Hearing examiner approves Windjammer
The Lee County hearing examiner has approved the Windjammer RV Resort with conditions, and the proposal has tentatively been set to go before the Lee County commissioners on Feb. 4.
A hearing was held in November for the Windjammer RV Resort to rezone a 57-acre property on Pine Island, earmarked for a 302 residential multi-family development, to a recreational vehicle development for an RV park with a maximum of 200 sites.
The property, which is located at the western end of Turtle Trail Lane, is already largely cleared due to a development order approving the original multi-family units, which expires on Aug. 18, 2013.
A lengthy discussion was held during the hearing in November, including many comments from residents who were not in favor of having an RV park on the property. One of the biggest concerns dealt with if the park was going to be termed transient or non-transient.
Laura Belflower, hearing examiner, addressed that concern for the Windjammer RV Resort in her recommendation.
“This development is not limited to, or restricted by the terms ‘transient’ or ‘non-transient’ units or uses. However, under no circumstance may units be used as other than temporary living quarters or occupied by permanent residents for more than 12 consecutive months,” she said.
The hearing examiner’s recommendation also highlighted restrictions on leasing.
“The developer, future property owners, the park management entity, and/or the Property Owners Association for the development must, as part of their recorded rules and regulations or other owners documents, incorporate a provision restricting property owners from occupying or leasing the subject RV lots for longer than 12 consecutive months or leasing the lots for less than one week.”
The size of the lots, as well as setbacks were also discussed in Belflower’s recommendation.
The storage structures, which are limited to one per lot, can have a maximum size of 10 feet by 12 feet. The storage unit must also comply with a certain model.
Accessory units was another topic discussed in detail during the hearing last year. According to Belflower’s recommendation, the units must be located on the same “tract, parcel, outparcel, or RV lot where a principal use is located.”
The site cannot include carports, utility rooms, enclosures, cabanas or any other attachments on the RV lot.
The site, which is limited to a maximum of 200 RV lots, can only be used for travel trailers, which include fifth wheel trailers, along with motor homes. Such vehicles as camping trailers, truck campers, van conversions, park trailers or camping cabins cannot be used on the premise.
The minimum perimeter setback for development is 40 feet and a 20-foot street setback. The corner lot street setback is one full street setback and one at 50 percent of the required street setback. The side setback is 5 feet and rear setback is 10 feet. The minimum lot size is 3,6000 feet with a minimum lot width of 40 feet and 90 feet for the minimum lot depth. The maximum height is 35 feet or one story high.
The site regulations for the clubhouse and amenities are 15 feet for the street setback, 20 feet for the side setback and 20 feet for the rear setback. The minimum lot size is 20,000 square feet with a minimum lot width of 100 feet and depth of 200 feet. The maximum height of the clubhouse is 35 feet, which is 2 stories.