Understanding MICA’s Essential Role on Marco Island

What is MICA, and how does it help protect the quality of life Marco Island residents value?

Teri Sommerfeld

8/12/20264 min read

Marco Island Civic Association has been in the news recently after its Board of Directors announced its opposition to the City’s proposed $23 million transportation bond referendum. That has prompted some residents to ask an important question: What exactly is MICA, and what role does it play in the way Marco Island works?

It is a good question, because MICA occupies a role that is unusual and can be confusing, particularly for people who have moved to the island more recently.

MICA is not part of City government. It cannot pass ordinances, levy taxes, approve development, change zoning or tell City Council how to vote. It is also not a conventional homeowners association governing everyone who lives within a particular community. Yet MICA has been part of Marco Island for nearly 60 years and has responsibilities that overlap with some of the issues residents normally associate with local government.

To understand why, we have to understand a little of Marco Island’s history.

MICA was formed in 1968, decades before Marco Island became a city in 1997. MICA is a voluntary membership organization; simply living on Marco Island does not automatically make someone a member. Residents and property owners may choose to join, and members elect MICA’s Board of Directors, which oversees the organization and sets its positions on civic issues. MICA also employs staff and operates Residents’ Beach and Sarazen Park, two amenities that have become an important part of island life.

MICA's most unusual responsibility, however, involves something entirely different: deed restrictions.

When Deltona Corporation developed much of modern Marco Island, it placed private deed restrictions on many of the properties it developed. In 1986, Deltona transferred the right to enforce those restrictions to MICA. As a result, MICA has legal authority to enforce those private restrictions on properties where they apply, even though MICA has no governmental authority.

A homeowner does not have to be a MICA member for a valid deed restriction on his or her property to apply. MICA's Architectural Review Committee reviews construction, additions and renovations on properties covered by those restrictions. In some cases, MICA's requirements are more restrictive than the City's requirements.

This means that two separate systems of rules can apply to the same property on Marco Island.

The City of Marco Island is our government. City Council adopts ordinances and makes policy decisions. The City administers zoning, the Land Development Code, building regulations and the Comprehensive Plan. City staff reviews development applications and issues permits.

MICA performs a different role. It enforces private deed restrictions where they exist, maintains property and amenities under its control, and serves as an independent civic organization concerned with issues affecting Marco Island.

Both exist side by side; neither replaces the other.

A City permit does not necessarily eliminate the need to comply with applicable MICA deed restrictions, just as MICA cannot grant someone permission to violate City zoning. In that sense, Marco Island has an additional layer of protection that many communities simply do not have.

MICA's role extends beyond deed restrictions. Its committees monitor City Council, the Planning Board and other governmental activity, and its Board may take positions on public issues that it believes affect Marco or are not in alignment with its deed restrictions and other policies.

That is what happened with the transportation bond referendum.

When MICA's Board took a position against the proposed bond, it was not exercising governmental power and it was not making the decision for Marco Island voters. The voters will make that decision. Rather, MICA's elected Board was doing something the organization has done throughout its long history: examining an issue it believes could affect the community and making its position known.

Whether an individual resident agrees or disagrees with MICA on a particular issue, I believe its voice deserves serious consideration. MICA brings nearly six decades of history and institutional knowledge to these discussions, along with a longstanding mission focused on preserving Marco Island as an exceptional residential community.

That is important because MICA has helped protect some of the very things residents value about Marco Island. Its stewardship of Residents’ Beach and Sarazen Park has preserved treasured amenities for the community. Its committees monitor decisions that may affect neighborhoods, property owners and our quality of life.

MICA therefore occupies a unique place in the way Marco Island functions. It provides an important independent layer of stewardship, protection and civic oversight alongside City government. I believe that role is essential to preserving what makes Marco Island such a special place to live.

I believe City leaders and residents should understand and respect MICA's role. That does not mean City Council must agree with MICA on every issue, nor does it mean MICA speaks for every resident. It means we should listen seriously when an organization with this history and responsibility raises concerns about decisions affecting the future of our island.

Thank you, MICA, for your voice and 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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