Week of JUNe 21, 2023
VOLUME 61, NUMBER 31
Islands rally in opposition to proposed amendments By TIFFANY REPECKI
trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
City to host annual storm seminar for island The city of Sanibel will hold its Hurricane Seminar on June 23 at 1 p.m. at BIG ARTS. The city conducts the informative seminar every year to educate residents, businesses and island workers, according to officials. It is free and reservations are not required. This year's featured speakers include: ∫ Lee County Public Safety Director Benjamin Abes will discuss family emergency planning, evacuation decision making, evacuations, sheltering and basic recovery information. ∫ Sanibel and Fire Rescue District Fire Chief Kevin Barbot will discuss search and rescue operations and the district's role in hurricane operations.
∫ F.I.S.H. of Sanibel-Captiva Executive Director Maria Espinoza will discuss special needs issues on Sanibel and Captiva. ∫ Interim Public Works Director Scott Krawczuk will discuss the city's post-storm recovery plan. ∫ Sanibel Building Official Craig Mole will review city building codes. ∫ Sanibel Police Chief William Dalton will lead the seminar and review the city's storm plans. Those unable to attend can watch the live steam on the city's Facebook page. BIG ARTS is at 900 Dunlop Road, Sanibel.
There was a flurry of activity on the islands last week as Sanibel and Captiva officials, organizations, property owners and more united in opposition to changes being proposed by Lee County staffers. The county commission was scheduled to consider amendments to the Captiva Code in the Land Development Code at its June 20 meeting. At its Zoning and Comprehensive Plan Amendment hearing today, June 21, the board was to consider changes to the Captiva Community Plan in the Lee Plan. The Captiva Civic Association briefly summarized the amendments as follows: ∫ Raises the permitted heights on Captiva by 11 feet — allowing the construction of three-story buildings above base flood elevation. ∫ Exempts South Seas Island Resort See AMeNDMeNTS, page 18
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Chamber, city celebrate Lighthouse Beach Park reopening Representatives from the city of Sanibel and SanCap Chamber, along with island residents and visitors from more than five hours away, gathered on the morning of June 16 to celebrate the official final opening of the city's beach parks with a ribbon-cutting at Lighthouse Beach Park on Sanibel's east end. “The opening of Lighthouse Beach Park is a testament to resiliency, tenacity and good old-fashioned hard work,” Mayor Richard Johnson said. “Our Public
Works Department, led by interim Director Scott Krawczuk, has done a wonderful job of getting our final Gulf beach park reopened today.” “Our recovery partnership with Synergy has stabilized the (Sanibel) lighthouse until the missing leg can be recast,” he added. “We celebrated with the United
States Coast Guard relighting the Sanibel Light so that we could continue to 'shine on' in our island community.” On Feb. 28, the community had gathered at the park, then still closed but temporarily reopened that morning, to witness the momentous relighting of the lighthouse's beacon. It had lost one of its legs and its historic lighthouse keeper's cottages as a result of Hurricane Ian and its storm surge on Sept. 28. The June 16 reopening brings accessibility to the beach parking lot. The lighthouse base remains fenced off from See ReoPeNING, page 19
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