In an unprecedented display of unity, the Captiva community filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari asking the Court to nullify the rezoning of South Seas that was approved by the Board of County Commissioners on August 6th. The Petition was collectively filed by CCA, RLR Investments and Royal Shell Vacations, 12 separate South Seas Condominium Associations and 8 separate South Seas Timeshare Associations. The Petition is extensive – explaining to the Court that the County violated its Land Development Code, its Comprehensive Plan and the due process rights of the Petitioners when it approved the rezoning application.
The County’s approval not only ignored that the FGUA sewage treatment plant at South Seas does not have the capacity to treat the wastewater from an increase in density from 912 to 1268 units, but the Captiva Island Fire District does not have the ground ladders or fire flow to service the proposed buildings that will be 20 feet taller than any building on South Seas or Captiva. The County also approved deviations over easement rights and on property that the Applicant does not own.
The County’s one-sided hearings also deprived the community from having the right to cross-examine the Applicant’s witnesses or object to inappropriate testimony while the Applicant had the right to cross-examine or interrupt community witnesses whenever it chose to do so.
The interwoven property interests and shared infrastructure, all tied to a vested development plan on South Seas, required that Petitioners be granted the same procedural rights at the hearing as the Applicant. For over half a century, South Seas property owners and the Captiva community relied upon the enforcement of South Seas’ zoning to preserve open space, limit density, and safeguard our fragile island’s character and safety. The County’s approval upended that reliance, granting a windfall to one new property owner at the expense of the majority of longtime property owners, while exacerbating the evacuation and environmental challenges for everyone on Captiva and Sanibel.
For these reasons, the Court has been asked to intervene to protect the rights of the majority of property owners on South Seas as well as the Captiva community. The Petition for Writ of Certiorari can be read here.