CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Florida's Gulf Coast took blow after blow from hurricanes this year.
"Storms are natural, but they're not feeling natural anymore," said Joseph Bonasia, Florida Right to Clean Water Communications Director.
Bonasia thinks this hurricane season provided a critical warning against building more along our coast.
Watch Bella's full report below:
"Ian, Milton, Helene, were all wake-up calls. We have to think differently," said Bonasia.
Joe Bonasia met FOX 4's Bella Line at Rotary Park, just north of where the Redfish Pointe development was supposed to go before Hurricane Ian struck.
Bonasia has been fighting the project for more than a year and attended this protest a year ago.
Still, project applications keep getting filed and while FOX 4 asked the city for any updates on Redfish, Bonasia insisted the wetlands are worth more than any development.
"If we compromise these mangroves here, these wetlands, which provide hundreds of families with vital storm protection, we could put all these families at higher risk," said Bonasia.
Some research certainly suggests these natural protections could improve our future.
Corporate analysts "Moody's" found in a study last year, that Cape Coral is near the top of the list, when it comes to cities at risk from rising seas.
Another report by the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) found that a harmful algae bloom, like the one that came the year after Irma, in 2018, could do nearly $4 billion in damage to property.
Bonasia says he won't give up on trying to stop Redfish, but he can't warn people forever.
"Instead of seeing this behind my back, you'll see roads, you'll see the cars, you'll see the buildings," said Bonasia. "Very frankly if this happens, I'm moving out of here."
