CAPTIVA ISLAND, Fla. — After nine months of battling through hurricane recovery, the South Seas Island Resort on Captiva is welcoming guests back... but a legal storm could be coming.
A committeewith the Captiva Civic Association is hiring a law firm to stop building higher and denser on Captiva, even as Lee County leaders say they're working with the resort.
South Seas said it hasn't filed to build up to 75 feet, nor any denser than three units per acre on the island. But county land code amendments, if adopted in September, could allow that.
Lee county's District 2 Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass said South Seas' goal is to help homeowners rebuild above the flood-line.
"Currently we have the areas under the building that's not live-able. It's parking, it's storage, areas. That's considered the first floor. The second floor is live-able and the third floor is live-able space also," Pendergrass said.
Hurricane Ian changed the flood elevation lines, so the county has to raise the level in its code.
"Under the current guidelines, with the new flood elevations, the third floor would be cut in half. So you can't build back one-and-a-half floors of live-able space. You have to build back two floors," Pendergrass said.
Pendergrass said they're changing the code so people will not lose a floor of living space when rebuilding.
The following is a statement to Fox 4 from Timbers Resorts CEO Greg Spencer:
South Seas is committed to continuing the conversations with the South Seas community and Lee County government staff regarding a proposed amendment to Lee County regulations that address height, setback and other development limitations that are potentially restricting residents’ ability to rebuild their homes and businesses following Hurricane Ian in a manner that promotes resiliency and reduces potential flooding risks. We continue to reiterate the facts: We have not submitted any requests nor asked for height allowance to 75 feet. We do not believe anything over 3 habitable floors would be the right look for South Seas. We want to build a world-class resort that mirrors the character of the surrounding community. Before Hurricane Ian, our property was showing its age. Now, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild South Seas so it’s among the finest luxury resorts in the country"
Regarding building height, before the storm, more than half of the residences at South Seas were 3 stories above either parking or support functions. Buildings range in height from 42 feet to 48 feet and many do not conform to current FEMA flood elevations.
The Lee County proposed amendments would allow property owners impacted by Hurricane Ian to rebuild their homes in a safe manner to hopefully avoid future flooding. Since the ordinance does not change South Seas’ development rights under the Administrative Interpretation, there are no “impacts” to address. When a rezoning application is submitted, that is when the economic study, traffic and other impact studies will be evaluated. Our goal is to build more resilient structures that maintain the character of Captiva while complying with all local, state, and federal requirements.
Pendergrass said people who own property have the right to build back their homes and condos, and the county's goal is to protect that.
On September 6, Lee County will consider moving forward in removing the height and density restrictions for South Seas. If it does, Holland and Knight — the law firm hired by Captiva Civic Association — would take legal action.
"Some people put out some false information about this whole process. It [the amendments] is county wide. This is one area of town that's concerned about this obviously, we're not going to change the area or character. Sanibel and Captiva will look the same 100 years from now," Pendergrass said.
Click here for reference of Lee County's building height amendment history.
Click here to learn more about why the Sanibel-Captiva Concervation Foundation is concerned about this.
