good all right good morning everyone we're going to call the meeting to order today is Monday March 3rd it is 9:00 am. all council members with the exception of council Safford are present we'll be taking a vote to bring him in remotely shortly uh Town attorney town clerk Town
manager you please rise for the invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance we thank you for this time and for this beautiful day we ask to be blessed with wisdom as we discuss our strengths and our weaknesses help us to work as a unified team as we listen politely to others points of view
celebrate our diversity despite our differences and boldly Steward Fort Meers Beach towards a bright and Healthy Future as we work together on our shared Mission amen Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which
it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and for all thank you we got a full full crowd here so you please remember just to silence your cell phones we'll try to get through these this agenda as quickly as we can um need to get a motion to
approve uh uh Scott Zaford to appear remotely so move I'll second motion by councelor King seconded by Council Woodson any further discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I I I opposed hearing none that motion carries
unanimously next is the approval of the final agenda we have to add a couple of things we've got murf here as well as borab other than that are there other changes to the final agenda okay is there a motion to approve
the final agenda as amended so Move Motion by councelor King I'll second any further discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I I opposed hearing none that motion carries unanimously next is public comment iest
I have nobody signed up for this public comment just some of the public hearings okay is there anyone here that would like to speak during public comment this just general this is general public comic so if you want to if you want your testimony on record for one of the public hearings you want to
give you can do both but if you want it on record okay okay yes sir good morning this is sure it's on before I don't think it
is it's on is it it's on can you hear it I don't know I don't know I mean I'm happy to talk keep it close to your mouth if you can because I know it's hard it's hard out there to hear it sometimes sure yeah uh we are so my name is David molo I'm a attorney at Becker and poop I work under Katy berky um so
I'm here representing three four parties Pelican watch uh Tom and de Danford as well as Ed French uh they are uh property owners that abut the proposed food truck uh item on today's agenda
we've submitted uh letters in advance of of today's hearing um seeking an agreed party status uh that that would afford us a little bit more time we've got experts who we we've prepared reports for we prepared reports at LPA as well um and and so we wanted to just preserve
uh that agreed party status for today's hearing just because we think you know a lot of the information that that we prepared as experts uh the experts have anyway um I think is extremely valuable um adds a lot of context as to you know the nature of our opposition but but also I think um as property owners who
are budding the development because you know in part this is seeking to extend a use onto onto a new um onto a new property that isn't currently zoned for it and because the use being contemplated is a new use um we we would ask that you consider our agreed party
status in allow us to speak in opposition outside of the The Limited three three minutes that is that would be normally afforded in in this period here so mayor if I could I I'm sorry to interrupt your presentation course um however I would be inclined to preserve
your comments for the record of the public hearing itself um so I think once we get to that part in our agenda if you'd like to come forward we do have it on the agenda as far as having the Town Council make a decision on whether the
status would be afforded my concern would just be that your comments are in the record for that particular public hearing got it yeah and and I just wanted to make make sure we so you kind of give them a a head heads up that this is coming right right right yeah I just I just want to make sure our folks
didn't lose their opportunity at this at this jure and we'll take up we'll take up that discussion during the public hearing yes thank thank you thank you'll have that opportunity thank you thank you appreciate it thank you is there anyone else that would like to speak in this public comment yes come on up
sir please remember to speak in the mic and identify yourself yeah hi my name is Mark Menon I live in the Fairville Isles subdivision with my wife and uh a lot of construction going on in our neighborhood the sewer systems have been redone I'm on Bay View on the bay the reason I tell you that we still have
water problems you know it rains you know the sewers were rebuilt two years ago two and a half years ago and at Albatross and Bay right on the corner before you even get to the corner it floods you know so the sewers are not dropping okay I was in the sewer
business in Chicago own my own business there um I realize again the rest of the neighborhood every street in the neighborhood the sewer systems are are being rebuilt they're almost done hopefully we got pavement coming in soon because the streets are are still bad
okay pop have been rebuilt so my concern is that we somebody needs to look at the draining the corner of Ross on bayew four houses up on bayw off Albatross it's flooding you got people walking than
that for two three four days after after these last rains so U I just like to say you know I love everything else been here eight years my wife and I and uh we love everything that's going on in the city you know good and bad um we're
excited about all the progress okay that that's been going on so just like say thanks for that but like some look into that Mark maybe after the meeting get with Jeff and and Frankie they can they can assist you with that sounds great thank
you anyone else here to speak in public comment seeing none we'll close public comment that brings us to local achievements and recognitions we have a proclamation that we're going to do first we have uh Bob I'm sorry Bob why
don't you guys come up so you can state your name I don't want to butcher your name if you don't mind it's early in the morning for a lot of syllables so i' ra rather have you introduce yourself I'm Bob Gunther I'm the flotilla commander of Fort Meers Beach auxiliary the second
one the second one's I'm a petty officer Christian coner from station for Myers Beach Coast Guard thank you gentleman for coming we're going to read this in to the uh record uh town of Fort Myers Beach Proclamation whereas the town of Fort Myers Beach in Lee County Florida with its beautiful
year round Waters and miles of saltwater tidle Coastline rivers bays and canals provides many of the needed outlets for recreation and relaxation to its residents and people from around the world and whereas recreational boating is one of Florida's leading outdoor activities with more than 50,000
registered boats in Lee County alone distinguishing Florida as the Boating capital of the world and whereas every year lives are lost in boating accidents in spite the educational efforts of the US Coast Guard US Coast Guard auxiliary the US power squadrons the Florida Fish and Wildlife and local agencies and
whereas federal state and local agencies and private companies and groups have combined their efforts to reduce boating accidents by developing and ex and execu executing safety training programs such as boat smart boat safe and your in command and whereas the sponsors of
these programs have focused their efforts toward the youth and general public of Fort Meers Beach Florida urging them to enhance boating pleasure by avoiding alcohol wide navigating and ensuring vessels carry emergency distress and communication equipment and participating in free boat safety checks to avoid possible loss of life while
reducing the loss of property and Marine accidents and whereas on average 650 people die annually in voting related accidents in the US with 75% of fatalities resulting from drowning and whereas most of these tragic events result from human error or poor judgment
rather than equipment or environmental factors and whereas a significant number of boating fatalities could be prevented if individuals wore life jackets of those drowning victims with reported life jacket usually 75% were not wearing a life jacket now therefore be resolved
that the Town Council of the town of Fort Meers Beach Florida does hereby designate May 17th through May 23rd 2025 as town of Fort Myers Beach safe boating week and urges all citizens to join in learning and practicing safe boating by wearing a life jacket taking boating education courses getting a
vessel safety check operating their vessels responsibly safely soberly and obeying coast guard regulations given under my hand in the Seal of the office of Mayor this 3rd of March 20202 gentlemen you come up and get a picture or say a few words if you would
mind only this thank you for recognizing the importance of voting safety thank you for thank you for bringing it to our attention so we could do this and I'm going have Boer and a captain myself so we appreciate everything that you do come on take a picture please Jason Jason's
coming upas yes exactly thank you next local CH U Scott can you hear me yes yes any local recognitions yes go ahead um in the interest of time I don't have anything today but I'm really
looking forward to shrimp fest and St Patty's weekend the next two weekends it's gonna be fantastic Woodson he took the words right out of my mouth I cannot wait for the parades than M yes this morning I'd like to
recognize the men and women who serve on our condominium boards they're volunteers and postan uh it's it's a challenging job to begin with but postan it has become extremely challenging uh for some more than others particularly those who are dealing with challenging
uh insurance companies I use the word challenging to be kind uh the uh dealing with challenging some challenging contractors and subcontractors uh a lot of residents who are really anxious to get back into their condos um there's been elections
in on these condo boards since Ian that have been rough pitting neighbor against neighbor uh friend against friend and I just I want to thank these people for their service uh it is an incredibly challenging job and uh and I just thank them for all they're doing and I
encourage everybody who lives in the condo to be as gracious and and appreciative and collaborative as you can with your condo board because uh they're really trying to serve you so that's all I've got Mr Mayor thank you counc King got a couple things I'll just briefly touch on um since chairman npom
is here from murf I assuming he's going to give a more indeep the report but the Anchorage advisory committee in the murf um committee the marine and environmental resources task force held a joint meeting on uh February 21st and they had a presentation from captains
for clean water co-founder Chris Witman I found it very informative uh I just wanted to share that the video is available on the town's YouTube channel under joint aacw murf uh February 21st and also thanks to the Friends of Lovers Key uh
for their waves of appreciation event it was a great crowd a delicious food and a fantastic setting so that's it for me all right thank you John I do not have anything that hasn't already been stated we'll move on to advisory committees items reports and appointments uh Public
Safety Committee please hear from the public Public Safety Committee don't K morning morning I'm Don Thomas with the head of the Safety Committee and I'm Kieran frell I serve
her whatever um I'll pass these around I had sent Amy um this hand out and maybe she can email it to you now but we've been asked to do a formal uh request uh recommendation to the Town
Council regarding ebikes and on the town these are just a few ex pass them around but I did email everybody so you actually have the hard copy these are some illustrations but the Safety Committee is um recommending that the Town Council resends the current ebike
ordinance yeah these are just some you're going have to just pass that around okay okay um what we'd like to do is we'd like to allow ebikes on the sidewalk to amend the ordinance to permit ebucks on the sidewalks under the conditions that under the next conditions that we're listing number one
we'd like them to operate at a lower speed I know in the past we said No Electronic assistance and people said to Pedal um Karen and I were talking we're not sure you know we have on here less than 10 miles an hour 5 to S miles an hour but not at full speed if you're
going full speed on your electric bike you need to be in in on the street where there when there isn't a bike path or on the bike path that is uh designated on the south end of the island we'd also though this was our our idea we would like to have a sidewalk division we feel
right now that sidewalks are being shared by the pedestrians and the bikes and we would like to allocate 55% um for the pedestrians and 45% for Beach traffic I have an illustration there that other towns have done where they
Market on the sidewalk the main reason for this is to show the people who are visiting here and for the bikers who are from people who are renting that it is a shared sidewalk so that we don't have the anger and PE as people are walking saying hey that you're not supposed to be on the sidewalk you're supposed to be on the street again um it's an
educational type of tool we also would like to have directional flow in these signs or markings that are on the street so that when you are on your bike you are going with the flow of traffic one that's safe um for the drivers as you're coming out of a a side street or out of
a driveway you're looking naturally One Direction if the bike is coming opposite way from the traffic you run into people where they get hurt that way um The Pedestrian symbols would Mark um we would have the bike Lanes being on
the inside next to is that where we had right yeah the inside uh away from the street because we felt with the driveways going up and down and up and down that was less safe than having a Walker walking close close to the road
and then the pedestrians would be closer to the street giving them ease of crossing at the crosswalks um we also wanted to have clear and consistent signage um from golf uh view to Avenue SE to inform the
cyclist that they must travel in the same direction of vehicle traffic again um once you hit Red Coconut area we do have bike Lanes we do have markings on them we don't have anything from that on the way North until you hit Time Square and then prior to Ian we did have uh a
test on the North End of the island showing um painted uh bike lanes that had directional signings as well and we liked that so people knew what to follow um the other thing we'd like to propose and again there's signage in there we actually think there's too many
pedestrians between um Avenue C and I have a little map on there all the way to Time Square there's not enough room it was on one of them and it's in your email that I sent um there's not enough room for people to be riding bikes and pedestrians especially during the height of season um people need to walk their
bikes similar to the rule that we had during Time Square If you prefer to ride your bike then you need to go into the street and follow traffic as that is a slower traffic anyway at that point because they're starting to hit congestion um finally we'd like bike
rack installation if we're going to be encouraging people well a couple more things encouraging people to ride their bikes we would like to have additional bike racks at near the library in the Time Square area Bayside park by nervous Nelly's by boage and Lin Hall Park again
to promote people to ride the bike and they're feeling safer and finally education and Outreach uh we would like to distribute inform informative materials to all local bike rental agencies to educate renters on these new regulations and to promote safety and
the biggest thing is to express we really try to stress the importance of this as we continue to build the island up and more visitors are coming we have more hotels and more rooms and more rentals people are going to be having bikes for these uh guests to use and they really need to know what the rules
are as they're coming here because you can see it now as we're starting to get busier um the traffic is bad and people are taking different Avenues to travel Karen you want to add anything since you are a bike rer no I uh I ride my bike three four times a week um downtown
along the sidewalks and it's unfortunately as rare as it is common sense I just slow down when you see a lot of people and I come up on people's left and I let them know that I'm on their left and then inevitably people tend to move to their left when you say
that so I tell them their other left yeah um but what it really comes down to I think we're seeing everybody the same people I've noticed that are screaming about ebikes on the sidewalk over lap with a lot of the people screaming about
traffic so the way to mitigate mitigate traffic would be for Less cars and with less cars we get more bikes so I think the messaging can be sent through the town and the Safety Committee that it's okay to ride bikes down here if you use
your head watch out for other people and uh just take it easy it's Island time what's the rush so there we have one more thing to add we brought this this up as we continue to evolve
the traffic patterns as you're coming off the bridge we're seeing again more bikes that are coming over with the new fot um one of the things that we also proposed is again you're enhancing more bike traffic is as you come off the bridge to create a lane that goes under
the bridge like a um ramp that comes off that bridge goes under the bridge so that people can get to the north side of the island they can get to uh nervous Nelly side over to um Third Avenue Third Avenue Third Avenue and that way they're
not coming off the bridge and going right into the at to the base of the bridge and trying to cross and that's what we're seeing right now is the mass amount of people who are coming over the bridge there's one lane and there's a crossing right where everybody's trying to exit the island and people are getting held up we're not used to having
people cross there we've added so many additional Crossing Lanes so when you live here you're not paying attention to all these new people coming out of nowhere and so we need to give them directional signage to say you want to get go this way under the bridge and create different Pathways so that um it
makes it easier for bikes and for people who are um walking even from Margaritaville and from the tiki and Crest Crescent Street they can go under the bridge and not have to cross right at the base of the bridge that's it any
questions Scott questions no thank you very inform informative thank you and and then Amy will forward my email out to everybody with all the little not done yet hold on oh sorry sorry D get in a hurry over there I know so do we want
to do questions now do we want to wait for the ordinance and talk about things have specific questions that maybe the Public Safety Committee discussed that they didn't talk about here not necessarily did you um there were a lot of comments that came in on this
obviously and a lot of good suggestions like you know making it mandatory like especially with the bike rental places and things to have a bell on the bike so you automatically have to have lights but to have a bell because a lot of people aren't hearing the on your left
kind of thing so I don't know if there was any discussion on that we had that that was actually mandated prior to Ian okay so that's we we actually gave free uh bells and went and lights and went to the town you could pick them up for free we went
and spoke to to all the bike rental agencies um we probably just need to go reenact that and reiterate the importance of that but again it does get back to people don't know that it's a shared sidewalk and there is anger and
if if you have an idea um that okay there is going to there's a possibility that bikes are going to be coming then you're more apt to move because you know this is what how it is here you're learn to you're uh you're able to ride your bike on the sidewalk so there's no anger
so the shared sidewalk that's another thing um Frankie and I were talking about this and has it has it been discussed about having one sidewalk on one side for like in the downtown area strictly for bikes
and the other sidewalk maybe the one closest to the beach in the sand where people are coming off have that strictly pedestrian you know it's funny I've seen that too I don't even want to go here but uh I would love that but I mean we'd love
that we just didn't know if this is even an option I actually would like anything electric anything a golf cart a Rick Shaw on one sidewalk to go North during season to eliminate the Northbound traffic if you live here you call a Rick Shaw to pick you up like any other a lot
of the big cities have and they Uber you up the side street up the street um we talked about doing that on a Moby mat during not during Turtle season to have a Moby mat on the beach where you could have some type of extended golf cart that was larger that could pick people
up and have um bikes or um brick Shaws that could take you up the beach um didn't know if that's even an option I mean we keep getting you can't do it you can't do that you can't do that well I mean in all reality Lee County owns the sidewalks so no matter
what we do it's going to have to be conditional on Lee County approving it but I mean I don't think any idea is too far out of the box when at this point I'm sorry for my voice I've got hold but um I don't think any ideas are too far
out of the box at this point well there there ideas in theory and their ideas in practice so to get everybody to ride on one side of the street imagine coming off the beach and having to walk across the street to walk
50 yards to come back that's what by theory and practice and that's what I mean no then they have to go to Margaritaville go over the thing and come down and then go down under back yeah that's in practice I mean if we had our way we'd
have a a a path that we created on this island we've got so many empty lots and I keep harping on this is one of the things i' bring up um we could find if we could find a path from mid Island up north where you could allow golf carts
Rick Shaws electric bikes small utility Town vehicles to come up north north only because you can go south pretty easy on the island um that would eliminate people who are trying to get to the North End of the island for
restaurants or for um visiting they could take that you could have a parking lot down farther south and you can make it up fast um I know we're talking about water taxis you know that's a we have the proposal
from R2 P2 that came through um that this is the time to look at this when we have so much empty land but for the time being this was our solution for something that is a quick fix to get us by we've also heard that um um from
Chief worth that the roads might have to be fixed if the roads have to be fixed that's the time maybe we change the way this how why these sidewalks are in certain areas and we add a true bike lane in the road but then we have um rumble strips to protect the biker so
they do feel safe when they're riding their bikes up north again that's another long term is once they start doing the road vice mayor good morning thank you for being here thanks for your work I just to just just so I better understand the proposal before
