[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6296624,"mediaKeyId","2514192-4932b9a78311bacd5d2397e7f70d523d","parentId",2514192,"title","Cape Coral council, youth discuss Hudson Creek sale, hospital capacity and infrastructure as population grows","audioSeconds",2940,"startMs",2171000,"endMs",5111000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2514192-4932b9a78311bacd5d2397e7f70d523d&start=2171&end=5111","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2514192-4932b9a78311bacd5d2397e7f70d523d/thumbnail_2171000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6296624/Cape-Coral-City/Lee-County/Florida/Cape-Coral-council-youth-discuss-Hudson-Creek-sale-hospital-capacity-and-infrastructure-as-population-grows","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6296624-a14b0e362c169888d4b31850158b5dae/orig.mp4?Expires=1771213430&Signature=IpY-807O056FunZVNv4jtQli2lYaIpwQuhE2rrgRxrZV4RZPfL8cAPF-5GWkgewIWe9946AEuxnPrpRQ4IY5gnnSkucNyUFBhSVUV41g~trO-nAz9DSIOr0uJI0IfpWJHsZFPLJFhOanxb1nJjz~6E8VicbWOBbOkz4gHgOs8nuOqETBsqq6lFBKrpUylR~G0qMTmL54NViO7jxsNhdEnwHpL0SeYRNx-VoqU17W0DfcVd0SdHqg2ZaiS2ud9aVhC5cMigX-dgy2~Fc2D9OZ0wF5jVXkFlCH7T0Pe23EjgYIDGPu8So1WiKFIHBldyC9cJ0wUkF5i-HMnmd6IW7kpw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Cape Coral, FL ","date","2025-03-04T00:00:00Z","article","Youth council members and City Council on March 4 discussed development and the city’s capacity to serve a growing population, pressing officials about a recent land sale, hospital crowding, traffic and long-term infrastructure needs.

The Youth Council asked how the city decides what portion of land to sell and whether the council can influence health-care capacity after noting that the council recently approved the sale of Hudson Creek to D.R. Horton, a residential developer. \"What can the city council do to influence maybe bringing another hospital into the city?\" a youth member asked, citing overcrowding in Cape Coral Hospital’s emergency department.

Why it matters: The city is in a period of rapid growth; residents and student leaders told councilmembers they regularly see crowded hospital waiting rooms and increased traffic. Officials said the city’s role is to guide land use and to incentivize development, but not to direct private owners or hospital corporations.

Hospital capacity and developer negotiations
- Councilmember Kaduk said the city will press Lee Health for expanded capacity and signaled willingness to help recruit competitors if current providers do not expand. \"I will actively campaign to bring their competition into town if they choose to not build another hospital here,\" she said, noting Cape Coral Hospital’s crowded conditions.

- Councilmember Kilrain noted Lee Health’s transition from a public to a private system and said the city is working with other groups exploring medical and veterans-oriented projects in Victory Park. \"We would hope that they would like to have another facility nearby,\" he said.

Land use, Hudson Creek and growth management
- Youth council members raised the Hudson Creek sale and asked what factors the council considers when approving land sales. Councilmembers said private property rights limit direct control over buyers’ land use but that the city can influence development through zoning, land-assembly strategies and targeted economic-development incentives.

- Councilmembers observed that Cape Coral is largely pre-platted and that assembling multiple parcels for commercial opportunity is difficult. The city has retained consultants to analyze land-use opportunities and identify areas with commercial deficits.

Roads, bridges and timing
- On traffic and major roadwork, Councilmember Laster said widening projects are in the pipeline; she told students Cape Coral Parkway is expected to be widened later this year. County planning for a new bridge and expanded westbound capacity remains on a longer timeline: designers expect construction to begin in 2027 with work that could take two to three years, council members said.

Funding and infrastructure constraints
- Councilmembers and staff emphasized funding limits. Officials said some large projects—wastewater plants, bridge replacements and road widening—require state, county or federal funding or special assessments. Several councilmembers suggested vehicle registration or gas-tax adjustments and state-level action are part of the funding conversation.

Clarifying details and numbers reported in the discussion included a council estimate that the Hudson Creek area will add thousands of housing units as development proceeds; one council member cited \"3,500 homes\" tied to developments in the pipeline.

