For several years, legal troubles have dogged Captiva’s storied South Seas resort, as neighbors have pushed back on redevelopment plans from multiple angles.
A series of storms did about a billion dollars’ worth of battering. Most drastic was 2022’s Hurricane Ian, which tore open almost every building on the landmark property, which takes up nearly a third of the barrier island.
The ownership group decided the octogenarian resort needs a major rebuild, likely “a billion or so in repairs,” President Greg Spencer told The News-Press in 2022. “We took a pretty good hit,” he said. “Almost every building on the property needs a new roof.”
But how South Seas will build back has become a community lightning rod.
While the resort envisions “refreshed venues, expanded offerings and a renewed spirit” in a release, neighbors on the island and next-door Sanibel say increased height and density would ruin the old Florida atmosphere, not to mention the delicate barrier island ecology, while increasing already-congested traffic on the islands’ shared one-way-in, one-way-out road.
“South Seas will hold on commenting until rulings are final,” a spokeswoman wrote in an email.
The challenges hit from various angles – each targeting a different decision, interpretation or ruling. At the center of all of them is a single, high-stakes question: Can South Seas build more than 912 units – including hotel rooms – or not?
Here’s what’s happening:
The core fight: the 912-unit cap
A Lee County circuit judge ruled last year that South Seas is limited to 912 total units – a cap dating back decades and reinforced in a 2003 settlement. Both the county and the resort have appealed. Arguments are set for April 30.
Sanctions suit over ‘frivolous’ claims
The Captiva Civic Association is asking a judge to penalize South Seas and its attorneys, arguing they wrongly claimed the 912-unit cap does not include hotel rooms.A hearing is set for April 6.
Also assigned to Judge Shenko; also scheduled for April 6
A large group – the civic association, RLR Investments and Royal Shell Vacations, 12 South Seas condominium associations, and eight timeshare associations banded together to try to throw out the county’s approval of more intense development
They argue the county failed to follow proper process and didn’t adequately address issues like wastewater capacity and fire protection. Plus, the changes aren’t “consistent with the historic development pattern on Captiva and South Seas as required by the Lee Plan,” the county’s governing development document. The case also has been assigned to Judge Shenko with an April 6 status conference.
Lee ‘Ignored the clear mandates of its Land Development Code,’ plaintiff says
In a separate but related challenge brought by a UK-based LLC that owns a vacation rental home named Suraya, the plaintiff says the county ignored its own rules by not requiring a buffer between the home and South Seas’ new Beach House restaurant.
Appeal that could ripple widely
Along with the City of Sanibel, the civic association appealed the decision of a state administrative judge who sided with the county. The case is in the Sixth District Court of Appeals waiting for oral arguments to be scheduled. If overturned, it could call into question much of what’s been approved over the past two years.
Public records lawsuit by South Seas
Late last year, South Seas sued the Captiva Community Panel, claiming it failed to fully respond to its public records request tied to the zoning fight. The group says it’s turned over more than 1,000 pages of documents, but “South Seas continues to sue community organizations that oppose increases in density or building heights on Captiva – and to run up their legal bills.”
New flashpoint: The sale of artist Robert Rauschenberg’s Captiva compound
A 22-acre tract once owned by the late artist Robert Rauschenberg has been sold to South Seas after community efforts to preserve it fell short. “It is difficult to comprehend the extent to which the foundation has failed the island community that Bob Rauschenberg loved and personally sought to protect from development. It is a grievous betrayal by the Rauschenberg Foundation,” the association said in a release.
Multiple requests for comment to the foundation were not returned. The county has said that development there is limited to three units per acre. Anything beyond that would require new approvals – and likely more legal battles.
– Amy Bennett Williams is a senior reporter focused on the environment. Reach her by emailing awilliams@news-press.com
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: South Seas suits: What’s the latest on the Captiva legal front?
Reporting by Amy Bennett Williams, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
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