'-; *>•••:<•; -if '•'-• 33*57 .Girls learn about business page 8 Week of May 15-21, 2003 SANIBEL & CAPTIVA, FLORIDA VOLUME 30, NUMBER 20, 24 PAGES 75 CENTS Raising limits Coy: Professionals Whole Causeway now striped will have final say More exercise for two lanes on Causeway Class taught three morn- ings a week at SCA By Kate Thompson By Kate Thompson Staff writer Staff writer •—See page 4 It now takes less time — usually — to get on or Lee County Commissioners will off Sanibel. Islanders going fast make the final decision on how the The Lee County Department of Transportation Sanibel Locals racing a boast this has raised the speed limit on most of the Sanibel Causeway will be weekend13 Causeway to 30 mph. • rebuilt, said The change occurred Sunday night, after the county commis- —See page 4 county repainted the lines on the first causeway sioner Andy Coy. island to create a center turn-lane and force all vehi- While the Lee cles into the far right. The department also painted County bicycle lanes on the Causeway, making it slightly Commissioners PiTI easier for cyclists to share the roadway. went through "a The county raised the limits based on the results lot of hand hold- New coordinator of sophisticated weight and stress limits testing. The ing to make sure speed limit on the drawbridge, however, remains at everyone was appointed 20 mph, as it has always been. happy" when they Before problems surfaced and restrictions were Will head city senior pro- first developed Coy gram put in place in January, the speed limit on the rest of plans to rebuild the causeway was 35 mph. the Sanibel —See page 2 The sophisticated testing was done by Post, Causeway, they're now going to move Buckley, Schuh and Jernigan engineering consul- ahead as fast as possible, he said. tants in cooperation with University of Michigan sci- Coy spoke last Thursday evening to entists. the Sanibel-Captiva Republican Club. Earlier this year, the scientists installed sophisti- Renny Severance photo A school bus passes the new speed limit signs Original plans to rebuild the bridge cated computerized weight devices on the three Tuesday morning. have fallen apart because of the deterio- bridges to test and monitor weights of specific vehi- ration of the Causeway, he said. None of cles ciossing the bridges The weights, or loads, of conjunction with the load measurements to see what the commissioners are engineers, so the heavy \ehicles was fed automatically into com- \ehu_les weie causing what stiesses. they are relying on staff to a great The county also has established a hotline for those puleit, piogiommed to measure, analyze pnd pi edict 1 1 the amount oi stiuauial -.ut.;^ iu uu. UCLK ana ptu-. it! Vi.if.ti>.!i, .bou* t t..cJ and weight restric- See CAUSEWAY Project proceeding of the bridges. Video monitoring was also used in tions on the causew ay. The number is 335-2852. page 3 Sanibel Gardens on track Planning Commission sends Grounded boat attracts attention —See page 11 Council revised ordinance By Kate Thompson Boulevard. It ran aground some Staff writer time ago, said Officer Lisa Torres Committee, CASI city's Vegetation Committee and of the Florida Fish and Wildlife headed the subcommittee that The owner of a boat which ran Conservation Commission. like changes worked on the measure. aground several months ago in "He bought the boat not long Julie Schwartz was also a mem- San Carlos Bay could face fines ago and was trying to sail it back ber of that committee and told the By Kate Thompson by the end of this week, if his when he stopped and ran Staff writer commission that they had put boat isn't moved. aground," she said. "The engines together a primer on plants for The sailboat is trapped on a The third time was the charm for Sanibel residents. They had sandbar not far from the mainland See BOAT eiTBlE the new vegetation ordinance at the planned to print 5,000 copies and on the south side of McGregor page 3 Sanibel Planning Commission. would give some to realtors to give The Commission voted 5-0 to to new buyers of homes on the For all your send the new vegetation ordinance island as well as to current resi- planning needs on to the City Council with a rec- dents. Our Town: ommendation to pass it. "We found the general popula- —See page 10 Commission Chairwoman Marie tion has very little understanding of By the numbers Gargano and Commissioner Jack vegetation," she said. Samler were excused ' from Sonja Smith, representing Tuesday's meeting/Before the veg- CASI, said she was pleased with etation ordinance becomes law on the result of working with the city Sanibel, it must be approved by the and commission on fee proposed Where are we from? council. ordinance. The vegetation ordinance has There are a number