Village height restrictions still raising concerns
At the Tuesday meeting of the Captiva Community Panel, Panel Administrator Ken Gooderham and professional planner Max Forgey updated the Panel on their latest efforts to confer with County staff on changes to be made to the Captiva Land Development Code and a building height policy amendment to the Lee County Comprehensive Plan.
“Most of the things County staff are asking for we have no problem doing. About 80 or 90 percent of what the County asked us to do was trivial — renumbering items and striking out or relocating repetitive language, but this means that if we make these changes, we’ll have a much smoother meeting when we meet with the County on Feb. 25, which will include the County attorneys, the zoning staff, the environmental staff, and we want to move it as quickly as possible,” Forgey said. “I think we’ll be very well prepared for that.”
But height restrictions in the village are still an issue of contention with one Panel member, Jim Boyle.
Boyle was not in attendance at the Tuesday meeting, but did attend a special meeting on Jan. 20 where several residents of the Village met to discuss height restrictions. At the meeting, Boyle voiced concern over the extenuating circumstances of his property’s location, specifically pertaining to Boyle’s properties being penalized under Village restrictions, even though his property is on the beach and, by FEMA standards, in a “V Zone,” where homes must be elevated above the Base Flood Elevation level. “The Village” is defined in the Land Development Code as the area spanning Jensen’s Marina and northward to South Seas Island Resort.
At next month’s meeting, the Panel will further discuss Boyle’s concerns and height restrictions in the Village.
At the Tuesday meeting, the Panel also approved an extension of Forgey’s contract so that he may continue to work on the land development code.
“By September, we should be through most of this — if not the worst of it — and by then, we should be able to tell how much longer we’ll need his services,” Gooderham said.
Panel member Mike Mullins motioned that the Panel keep Forgey on task for an additional six months, and the motion carried unanimously.
“It’s been a pleasure so far, and I’m looking forward to the next six months,” Forgey said.
The Captiva Community Panel will meet again on Tuesday, March 8, at 9 a.m. at ‘Tween Waters Inn, 15951 Captiva Drive.
For more information about the Captiva Community Panel, go to www.CaptivaCommunityPanel.com.