The Greater Pine Island Civic Association met on Aug. 3 via Zoom. Here is an overview of the meeting. Page down to view the recording.
Treasurer’s Report
Board Treasurer Mike Sweeney for June/July
- June: $2,647.29 in the checking account, $16,760.60 in the money market account and $76,328.47 in a certificate of deposit. June money in: $70 for membership dues, June money out: $75 for Mango Mania table rent.
- July: $3,052.02 in the checking account, $16,760.74 in the money market account and $76,328.47 in a certificate of deposit. June money in: $550 for membership dues, July money out: $187.27 for GPICA brochures.
Update on Publix Plaza Update (Calusa Cay CPD (DOS2014-00027) and Orchid Cove at Pine Island (DOS2005-00354-A05)
After Public Meeting on June 29, 2021, GPICA sent a letter to Dave Loveland, Lee County Manager, Community Development Operations, informing him that in sum, the Greater Pine Island Civic Association submits that the residents’ have concerns and strongly oppose the zoning amendments that were requested.
Overview on appropriate contact of Lee County Board of County Commissioners
Board President Helen Fox
- A person may contact the Department of community Development at 239-533-8585 to find which staff member is responsible for reviewing a development and where they should direct comments about a particular development.
- The public can go to and speak during any Public Information Meeting. Developers must conduct a Public Information Meeting prior to proceeding to the Hearing Examiner.
If a participant (the public) decides to appeal on a zoning change, they must appear before the Hearing Examiner or otherwise become a participant for the case in which they wish to testify. The law does not permit the public to address the BOCC directly. - The only way the public can address the BOCC regarding a zoning case is strictly limited to testimony presented to the Hearing Examiner. They can only submit testimony concerning the correctness of the findings of fact or conclusions of law contained in the record, or to allege the discovery of new, relevant information which was not available at the time of the hearing before the Hearing Examiner.
Real Estate 101 basics discussion
- President Helen Fox and Noel Andress made presentations regarding the history of the Pine Island Plan and requirements that developers must go thru to legally build commercial or multi family developments on Greater Pine Island.
- View a video of Noel’s powerpoint presentation (no discussion)
- View a PDF of Noel’s powerpoint presentation
Automatic renewal of old development orders
- Approximately 13,000 properties are “grandfathered in” before the Pine Island plan zoning rules took effect and are already approved to be built. These development orders are automatically renewed every five years without public knowledge or input.
- Task Force: We discussed creating a task force of concerned citizens to find all the older development orders on the island. This data can be used to address the County Commissioners when asking them to change the process of automatic renewal.
Kayak Launch site (Pine Island Preserve at Matlacha Pass)
- The original public information session in April had technical difficulties. The GCIPA requested TDM Civil Engineering to reschedule the meeting. This meeting will be rescheduled.
Bocilla Island
- The buyer of the property behind and including Capt’n Con’s Restaurant plans on keeping Capt’n Con’s open for reminder of their lease. During a county meeting with the new owner/developer, it was found that the county will not allow a package plant in that area, so the development would need to connect with the main sewer line that currently ends at Pine Island Center. Since this is very costly, we doubt that the developer will be able to build homes on that site.
Septic Conversion Task Force Update
- It is estimated that there are 4500-5000 septic tanks on Pine Island. Therefore looking into septic to sewer conversion is essential to improve the water quality around our island. Pine Island does have a Wastewater Treatment Plant that is currently serving Matlacha and Cherry Estates. The Task Force has identified the existing package plants and water quality indicators, and will present their findings to Pamala Keys, Director of Lee County Utilities. Lee County has authorized Ms. Keys’ department to conduct a county-wide septic to sewer study. Our team bring all our data to the county in order to keep Pine Island in the forefront of the study.
Traffic update
- On June 15, 2021, members of the GPICA Board, along with representatives from the Greater Pine Island Chamber of Commerce, met with Randy Cerchie, Director of the Lee County Department of Transportation and members of his staff. The traffic study conducted by the county at the four way stop can be found at https://gpica.org/traffic-and-road-safety/
The problem of getting on and off the island during the Winter season was discussed, and how a mixed use path might be built thru Matlacha. GPICA has invited Mr. Cerchie to give a presentation about possible ways to improve traffic flow on Greater Pine Island at our October 5, 2021 membership meeting.
Announcements:
- We are currently reviewing and updating the GPICA Bylaws. Our changes will be presented to the membership for approval when ready.
- The structure for GPICA membership will changed from $10.00 per person to $15 per person or $25 per couple. Lifetime membership is $350.00 per person or $500.00 per couple.