operations of the resort, including guest services, food and beverage, recreational activities, hospitality sales and marketing, and facility management. In making this announcement, South Seas stressed that ownership of the property remains the same — and that Timbers will remain as the manager of the ownership group, will continue to lead the overall resort development, and that Greg Spencer will remain as President of South Seas. It remains to be seen who engineered this mid-course correction, or what it means, if anything, for litigation.
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.