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Council approves 7 Islands and Star Farms CDDs amid environmental concerns
Summary
The Cape Coral City Council voted 8-0 to establish Community Development Districts for 7 Islands and Star Farms after developers and staff said the actions create financing mechanisms but do not change land-use entitlements; public speakers pressed for mangrove restoration and more cost transparency.
The Cape Coral City Council on July 22 approved ordinances creating two Community Development Districts (CDDs) — Ordinance 34-26 for 7 Islands and Ordinance 35-26 for Star Farms — after a lengthy public hearing in which residents raised environmental and transparency concerns.
City staff and the applicants’ counsel told the council the votes would create the statutory districts used to finance, operate and maintain infrastructure on the developments, but would not change the projects’ entitlements or land‑use approvals. Jonathan Johnson, counsel for the applicants, said the CDD process is “a bankable entity” for infrastructure and stressed that assessments would apply only to property inside the new districts.
Multiple residents urged the council to delay action. David Scott, a northwest resident, asked the council to “table this” for 7 Islands while the city and regulators investigate alleged mangrove disturbances and erosion-control failures, saying the developer’s onsite work had damaged natural resources. Marie Kavanaugh and others urged the developer to restore mangroves before more construction proceeds.
City legal staff told the council that the petition documents met the statutory requirements in Chapter 190, Florida Statutes, and that public comments about alleged damage to mangroves did not create a legal basis to deny the petitions under the CDD statute. The city attorney advised that the costs of infrastructure placed in a CDD are borne by property owners inside the district, not by citywide taxpayers.
Council members repeatedly stressed that approval of the CDDs does not relieve developers of existing requirements under the development agreements and that entitlements, permitting and environmental regulations remain enforceable. After the public hearing and legal guidance, the council voted 8-0 on both ordinances.
What’s next: The CDDs now must complete required follow‑up steps, including additional public meetings and court approval for any bond issuance. The council will retain jurisdiction on land‑use and permitting matters as the projects move through regulatory review.
