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Land Use

Babcock Ranch

Babcock Ranch Comprehensive Management Plan

The Babcock CMP website:  www.babcockcmp.org

The Babcock Ranch Comprehensive Management Plan can be found at:
http://www.babcockcmp.org/files/BabcockRanchPreserveManagementPlan29July2008.pdf

Link to BabcockCMP documents page:  http://www.babcockcmp.org/html/docs.html



Babcock Ranch Draft Recreation Master Plan -- June 2, 2009

The DRAFT Recreation Master Plan for the Babcock Ranch Preserve is now available on-line. Please note that the text of the report provides a detailed analysis and the exhibits are provided to support the text (you will need to read the report to fully understand the exhibits). In addition please remember that this Recreation Master Plan is a high level overview planning document and does not include site specific design.  The report can be viewed or downloaded at the following web-address:
http://www.genesisgroup.com/babcockranch.php

February 2007 SCCF Member Update:
In January the Lee County Commission voted 3-2 to take no action on a request by the developer for creation of an Independent Special District (ISD) for Babcock Ranch. The developer asked the County to approve an independent special district in order to secure bonds for funding the project. An Independent Special District is a way for a developer to pass along the costs of the project to the homeowners through a perpetual annual assessment. Local approval for a district is required before the legislature will create a special bill authorizing the district.

This request is unique in that unlike all other projects it seeks special treatment in creating the district first, before County comprehensive plan amendments and a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) review are approved. Major developments with significant impacts on surrounding roads and public works must get approval through the regional DRI process first, to ensure that the impacts are addressed.

The request presented to the Commissioners included language that the project was consistent with the comprehensive plan, which it is not. In fact, the proposed development in Lee County - which includes 1,630 dwelling units and 80,000 square feet of commercial on 4,157 acres - requires changes to the County Comprehensive Plan. As of this writing no comp plan changes have been reviewed or approved.

Letter re Babcock to Senators Saunders and Aronberg dated Apr. 26, 2007

For more background information on Babcock Ranch



Cape Coral Ceitus Boat Lift


On May 31, 2011, Lee County filed a petition for a formal administrative hearing.  Click here for the petition.

Despite the recommendation of the EMA process that the barrier be replaced, on May 11, 2011, Florida DEP denied Cape Coral's application to replace the structure.  Click here for the Notice of Denial.

Lee County BOCC voted on 9/14/10 that Cape Coral needed to replace the Ceitus Boat Lift structure. On 9/21/10, SCCF was among five speakers recommending replacement before the Charlotte County Commission. Three speakers from Cape Coral and one from DEP recommended implementing the NEBs (and not replacing the barrier). The Charlotte County Commission voted unanimously to replace the barrier.

Click here for 9/15 Cape Coral Daily Breeze story.

Letter from SCCF recommending replacement of the stormwater barrier, dated 7/20/10.

Final Report Section 4 (with NEBs) issued 6/22/10

Cape Coral North Spreader Canal Ecosystem Management Agreement Process -- August 7, 2008 Meeting Draft Report

In March 2008, SCCF joined several local and regional nonprofit organizations and two individuals to challenge an Amended Consent Order between the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and City of Cape Coral over the removal of a stormwater structure known as the Ceitus Boat Lift. The lift was required by the DEP in the 1970s to keep stormwater from exchanging between the extensive Cape Coral canal system -- created before permitting agencies existed -- and the natural waters of Matlacha Pass. A critical function of the structure was to prevent over drainage of ground water from Cape Coral and salt water intrusion into the extensive landscape that had been opened up by the canal network.

In photo, right, the lift is at the right of the photo and the blowout of the mangroves that allows boats to go around the lift is at the left.

Over the years the system has not been maintained. Now, a there is a blowout around the boat lift structure as well as numerous other breeches. all of which compromise the operation of the system. The proposed Consent Order would require the removal of the structure within 90 days and then allow a stakeholder process to meet and develop alternatives over the next year. A similar situation in Charlotte County known as the Manchester Waterway took 10 years to resolve and is only now being rebuilt.

