River Park East residents press Naples council for canal dredging, drainage and seawall funding

Multiple speakers from the River Park East neighborhood appealed to Naples City Council on Feb. 5 to prioritize dredging, drainage improvements and seawall repairs after repeated flooding and navigation problems in their canals.

Keith Shoff, a neighborhood resident and CRA-board adviser, asked council to "put to a vote monies for appraisal for the dredging and mangrove trimming of the canal system in River Park East," arguing that deeper channels would reduce flood elevations and improve navigation for boaters. Shoff described narrow channels and overgrown mangroves that he said make boat passage hazardous and said he wanted an appraisal and engineering consultation to give the city a clear scope and cost estimate.

Resident Lauren Battle told council she opposed using $6 million in CRA funds proposed for a purchase of the Stillwater Cove apartments before addressing the neighborhood's drainage needs: “The 6,000,000 you have available for it should be used for our infrastructure before you even consider a purchase of 5 buildings,” she said, and asked why CRA funds were funding parking garages instead of storm drains. Multiple speakers reported repeated flooding damage to homes, mold in units and neighborhood sewer backflow concerns; James Whitaker and Lizette Zelaya described chronic flooding and urged the city to prioritize drainage and pumping-station improvements.

City staff and council responded that the CRA and city are tracking multiple projects: council members said they had heard the complaints and would coordinate a neighborhood meeting and follow up with staff; the mayor clarified that there was no plan to annex neighborhood park land. No formal vote or directive allocating funds was taken at the meeting; several council members urged staff to report back with options and timelines for canal dredging, seawalls and storm-drain remediation.

Why this matters: River Park East is a low-lying, waterfront neighborhood where repeated nuisance and storm flooding has prompted residents to call for infrastructure fixes; canal depth affects both drainage capacity and safe navigation for small boats that residents rely on. Residents said short-term measures and appraisal work are needed immediately to inform larger capital decisions.

Ending: Council members acknowledged the urgency and instructed staff to follow up; residents asked for clear timelines and for CRA budget priorities to be re-evaluated before any large property purchases in the neighborhood.