Lawsuit filed over FM high-rise
February 12, 2007

News-Press.com
By Joel Moroney
jmoroney@news-press.com

The Vue will be from court

The fight to keep a 27-story high-rise off land adjacent to downtown Fort Myers ' Waterfront Park is headed for a courtroom after a lawsuit over The Vue development was filed Friday.

The suit was filed in Lee County 's 20th Judicial Circuit by Virginia Splitt, the Caloosahatchee River Citizens Association and the Responsible Growth Management Coalition, against the City of Fort Myers and Throgmartin Riverfront Corporation.

It seeks an injunction against allowing the development to proceed.

The Fort Myers City Council approved the development for a second time on Jan. 11 — the initial plan called for using a small portion of park property for the 27-story tower.

But that plan needed park service approval that never came. The new plan abuts the park but does not use any of its land.

“The city granted The Vue development order inconsistent with the goals, objectives and policies of the comprehensive plan pertaining to preservation of the riverfront,” wrote attorney Andrew Dickman, of Naples .

Splitt, the only listed individual on the suit's behalf, declined to comment when reached at home.

The suit says her late husband, Robert F. Splitt, the former chief hearing examiner for Lee County land use and zoning matters, was honored with a memorial oak tree on the western edge of the park.

“Throgmartin and the city plan to execute a risky relocation of the memorial oak tree in order to make way for the new development,” Dickman wrote. “The development would cast a shadow over the oak tree and radically change the current environment in which it has survived since 1992."

Developer Ron Throgmartin said he had not seen the suit.

“I'm kind of surprised that someone would want to waste either their time or money spursuing it,” Throgmartin said. “But this is America and people have those rights.”

David A. Urich, president of the Responsible Growth Management Coalition, said court is the only remaining option.

“We just feel that this is just not the right location for that tall of a building,” Urich said.

“Unfortunately they went merrily on their way and it just seemed like we had no choice.” Messages left for Dickman at his offices in Miami and Naples were not returned.

No court date has been set.

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