For more background information and links for more information

For a Power Point presentation with background information

For an overview of how the Cape Coral Canal system functions, follow this link to the City of Cape Coral web site:
http://www.capecoral.net/Government/PublicWorks/StormwaterandCanalmaintenance/tabid/692/Default.aspx



Challenge Filed

Petition for Administrative Hearing filed on March 31, 2008 by SCCF and 11 Other Organizations

Feb. 8, 2007 Consent Order No. 15

2006 Consent Order



Captiva Island - Harbour Pointe


The battle has lasted seven years, spanned numerous public and administrative hearings, required hundreds of hours of meetings and reams of letters and reports. But the effort has paid off.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Jacksonville District) has denied Mariner’s permit to develop 24 large, luxury townhomes on a mangrove peninsula adjacent to Captiva and surrounded by Pine Island Sound Aquatic Preserve.



The Denial

The Corps denial states their rationale most succinctly:   “The proposed project would contribute to significant degradation of waters of the United States and would have adverse effects on the aquatic environment particularly mangrove wetlands that perform important functions related to fish and wildlife resources, water quality, and Essential Fish Habitat in Pine Island Sound Aquatic preserve.

“There are less environmentally damaging practicable alternatives available... such as reducing the project footprint to limit development to the existing upland portion of the project site or constructing split development on alternative sites other than the proposed project site. The direct indirect and cumulative impacts of permitting the proposed project have been found to be unacceptable. Accordingly, it has been determined that your project is contrary to the public interest.”

For more information:  Denial Letter, Environmental Assessment, Freedom of Information Act response to SCCF



The Battle Continues

Mariner has appealed the Corps’ decision to Atlanta so with our nonprofit partners, the Captiva Civic Association and Conservancy of Southwest Florida we will continue to oppose this detrimental project.



Lee County Board of County Commissioners Approves Zoning Change

The Lee County Board of County Commissioners on November 3 approved the zoning change for Harbour Pointe.  The next step is permitting by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Attached are two letters outlining the negative impact of this proposed development in mangrove wetlands:
Letter to Colonel Grosskruger from DEP, dated April 8, 2009
Letter to Colonel Grosskruger from SCCF, dated April 24, 2009

November 2008 SCCF Member Update:
On October 8, 2008 the Lee County Hearing Examiner reversed a 2005 decision and recommended approval of Mariner Properties/Plantation Development Ltd request to build 24 units on 2.61 acres of black mangrove wetlands in South Seas Resort. This decision on the Harbour Pointe development would allow an additional six units of density to be transferred from the uplands of South Seas Resort to the mangrove wetlands that helped protect South Seas from Hurricane Charlie in 2004.
SCCF, Captiva Civic Association and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida challenged the project initially before the Lee County Hearing Examiner in 2005 and challenged the South Florida Water Management District permit in 2007. In each challenge the amount of mangrove impact has been reduced from almost five acres to 2.61 acres so our challenges have made a difference. You can read our testimony and specific arguments before the Hearing Examiner and read the HEX findings on our website under Policy Issues/Land Use/Captiva Harbour Pointe.
A hearing before the Lee County Board of County Commissioners to make a final decision on this case is tentatively scheduled for November 3, 2008. Public comment will be taken by anyone who testified in 2005 or 2008. SCCF and CCA will present our arguments against the project at that hearing. We encourage everyone to attend to show support for protecting mangroves from development. Be advised however that because this is a zoning case contact with Commissioners about this case before the hearing is prohibited.

On March 24, SCCF prepared four letters of objection regarding the Federal permit application (through the Army Corps of Engineers) of the Harbour Pointe Development.
Letter to National Marine Fisheries Service
Letter to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Letter to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Cover letter from Lee County Chief Hearing Examiner accompanying decision, dated October 8, 2008
Recommendation of the Hearing Examiner, dated October 7, 2008

October 2008 SCCF Member Update:
The Harbour Pointe project came back before the Lee County Hearing Examiner for a two-day hearing on July 31 and August 7.  The hearing presented the revisions to the project that resulted  from the Hearing Examiner's 2005 recommendation and the Administrative Hearing from the  state permit challenge we petitioned for with the Captiva Civic Association in 2006.  The revised  plan proposes expansive condos over 2.61 acres of black mangrove basin wetlands.  We anticipate that her decision will be issued this November.

