Calusa – Let’s Set the Record Straight

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It is difficult to accept all of the vitriol and outrage over the former Calusa Golf Course rezoning that took place last week. I am the Trustee of the Save Calusa Trust, which was formed in 2012. For some time now, I have been watching and listening to inaccurate, misleading and just plain wrong information from those opposing the proposed development and the release of the covenant. It is time to tell the other side of the story.

The community at-large seems to forget that it is the 145 homeowners living on the ring road overlooking the abandoned, overgrown and unsightly golf course who are most impacted by a development that will literally be built in their backyards; a development which cannot and will not be seen or accessed by anyone else. These were the only property owners identified in the covenant with the legal right to release the property from its restricted use. The majority of these homeowners formed Save Calusa Trust, who for over ten years fought the owners’ attempts through the courts, the County and even the Florida legislature to change the use of the property without obtaining the required releases. They did this by contributing their own money to pay attorneys and many other professionals, as well as contributing lots and lots of personal time. Why? Because it was the only way to have any control over how the property could and could not be used for now and into the future.

Current opposition did not participate in the court battle that went on for some eight years, but nevertheless, seeks to ostracize the Trust homeowners for settling a risky and expensive lawsuit.  The opposition has created a narrative of them as backstabbers and worse on social media. It pains me to read this, as I know better. The opposition accuses anyone who defends Save Calusa Trust members as being in somebody’s pay.  Nobody who attended the hearing from the Trust was paid to be there or paid to send a support letter.  Many took a day off from work.  And while they attended to support, they knew that to speak would be to become a new opposition target and neighborhood pariah from the few core opponents, but also from those who have been misled by the relentless social media attacks on the members.

In living through this ordeal with all its twists and turns, Trust members learned that this fight was not going away; an all or nothing outright win for either the homeowners or for the property owner in court or at the County Commission was just not realistic. After some 8 years, litigation was still ongoing and the trial judge wanted the case settled or set for trial.  Although the Save Calusa homeowners lost on one count in the trial court, they then filed an appeal resulting in an appellate decision overturning that loss. However, there were four remaining legal theories to void the covenant still pending in the trial court. A loss on any of the four outstanding counts would have extinguished the covenant, which would mean that the owners would no longer be required to obtain releases to develop their property. This is what the Save Calusa Trust homeowners were fighting so hard to prevent, because then they would have no say or control over the proposed development in their backyard.  Instead of the agreed upon development, it could have been various types of commercial establishments, or over 1,000 townhouses and multifamily housing, as the owners originally proposed. That was the risk if they lost in court.

Many also seem to forget that four years ago, when the owners asked the County Commission for a land use change, again, without obtaining the releases, the Commission narrowly denied their request. And with the denial, Commissioners directed an ominous warning: landowners go get the releases and homeowners work with the developer – the homeowners were warned that their failure to do so could turn out very bad for them. The Save Calusa Trust homeowners knew that the property was never going to be a golf course again – those days were gone. And, contrary to what I hear many opponents say, the property was never designated by the County as “green space” for the community, either. So this was the thing: how to balance the risks and gain a seat at the table in order to get a reasonable development proposal from the property owner and developer that would not only protect their quality of life, but also address the traffic issues in their neighborhood and surrounding area.

Finally, with the Commissioners’ and trial judges’ warnings still loud and clear, a new developer, GL Homes, entered the picture and agreed to hear their concerns.  This led to over two years of negotiated concessions which culminated in legally enforceable terms and conditions of a development they were willing to support. That was what the County Commission asked them to do, and they complied with the Commissioners’ directive.

Opponents are quick to accuse Save Calusa Trust homeowners of “selling out,” as if carrying on a very expensive lawsuit with no guarantee of success with their own money and time was somehow their duty to the community at-large.  This sellout narrative is particularly galling since a settlement over money alone would not have taken two years of hard work.  The Save Calusa Trust homeowners had the same concerns as the rest of the community: They wanted and obtained: less density, traffic mitigation, buffers, landscaped border, open space minimums, only single-family detached homes, controls to keep lighting away from homeowners, limited construction hours and construction noise, dust controls and many more things.  They wanted and obtained Covenants filed both on the owners’ property and in any zoning application and they required legally enforceable provisions so the developer could not go back on its word or challenge the validity of these new covenants. And, pending any development, they desperately wanted the property to be cleaned up from the overgrown unsightly nature of a shuttered golf course. The present condition of the property is a result of this requirement. Make no mistake – a shuttered golf course is NOT a “preserve.”

I can only imagine that if the Trust homeowners continued the fight and lost, the opponents would then criticize them for NOT settling in order to ensure developer concessions.

While there are those who are quick to criticize, it is important to recognize that the rezoning of this property allows for development on the property that is literally half of what it could have been under the County’s Comprehensive Plan and a third of what the property owner originally asked for.  In addition to a long list of enforceable concessions the Save Calusa Trust homeowners obtained from the developer, the County also extracted concessions that specifically address the rookery, concerns with bats, and commitments to clean up the degraded soils.  Again, all enforceable by the County, and many traffic improvements that will greatly reduce the already existing issue of cut-through traffic.

I would like to close by thanking Commissioner Regalado and the County Commission for finally bringing this horrible saga to a conclusion in a way that protects the Calusa quality of life, develops the property in a responsible manner, and finally addresses some of the traffic issues in the immediate area, which is long overdue.  While the resolution of this matter is not perfect, it is far better than it could have been—and, far better than living with an unsightly shuttered golf course in one’s backyard.  I am proud of the Save Calusa Trust homeowners for their tenacity and their insistence that they be treated fairly by the landowner and the developer and that their legal rights be honored.

Michael D. Wild, Trustee

Save Calusa Trust


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