of changes 100% to existing law in the ordinance. been about two years in the mak- 90% ing. The city's Vegetation Perhaps the most significant is that, H Foreign born, j Committee worked on it, first with under the new ordinance, there are 80% non-citizen several types of improvements to i a subcommittee, and then as a 70% Foreign born, natural- I whole. The ordinance was in limbo property which triggered develop- ized citizen for about a year because of the ment permits from the city. When 60% development permits were required Native, born outside state's work on plants which was 50% United States only recently completed. under the old ordinance, it forced the property owner to remove inva- 40% » ENVIRONMENT page u The final ordinance incorporat- j in state other ed a number of changes offered by sive exotic plants. Under the new ordinance being 30% than where residing » LOOKING BACK page 23 the Condominium Association of Sanibel and other citizens. proposed, that won't be the case 20% . Residing in state unless the improvements are rela- of birth « OPINION page 9 "I think the Vegetation 10% Committee owes you much tively significant. That will make it thanks," Art Weissbach told the possible for condominiums, for • 0% • BUSINESS page 8 example, to add recycling which commission Tuesday after it passed Sanibel Florida U.S. • DATELINE page 10 the resolution referring the ordi- might require some additional nance to the city council. "This is paving — and thus a permit under • TV LISTINGS page 14 really a substantially improved document." See ORDINANCE Source; US Census Bureau • CLASSIFIEDS page 20 Weissbach is a member of the page 3 2 J Week of May 15-21,2003 • ISLAND REPORTER ISLAND REPORTER • Week of May 15-21, 2003 • 3 Conunisslon mulls revisions to LDC Info still sought in pot investigation By Kate Thompson recycling. mining seating. She also raised the issue of adoption of a Sanibel Police are still conducting an investigation relating to last week's marijuana Staff writer "We are probably missing tons of recyclables because model code for home and business-based energy genera- eradication operation. (condominiums) do not have areas readily available for tion. Following the March 30 arrest of two juveniles police, in conjunction with the Finding ways to get existing businesses along guests to use," Samler wrote. Councilman Dick Walsh, who attended the meeting, National Guard and the L'.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, conducted the operation May Periwinkle Way to add more and suitable vegetation is one Samler also proposed dealing with build-back provi- told the commission that he believes horses are not legal 5 and 6. This operation followed the recent recovery of cultivated marijuana in planters of the issues topping the list of concerns for the Land sions for Gulf-front condominiums. Laws have changed on the beach because the current code lists permitted uses on public lands on the islands. To date SPD has removed cultivated marijuana from Development Code Committee. since many of the condominiums were built; some are too of the beach and horses are not included. seven sites. The estimated street value of-the drug is 534,000. The committee, which consists of the entire Sanibel close to the Gulf and others exceed density requirements. "It is very clear that is not a permitted use," he said. Anyone with information about the person or persons responsible for cultivating pot Planning Commission, started the process of considering In the event of a major storm or hurricane that resulted in Commissioner John Veenschoten did not provide a list on public lands on the island should contact Lt. Scott Ashby at 472-3111 Ext. 241 or what areas of the code need revision. It met Monday morn- significant damage to property, the city's laws don't of modifications for the land development code that he stop by the department at 800 Dunlop Road. ing in MacKenzie Hall with several members of the answer all questions condominium associations and the wants to see enacted. Commission offering proposals for discussion and began city will face, Samler said. "The Land Development Code has served the city very narrowing the list of more than a dozen ideas to a more "Just think, if we leave it to future lawsuits, we have no well," he said. Saudi Brim Rec Department's manageable level. idea what a judge might impose on Sanibel," he said. Hazel Schuller suggested the commission consider "I would like to remind the committee members that we This was one of the issues that would have been includ- adding a list of specific uses for conservation activities have a fine Land Development Code," said John Dillon, ed in a study which the city had planned to fund this year; related to the beach.