Cape Coral community voices their rezoning disapproval

From a peaceful golf course to an overcrowded urban sprawl. A developer wants to eliminate all the green grass and build hundreds of apartments, but that fired up the community.

The people living at hunters run in Cape Coral don’t want to lose their golf course.

The mood was angry at the meeting on Monday. People were concerned, and some even cried. Organizers did their best to keep things civil, but the tensions in the room were undeniable. Neighbors said flatly there is no room for compromise.

People who live by Hunters Run Golf Course had a goal in mind when they moved there.

“It’s the reason why most of us from up north move down here is to get a piece of the Florida paradise,” Edward, a neighbor, said.

They like the wildlife, the peace and quiet, and the friendly neighborhood atmosphere. So when they heard the course could become multi-family housing, they felt their safe haven was in crisis.

“The idea that this 29-acre tract of land that’s been a historical golf course…could be rezoned to multifamily, with 10, four-story apartment buildings…They want to pave paradise to put up a parking lot or several parking lots,” Charlie Pease, a neighbor, and representative from Keep Our Parks and Rec said.

Neighbors said the area could not handle the congestion brought on by the new housing.

“You’ve got traffic issues, you’ve got the light pollution issues,” Pease said.

“I have a granddaughter who’s two. Who likes to run around the front yard, run around the backyard. With this type of a proposal, no more running around the front yard, no more running around the back yard,” Karen, a neighbor, said.

Consultants for the developers said multi-family housing is needed in the area.

“We have a shortage of multi-family. So multi-family is the highest and best use. Golf courses are a thing of the past in Southwest Florida,” Joe Mazurkiewicz, a consultant for Buyer, said.

While the developer has withdrawn its proposal from this coming Wednesday’s city council meeting, neighbors said they believe it will be back and they won’t be flexible when it is.

When asked if anything could change their mind, Pease didn’t hesitate.

“No, absolutely nothing that they can say in terms of the actual land use change,” Pease said. “Our position is there is no compromise here. Parks and Rec forever in perpetuity.”

District 5’s Councilmember Rober Welsh spoke Monday as well, saying the area is close to his heart and that residents can count on his support. The issue is no longer scheduled for discussion at the council meeting on Wednesday. But neighbors said they’ll still be there wearing green and ensuring their voices are heard.