UPPER CAPTIVA, Fla. — More than one-acre of property on Upper Captiva was one step closer to being converted into a 10-unit hotel, retail and office space. But, nearly two days before a hearing to rezone the area, the applicant withdrew the application.
Fox 4 Senior Reporter Kaitlin Knapp talked to concerned homeowners on Tuesday, a day before going to the island for this story. That same day, the applicant told Knapp they will not do an interview before the hearing Thursday morning. This was when the application was still on the table.
On Wednesday morning, as Knapp headed out to the island, she was told they are no longer interested in rezoning. However, Knapp went to Upper Captiva to see how people are feeling about the last-minute decision.
WATCH BELOW:
Upper Captiva is a view people like Van Hammond move to the island for.
"This island is unique in its nature," he said.
He says a potential rezone put it at risk, changing about an acre lot from residential to commercial.
"People felt it wasn't necessary," Hammond said. "The usage they were proposing was quite a stretch from what we currently have and what we want."
Hammond is talking about the Rum Road Collective project. In the proposal. it described 21,600 square feet of space for retail, offices, medical offices and a self-storage space. It also proposed a 6,800 square foot, 10-unit hotel.
The site is right next to Hammond's house.
"It was also the noise and the general congestion that would be right in our backdoor," he said. "Having a hotel, having a party venue, having a strip mall essentially right in the middle of the island is not something we wanted to see happen."
Other people on the island, like Alex Murphy, president of the Upper Captiva Civic Association, says he was devastated and shocked when he heard the proposal back in 2023.
"My biggest gripe is that it took away from the integrity of the island and the character of the island," he explained.
Murphy does not believe the island can handle the infrastructure.
"Dock space, there’s limited dock space on the island," he said. "It’s the start of a slippery slope."
But on Tuesday night, they both got a phone call.
"The pressure’s been relieved quite a bit by the fact that principals associated with this have decided not to move forward," Hammond said.
The applicant withdrew the rezoning request. The reason provided in the request says:
“County staff adversarial approach, even with zoning approval by the Commissioners, would make the development order process unnecessarily arduous and time-consuming, and has led the owners to withdraw the application and proceed with other options for developing the properties."
What those options are — it's not clear because the applicant denied the interview on Tuesday and said they would not comment until after the rezoning public hearing on Thursday.
"If someone wants to develop a residential property, I don’t say I have any objections," Hammond said. "We’re very pleased with how this is wrapping up."
Despite the withdrawal, about 20 community members are going to Thursday's hearing.
"At the end of the day it’s not about development necessarily — it is about rezoning," Murphy said. "That’s the basis of this problem for many people out here."