us help me understand the dividing line on the sidewalk will that go all the way from uh Time Square to the south end of the island or just during just from the Red Coconut to the just Red Coconut to Time Square because South you have a
b Lane I mean you have a designated biplane that it's fairly wide once you hit Red Coconut South and North yep of Time Square and and so the uh so the dividing line would be on both sides of the street both sidewalks would have the dividing line yes okay and then and just
this and maybe not the whole way but segmented to so that people know that you're going to be sharing this sidewalk with a bike gotcha and and just I'm just I'm not criticized I'm just trying to understand what you're yep so so then and in and that there's a subset of that where you'll be required to walk your bike and that's what you've got before
us here right and that kind of goes from basically Margaritaville to kind of uh it's by um I'm trying to think it just so people know what the old the old uh Hooters Hooters okay all right that's very helpful thank
you John nothing did the chief worth in in uh the lcso did they give you any kind of data as far as accidents that they reported have been reported as far as in general they had they didn't either didn't give me anything or they didn't have anything to give exactly um
because I did everybody like I said before everybody's up in arms over the E bikes on the sidewalk how many people were getting hit how many accidents and I asked you know how many um I said how many numbers what are we talking about as far as accidents you didn't have any information to give me unless there was no information to give
there was nothing as as of this year the last one they had was because of intoxication that was the last accident they had that was bad um they haven't had one for that that has been reported to them in quite some time I'm sorry John but the uh just
lastly and it's probably a town a question for a town attorney but I'm curious in your research did you come across since they're County owned sidewalks did you get a sense whether the county would yield to the town the authority to put that dividing line on the sidewalks for the bikes and pedestrian we were just told that uh and
we usually talk work with Chief worth on this because when he starts putting things behind it it helps he said our the next step is we come to you if everybody is in favor that and he works with you as well fire department that they would then go to Le County and they
would prob hopefully listen gotcha thank you well I can I've been dealing with this for a long time since and you know when John Goin was the chair of the Public Safety Committee so mean it's been a while and there was always some hesitation from the county of wanting to put those lines on we finally got them
to paint some like we did on the North End of a St Boulevard we finally got them to to do some painted markings close to beach Baptist area there that have kind of washed away and they agreed to do it as a trial basis in order to see how it works and then obviously Ian came and kind of went by the wayside so
I think we might have an uphill battle with the county to try to paint the lines they they have not said no but it's been a very strong I don't think so I think one of the things they also didn't want they didn't want a bunch of signs up on on cluttering the the road
but I'm thinking down and it doesn't have to be the whole way um but it just marks and delineates that hey Please be aware um we did do that test we said we loved it and then the storm hit I don't know why we can't go back and say we like like to clean that
up and get the North End back up and we'd like to test especially during you know our hight traffic areas which is not the full length of the island it's in fact it's less than two miles what we are asking to have done which is in our highest congested area um when you're on
the south end or walking Mid Island you don't run into a ton of pedestrians in groups uh it's just not I mean it's easy to get by it's easy to go around um and then if it is super busy and you want to go you can get into the bik Lane and
go yeah please don't misunderstand my questions I'm just trying to understand yeah I think it's I think you've done Yan's work here and it's very interesting and I'm with Ken I think we should be thinking outside the box but at the same time obviously trying to balance pedestrian safety with the bike
safety so and and obviously wrestle with our traffic issu so I appreciate your efforts yeah all right thanks guys thanks all right next we have uh murf Dave on good morning Mr Mayor vice mayor
councilors Town staff Dave nusb chairman murf committee uh echoing what councelor king said we had a joint meeting with the anchor Anchorage advisory and murf commit committee our guest speaker was
uh Captain Chris whittman co-founder of uh captains for clean water I encourage everyone that has not watched the meeting to do so the captain gave Captain Whitman gave a a very good
synopsis of the history of how we got into the discharges from Lake o and what has been done to date to solve the problem and I'll encapsulate it just for the council he said two things that
occurred that started the change Governor desantos removing members of the water board putting in new members that actually wanted to fix the problem secondly uh in undoing Decades of
restrictions of flow going into the Everglades they had to literally get the funding and start the project of raising Tamiami Trail putting in spillways and redirecting the discharge back to the
Everglades rather than running it down the two rivers that discharge from Lake go couple of points that he gave very good news on number one it's been successful to date there is
approximately a 15% reduction in discharge coming from Lake o going down and affecting it and secondly the process will take another 10 years
to get done but when it is completed there will be an 85% reduction from where we were before so it's going in the right direction uh he gave a very clear economic impact of what happened
when the discharges occur uh they have stopped discharging because of water level and have gone to a more metered controlled discharge system which has helped correct it and
hopefully good news down the road it will get better each successive year they can't do everything at once because it's been Decades of restricting the water flow into the Everglades and even more money couldn't
do it because it's a stair Stu process you have to fix this before the River of Grass can go down further down into the Everglades but he was very excited he said we have oyster beds and seagrass
beds that are returning to pre- discharge levels within the estuaries around Fort Meers Beach and uh gave us some point that we will go to and give to the council we didn't have a regular meeting
so we couldn't address them but we will have something to give to you but I wanted to share that um because we were very excited after the meeting also uh we awarded our murf award for the month
of February and nepotism aside it was uh have a vote uh Chris King was uh nominated and give and awarded the murf award uh a
little bit about Chris as she has been out on the beach on a daily basis collecting garbage every single day she has an incentive program from her employer to go out and she's part of a
group within it and one of the members of the committee that's on in fact two of them both Nomine ated her saying they watched her go out every day with an empty bag and come back with a bag sometimes two full of garbage off the
beach on a daily basis and echoing what uh Captain Whitman said when one of the murf members said what can I do I'm just one person he said if everybody takes the initiative to do the job he said
there's no there's no limit to what you can do he said I was a captain in 2016 and saw the discharge and founded captains for clean water so on that note
we awarded it to Chris she was welld deserving and that's the end of the report are there any questions Scott questions now Chris is my hero I I witness her pick up bag after bag on the beach and she's fantastic
congratulations youve been picking up trash since we started dating Scott very big big I might add k no I just um a comment on captains for clean water I mean they have done so
much in such little time really when you think about when they formed and what they've done and um they raise money they raise awareness they put everything their heart and soul back into these Waters I mean it is their livelihood but
by the same token they ran with it and I mean I we are so lucky to have an organization like that um as far as Chris I mean I read her posts every day she's hysterical but um hats off to Chris
King vice mayor just briefly to your point Dave uh one of the things that people can do as well particularly for folks who have a resident somewhere else outside of Fort Meers Beach and visit here for part of the year when you go home be sure to write your US senators and you're member of Congress to support
Everglades restoration the funding for that has been phenomenal over the last few years but there's a lot of competition for those dollars so encourage everybody to write their member of Congress and their US senator uh to encourage full funding for ever Everglades restoration thanks John Dave
thanks for all you do as chair and thanks for um putting together helping put together this meeting and um I'm very proud of my wife thank you for continuing to pick up trash B thanks Dave thank you all right
we got Ed scon over from the borab morning good morning head scoon over Orab at our January 15th meeting Orab voted unanimously to recom that the Town Council and staff consider the donation of lands or the assistance in
purchasing of available property to be considered as a public benefit for future developers as they apply for acceptance of their projects excuse me borab has identified some properties and continue and can
continue to identify other properties as potential pocket parks to be spread out amongst the town's numerous communities and neighborhoods that's it I'm brief have you given a list of properties that you've identified to the
staff just one so far just one got one Scott questions for Ed so Ed how how exactly would that work would be a sliding scale based on the on the the density of the property or the size of the property or what what are you guys
thinking well I'm thinking that's a decision that would be made at the council level okay yeah I mean I'm the liaison for borab um we really didn't get into that much depth of it and it probably would be a decision as we go through all the
negotiations and that type of thing but I think the whole premise of it was to provide as much green space and Parks I mean borab is all about bok's recreation center and Park
um and then we have Newton Park which is historical by Nature um but really looking at borab as to being the recreational facility and where we can Branch off from there and have other
recreational pockets for people in neighborhoods not always having to come to um the center of town um but I'm surprised that you didn't go into some of the other things that were discussed which is the pool and well yeah we look
forward to assisting the council and the staff in the Redevelopment of the Bay Oaks Park Campus and the programs and just the potential development of future Green Space and Parks right throughout the town so and we had a lot of conversation about the pool and waiting on funding and losing
funding after Ian and the prospects of all that and we're getting close I believe we're very close yeah just waiting to hear on that initial o or final okay not initial but final okay um so that we can get started with
that whole Redevelopment of the pool and the park and the fields and that type of thing so we're ready to go as soon as we get the word vice mayor I think that's all been covered
thanks for your service Ed sure John uh no questions but thank you Ed you know some of properties I'm sure you guys have discussed it but the town has some rightaway properties on some of the side streets I know there's one down right across from ugan down there Len that could be things that we already own that could be transformed into a pocket park
fairly fairly easily so I'd encourage the or cab if they haven't already done so to look at some of them I know there's another one up by the uh diamond head down the side street there's a property that we own there that bus up to a canal and there's several others along and I think we're talking like
playgrounds and Pavilion more than full-blown ball fields yeah no even place for someone that's bike riding around to be able to stop and fill up their water bottle or you know sit in some grass it' be nice to see some grass again something green yeah all right
thanks than thank you all right now we have the approval of the minutes from the town council meeting on February 18th is there any changes or a motion to approve the the minutes from the February 18th meeting move to approve well second motion by councelor
King secutive by councelor Woodson any further discussion all those in favor signified by saying I I I I opposed hearing none that motion carries unanimously next is the consent agenda we have one two three four five state of
emergencies would you like me to read them all Nancy is it necessary just the title at least if you want to read the entire title yes that that would be fine or just the headline of the title be um maybe just the headline because they are
virtually all identical in in substance it's yeah I think we're all fully familiar with the five storms at this point resolution 25-61 through 25-64 the extension of local emergency for Hurricane Ian resolution 25-65
through 2568 the extension of local emergency for Hurricane Adalia resolutions 2569 through 2572 the extension of local emergency for tropical storm Debbie uh resolutions 25 through 73 through 25 through 76 the
extension of local emergency for Hurricane Helen and resolution 25 through- 77 through 25-80 the extending local state of emergency for Hurricane Milton is there a motion to approve the consent agenda I'll moot to approve all items all five
items of the consent agenda second got a motion by councelor Woodson second by councelor K any further discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I I I opposed hearing none that motion carries unanimously nothing was removed from the
con consent agenda that brings us to our public hearings three we got five four or five I think it's five four because your last item is your bicycle ordinance and that's legisla
okay so the next four items on our agenda are public hearings for review of various land use requests for the benefit of the public Please be aware these are these items are Quasi judicial in nature our attorney will further explain thank you mayor so zoning
revisions rezonings um special exceptions and variances and you have one of each of those um on your agenda today these are all quasi judicial in nature and they require that our public hearing comply with procedural requirements that has been established
in Florida law and in Orlando development code so these quasi judicial proceedings they will be less formal than proceedings that would be that would occur before a circuit court but they will be more formal than the remainder of our meeting and we must
follow basic standards of due process that requires certain notices the application of the correct standards and the council's decisions to be made on competent substantial evidence presented to them in R written documents or through oral testimony
when presented the Town Council will evaluate the testimony and the information for each item and then draw a conclusion regarding whether the criteria in the Land Development code or in state law as may be applicable has been
satisfied pure speculation or just mere opinion that is not based on competent facts cannot legally be considered by the Town Council in evaluating an agenda item testimony by professionals who have been qualified as experts in a
particular area has been considered competent evidence by Florida courts as well as testimony by neighbors and residents who have fact-based information such as minutes surveys engineering reports or their testimony
that is based on their personal uh knowledge and information the town council's decision is final if a decision of approval is not obtained or if a TI vote results from a motion to approve or a motion to
deny then the matter being considered is denied unless the majority of the council members present and voting agree by motion before the next item is called to take some alternative action to the denial if the Town Council decides to
deny an application or a request the reason for the denial should be stated in the motion denial of Quasi judicial matters must not be based on a determination of public support or opposition to an
application rather the reason for the denial cannot be also excuse me the reason for the denial cannot be arbitrary discriminatory or unreasonable and should be based on a lack of competent and substantial evidence in
support of one of the identified criteria so the denial of an application or request is a denial with prejudice unless the council stat otherwise if you intend to speak please keep this in mind when you come forward please state your name clearly for the
record whether or not you have been sworn in and your qualifications or your interest in the matter for purposes of efficiency before we begin our public hearings we'd like to go ahead and um dispose of a few housekeeping matters I
need to ask the town clerk whether all the agenda items the four have been properly noticed pursuant to Our Land Development code yes they have been thank you also I'd like to ask the Town Council if any member has a conflict of
interest that would prohibit you from voting on any of these four items please disclose that at this time so we can ensure that we have a quorum present for the uh review of the item Safford I do not I have none Vice May
none cons no conflicts I do not have any okay great so at this time um I would go ahead and ask if there is anyone in the audience including the applicant property owner and staff who intend to provide testimony to any of the on any
of the four quasa judicial hearings if you would please stand raise your right hand and be sworn in by the town clerk that includes public comment okay um if you'll all raise your right hand you swear or affirm that the
testimony that you are about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth okay a par been swor okay mayor okay the first quasi judicial item is the first reading and public hearing of
an ordinance entitled an ordinance of the Town Council of Fort Meers Beach Florida approving approving with conditions or denying an amendment to the commercial plan development CPD zoning previously approved by resolution 0728 for for Parcels located at 2500 and
2510 esto Boulevard generally identified as strap numbers 1 19- 46-24 dw3 d0120 a010 19- 46-24
dw313 02.00 to add Parcels 2518 Estero Boulevard and 2543 Cottage Avenue generally identified as strap numbers 1 19-4 6-24 dw313 0130
1.000000 and 19- 46-24 dw3 d0120 a. 013a in PT Meers Beach providing for other clarifications as necessary providing for conflicts of law scrier errors severability and providing for an
effective date I will now open the first public hearing if any Town C council member has had any exart communication to disclose please let us know the subject discussed and the identity of the person group or entity with whom the communication took place any correspondence that you received or
observations made of the site counc Stafford I had a personal meeting with the owners I've also met with several of the adjacent Property Owners um on on a site visit I've received several emails both in favor and against um exactly the same I met with
the owners of Pelican watch I've met with the potential owners of the Food Truck Park and um have received a number of emails but I would say equally for and uh
against nice mayor uh I I would have similar disclosures I uh uh I also watched both LPA meetings and and uh after Ian I also lived on both Mango Street for six months and then tropical Shores way for for uh over 6 months so
know know the area well counc King emails pro and con met with the uh applicants and uh the folks u in the neighborhood as well yes I've also met with the applicant um Pelican watch group as well as surrounding neighbors
received emails as well both for and against having made these disclosures Town Council um are you all able to H uh make a fair and impartial decision today based on the testimony and documents that are presented to you counc King yes
vice mayor yes I'm yes Dr Woodson yes Dr Safford yes thank you okay Judith Frankle has been qualified as an expert already by This Town Council based on her education and experience has been accepted as an expert in the field of land use planning and development in the
town of Fort Meers Beach are there any other individuals who would like to be qualified as an expert witness on behalf of the applicant at this time that hasn't already I should is there you already all have for the record could we just say who is going to
be the experts for this item just just their names sure thank you Nancy good morning Mr Mayor counselors n Davies on behalf of the applicant so Ken gander is here with the neighborhood company as well as
Patrick vanas and Laura teft all have been previously accepted as experts in this form in the past you accept them as Planning and Zoning experts today um Brandon fry is also here with J.R Evans engineering he is our expert civil engineer and we'd asked he's
previously been accepted we'd asked to do the same again today okay nothing else on appli side okay thank you Mr Mayor thank you okay as a property owner applicant SE a copy of the agenda backup materials from
staff yes okay go ahead good morning Judith Frankle Community Development um we're going to talk about two applications today that cover a similar property um the first is regarding the um boundaries of an
existing um CPD uh the applicant neighborhood company on behalf of the property owner Empire holding Corp is requesting to expand the CPD boundaries approved by resolution 07 28 the existing CPD consists of a
0.52 acre parcel um at 2500 and 2510 esto Boulevard with a maximum of 23,6 square ft consisting of 9,952 Ft of commercial and office plus
three dwelling units um which could be developed as either three multif family or three live work units with a total of 13,000 115 Square ft uh in two buildings not to exceed a maximum Building height of 40 ft above phase flood with three
stories and an F of 1.0 um the CPD approved under the prior resolution allowed what is called option A in that resolution um as part of a master concept plan um that Master concept plan uh was never developed um
since that time um the owner has purchased two ab budding par located at 2518 Estero Boulevard and 2543 Cottage Avenue uh these Lots each contained a single family home um but were both
destroyed um by Hurricane Ian in 2022 the applicant is requesting an extension of the CPD boundaries to include these two additional properties this would increase the CPD boundary area to a total of 691 Acres uh and this ordinance
is necessary to enable the applicant to develop the site as one entity um the subject property is located approximately 1.0 miles from Time Square and is in the southwest area known as the Civic Center of Fort Meers
Beach um the property is on the south side of Estero Boulevard North of Cottage Avenue the property is front on the south side of EST Boulevard North of Cottage Avenue and to the east of Chapel Street um the project is surrounded by vacant commercial properties um to the
north as well as single and multif family prop properties to the South and West um the applicant is here and um can discuss this further with you I also have some findings and conclusions to go over with you after um the applicant
