The Plan That Protects Marco

Marco Island’s Comprehensive Plan helps protect the island’s character and quality of life. Teri Sommerfeld explains why following it matters.

Teri Sommerfeld

8/12/20264 min read

Marco Island is a wonderful place to live. That did not happen by accident, and preserving it for the future will not happen by accident either. One of the most important tools we have for protecting our community is Marco Island’s Comprehensive Plan.

The word “comprehensive” is important. This is not simply a zoning document or a collection of rules for individual properties. It looks at Marco Island as a whole and establishes the big-picture vision for how our community should grow and change over time. That vision includes protecting the small-town charm, natural beauty, residential character and quality of life that make Marco Island such a special place to live.

The Comprehensive Plan is essentially our community’s long-term blueprint. It guides decisions about growth, development, transportation, infrastructure, conservation, housing and other issues that shape our future. It also recognizes an important balance of both density and intensity: property owners have rights and properties will be developed and redeveloped, while those decisions can affect traffic, neighborhoods, infrastructure, waterways and the character of the island.

That is why the Comprehensive Plan matters. It requires us to look beyond one property or one application and ask a bigger question: What kind of community do we want Marco Island to be?

The Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Code

The Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Code, or LDC, are related, but they are not the same thing.

Think of the Comprehensive Plan as the blueprint. It establishes the larger vision, goals and policies that guide development. The Land Development Code is the rulebook used to carry out that vision, with detailed regulations governing zoning, permitted uses, setbacks, parking, density, site plans and other development standards.

The Land Development Code is meant to carry out the vision and policies of the Comprehensive Plan through specific rules and regulations. Marco Island’s own code provides that when the Comprehensive Plan conflicts with existing land-development regulations, the Comprehensive Plan takes precedence until those regulations are brought into consistency. That is a very important protection.

When the Exceptions Become the Rule

Recently, residents have watched several major redevelopment proposals come before the Planning Board and City Council that raise serious questions about consistency with the Comprehensive Plan. In some cases, variances, zoning changes, Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) and other approval mechanisms have been used or proposed to provide a different path when the existing rules stand in the way.

The Hilton proposal is an important example. The question is not whether the Hilton has a right to improve its property. Property owners have legitimate rights and are entitled to make reasonable use of their property within the law. The real question is whether a project that dramatically increases the intensity of a property should be allowed through another regulatory path when the Comprehensive Plan has established limits that stand in the way.

This should concern all of us.

There is a legitimate way to change the Comprehensive Plan. If Marco Island decides that the Plan no longer reflects what residents want for the future, we can amend it through the proper public and legal process.

What we should not do is leave the Comprehensive Plan intact while finding creative interpretations, exceptions or alternative approval mechanisms that allow individual projects to accomplish what the Plan was designed to prevent.

A variance here, a different interpretation there, a rezoning or Planned Unit Development somewhere else may each be explained as a unique circumstance. Taken together, however, they can have a big and undesirable impact. If we can find a way around the Comprehensive Plan every time its limits become inconvenient, then the Comprehensive Plan no longer protects us.

The Rules Should Mean Something

This is not an argument against development. Marco Island will continue to change. Properties will be redeveloped, businesses will invest, and property owners are entitled to the lawful use of their land.

This is an argument for responsible development under rules that mean something.

While developers and property owners deserve to know the rules, residents deserve to know that those rules will actually be followed. If the Comprehensive Plan allows something, we should respect that. If it establishes a limit, we should respect that too. If we believe the Plan should change, then we should have that discussion openly and amend it through the proper process.

Let the Comprehensive Plan Do Its Job

As a candidate for Marco Island City Council, my position is straightforward: respect the Comprehensive Plan, follow the Land Development Code and follow the law.

City Council will always face difficult decisions. Property rights must be respected, and every applicant deserves a fair hearing. At the same time, elected officials must be willing to say no when a proposal is inconsistent with the rules we have adopted or with the long-term vision for our island.

The Comprehensive Plan is not an obstacle to be overcome when someone wants more than the existing rules allow. It is one of the most important protections Marco Island has against overdevelopment and the gradual loss of the community we love.

When a proposal exceeds those limits, our first question should not be, “How can we find a way around them?” It should be, “Is this really in the best long-term interest of Marco Island as described in our Comprehensive Plan?”

That is the responsibility I believe comes with serving on City Council: to look beyond the pressures of the moment and find the courage to say no if that is what it will take to protect the long-term well-being of our community.

Thank you for caring for Marco,

Teri Sommerfeld

Candidate for Marco Island City Council

Learn more about Teri, her background, and her vision for a brighter future for all who call Marco Island home.

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