Judd Creek to get new review from Cape Coral staff
An ordinance to remove the Judd Creek sub-district from the city of Cape Coral’s Comprehensive Plan did not go to public hearing earlier this month after city staff withdrew the ordinance.
This was much to the chagrin of the property’s developers, who were assured the city would take care of any issues before the April 7 meeting and now will have to wait again.
That ordinance will be replaced with a new one that will be heard first by the Planning and Zoning Commission later this month before advancing to a new transmittal public hearing with the City Council on May 5.
A proposed amendment will include changes to the Judd Creek Sub district rather than an elimination of the Sub district, which could mean an additional 12 to 18 months before shovels could go into the ground.
Christina St. Amand, of North Fort Myers, said there was little consolation, seeing as Council had approved a 60 percent per acre density increase two years ago.
“You scratched out 10 and put in 16 units per acre in the pages buried within the document,” St. Amand said. “How can you read the 100-plus pages before approving, along with the other reams of paper put in front of you every week? If you did, did you notice those two little scratches and didn’t question why it was happening?”
Larry St. Amand said it was interesting how the city was able to meet with the developers when he had tried for weeks.
“It’s been pretty shameful with us trying to contact our local government. I went to that neighborhood meeting and they said they have these parcels and they’re selling all of them. It’s just going to degrade North Fort Myers, which isn’t actually a city,” Larry said.
In January, the council decided to continue the ordinance after hearing from residents from North Fort Myers and Community Development Director Vince Cautero, who were concerned about overdevelopment in environmentally sensitive areas with three natural creeks.
On March 1, the Judd Creek developer hosted a neighborhood meeting to explain the project and hear from surrounding property owners.
Following the meeting, alternatives to removing the Sub-district Overlay language were discussed. These alternatives would retain the Sub-district Overlay but change the text to ensure that the 1,170 maximum dwelling unit limit is retained.
Christine said the project now seems to be on the fast track for development, with the ordinance set to be what she says is a back-door way to develop the property with low density.
Dave Troxton, who formerly represented Coulter Land Partners the ownership group that owns the Judd Creek property, said they have been trying to be good stewards to the land.
“We wanted to remove another restrictive layer, the Judd Creek Preserve sub-district. We’ve been up front, had workshops, met with the residents and were willing to put in more density restrictions, but it will never be heard,” Troxton said.
Paul Martin, who now represents Coulter Land Partners, said this would have been approved if someone had been at the Jan. 4 meeting. Nobody could physically attend because of the COVID pandemic.
“We are looking for 10 units per acre and to cap it at 1,170 acres. It’s not 16 units per acre, that’s what we’ve been trying to put in place and work with the city to get this done,” Martin said. “Had we moved with our own comp plan amendment last year, we would have been done with it by now. This will cost us at least six months.”
The end result is that the developers, who already lost one builder, could lose another while waiting for a new ordinance to be drafted.
Alexis Crespo, planner for Waldrop Engineering, said without the ordinance, the land will be developed for commercial use.
“We’re planning to develop for multi-family, which the community would prefer. The 1,170 units would limit the density, so ideally we would like to adopt,” Crespo said.