CAPE CORAL, Fla. — It has been a saga that Fox 4 has have been covering for two years, the future of Redfish Pointe next to Rotary Park in Cape Coral.
Cape Coral residents are concerned that the potential development that would destroy the wetlands and on Saturday Protect Our Wetlands protesters are planning to make their voices heard.
FOX 4 METEOROLOGIST ANDREW SHIPLEY SPOKE WITH PROTECT OUR WETLANDS IN CAPE CORAL ABOUT THE PLANNED PROTEST AND WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE WITH REDFISH POINTE.
"We feel the increase flood and surge risk that would come along with developing that very sensitive wetland habitat, would not be beneficial to people who are living in the surrounding area,” said Chris Robben, a member of Protect Our Wetlands in Cape Coral.
Robben is helping organize Saturday's protest of the Redfish Pointe development.
"Our ultimate vision is hopefully the county could purchase that land from the landowner," said Robben.
Redfish Pointe developers are attempting to get the zone changed for the area to include 800 multi-story residential units, a 300-bed resort hotel, as well as retail and restaurant space.
But Robben is also concerned about the impacts potential development could have on the mangroves protecting south Cape Coral from storm surge like we saw in Ian as well as Milton.
"It kind of soaks up hundreds of thousands of gallons per acre in order to mitigate that rise. And it doesn't take a lot for people's lives to be changed," said Robben.
And Robben is not alone.
"So, when you remove those natural buffer systems, you have a lot more impacts to the people who previously lived behind those natural buffers," said Matt DePaolis, Environment Policy Director with Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation.
He's not against development in Southwest Florida, he believes it needs to be a good fit for the community as well.
"Building houses, building structures in the coastal high hazard, in previous wetlands, is just asking for extra danger, extra risk, and extra property destruction every time one of these storms coming through," said DePaolis.
DePaolis says we need to think about the future when planning how we develop.
"How we are going to be setting ourselves up to have a sustainable future, in a place that is facing these pressures of climate change, sea level rise, and increasingly strong storms," said DePaolis.
Protect Our Wetlands in Cape Coral members told Fox 4 that next week's Cape Coral Zoning meeting no longer has Redfish Pointe on the agenda. When it will be readded to a future meeting, we will let you know.