okay presents Scott do you have any questions for Judith at this time I'm gonna wait for the applicant okay coun Woodson not this time vice mayor Judith could you just briefly in Lay terms explain why we're here today okay well as I said there's two
applications um uh we've been advised that it makes most sense to look at them as two separate ordinances and so we're bringing them forward as two separate applications um the first is to expand the property um the owner previously um continues to own
those two lots and then purchased the other two lots and wanted to have those included as well so that's the first step is um uh allowing that increase in size to to the the CPD the second um ordinance that you're going to hear is
about talk to somebody who may not know what a CPD is can you just get just in 10,000 foot terms for folks who are watching just kind of break down the technical dynamics of what we're doing to sort of pract is it because they bought two Residential Properties and they want to add those to a commercial
property can you just sort of give a general sense as to what we're we're giving a variance for or through the CPD process okay so it's there's no variance that we're going to talk about right now with this ordinance so a CPD is a commercial planned development and that's what they were previously
approved for and that came with a master concept plan so there's um an idea there of what they would build um most likely a three-story building over um base flood and they would have the options of doing commercial and office in there
under that existing rights and responsibilities under that existing and somebody comes to the Town Council with a CPD commercial plan development why do they do that um what is the CPD just just for people who are watching what is the CPD
process how what is it and why are people here utilizing it so it's it's a way to look at a site comprehensively with everything that the developer wants to happen on that site typically you're going to need some kind of deviation
from the um the strict rules of the code um but you're still complying with the comprehensive plan so the comprehensive you think of the comprehensive plan as you say like the 10,000 foot view of things and then the zoning code Falls
underneath the comprehensive plan and when you're building something new you're developing something new you have to comply with both but there is some space um regul regulation wise between the zoning code and the comprehensive plan so if you're bringing something
that the code the zoning code the Land Development code has not specifically um anticipated the commercial plan development route makes the most sense because you can look at um a a property
as a pole um in terms of what you want to develop sometimes that's a uh we've seen this with um hotels where they come in where they're looking for something that the code has not specifically um uh anticipated and so they they need um a
certain set of of regulatory adjustments to make their Project work still fitting within the comprehensive plan but outside the strict bounds of the Land Development code as it is but the comprehensive the the commercial plan
development process is provided for in the comprehensive plan and in the Land Development code it offers this process for things because it can be difficult when when you're writing a Land Development code or a comprehensive plan think of every possible permutation that
might be out there I think that's great and I I just I just wanted to set the table because we're going to hear a lot of testimony today I just wanted people who are watching have sort of the foundation as to why we're here and why we're going through this process so that was very helpful thank you John no questions at this time I
don't have it yet at time okay thanks applicant want to come up no morning again for the record old Davies Lo of Davies Duke on behalf of the applicant our full team is here
today my client representatives are here Jamie and Debbie hodka and also Dan Myers Ken Gander Patrick Vass and Laura tap as I mentioned are our our expert planners with the neighborhood company and Brandon I is our expert civil
engineer with J.R Evans my clients have made extensive efforts since the beginning of this concept to try to work through the neighbors objections um it's something that has evolved significantly over time
you'll hear all of that from Ken and the neighborhood company today uh Ken is also going to walk you through additional revisions that we've made since the LPA hearings by way of background and Judith was alluding to this um we do have
significant existing entitlements on the site today uh we have 23,000 square feet of entitlements on the CPD parcels and then the two additional Parcels one is Zone CB which is a commercial zoning uh there are entitlements on that and also
some multi family entitlements on the RM parcel we could build a restaurant or a hotel on the CB parcel by right and a key component if I may of your deliberations and Analysis today has to
include what the entitlements are today and then comparing that to the proposed entitlements we are definitionally less intense than the aggregation of the entitlements on the four properties today um and significantly less intense
as you'll hear from can uh through the various conditions limitations that we're agreeable to we're also providing material public benefits specifically with respect to the restrooms and comfort stations which will be open to
the public um as you've heard many times uh the public benefits discussion is typically coming before you with respect to an applicant that is asking for something more intense than what they've got today and then mitigating that intensity right and and your very hard
job of balancing that comes with the scope of the public benefits offered here my client is asking for something less intense but they are also still willing and happy to provide the public benefits including these comfor stations that are open to the public and they
want to do that because it's the right thing to do for this island and with that if I may I'll turn it briefly over to Jamie and Dan and then to Mr Gander for the rest of applicant presentation happy to take questions now or at the end of the full presentation thanks no
thank you Mr Mayor could can I add um so no again we're trying to keep separate and distinct um the two records the records on the two quasi judicial so this first one and please correct me if I've misunderstood is simply to change
the zoning designation from uh commercial to bring it into the existing CPD as well as the residential and family bringing it into the CPD that's right so it here's how I have it on my head you and and and Nancy rightfully it's separated the two
ordinances the first consideration is expanding the existing commercial plan development boundary to incorporate these two additional Parcels one which is his own CM today conventional zoning District commercial and one that is own RM today conventional zoning District residential multiv okay and then the
second piece of that relates to an amendment to to the existing CPD schedule of uses to contemplate the Food Truck Park uses and also to incorporate these number of conditions that you'll hear more about the existing CPD as
amended or the existing CPD the second dynamic as amended including that includes these two new Properties or so so at the end at the end of the day with both of them the idea is that the boundary of the existing CPD would be expanded to incorporate these two
additional parcels and then the SCH of uses and the additional language revisions uh excuse me condition stipulations in the CPD would be incorporated and amended to to cover these the New Concept essentially so I
I'm just going to add a little bit more so if you only had one ordinance before you today it would simply be changing the zoning designation of those two additional Parcels to what was permitted back in 2007 if we only had one
ordinance today that's their first step yes step one expanding the boundary changing the zoning District correct step two is amending the specifics of the CPD to contemplate the specific schedule of uses Master cons Master concept plan conditions that we're
proposing to that okay thank you thank you s we're just talking step one Dean Myers um applicant morning Council um I just have one page 165 fall so it w take a lot of time um I'm not going to
recap everything that was discussed in the lp LPA meeting and I do thank you for taking your time to watch that that was a long long day um but I do want to take a moment to emphasize uh something um after nearly eight years of owning this property at 2500 esto we've worked
hard to be good neighbors and responsible towards this island um I truly hope our track record over those eight years uh reflects our commitment to this community uh when we first be a consideration of this development or this property uh we considered several options we looked into several detailed
plans um prob me over over eight different business models and Concepts uh one of those was including a brick and mor restaurant have many of you most know hurricane Ian changed everything for everybody on this island I'm ourselves included and our capabilities
touching on the a lot of the fears that we keep hearing the online stuff was uh than J me um we've heard concerns and fears surrounding the live music I want to directly address this simply put if I
think live music were a central part of our business model I would be fighting for my music rights to host it in its fullest hold on a second right there do we want to hold off this testimony until is no maybe you can help clarify um is the live music issue is that related to
the Food Truck Park or to the addition of the two Parcels to the Food Truck Park but as we did at LPA I think the testimony should Encompass I think you should hear be hearing testimony as to both at the same time other otherwise
you have two SE fully separate hearings and that was the the purpose of my question to you previously is that in the event that the food court uh or the food Park Food Truck Park ordinance was not before you today your client my
understanding was is still seeking to change the existing zoning that they have on their Parcels to the old CPD yes so we filed a single application correct and you know I know that it was
your request that they be bifurcated correct to one with respect to boundary one with respect to uses so um I just organizationally are we going to do a full hearing based on the expansion of the boundary yes and then stop and then we're going to do
another because that's that's different than how we proceeded at LPA and I think I express my concerns to you about preserving the record so in the event there's an appeal the appeal of the Food Truck Park I want that record to have
all the testimony and evidence related to that that ordinance as opposed to having to look at a record that encompasses the two ordinances okay does that so at this time the only thing that's being heard
is expanding the boundary to incorporate two additional adjacent Parcels yes because otherwise your client would still have commercial zoning on one of the parcels and residential multifam on the other parcel this way by um EXP
understanding it they would be allowed to do everything that was in the CPD from 2007 okay whatever the will of council is I just wanted to make sure we weren't duplicating having to say the same thing in both hearings yeah we just want to make sure the record is crystal clear as
to where where the competent substantial evidence lies and where it doesn't for the record um with regards to how they a mov forward is we went through our testimony and a vote was taken on 0.1 for the expansion of the
boundary that resolved that component and then a vote was taken for the sched there are two votes to be taken yes but um I thought that we had agreed that we would try to
minimize um any confusion as to what is in the record for the first ordinance versus the second ordinance okay I just think practically Nancy there is going to be a lot of overlap and the overlap would be fine separation of votes two different ordinances I I totally get
that um separation of all testimony on each I mean that that's certainly the town's brought so in your opinion does the the issue of noise to the residents does that impact your ability to expand the boundary well like I said this was a
single and we we certainly happy to oblig with the with the two different ordinances but I expected this was going to be respectfully I thought we discussed this was sort of the same procedure that
we did in LPA which is testimony as to as to both applications or really the single application with two ordinances right and then importantly two separate votes with respect to that Happ well I think there's agreement on the two
separate votes but how would you propose that we distinguish what evidence is present for the first ordinance and what evidence is present for the second I I I think they're they're related I mean it's all a single application I think it's a technical
bation of the so Council how what would be your preference if you we could lump them all together it would just make it a little bit more difficult in the event of an appeal to extricate out what evidence is
for one ordinance and what evidence is for the other ordinance I mean to me it makes sense to do two separate simply because you're potentially going to be able to expand your CPD area and then what you want to do on it one without one the other one
doesn't make sense right so the way you laid it out and the way you explained it to me this morning makes sense that in the case whichever way it goes if there's an appeal it would be cleaner I think for both sides to make sure that we have dotted our eyes and crossed our te's sure how however you all want to do
it it's fine I just wanted to be talking time yeah and I think the record for the first ordinance is going to be much smaller and shorter um whereas the evidence and everything for the second would be a little bit more in
detail John have any input um I'm okay with going for the way the town attorney wants to Jim I just have a question for the town attorney if it's on record that the applicant is comfortable in combining the two from an
evidentiary standpoint would that negate your concerns if it was appealed if he's on record if they are on record is combining the evidence for both of the two that would certainly save us a lot of time and confusion I think it it would um again um we can we
can accommodate it um perhaps maybe when the testimony is made then you could say that it is specific to this ordinance or if it's specific to the second ordinance if we go in that direction I would ask that we go ahead and read the title to
the second ordinance as well and then just hear all the testimony on both ordinances and then take um separate votes on them that is an an alternative way to um approach it no how do you feel about we don't have any issue with that I I just I I do
think there is uh just practically speaking to to Mr Vice mayor's point I think if I mean at LPA we presented everything and then there were two separate votes so I I I think that that's fine we don't
have an objection to doing it that way um but again whatever whatever Council wants to do we're happy to do so if Council wants to go in that direction then I would just ask ask that we go ahead and read the title for the second ordinance um there is a request for um
individuals to participate as interveners um and we could just go ahead and go into that and then come back with two separate votes do you have any objection to Bel I'm guessing the other side probably got would like to have their two cents thank you yes and I appreciate you uh making
the time to thank you for not not raising an objection yeah you know our oper Iden ify yourself yeah David moso Becker and poov attorney on behalf of the opposing intervening parties um you know our objection uh to to hearing both
items together is number one as to the town uh attorney's um point for for the purposes of appeal to kind of keep the the matter separate and then secondly I think it's important um not only for the council but for the folks who are are present and are listening uh also online
to understand the distinction between the two uh our opposition is is very distinct with regard to the points for this item than than than it is for for the points to the second uh and third items on the agenda and so I think it confuses the issue a little bit there
are the issues if you will a little bit if we hear them hear them all together it makes it seem like it's just one thing it's not one thing they are two very distinct um you know asks that are being made with two very distinct impacts um to to to people who are you know have made some significant investments in our residents here in the
town so thank you right thank you Council Woodson I just think I actually think we should hear them separately you know if for any reason item a is voted on no that item B doesn't
exist not technically not technically that would be up to the applicant but right right but for all practical purposes for maybe today B would not exist exist I mean I don't know I'm not saying that's that's going to happen or anything I'm just saying to have them
separate um and distinct might be yeah it might take longer but um at least we're staying in the lane and the other alternative would be that if for whatever reason um B was
approved um then we really wouldn't need well I I stand corrected um one other way to look at this would be that you could move forward with um B and make it contingent on approval of the first one
putting uh the additional land there let me hear from Scot Council Safford I can't see you but I'm assuming you can hear us I I I agree with uh with uh councilman Woodson I think they're two separate issues and I think they should be treated as such yeah I'm of the same belief I think
just proceeding with the CPD potential expansion to the other two properties and then move on to the other one does it make sense to do what what you just mentioned ancy to do B first then a you could approach it in that direction as well um if you want to go
ahead and hear the ordinance that would allow a food truck Park making that contingent on the approval of the expansion of the boundary you you can this one is a little bit tricky I think we've already already procedurally I
think we've already approved the agenda the way it's laid out I don't want to necessarily go move around you know people are paying attention people are here to speak potentially on one or both I I would just feel more comfortable going in the order that we went um my guess is this ordinance will the
decision on this will come much quicker probably than the one after this depending on which way it goes so yeah I I don't think that the record for this first ordinance would be significant I think a lot of the testimony you're going to here and the documentation is really for the second okay happy to do
whatever you all want to I just didn't want to make just sorry to stop you I just didn't want to duplicate duplicate the efforts but you're welcome to the legal stuff is new to me the development side is new to me so I'm more on the the relationship side and the business side and then I apologize I I came forward
too quickly no just wanted to make sure we were getting it all straight out yeah no no worries um Jamie would probably have more information um on the properties and the Lots come on Jamie 2500 was purchased in 2017 um and
through the LPA and what we said and spoke there um I feel we've been good stewards neighbors uh Jamie and Debbie lived at 2518 um okay yeah you go ahead and go that good good morning or whatever it is
after I have been swor in I'm Jamie hutka James hutka uh I'm the president of Empire holding Corporation who is the trustee for that so I I have total control of the property uh we moved to 2518 EST stero uh 13 years ago I love
the island we' always dreamed of owning a house on the island been visiting for 30 40 years for quite a while uh we bought the lot at 2500 because of construction on Estero there was beep beep beep at 6 o'clock every morning and we didn't want it we worked out a deal
to purchase it and I really bought it to play with my dog on it that's why I bought it I thought my grandkids could enjoy it someday when they want to develop I did not have plans to develop it but uh Ian changed our mind we had bought 2518 we had bought a rental
income property at 2543 Cottage and I just I don't know if you remember that lot I had post a rope all the way around it to keep people from parking on it that people were fighting and drinking and parking so I just wanted to make it a nice place and you could see all the post and ropes so that gives you an idea
what kind of neighbor we are you know we didn't do it just junky it was beautiful there uh we want to expand this CPD and include those other two lots because they're sand lots now there's there's really nothing to do with them and uh hopefully someday we will develop on it
hopefully this is the right use for it and I really feel that uh combining the Lots is the right way to go at this point so I don't think of course I can't go into the other but I don't think we're asking for anything more than what's already there other than to expand the boundaries so just has thr me
in a query I don't know my what my presentation should be I think you're doing just fine thank you for your time think you covered what was important Scott any questions for these before you guys run off just want to make sure nobody has any questions any question no I'm I'm good thank you I'm good thanks mayor Jamie just so
I understand the two additional lots that were you're trying to bring into the CPD uh process they were acquired for what purpose for this did you have in mind this model no I we bought the first one to live in the 2500 we bought because of
the noise and I just figured that it would be something my grandkids would develop someday and then Cottage we bought as a rental income property and it just happened you know we knew the neighbor and they were going to sell it so we bought it uh actually 90% or close to 90% of this is already Zone
commercial the only parcel we're asking to add to that CP that's not as a one that's Zed for multif family residents that's on Cottage and if you look at I think it's three parking spots and the rest is green space we're putting on that lot so we're really not putting any huge buildings or anything else on there
we're just expanding our parking lot and putting some buffers to help buffer that side of the neighborhood so since I'm a little unclear if this if this is Germain to this or the second uh uh item but I'll ask it anyways there was a
point in in a conversation that we had had early on that you envisioned some kind of a uh facility there there uh prior to Ian or maybe even post Ian I can't remember was it a duck Pin bowling alley or something we wanted to put a
family entertainment center we had a large building with restaurants and uh that we were put the family entertainment center we approached the town on that I think November of 2020 November of 2020 and they they didn't seem to like the idea so could you just
add just a little more light on that when you see you approach the town on that why why would they not like like that it was in the old Administration um 2500 used to be the largest empty commercial vacant lot on AA so it opened up our capabilities and possibilities to
do something different um and we were really looking at this town and and what we thought it needed kind of in my thought was more entertainment it was it was duck Pin bowling axe throwing arcade all enclosed all enclosed one large building um it
