October
3, 2013
The public
let the Florida Department of Environmental Protection know what it thought,
Thursday night and soon the ball will be in the state's court.
But
opponents to the sale of parcels on Cayo Costa and North Captiva didn't leave
without getting a little good news.
The
Florida DEP held a public meeting on the State Conservation Land Assessment on
Thursday at the Joseph P. D'Alessandro building in Fort Myers to give the
public and conservation experts a chance to speak up on the possible sale of
more than 80 parcels of state-owned conservation land, including 10 sites on
Cayo Costa and North Captiva islands.
About
10 minutes into the meeting, the 10 became nine, as it was learned that one
parcel on Cayo Costa was dropped from the list of possible surplus land that
could have been put on the selling block.
The
property was one of three taken off the list. It was 1.9 acres on the
peninsula, and the news brought applause from nearly everyone.
When
someone asked why that property was on the list in the first place, Marianne
Gengenbach, chief of environmental services for the state DEP, said she didn't
know, saying only that it was a sign that the process was working.
"The
list has been shrinking because of public input. All public input is logged and
we are paying attention," Gengenbach said.
Gengenbach
said the main idea of the meeting was to explain their process to the people
and address misconceptions people may have about the process.
"This
is our chance to go out, explain our process, and then listen," Gengenbach
said.
The
Florida Legislature allocated $20 million for Florida Forever, the state's
conservation and recreation lands acquisition program.
It
also approved spending of up to an additional $50 million funded by the sale of
state-owned lands no longer needed for conservation purposes.
In
turn, the DEP organized a land assessment, with nearly 170 parcels, totalling
5,200 acres, put up for consideration. Of those, two dozen sites on Cayo Costa
and North Captiva were considered.
Gengenbach
said one of the concerns people have had is that they fear the land will be
sold to a developer and turned into a mansion or even a Wal-Mart.
And
the nearly packed house let them know how they felt, with everyone opposed to
the sale of the local properties while singing the praises of Cayo Costa State
Park for its environmental importance. Nearly everyone took to the podium for
their three minutes to oppose the possible sale.
"What
strikes me is the complicated process is going in the wrong direction. I would
like to see this done in the direction of retaining property and buying
more," said Richard Shine.
"With
ownership comes a responsibility of taking care of the island," said Margi
Nanney, who has owned on Cayo Costa for 38 years. "Florida has been a
champion in preserving land and now I feel betrayed."
"The
state has lost its compass and the train has come off the tracks," former
Lee County commissioner Ray Judah said. "Our state is based on the
environment drawing people from around the world to our beaches."
Philip
Buchanan of the Pine Island Civic Association said he was stunned this is even
being considered.
"We're
flabbergasted that this is even occurring. The environmental importance of Cayo
Costa goes without saying," Buchanan said. "Maybe those in
Tallahassee don't know about the sea turtles nesting or the endangered species
like the indigo snakes or all the tourists and the jobs tourism creates."
As
of Thursday, 78 parcels, or 3,400 acres, remain on the chopping block, among
them, seven parcels on the south end of Cayo Costa and two on the south end of
Captiva.
The
first public meeting was in Pensacola, the final two will be held next week in
Viera and Orlando.
-
Associate editor Tiffany Repecki contributed to this report.
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