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Hearing examiner will recommend vacation of canal right-of-way at 905 Dolphin Drive to City Council
Summary
At a July 1 hearing, city planning staff recommended approval of a request to vacate 1,068 square feet of unexcavated canal right-of-way and 381 square feet of platted easement at 905 Dolphin Drive; the hearing examiner said she will forward the recommendation to City Council with conditions.
The hearing examiner for the City of Cape Coral on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, heard testimony and staff analysis on VAC24-000014, a request by Thomas Schafer and Christina Devoe to vacate 1,068 square feet of unexcavated canal right-of-way and 381 square feet of platted easement adjacent to Lots 5 and 6 at 905 Dolphin Drive. City planning staff recommended approval with conditions and the hearing examiner said she would forward that recommendation to City Council.
City planner Candace Ford told the hearing that the parcel is one of two residential lots adjacent to the Dolphin Canal and currently totals 11,004 square feet. Ford said the vacation would enlarge the site to about 12,072 square feet and that staff’s analysis under Land Development Code section 3.4.0.5 found the unexcavated strip of land proposed for vacation is not part of a functioning canal system and does not support boater navigability. Ford said the Dolphin Canal is approximately 170 feet wide where the property fronts the water and that the single-family home on the lot was built in 1987, with a 2024 marine improvement permit for a roughly 710-square-foot dock and two boat lifts noted in the record. "Planning staff recommends approval with conditions of this vacation request," Ford said.
Ford summarized the conditions staff recommended. Key conditions include: retaining city easements sufficient to create a continuous 6-foot-wide perimeter easement totaling 540 square feet around the site (depicted in the staff exhibits); recording the resolution and related legal descriptions prepared by Harris Jorgensen LLC as identified in the staff exhibits; and that the petitioners pay the city’s recording fees to the Lee County Clerk of Court. Ford said local utility providers issued letters of no objection but that LCEC required the continuous perimeter easement as a condition.
Applicant Thomas Schafer described the planned work as patio and walkway improvements along the seawall. "Patio area by the seawall that's located where the plat is, and put a walkway from the back pool entrance down to the patio," Schafer said when asked to describe the request. No members of the public spoke during the hearing.
After asking whether the applicant agreed with the staff report and conditions, the hearing examiner said she would recommend the request to City Council: "I will recommend to go forward to the city council as requested," she said. The recommendation is advisory; City Council will make the final decision at a subsequent public hearing.
Staff noted no written correspondence had been received before the hearing. The record includes staff exhibits and legal descriptions prepared by Harris Jorgensen LLC and letters from utility providers. The hearing examiner closed the matter for her record and indicated she would prepare and send a recommendation to City Council for their consideration.
