The Sanibel Report

Formulation of a Comprehensive Plan Based on Natural Systems

by John Clark

The Conservation Foundation, Washington, D.C.

The Sanibel Report: Part Two
The Natural Systems Study

1. analysis of the island's ecosystem;
2. identification of the principal ecological zones;
3. diagnosis of the condition of these zones; and
4. suggestions for management requirements to conserve the island's natural systems and resources.

The Natural Systems Study Process: The Conservation Foundation engaged a team of experts to assist with its carrying-capacity assessment and formulation of conservation requirements. The experts furnished individual reports that were integrated into a program of environmental management specifications. In addition to a variety of consulting specialists, The Conservation Foundation team included staff experts in law, planning, ecology, economics, and administration.

The Conservation Foundation (CF) began its natural systems study in May 1975.

As the study progressed through the summer, CF made the data collections, draft consultant reports, and preliminary findings available to the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF), the citizens of Sanibel, the Planning Commission, and the planning consultants, Wallace, McHarg, Roberts and Todd (WMRT). Some results, however, were available as early as June.

CF's basic task was to develop principles and requirements for future development which could prevent damage to the remaining natural systems, and principles and requirements for restoration of past damage to the natural systems.

It must be stressed that the management program resulting from these recommendations was designed to attain maximum protection and perpetuation of the natural systems of the island, particularly through optimization of the basic water systems that govern their health. CF realized that other planning policies developed by the city could impose constraints on development in addition to those we suggested, or that, conversely, the optimum development pattern for the island might require modification of certain of the natural systems protection measures suggested.

Data Collection, Analysis, and Formulation of Requirements:The basic approach to the natural systems study was, first, to formulate a data collection plan from a preliminary survey of Sanibel and from existing knowledge of the ecosystem and natural resources; and second, to divide up the necessary work along disciplinary lines (hydrology, botany, wildlife biology, etc.) for assignment to survey teams. To assist these teams in coordinating their efforts and in clarifying and reevaluating their work plans, The Conservation Foundation organized workshops, held informal meetings, circulated relevant progress information, and encouraged direct communication between participants. Altogether, 18 technical consultants were involved, along with a panel of special technical advisors

The six principal natural systems reports produced by the consulting teams are included as an appendix. The subjects covered are hydrology, vegetation, beach geology, wildlife ecology, estuarine ecology, and the natural energy system.

Both WMRT and CF gave first priority to identifying and classifying the subsystems of the Sanibel ecosystem.

These subsystems, termed "ecological zones" in the plan, were described in initial maps of zones prepared by CF in June and July 1975. With modifications and refinements by WMRT and the Planning Commission these zones furnished the basis for the permitted uses, density limits, and performance standards contained in the Sanibel Plan.

The various water-related aspects of the Sanibel Plan demonstrate that successful protection of the Sanibel environment depends primarily on proper water management (insect control, for example, is included in the plan's water-related section because water management is the key to success in combating mosquitoes, the major insect pest on Sanibel).

Restoring and conserving the island's water system require actions both by the public and private sectors. On the public side, substantial capital outlays as well as moderate operational costs are required for improvements. Control of private development is also essential, and many of CF's recommendations were so oriented.

The major natural hazard affecting occupation of Sanibel is the tropical hurricane. Sanibel shares with all other barrier islands of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico extreme vulnerability to hurricanes. Evacuation is the major defense. The rate at which automobile traffic can move over the causeway to the mainland limits the speed of evacuation and imposes a limit on population and therefore on residential density. Regarding potential threats to life and property, wildfires are much less a problem than hurricanes; actually, they may have a strong beneficial effect on the interior wetlands ecological zone.

Both permitted uses and residential density limits in the Sanibel Plan are governed by a set of regulations - or performance standards - that control the design and construction of residential development. In their absence, density allocations would have to be reduced to provide for the conservation of natural systems and natural resources. Recognizing that Sanibel is composed of several different zones with particular characteristics and varying tolerances, a separate set of standards is applied to each zone.These standards incorporate a number of the requirements recommended by CF.

