Panel to survey Village residents on proposed height restrictions
After a 20-minute agenda item turned into more than an hour of somewhat heated discussion about exemptions for the Village — among other concerns with the Captiva Land Development Code process — the Captiva Community Panel decided to seek additional input from residents with a Village-wide mail survey.
The lengthy debate began as a request from Panel member Jim Boyle to redefine the boundaries of the “Village” in the proposed Land Development Code draft — which would exclude his property from the proposed, and more restrictive, “Village” building guidelines -as his property is currently lumped into the Village zone, but is located closer to South Seas Island Resort, which is classified separately, and on the coast.
Boyle proposed that the Village boundary begin at Jensen’s on the Gulf (or the first ess-curve after the ‘Tween Waters stretch) and extend only as far as the Rauschenberg properties (or, the flashing yellow light at the ess-curve closest to South Seas).
The motion was voted down six to three.
“I just feel like we need more time to look into this and find the best way to define it,” said Panel President Sandy Stilwell. “There are so many variables.”
Ultimately, the Panel decided to survey Village residents before making any definitive edits, but both Panel member Mike Mullins and Panel Administrator Ken Gooderham reminded the panelists that the surveying process is, if anything, simply a courtesy to the community. While community feedback, whether positive or negative, is critical to the Panel’s cause, it does not make the Panel’s decisions.
The Captiva Community Panel will survey all Village property owners on the height issue as soon as possible. The survey will be mailed and will also include links to more information. A draft is currently in the works.
For more information, go to www.CaptivaCommunityPanel.com‘>www.CaptivaCommunityPanel.com.