Bonita Springs council narrowly votes 4-3 to transmit Seagate's Ravenna Lakes land-use amendment to state review

The Bonita Springs City Council voted 4-3 to transmit proposed future land-use map and text amendments for Seagate's Ravenna Lakes project to state reviewing agencies, a procedural step that allows state and regional agencies to comment but does not approve the development.

The transmittal vote follows a lengthy staff presentation, public comment from dozens of residents both for and against the project, and debate among council members over wetlands protections, traffic and whether leaving the decision to Lee County would produce a denser development with fewer city conditions.

City planner Mike Feagon, speaking for Community Development, told the council that the hearing before them was a land-use hearing, not a zoning hearing: "This is not a zoning hearing. This is a land use hearing in determining whether or not you heard enough tonight to transmit a proposed future land use map change and text change on that property." He reiterated staff's analysis that portions of the site include high-quality wetlands and uplands that the city's and county's policies treat as non-urban.

Seagate's representatives said the applicant would place higher-quality wetland areas in the city's resource-protection future land-use category and include about 100,000 square feet of commercial space intended to serve rooftops east of I-75. Alexis Crespo, speaking for the applicant, clarified a point frequently raised by residents about state road work: "We were not submitting to you that FDOT is improving the Bonita Beach Road intersection. What they will be doing through... their improvements will be the on ramp." She said FDOT's project would lengthen…