Panel tackles traffic, water issues

Gasparilla Island Water Association wellfield protection measures are one step closer to being increased thanks to a proposed re-write of the existing provisions in the Charlotte County Zoning Ordinance.

Panel Chairman Lynne Seibert presented the proposal to the Boca Grande Community Panel at their last meeting, held on Tuesday, May 13.

Primary changes in the provision include being more specific as to not only the quality but quantity of the aquifer on which GIWA draws for island water consumption.

The wellfields are located off County Road 771, in an area that has been designated as an industrial park by Charlotte County. Last summer, with the construction of a new concrete batch plant approximately a quarter of a mile away from the wellfields, the panel had many questions as to how they could protect their water source from possible contamination. They also inquired as to how they could regulate the water consumption of some of the industrial factories in that park.

Panel consultant Tom Smith said that any use over 100,000 gallons was considered to be industrial, but that 90,000 gallons of water drawn from the aquifer was still a considerable amount.

With the new revision, any business that would seek to locate within the area of the wellfield would be subject to a meeting with county and GIWA officials to clarify their water use and intentions. If, after that meeting, no agreement could be reached, no permit would be issued until it was addressed by the Growth Management Department and, ultimately, the Board of County Commissioners.

The new provision also says that any violation of the provision that is reported by GIWA to Charlotte County would be investigated within one business day. The alleged violator would then have one more business day to respond to the allegation and prove that no ordinance had been broken.

“There was no sense of urgency before this,” said Smith.

The panel also discussed the mainland traffic study conducted by Ted Treesh of TR Transportation Consultants, Inc.

The purpose of the study, which focused on County Roads 775, 776, 771 and San Casa Avenue in Englewood, was to analyze the impact of approved and projected growth along the roadways that Boca Grande residents would need for emergency evacuation and possible medical situations.

The report cited the fact that there are over 50,000 vacant residential lots in the western portion of Charlotte County, most of which were just recently implemented with water and sewer lines. The study also discusses a large amount of vacant high-density multi-family land along CR 771 east of Coral Creek, as well as a number of tracts on CR 775.

The study says, “All of this development will be adding significant traffic to the only two roads serving the Cape Haze Peninsula … in the next five to seven years as those units become occupied, they will add over 18,000 vehicles per day to the local roadways.”

Seibert said that this could mean up to 200 trips or more by additional vehicles to Gasparilla Island.

“This growth is going to dramatically affect our emergency and hurricane evaucation times, as well as normal traffic times,” she said. “Charlotte County has not been tracking this potential impact and it is difficult to understand how they can develop a meaningful transportation plan or meet the concurrency requirements set  forth in their own comprehensive plan with this kind of information.”

One resident who attended the meeting, Skip Perry, said he thought the study was unnecessary.

“It’s a huge waste of money,” Perry said. “You got an expert who didn’t take the pulse of the community.”

Seibert disagreed, saying, “The expert isn’t here to hold our hands, he’s here to look at this in a dispassionate, professional way. What we do with that opinion is up to us. He opened up our eyes to a lot of things we didn’t see, and he’s given us a foundation, not only for now but for the future. When there are 18,000 more vehicles a day on Placida Road than there are now, that means a couple hundred more vehicles a day on the island. That is a significant impact. We just don’t see it now when it’s quiet and slow.”

Panel member Linda Ahley suggested that the panel consider issuing a press release to the media after every meeting that would state all the business attended to at each meeting, and any action that was taken. Some panel members agreed, saying that some confusion between the public, the media and the panel had taken place in the recent past. It was also suggested that the panel make up a synopsis of everything they have accomplished since their inception, and present it to the public.

“I am shocked at some of the nastiness that comes out of this community,” Seibert said. “I never cease to be amazed. It’s a real shock to me. People get so emotionally wrapped around mere discussions over things like parking. The fact that people have to have emotional outbursts and get angry over little issues like this is really kind of frightening to me.”

Panel member Ted Hoopes agreed.

“Some of the people who have come to the meetings recently, and for one reason or another never really took an interest before in what was going on, clearly don’t have an understanding of what is happening,” he said. “Some of the people that are most upset about it are least knowledgeable about what has happened.”

Panel member Dave McHugh said he didn’t see it that way.

“Ted, I disagree with you,” he said. In a reference to a survey conducted by the panel  a number of years ago, McHugh added “I think that some of the people who think they know what it says in there need to re-read it and do what the public asked them to do.”