Letter to Lee County Hearing Examiner Dated August 7, 2008

February 2007 SCCF Member Update:
In November the Administrative Law Judge who heard our challenge of the South Florida Water Management District permit for Harbour Pointe recommended the permit be denied. His Recommended Order was reviewed by the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board in December. The Board sent the case back to the judge asking him to reconsider his order, citing their opinion that he used the wrong standard in finding that the project failed to meet the District's permit criteria.
In response, Judge Johnston has asked the applicant to modify their permit application to eliminate and minimize impacts and will review input from the applicant and District within 60 days. In addition to the Water Management permit, the project also requires permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and Lee County.

For more background information on Harbour Pointe




DR/GR - Density Reduction/Groundwater Recharge


Link to July 2008 report "Prospects for Southeast Lee County" by  Dover, Kohl & Partners: 
http://www.lee-county.com/dcd/CommunityPlans/SELC_DRGR/FinalReport.htm 


Below are PDF's of Power Point presentations from local groups

Corkscrew Rural Community by Kevin Hill/Corkscrew Rural Community Planning Committee
Wood Storks and the DR/GR Landscape by Jason Lauritsen, Audubon of Florida
Geologic Maps of the State of Florida by Kirk Martin, CDM/Missimer
Ag Business in SW Florida:  Present and Future by The Lutgert College of Business, FGCU
Florida's Gulf Citrus Production Region, by Ron Hamel, FGCU
Wildlife and Wildlife Habitats of the DR/GR  by Jim Beever, SW Fl Regional Planning Council - Part 1:  Intro to pg. 23
Wildlife and Wildlife Habitats of the DR/GR - Part 2:  Pages 24 - 48
Wildlife and Wildlife Habitats of the DR/GR - Part 3:  Pages 49 - 66
Wildlife and Wildlife Habitats of the DR/GR - Part 4:  Pages 67 - 92



Florida 2060



October 23, 2007 - 1,000 Friends of Florida released a study identifying strategies to stop the loss of Florida's rural lands over the next 50 years. Read more...

Florida 2060: A Population Distribution Scenario for the State of Florida, dated Aug. 15, 2006



Phosphate


For a "Phosphate 101" illustrated story from Florida Trend, follow link: 
http://floridatrend.com/extra_article.asp?extraID=20&aID=48865

Click here for letter from SCCF to the Army Corps and U.S. EPA re the scope of the AEIS (Areawide Environmental Impact Statement) for Phosphate Mining in the Central Florida Phosphate district, dated 4/25/11.

9/30/08 Herald Tribune:  Mosaic threatens $618 million lawsuit
Florida mining giant Mosaic Fertilizer said Monday it will file a $618 million lawsuit against Manatee County unless commissioners reverse a Sept. 16 vote that denied permission for Mosaic to mine phosphate on a property in Duette.  Follow link to the rest of the story:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080930/ARTICLE/809300358/0/living

9/11/08 Star Tribune:  Mosaic named in lawsuit alleging price-fixing
Mosaic and seven other large fertilizer companies are accused of price-fixing and collusion in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Minneapolis.  Follow link to the rest of the story:
http://www.startribune.com/business/28269894.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1PciUoaEYY_4PcUU

9/16/08 Phosphate News:
Lee County Commissioners voted Unanimously to approve $650K to challenge the South Fort Meade Mine permit and
Manatee County Commissioners voted 4-3 to deny Mosaic's application to mine the Altman Tract in Manatee County. This is very welcome news.  Even though the mine is only 2,300 acres, half of it covers all the wetlands that make up the headwaters of Horse Creek. This vote by Manatee County is even more significant because Mosaic already had their DEP, Corps, and WMD  permits and had settled with Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota and the Water Authority.  Maybe Mosaic will start seriously thinking about supporting the Area-wide Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that we have been asking for to assess all the resources as a whole instead of in small pieces.

January 2008 Member Update:
In addition to flows from the Caloosahatchee, our coastal water quality is influenced by water flowing into Charlotte Harbor from the Peace River. The northern watershed of the Peace River is heavily impacted by phosphate mining, which contributes phosphorus loading and impacts freshwater flows to the river.

