San Carlos Island project would have a negative effect on Beach
Editor:
I strongly object to the proposed comp plan amendment that will allow the San Carlos Project to go forward. If approved, this will not only have a negative impact on Fort Myers Beach but will change the character of San Carlos Island. A working harbor will be replaced by a 300 room hotel and convention center.
Currently, Lee County’s comp plan calls for replacing mobile homes with structures limited to a height of 35 feet. The developers are asking for the comp plan to be amended to allow buildings up to 230 feet in height.
I have read that Wayne Daltry is definitely opposed to this and has given facts and figures to support his opposition. I don’t have all the information at my finger tips about density, intensity and the flood plains, etc. I only know that the purpose of the Comp Plan is to take a long range look at what is best for a community and for Florida.
I don’t believe that building a large hotel and convention center on a barrier island is the way to go.
The other issue besides the high rise hotel is the towers that will be built to house 271 condos and 110 timeshares. The current comp plan would only allow 86 units. With the proposed increase, I can only imagine the traffic congestion in an emergency evacuation.
There have been so many past mistakes involving growth in Southwest Florida. I hope our town council will take a position against this amendment. I also hope that they, and our citizens, will write to the Department of Community Affairs and the Board of County Commissioners expressing this view.
Lois Parker
Fort Myers Beach
San Carlos Island project would have a negative effect on Beach
Editor:
I am amazed at the lack of concerned voices regarding the San Carlos ovetwhelming development proposal which indeed will have a serious impact on Fort Myers Beach and our immediate environment. I have recently returned from several weeks absence and in catching up on town and island news am shocked with this proposal.
Have you all retreated into a cocoon? Not a word of concern from council or citiizens with the sole exceptions of Tom Babcock and, just received, Tidelines of the Civic Association.
Get out of that cocoon, wake up, get informed of legitimate concerns and make your voice heard loud and clear. For starters, read Tidelines interview with Wayne Daltry, Lee County Smart Growth Director and perhaps you willhave heard him speak at the Civic Association by the time you read this. His concerns are valid: high intensity which should not be increased in a hurricane zone, excess of units per acre, replacing recreational areas with tall buildings, and impact on our roads to name a few. He encourages our two islands to coordinate our future plans.
As a long time member of our traffic committee this proposal is of particular concern to me as this proposal will only exasperate an already sensitive problem. Clearly, the two islands must meet together to address these concerns. And I urge all readers to study these issues and speak your views.
Al Van Horn
Fort Myers Beach