To the editor:<\/p>\n
I write in response to a letter to the editor, titled \u201cStrongly urge city council to deny project,\u201d published in the April 1, 2026, issue of the Island Reporter. I realize that this is a moot point given the Sanibel City Council\u2019s approval of the project at issue \u2014 Community Housing & Resources\u2019 (CHR) Riverview II \u2014 but I feel the need to address several of the statements in the letter.<\/p>\n
I will state my bias in advance: I applaud CHR and the Sanibel City Council for taking a progressive and important step toward more affordable housing on Sanibel.<\/p>\n
\u2013 CHR mission<\/p>\n
The letter writer states that CHR has \u201ca specific mission: to build high density housing.\u201d This is objectively false. According to its filings with the IRS and its website, CHR\u2019s mission is to provide affordable housing to families and individuals who work on or serve the community of Sanibel.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Sanibel Plan<\/p>\n
The letter writer leans into the Sanibel Plan as a stated basis for disapproval of the project. The Sanibel Plan, by its express terms, is \u201ca long-range planning and policy document\u201d; it is not law, nor is it static. I agree that the Sanibel Plan and its guidance have served Sanibel very well over its 50-year lifespan. It is currently undergoing review. However, the Sanibel Plan as it exists today addresses the issue of and need for affordable housing:<\/p>\n
It is evident from an analysis of the existing housing stock and the vacant developable land inventory, that the private sector is unable, without major city support and philanthropic effort, to provide housing on Sanibel that is affordable to very low, low and moderate income households.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Scale of the project\/alternatives<\/p>\n
The letter writer takes umbrage with the size and location of Riverview II. He states that Riverview II will be a \u201chuge institutional size\u201d building. I am not sure what this means, but the project calls for a 9,000-square-foot building, smaller than some Sanibel single-family residences. In addition, there are a number of large \u201cshopping center\u201d or \u201cstrip centers\u201d up and down Periwinkle Way whose size greatly exceeds this size. Many of those do not seem to me to have a particular \u201csmall town\u201d feel.<\/p>\n
The building sits on a good-sized lot (by Sanibel standards) of 2.6 acres. Per the renderings, it will not be visually obtrusive. It will set back from Periwinkle and will be surrounded by trees and vegetation. It will be an \u201cOld Florida\u201d style design. It will not be close to any residence.<\/p>\n
The letter writer suggests that buying and renovating storm-damaged houses might be a solution to the affordable housing problem. This is infeasible for reasons too numerous to mention.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Commercial activity\/tax base<\/p>\n
The letter writer states that Sanibel would be better served with a commercial use building. Sadly, many commercial businesses along Periwinkle are run-down, abandoned or repurposed into uses that I suspect the letter writer may not believe is consistent with our small-town values and charm, e.g. office where a restaurant used to be.<\/p>\n
Riverview II will replace a restaurant property that has been derelict, abandoned (and dangerous) for almost four years and is an eyesore. Sanibel has made great recovery strides, but some of these properties have so sign of coming back online any time soon. The project itself may not be subject to property tax but its residents will certainly be patronizing Sanibel businesses, which is good for the local economy.<\/p>\n
\u2013 The residents<\/p>\n
The plan, as approved by the city council, requires applicants at Riverview II to work at or own a business on Sanibel Island or a Sanibel-affiliated business on Captiva. Retirees or disabled individuals who worked at or owned a business on the island for at least 20 years also are eligible.<\/p>\n
The letter writer expresses several ancillary concerns associated with residents of Riverview II. One relates to dinner reservations. I believe it is unlikely that Riverview residents will make it more difficult to get restaurant reservations. Quite the opposite. Restaurants need help and help needs an affordable place to live.<\/p>\n
Traffic is another. I cannot imagine that traffic created by having more 39-78 more residents on the island will materially affect the existing traffic problems. Moreover, Sanibel traffic is an entirely different issue than affordable housing.<\/p>\n
I agree with the letter writer that commerce is important for many reasons, including the city\u2019s tax base. Clearly, businesses on Sanibel need workers in order to succeed. Workers need a place to live \u2014 Sanibel being preferable for many versus the Fort Myers area, which can be well over an hour drive in peak season.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Small-town feel<\/p>\n
I fully agree that this is an important part of Sanibel\u2019s charm. However, we must be realistic. Our small town has a CVS, 7-11 (right next to the proposed project) and other buildings that are not particularly charming but are necessary. I view affordable housing as necessary.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Bottom line<\/p>\n
Affordable housing is a challenging issue on Sanibel and many other places. CHR\u2019s sole purpose is to provide affordable housing and this is an opportunity for housing that can help dozens who need it. Obtaining $9.75 million from Lee County is a big win for Sanibel and for affordable housing. Yes, there are conditions attached but they are attainable.<\/p>\n
CHR leadership has the vision and expertise to see this plan through. I also trust and defer to the expertise and experience of the Sanibel Planning Commission and city council, which resoundingly approved the project.<\/p>\n
Mike Burton<\/p>\n
Sanibel and Milwaukee, Wisconsin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To the editor: I write in response to a letter to the editor, titled \u201cStrongly urge city council…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-230183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}