MEMORANDUM

TO: Town Council and Local Planning Agency

FROM: Bill Spikowski

DATE: September 4, 1996

SUBJECT: Land-Use Issues of Immediate Concern

During the summer we have been identifying a number of critical land-use issues that could benefit from fairly immediate attention by the Town. Some of these issues will be extremely difficult to resolve, but they deserve open debate and the early identification of various alternative policies that might be chosen. These critical issues are summarized below in outline format:

1. Multiple dwellings in neighborhoods zoned for single-family homes

• This is evidence of the pervasive lack of code enforcement by Lee County through the years.
• We need to define the full range of options along the continuum of removal/enforcement/amnesty/ legalization, and think about the implications of each approach.
• But also, under what conditions might existing or future multiple units be acceptable, or even desirable?

2. Hotel/motel densities

• In the last year, Lee County greatly reduced the allowable density of hotels and motels. But even under the new rules, a minimum of three hotel/motel units are guaranteed for each one regular dwelling that would otherwise be allowed (in zones where motels are permitted).
• While the maximum number of dwelling now allowed under the Lee Plan is only 6 units per acre, 18 hotel/motel units can be built
• In actual impacts, however, one motel unit can have more impact than one seasonal dwelling unit (including some positive impacts, such as to restaurant proprietors).
• The result is that property owners seeking maximum gain from their property are being induced by your rules to build hotel/motel units rather than condominiums.
• Is this the desired public policy of the Town of Fort Myers Beach? If not, the regulations need to be changed. (Lee County is currently changing its rules again, to reduce the multiple down to two motel units per regular dwelling if the motel units exceed 350 square feet in size; but this change will not apply to Fort Myers Beach unless you make a similar change.)

3. Effect of mandatory flood regulations on future rebuilding

• The FEMA flood regulations will hamper the successful rejuvenation of Old San Carlos Drive and the Estero Boulevard commercial areas around the Lani Kai.
• Is it technically and financially feasible to rebuild a high-quality pedestrian environment here, or not? (The question hinges around the ability to successfully "flood proof" ground-floor storefronts.)
• The University of Florida study had suggested elevating the retail spaces above the flood elevations; but this poses many practical problems (unless the existing small lots were consolidated).
• If neither approach is feasible, the existing buildings will continue to deteriorate, or will be rebuilt incrementally outside the current regulations (endangering the Town's participation in the National Flood Insurance Program).
• Are there any other alternatives?

4. Post-disaster redevelopment policies:

• The Lee Plan's current "buildback policy" protects every landowner, but gives up the opportunity to improve the built environment after a natural disaster.
• What alternatives might be developed that would still protect existing landowners while laying the groundwork for redevelopment that would result in a better community?

5. "Creeping commercialization" of the island

• This is a common problem in mature resort communities.
• Continuing commercial expansions seem to be a threat to the many remaining residential areas
• How much more commercial is too much? Or is it the type of commercial, or its physical form, that is the real problem?
• The Town can more clearly define which areas are suitable for more commercial, and which are not.
• In areas that are suitable, why not change the regulations so that commercial buildings will frame an attractive pedestrian environment, instead of creating isolated buildings in parking lots with little or no connection to surrounding uses?

6. Peak-season parking shortage -- some options include:

• Off-island parking lots, made more attractive through transit improvements.
• Develop WRT's plan for interconnected/shared parking lots behind businesses on Old San Carlos Drive.
• Change county policy and provide surface parking at Bowditch Point.
• Build a garage (Old San Carlos area?).
• Town-owned parking lots near Times Square, built with assessments on benefitting businesses.
• Privately-owned shared parking lots (at least during the peak season), that are encouraged by the Town's regulations.
• Church parking lots that could be used during peak season for beach parking, with convenient trolley pull-offs (income for churches; avoid paving any more of the island for short-term parking needs; avoid using commercial parking for beach-goers).

7. Future of land fronting Estero Boulevard from the Key Estero Shops to Skipper's Galley

• Diamondhead site at Virginia Avenue
  • One of the few remaining parcels that could provide another public beachfront park (along with the Red Coconut) -- but does the Town want another beach park, and would there be any way to finance a purchase of even part of this property?
  • Or, a negotiated alternative development plan, one more in keeping with the desired community character?
  • Or explore a mixed-use alternative, such as pedestrian-scale commercial along Estero Boulevard with some beach views preserved, trolley terminal with ancillary commercial (restaurant/cafe/gifts etc.), some multifamily overlooking the Gulf, etc.
• School/Library/Bay Oaks/grocery store
  • This is the "center" of the island for residents.
  • Could become the other anchor of a pedestrian zone beginning at Lynn Hall Park, in conjunction with continuous landscaping and sidewalks along Estero Boulevard.
• Red Coconut
  • Mobile homes and RVs have a high potential for storm damage.
  • The incongruous mix of current zoning categories provide no guidance for future uses.
  • The site has strong redevelopment potential:
    • Additional public beach?
    • Termination of Estero Boulevard commercial?
    • Expansion of recreational/civic complex around Bay Oaks?