Each type of residential development has the potential for a particular combination of environmental disturbances. The amount of natural systems damage that may result from any disturbance depends upon the characteristics and vulnerabilities of the specific subsystem involved. Protection of the three water-based ecologic subsystems must also include controls on the fourth subsystem, the uplands, particularly on land modification activities associated with site preparation for development. The necessary constraints may have to encourage, and in some cases require, adjustment of traditional Florida standards of residential density, project design, site preparation, drainage, and other performance factors.

The development requirements recommended by CF can be administered conveniently through the city's site plan review process. Well-conceived standards can implement the specific environmental objectives set out in regulations and also provide equity and predictability for developers in the approval process.

There is a second important requirement for a comprehensive environmental program for Sanibel - restoration, the repair of existing damage to the natural systems. The major elements of the recommended program are: water level restoration and flood control in the interior wetlands basin; drainage restoration in the mangroves; vegetation restoration in all four subsystems; and beach profile restoration.

The Consensus Method: In conducting the natural systems study our consulting experts not only performed the surveys and determined the condition of the systems, they also identified management requirements and formulated recommendations. In order to reach a consensus on requirements and recommendations, the following procedure was devised:

1. Survey team members were consulted by CF staff members during the course of their work
2. working conclusions were transmitted to the team by CF
3. a draft of conclusions based upon the comments was prepared
4. a final workshop was held to refine and consolidate the requirements and recommendations
5. a revised draft was sent to the team members
6. a formal, preliminary set of recommendations - based upon comments on the revised workshop draft - was prepared for presentation to the City Council on September 16, 1975.

The consensus method is an efficient and economic way to get a wide spectrum of technical talent to reach recommendations useful to management. Its success is conditioned upon these four requirements:

1. The technical experts must already have experience in their fields of expertise
2. they must be encourage to review past literature on the area, to spend time in the field, and to collect such new data as are needed to confirm their general understanding of the system
3. they must each be required to report in writing on their investigations and findings and
4. they must be well prepared for decision sessions by receiving, in advance, progress reports of colleagues' work, preliminary findings, and so forth.

Citizen Guidance:An essential element of the study design involved frequent consultation with a panel of Sanibel citizens selected by the project sponsor to ensure that the environmental specifications would be most useful to the community. The aim here was to enrich the process by providing opportunities for early interchange between the natural systems analysts and citizens of the island. This approach provided the opportunity to adjust the program while work was in progress.

The Conservation Foundation team worked closely with its sponsor, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, in structuring the consultations as a series of workshops with the citizen panel. The 13 cooperating panelists were a diverse group of SCCF members. They included a local banker, two land developers, a member of the planning commission, an editor of the local newspaper, and several other citizens.

The workshop series was divided into two sections. The first five sessions focused on providing panelists with the technical information required to make intelligent assessments concerning the environmental needs o the island. The remaining four sessions were devoted to discussions of policy options and the development of environmental criteria with which to evaluate the emerging land-use plan.

The five technical workshops were held in conjunction with the scientists' work on the island. The scientists presented background information at the workshops and discussed with panelists the scientific principles and technical considerations pertinent to the formation of an environmentally sound land-use plan. Each meeting was devoted to a specific environmental discipline: vegetation, birds, hydrology, insect control, and beach erosion.

Following the workshops, three sessions were held to discuss the specific options implicit in the presentations by the scientists. At a fourth and final meeting, CF's initial recommendations were incorporated into a preliminary presentation to the Planning Commission. This presentation was made to the commission at a public hearing in August 1975.

From the beginning it was recognized that a high level of understanding would be required for the panelists to grasp the complex interrelationships among mechanisms which govern natural systems, because this understanding must be achieved if citizens are to make perceptive judgments on issues of environmental importance. Therefore, the panelists were educated in basic natural systems knowledge before their opinions on recommendations were requested. The results indicated that citizens can be aroused to participate and learn natural science fundamentals if they believe their contribution can affect the result.