By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — Captain Jack’s boasts wonderful waterfront views for its patrons.

Recently, plans to move the building back, farther away from the shore, were made public. 

“The property-owners have decided the avenue that they’d like to pursue at this point that is going to make the most sense going forward is to actually pick that building up that is located at the edge of the water and move it back so that it meets 100 foot water setback to Brandy Pond,” according to Dustin Roma.

Moving the restaurant away from the water would actually allow for expansion within the Shoreland Zone. 

Jimmy Allen, the owner of Naples Marina and Captain Jack’s at Naples Marina, hired civil engineer Roma, owner of DM Roma Consulting, to work on the changes to the property. 

“The 100 foot setback is 20 feet or so back from an existing warehouse. The proposal would be to take down both buildings,” Roma said. 

Roma spoke during the Naples Planning Board meeting on Nov. 16. He gave the board a sneak peak at the plan, which will officially be on the agenda for this upcoming Tuesday’s meeting of the planning board. 

Since the beginning of November, “we’ve advanced our plans,” Roma said on Nov. 16. 

“I was hoping to use a little bit of time to briefly discuss that change we are pursuing. We would submit fully detailed plans that would be heard at the Dec. 7 [Tuesday] meeting,” he said. 

Roma said that he welcomed comments from the boardso any issues could be made addressed or altered prior to December’s meeting. 

He talked about the space outside the buildings.

“We are still proposing to replace the retaining wall that runs along the edge of the water. That is shown in the plan,” he said. “It is intended to be some pedestrian space. We are trying to keep some separation with the vehicle parking so that we have a more predictable and organized parking pattern throughout the property.We will be proposing some measures that would keep those parameters.” 

“Additional pedestrian spacewould be along the new retaining wall that is being built. We are going to build a boardwalk along the edge of that. Then, a grass strip,” he said.  

“We think that would be a substantial improvement over how the area operates now— from a public safety perspectives,” he said.   

The septic drain field was also addressed. That will be upgraded to handle a larger capacity.

“We do have some plans to be able to potentially expand the leach bed with permits from the state,” Roma said.

With a new and improved septic system, the business can move forward with expansion.

“Once we do that  we may come back and ask the planning board for more seats. In time, we will be asking for expanded seating capacity for the building. But we cannot do that until we get an expanded leach field,” he said.