CAPE CORAL, Fla., -- A Cape Coral ordinance requires home builders to build at least 1100 feet away from an eagle's nest. If builders want a home within that zone, they could be paying hefty fees.
"We’re going to incur a cost of apparently an extra $5,000 dollars to build our house," said Larry Lin.
Larry and his wife Sue, have been trying to build their dream home for the last three years, but because they are building within the 1100 ft eagle zone, the city requires them to file an eagle management plan, pay money to a conservation group and hire one of their members to check the tree every day for an eagle.
According to the U.S Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, "the recommended buffer distance from an eagle's nest is 660 feet."
The Lins say that every other city in Southwest Florida only requires homes to be built after 660 ft.
"After 660 ft, the eagle doesn’t even know you’re there.”
A spokesperson for Cape Coral tells Fox 4:
“Cape Coral wanted to provide a higher level of protection to the bald eagle especially with all the home building back in the mid-2000s.”
They say that the bald eagle came off the endangered species list back in 2007 and encourage the Lins to file for a permit that allows them to build after nesting season between May 15 and October 15th.
But the home builders say their home could take up to 13 and 15 months to build.
“If there’s no bird in the nest, you can keep going, as soon as an eagle lies in that nest you have to stop, you have to shut down your construction," said Mr. Lin.
And it becomes more difficult considering those months are during hurricane season.
“We had Hurricane [Irma] last year and it added a lot of stress and pressure and we have no control.”
Mr. Lin says he hopes to get a wavier that will clear him of the extra fees, but says if he continues to run into difficulty he would consider suing the city.
