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Rushed efforts to strengthen zoning in Goodland and stave off any more megahouses in the small fishing village have taken a slight detour.

A group of Goodland residents had originally planned to ask Collier County commissioners today for transitional zoning to protect Goodland while villagers navigated the land development code amendment process.

Instead, the group will ask commissioners to let them delay applying for an amendment until the August mid-year cycle.

The group came together to form the Goodland Zoning Overlay Committee in February after county commissioners concluded that Goodland property owner Jim Inglis had properly pulled the county building permits to build a six-bedroom, 10-bathroom house with 6,863 square feet of living space "under air." The house also has 7,470 square feet of non-living area, including two garages, a porch, lanai, balcony, portico and storage area, for a total of 14,333 square feet. The average-sized home in Goodland is 600 to 800 square feet. There are some bigger homes that range in size from 1,000 to nearly 3,000 square feet.

County officials found that the purpose and intent of the Goodland Zoning Overlay, which is a distinct set of rules for the village above and beyond the county’s ordinances, wasn’t enough to stop construction, because neither the Village Residential Zoning District Regulations nor the Goodland overlay sets a limit on the maximum size of a dwelling.

The overlay was unanimously approved in 2000 by the County Commission to preserve the village’s Old Florida characteristics. In the wake of the Inglis home issue, Goodlanders decided to take matters into their own hands.

A detailed two-page survey asking Goodland property owners what changes, if any, they would like to see made to the village overlay was mailed out Feb. 20.

Committee members hoped to get enough input from villager’s to make Thursday’s land development code amendment deadline.

Goodlanders met Monday night to discuss their course of action. They met with county officials earlier in the day.

Although 161 of the 333 surveys sent were returned, or about 48 percent, committee members said that a more concise survey was needed and that instead they would aim to make the Aug. 15 land development code cycle.

"We came to the conclusion that this was rushing it," said Emilee Lake, a member of the committee. "It was a great beginning. Now we’re going to take the time to do it right."