The Board of Charlotte County Commissioners shot down a request Feb. 25 to rezone 138.32 acres to pave the way for 1,188 apartments in five-story buildings in the Punta Gorda area.
Tag Lakeside LLC represented by land-use attorney Robert Berntsson, of the Big W Law firm, later withdrew the application, with Berntsson planning to reapply at a later date.
The property zoned for 135 units is located north of Turbak Drive, south of Peace River Shores Boulevard, east of Cobalt Boulevard and west of Duncan Road.
Some members of grassroots group No Tag Lakeside opposed the project during the public portion.
No Tag Lakeside, founded by Courtney Mason, Sarah McBee and Denise Gentile, hired land-use attorney Robert Grosso and launched a public awareness campaign, which included signs and a video. The video played during the meeting portrays four of the five commissioners as being on the side of developers.
“We have over 500 petition signatures from Charlotte County residents, raised more than $3,000 for attorney fees, have support from six surrounding communities and have over 200 members on our Facebook group,” Mason said previously.
No Tag Lakeside’s concerns include density, flooding, increased traffic in the area and destruction of a habitat rife with more than 250 gopher tortoise burrows, Florida scrub jays and other species.
Berntsson argued Tag Lakeside adheres to environmental guidelines and argued more habitats would be preserved if the project moves forward.
Mason said the acreage was found to have 254 potentially active tortoise burrows, according to a 2023 Protected Species Assessment, and 133 would have to be relocated. The gopher tortoise was reclassified as a state-designated threatened species in 2007, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission created its first Gopher Tortoise Management Plan following the reclassification.
Pointing to a current graphic of the parcel, Berntsson speculated that those biking and riding all-terrain vehicles through the acreage are destroying the gopher tortoises and their burrows.
Grosso previously sent a 15-page letter to commissioners citing various local and state statutes support denying the rezoning amendment. He wrote that the proposed land-use amendment “suffers from major inconsistencies with the state’s land-use planning law and the county’s own Comprehensive Plan.”
At the meeting, Grosso said the development would increase density by almost 10 times.
Gentile, a nurse, said the development would have more than 2,000 residents when fully occupied and put a strain on first responders and hospital capacity. The two Port Charlotte hospitals and another in DeSoto County are 17 and 18 miles away.
Commissioners expressed their own concerns, including the applicant not yet submitting letters verifying who would supply water to the community and handle its wastewater.
“We need to have letters of availability,” said Commissioner Ken Doherty.
“We can’t build one unit without water and sewer” and “years of permitting” lie ahead, Berntsson countered.
Commission Chair Joe Tiseo noted how the zoning change would increase density and said, “I’d like to see a balanced (planned development). I don’t think it’s balanced – it’s unbalanced.”
Shaun Cullinan, the county’s planning and zoning official, said that if county officials were to approve the rezoning change, even if the Tag Lakeside planned development application expires, the entitlement for 1,188 units would remain.
Tiseo asked Berntsson to come back with a plan that would have less units.
