Cape Coral residents relieved as Redfish Pointe rezoning request withdrawn

CAPE CORAL, Fla. —

Residents living near Rotary Park are breathing a sigh of relief after the owners of Redfish Pointe withdrew a long-standing request to rezone hundreds of acres of land for development.

For Jim Pavek, who lives just south of the park near the Caloosahatchee River, the decision means the 350 acres next to his home will not become a hotel, marina or mixed-use development — at least for now.

“It’s really good news,” Pavek said. “We know that this is still not done. They could bring it forward again.”

The property owners, the Zemel family, sent a letter to the City of Cape Coral on Tuesday formally withdrawing their four-year-old rezoning request. The letter did not provide a reason for the decision.

When asked whether the move could be tied to it being an election year, Mayor John Gunter said there is no clear indication.

“I don’t know if that was the reason, because if you read the letter, there was no real reason given,” Gunter said.

Gunter added that he does not expect the rezoning issue to return to the city council before November.

From an observation deck south of Rotary Park, the land in question stretches across hundreds of acres of mangroves and wildlife habitat. Many residents say the area serves as a critical natural barrier against storms and flooding.

Even the mayor acknowledged environmental concerns tied to potential development.

“All the wildlife, all of the endangered species, all the protected species — the possibility of doing some type of development that would enhance the probability of flooding,” Gunter said.

While the rezoning request has been withdrawn, Gunter believes the property owners may still be looking to maximize the land’s value in the future.

That uncertainty has neighbors like Pavek pushing for a permanent solution: selling the property to Conservation 2020, a county program that preserves environmentally sensitive land.

“Until this is purchased and they no longer own it, I think the risk remains,” Pavek said.

The property owners declined to comment when asked why they withdrew the rezoning request.

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