Updates

The new owners of South Seas (Timbers Resorts, The Ronto Group and Wheelock Street Capital) have filed a totally meritless lawsuit against CCA and have served extensive and wasteful public record requests upon the Panel and Sanibel. These legal actions are unproductive and seem only intended to increase the legal costs for the Captiva and Sanibel […]

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 no question that the Circuit Court decision limits South Seas to 912 units – including hotel rooms. That’s why both South Seas and the County are appealing the decision upholding the 2003 Settlement Agreement. The South Seas brief has been filed claiming the Settlement Agreement is unenforceable against the new owners of South Seas. However, […]

As discussed in prior Updates, the Lee Plan requires the County to maintain and enforce development regulations that continue the historic development pattern on Captiva and South Seas. The Administrative Law Judge misread the Lee Plan to allow amendments to the County’s Land Development Code that repealed the hotel room density and building height limits at […]

As previously reported, South Seas’ final rezoning proposal has buildings more than 20 feet taller than existing structures on South Seas or Captiva, new condominiums at the north end of the resort where two areas of open space presently exist, a Disney World-type waterpark immediately adjacent to existing condos owned by others, a 175-room hotel […]

The efforts of the Captiva and Sanibel communities to protect Captiva by maintaining our island’s historic density and height limits are causing South Seas serious concern – hence the new meritless lawsuit and needless record requests. But to properly respond, we need to continue to retain the best attorneys. While South Seas may have unlimited resources, the […]

After hearing from 52 members of the public opposing the South Seas rezoning application, the rebuttal case presented by South Seas and the County only served to highlight the ill-advised nature of the South Seas overdevelopment application. Their final proposal has buildings more than 20 feet taller than existing structures on South Seas or Captiva, new […]

We are cautiously optimistic that we can prevail in our efforts to protect Captiva by maintaining our island’s historic density and height limits. But to do so, we need to continue to retain the best land use, trial, and appellate attorneys. Both South Seas and the County have unlimited resources, and they never expected the Captiva and Sanibel communities to donate the […]

The Lee Plan devotes an entire Chapter to the protection of the barrier island of Captiva — requiring the County to maintain and enforce development regulations that continue the historic development pattern on Captiva and South Seas. The Administrative Law Judge misread the Lee Plan to allow amendments to the County’s Land Development Code that repealed the hotel room density and building […]

Under the 2003 Mediated Settlement Agreement between CCA and Lee County, the County agreed that the total number of units on South Seas would never exceed 912 units. The 912-unit count constitutes a density limit of three units per acre on the 304-acre resort which has governed South Seas for more than 50 years. The Circuit Court […]