also was the only spot in the island that could happen than a few other you know empty or or not used properly buildings St but the town staff at the time dissuaded you from doing that wow okay thank you I don't remember it ever coming to us it's it's in the paperwork
somewhere think also at that time we did not ask to include these other two lots because we were going to build on existing CPD so the other two lots we were happy with the residential and Commercial zoning and use as income property so
John nothing currently I don't have anything thanks come on right that work all right good morning think we're we're moving forward here so uh again
I'm Ken Gander with the neighborhood company uh mayor vice mayor council Town manager thanks for your time here uh I'm going to move forward a little bit um kind making adjustments to how we're
proceeding here so I appreciate the flexibility uh I'm not going to hit on the exact uh the slide too in depth but uh we're looking at uh the potential for the overall property to be uh 6 uh 91
Acres uh your future land use category is Boulevard and again we're looking at an existing CPD Commercial Boulevard residential multif family and we're wanting to first part here is expand that boundary and as Judith laid out and
I appreciate that explanation about how this inter Tales to the CPD and the expansion of that and why we have that flexibility to do that is through uh the consistency with the comprehensive plan Land Development code so this slide shows us uh the
existing CPD boundary uh in relations to uh the surrounding properties uh uh along a stero Boulevard just to Tado Street and Mango Street the dashed black line is where we
would be where we're seeking to expand the C boundary inclusive of uh the parcel to the east of us along uh St Boulevard which is the commercial bouevard uh Zone par parcel and the other is the RM which is along Cottage
Avenue can the two pieces of property that you're referring to that you're asking to include within the CPD boundaries one was a house the other one was I'm assuming that was was on their residential property both residential but one actually contains some commercial use within it
couldn't remember and were they both substantially damaged from hurricane in or could they have been rebt have been demolished so they were I can't speak to exactly the status of it there we okay so uh this is just another
visualization of the overall uh what we're seeking in terms of the uh CPT boundary this is your uh the zoning uh map for the town and this provides us the cont context of what we're looking at the subject property uh again the
lighter pink is your commercial uh Boulevard zoning and it uh as you can see the significant portions of the property surrounding our subject property our Zone CB uh approximately 70% of what is
surrounding us is a commercially zoned and or a non-residential in terms of the industrial uh uh or institutional zoning District to the north of us and through uh the CPD uh once expanded the
commercial plan development and the plan development process enables us to work on that appropriate design the appropriate uses uh that enables us to be uh sensitive to or uh through the conditions and compatible with our
surrounding neighbors uh while maintaining that opportunity for that small scale uh and local business uses that are uh desired for the heart of the island uh and based on this as we know through the LPA uh
that uh this portion of the uh petition uh was recommended for unanimous approval by the LPA and its recommended approval uh by uh staff um K since you paused there I I gotta I
gotta get this figured out of my head here Jamie could you come back up just real quick I'm just curious about this family fund Center that was proposed in 2020 because it was all it was all enclosed and you're talking you're talking about a duck Pin bowling alley all enclosed I'm just curious and again
just just so just to answer the questions in my mind if you were to go forward with something similar to that today has that business model changed in your mind is it the economics just don't work anymore Island would support it at this point there's just not enough people on the
island that's that's yeah no that's what I'm trying to understand so you just don't think there's enough enough folks years now it may be that way but right now I mean the Island's totally changed their Dynamics the number of people the number of children number of families on the island is just okay I just wanted to understand why you why you changed
business models that that that helps down basically they like it yeah well there's there's a lot of new people here but but but but you don't think the business model works at this current time not at this time until it gets more developed it has to be the population in
the seats of what I've always heard just happen I it was just curious it was a question that was weighing on me so I appreciate you do it still you really would huh yes wow well it it was a plan it's a very intriguing concept kids that's I have a lot of grand kids and I love kids and there's no place to take
there's no place to Tin kids on the island except for the beach which is wonderful but it' be nice to have some other options so but anyways I just needed to satisfy my curiosity on that but thank you we did a very in-depth feasibility study for the family entertainment center and uh re kind of
going back to that it's that the population just didn't work right now particularly off season I'm guessing yeah yeah I was always I was getting ready to ask the mayor to be part of my duck bin bowling uh League team you know a whole
leagues and leagues leagues would be great yeah all right thank you sorry to sorry to interrupt Ken I just that was that was waiting on me want you to focus on I got you focus on the present yeah well no it's it's all relevant so uh
just looking at this a little bit again more comprehensively you know we're in the Civic complex portion uh of the comprehensive plan that heart of the island and the boulevard future land use which is intended to promote that mix of uses some residential
less intense the smaller scale commercial uh to serve the residents and visitors uh to the island at Fort Meers Beach uh it's again that transitional zone between the cor area uh of downtown uh Time Square more your Quiet Center so
we're in that mixture uh use uh again just a convenient uh in aspects of Mobility uh we're right in between uh each Direction um proximity and compatibility uh as again
we have a mixture of fake and commercial commercial the institutional which is across uh Estero Boulevard uh you had the prior Heavenly biscuits uh the future Sandy Bottoms um Mom's restaurant which we understand is now going to be
moving towards more of a uh back to the what was there before and then you have a significant amount of uh high density residential components Diamond Head uh the future U uh with the sterile Beach Club coming back neun Resort those
components of commercial nature and then Town Hall currently as it exists but with the plan for the expansion of the recreational campus and then also in a relationship to all the beach accesses uh but expanding the
CPD uh from what is included is those jues were found to be compatible with the surrounding areas the multif family office and Retail and those cultural and cultural resource cultural facilities that are approved would be appropriate
uh with this expansion uh this is where we potentially would go into uh in our opinion keep going uh but we respect fully understand uh where you want to kind of bifurcate these but again based
on our testimony here we feel it's appropriate expansion of the CPD uh based on the testimony here we are in full uh agreement with the findings the staff report um the criteria and again this planning
agency's unanimous approval of uh of this portion of the ordinance we respectfully request your approval as well okay any questions John for for Ken no vice mayor
CC Safford any questions for Ken not right now okay um Nancy now do the interviewers want to have us decide this this one as well the other expansion that was not okay well that was really
not I don't think that was in your request so our our request it if I may well our our request was I think intending to be inclusive of of everything uh we weren't sure how it was going to be heard however given that it's being heard in this way kind of
have to make a an adjustment here uh and so what we would request is intervenor status um on this item and and the next one so that we can we we won't have our experts uh present up until the rather only on the second item um this one will
just be limited to uh myself and uh some of the the budding property residents uh I think have a a specific um objection to this particular um item on the agenda that is different and and the impacts are different as well as the rationale for opposition are different from the
second item on the agenda okay then is we need a motion from the council to accept yes but he would need to make his argument as to why he is an intervenor and with Mr Davies the opportunity to
comment as well okay sure yeah I think it's it's it's pretty simple why the you know the the parties that I'm representing are interveners um this particular item is um key and that it is both proposing a
more intense and a more intrusive um set of uses and Amendment to the CPD that would allow a set of uses that again is more intense and more intrusive um that was never contemplated by the applicant's own admission never contemplated to be part of of their development and and so our uh clients or
my clients um specifically are at complete shock um to have their investment back expectations potentially thrown thrown away um or jeopardized by the fact that a a a a property that was never contemplated to be a commercial
use or two properties that were never contemplated to be commercial use are going to be right next to them where they're going to have to deal with the noise uh which was one of the reasons why this lot was purchased in the first place by the applicant um to have to deal with the noise and the frequency and the intrusion of having a uh
commercial use about their property and so because of that they they're specifically agreed um with regard to this item on the agenda no I'm GNA note a technical objection for the record that you can hear them just like any other public commenters I
think those comments are are something that you're accustomed to hearing during public comment I don't I don't think that they would have a right to some other special status if you want to give them additional time to speak to you uh we're not we're not going to stand in the way of that thank
you so Nancy so for the record again um we would need a motion to accept um or to allow their participation as an intervenor um with any type of qualifications that you want to put on their ability to participate on this
first part um Mr Davies had mentioned um time generally interveners or agree parties or given a little bit more time than uh members of the public through public comment um but it is discretionary on the part of of
councel okay well I guess I you guys want make a motion then we'll have discussion I I'll make a motion to allow interveners uh five minutes to to uh to speak outside of the
public comment U on this hearing I'll second discussion Scott that sounds good to me Council Woodson I'm fine with that just a parliamentary inquiry Mr Mayor does your motion then include granting them intervener status in this particular yes
yes okay very good King help me understand the motion um essentially just allowing them to be in a reader status which allows them the ability to speak outside of public comment for an extended period a little
longer than the normal 3 minutes okay yeah all right we got a motion in a second you want a roll call vote on this yes all right I'm an i vice mayor I councilor King hi counc Safford I Council Woodson hi okay
proceed thank you uh members of the council um so once again my name is David moso I'm U an attorney for Pelican watch cond Condo Association uh Tom and de Danford as well as Ed French um all of whom are property owners that
directly abut the uh properties on on this item in the agenda that is being proposed um for amendment in the CPD um I think Beyond just the the time and and I'm I'm certainly grateful um more so for the property owners who are going to
come up here and give you um their thoughts on on this particular item um but also for the recognition that there is a a status for them that is is beyond just that of uh you know members of of the general public as a GED parties so thank you for that um as it relates to
this item you heard it from the the applicant right uh he never contemplated a commercial use when when he purchased his property it was specifically purchased to uh quiet the noise right to to put an end to the noise so that he
could continue to enjoy his his property the quiet use and enjoyment of of his property um and so it's it's a bit ironic that they would then turn around and and try to seek a a commercial a commercialization to this property to to then Bring the
Noise um so so far as um as it is allowable but then on top of that to say you know what actually we don't want what's allowable we want some some other newer form of noise um in addition to that to be included I think it's um particularly um disrespectful and it
disregards um the the use and the enjoyment and the investment backed expectations of of the budding Property Owners I'll go back and I'll say I think there's a a very important Nuance on this item that um Bear's mentioning I think Bear's really focusing on um the
applicant and his attorney said that what they're seeking to do here is less um less intensive well it's not that's that's an outright uh lie it's it's really not it's more intensive and it's more intrusive more importantly because these properties are currently residential they're not commercial so
there is no level of intensity that's currently allowed as to this this particular item on the agenda and they would have you and this is why they wanted to hear it all together they would have you believe that what they are proposing is less intensive well it's just as a matter of fact not that's why they need to amend the CPD and as it
relates to their previous business model as they said their business model just didn't work with the enclosed uh 10 Pin bowling well this business model doesn't work for them unless they come in here and have you approve something that is going to throw out the considerations the the expectations the quiet use and
en enjoyment of all the abing property owners out the window and that's just not I think in the will of of the people to set up and take the time to set up a a comprehensive plan to set up zoning guidelines to then come in here and say well you know what uh we'll just we'll
just sell out to a a developer it sets a precedent that any developer can come into town buy up a vacant piece of land and dream up whatever use they want to dream up at the expense of the Abundant property owners and they could just come in here and just say hey you know what uh it's it's it's such a pretty nice
familyfriendly idea what's not very friendly to the families that are but these properties moreover it's going to put them in a position where they're going to be forced to sell eventually to the commercial property owners because they're going to be Residential Properties that have no no appeal so if you amend the comprehensive plan to
allow a commercial use what you're doing is you're doing it at the expense of folks who have already made an investment back expectation with the expectation that they're going to be able to live quietly on Fort Myers Beach they're going to be able to walk around safely that they're not going to have to deal with an unknown variable an unknown
quantity of of vagrancy potentially of folks just making up a bunch of noise live music I mean there's an un innumerable number of of considerations that they never had the applicant never had that you they want you to now make and just throw throw out the quality of
life for these folks and so with that I'm I'm going to turn it over to the danfords um as as well as mrlock Nancy are we allowed to ask questions of him or is it just just public you can ask questions of him um we just need some clarification the additional five
minutes was that five minutes um total or was that to be five minutes divided among his speakers my intention was per speaker thank you before you run off I just want to ask you a question yes sir just so that I'm clear what what what the applicant
is asking for isn't a change to the comprehensive plan is that correct Judith there you said I just want to make sure the testimony is corrected that they're they're not asking to change the comprehensive plan which is what you alluded to and I want to make sure corre they're they're asking to to change from a residential to a commercial use right
but that's not changing the that's correct you're right thank you thank you for that well wait I have another question too so so the the lot that you said that the hotka bot was 2500 correct it's there's
two lots that are at that issue here so 2518 was their home I'd have to yeah I'd have to 2543 was a rental 2543 on Cottage was a rental they were both residential uh is my understanding they were both Residential Properties one of them had no because one had they all had
some form of commercial that's not that's not the case one of them had a a a cottage industry practice inside a home but they were both Residential Properties and they both were residences I thought I don't think that's true I
thought one of the properties was zoned as Commercial Boulevard yeah I did too one of the current properties that's being that's being of the two properties one was Commercial Boulevard one was residential multi they're that they're trying to include into a commercial now but one was Commercial Boulevard I understanding is that folks were living there but that's that's fine I'm happy
to amend the record talking about the zoning and and say that the the applicant yeah and I'm happy to say that that the applicant himself admitted that he never contemplated a commercial use for these properties right but that doesn't mean that it wasn't Zone commercial sure absolutely any other
questions Scott you have any questions not at this time okay com up next yeah he was in the bathroom okay good morning good morning I'm Tom Danford I pull that mic down a little bit for
you your last name Danford d f d I'm at 2520 and 2522 Cottage Avenue um my concerns with the uh rezoning issue here is I think policy 16.2 point1 restricts rezoning of
residential lots to be included into the existing commercial use and the other parcels and therefore I think it should be denied um the impacts this will have on the remaining residential lots immediately adjacent to it are just
unfathomable so please take that into consideration as you as you go through this re consideration thank you thank you I remember you from the LPA hearing it's nice to be remembered I appreciate all the hard work from you
guys everybody's all right hey uh my name is Derek oin I on 2553 College Avenue I thought we were here just for three people so is he I don't have the interveners concluded
their presentation would I why wouldn't I be an interviewing I got the greatest impact here for the few minutes yeah I I you live directly behind it cor what so are you represented by uh
Council no I'm representing myself okay so so then he should be a public comment versus intervener is that basically yes um although he I think you're asking for intervenor status yes I'm should be entitled to it well
it's discretionary on the part of the council that's so he's making a request for intervenor status and well again just a legal inquiry uh so are you represented by this gentleman here who of council or do you have C I have no
council is H has it been your experience to to ask for intervener S without you can without an attorney and I do have one more person from Pelican watch to come up here as as an intervenor so I don't know if if it would be more appropriate for Mr to go so to clarify
let's let's back up so there was a motion made to Grant um his his client's uh intervener status with five minutes for each one so we should proceed and let um his clients have their five minutes and
then I'm an interv notes okay just hold let's cover the interveners first and then we'll I am an so so mayor I believe at the conclusion of this gentleman I trying to get at after that we will if if you're not
being represented by by this gentleman then we will we will discuss if we allow intervenor your status to those of you that are not represented by him but we want to make sure we get through the motion that we've already went through to allow those please apply the law we we will certainly dis sir nobody's going
to be able to hear you sir nobody's gonna be able to hear you because you're not at the microphone but we will take this up afterwards okay thank you thank you members of the council uh my name is Gary Fields I'm an owner at Pelican watch in the past HOA president I'm speaking today on behalf of Pelican
watch due to our current president Randy B is out of town on work my com have been approved by Mr B be clear we are not opposed to development we all purchased knowing that there was commercial property zoned out in front of uh our building we'd
love to see an enclosed restaurant in the SES so we are anything but anti-development I'm not going to repeat the testimony of our many recognized e experts that have already articulated the many objectionable elements of this proposal the noise the traffic loss of
privacy security I'm going to focus more on my own personal and professional uh perspectives I spent my entire career in Economic Development I've run a state agency State Economic Development agency I've structured over a billion dollars
worth of development financings um so I I know this industry there are two main reasons for economic development jobs and tax base these are minimum wage jobs and the tax-based result of this of what's proposed actually brings the
property tax that's face down the all of the property owners are going to need to get reassessed at new values there's clearly there'll be a drop in our property values the net impact of this because there's so little property tax property investment in a in a food truck Park is
that there's a net loss in the property tax Basin to Lee County and to Fort Meers Beach that means all of the other property owners on this island are going to pay more than they are now so the red that's the tax impact of this so again
the the purposes for economic development are jobs and tax based and neither one of those goals are met by this development I fully understand why you should why you would and should be excited by a proposed development we all want to see Improvement in this area uh
that's that's completely understandable uh but this is not going to accomplish that uh We've attempted to work with a developer to reduce the negative impact on our neighborhood we've attempted to address the noise the traffic the loss of privacy the loss of security the
developers have made a token effort to listen but have hardly responded to most of our asks so we're at your mercy to either restrict or reject this development we've asked for no live music no special event permits we asked
for no ambient music over 60 DB we've asked for the developers to provide a security gate because people that that go to this property will actually be able to drive underneath and through our building we've asked we've asked for a gate there we've asked for necessary signage and traffic controls we've made
very little progress so let let me give you one more reason to turn this down my lifetime experience in development has taught me that investment follows demand the demand for services our beloved Time Square will only attract investment when
