More options could be coming for boat owners in Cape Coral

The City of Cape Coral is considering giving homeowners more options, like having boats fenced in on the side of their homes instead of just their backyard.

There’s a pretty good chance you have a boat if you live in Cape Coral.

It’s one of the reasons Pat Samborski, a Cape Coral resident, was attracted to the area.

“Cape Coral’s got more canals than anywhere else, so that’s why we came here,” Samborski said.

Samborski has two boats, one for fishing and one just for going down the canals.

When he got to the city, he was surprised by the city’s rules on where he could store or park his boats.

“It’s kind of…very stringent. Put it that way. I’m from, we just come from Ocean City, Maryland, and you could have boats in your driveways and that kind of thing. Same kind of situation in the canal going into the ocean. And it worked out beautiful,” Samborski said.

The Cape Coral city council discussed the idea of changing where you can put recreation vehicles like boats.

Some of the ideas included having boats parked in the driveway as part of the two commercial vehicles you’re allowed to have.

Another idea that was floated was getting them fenced in.

Ron Tourony does not want to have boats in the driveway.

“I believe it will devalue your neighborhood, and other people will take advantage of the situation and allow other things other than boats and the size of the boats as well,” Tourony said. “Which would be blocking your neighbor’s views of the street.”

Although, the idea appeals to Samborski.

“We’re by the water, and we all have boats, it seems like, and you know it should be a little more lenient for how you store them,” Samborski said.

Some members of the council expressed interest in revisiting the ordinance.

It would take a few months before it appears on an agenda as staff works on it, but only time will tell what decision the council comes to.