Fight over increased building heights and density continues on Captiva Island

It has been an ongoing battle between fired-up residents, a resort and Lee County, all over building heights.

The South Seas resort on Captiva wants to build up, and Islanders are against that. Now, it looks like we’re getting closer to a final resolution.

When WINK News spoke with the Captiva Civic Association, they told WINK News they were going to have to wait and see when that would happen.

But, they said, they put up a good case challenging increasing building heights and density on Captiva Island and at the South Seas Resort calling them inconsistent with the Lee County plan.

The five-day administrative trial wrapped up on Friday.

The three venues the Captiva Civic Association is involved in have been an ongoing argument for decades.

The standard was three units per acre for both dwelling units and hotels, and buildings were always less than 50 feet in height at South Seas.

Lee County and CCA disagree on the impact of potential new development on evacuation times in case of another hurricane.

The county argued those times should be determined in September when the population is at its lowest.

The CCA argues that hurricane season runs from June 1 until Nov. 30 and that a plan should be in place to handle all circumstances, not just the best-case scenario.

For the fourth time, the Lee County Department of Community Development Zoning section rejected the South Seas application to build 196 new condos and two new hotels, saying the plan is insufficient and is missing some information.

The judge says each party has 30 days to file their proposed final orders, after which the judge will issue a final decision.

WINK News reporter Asha Patel reached out to Lee County for comment, and a spokesperson told Wink News, “There has been no ruling as yet from the judge.”

WINK News has not yet heard back from South Seas.