Ending: Councilmembers said they will continue to press for hospital expansion discussions with Lee Health, pursue strategic land-use planning and prioritize critical infrastructure projects while acknowledging that some decisions (private land sales and hospital siting) rest with private owners and external health systems.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Joint City Council and Youth Council Workshop - March 4, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","At a March 4 joint workshop, youth and council members raised concerns about the recent sale of Hudson Creek to D.R. Horton, overcrowding at Cape Coral Hospital and accelerating needs for roads, schools and utilities as the city grows; council members described outreach to Lee Health and plans for roadway projects and wastewater capacity.","taxTitle","Cape Coral City, Lee County, Florida","taxId",4188,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6296629,"Youth council presses Cape Coral leaders on voting, internships, transparency and renewables",7698,171000,7869000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2514192-4932b9a78311bacd5d2397e7f70d523d&start=171&end=7869","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2514192-4932b9a78311bacd5d2397e7f70d523d/thumbnail_171000.jpg","/articles/6296629/Cape-Coral-City/Lee-County/Florida/Youth-council-presses-Cape-Coral-leaders-on-voting-internships-transparency-and-renewables","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6296629-6ccca8da1ce6daff95cc2b6c822b5c73/orig.mp4?Expires=1771213430&Signature=mxF0hNFtZCqnmlKJY8C-47mT3BDNZJtdlutzgekdY-fApCx-qUunWD2nFYRplA6Je~2ijcWFQS4VYgldKpgME7fMNeo9daNF-aiA0crCUpPJHYYfbvk6Kp~tfgffEaUbLShjtojIehJeSYRw3qPVjhb3ZDCj-W47OHT4KmnfXkvHG3gX9elrpqz0N1hF2MAhUh0GAzYLi-aR1YIFXmiTt4YGS81ssdFLQTLGKhPwvWQqWMSu1fIzNiqLZhrM8IkDMfC31yP1IV6GpS5TZ7~vy-4JWsjc~brqCGrb8xGfH5oTn6-ByUvMC~fiECHgKd-F~KLVgEGPL~I9KlllfDPq1w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Cape Coral Youth Council on March 4 asked City Council members and staff how the city can increase youth voting, expand internship opportunities in municipal departments, improve public transparency on controversial issues and pursue renewable energy options.

Sophie Garcia, chair of the Youth Council, opened the session and summarized the group’s topics. \"The city council recently approved the sale of Hudson Creek to D.R. Horton,\" she said while introducing development-related questions and then moved the discussion into public relations topics that included voter engagement and internships.

Why it matters: Youth engagement and workforce pathways are issues the council said it wants to encourage as Cape Coral grows. Officials told students some programs already exist and that creating more structured internship pipelines and clearer communications could increase youth participation in civic life.

What city staff told students
- Voter education: The City Clerk reported that the Lee County Supervisor of Elections runs a year-round education program for schools, libraries, camps and community groups. The clerk said the office provides voter-education presentations, mock elections using real equipment, straw polls, tours of the election center and a high-school voter-registration challenge, and that participation varies by school. \"They contact high school principals yearly to invite them to do the challenge and to offer their services,\" the City Clerk said in response to the Youth Council’s question about how the city can work with the elections office.

- Internships: The City Manager said the city has hosted student interns — in engineering, public administration and other fields — and encouraged the youth council to invite staff to a future youth meeting to develop a workable internship plan. \"If that's something you would like to further explore, we can do that,\" the City Manager said, noting internships typically are coordinated through Human Resources and must be arranged with schools to address insurance and scheduling needs.

- Legal internships: The City Attorney said his office has hosted high-school students for short summer experiences. \"In the past, I've had high school students that do, in fact, come on summer [break],\" the City Attorney said, adding students could contact the office manager to arrange brief shadowing opportunities.

- Reducing paper use: Matt Grambo, deputy development services director, described the city’s move to electronic permitting as an example of paper reduction. He said the city required digital permit submissions beginning March 20, 2023, and reported that roughly 94,000 permits have been submitted since that date. \"Our overall paper savings has been about 1,892,623 pages,\" Grambo said, adding the reduction equates to roughly 17,000 pounds of CO2 saved and about $130,000 in industry printing costs.

- Transparency and communications: Multiple council members and the city manager encouraged residents and students to use official channels and the city's communications resources for factual updates, especially during emergencies. Council members said town halls, direct email and hard-copy postings at fire stations (used during power outages) are among the alternatives the city relies on when electronic communications are disrupted.

- Renewable energy: Students asked whether Cape Coral could operate on 100% renewable power. Councilmember Kilrain, speaking from energy-sector experience, urged a careful, whole-system analysis. \"There is no more economical and more dense source than natural gas,\" Kilrain said, while acknowledging opportunities for incremental renewable projects and newer nuclear technologies in the longer term.

What the youth asked for and next steps: Youth Council members asked for specific, actionable programs: more social-media outreach for voter registration, a structured internship program that coordinates with school OJT or class-credit arrangements, shadowing opportunities with elected officials or department heads, and clearer directions to existing election-education offerings. Officials suggested staff would return to a youth meeting to map an internship pathway and that the Youth Council could take a lead role in coordinating voter-education activities with principals.

Ending: Councilmembers and staff thanked the youth for their questions and said they would work to follow up on internship coordination, continue voter-education outreach and expand channels for clear, factual communication to residents.","At a March 4 joint workshop, the Cape Coral Youth Council asked city leaders how to boost youth voter turnout, expand internship opportunities, reduce paper waste and pursue renewable energy; staff outlined existing election-education programs, internship processes and an ongoing shift to digital permitting.","actionData","errors"]

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Cape Coral council, youth discuss Hudson Creek sale, hospital capacity and infrastructure as population grows

Youth council presses Cape Coral leaders on voting, internships, transparency and renewables