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Now that Goodland's first megahouse has received the go-ahead, residents opposed to the project are trying to change the very thing they believe should have protected them.

Today, a group of Goodland residents are expected to go before the Collier County Commission to try to stave off any further megahouses. They plan to declare their intent to submit a proposal seeking to amend the Goodland Zoning Overlay, which is a distinct set of rules for the village above and beyond the county's ordinances.

"In 1999, it took us the best part of 18 months to come up with the overlay that is in place right now," said Goodland Civic Association president John Carter during a recent meeting of the civic group. "We need to tweak it a little more so we can try to maintain this little village the way it is."

A detailed survey asking Goodland property owners what changes, if any, they would like to see made to the village overlay was recently mailed out. The results will be incorporated into a proposed amendment that organizers hope to submit to the county by mid-March.

In 2000, the County Commission unanimously approved the Goodland overlay to preserve the village's Old Florida characteristics, which include low-profile buildings and houses with "small" footprints.

However, construction of the first megahouse in the small fishing village got back on schedule in January after county commissioners concluded property owner Jim Inglis had properly pulled the county building permits to build his dream home.

Documents filed with the county showed that Inglis' six-bedroom, 10-bathroom house will have 6,863 square feet of living space "under air," and 7,470 square feet of non-living area, including two garages, a porch, lanai, balcony, portico and storage area, for a total of 14,333 square feet.

The average size home in Goodland is 600 square feet to 800 square feet. There are some bigger homes that range in size from 1,000 square feet to nearly 3,000 square feet.

County officials found that the overlay's purpose and intent wasn't enough to stop construction, because even though the Village Residential Zoning District Regulations and the Goodland overlay contain descriptions relating to village character, low-profile homes and small footprint for a home, neither code actually set a limit on the maximum size of a dwelling.

The county report said that the "action could not have been defended if challenged."

With no other recourse available to stave off any more megahouses, efforts to update Goodland's overlay, and clear up what county staff called "vague language," to finally include density and size descriptions got under way.

By the beginning of February, the civic association and the Goodland Preservation Coalition had collaborated to create the Goodland Zoning Overlay Committee to oversee the village's progress.

The committee's five-member board is made up of representatives from the civic association, preservation coalition, Calusa Island Village and Drop Anchor mobile home park as well as one at-large village representative.

"(The Civic Association and the Preservation Coalition) wanted to go outside to the community, because of how important it is for this process to be democratic," said Rich Pappy, who represents the civic association on the board.

"It's a big thing. The more we're able to motivate the community to be part of this process the better the community will be."

And the apparent rush to the process is intentional, because the group is trying to make the county's March 15 deadline for any land development code amendment proposals.

"We have some folks in town that don't think it can be done right if it's done fast," Pappy said. "We have to do it right and fast.

Because any amendment to the county's land development code requires 50 percent plus one of the island's population in favor of it, the committee sent out a postcard mass mailing earlier this month asking residents if they wanted to maintain Goodland's "village character" to test the waters.

"If we didn't get a 50 percent plus one on that we were going to stop right then," said Ed Fullmer, a member of the civic association.

An 83.5 percent favorable response led the committee to host three public meetings at the community hall to get more input from residents.

The collected information was condensed into a nine-question, two-page survey asking residents, among other things, what they think the setbacks should be for a house built on two lots and what they believe constitutes a "very large" home.

It also asks villagers if they would support the creation of a county-appointed advisory board for the village and the establishment of an architectural standards for any new construction in Goodland.

Residents have until Friday to mail back the survey.

Two more public meetings are slated to iron out the details, including a gathering on March 6 to discuss the survey results and a March 12 meeting to review the final language for any prospective amendment.

Not making the deadline could have adverse results, said Pappy.

"If we don't get a change in, we'll have another full year until the next March 15 cycle," said Pappy. "Which means that what has happened could happen again and again. The character of Goodland will have changed ... then what are we protecting?"