Guest Commentary: Yacht Club

From page 4 did not close their downtown

In closing I encourage all residents and v i s i t o r s w h o l o v e t h e Y a c h t C l u b Ballroom to let your voices be heard, don’t speak about emotion but about facts, ask questions about long-term debt, other possible solutions and how we can preserve and protect our history.

The meeting is at 4:30 on June 7 Cape Coral City Council Chambers at City Hall, 1015 Cultural Park Blvd

Gloria Tate grew up in Cape Coral as member of one the Cape’s “pioneer” families She is a member of the Cape C o r a l M u s e u m o f H i s t o r y ’ s B o a r d o f Directors and a former member of the Cape Coral City Council

‘Preservation is simply having the good sense to hold on to things that are well designed, that link us with our past in a meaningful way, and that have plenty of good use left in them ’

Richard Moe, National Trust for Historic Preservation

HISTORIAL PHOTO PROVIDED

The Cape Coral Yacht and Racquet Club on Driftwood Parkway was dedicated on June 10, 1962 Its opening was part of a two-day celebration that included an open house, professional and swimming and tennis exhibitions, a barbecue, a formal dance and a water ski show All Cape property owners received a free three-year membership to enjoy the amenities.

Editorial: Destination or commercialization — where does the line lie?

From page 4

To be blunt, let us call it what it is negligence

Gross negligence of not only routine maintenance of the Cape’s lone remaining historic structure, which is bad enough

But illustrative of the erosion of the bedrock upon which our now burgeoning city was founded: Its sense of community, its sense of people

For while there was much the Rosens did wrong as they wrought a far-flung develop-

4 ment from environmentally fragile land, they did understand one thing well: How to make growth not only profitable, but palatable

That wasn’t just rooftops and restaurants, strip malls and shopping centers

It was a planned and concerted investment in public places and spaces that capitalized on the natural and unique beauty that was Cape Coral

The Yacht Club is more than a building, more than fading memories of grandeur past

It is the remaining symbol of the philoso- change resiliency policy to continue permitting developments close to high hazard zones next to water ”

A recent study supports his concern It identified Cape Coral as being at particularly high risk from future hurricanes In fact, only eight other cities in the nation are at such high risk

Additionally, another report, which focuses exclusively on the benefits provided by coastal mangroves, notes that “annually, across multiple storms, mangroves reduce flood damages by 25 5% to properties behind them,” and that “during Hurricane Irma, over 626,000 people living behind mangrove forests saw reduced flooding in census tracts across Florida ” It noted that “during Irma, mangroves averted $1 5 billion in surge-related flood damages to properties ”

Too many Cape Coral residents, my wife and I included, have firsthand knowledge about surge-related flooding, and the more to be done to reduce it the better Making it worse by sacrificing yet more acres of wetlands and the storm protection they provide would be profoundly irresponsible

The city’s own website states, “By preserving the native vegetation consisting of salt marshes and mangrove communities, residents of Cape Coral gain significant protection The mangroves, in particular, stabilize the shoreline during hurricanes. The mangroves have prop roots, leaves, and branches that offer frictional resistance to flowing water This reduces storm erosion and decreases the speed of the flow of tidal inundation ”

This development wasn’t a good idea before Ian It is an even worse idea now Perhaps the only benefit we can make of that storm is to have learned that we must do all we can to preserve what remains of our natural storm protection Lee County Commissioners evidently learned this lesson They recently rejected the proposed Eden Oak development that was much smaller than this one

Additionally, this area is also a haven for wildlife, including threatened species, such as bald eagles, and the manatees and sawfish already mentioned, but coyotes, bobcats, racoons, phy on which a community, a city, was built

Will the new Yacht Club complex, with its still-in-the-works concept pivoting to publicprivate partnerships for additional restaurants, a two-story community center to also serve as a bigger-better wedding or event venue, a waterfront walk around and a three-story parking garage be grand?

We think it will, indeed, be the destination its proponents hope for and more We will have a hub Of that we have no doubt

Letters To The Editor

foxes, gopher tortoises, and migratory and non-migratory birds live there, too, and Cape Coral residents treasure our city’s wildlife and the city’s natural heritage, in general The great popularity of Rotary Park is testimony to this fact This project would harm what we value so highly

Readers can learn more at https://protectourwetlandsincapecoral org/ This new website provides further information including photos, illustrations, and videos, and will be updated regularly with the most current information

I urge Cape Coral residents to talk to their city council members. Write them. Make an appointment to talk personally with them Tell them publicly during the citizen input period at city council meetings that you oppose the proposed Redfish Pointe development

Joseph Bonasia Cape Coral

Local bans or not, fer tilizer use affects our waterways

To the editor:

Because most decisions made at the broadest level can best reflect the feedback from the people most affected, granting local authority some autonomy just makes good sense Local control or home rule is generally preferred for governing decisions that affect the locals the most But DeSantis’ GOP legislature passed a broad swath of legislation ranging from anti local control, to just plain disrespectful of Floridians

Locally we have lost the right to rent control; virtually the only mechanism that keeps housing affordable They have also passed a state law that overruled our local ordinance that prohibited fertilizing your lawn in the spring to prevent dangerous toxins from exacerbating red tide in our water Talk about fixing something that was not broken!

Red tide is a neurotoxin (neuro for brain, toxin for poison)

As we see the remaining few panthers in the wild unable to walk straight, do we really think more toxins in the water are good for the local wild life? Is there anyone in Southwest

Agree? Disagree? Weigh in!

But will the new Yacht Club have heart, will it be a pulse of the community?

That’s the conundrum

Swing too far and it’s not a destination, it’s commercialization, just another nice place to grab some crab cakes and a Chardonnay

The real question before Council is where on the pendulum they and more importantly, the residents want to be

Breeze editorial

Florida that thinks we need more smelly slime in our water? Only those in the slash and burn real estate market, who need neon green curb appeal to flip the property, could see a profit from the rest of us choking from impassable Cape Coral canals

Enough

Please refrain from using fertilizer during the spring and summer, when your water ways are the most vulnerable Ellen Starbird Cape Coral

This week’s poll question:

Are you prepared for hurricane season?

∫ Yes

∫ We gear up with the first warning

∫ We don’t prepare, we evacuate

∫ We play it by ear

Previous poll question

What should the city of Cape Coral do with the Cape Coral Yacht Club Ballroom building?

∫ Tear it down as has been discussed. It’s time for an upgrade to the park, including this building 76 3%

∫ It depends on where the city ultimately lands with FEMA’s 50% rules and costs to repair 5 3%

∫ Preserve it, it’s an historic building that dates back to the Cape’s founding The issues, including cost concerns, are due to neglect of maintenance, not Hurricane Ian 18 3%

To tal v o te s as o f pre s s ti me : 1 , 1 6 5

Poll results are not scientific and represent only the opinions of Internet users who have chosen to participate Vote at capecoralbreeze com

Letters, guest opinions, comments welcome

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