Almost simultaneously with the lawsuit against CCA, South Seas sent public records requests to the Captiva Community Panel and the City of Sanibel. South Seas is seeking any documents, emails, or texts involving its proposed development project and any person on a community board or governmental body — searching for something that might be improper.
However, there is nothing improper or unlawful about opposing a land use decision through the governmental processes, or in a court of law. The First Amendment guarantees the right of free association and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances – including the right to petition governmental bodies on land use matters whether legislative, executive, administrative, or judicial in nature.
In its request to the Captiva Community Panel, South Seas seeks communications over a four-year period between the Panel members and approximately 40 individuals or organizations who testified before the Lee County Hearing Examiner on the South Seas rezoning application. The attorney for the Panel reminded South Seas that efforts to intimidate or retaliate against these witnesses or organizations, or to interfere with their right of free speech in connection with a public issue heard before a governmental entity, would violate both State and Federal law. The Panel’s attorney also explained to South Seas that the Panel is not a public agency subject to the public records law. Nevertheless, all of the Panel’s community planning documents are made available to the public, are generally available on the Panel’s website, as are the minutes from all Panel meetings.