the de when the demand is there many restaurants between Pelican watch and Time Square have not reopened because the demand is insufficient at this point there's not the demand for that yet when when the demand is there investment will show up approving a food truck park at
the expense of the taxpayers of this town will only delay that demand in Time Square so please refocus on getting beds people back here uh as Pelican watches then we're one of the first to complete
our Redevelopment and get back in our buildings we've invested a lot for that we had to borrow $3 million because of the lack of insurance uh uh funding for our for our rebuild so we we' made that investment but we made it thinking that
we were under the same conditions when all of us purchased our properties we knew that there was commercial potential out in front of us but not a food truck park that's that's that's a a different type of development so I ask you to please focus on getting Residential
Properties completed be wise be patient don't be misled by pretty pictures all the other food truck parks that you they will show you are in commercial or industrial areas not one of them is in a residential neighborhood so please do the right thing for the taxpayers Fort
Meers Beach and Lee County I'm happy to answer any questions you have for me just one real quick question you when I had met with your group one of the concerns you talked about and you mentioned it here that people would drive through Pelican watch yes that are currently doing it now has there ever
been any discussion a pelican watch to add a security gate prior to this it it really it it's minimal now there's not a reason to do it you know the only reason to do it now is if you want to save yourself two blocks of of the the traffic back up on the road that's very
little but people will be coming through our property I mean so we have this is a recent thing we we haven't we really haven't seen that as a need until now but if you you're going to put a food truck park there allow a food truck Park then we have to be more concerned about
our own security we're not talking about that at this time we're just talking about the resoning of the property I know it's it's I know I understand procedural elements it's hard for us to separate the issues but let me ask you one question which is which would any of you purchase a condominium if it was
adjacent to a food truck prop would I need to I mean I I certainly wouldn't and and that was not a possibility when any of the current buyers at uh purchasers at Pelican watch that was not an option there's over a 100 close to 100 property owners that
never had to consider that and I would ask you would you purchase a property next to a food truck Park I don't think I'd have purchased next to a restaurant either but that's just me I I could live I could I wouldn't have a problem thank you I I wouldn't have a problem with
with with a resta none of us would we we we all knew that that at one point there was a restaurant there much Stu was there so none of us haveen we don't we're not anti-development and and I don't want that perspective left so I've used my time I appreciate it appreciate your
thoughts and thank you for consider is that the last of your clients yes sir thank okay so by show hands how many that are not represented one and then there was one other two mayor before we do that I think we should afford Mr Davies the opportunity to comment on any
of the comments that were made uh thank you Nancy for the record M Davies on behalf of the applicant I'm still trying to calm down from I think being called a liar in my presentation to you um so I would like to formally rebut that statement on the record um
I'm going to take the high road on that and um reiterate to you that you've got specific criteria for this rezoning application it's not a compant Amendment request as you noted Mr Mayor uh um we meet the criteria we meet that criteria
based on substantial confident evidence from our expert planner and also from your expert planner uh from Judith um and based on that we would respectfully ask that you move this to the second reading with respect to the first ordinance thank you
Mr Mayor thank you coun thank you Mr Mayor may I clarify um in no way did I intend or I don't think anyone did intend that Mr Davies was misrepresenting anything um we did have some correspondence I did go back and look at it as far as
procedurally my response to you was basically about no no not not at all I think the other gentleman the attorne I'm so sorry that was a lie okay no I I I just had it hasn't been my experience that Mr Davies misrepresents so I just
if it was me that no I think it was this gentleman here that's I wanted to correct that for the to clarify the the the misrepresentation that that I called lie is that what they're proposing is not as intense as what is allowed well
as it relates to these properties specifically the residential property that's not true it is more intense it's not allowed and it is also significantly much more intrusive that's just a matter of fact thank you for the next one interveners yes so it looked like there
was again two two gentlemen in the back that want to be considered for intervenor status you and talk about the food Park are you talking about I oh yeah as long as you're talking about specifically what we're hearing today right now at this moment which is just
the potential expansion of CPD not the Food Truck Park itself just the expansion of adding the two properties if you're if you're comfortable speaking specifically to that I don't have any objection to it John do you have any objection no vice mayor no objection
Scott no you want us to take another do we need to take another vote to allow these two gentlemen yes and we should State their name for the record as far as who um is asking for intervenor status and how much time okay is it what is your name sir for the record I'm David Tac I'm here
representing my mother Helen Tac hold on a second we just want to get your name so that we could take the vote yeah and then come back up here sir just so they can get it on record Derek ol LAN you spell that for me capital O Apostrophe capital l o u g
h l i n I was going to start with the D I I I I assume the O Apostrophe capital L I got that part the rest of it I wanted to make sure got all right I will make a motion to approve Mr teak and mrin U to have interor status with a time of five
minutes per um to correlate with what we had before second I got a motion in a second uh any further discussion all right I'm an i vice mayor hi ccor King hi counc Safford hi ccor Woodson hi
okay Mr Tac thank you it probably won't need five minutes but just a little bit of history on SE grape subdivision it was platted in 1919 prior to the 1925 law for a platted subdivision can you pull that microphone down oh yeah so
basically uh all the property owners own to the middle of the road uh none of the roads ever dedicated and nor did the plat get ever get signed by the developers um basically uh the house that I was in The Holiday Beach house which my folks
own and still do um it was Z it was a it was a motel it was called The Holiday House Motel back in that day a lot of times they named the houses after the people that lived in there um The Mucky
Duck was was actually just a restaurant put in a house very similar to Mom's where she just took a little house and then started doing sticky buns out of it and then later asked for commercials so I know at the LPA meeting the one guy he
thought there was multiple restaurants there well there there's really never been any restaurants on that property in fact there was just the house that morphed into a restaurant so for what it's what it's worth nothing was ever constructed as an actual house there um
muy duck was there confused huh I'm confused you tell me there was never a restaurant there and you tell me there was a restaurant there then you said it morphed into a house but it was a house no I said it morphed into a restaurant oh you said a house but well I'm sorry that's right it was a it was a house and
it just later just like Mom's was just a house and then morphed into a restaurant so then it was a restaurant well it was technically but not not originally okay so just like for example I'm confused but go ahead that's okay well and and let me help your confusion just
like the house that I had the holiday beach house that was Zone commercial now when you when the town came together and they did a c c CPD zoning or the the commercial development zoning you changed mine from commercial
to that so theoretically you you've changed you've changed what commercial was back to what it isn't or back to whatever it is so you can change it at any point but basically seagrape subdivision was a 20 acre piece of
parcel all of them were that were bought out by the government way back in the early 1900s so that whole entire seagrape subdivision is 20 acres and he's taken 6 Acres of 20 acres and turn it into a
commercial zoning he's basically playing Monopoly he's buying up all the little houses and then he's is trying to get a big giant development there moms has never come into compliance with their parking they were supposed to have extra parkings over at uh Topps grocery store
and when they went away six seven years ago she never filled in the parking we've had nothing but problems there trash noise anyways what this is right now because I'll get into that later but
basically this is spot zoning is what he's doing and that's illegal in Florida and it comes under and there's case law City of Miami b beach versus ocean and Bay Park 1 Inc in 1941 Florida
courts have invalidated zoning changes that create inconsistent land uses within an established residential neighborhood that's the second oldest neighborhood on Fort Meers Beach 1919 okay wasn't Fort Myers Beach
huh it wasn't for no it wasn't Incorporated that was in 1996 technically 95 correct uh the project fundamentally alter Alters the residential character of the seap subdivision and violates Fort Meers Beach Comprehensive Pro uh
plan so just to give you a brief history it's it's spot zoning it's it's I'm probably my property when you throw in and the two of them when you throw in out to the high Watermark I probably have a larger parcel than he does and I I have no
intent on building a big old family fund Center there so right now we're under uh plans to construct a home on that right now that access with with his there according to the National
Institute of Transportation study I would have close to 800 or more people a day walking back and forth from the beach and I drive in and out I got to access both my properties I'm landlocked on the one and I'm not on the other so it's got to be the most intrusive thing
and if nobody thinks that's going to devalue my property I I'm a real estate broker I've I've been a real estate since I was 18 think we just need to wrap it up and and I know that I do I do have a question for you before you before you go before
hurricane Ian had you ever contemplated rebuilding tearing down and rebuilding your homes you know I I fixed them all up really nice I mean in fact I had put in uh a bunch of improvements even prior to the storm so I had I had no intentions of tearing it down okay and rebuilding
no thank you thank you any questions for Mr Tac John no Scott I do not this time okay uh just one last Quick Point nobody ever contacted me I sent you all letter I
kind of put all my thoughts down nobody nobody has reached out to me and I just want to make that point Thank you so mayor the applicant can cross-examine the intervener if you want no nothing no okay thank you come on
up good to go Derek ol are you on 2553 College Avenue I appreciate all your hard work by the way I'm a contractor general contractor have been for over 40 years on the property 15 years Derek can you speak into the microphone please on
the property around 15 years enjoy the property moved into a residential neighborhood so I taught okay I know you brought up this a little bit but all of the properties that were around me when I bought were
residents now I understand a commercial piece of property that needs to be developed I have no problem with that it's the purpose and use that I have a problem with we're right now in planning we're almost done hopefully to build a new home
there a significant investment especially when you're poor like me right I can relate I'm telling you okay and we don't mind them building something there but what are they going
to build my big issue is I have a buffer and this is where the zoning I have a problem with the zoning he's going to get zoning that puts him 10 foot within my property with bathrooms whatever he's got going on
okay I have a huge problem with that a significant investment 10 foot buffer I looked at your rules and your laws and I saw that uh you should be almost 25 ft depends on what the ordinance you read cuz they're all over the place cuz you really don't have
ordinances against a food Park they don't exist but again we got to keep the comments about specifically making the CPD okay all right you'll have a chance to all right I'm okay I'll stick with that so that's that's where I'm at with it as far as
intensity their Council says it's less intense I don't know guys you tell me we got a pop we got live music we got heavy traffic and fast food how intense is that guys that's pretty
intense to be 10 ft from my front door now that's the best I can say it as far as that goes we bought into residential we have a significant investment up to now we are planning to continue with our
investment and like I said commercial property I agree with disuse I don't before you run off just get I got a couple questions for you you said you bought in what year did you buy 2008 so when they were approved for the CPD was
it 2007 so you bought knowing that there was a CPD already approved next door yeah I did I I that yeah I did okay and had you ever contemplated on tearing down the house that you'd purchased to build a new one believe it or not I did and more
importantly before you I could make the investment I came down here today after the hurricane I wanted to know what was going on I was lucky to get on the island and I went home and I told my wife said well maybe this is Dody stuff climate going up and down everything you
read in the news like I said we're poor can't be running down here invested thousand hundreds of thousands of dollars but what I did notice as a contractor anything that was high and that was good up high and structural good structures survived and
they were safe so with the new rules and regulations I understood that this would have to be done to have some longevity for the island and that's what I based my decision on getting my drawings
financing and getting everything ready to go and it made a it made a big difference to me to do that and that you know and that's what we that's what we went on and we're there we're almost there and we're going to build there
every regardless you know I mean but you get a commercial property and you put me let's say I think it's what 5 foot above finish okay so let's say 15 ft just for I walk out my front
door onto an outside steps and I'm looking at public bathrooms 15t in the year mind you now he's got a 6 foot high fence well they do but I can see half four miles from my for my front
door yeah know I mean it it doesn't make sense now I agree if he puts in his gaming alley and he puts up some sort of a wall some sort of Aesthetics around me controls noise controls the use I see it John do you have any questions for no
vice mayor counc saff and not at this time CC won no all right cheers thanks a lot um cross it nothing no no cross okay all right well do we want to do any do the public
comment first and then come back to any rebuttals or I think the staff presentation first okay and staff presentation part two Judith okay I did want to clarify a couple things um to vice mayor ader's point in the beginning sorry to have a
clear understanding of what exactly we're looking at um the two guiding documents for town planning as I said are the comprehensive plan plan and the Land Development code this area in the comprehensive plan is under the boulevard future land use designation
and has been such since the initial comp plan for the town was approved in 1999 so and the boulevard uh future land use designation um includes mixed use so residential multifam single family
residential multif family and Commercial uses so that's the UN underlying future land use designation for area and then within that what we're talking about here specifically was the um the Commercial Boulevard which is what's abutting the uh sterile Boulevard and so
one of those properties we're talking about today is um currently Commercial Boulevard and so on that property although small you could do some kind of commercial use um the other property is currently res um uh residential multif
family um because of its size would only really accommodate um one residential unit so in in thinking about what we're we're talking about here so those are the designations of those two properties are different under zoning but they're the same under the future land use of
the comprehensive plan okay so I just wanted to clarify that so we're on the same page um in thinking about the rezoning here of those two Parcels to be included in the the um commercial plan development that was approved in
2007 um we have some guidelines that are laid out in the um uh Land Development code uh Land Development codes section 34- 85b and c and 34-
2162 um they set forth the required considerations and uh findings for approval here so bear with me I'm going to go through those for the record um Land Development code section 34- 85 B in reaching its decision the Town
Council shall consider the following whichever whenever applicable first whether there exists an error or ambiguity which must be corrected uh we find no errors or ambiguities exist two whether there exist change or changing conditions which make approval of the request
appropriate um these uh two properties we're talking about adjacent to the CPD um uh have been now under the same ownership um um as as the CPD the impact of a proposed change on the intent of
this chapter no impact on the intent of this chapter will occur although the LPA and Town Council may desire to consider additional regulation to govern this use in the future um uh criteria four is the testimony of any applicant which you have heard the recommendations of staff
and the local planning agency um the testimony of the public which you have also heard now whether the request is consistent with the goals OB objective policies and intent with the densities intensities and General Uses as set for in the fort Meers Beach Comprehensive
plan um the expanded boundary is consistent with the town of Fort Meers Beach Comprehensive plan as I said it's all included in the U Boulevard future land use um designation whether the request meets or exceeds all performance and locational
standards set forth for the proposed use the proposed development will be required any development to happen would be required to to meet performance standards set forth in Land Development code section 34-20 31 and 34-20 32
whether Urban services are or will be available and adequate to serve a proposed land use change the urban Services exist in this location uh 10 whether the request will protect conserve or preserve environmentally critical areas and natural resources uh the request will have no impact on
designated environmentally critical areas and natural resources the request does not include any Vision to the environmentally critical areas 11 whether the request would be compatible with existing or planned uses and not cause damage Hazard nuisance or other
detriment to persons or property um the expanded boundary is compatible whether the location of the request places an undue burden upon existing Transportation or other services and facilities and will be served by streets with the capacity to carry traffic generated by the development um staff
believes the location is compatible um and then we're going to talk about 13 is planned Redevelopment rezonings 34-16 in just a moment um next I'm going to go over the findings in Land Development code section 34-
85c before granting any resoning the Town Council shall find that the requested zoning district complies with one the fort Meers Beach Comprehensive plan uh the proposed uses and requested deviations for the CPD comply with the comprehensive plan which you're going to
hear about in the second portion of this uh application um this chapter uh we believe the proposed uses comply with the chapter any other applicable Town ordinances or codes um the proposed request here for the resoning complies
with the town ordinances and codes um and then again it refers to section 34216 for Planned Redevelopment zonings okay Land Development code section 34-26 B2 the recommendation made to the
Town Council must be supported by the guidelines that you've already heard uh of this chapter in addition to the findings must address whether the following criteria can be satisfied uh the proposed use or mix of uses is appropriate at the subject location so
right now we're still talking about the existing CPD and those uses um and the proposed uses are not being altered under this ordinance we're talking about now B sufficient safeguards to the public interest are provided by the recommended special conditions the
concept plan or by other applicable regulations um based on the existing cpds division safeguards are provided for the public interest through required buffering at the property boundaries see all recommended special conditions are reasonably related to the impacts on the
Public's interest created by or expected from the proposed development uh no special conditions are requested as a part of this portion of the application um the proposed use meets all specific requirements of the comprehensive plan that are relevant to the requested plan
development such as the following um and here the code references specifically policy 4 B4 and 4 C3 on Commercial uses in the mixed residential category um and staff finds that we are um
compatible with the portions of that that are applicable to this resoning here um okay mix all of these findings and resolutions together the um staff recommends um approval um as the um all
of the comprehensive plan and Land Development code criteria have been met bem questions Judith just a couple quick questions and I appreciate you have to read all this for the record just to simplify what you just said
the two additional Parcels that they're asking to be included into the CPD the existing CPD yes you're comfortable with it because they're consistent with the future land use map is that is that a fair generalization yes and what was the and the LPA voted separately on this
matter correct yes what was the LPA vote they voted unan unanimously do approve this motion thank you counc King question from um yeah I'm not sure if it goes to Judith Nancy or maybe both what do you have to say about the allegation
that what we're considering is spot zoning so um these two zoning districts AB but each other so we're just expanding uh an existing zoning slightly the so the property that's on um EST
stero Boulevard it's already commercial so we're putting commercial and Commercial together and the CBD that's approved um now is already mixed use it already had uh residential units as part of that so it's this one parcel that we're talking
about that is really changing uses is being added toward an existing zoning designation so spot zoning is typically when you're taking something in the middle of something that is zoned so if you have a whole area that's residential Zone and
