Posted on July 27, 2026
Thanks to Vanessa Norris for her story on the criminal conspiracy to massacre the mangroves at the Seven Islands. We now move on to the far more serious conspiracy to make Matlacha the “Miami of the West.” In the story of the mangroves, Matt DePaolis of the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation is kind to describe the Seven Islands as “another cut in a death by a thousand cuts.” In actuality, this project is the Greatest Lie yet of many notorious lies that go back to the illegal dredging of canals by the developers of Cape Coral in the ‘70s. The lies did not escape the attention of journalists. In 1983 Eileen Bernard wrote an insider’s expose in a book entitled “Lies That Came True.” So rich and clever was Ms. Bernard’s writing over the years that her title has become the unofficial motto of the City of Cape Coral, at least among those who either follow history or never forget. In 2017 Michael Grunwald, writing for Politico, followed with an amusing piece entitled “The Boomtown That Shouldn’t Exist.” The subtitle was “Cape Coral, Florida, was built on total lies.”
Apropos of slaughtering the mangroves today and asking forgiveness later, by 1977 the original developers of Cape Coral had illegally dug most of the 400 miles of canals which would not have been permitted then and certainly not today.
Fortunately, an ecologist working for the governor witnessed the developers turning their barges and steam shovels into the mangroves to the west of the canal where the Seven Islands had yet to be so fashionably named. Kevin L. Erwin single-handedly stopped the developer and demanded immediate and prompt restoration of the hundreds of acres of mangroves already destroyed. In probably the largest environmental enforcement action in the history of Southwest Florida, the developer was forced into bankruptcy, and Erwin, working with the bankruptcy trustee, the governor, the federal government, and multiple agencies, negotiated and executed Consent Order No. 15 to end the depredation of the western mangrove wilderness. Under Consent Order No. 15, all of the mangroves west of the city were deeded in perpetuity to the trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the State of Florida for wilderness area. The developer and the City of Cape Coral, along with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), promised to build and maintain two water retention dams at the two ends of the canal bathtub, to become known as the Ceitus Boat Lift Barrier on the west and the Chiquita Lock on the east. A million dollar fine paid by the developer was placed in escrow with Cape Coral to maintain the system. But Cape Coral and FDEP lied when they signed the Consent Order, even though it is enforceable through criminal charges.
They lied because neither intended to maintain these structures, even though money had been escrowed for that purpose. After the turn of the 20th Century, politicians and real estate developers were telling prospective buyers of land in north Cape Coral that the Ceitus Barrier would soon be gone, offering unimpeded boat access to the Matlacha Pass and the Gulf of Mexico. Some politicians began buying up vacant canal front lots north of the Ceitus in anticipation. In 2004 this process was accelerated by Hurricane Charley which damaged the Ceitus Barrier. In 2007 the Consent Order was amended by the FDEP and Cape Coral to require Cape Coral to rebuild the Ceitus Barrier. However, assisted by amateur prop dredging and chainsaws, Cape Coral simply removed the Ceitus Barrier in 2008. The result was the flushing of 25 years of pollutants into Matlacha Pass with the resulting death of marine life including sponges, tunicates, shellfish, and uprooted sea grasses. Does anyone recall that Matlacha Pass was once one of the most productive sources of oysters and crabs in the state, with a large processing warehouse located near the entrance to Matlacha (recently torn down)?
The FDEP and Cape Coral then conspired again to amend the Consent Order to release Cape Coral from any requirement to reconstruct the Ceitus Barrier, if Cape Coral would abide by the terms of a state-sanctioned environmental mediation process. Eleven SWFL environmental organizations and individuals appealed the proposed amended order. A settlement of the appeal was reached under which all parties agreed to respect the findings of the mediation process, to be determined by consensus vote. If not, the barrier was to be restored by Cape Coral. The mediation process concluded in 2010 after well over two years of meetings, with a vote of 14 to 4 to rebuild the Ceitus Barrier. Among those voting for a new barrier were Lee County, Charlotte County, representatives of the United States, and all local environmental organizations. In the meantime, pollution and siltation of Matlacha Pass and its environs from the north spreader canal continued, resulting in Matlacha Pass making the federal impaired waters list, as John Cassani reports in the story. In March of 2012, Cape Coral transferred the balance of the escrowed money into its own Public Works Capital Projects account.
Despite the binding promise of Cape Coral in the mediation process and the agreed terms of the amended Consent Order, Cape Coral and FDEP treated the Consent Order like Iran has treated the ceasefire agreement. They played word games to evade reconstruction of the Barrier. So in 2014, six environmental groups acting in their own names and on behalf of the State of Florida sued the City of Cape Coral in Lee County Circuit Court under the terms of Consent Order No. 15 and its amendments. After another two years, the plaintiffs were on the brink of winning the case in my view based on the language of the Consent Order when FDEP and the City of Cape Coral again conspired to defeat the challengers.
FDEP staff sent a letter to the City of Cape Coral declaring after a “file review” that the requirements of the consent order had been complied with and FDEP closed its file: a total lie. At that time, Cape Coral knew the plaintiffs were out of money, and their principal attorney had died. Attorneys for Cape Coral promptly filed a motion for judgment in its favor based on the unusual letter. Threatened with endless legal fees, the plaintiffs dropped the case without prejudice. If you ask Cape Coral and FDEP today about the Consent Order, they will deny it is any longer in effect. Ask Kevin Erwin what he thinks.
