Planning board accepts Owls Yacht Club withdrawal, applies 12-month bar on refiling

The Punta Gorda Public Order Planning and Zoning Board on March 24 voted to accept the Owls Yacht Club's request to withdraw special-exception application SE-02-2024 and to accept that withdrawal "with prejudice," effectively invoking the code provision that limits refiling on the same property for 12 months.

City attorney David West, advising the board, told members that the city code contains a specific provision for special exceptions under chapter 26, section 16.8(j). "It does allow an applicant to withdraw the application, requested any time," West said, but he explained that if the request is made after notice has been published the withdrawal requires the consent of the advertised body and that, unless the board says otherwise, a new application concerning the same property cannot be filed within 12 months.

The applicant, Jake Dye, representing the Owls Yacht Club, told the board the club disagreed with staff findings and sought time to gather more documentation. "We very much do not agree with the findings of the staff," Dye said. He said the club plans to refine its application on issues raised by staff and the public and that collecting the necessary studies and legal advice would take time.

A member of the public, James Tanner, said he supported a 12-month moratorium. "I think a 1-year moratorium would be appropriate," Tanner said during public comment.

A board member disclosed a conflict and recused himself from votes on the matter because he is employed by the yacht club. The board then considered motions and ultimately approved a motion to consent to the withdrawal "with prejudice." The motion carried unanimously; the transcript records the vote as passing unanimously but does not list individual roll-call votes.

City staff noted a filing fee of $7.50 for an entirely new application. West told the board that if the applicant intends to supplement the existing application rather than file a new one, the 12-month limitation would not technically apply; the board's action to accept the withdrawal with prejudice was intended to clarify the applicants' and the board's expectations about whether the club would refile or supplement the pending application.

The board's action removed the item from its docket for the near term; whether the club returns with a supplemented or new application will determine how the 12-month provision applies.

The public hearing on SE-02-2024 had been continued from a prior meeting and the city attorney told members that, because an unofficial online notice had said the matter was withdrawn, the board should consider whether the public had adequate notice before finalizing any action.