Cape Coral golf course neighbors oppose possible apartment development

Editor's note: CKJ Enterprises has withdrawn its application from Wednesday's planning and zoning hearing, and the community still plans to hold its event on Monday. 

Cape Coral neighbors are upset over a possible 653-unit apartment development proposed to replace the Hunter's Run golf course.

On Wednesday, April 5, at 9 a.m., the Cape Coral Planning and Zoning Commission will hear a zoning request for the site and provide their recommendations to the city council.

Hunter's Run, located at 1006 SE 4th Place, is a nearly 30-acre parcel surrounded by single-family homes, New Hope Church and near Nicholas Parkway.

Charlie Pease is one of the residents who live in front of the course, and he regularly plays on that golf course alongside many residents.

He wanted to become a full-fledged member, but those plans could change now.

"There are many people on the property who have bought because it's a golf course because it's parks and recreation space," Pease said. "Could you imagine having a 25-foot setback on your back property line in Cape Coral and looking up at a four-story apartment building?"

The owner, CKJ Enterprises, is selling the course to WB Property Group, a property management group out of New York, which applied to change the zoning and develop the parcel.

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If approved, zoning would change from parks and recreation and single-family residential to multi-family, and allow for between 653 and 742 apartment units in several four-story buildings with greenways setting units back between 25 to 100 feet.

Proposed amenities include a wellness center and pickleball courts.

Background and land-use change

Pease said the course was designed and built in the 1960s by Dick Wilson, the architect responsible for the original Cape Coral Country Club off Palm Tree Boulevard.

He said the two golf courses are "linked throughout history and that the council has consistently held the position for the past 18 years that they are not going to rezone the old golf club property from parks and recreation."

Joe Mazurkiewicz, the owner of BJM Consulting and consultant on this development for the buyer, opposed past rezoning efforts of the original Cape Coral Country Club because they were for single-family homes but supports this because it will bring more multi-family housing to the city.

He said the owner of the course has been trying to sell for years.

"It's been on the market for a very long time," Mazurkiewicz said.

The attorney representing the owner of the golf course, Eric P. Feichthaler, confirms this.

"My understanding is after 21 years, a very long time, he's ready to move on to something else," Feichthaler said.

Documents by planning division staff show they recommend denial for the rezoning change.

"We're still working with the city because their initial recommendation was to oppose," Mazurkiewicz said.

While the city needs multi-family development, the report finds that the location is not compatible with the neighborhood.

According to the report, the large density and the maximum height of the development "would lead to a development that is out of scale with the surrounding low scale, low height, single-family residential neighborhood."

The neighborhood is also not equipped for the potential traffic.

"The additional traffic presents potential negative impacts with the residential neighborhood, which may be further compounded by the limited intersection at the arterial, which may direct more traffic through the neighborhood itself," the report said.

Plans were submitted in September 2022, and the developer is currently working on ways to get the city to approve the development.

Mazurkiewicz said the developer plans to reach out to the community moving forward.

The plans could change, and he said what's presented is a "tentative footprint."

"That's how we solidified that they want a 100-foot buffer around it with no buildings within 100 feet, and so that's what we're gonna do," Mazurkiewicz said.

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What's next for Hunter's Run?

Pease said 100 residents in the area met earlier this week and agreed with the city's assessment to deny the land-use change.

"The positions need to be consistent, and they need to be consistent with the city's comprehensive plan goals, and it should not be rezoned. It needs to remain a golf course. It needs to remain parks and recreation. We need to save our parks and recreation," Pease said.

Mazurkiewicz said plans are still moving forward, and after the land use hearing, there will be four public hearings, and the ultimate decision rests with the council.

Pease said he doesn't see a compromise coming and emphasizes the need to keep green space in the city.

"We cannot continue to pave paradise to put up apartment complexes in the middle of long-established neighborhoods and especially on this type of property where the density makes absolutely no sense," Pease said.

The neighborhood plans to have its community input event on Monday, April 3, at New Hope Church, 431 Nicholas Pkwy E, at 5:30 p.m. and invites residents and city staff to attend.

Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at Lzambrano@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral's Hunter's Run Golf course may be redeveloped as apartments