Hearing examiner continues Cape 84 Acres
A hearing on a long-awaited plan for a large multi-family development in the city of Cape Coral will have to wait a little while longer.
Hearing Examiner Anne Dalton on Tuesday continued the hearing on the proposed Cape 84 Acres housing development to Dec. 17 so that the developers can meet with the development’s possible next-door neighbors, Sandoval.
It seems since the last time Ensite, the developers of the project, met with the Sandoval, the entire composition of the homeowners association board has changed, leaving them uninformed regarding the plans for Cape 84 acres.
Ensite representatives said there was no sticking point, and that they will meet with the community and find out how they feel.
“We met with them back in June and there was another board and we were unaware the board changed because we were proceeding with the project,” said Brian Smith, Ensite owner. “Now that there’s a new board, we look forward to hearing from them and ironing out any issues.
Smith said the project is not too intrusive on the neighboring Sandoval, as there won’t be sun shelters or changes in the lake banks and the setback will be far from the closest homes.
Don Wells, president of the Sandoval Neighborhood Association, said they are looking for additional information.
“I don’t think we were informed as to what was going on due, in part, to the change in our board. Also, I think there was a lack of communication from the developers and the city. We heard about letters being sent out about a hearing and we were concerned because we knew nothing about it.”
MSI Holdings, based in Rhode Island, has requested approval to build a 236-unit single- and multi-family development with 78 buildings in three phases. The 84.7 acres of property is east of Veterans Parkway next to Sandoval near Surfside Boulevard. Most properties will surround two large lakes.
The land at one time was zoned commercial, but was changed to agriculture and then to residential last year.
The developers requested several deviations during the presentation, which drew some concern about what it would do to the area and how it would impact nearby properties, especially since much of the development would be on the water.
“When you’re over water, sound really travels. I live on a lake and my neighbors have a party, I can sit on my lanai and entertain the entire conversation,” Wells said. “We’ll see what the options are. They worked well with Cape Royal and we’re looking forward to having a relationship.”
Nearly 200 e-mails have been received in regard to the project, many of which were received in the days before the hearing. Dalton said she had only read about a quarter of them.
Cape Coral City Councilmember Marilyn Stout, who lives in Sandoval, was also at the meeting and said she was looking forward to working with the developer.
“They have been very cooperative with Royal Tee with the barrier they did not have to put in, but did. I am looking forward to a good outcome,” Stout said. “We will be good neighbors.