COTI Conversation Focuses on Balancing Aesthetics, Resiliency as Sanibel Rebuilds

provided to The Santiva Chronicle

What is resilience, how is the city addressing it as Sanibel rebuilds, and how will it affect the way the city looks over time? Those were the questions speakers and guests focused on at a Committee of the Islands “COTI Conversation” on December 13 at the Sanibel Community House.

As Bob Moore, COTI board member and Sancap Resilience co-chair, explained — resilience embraces more than just taller buildings. “Climate resilience requires us to look at adaptation strategies, like hardening buildings and infrastructure, as well as mitigation strategies, like energy efficiency and renewable energy, that reduce the future impacts of climate change,” he said. “If we don’t address the causes of climate change and create a more sustainable future…we won’t be able to adapt our way out of the challenges we’ll face.”

Larry Schopp, COTI’s president, acknowledged that resilience means a lot more than just taller buildings, “but the requirement of taller buildings may be causing some anxiety these days,” he said. “The popular perception of Sanibel as a community of low-rise buildings will be tested as older resorts and homes — many built at ground level and destroyed in the storm — are replaced by taller ones that meet current flood elevations of up to 18 feet.”

Though we have seen only modest increases in permitted building height on Sanibel thus far, Schopp stressed that “The process is on-going. More code changes will be required as Sanibel rebuilds resiliently. It may take years, but that’s how Sanibel will remain a viable barrier island community.” But he also stressed “Sanibel’s overall height limit of three stories is not at risk. It was made part of the City Charter in 2005 and may not be changed without voter approval.”

Addressing the anxiety some people may be feeling about taller buildings, noted local architect Joyce Owens, described her approach to designing for resiliency on Sanibel without sacrificing the aesthetic values reflected in the Sanibel Plan and Vision Statement. She praised the city for recently making its architectural standards less prescriptive and more suggestive. “The Sanibel Plan upholds a respect for our diversity, history, built environment and fragile surroundings,” she said. “The well-written descriptive rules in place offer flexibility, addressing context, light, air and environment instead of prescribing specific design solutions.”

Owens described techniques she uses with a view to building on a barrier island where wind and storm surge are an ongoing threat. She displayed an array of buildings recently designed for island clients including Shalimar Resort. “When crafting the new Shalimar Resort on Gulf Drive, we navigated the codes and were able to ensure the outcome was appropriate for our climate, future resiliency, and our client needs.”

Owens is optimistic about the future. She said that over time she envisions Sanibel with new buildings that are not only built resiliently but also with the casual island style for which it is so well known. In closing, she said, “Moving forward, by understanding the ‘spirit’ of these regulations…we can fortify and intelligently rebuild our islands, staying true to the code’s intent and preserving the natural sanctuary of the islands that so many have fought to uphold.”

As is traditional at COTI Conversations, the presentations were followed by a lively question-and-answer session. For more information about COTI, visit coti.org or email COTI33957@gmail.com.