Marco Island: Tropical Paradise or Environmental Disaster

Abstract

Deltona Corporation was one of several large land development companies that specialized in selling recreational and retirement property to a distant clientele. Much of this type of so-called “land development” activity took place during the decades of the 1950s 1960s, and early 1970s prior to the implementation of laws and regulationsdesigned to monitor land sales activity and to promote wise land use development techniques (Finotti, 1996). Deltona's Marco Island project began in 1964 and is a good example of problems that occur when developers make poor site selection decisions and then stubbornly adhere to their original development plan in spite of growing concern over the environmental and economic value of the property that had been selected for development.