Pictured right and right below are photos of the landscape before and after phosphate mining.

Recognizing that permitted mining practices have resulted in serious impacts to potable and environmental freshwater supplies, Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota Counties have challenged mining permits issued by DEP over the last several years. In response, the international conglomerate mining company, Mosaic, has drafted a settlement offer which proposes a global settlement with the three counties.

Among other conditions, the settlement agreement would require the counties to drop all litigation and agree not to challenge their phosphate mining permits for the next 15 years. In exchange, they propose to provide a six-billion-gallon drinking water reservoir. The settlement does not address where the six billion gallons of freshwater would come from to fill the reservoir in this region that has been experiencing serious water shortages for several years.

The settlement agreement also fails to mention that mining operations are responsible for a loss of over 200 billion gallons of freshwater flow to the river per year. This is an important issue for regional water supplies, both for public consumption and the environment. SCCF has made public comment and written letters to the Charlotte and Lee County Commissions, urging them to reject this settlement offer and to support an Areawide Environmental Impact Study (AEIS) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to look at the cumulative impacts of phosphate mining. Our letters and the proposed settlement agreement are posted on our website. In November the Charlotte County commission voted to approve the settlement. Lee and Sarasota Counties have opposed the settlement, citing objections that include giving away their power to object, binding future commissions to this agreement, and the need for an Areawide Environmental Impact Study (AEIS). To learn more visit www.thephosphaterisk.com.

Wed., Nov. 7, 2007 -- At yesterday’s information session the Lee BOCC was updated on the Phosphate settlement by Ed de la Parte. I am pleased to report that there seemed to be unanimous agreement that the settlement agreement is not in the County's best interest and they do not feel any rush to sign on to the agreement.
Issues:

• They are not willing to entertain any agreement that would bind future commissions
• Need a plan based on science
• Having spent $12M they are not willing to settle for this
• Need a critical plan for future investment
• They are interested in and willing to pitch in for an Area wide EIS if all parties pay the cost
• Consider it a better strategy for all parties to move forward together collectively
• The BOCC elected Commissioner Ray Judah as their representative to meet with the other counties
• Commissioner Tammy Hall suggested that we should work on legislative changes at the State level to provide better protections for water resources.
Letter re Mosaic Settlement Offer to Lee BOCC dated Nov. 3, 2007
Letter re Mosaic Settlement Offer to Charlotte County Commissioners dated Oct. 20, 2007
Copy of the Mosaic Agreement


Health Effects from Phosphate Mining

Florida has several large phosphate deposits that have been mined since the turn of the century. These deposits contain varying concentrations of uranium and thorium. Although generally the radiation dose received from these concentrations is insignificant, the dose can become significant if the concentration increases through mining the ore, if the radionuclides dissolve in drinking water, or if they build up in structures on the deposits. To monitor this situation, the department takes soil, air, and water samples from the land both before and after the mining occurs and measures the radiation levels.

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Environment/radiation/envrad1.htm




Sanibel Land Use Plan


The Sanibel Report, prepared in 1974-75, reports on every facet of the island’s natural systems, such as beach, mangroves, interior wetlands, hydrology and wildlife information. SCCF staff and volunteers provided many of the reports, research, and existing data; recruited experts; and even supplied lodging and financial support for the visiting scientists.
This was incorporated into the Sanibel Plan, adopted in 1976, which is still used by the City of Sanibel as it balances orderly development with the preservation of ecological integrity.

The fundamental concept of Sanibel’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan is design with nature in mind. In order to protect those areas that are most crucial for wildlife and wetland functions, development and density determinations were set according to what the native landscapes could reasonably bear.

The concepts of conservation within City regulations have persevered through the years and in many instances, have been further defined and strengthened. The book, The Sanibel Report, published in 1976, contains both the Sanibel Report and the original Sanibel Plan. Please note that the Sanibel Plan is supplied for informational purposes only. Check with the City of Sanibel for the current Plan, which has been revised over the years.

To download PDF’s of The Sanibel Report:
http://sccf.org/content/122/SCCF-and-The-Sanibel-Report.aspx