Council Approves Rose Marina Requests After Marathon Meeting

A packed Marco Island City Council chamber remained filled past midnight Thursday as residents urged the council to slow down and examine unanswered questions surrounding cruise ship operations at Rose Marina. Despite extensive opposition, warnings of possible legal challenges and concerns about environmental impacts, traffic, parking and public awareness, the council approved all three requests associated with the marina’s redevelopment.

The council also approved the tentative fiscal year 2027 budget, heard concerns about Marco Island’s future potable water supply and honored Ruth McCann for 34 years of service to the Marco Island Civic Association, or MICA. Several items were postponed after the meeting stretched to nearly 1 a.m.

Council member Bonita Schwan participated remotely via Zoom but could not vote on the three Rose Marina matters because they were quasi-judicial proceedings.

Divided Council Approves All Three Rose Marina Requests

The council approved all three Rose Marina requests, with Chair Darrin Palumbo casting the deciding vote on two of the measures. The landscaping and waste disposal variance and the boat dock resolution each passed 4 to 2, with Palumbo supplying the decisive fourth vote. Council members Stephen Gray and Tamara Goehler opposed both measures. The conditional use permit for open rack boat storage passed 5 to 1, with Gray casting the only opposing vote.

Council members Deb Henry and Kevin Dohm led the effort to approve the requests, making and seconding the motions on all three measures.

The conditional use approval included a modified screening plan with sections of eight-foot fencing alternating with landscaping. It also included language regarding use of an off-site parking area across Bald Eagle Drive.

Gray questioned that parking language at the beginning of the meeting. He said it had not appeared in the resolution approved by the Planning Board and argued that, by law, the off-site parking component should require separate approval by both the Planning Board and City Council. Assistant City Attorney David Tolces advised that the concern could be addressed during the hearing. No separate vote or substantive resolution of Gray’s procedural objection followed. The issue was dropped as the hearing proceeded, and the council approved the conditional use permit with the parking language included.

Cruise Ships Dominate the Debate

Although city staff and Rose Marina representatives repeatedly said the council was not being asked to approve cruise ships, the possibility of recurring cruise ship operations dominated the discussion.

Vice Chair Rene Champagne questioned staff extensively about how Rose Marina began docking cruise ships in December 2023 without first approaching the city or obtaining specific approval. Staff confirmed that Rose Marina had not discussed the first cruise ship’s arrival, its passenger load, or its operational requirements with Growth Management before it began operating.

“Who approved cruise ships? When did they approve cruise ships? Show me a document approving cruise ships,” Champagne said. “There’s no such document.”

Tolces responded that the city code contains no separate process requiring approval of a cruise ship use and that the city considers such vessels part of the marina use allowed under a 2003 resolution.

Champagne was not persuaded. “We didn’t approve cruise ships, so are we saying Rose Marina self-decided they could bring in cruise ships? Never got an approval,” he asked.

Champagne ultimately voted for the boat dock resolution because denying it would not stop cruise ships and could return the marina to an earlier site plan with fewer restrictions. However, he said the city must undertake a much broader examination of cruise ship operations. He also called for special meetings on major projects so council members and residents would have adequate time to understand and discuss them.

Residents Ask Council to Slow Down

Many residents said the problem was not opposition to Rose Marina as a business. Their concern was that the approvals could facilitate a much more intensive cruise ship operation without an independent environmental review or a clear public process.

Questions included the effects on Factory Bay, seagrass, manatees, turbidity, diesel emissions, wastewater, noise, and neighboring seawalls. Residents also questioned whether transporting passengers by bus was being used to avoid parking requirements that would otherwise limit intensity and what precedent that could set islandwide.

James Holloway, who identified himself as an attorney representing MICA, warned about procedural irregularities, public notice and the rights of nearby property owners. He said some residents living within 300 feet of the marina could have legal standing to challenge the approvals.

“We have the opportunity to resolve issues while they’re small issues and misunderstandings that could later turn into actual legal issues and significant barriers to a potentially great development,” Holloway told the council. He urged the city to delay its decision so residents could better understand and respond to what was being approved.

Other speakers also warned that an approval could face a legal challenge because of deed restrictions, riparian rights and alleged inconsistencies with the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code.

Palumbo, who promoted approval throughout the meeting, rejected the argument that residents had not received sufficient opportunity to participate. While listing documents available from the Planning Board proceedings, he told those questioning whether adequate information had been provided to the public to “do your homework.”

