Planning Commission Delays Decision on Isles of Capri High-Rise

After a full day of hearings on the Isles of Capri high-rise condominiums rezone request, the Collier County Planning Commission ran out of time and tabled making a decision until their next meeting on September 15th. 

The meeting had developer FCC Beach and Yacht, as represented by attorney Rich Yovanovich, making its case for the county to amend the Growth Management Plan (GMP) and rezone the site to allow for three 168-foot towers housing up to 108 luxury condominiums. Isles of Capri residents are strongly opposed to the plans and showed up to the meeting in force. The chamber was a sea of “Save our Capri Lifestyle” t-shirts and at the start of the meeting, over 60 people had signed up remotely to speak in addition to those in the audience. By the end of the hearing, 20 were still online waiting for their chance to speak.

The meeting started with Yovanovich’s presentation attempting to show that not only is the development “complementary and compatible” with the surrounding community, but rezoning is applicable because the county already has an exception allowing for greater density. County staff, who recommended denying the petition, rebuffed that assertion. Mike Bosi, Director of Planning and Zoning, said that the petitioner “should not be allowed to build more than 20 units per acre as requested” and that it is inconsistent with the future land use element of the Growth Management Plan. Bosi also said that “if you are asking for more density than what the GMP is allotted for, to increase that density there would be a provision for affordable housing.” And while the developer is saying they are eligible for 69 units under the current GMP and asking for 108, Bosi does not agree that those 69 units are there. As Director of Planning and Zoning, Bosi is the interpreter of the Growth Management Plan. There were also concerns that approving this rezone density change would create precedent, allowing for other commercially zoned properties on Capri to follow suit and build tall.

Lawyers representing SaveCapri.org and Capri Community Inc. (CCI) had the opportunity to speak and the planning commissioners posed many questions to both Yavonovich, county staff and the Capri lawyers during their respective presentations. Only a handful of Capri residents were able to speak during public comment before time ran out so that portion of the hearing will be continued. The planning commissioners discussed how to proceed at the next meeting with Commissioner Vernon and Attorney Yovanovich suggesting limiting the number of public comments to those present but unable to speak. The county attorney interrupted to indicate they did not believe that you are able to limit the number of public comments.

The planning commissioners encouraged attorneys for SaveCapri.org and CCI to reach out to the developer to discuss better alternatives before the hearing picks up again on the 15th. We reached out to John Mueller, President of SaveCapri.org for his thoughts on the meeting. “As our mission statement indicates, we are not opposed to development on Isles of Capri,” he said. “What we are opposed to is any zoning change or variance that will allow high rise residential towers to be built in the C-3 business zone. We are looking forward to continuing the discussion and being able to present our case.” In response to the contentious dialogue between Yovanovich and county staff he said, “I was disappointed how the county staff got thrown under the bus. They worked their tails off on this issue.”

The September 15th meeting will pick up with public comment followed by Yovanovich’s rebuttal. Then the planning commissioners will decide whether to recommend approval or denial of the petition to the board of county commissioners. The BCC is the final decision maker on the petition.