you want to put a restaurant right in the middle of that where it doesn't make any sense and it's not a budding any other um similar zoning use that's what we'll call spot zoning um your comprehensive plan allows for this commercial plan development process um
uh different communities you know handle these kinds of things differently but yours allows for this um it's appropriate because of its location um if they were proposing to reone something that was fully inside a a
residential neighborhood as commercial then that's when you potentially could come against uh spot zoning thank you uh counc Safford any questions for Judith no John John asked the question I was gonna
ask what's same I'm good I'm right now all right uh public comment are there any members of the public who wish to comment on this matter if so please come forward to the podium and identify yourself provide your address and whether you were sworn in public comment come
on Madam attorney would you just for the record clarify what this public comment is for versus what's coming next just just to help folks along yes so the public comment we request uh relevant uh
to this particular ordinance is the expansion uh of the additional Parcels into the existing CPD come on my name is Susan Von Figley I've been sworn in I live at 2434 Cottage Avenue
I'm concerned that um applying the CPD to the residential lot now introduces a driveway into this CPD area off of our Commercial Street Cottage Avenue I just wanted to make that point thank you Susan anyone
else come on good morning still uh I'm de Danford uh 2522 and 2520 Cottage Avenue it's great to see you guys all again those who came out um I just want to uh react to and respond to
u m sprankle's comment about the uh about the zoning get close to the mic so everybody can hear this is I agree with her uh that this is a in the Commercial Boulevard area for mixed use residential and Boulevard Commercial Boulevard
but she tended to gloss over what the commercial business businesses would are that would be allowed in this area uh even for their presentation they in uh they said that according to the comprehensive plan they it is an area
for multif family residential residential lodging office retail daycare how does a food truck fit in this and how you know for a zoning purposes I it it's it's incompliant it
it just doesn't fit thank you anyone else tell she's coming up for good morning hi Monica Tac I'm at 50 Chapel um but the zoning on this do I
don't know if you guys all realize that chapel and Cottage Street are only 30 foot wide roads if you do this this zoning change you are putting all these vehicles going around and they propos this access to be on Chapel Street 30
foot R 30 foot wide road if you go across the stero B ofar where Chapel By the Sea was it was 50 ft wide so you are asking for good spot changing for the development on roads that will
not carry the load for this so you're doing uh Cottage Street 30t wide you want to put commercial on that you want to have Ingress on this property on Chapel Street 30 foot wide doesn't work this was never designed to have
commercial property that's my my point Thank you come on up good to see you again good to see everybody again thanks a million for coming out to our place to take a look at the challenges we have my name is Ed
French I'm at 2548 and 2550 Cottage Avenue and my comment on the part one of two parts is um it is a great little neighborhood we have already a quite a few pressures on the neighborhood it's
an old neighborhood like somebody said earlier um a lot of residential has been changed over to commercial already and the point for me is it keeps our neighborhood get keeps getting chipped away at as we go down in time and
there'll be another Administration thinking that uh after this that well we can take a little bit more and we can keep taking a little bit more um just take that in consideration when you're looking to improve our Island okay thanks for the thank
you someone else coming up good morning hi good morning Kelly Olan 255 three Cottage Avenue um I just wanted to say in regards to the zoning and what you're considering
today 2007 when the CPD was changed and approved whether we knew or not the full context of that when we purchased it we did realize that that part was commercial did we go into knowing what would be approved for probably not
because we were enamored by where where we wanted to be when we saw it residential residential residential residential residential all in front of us so when I say that I'm saying there were homes all
around us so besides Mr French and residents at Pelican watch and a few other neighbors at the other side of cottage Liam and I are one of the longest owned property owners on our corner and our block and I guess I'm
just asking you to consider when you're voting this it's not who's making the change or what it what it is it's not what we had envisioned but the biggest part is we bought as a neighborhood we worked as a nebor to be in this
neighborhood we've grinded our life savings our vision just like the applicants families and everybody else here we've put our heart and soul and now that's changing and it's kind of devastating so I just want you to remember did we know the ins and out of
all of it not all of it but we knew what was there but we didn't realize then now we're boxed in commercial so I just wanted to say that thank you thank you any else yes
sir good afternoon oh we're still in morning don't rush it um my name is Kirk beneran I'm a resident at Pelican watch Resident on Fort Myers Beach permanent resident for 10 years of hor so I don't think this is
yeah you got to go close yeah you got to get close technology um you didn't need me to repeat any of that right did they you did we get his name can you just start him yeah just go ahead and start from the beginning now we can hear you yeah I'll try to be
quick because I know this is taking a long time but uh my name is Kirk beneran I'm uh a resident a permanent resident of Beach over the last 10 years uh I'm at Pelican watch which is one of the adjacent uh properties as a property
owner so um like to me there's an elephant in the room uh the attorney um um for the proposed uh development uh told the LPA
disregard what our expert on property valuation said because you don't really you can't really say that our property values are going to go down so I'm not too sure um one of the
things of food truck Court thing um only passed by one vote a after two LPA meetings on it not this particular thing I'm just saying so uh I don't know whether they took that to heart and and they said
well we don't have to consider that this would reduce the value of the properties so you've heard one U homeowner um tell you that it's within 10 ft which is another variance that they ask for for
this particular thing it's within 10t of their property well it's also within 10 feet of the property of Pelican watch which is another variance to get this this particular thing pass so I
guess because I don't know how all this stuff works but um I guess you all have to consider each each one of you whether you believe that it would
reduce your or our property value residents property value if you made this move to convert to commercial and be within 10 feet of your
property um and if you do believe that yes it probably would diminish the property value then the things that Gary field said about losing property tax and
in fact um would you actually have the power to to to vote on this if you knew knew that it was going to reduce the property value of several property owners and it would have a
delerious effect on the residence of Fort Meers beach in that regard do you actually even have the capacity to say yeah we could still do this so I don't know so thank you anyone
else Y come on up morning morning thank you my name is ly Gren I'm an owner at Pelican watch unit 302 and I guess I look at at the res zoning issue here um per the properties
were purchased in 2014 2017 2017 and 2022 by Empire holding company he said he purchased it for his family well I'm not quite sure I own my property I bought we have a company back home we
didn't put it under our company's name we put it under my and my wife's name so if you're not looking to spot rezone which the other gentleman said and I haven't researched that so I don't know if that's the case or not but if you're
not looking to spot res zone why would you put it under you know and purchase some slow over the years and now they're now he's looking to rezone the last piece of property so I think the council really needs to consider that so okay thank
you anyone else like to speak sir you had your hand up no good all right that will close public comment and are there any additional comments or rebuttal from closing statements from the applicant uh quickly Mr Mayor I think the full
team is happy to answer any questions that you or counselors have um we are consistent with your comp plan uh we meet your resoning criteria we do so by confident substantial evidence that's in the record today both from applicant and from staff and with that we'll pause and
and ask there any questions all right Scott do you have any questions for nol at this time sorry I had joh unmute mute no I do not I actually have a question for the attorney but not for no okay let's get Karen do you have any questions for
now no I'm good Vice May no CC no all right thank you sir go ahead Scott um Nancy is it is to your knowledge do you do you consider this a spot zoning case no I do
not okay is that all you had it's all go ahead all right I'll now close the public hearing and request a discussion or a motion from the Town Council to approve approve with conditions deny with reasons or a continuance to a Time
certain Mr Mayor yes sir just just to I'm literally just asking this for people's thoughts but would it be would it make sense to delay this vote until we heard the second issue as well or do you think we need to personally I don't think so I think
there two separate issues we've laid that out that you know I I think one is separate than the other okay I'm just trying to get a sense of that I it just seems like they are separate but they're related so they are it creates a challenge yeah I think Nancy I think Nancy made it very clear
it's the best interest of the town and the applicants and those that may not be in favor of it too I know she wanted a separate I just didn't know if you wanted the votes to be separate you could do the pause as the vice mayor suggesting um but again it's it's the record so um the public hearing has now
closed on this particular item if you want to uh take a recess before you vote on this and hear the the the next case you can do that as well and then come back to it I don't feel terribly strongly about it but I just thought i' throw it out there for discussion John
how do you feel about it I'd like to get this settled okay Scott you have any com I would like to get this settled I think we've established the fact that these are two separate uh issues and I think we should move forward C
I feel the same I did at the beginning okay any further discussion or a motion all right well everybody running yeah right uh where we at I will make a motion to move to the second reading uh the ordinance
25-2 CPD Amendment for 2500 and 2510 esto Boulevard I'll second further discussion all right I'm an i i
Safford I think you're on mute Scott I apologize I vice mayor I and councelor King I motion carries unanimously what date huh the date what is the date you tell me
merch are we going back to the 17th Judith or um I thought it was April or April the next meeting well the next meeting is 17th but we can't do it that fast right right so it would be April
7th April 7th you got it second hearing second reading will be on April 7th at 9:00 a.m. correct okay do you want anyone want to take a quick break restroom break yes please okay we're going to take a brief 10
minute break we come come back at 11:45 e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e e e e e
e e e okay we're going to call the meeting back to order it is 11:47 we are on item public hearing B this is the first reading and public hearing of an ordinance entitled an ordinance of the Town Council of Fort
Meers Beach Florida approving with conditions the commercial uh planned development CPD Zoning for the property located at 2500 2510 and 2518 Estero Boulevard and 2 2543 Cottage Avenue generally identified strap numb is 1
9-46 d24 dw3 d0120 A.1 1 9-46 d24 dw313 02.00 1 19- 46-24 dw3
01301 00000000 and 1 19- 46-24 dw3 d0120 a. 013a in Fort Meers Beach to allow a mobile vendor Food Truck Park with shared parking providing other
clarifications as necessary providing for conflicts of law scrier errors separability and providing for an effective date uh do want me to read the request number two that's on there as well um if you like yes go ahead and the request number two from the Pelican
watch Condominium Association Thomas F and Deborah Danford as managers and members of coastal Cottages LLC and Edwin as expert Witnesses on behalf of the applicant at this time thank you n Davies for the applicant same as the prior item okay
and has a property owner applicant seen a copy of the agenda back materials from staff yes okay go ahead Jud do you want to take care of this now with the intervenor take the vote on that or wait till after before we get the public comment do it the same as
last time okay same as last time it's fine so Judith will have introductory comments to this ordinance okay Judith Frankle for Community Development uh the applicant here is requesting to amend the existing CPD resolution
0728 um to replace the existing schedule of uses Master concept plan and conditions to allow for the development of a food truckmobile vending Park with outdoor seating consumption on premises and a commercial parking lot this action will replace the previously approved
option A mCP for the 2007 CPD the item was heard by the LPA on January 9th and was continued at that time the LPA voted 33 to deny the application based on the goals and objectives of the comprehensive plan the LPA then voted 33
to approve with conditions one member was abs from the meeting as there was no majority of opinion the LPA chose to continue the meeting to February 11 uh after the January 9th meeting the applicant made several changes to the master concept plan and list of
conditions in order to address some of the concerns expressed by neighbors the configuration of the service structure was situated closer to the single family homes to Better Block noise the building was slightly increased in size to accommodate Food Service as well as beverage Service uh there's also an to
locate the Comfort station closer to the parking lot for easier public access the LPI then review reviewed the application with the changes made to the mCP and approval conditions on February 11th 2025 the LPA voted 43 to recommend the
approval with conditions of the application at that meeting the applicant agreed that the hours of the mobile vending Food Truck Park will be from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. with the commercial parking operating on the same schedule outdoor ENT mment was to end at
8:00 p.m. the full list of recommended conditions is included as an exhibit in the ordinance um I would also like to point out a couple other things at this time um so in approving this ordinance you
would be invalidating the U approved schedule of uses and master concept plan that was previously approved under the previous CPD um which is known as option A in that resolution and would be replacing it with the now proposed mCP
and schedule AB uses the proposed mCP would include the mobile vendors transient Merchants with the outdoor seating entertainment Recreation Area and consumption on premises for beer and wine only and the commercial um parking lot those are all added into that
schedule of uses um historically the property located at 500 esta Boulevard was home to several restaurants over time such as the Holmes house smitties on the beach and the Mucky Duck uh the last
restaurant use was removed in 2005 with that portion of the site remaining vacant since that time uh I did want to uh point out a couple things about transient Merchants SL mobile vendors um in the town of Fort Meers Beach Land
Development code section 34-32 allows for transient Merchants SL mobile vendors um and refers to ordinance State of Florida uh under State Statute 50912 preempts the town from requiring
local permitting in addition to a mobile food dep dispensing vehicle license that you would get from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation so um and that was passed in 2021 so because mobile vendors are
allowed an allowed use within the town of Fort Meyers Beach um they the state preempts our ability to regulate the permitting process for those vendors so you still have to get a license through the state like you would for any
business and you would still have to follow all of the health department regulations as you would for any restaurant but the permitting rules and process is now covered by the state and not by the town so any place where our zoning would allow a commercial use that
would be similar to what so like if you had a um a mobile vending that was safe for sunglasses I don't if that was your choice any place where you could also sell um sunglasses you would be allowed to have a mobile vending um business
that sold that was governed by the same use well like a retail use in that case now you would still have to abide by whatever other um zoning regulations were applicable for parking Landscaping lighting all those um similar things
what we're talking about here is what we're referring to as a mobile vending park or a food truck Park so that use is not specifically laid out in the comprehensive plan or the Land Development code which is why the CPD process is the appropriate process for
an applicant to follow here um what we have determined is that through if you had an individual um food truck business you could go through the regular um uh um channels to like you would for to
opening a business so if you're allowed to have a commercial um uh operation so you're allowed to have a retail or u a restaurant in that location by zoning you could operate out of a mobile vending provided you meet all the other
zoning code and you're in compliant with FEMA so I don't want to forget to say that you also have to be compliant with FEMA obviously that um guides everything okay so that's the because there's been some questions previously at the LPA about what the Town rules
about mobile vending food truck are so I wanted to put that out there um Additionally the Fort Myers Beach Land Development code does not provide specific parking requirements for this type of use so the not just not a mobile
vendor but a mobile vendor Park as a whole um and so they have not requested a deviation from the parking requirement because the is essentially silent on that what the applicant has done and what staff has reviewed is looking at
other similar um uh mobile vending Park regulation elsewhere in in Lee County and neighboring locations and what they've determined appropriate parking counts for the the park use um staff has
found that that those parking guidelines uh make sense they seem to be consistent across multiple municipalities um and that's what I've called specifically for the LPA and for you all to review if you are in agreement that those parking numbers make sense so in thinking about
um uh what other communities do specifically for this parking staff has looked at at um at those regulations because our code is silent on it and we believe that they are um compatible with Fort Meers Beach and and the proposed
use um so I wanted to call that out specific specifically um I'm going to go over the specific um requested schedule of uses as well and then I will turn it over to the
applicant um so the schedule of uses I know that we're all used to looking at these kinds of proposals so they're asking for things that they're the the schedule of uses includes things that they're not necessarily asking for here but it's an amendment to what they previously had so the requested schedule
of uses includes residential um which includes dwelling units for multif family or um live work units lodging rental of any permitted dwelling unit to a single family for periods of one week or longer office um
for administrative offices commercial which would include retail retail store um food service restaurant and bar mobile vendor uh which is what we're talking about today Transit Merchants with outdoor seating entertainment Recreation areas um as indicated on the
master concept plan with the applicant which we'll review with you um outdoor service and consumption on premises which is alcohol um within the designated area indicated on the master concept plan and commercial parking lot additionally there's Civic uses for
essential Services daycare center um and cultural facilities um so there are several deviations which the applicant is going to review which are deviations from the um Land Development code um uh we call
them deviations it's very similar to a variance because you're doing something different than what the um the code allows by right but the CPD process allows you to ask for those deviations because we're looking at a development site as a whole and their specific needs
and impacts upon the neighbors so there I'm just going to go through them them all um deviation one is from Land Development code section 10- 285 that requires driveways to be located at least 250 ft from the center line of a
local Street uh such as Chapel Street in this case to allow a distance of 100 fet from the stero Boulevard so um if you the property is less than 250 ft from stero Boulevard so they would not be
able to comply with this so they need a deviation to be able to to locate their um driveway any place on Chapel um as there is insufficient distance from Estero to Cottage Avenue to allow compliance with the code
section so the deviation is necessary to access the site deviation two six relief from Land Development code section 10- 285 that requires driveways to be located at least 250 ft from the center line of the intersection of the stero
Boulevard and Chapel Street and the driveway to Pelican watch Condominiums this will allow the existing driveway there's an existing curb cut there on a stero Boulevard to remain it's approximately 210 ft from Chapel Street Estero intersection and 150 ft from the
existing driveway for Pelican watch Condominiums as you'll see on the master concept plan this driveway is only intended to be used for the actual food trucks to leave and enter the premises it's not going to be used by the commercial parking lot people visiting
you know the vendors or by anybody servicing the vendor so it's just for the the food truck mobile vendor service um draw all the things applicants um where we okay um staff response
applicant should provide site signage indicating the access location to the public and that specifically this driveway will not be accessible to the public um parking lot access from Cottage Avenue would be a nuisance to the home home owners on that street parking lot access from a sterile Boulevard um would
burden the flow of traffic on that road so the code specifically asks uh commercial developments to move their access um driveways from a sterile bulevard whenever possible uh because it interrupts the flow of traffic on a
stero so if by moving their access to their parking lot which will allow visitors to access their mobile vendors moving it um onto the side street allows for a greater flow of traffic on a stero Boulevard so those two ver deviations
are about the um access to the site and doing their best to limit the impacts to the traffic on a stero Boulevard deviation three seeks relief from Land Development code 34-7 6D which states that existing driveway and parking spaces shall be
