by SC Reporter Emilie Alfino
The Sanibel City Council gave the green light to Community Housing & Resources’ new building at 1523 Periwinkle Way after adding four new conditions to its approval by a 4-1 vote. The March 31 meeting was standing-room-only for the public hearing to decide the issue.
In an attempt to address concerns raised by Council members during the first reading on March 17, CHR presented a revised plan for the building, adding more space and light to create a more open, “airy” look.
Among the changes were moving the elevator to the west side behind the walkway, relocating the utility rooms, and relocating the egress stairs from around the elevator to the east side (see picture).
The changes seemed to please Council, except for Vice Mayor Holly Smith, who said she still feels the building is not in keeping with the Sanibel Plan. Smith was the lone “no” vote.
The building will be 45 feet high, which is allowable under the Land Development Code, but the third floor was a concern to some members of Council, as was the increased density – the building will be allowed 333 percent more than the allowed density, according to Smith.
“We can eliminate the third floor,” Smith added.
Smith said the Council really has to look at the nature of this island and the amazing impact of that many units on below-market-rate housing. Furthermore, she said, “We have to make sure this is for people who work here. We may find restrictions here. Can we fill up the units?”
CHR Executive Director Nicole Decker-McHale said yes, CHR could fill the 39 units. There is a point system in place applied to applicants, she added, that gives preference to Sanibel workers.
This became a major sticking point later in the discussion. And tension was building.
“This is an important decision that we need to make sure that the community continues to move forward just as it has for the last three years,” said Council member Richard Johnson. “We have made significant progress. We all came through together. Do not allow this to divide us. Do not allow this to divide us.”
This project, and therefore Council, is under tremendous time pressure as the nearly $10 million grant expires very soon and will be lost if a building plan is not in place. This building must be fully constructed and fully occupied by May of 2029. The deadline to confirm the zoning is in place is May 4.
“The easy decision is ‘yes,’” said Johnson. “But I also understand the right decision is ‘yes.’ It’s time for us to make adjustments. Everyone was in support of this project before the Board of County Commissioners. If we don’t move forward today, we have killed this, we have stopped it, and that would be a tragic mistake. Let’s find a way to get this to work.”
“I have been a very past supporter of CHR, and I continue to feel that way,” said Council member Laura DeBruce. “We have received an outpouring from citizens, and I’m grateful so many people are engaged.”
The City received 56 emails in support of the project, and five against. At the hearing, 14 citizens spoke in favor of the project, and six spoke against it.
“I still have reservations on a number of different things,” DeBruce continued. I hope we will be able to resolve them. ‘Yes’ is not easy. I find this to be the most difficult situation I have ever faced as far as what is best for Sanibel.”
DeBruce said one of the most important aspects is density. Any actions to increase residential density should be by referendum, and the only time the City Council is allowed to increase density is for BMRH. “Increasing density is something we shouldn’t take lightly.”
If HUD’s (the grantor) terms of the grant will allow people to live on Sanibel but work across the bridge (that’s a fact until Council approves the four new conditions), that goes against Sanibel’s charter, DeBruce said. It’s imperative, she said, that anyone given the opportunity to live in affordable housing must work on Sanibel.
Council member John Henshaw addressed the “rush” aspect of this application. “I have been in government. I have seen people use it because it’s free money, but then it doesn’t work out the way the original project was envisioned,” he said. “If we didn’t have federal money, would we be doing this now? What decision would be made if the answer is ‘no’? Then we probably wouldn’t have done it.”
Many citizens who chose to address the Council with their support of the CHR project ended their remarks with, “Take.The.Money!”
Henshaw asked, as others had, one of the key questions, perhaps the most important one. “Can we make [approval] contingent on the fact that it’s for Sanibel and not someone who is working off the island? I do have very serious reservations.”
Planning Director Paula McMichael assured that Riverview II would only be available to Sanibel workers. Mayor Mike Miller said the project is incorporating existing policy regarding Sanibel workers.
“I want to say for the record that the timing was horrible, and I could see the push of the applicant to get this through,” said Smith. “I don’t know of any other property on our island that would be allowed to submit an application that was missing so much information. We take our time, and we do it right.
“I could not support that variance because it’s not compatible with any other building in the Commercial District,” Smith concluded.
“I have an objection to the size,” said DeBruce. She went on to say that this does not concern Harkey House (Riverview I behind 7-Eleven), which was rebuilt after the storm.
“I have a hard time seeing this as in agreement with the Sanibel Plan as it stands today,” DeBruce continued. “Right now, it states that CHR is to be consistent and have landscaping to make it indistinguishable from the rest of the community.”
McMichael answered, “We (the City staff) did find it consistent with the Sanibel Plan.
Jeremy of Walsh Landscaping was on hand to discuss the landscape buffers that would surround Riverview II. “We’re listening,” he said. “We’re willing to put in more buffer and more mature trees.”
As it is, Jeremy said, you have to strain to see Harkey House, and it doesn’t even have any vegetation yet. Plans for Riverview II include, as well as many other plantings, 15-foot minimum height shade trees, and twenty 26-foot tall cabbage palms.
As far as changing the building from three to two floors. If that was done, CHR said they would lose 35 percent of the grant money while only seeing a 15 percent savings in construction costs.
There are 55 two-bedroom apartments in the CHR inventory; 49 of these are occupied by single people. CHR’s plan is to relocate the single people now in two-bedroom apartments into the 570-square-foot apartments in Riverview II.
When entering CHR housing, tenants must check a box in the lease acknowledging that they may be moved to another apartment. The goal is to open up the two-bedroom apartments to possibly house families, even though 90 percent of applications to CHR are from single people.
