Eagle setback ordinance to be considered Monday
After the Cape Coral City Council made it clear after its May 14 regular meeting that it wanted more information regarding data on eagles, it is expected to decide Monday whether to approve an ordinance that would cut the bald eagle nest management zone on new construction during the October-May nesting season from 1,100 to 660 feet.
The city council, following much public comment against the ordinance that would decrease the setback to levels consistent with state and federal guidelines, voted 5-2 to table the discussion.
Some Council members, like Rick William,s are still wondering how they’re going to vote.
“I’m on the fence. It’s just a matter of what’s said Monday and the information that’s brought forward,” Williams said.
Councilmember Jennifer Nelson said she has made up her mind, which is to leave the distance as is.
“I’ve looked at all the data and we’re only talking about 10 nests in the city. That does not warrant a change,” Nelson said. “People can build before and after the nesting season.”
Mayor Joe Coviello said at the meeting he would back keeping the ordinance the same.
“It’s our national bird. We have one of the largest land-mass cities in the state and plenty of places for progress and development,” Coviello said. “We need to do our share to maintain that treasure we have. Not many cities are fortunate to have that many nests.”
The original city ordinance was passed in 2007 when bald eagles were an endangered species. The eagles have rebounded significantly in the last decade, and while they are no longer endangered, are still protected.
Currently, the city has 10 active nests and three inactive or alternate nests, which runs about average for what the city has recorded since the year 2000.
However, the encroachment into rural areas has taken a toll, opponents of the ordinance said, though Williams said it’s likely they won’t bring much data to support its side.
“The people who want to keep things as is are driven by emotion, not necessarily fact. On the other side, they’re trying to get the data,” Williams said. “Just saying something doesn’t give us much information.”
City staff said that Cape Coral was the only municipality among the 20 most populated that didn’t use the 660-foot standard.
Coviello said he was concerned that many of those cities were so populated that eagles didn’t live there.
He also said they have an ordinance in place that has been able to maintain the number of nests in the city, despite the enormous growth of the city.
“I’m all for progress but I don’t believe based on having the 1,100-foot radius that the growth still can’t take place because there are workarounds,” Coviello said. “They can file a bald eagle management plan or build in non-nesting season.”
Councilmember John Gunter said that if the city has a different guideline from the state and federal ones, it would open the city to a lawsuit by those who own property in the nest management area and can’t build there because of it.
The difference between 660 feet and 1,100 is great, so the train of thought of meeting halfway (maybe 900 feet) is something that could also be considered.
“There was nothing that drove the distance of 1,100 feet. We could absolutely come down somewhere in the middle,” Williams said. “That might not be a bad solution.”
Nelson said she would have to see significant data justifying a compromise.
“I would be completely open to looking at data to support a compromise, but I haven’t seen it yet,” Nelson said.