In the meantime, movement towards the Miami of the West continued in April of 2012 when the City of Cape Coral purchased hundreds of vacant parcels in the city out of the bankruptcy of another developer. Some members of the City Council at the time complained loudly that the purchase was illegal because it was approved at an unnoticed “emergency meeting,” a city employee wrote an unauthorized million dollar check to bid, no appraisals were conducted, and some of the parcels were outside the municipal limits of the city. Six of the parcels outside the city are occupied by the D&D Matlacha Bait and Tackle shop, its associated parking, and boat ramps. In 2016, the City of Cape Coral sought to annex these parcels into the city. The city planner recommended approval stating, “The site has waterfront commercial opportunities that are relatively rare for a community with 400 miles of canals.” He later acknowledged at a hearing that the annexation “[c]ould cause concern among Matlacha Isles residents regarding development, traffic, potential future annexation.” In other words, Don’t Annex Matlacha. Fortunately, with the support of the Matlacha Civic Association, we kept the camel’s nose out of the tent. Cape Coral lost. Nevertheless, I am told very recently that Cape Coral intends to build a new boat ramp at that location, possibly with a restaurant, and that Lee County is supporting the effort. Does anyone doubt that this boat ramp will turn into a fuel dock and waterfront restaurant? And does anyone wonder how a municipality can engage in real estate development for profit outside its boundaries?
Cape Coral is actually a brilliant developer, having invented the concept of the “Seven Islands” well over ten years ago with absolutely no one in the market to build the project. In 2015-16, the city spent money on engineers, architects, media and swanky pictures, as if the Seven Islands concept was a done deal created by an entrepreneurial visionary. Later the city loudly proclaimed it was retaining real estate brokers of international fame to find a developer, but nothing happened. In 2019 the City Council held hearings on rezoning concepts for the Seven Islands, once again with no buyer in sight. In 2021 a Florida LLC was opened in the name of Gulf Gateway Resort & Marina by a Fort Myers attorney. In 2022 the Gulf Gateway Resort & Marina LLC added Peter Baytarian as a manager. Also in 2022, Cape Coral announced it had selected Baytarian’s company Forest Development to develop the project. Cape Coral sold the property to Baytarian’s Gulf Gateway Resort & Marina LLC in 2026. Today Baytarian’s very modest website says, “We will continue to work with Cape Coral as we create this amazing resort destination.” And that brings us to the mangroves, which we should assume is Baytarian’s next step to create the amazing resort.
The1996 Mangrove Trimming and Protection Act prohibits unpermitted cutting of mangroves. The terms of the Act are enforced by FDEP unless a local county or municipality has a qualifying plan to enforce the Act. Neither Lee County nor the City of Cape Coral appear to have qualifying plans to regulate the cutting of mangroves in the city. So where is FDEP? I am told that behind the scene they are investigating the possibility of criminal penalties. And FDEP has punished Cape Coral for the same offense in the past. As for the headlines that the cutting was “a mistake,” Florida regulations state that the owner of the property – here Gulf Gateway Resort & Marina LLC – is presumed to know the law and is responsible for illegal mangrove cutting. Every licensed contractor working near the water knows this. Certainly Forest Development knows this, as it is promoting waterfront properties elsewhere in Florida. Whether the cutting was illegal is not even a close call. The big question is what company did the cutting and who paid for it, Gulf Gateway or the city. I have not seen any answers to these questions in the media.
I know nothing about the capitalization of Gulf Gateway or Forest Development; however, I am sure if we scour the minutes of various City Council meetings we will find something and perhaps a pro forma. Not to make excuses for myself for lack of investigation; however, I have always wondered how a ten-story hotel can be built on what is nothing but spoil. And what happened to the eagle’s nest on the Seven Islands? Not to worry say the neighbors. Gulf Gateway is building them a clubhouse. And don’t forget the push to create a northwest passage from the north end of the spreader canal out to Charlotte Harbor through the mangroves, owned in perpetuity by the governor’s Internal Improvement Trust Fund. This will reduce significantly the journey to the Gulf for boaters in northwest Cape Coral. Just imagine the size and number of boats that will be churning out to sea from north Cape Coral. Perhaps inevitably Cape Coral will again dredge through the mangroves and create the Miami of the West on the east bank of the Matlacha Pass. If they say it, it will happen.
Make no mistake, Cape Coral continues to carry the ball for the Seven Islands. The city has applied to the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the north spreader canal from the Seven Islands to the Matlacha Bridge. Why? Because the Cape’s removal of the Ceitus Barrier has poured tons of silt and muck into the canal and the pass. And Cape Coral wants to help Gulf Gateway. If this request is granted, the value of the Seven Islands increases regardless of what is built there.
J. Michael Hannon has lived in Matlacha for 12 years. He served as a federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia for eight years and now manages his own law firm. As a board member of the Matlacha Civic Association, he led a legal challenge to overturn the City of Cape Coral’s annexation of the D&D Matlacha Bait and Tackle property into the city’s jurisdiction. He also led two legal challenges to prevent Cape Coral from removing the Chiquita Boat Lock.