relocated from the stero Boulevard to allow for the existing access point to remain from the sterile Boulevard onto the property so again this is about what's happening um with that existing driveway and then they the applicant going to go over this on the master concept plan so it'll be a little
bit clearer at that point um this access must be restricted to use by the the mobile vendors not for the general public or for service and delivery vehicles um and we've cons uh condition that um in the the conditions the
recommended conditions for approval again we're recommending the applicant provide signage indicating the restricted use um and installing um gating or ballards to restrict access for to the public um during operating hours of the mobile vending
Park deviation four seeks relief from the Land Development code 3476 a which requires that off street parking lots be placed in side or rear yards um this deviation will allow the parking lot to be located along Chapel Street between esta Boulevard and
Cottage Avenue um the proposed Master concept plan configuration with parking uh along a sterile Boulevard is appropriate to accommodate the additional parking spaces needed for the commercial parking lot um however the deviation would not be necessary if only
the parking only the parking parking area of the mobile vendor Food Truck Park was provided so this is because to accommodate the commercial parking lot use um and this is the relocation not
relocating the parking okay and we also noted again that the LPA in approving in recommending approval um did agree did confirm that the applicant suggested parking calculation was
appropriate deviation five seeks relief from Land Development code 34-27 which requires High turnover parking lots to have a paved surface to allow for a crushed shell or lime rock surface um staff recommends that the applicant utilize a gravel crushed shell
stabilization grid paper system to increase permeability and to Aid in retaining materials on site in the parking lot area um this has also been made a condition um recommended condition of approval that was added at
um LPA um and this is just to allow the to do a better job of keeping gravel or crushed rock on site rather than letting allowing it to um migrate to the sewers which can cause a problem uh deviation six seeks relief from Land Development
code 10- 416 D2 table 108 which requires a 15t wide type D buffer when the proposed parking and vehicle use area abuts a RightWay or Road easement to allow for a minimum 10t wide buffer
the proposed double staggered Hedges at a height of three feet should block headlights from parked cars from in infiltrating the rights of way um the additional trees will provide shade for the public sidewalks and the public areas um as well for the parked Vehicles
again the applicant will show you exactly where that is when they review the master concept plan um I we'll go over this later I think when we get to findings and conclusions but I would um encourage en you to take a look at the
recommended conditions of approval um as I previously stated the code does not specifically address a food truck Park use um and so in considering the conditions that we're placing upon this development staff has tried to consider
any possible um nuisances and to reduce those as much as possible so there is an extensive list of recommendations here which have been revised um a couple times after the first LPA meeting and then again before this meeting here um
with staff and the applicant to try to address as many of the neighbor comments as possible um and one of those specifically is the reduced operation times the applicant had originally asked to operate until 10: p.m. um and this
has reduced it to a 9:00 p.m. close time with live music ending at 8:00 p.m. um and again there's um specific um regulations here about the music which I'm sure the
African is also going to make you aware of but I'm not going to read through the whole thing now because I'll have to read through it all again in a little while but if there's any questions about that or any of those conditions I'm happy to okay Scott any questions for
Judith not at this time uh councelor King you mentioned a four-letter acronym begins with f is now the time to expound on that or so what I will say is we have well and I'll let
the attorney answer some of that but we have reviewed that um the I know where the condition is on here but I'll find you the number of it but they in order to go to development order to do any kind of Permitting they
will have to be FEMA compliant um that is a we almost don't even have to state that because you know Federal Federal Regulation comes before the state regulation comes before the town regulation so there the applicant is well aware of that the attorney has had
conversations with them about those Dema regulations um my understanding is there's not complete Clarity but we're kind of close there what what we've said is that all of these um mobile vendors
have to be completely either um a vehicle themselves so they are a truck that can you know exit the island every night if needed they want to go get supplies and come back they they're an actual vehicle
or it is a trailer that can be pulled by a a light pickup truck so I can elaborate a little bit um so the documents that the town received from FEMA back in July of last year made reference to food trucks um and they
continue to do so um um the town manager asked the question specifically regarding food trucks and I believe on Friday we got an answer in writing from FEMA saying that food trucks are vehicles and that um that are not going
to really be uh prohibited what FEMA did not say uh did not discuss was whether a food truck Park um would be permissible under the flood plane regulations so so um and I've had that conversation with Mr
Davies he's probably tired of me saying it but um but yes they would have to comply with whatever FEMA regulations or FEMA's interpretation of existing regulations are but right now food trucks are open would now be a good time to read that question and response into
the record so it as part of the hearing uh we can I i' have it up if you would like me to read it if you can mayor that'd be great okay so the question directly to fima was do temporary food trucks and or trailers need to be moved from the special flood Hazard area for the town to come into compliance with
the letter dated 11 2124 if these are licensed Vehicles licenses Vehicles can be moved in the event of an un approaching storm FEMA's response was food trucks are vehicles and should be regulated in this uh sfha which is a special flood Hazard area
similar to any licensed and Road ready vehicle in the town's jurisdictions trailers that have been placed on a foundation or modified to include any structure structural attachments are are to be elevated and anchored to meet the town's flood plane management regulations conx boxes storage
containers and other similar similar units should be placed in the sfha the the the special flood Hazard area without being elevated and properly anchored to meet the town's flood plane management regulations so that was the direct response from FMA in regards to
food trailers and Nancy you alluded to something that needing further Clarity around that then or well in the letter they don't specific speically talk about a park a food truck Park they limited it to food trucks yeah food trucks so there
there could be a distinction there um but that's another Bridge we'll have to cross so we expect them to ask them for Clarity on that or um I I definitely think we should because it it their answer references food trucks specifically not food trailers and
knowing how F operates without distinct clear Park they they reference trucks but not Parks correct and so the applicant is aware of that and so that would be a condition of approval if Council goes in that direction that they
would have to comply with whatever FEMA regulations end up being thank you it's number 17 on the conditions thank you Judith oh sorry we're I leave up vice mayor uh Judith and forgive me if I missed this but in the matter that's
currently pending before us does staff have a formal recommendation one way or the other yes so traditionally away save that for the end but I I mean it's it's stff I don't want to spoil your surprise yeah so it it's the same recommendation that we made it
at LPA so we're recommending approval with this long list of conditions without the conditions I would not be recommending approval so the conditions are intended to reduce the potential for nuisance to the surrounding
neighborhood I don't know if I could really I don't I don't want to put you on the spot but are there additional uh conditions that the staff would like to see to make this more palatable to the surrounding neighbors or do we want to just let the process play
out well you I mean I think that you've heard a lot of of comments from the the public I know that they people have been very vocal I've also heard from from the public and that's one of your criteria on here is to take that into consideration I think that question might be better answered after all the
testimonies I think that's a fair point Y that it yes what I just have to ask um I don't as long as I've been sitting here I have not seen anything come to us with
29 Points of conditions m does that seem excessive to you or do you feel that that's appropriate in this so when we first presented this to LPA and I did mention this to the applicant
initially you could have chosen to write an ordinance about this but because you have this CPD process that allows for this um level of conditions I was okay with it moving forward because I knew
that we could condition it when you look at some of the other regulations and I know you know it's it's not quite fair to because you're not comparing like to like when you're talking about other communities and other locations and that changes things but when looking at some
of the other regulations um for other similar things the things to consider are noise impact to the neighbors um and you know music is of course part of
that noise um that's what we've tried to take into account here uh I don't think it's an inappropriate process um but I do think if you if you decide this is an
appropriate um use to add to their schedule of uses uh I think there may be more opportunities for people wanting to develop food truck for a similar kind of
uses um does that answer your question not really not directly I think we need all of these conditions and some of them we didn't start out with as many they've been added by um discussions and through
the meetings that we've had in the LPA right so coun Woodson maybe to to help a little bit um if we had a food check ordinance in place then perhaps there would not have been as many
conditions whereas in the other uh reviews that you've seen we've had ordinances in place so therefore you didn't require all the additional conditions they would have still needed a CPD Amendment because it's not one of their listed uses so they still would
have come anyway and you would have had the opportunity to you know add additional conditions um so would it be safe to say that this is I don't want to use the word safer but a a different way of if you put an ordinance in place then to your point
people could come and ask in different areas to do the same thing if there was an ordinance in place to allow this use uh whereas this is only kind of take ta tailoring it if you will to a specific ask it depends on how you would word that ordinance so if you the
ordinance with all of the conditions that would govern that and then you restricted those food truck parks to only be located in a certain area then it would be more then they could come forward without it but
because right now the zoning doesn't say it doesn't differentiate as something different than a commercial or a retail or a restaurant or a bar because all those things are are uses that are allowed in various places
a CPD still might have to take place so that you could um tailor it to that specific property makes sense okay well and I don't even know if this is the right place to bring it up but the one thing that
um really stood out to me in testimony from the previous um ordinance that we looked at was this whole concept that um this brings our property tax down and
a net loss to Lee County and ultimately delays demand and construction so that really stood out to me and I'm just wondering if you have any comment expert comment experience with that so I can't comment on property
values because that's not my field um in terms of in terms of development I mean you've heard from the applicant what their financial picture looks like what their intents are so there's that but looking at the site
as um taking out the because this is a rezoning so it is separate from who owns it and what you're building because you're setting up that zoning um until somebody you know proposes a change to it in the future thinking about it from that perspective what um
I the the town I think it's clear is in a transition period since hurricane Ian what they're proposing to me is it's a transition appropriate use the the their
ability to be flexible um I see the value in that from the applicant's perspective um to to when there is to protect their investment when there is a storm coming
they can move and then they can relocate and be operational you know as soon as the county says it's okay to come back so they have that flexibility and I think from uh thinking about the the planning and the Redevelopment of the town there may be this
may I don't know I'm hesitant to talk in Economic Development terms because that is not my field of expertise what they could do here is they could just have a commercial parking lot um and maybe the neighbors would prefer that I they could
probably let you know that to have a commercial parking lot but what does the commercial parking lot add to the Redevelopment of the Town not a whole lot um it provides beach access which is
important um but in terms of of um impact on the public realm on the small town character which are things that the comp plan calls for it doesn't do a whole lot um if you want to have a
walkable Community you need places for people to walk to so the food truck element is a pretty small portion of the overall property most of it is going to be commercial parking lot um but it's
it's a something outside of downtown from a planning perspective I know the neighbors have a different view about intensity which I completely understand but from a planning perspective it's pretty low intensity because the permanent building they're proposing is pretty small scale um it's not even
going to be as tall as they could do on that site um I'm I'm grasping a little bit to answer your question my so there's there's multiple things to to weigh um but I think in terms of when we go back
to the comprehensive plan and the public realm and the interaction between the the street and the development this will if you were walking along if you're bicycling along if you're moving into downtown this could be a stopping place
for you that provides a little bit of livelihood to the neighborhood um and I I do not think this is the um highest and best use of property
right but this is what we're being um asked to look at at the moment all right thank you Scott questions no I'm good right now thank you just a quick I know that you're you're a little uneasy talking about the economics part of it so I I guess maybe
this more of a question for you Nancy when under the definition of public realm and in finding of conclusions that were required to follow to vote for against something is does the economics fall under public realm what I mean by
that is um whether or not this project needs to be whatever it is to be financially viable for an applicant or the impact or lack of impact it may or may not have on surrounding housing neighborhoods commercial the values of
it yes um I don't think it really falls into that although um I don't think it's a a criteria but um it does get taken into consideration sometimes but I don't think it is
relevant it's not part of my criteria right well I yeah I know you I could tell you were you were tap dancing around it is best you could so generally with your zoning decisions you're trying to locate where a certain use would be not the economic feasibility of it
although we do a business impact statement as well with our ordinances now so okay all right thanks Judith Ken no who's going first thank you Mr Mayor do Davies for the record um I'm going to hand it over
to Ken um to walk you through everything with respect to this item I I I just wanted to make a couple notes about your PD process and CPD and this whole idea of of flexibility so um I think Judith did an excellent job essentially walking
through this and covering this um the PD process provides flexibility right you're all aware of this flexibility with respect to development standards flexibility with respect to uses flexibility to contemplate and
condition you know a use that is not expressly mentioned in today's code we have this um it's a good Problem Solver for for a number of different topics potentially that um you know codes evolve over time and over decades and sometimes don't catch up with market
demand this food truck Park thing is is a relatively New Concept given um you know Land Development codes which often take some time to uh catch up to whatever Market demands there might be but but really the the the fail safe so
to speak in allowing this Council to regulate with its discretion certain uses um and and and certain potential developments is through that that PD mechanism right so what you're hearing in this item is an amendment to the existing
CPD um and and and we're changing out the uses or amending that schedule of uses to contemplate this specific Food Truck Park concept uh and the food truck Park comes with it or or or or this the the the mechanism of the PD process C
includes a number of these legally enforceable conditions to make sure that you all get right these uses this specific development on this site certainly uh islandwide ordinance with respect to
food food truck Parks is something that I know you're going to be considering in the future but the the PD process really is the is the the way to try to handle this and working with Town staff for year and a half plus on on this concept
that's where we've arrived at the number of conditions that are on the agenda today is with each step of the process whether it be feedback from staff feedback from Neighbors feedback from LPA we've tried to come back with an additional tweak revision um change to
the master concept plan we are locked in to the master concept plan should approval be granted that's before you today for this food truck Park design I want to make that clear right so if if we if if if something changes um we've
got to come back before you that's a different concept or that's a different use so you know I I mentioned at at the beginning of my last item which technically I would like incorporated into this this comparison of intensity right so there are certain entitlements
on the CPD today the CB and the RM right those four parcels and then there's stuff that we're proposing to you today which stuff is specifically the master concept plan that memorializes not just the food truck Park use but all the conditions buffering and then the
specific legal conditions that are included in that ordinance which is what uh is before you today and what what is also um just important as you look at that is again comparing that specific Concept in the
mCP as conditioned as regulated in your discretion and as the project has evolved which kind we'll walk you through and then comparing that to the Buri entitlements on the existing zoning of the parcels today I know these have been vacant for a a long time um but
they do have they do have zoning there is commercial zoning in the CPD and in the CM um and that's an important sort of Baseline when you're looking at what existing entitlements are based on what we're proposing today um and with that I'm going to give it to Ken to continue
from where he left up on first item but then incorporating please for the record his initial comments as well thank you all right Ken Gander for the record again uh and thank you for your patience as we
work through here so as uh NL stated I'm just going to kind of take us down a little bit into the nitty-gritty of this exposing a lot some of the more details that just helps us with this dialogue to better understand how we got here and
what uh we may need to do as we uh move this forward so in terms of our the location side design and compatibility as a continuation from what I ended up in the prior uh portion we're looking now at a
maximum of five mobile vending pads and surrounded by this outdoor seating uh recreational entertainment area uh part of this was evolution of committing to limiting those hours of operation and that uh outdoor entertainment for the
music but I'll be going into a little bit more detail into those conditions again a part of this uh plan and this project of ensuring uh appropriateness for these mobile vending pads these food trucks is full underground utility hookups uh
similar to what our parks would be doing uh uh in that nature uh one major component that it came to is the park support structure that's kind of a term that we uh developed and that would incorporate now
A restaurant uh which uh the applicant was able to enable them to have the Royal scoop business uh the local business that's been around and incorporating that into this uh site uh also within the park
support structure we're wanting to since the outdoor uh entertainment we are now incorporating that what we're saying maybe is the performance area for that live music and live entertainment will then be within uh portions of that
structure that we propos and then of course office and storage to help support the use the public Comfort station has been talked about that would incorporate uh the public restrooms uh
shower Towers wash stations U access to uh water fountains etc for being able to fill the water bottles Etc uh there's also additional outdoor seating adjacent to stero Boulevard next to the multi-use pathway and
contributing The Pedestrian vehicular access again our primary is along Chapel Street and as Judith mentioned uh the restricted and controlled access off of the stero and the site obviously will incorporate storm water management K go
back for just a quick second yes you use the word mobile vendor pads I assume that's to be as vanilla is possible because it could be someone selling art it could be not necessarily a food truck correct and that's synonymous with your existing or they call mobile vending so
we were just trying to utilize that terminology in that broader sense as part of this so based on what we the response we got from FEMA when it talks about specifically food trucks it doesn't mention trailers do you envision using food
trucks or do you envision using maybe trailers that are going to pull behind another truck the the reason I'm asking is is to try to alleviate some of the needs to have another condition If This Were to move forward to to be conditioned on if we ever get a detailed
response from font whether a trailer would be sufficient enough to be used right um I think our condition that incompasses the we will follow however
uh EMA comes down on this but my opinion as also I've worked as a flood plane manager in another jurisdiction in Prior life um these are Vehicles whether or not you're a mobile vendor that is
selling I think example was Sunglasses if that is or an artwork that's a vehicle registered that can be moved that should be uh synonymous with whether your food truck or not so they can move out they can be pulled by a
