Captiva developer plans grassroots effort to win approval to rebuild Ian-ravaged hotel

Owners of South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island are planning to launch a grass roots effort to convince residents that its plans for parts of the venerable resort, battered by Hurricane Ian in September, will mean updates and improvements to its facilities, some of which have been on the site for more than 40 years.

Hurricane Ian destroyed the hotel on the property, which will be rebuilt to provide more services typical of modern hotels. Winter Park-based Timber Resorts, the lead company in a consortium that bought the hotel for $50 million in 2021, plans to build a hotel with parking under the hotel complex to end the need to travel between distant parking lots and the registration desk.

Timbers Resorts also plans to restore damage to the resort caused by the hurricane. "Like every resident and visitor to Captiva, we loved our island and resort as it was," Timbers said in a press release. The company plans to restore the property in a manner consistent with its history.

There has been opposition on the island and within the environmental protection community about plans from Timbers Resorts, owner of South Seas, to rebuild the on-site hotel and accompanying residential properties.

James Evans, CEO of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, told Lee County commissioners at a recent hearing that members of the community are "very concerned about changes that would significantly increase the height of buildings on Captiva.

"We would really like to see a full staff analysis of the impacts of the land development changes on the communities affected," Evans said. "That would include a full traffic study, evacuation impacts as it relates to hurricane evacuation routes, impacts on the infrastructure and the sewer project that is proposed on Captiva with the Sanibel sewer system."

A report provided by the Lee County staff has maintained that "land owners seeking to make their properties more resilient are left with limited ability to rebuild their properties while retaining the same amount of usable living space within the structure."

A recommended amendment to the county rules would "clarify ways in which property owners in Lee County can rebuild their property to the standards necessary to minimize the future risk of property damage," the staff report said.

Greg Spencer, chief executive of Timbers Resorts has stated that the property needs to be updated to what current potential customers expect in destination resort, while retaining the iconic nature of the property.

"We made changes right off the bat," Spencer said "When I first got out there, there were belly flop contests and things I don’t think were in keeping with the community and we stopped that immediately."

South Seas is limited to elevation of 35 feet above the grade at the site or 42 feet above high tide, whichever is less. It has the impact of compressing buildings to reduce the number of floors in buildings.

"We are stuck at 35 feet over grade and there is no exception for that," Spencer said. "We're just trying to get our hotel rebuilt and we can't."

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Spencer has argued that as requirements for minimum height at the shore have increased to protect the island from the sea, residential structures must squeeze or eliminate some planned floors because of the 35-foot or 42-foot maximum height requirements. A building of one story in structures such as a new South Seas hotel would be no taller than 18 feet per story which could mean even a second story could be too high.

To get more room for additional stories, the company may seek to create a "planned unit development" in which the new facility is considered an entire project and the developer works with the county on an acceptable design. A planned development requires more time for the county and the property owner to agree on construction and design rules.

Already, the decision to schedule public hearings on the South Seas' plans until after Labor Day means the work schedule is pushed forward by about more than two months.

"The earliest it could have been done, if this stayed on schedule, would have been around the February or March time frame of next year," Spencer said. "We support moving this back 75 days, that will push that back to May or June of next year − that's before we even know that we have the height. "

Some longer delays in replaced damaged properties could run into 2026, Spencer said.

Residents voice concerns

David Mintz, vice president of the Captiva Community Panel, said he is concerned with amendments to land use rules proposed "without any input from the Captiva community," which has had a role in past decisions on land use on the island.

The commission hearing in June drew more than 100 people, indicating that residents and property owners on Captiva are watching the situation.

"I think people's input needs to be part of this, and I honestly believe in talking to Mr. Spencer, he's got unbelievable plans and unbelievable diagrams that he is anxious to show to the community and I think they should see them," County Commissioner Kevin Ruane said.

"I just want to be transparent with the community, the plans need to be there," he said. "If you don't give people certainty and you don't give them clarity, you're going to be in a situation where they're going to think the worst."

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: South Sea Island plans sessions with Captiva residents on buildings