CHR helps with moving costs when someone must relocate. “We are not going to burden them with that cost,” said Decker-McHale.
The need for workforce housing is stark:
• 85 percent of Sanibel’s workforce does not live on the island
• 93 percent of the businesses asked said that worker housing is critical
• 63 percent of businesses have had to reduce services
Mayor Mike Miller asked Decker-McHale pointedly, “Is this a take-it-or-leave-it proposition?”
Decker-McHale quickly said, “Yes.”
If the building is not occupied by the deadline, the grant would become a loan that must be repaid.
Remember the citizens saying, “Take.The.Money.”
“I’m disappointed to hear this is a take-it-or-leave-it proposition,” DeBruce said. “One of the problems that I have with this is the lack of data. The data also keeps changing. I was also told we can’t make a single change because of the deadline.”
DeBruce also asked about the carrying charges of the building, which she had heard would be $1 million for 30 years. City Manager Dana Souza said that is not accurate; carrying charges would be $400,000 to $500,000 per year.
The City said those details will be worked out with the county and that it believed the City could negotiate with the county.
“The residents deserve to have the answers to this question,” DeBruce said.
Erika Steiner, CHR President and member of the Planning Commission, said CHR would take on a $6 million mortgage if CHR can’t avail itself of the grant. That amounts to $400,000 to $450,000 per year.
While many people in the community might prefer a two-story building, as Smith and DeBruce claim, that plan would likely be rejected by the BOCC. The timeline to confirm that zoning is in place is May 4.
“There’s just not time to do that,” said McMichael. “A substantial change would have to go before the Planning Commission, requiring three weeks to put a required notice in the papers.” Not to mention the rest of the process.
Some suggested a stigma could arise by having two large CHR buildings filled with low- to moderate-income residents, a suggestion that was handily rejected.
“I don’t want to hear about stigmatizing people who are not of the same economic status,” Johnson said firmly. “I have been a champion of spreading them (BMRH homes) around the island, but times have changed. We don’t have time. We have an opportunity before us. If we don’t vote today, we can’t go forward with this. I implore my four Council members to vote ‘yes.’ I think the community deserves this.”
“We’re going to change the social climate,” Henshaw continued. “Is this the right thing to do?” Later, he said, “CHR will make sure it doesn’t provide that stigma.”
The issue of whether someone could obtain a CHR home on Sanibel to live in while still working in Fort Myers came to a head, with DeBruce leading the charge to demand that language be added to make such an arrangement impossible.
At one point, Mayor Mike Miller suggested that DeBruce’s drive for perfection [in the language] could risk the project. DeBruce persisted, even though City Manager Dana Souza told her that he respected her concerns but that they could be addressed subsequent to the outcome of this hearing.
“The Sanibel Plan says we can only increase density for Sanibel’s workforce, not for someone working in Fort Myers,” DeBruce insisted. “Who wouldn’t want to live in Sanibel who works in Punta Rassa? That’s not what this is about. We can’t do this under the radar.”
Johnson suggested that maybe a great community member could come to Sanibel that way [working off-island but living on Sanibel]. Maybe they will change their minds when they get here.”
No one responded to this suggestion.
We are making a major change for Sanibel right now,” DeBruce said. “There is a drastic change in density. We’d better make sure we’re doing it for the right people. Employees of South Seas are going to flock here.”
DeBruce’s conditions, which were approved by Council, were passed 4-1, with Smith opposed, and are as follows:
Applicant will ensure that each resident of the development will be:
i) An employee or owner of a Sanibel business or other organizations with a principal place of business on Sanibel;
ii) An employee or owner of a Captiva business or other organizations with a principal place of business on Sanibel;
iii) An individual who has previously worked on Sanibel for 20 years and who is retired or disabled.
And that ended the debate about Riverview II. Expect to see it being built and fully occupied by the Spring of 2029.
What happens if a tenant is fired from their Job here? Has that been addressed?
While I understand some of the opposition, it appears that there is a lack of understanding about the ever-changing environment of Community Block Grants and federal government programs in general. CHR seems to have suffered some slings and arrows because of “lack of data,” or late emails, but they can’t share what they don’t know when the rules keep changing. Utilization of federal funds often takes extreme flexibility and ability to quickly process the information and make decisions so as not to lose the opportunity. As Commissioner Ruane stated, Sanibel could well make the decision to stop this application in its tracks, but upon doing that, the opportunity would be snapped up by others “in two seconds.” It was hard to watch arguments about details that can be worked out later (as City Manager Souza pointed out), while considering risking this opportunity for much-needed worker housing. Successful societies create a balance so that people who live in the community, work in the community and vice versa. This is no different from the triangle communities popping up in other places in Lee County, seeking to have areas where people can live, work and play locally. Sanibel should strive for exactly that approach to make us stronger as we continue to rebuild after recent storms. Sanibel’s recent “Taste of the Islands” emphasized the lack of staffing in our area, as participation by restaurants was limited (some were no-shows) because they didn’t have enough staff to man a booth (of course this was exacerbated by holding the event during season rather than in the fall as it had previously been done). It’s painfully clear to all of us who enjoy our local restaurants that one way to resolve staffing shortages is making it easier for people to get here and work. Not having to cross the causeway is a huge improvement, and I believe the majority of all occupants of the new apartments will be Sanibel workers. It seems to me CHR has been competently handling applications and approvals for nearly 50 years, and we should be able to leverage that experience to set up this program to meet the needs of Sanibel first.