Planning Commission approves two docks
The Planning Commission on Wednesday gave the green light to requests involving a boat dock and a boat lift despite concerns from the commission regarding mangroves and navigability in the city’s canals.
The commission approved an application for a new dock and lift that would exceed the maximum permitted limit (20 percent of the waterway) at a home at 5821 Pine Tree Drive.
It wasn’t without some concerns, such as the possibility of having only 30 feet of navigability for one-way traffic. Also, there is currently no house there, though the landowners plan to build there and live permanently in Sanibel.
“We’ve been down that canal. There are mangroves and it is beautiful. Preserving it is the key,” said Wayne Cohen. “I don’t think the dock will interfere with navigation.”
Arnold Thibault, who lives across the canal, disagreed. He was concerned that there would be obstruction that would not only impact navigation, but also property values.
The commission did not agree and voted unanimously to approve the deviation with most of the conditions except the one where the dock width be reduced from four feet to three feet.
In a second case, the commissioner approved the addition of a boat lift adjacent to an existing boat dock to exceed the maximum permitted waterward extension limit of 20 percent to an existing single-family residence at 686 Anchor Drive.
The staff report said that having the boatlift arms would be equal to having the boat moored to the dock.
Ty Symroski, commission member, said again that navigation could be an issue, especially with a derelict boat on the other side of the canal.
The commission also expressed concern over the mangroves, which as a public canal the city trims, but said that the mangroves are more of an issue than the dock and voted to approve the boat lift with conditions.
The Commission also voted to allow the owners of a property at 5029 Joewood Drive, at the Gulf Ridge Subdivision, to construct an elevated swimming pool as an accessory structure to an existing single-family residence.
The proposed swimming pool is to be elevated higher than seven feet above predevelopment grade. More than half the homes at Gulf Ridge have swimming pools and three of the 27 pools are elevated higher than seven feet above the predevelopment grade.
Also, the proposed pool and screen enclosure is smaller in size and mass than the vast majority of other residences with pools and enclosures within the neighborhood.
The commission voted unanimously to approve under the 13 conditions listed in the staff report.