Developers of condo project at former Wiggins Pass Marina offer compromise

A new alternative under design would add hundreds of dry boat storage spaces at the condominium and marina project in an attempt to win over opponents who see Coconilla as a blow to public access to the water.

Coconilla, proposed for 10 acres at the northwest corner of Wiggins Pass Road and Vanderbilt Drive, would replace the Wiggins Pass Marina, which included 450 dry slips where boaters could store their vessels for a fee. The marina closed in April after 30 years in business.

The new proposal could be submitted to county reviewers in a matter of weeks. County commissioners had been scheduled to review the original Coconilla proposal Tuesday, but the hearing has been postponed until Jan. 27.

The original 112-unit condo and 52-slip marina would move forward to county commissioners alongside the new alternative, said Chris Oelschlaeger, vice president of EcoVenture Wiggins Pass Ltd., an affiliate of Tampa-based EcoGroup Inc.

The idea is to give commissioners a choice between the two, but questions exist about whether any new plan first will have to undergo reviews by the county's Planning Commission and Environmental Advisory Council.

Oelschlaeger blamed the new tactic on the tenor of the Planning Commission meeting Nov. 7, when the advisory board voted 6-3 to recommend that county commissioners deny a rezoning petition for Coconilla.

Opponents and supporters of the project packed the County Commission chambers for the hearing.

"It was clear that politics were far more potent than logic or frankly the welfare of the neighborhood," Oelschlaeger said.

He said he still thinks a residential project is better for the neighborhood and the environment than a commercial project -- not to mention the developer's offer of land for 50 parking spaces at Cocohatchee River Park and $2 million to the county for beach and water access.

"It's a veritable public works project," Oelschlaeger said.

He said he is "hoping logic will prevail" with county commissioners and that they'll approve the original plan.

The alternative will give them an option that Oelschlaeger said would be better than the kind of commercial project -- grocery store, retail, office, restaurants and a gas station -- the developer could build without having to get any special county approval.

A leader of the opposition to Coconilla said last week that his group is withholding judgment on the new alternative until the community sees the specifics.

"Anything that brings public use, that's what we've been yelling for," said Doug Fee, president of the North Bay Civic Association. "It's hard to say if the specifics of this proposal would be acceptable to the community."

Fee said the new proposal will have to be "appropriate and legal" under the county's land development rules -- particularly a 75-foot height limit and a limit of four units per acre.

The civic association declined an invitation to meet with EcoGroup about the new alternative, prompting Oelschlaeger to charge the group with being unwilling to compromise.

Fee said the group declined the invitation because no official plans had been filed and it was too close to Tuesday's previously scheduled rezoning hearing.

Questions remain about how the alternative would work and whether it would truly replace the kind of public access provided by the now-closed Wiggins Pass Marina.

Oelschlaeger said the alternative would not have as many dry storage spaces as the marina -- probably in the 250 to 350 range.

He said the alternative also would cut the number of condo units and the height of the condo tower, but he could not say by how much.

Prices for the slips, whether they would be sold or rented and how they would relate to the rest of the project remain up in the air, Oelschlaeger said.

"Everything is really in flux right now," he said.