Before the final vote, Palumbo framed the matter as one of property rights. In defense of his support for approving Rose Marina’s plans despite the cruise ship controversy, Palumbo said, “As of right now today, we have a city attorney saying they didn’t have to ask.”

Residents and Candidates Speak Against Approval

Among the residents who spoke against approval were three candidates for Marco Island City Council. Rick Woodworth, Teri Sommerfeld, and Dennis Bartolucci all urged the city to address cruise ship concerns before moving forward.

Woodworth cited unanswered environmental questions involving recurring visits and asked the council to add a condition explicitly stating that approval of the dock resolution did not constitute permanent authorization for cruise ship operations. Woodworth’s proposed condition received no discussion from the council. No council member moved to add it, and the resolution was approved without it.

Bartolucci compared the cruise ship to a floating hotel, arguing that moving a hotel from land to water should not exempt it from regulations intended to control intensity and community impacts.

Sommerfeld said residents had not remained in the chamber past midnight because they were concerned about dumpsters, fences, or landscaping. “They’re concerned about what cruise ships mean to this island,” she said, adding that confusion surrounding the scope and potential intensity of future operations represented a failure by the applicant and the city to be fully transparent with the public.

Several residents and marina supporters spoke in favor of the plans. They argued that Rose Marina had followed the process established in the city code, that the applications met the approval criteria and that denying the requests would not prevent cruise ships from continuing to dock there.

The council approved the plans, but the controversy appeared far from over. Speakers warned of a possible legal challenge, and the city has yet to confront the broader question of whether cruise ship operations should be restricted or regulated on Marco Island.

Rising Demand Raises Questions About Marco Island’s Potable Water

A presentation on Marco Island’s potable water system revealed that demand is increasing much faster than previously projected. The city is also reaching its current treatment capacity on days of peak demand. Storage can manage those temporary spikes, but the city will need additional wells, treatment improvements, and regulatory approvals as demand continues to grow.

Water and Sewer General Manager Jeff Poteet emphasized that the city is currently in a good position but must continue planning and investing to remain ahead of growing demand.

Palumbo then raised a concern he said he had heard from residents.

“There’s some belief amongst a very small portion of our population that our source water, our wells, are not going to be enough to handle the Marco demand as the years go by,” Palumbo said. “Can you speak to that?”

“There’s absolutely some truth to that,” Poteet responded. “We are going to have to drill more wells. The wells don’t last forever.”

Poteet confirmed that the existing well field is becoming saltier and said it can eventually become economically unfeasible to treat the water.

Bartolucci, who previously worked for a utility regulatory commission, warned that development north of Marco Island could affect the city’s surface water supply, while increasingly salty groundwater could eventually force wells to be abandoned. He urged the city to determine how long its current supply will last, where additional water will come from, and what it will cost.

Sommerfeld noted that average daily water use increased approximately 40% between 2015 and 2025, yet the city projects almost no additional increase through 2040. She questioned whether that projection adequately accounts for proposed developments, including the Hilton expansion, Rose Marina, and Walker’s Cay.

The presentation also addressed PFAS, commonly called forever chemicals. PFAS have been detected in the surface water serving the north plant, and levels could exceed a future regulatory limit. The city is considering low-pressure reverse osmosis to remove PFAS and other contaminants by approximately 2031.

Citing increasing demand, peak usage above current capacity, declining well fields and PFAS concerns, Sommerfeld urged the council to monitor water use more closely and consider available capacity when reviewing development proposals. “Think about overdevelopment, guys,” she said.

Tentative Budget and Millage Approved

The council approved the city’s tentative fiscal year 2027 millage rate and budget, along with the tentative millage rate and budget for the Hideaway Beach Special Taxing District. The final budget hearing is scheduled for Sept. 22.

Ruth McCann Honored for 34 Years of Service

The council presented a proclamation honoring Ruth McCann for 34 years of dedicated service to MICA. The proclamation recognized her leadership, institutional knowledge and commitment to protecting neighborhood character, supporting community standards and improving residents’ quality of life. Her husband, Dennis, was also thanked for his longtime care of Residents’ Beach, including its grounds, flowers and boardwalk.

Remaining Business Postponed

Because the Rose Marina hearings continued past midnight, the council postponed Schwan’s proposal to prohibit electric bicycles and motorized scooters on sidewalks. Regular bicycles would still be allowed on sidewalks, while all bicycles and permitted devices could continue using shared-use paths, bicycle lanes and streets.

The council adjourned shortly before 1:00 AM after more than seven hours of discussion.