Planning panel rejects former marina rezoning

The Collier County Planning Commission voted 6-3 to reject a rezoning of the marina site at the southwest corner of Vanderbilt Drive and Wiggins Pass Road. County commissioners have the final say. A hearing is set for Dec. 2.

More than 150 opponents and supporters of the condominium proposal, called Coconilla, packed the Planning Commission hearing room, sometimes applauding for their side.

Supporters wore red, white and blue stickers that said "Say Yes to Residential." Opponents wore yellow badges bearing the number 75, representing their proposed 75-foot height limit for Coconilla.

EcoVenture Wiggins Pass Ltd., an affiliate of Tampa-based EcoGroup Inc., wants to build a 102-unit, three-tiered high-rise that would be 260 feet tall at its highest point. Townhouses would hold another 10 units. A new marina basin would hold 52 boats.

Supporters said Coconilla would look better and generate less traffic than the former marina, but opponents said the project would put too many people in a coastal zone vulnerable to hurricane damage.

Some opponents are urging the county to buy the former marina site and use it to provide more public beach and water access for the county's growing population.

EcoGroup President Ed Oelschlaeger chalked up Thursday's vote to "pure politics." During the hearing, he criticized opponents for spreading what he called falsehoods and innuendo.

After the vote, he said he was not prepared to say how he might adjust the Coconilla proposal or whether he thought the project could overcome Thursday's opposition.

"We're going to make every effort to do so," he said.

A leading opponent said the Planning Commission vote amounted to a vote to preserve the county's quality of life.

"I really feel like the citizens, a lot of them got a victory today in my opinion," said Doug Fee, president of the North Bay Civic Association.

EcoGroup has scaled back Coconilla several times -- from 158 units originally to 112 units and then, during Thursday's hearing, to 99 units as recommended by county planners.

The developer has tried to sweeten the county's rezoning decision by offering to set aside a strip of land for 29 parking spaces for boat trailers and 21 vehicle parking spaces at Cocohatchee River Park.

More recently, the developer agreed to contribute up to $2 million to the county for beach and water access if the county rezoned the marina site for Coconilla.

Collier County Parks and Recreation Director Marla Ramsey said the county would use about half the money to build a pier on the bay side of Barefoot Beach, where a boat could shuttle beachgoers from the mainland.

Another $1 million would go toward buying land across Vanderbilt Drive from Cocohatchee River Park for more beach parking, Ramsey said.

Planning Commission member Dwight Richardson said he was wary of taking the developer's money.

"I'm getting the sense of a quid pro quo that's making me very uneasy," he said.

Opponents also said they were worried about the fate of bald eagles that nest some 830 feet northwest of the marina site.

EcoGroup is asking federal wildlife officials for permission to build during the eagles' nesting season, a request that runs counter to federal guidelines for bald eagle protection.

Much of Thursday's hearing was taken up by debate over how the county should interpret seemingly conflicting parts of its growth plan -- a decision that could have implications for future growth along the coast.

One part rewards up to 13 bonus units per acre to developers converting commercial land to residential, and another limits growth in the coastal high-hazard zone to four units per acre.

County planners said both parts should be given equal weight and recommended awarding EcoGroup half of the 13 bonus units. That resulted in the 99-unit proposal.

By a 6-3 vote, the Planning Commission rejected a proposal by member Lindy Adelstein to approve Coconilla for 85 units. By the same vote, commissioners then turned down the developer's proposal.

Chairman Russell Budd called the 85-unit proposal an "adequate and appropriate compromise."

EcoGroup attorney Rich Yovanovich warned the Planning Commission repeatedly that scaling back the number of units too far would force the developer instead to build a more intense commercial project at the marina site.

That project could include a hotel, with permission from the county commissioners, or restaurants, grocery store and office buildings without having to get the commissioners' approval.

Oelschlaeger's contract to buy the marina site is contingent on getting rezoning for Coconilla, but he said he is personally committed to building a commercial project there if Coconilla does not win approval. Another marina is not an option, he said.

Opponent Harold Eaton, who lives at Wiggins Lake and Preserve, isn't ready to give up on a marina at the site.

He said he kept his boat at Wiggins Pass Marina before it closed and now has to keep it on Marco Island. He said he can't afford anything closer.

"The haves are kind of putting the have-nots out of business here," Eaton said.

Supporter Joe Miller, who lives at Pelican Isle Yacht Club, urged the Planning Commission not to lose sight of the economic boost Coconilla would give the county.

Figures from the developer predicted Coconilla would generate $1.8 million in property tax revenues every year, not accounting for increasing land values or tax rates -- a never-ending output Miller equated with the Energizer bunny.

"Don't kill this bunny," Miller said.