Residents sound off over proposed changes in Cape Coral neighborhood

There has been mixed feedback from viewers about the proposed changes and upgrades to Jaycee Park in Cape Coral.

Cape Coral City Council held a vote on Wednesday to move forward with hiring a design firm, which will focus on the design of potential improvements and changes to Jaycee Park.

The original proposal, which included a bar, a place for food trucks, and an amphitheater, was not passed. City Council wants people to know that none of the proposed changes are set in stone.

However, many people from the community are worried the park could eventually become unrecognizable.

No empty seats, and people lined up along the back wall, it was immediately clear Wednesday that many from the community don’t want big changes to come to their beloved Jaycee Park.

“Let’s not pave paradise and put up a parking lot,” an anonymous Cape Coral resident said.

“You have shade. You have trees. You have water, birds, etc. It would be a huge mistake,” another anonymous Cape Coral resident said.

Speaker after speaker, 48 people in total, all but one of their voices were united. People worry about extra noise from an amphitheater. They worry about extra congestion in the surrounding neighborhoods.

They don’t want all the shade trees along the water removed. Some are also against the idea of a bar serving alcohol in the park, saying it doesn’t mix with the children and families who enjoy the park.

“There’s peace, there’s happiness there. I walk my dog there. It’s perfect just how it is,” an anonymous Cape Coral resident said.

People at the meeting told WINK News they were happy to see how many people are passionate about protecting the park.

“I’ve been here a lot for different causes. And I’ve never seen anything like this,” Lori Haus-Bulcock, a Cape Coral resident, said.

Others aren’t convinced that city council members took what they heard to heart.

“And then they passed the freaking agenda anyway! What did we do? You know, if I honestly believed they listened, I think it would have made a difference,” Cape Coral resident Ryn Gargulinski said.

“They’re not taking into consideration how we all feel that live down there,” Cape Coral resident Kathleen Poplawski said.

Again, no changes have been approved for Jaycee Park. All that happened on Wednesday is a design firm was hired by the City of Cape Coral to look at potential improvements and changes to the park. And the city told WINK News, it’s written into the contract with the design firm that there must be opportunities for citizen input along the way in the design process. So far, the time and locations of those opportunities are yet to be determined.