Punta Gorda Isles committee updates state talks on Colony Point spoil site; no permit decision yet

Punta Gorda — City staff told the Punta Gorda Isles Canal Advisory Committee on Oct. 20 that state reviewers have not yet approved a proposed spoil site at Colony Point Drive and are still reviewing the city's legal description and survey data.

Mark Storm, Canal Maintenance supervisor in the City of Punta Gorda Public Works Department, said staff met with DEP and State Parks representatives by Zoom on Sept. 30 to review mapping and documentation for the spoil-site proposal. "We haven't got a response back from the state yet," Storm said, describing follow-up questions about a small triangular area shown on the maps where barges might land.

The committee was told the city provided additional documentation, including evaluations of alternate sites. Storm said those alternatives and the current survey were sent to state reviewers for consideration. "We provided that documentation," Storm said. State Parks and DEP personnel attended the meeting, though Storm said the manager who runs Ponce State Park did not attend and that the park manager's supervisor participated instead.

The spoil site is intended to serve as a staging and storage area for seawall panels and dredged material when the city runs seawall-replacement and dredging operations. Brian Clements, Public Works, described how water access would change operations: "Whenever we're dredging, we would take the barge right there," he said, noting that trucking and staging would continue if water access is not granted immediately.

Committee members raised concerns about neighborhood impacts and whether the City Council fully supports the site. Jake Dye, a committee member, asked, "Do we have a sense for whether city council is unanimously in support of the spoil site and the dredging for it?" Storm said council had voted on a letter of recommendation with a recorded vote of 4–1 at a prior meeting, and that staff had documented other evaluated sites in the city's submission to state reviewers.

Staff told the committee the city is proposing environmental mitigation measures, including additional mangrove plantings, and said current surveys showed only small pockets of seagrass in the proposed area. Storm said the survey indicated "there was like 4 or 5 pockets of it that were under 2 square foot" and that, as a result, state reviewers were being shown the limits of seagrass and proposed mitigation to offset impacts.

No formal permit or final approval was reported at the meeting. Storm said city staff would inform the committee when the state responds. Committee members and staff discussed logistics and alternatives but did not vote on any new action at the Oct. 20 meeting.

The committee also discussed how the site would be used operationally — as a staging/storage area for panels and offloaded spoil — and noted that trucking currently handles most material moves when water access is unavailable. Brian Clements said the spoil site would be important longer term as the city approaches build-out and spare staging lots become scarce.

The committee scheduled no further votes on the spoil site at the Oct. 20 meeting and asked staff to report back when they receive a formal response from DEP or State Parks.