BOCA BEACON - March 13, 2015

Page 21

Boca Norte steps up activity in Cape Haze, buys Grande Tours

BY JACK SHORT

vene as defendants in a case brought

against Charlotte County by Friends of
Cape Haze, a local conservation
group, and Sierra Club, a national
conservation group.
Both groups allege that by removing
or altering language related to density
in areas like the Cape Haze peninsula, the will open up the way for high
density development and exacerbate
what they say are already egregious
evacuation times off island during
emergencies.
Representatives of Boca Norte did
not respond to requests for comment
as of press time.
Boca Norte is owned by Brad Kelley,
who has a residence on Gasparilla Island.

oca Norte, LLC, owners of the

former Mercabo facility have, in
the last few months, purchased
land in the same region over which
Charlotte County is engaged in a lawsuit with conservation groups.
The corporation, registered in
Venice, Fl., purchased the 1.16 acre
lot at 12575 Placida Rd. and easement that used to be the site of
Grande Tours in December, 2014, for
$820,000. The property is zoned
RMF-T, or Residential Multi Family
Tourist, which purpose is to permit
multifamily dwellings and tourist-related commercial facilities, according
to Charlotte County land use regulations.
BN has owned property across the
street: 14041, 14050, and 14051 Gas-

parilla Road, a now defunct marine

testing facility, for several years. That
property is zoned for RSF 3.5, IG, and
MP, or, Residential Single Family,
General Industrial and Marine Park,
respectively.
In addition to the recent purchase,

about which the former owner of the

property, Capt. Marion Schneider, declined to comment at the request of
the buyer, Boca Norte also petitioned
to intervene in a lawsuit over density
in the Cape Haze area.
In January, they petitioned to inter-

Cuba: Learning the lay of the land

BY JACK SHORT

This is the third installment in a series of stories regarding the United

Methodist Chuch of Boca Grandes
trip to Cuba in February.
he second leg of the Cuba journey, after difficulties with customs entering the country, was
a short jaunt from the airport to a
house church about an hour away. As
restrictions on religions by the Cuban
government eased, house churches
sprang up to hold services at a time
when church construction was still restricted. Over the course of the trip,
missionaries from the Boca Grande
United Methodist Church visited several of these residences, whose congregations were usually approximately
40 people.
The road from the airport was lined
with walls and billboards proclaiming
the ideological victories of the 1963
revolution and solidarity of the Cuban
people under communism.

subdued group after a long day of

traveling.
Places like this had held up the
foundations of the religious community
through the decades of religious restrictions; a true grassroots effort by
the people involved to organize and
practice their beliefs.

Bike Parade
From PAGE 1
marshal Hebe Murphy, president of
the Boca Grande Womans Club.
Following the parade the Spring Fair
will be held on the grounds of the
Boca Grande Community Center. One
of the highlights this year will be an
old-fashioned dunk tank, and many of
the major organizations and personalities on Boca Grande will be represented.
Take your pick from the following list
of Dunk Tank targets: Marta Howell,
Friends of the Boca Grande Commu-

Shown, members of the family, who live

in the church/house.

We pulled into a large yard and unloaded into a house where dinner had
been prepared as a welcome. Though
meat does not accompany all meals,
many elements of a typical Cuban dinner were served: rice, beans, plantains, tomatoes and cabbage.
The exhausted missionaries filed
through a dusty yard in the early
evening, past a sleeping pig and some
chickens. In the small house, comprising two or three rooms and a chapel,
they sat and ate. It was a relatively
nity Center; Jean Thompson, The Island School; Bayne Stevenson,
GICIA; Jeff Corkhill, Lee County Sheriffs Department; Jon Reecher, The
Gasparilla Inn; Dr. Tom Ervin, Boca
Grande Health Clinic; Dusty Hopkins,
The Boca Beacon; Steve H Wetzel,
Boca Bay Pass Club and Hebe Murphy, Boca Grande Womans Club.
Fair activities will include pony rides
provided by the Bit of Hope Ranch in
Englewood, face painting, clowns and
jugglers, balloon sculpting and a caricaturist.
There will be games for the children
and a cake walk. Drinks, hot dogs and
hamburgers will be sold at the conces-

sion stand and sno cones and popcorn will also be available.
There will be performances by the
jazz bands of Lemon Bay High School
and L.A. Ainger Middle School.
Once again, Boca Grandes best
cooks will be hard at work making
casseroles, cookies, brownies,
breads, cakes and pies for the Fantasy Foods Bake and Take. Members of the Womans Club donate
items for the sale, proceeds from
which will go to the clubs scholarship
program. The sale will feature
casseroles and dinners for two,
breads and coffee cakes, pies and
cakes, cookies, brownies and bars,

soups and appetizers and some specialty jams, jellies and sauces.
This community-wide event is made
possible by a host of volunteers. In
addition to members of the Womans
Club, there are members of the
Lemon Bay High School football team,
marching and jazz bands and ROTC
color guard members participating.
Some of the students from the L.A.
Ainger Jazz band will be there as well.
The event is sponsored by the Boca
Grande Womans Club and Lee
County Department of Parks and
Recreation.

381 Palm Ave. Boca Grande, FL

This historic inn located in Boca Grande has been updated to meet
building codes and comfort levels desired by guests, while keeping
the old Florida charm that makes Boca Grande what it is today. A
new roof was done in 2004 as well as plumbing and electrical upgrades. Building is surrounded by a beautifully done brick paver
landscaping. The inn has 10 bedrooms, 5 baths and could be used
as an inn, private home, or commercial such as
restaurant or offices. Located near the post
office, shops, beach, docks, marina, golf, and
bicycle/golf cart path. $1,200,000

Boca Grande Tampa

941.964.0400 tel 813.877.7799 tel
941.964.0595 fax 813.877.8877 fax
ItalianoInsurance.com

420 East Railroad Ave. Boca Grande, FL 33921

michaelsaunders.com

Johns Knight Jr. is one of the only realtors born and

raised on the island giving him a wealth of knowledge to
assist you in making good decisions when buying Real
Estate in the Boca Grande area.

Call Johns today at 941.964.2000