truck of appropriate size I sounds like there's a limitation light duty truck um but either way they have license even the trailers they are ve Vehicles they are registered they have to have a license plate registration Etc so they
have to be fit in within that as well so I think I'm well Common Sense would tell you that but I understand and we we understand that we're having to Pivot and be flexible as as we communicate further with f so but I also
think in um condition number 177 because it says all mobile vendors and park facilities must comply with femma so that kind of takes in the whole in our opinion yes so we're trying to make sure that that I guess what I was trying
to get at is the eliminating the need for that because FEMA has told us they food trucks are acceptable meaning a truck not I would never eliminate anything with FEMA's stipulation I would never eliminate anything with FEA stipulation well
yeah I think we're just trying to be consistent with our the mobile vending pads this slide I wanted to just quickly walk through our effort over the last year or so as we work through the process of review the top left is our
original Master concept plan that originally had six uh mobile vending pads uh within that uh location in the top right corner of the site uh no permanent structure uh also we were considering or utilizing
for bathroom facilities the portable uh trailer uh that I think is still on some properties in the town here uh and a storage container uh moving to the July 31st Master concept plan we still had the
portable bathroom and the storage container uh except we decided to reduce it to mobile vending pads and incorporate a little Tiki structure uh on the site uh just uh that is then we
evolved into the December 10th plan that that is what um we went uh to the LPA with uh again we rather than a tiki structure we proposed a more permanent structure and
that's that larger area in the Southeast corner of where the food truck par Park Mobile vending Park location is um then uh in between the LPA meetings
we decided uh through input and through more dialogue uh altered our Master concept plan to adjust the location of that primary support structure uh that was now going to go up to now two stories enabling us to go vertically
enabl us to provide more uh open space and buffering to our neighbors on the Far Eastern side we also took one of the mobile vending pads relocated that up to the Estero Boulevard to uh further engage uh that
uh component of the activity along a sterile Boulevard and obviously reduce one of the mobile vending pads adjacent to the residential uses to to our South so
this is just a more closeup of our Master concept plan again along a ster Boulevard we have now a also a structure before we were utilizing maybe some sail Shades and etc etc throughout the uh
Park but now along a St Boulevard we have the bicycle parking node the accessibility into uh the park from the sterile Boulevard the the structure for some outdoor seating then two mobile
vending pads and then that access point on the stereo that's the restricted and controlled access that would only be utilized during uh less off peak hours yes um that also can be used for pedestrian
movement as well so it's just a large uh opening for that activity then along the western portion uh the food truck pads and then the southeast location is where the
primary support structure would be and then just south of the mobile Ving pads is where our public Comfort station is to be located another Ken is the the dotted line that runs at an angle I'm assuming
that's the ve line so you couldn't build anything on the bottom of that is that what that that's the co the Coastal Construction line right right uh we are within a coastal a Zone this property uh
so we would have to meet those uh standards for what thing would require for being within a coastal a Zone you know a component just hearing some of the discussions early on in your meeting about bicycles and utilizing
that mode of transportation we also wanted to add additional bicycle parking uh down in the southwestern portion of the project uh for bicycle parking for those visiting and going to the uh beach access
point so do you want questions now or you want to wait till later I'm I'm I'm flexible but what do you got yeah well based on where based on where the food Truck Park
is was was there ever any consideration of flipping that and making the Food Truck Park more on Chapel and Aero as opposed to next to Pelican lunch yes yes
the property owner along with our engineering staff and ourselves is we' evaluated all sorts of scenarios and the uniqueness of the property and to be able to best utilize it for the parking access I want to make one point clear in
terms of that access point on Chapel Street that is under your the existing CPD that is where that access point was approved so we are trying we're maintaining where that main point is so utilizing access
points not being able to uh change what you can do on a stero Boulevard maximizing the opportunities for where the food truck can go and for that shared parking commercial parking component this is the evolution of what
we've come up with so we looked at multiple ways this uh next image is just a representation of the amount of open space and buffering that we wanted to emphasize and that we're strongly supportive of doing uh as our aspect of
being sensitive to uh the neighbor and working within the conditions of the CPD the these next slides are going to be our conceptual renderings of the project uh this is a sight plan view a
stero Boulevard to the to the bottom Chapel Street Cottage Avenue to the north uh we wanted to incorporate into uh this site plan based on some input we got we were able
to uh document and get the plans for the single family homes that are being built uh to the just to the north of our primary building uh I'm just going to walk through these to stop me if anything jumps out at
before you go on that go back to the one where we had the green on there I just had a question about the buffers yes one more back oh either one actually the other one's probably better this in front of that that one so where the building is on the left side of the screen there according to drawing like
it's minimum of 7 and 1/2 ft at that one corner the front corner of the building closest to a ster that's where that minimum would be yes and it normally would be 15 feet is that correct is that why the ask for the deviation is for that specific section right there yeah
my question would be would it make more sense and then you've got 10 feet over by Chapel 10 feet of a buffer over there would it make more sense to shift and shrink the buffer on that street that abuts other commercial and increase the buffer that abuts the pool of watch that
that is an option that could be looked at we just trying to we were maintaining the buffering because some input we got from our Evolution to this point is maintaining as much buffering surrounding our property even on Long
Chapel Street so uh yes there's can be some adjustments uh based on that kind of input we can make it a little wider or along that you know the St about there's something to
talk I'm sure we'll discuss it later but I just want to see if that's a something that makes sense if understood yeah very good observation uh this is a more angled view of the project site seeing the
primary support structure uh food truck pads uh the outdoor structure right along a stero Boulevard and then the landscaping and buffering around the project this is another angled
view this is at uh at the ground level Chapel Street one of the conditions that evolved was ensuring of our ability to help restrict illegal parking uh within
Chapel Street and Cottage Street that's uh mainly adjacent to our property and this would require us to work with the town get the proper permitting to be able to put those ballards the chain rope uh within there and obviously the no parking signs and our condition also
emphasizes adding some additional Landscaping within the RightWay beautifying it and uh enhancing the survivability of it we'll have to have some irrigation Etc View From The Cottage Street Chapel Street
intersection Cottage Avenue Cottage Avenue same scenario with the ballards go back one more would you for me so on the right side there um I believe that that's Mr olin's property that's right there what is the height I
don't really see anything in the heights of the trees he had made a comment about you know he's going to be elevated obviously and he's going to be able to see over that what do you have any idea how high the trees would be there if it was approved these are conceptually
thought about that is they're around the 12 to 15 foot tall and we are uh and our discussions with Dan we are that's above what the standard is at time of planning so we can work on that commitment to
establish them to be more to be higher at time of planting so you don't have to wait as long for them to fill out in the future again uh this is Cottage Street uh again those poems and trees proposed are
around that 12 to 15t range this is an image of uh the primary support structure and again the evolution that got us to this point was you know we were thinking the tiki structure well that maybe it wasn't just the right Vision where we were wanting
to go with and the evolution of it brought us to this structure uh as you know uh the hkas are building a home uh down the road and we were just talking is you know that's quite a nice home maybe we can replicate some of the
architectural aesthetic on this site too uh and that's what they uh the renderings came up with for this building as you can see the front portion would be uh where the Royal Scoop have some walk up window windows or maybe go inside depending on the
Design interior design from the architectural plans at time of do in the back would be the beverage service area and then just to the right of that that is the performance area for the live music live entertainment they would be
within that structure that is conditioned is that Ken if you could just go back next to the uh performance area so that's sort of like a bar area yes bar seating so will the alcoholic beverages be served in that facility
only or will the food trucks be able to serve alcohol from that uh facility okay but they would be allowed to be consumed within that dotted area you had ear right we had to for any outdoor consumption on premises we have to delineate our area where we expect that
to occur in on our Master cons FL is that dark dash line this shows uh the side of the primary support structure and then this is the public Comfort station can sh the shower Towers uh there uh the structure is
designed to be complimentary to the architecture for our site K could I'm sorry could you go back one more one more there you go so the performance area is on the side partially blocked but also partially open so you could see in this this was a
conceptual uh rendering so you know the intent is that it would be enclosed by the that side wall roof and then the back wall and then the brown structure next to it is that a food truck
yes thank you uh this is driving along a stero Boulevard this will be the outdoor seating area that we wanted to complement and engaging the right away so people can be sitting there eating people were walking biking by uh we
wanted to add the element of fencing just to soften that uh look a little bit there this is looking back the other direction this is the just go back one more yeah so that covered thing that you've got there you know in talking
with the residents around there obviously one of their concerns was being able to see right open air being able to see the food trucks or being was there any discussion about doing something like that that over the top of where the food trucks would be one to help eliminate the site just curious if
there's a reason why you put it there but not over everything else it this wasn't a component of we just want to be able part of it is being able to move the food truck trailers out um and having another structure to maneuver
around uh these would be for permanent seats and or seating for patrons so just moving as I know we're getting into some time here but I think it's
important compatibility again we're we believe we're consistent with the mix of uses that are proposed and envisioned for the heart of the Island Boulevard uh future land use category consistent with the approved compatibility of the CPD and
those devel standards our proposed buffers the screening for proposing enhanced Landscaping uh is a critical component of the ensuring the sensitivity and compatibility of our project having the
permanent structure to help with that buffering our connection to ex existing Utility Services not having generators not having that noise component uh as part of the project and just overall
commitments and conditions that are in place and yes you we kind of walk through those there are 29 at this point in time that's a lot but um we feel they're appropriate under the CPD process
Transportation parking our proposed amendment uh will not allow an increase in that density or intensity beyond what that existing CPD uh is permitted thus no added impact to the transportation Network work and as that evaluation was
done through our review process the ti was not required I'll be speaking a little bit more on that in terms of our condition as Judith laid out uh there was no parking standards but we did do an evaluation and it's appropriate to do that especially in local jurisdictions
within the county and our parking requirement uh came back with the 30 spaces would be required and overall our will be providing 45 so again these are the proposed conditions question on the the parking
part of it so if you can go back 30 you say 30 based on the calculations of that three or whatever that's how you came up with that the additional so would that be that you would have to specifically keep 30 parking spots for those mobile vendors and then only 15 would be
available for commercial parking lot or would the entire property be available for commercial parking it's all available for commercial parking so there's really no dedicated sites that would go to each specific truck Planet so the parking lot will be
managed as U if you come in uh it'll be gated uh and it we managed you would get a ticket and then you could park if you choose to go to the uh Food Truck Park uh stay there for a certain amount of time and you'd leave and you would be
charged for that amount of time uh for that time spent or if you go to Food Truck Park and then decid with the beach be uh spending that amount of money for that use of the parking lot the proposed uh conditions and
commitments um I don't necessarily will go through all of these but I wanted to highlight uh some areas that since our time before the LPA we've had additional conversations
uh with Randy public can watch and the first one that jumps out is uh 2D and this is the buffering along Cottage Street and our discussions with them
identified that there was a concern with people migrating from through Truck Park and or the parking lot and just walking through the buffering uh need to not direct them to be able to do that so we uh proposing to
add within the buffer a 4 foot high decorative fence uh within that buffer area as well one and we respectfully understand where the LPA was coming from uh number six
it's bolded that is our limitations to the 9900 p.m. and we respectfully would like to have that opened up for discussion to remain what we originally had at 10
p.m. and that is a result of During certain times of the year uh you have the sunset might not be like right now it's earlier in the day but summertime at the research done sunset
or it gets dark maybe around the 8:30 qu till 9 time frame so people will be coming back off of the beach and we would just feel that 9:00 having everything shut down loses that opportunity uh for uh us to serve those
folks coming back off the beach uh so we just would respectfully asked to reevaluate that 10 p.m. number eight and when would you want the music to stop at the same time music stop yeah we're not going to change that that time frame just you know if somebody's coming back and oil
scoop is open they can grab that ice cream cone and you on the way or hang out for a little bit longer grab a drink or a slushie or if food truck is still operating themselves they could grab a bite okay thank
you some of the concern I heard with the music was obviously from if you open at seven it really doesn't show anything here here that limits you to not having live music at 7: a.m. if you so choose right and that's I'll I'll hit that in
the on number eight here yeah uh I don't see it on mine mine's different than what you got yeah so what I wanted to do is these are changes changes that we had since our discussions uh over the last few basically week week or so uh number
eight this deals with our Amplified uh music so all Amplified all Amplified sound will be controlled by the property owner and will not be permitted from any mobile vendor so all that sound amplification will be controlled by
management or the owner ambient music I believe this was brought up uh during public comment the prior part but the ambient music part that's just background music as we understand it is permitted and will be
no greater than 60 DB measured in accordance with the town's noise ordinance so we we agree that if that was something to be done and we're limiting that noise level to 60 DBS and then Mr Mayor to your point U we
are willing to not music and the Amplified live music and Amplified live entertainment can H happen before noon and it we remaining U councelor King to 88m for that 17 is the FEMA
regulations that we talking about um sure here uh condition 24 uh the discussion was about the ESS
access point off of Chapel Street and and the concerns with vehicles uh coming down Chapel Street going into onto Cottage Street further on we are committed in condition that time of local development or approval uh
for directional and restrictive signage so that through traffic or V in the street is to help inform motorists that you really shouldn't be going down in parts and contining on uh a infrastructure aspect of that
that we're do now is for the egress part off of Chapel Street from our property so going out onto Chapel Street that would be designed for right out own so that would be directing all the outgoing traff tra uh vehicles from our property
to the Chapel Street Estero Boulevard interception and that's where they will then either turn left or turn right onto the stero so that helps uh restrict the movements down Chapel down Cottage potentially impacting uh especially Pelican watch
what they were saying unfortunate people seem to drive through their property to get back onto a stero uh number 28 uh this I wanted to emphasize this as we stated before as
part of our review in terms of Transportation no trans Transportation impacts study was required but we are committed to at time of development order to do a trip generation study or comparison of our project to what is
currently approved uh and that would help we believe that would further justify that our project is less intense will not be impacting the surrounding Transportation Network and I think what's highlighted there is the right
turn directional signage that is part of number 24 having that directional signage and that we will be doing the infrastructure for ESS on the Chapel Street this slide uh we just we're in agreement with the staff report and the
findings of consistency with a comprehensive plan in LDC under these appropriate uh Land Development code sections and our deviations uh achieve the objective of doing the plan development uh for this infill property and provides
that flexibility and we do not feel they negatively impact the health safety and Welfare of the public and consistent with a comprehensive plan so trying to wrap this up uh what we're here what we have here uh is part
of our what was done in the first stage of this uh hearing uh was the properties are significantly a majority zone for commercial uses and that is intended to
implement your Boulevard future land use category we are less intense than what is entitled that could also be developed by wri on the Commercial Boulevard and on the RM uh the substantial commitment of significant high quality
investment uh I try not to get into reading too much of the social media but looking at statements this is a carnival uh Amusement area with a concert venue uh I believe we are laying out that that is certainly not what we're proposing
here uh it's not just a random uh food truck being placed on uh vacant sand lots uh and we do believe this investment uh will contribute to the economy uh to addm taxes job creation
and help boost the other local businesses and vendors the resiliency aspect of it uh meeting the Florida building code thema requirements as deemed appropriate for what we're wanting to develop uh we also see it as the site can be utilized as a functional
space and the infrastructure for emergency response needs uh in the event of a an unfortunate next event hopefully it will never happen uh but enables us to utilize that site uh to quickly uh
perhaps have food or the emergency response folks could use the property for their purposes again this supports the town vision of being the heart of the island for this mixed juice development uh encompassing with the
neighborhood uh residential as a familyfriendly destination we're helping provide the centralized parking options Park one's initiative uh we hope that that would be a component of this having the eating and quality fun entertainment
uh we think uh we couldn't this was almost a condition but we took that condition out uh about first ride of refusal uh for some of the folks existing uh and trying to come back uh
but this property could in essence be a little bit of incubator effect uh we're not trying to take away the opportunities for Brick and Border uh have seen and it's been documented that food trucks then tend to evolve into
potential bre and mor businesses as they succeed um but our project evolved through input and through better planning and design uh it's almost like a hybrid now with the primary support structure roil scoop being there some of
these other along with the mobile vending pads uh we just think it's complimentary and uh supportive of one another we think the uses will support the island as it comes back and compatible with those existing uses uh through our
commitments for the increased buffering the enhanced Landscaping utilizing our building location the setbacks having that complimentary architecture uh relocating some of the mobile vending pads adjacent from the
surrounding properties as appropriate and comp and sensitive to the neighbors and then linking it to the beach access 26 uh having that Comfort station as a public benefit uh we're currently as a
CPD we're less intense but we feel that that's an appropriate component uh for our project that is beneficial to the public and our intent is uh once we get approved try to get through the development Order review process and start building uh building this project
as soon as possible So based on uh competent substantial evidence submitted here and presented as part of our presentation for was both petitions but uh for now this petition uh point2 I
think is what our application is uh it's approval with conditions of town staff recommendation the local planning agency uh we directly request the Town Council approve uh this petition upon first reading and schedule for second reading
be happy for myself and our team to answer any of your questions Scott questions yes uh I have a question about the parking um I I know the neighborhood they they get really upset about the the
current parking situation people Park everywhere so are you going to have threee parking for the first half hour hour if you're just coming to pick up a breakfast sandwich or a burger how are you going to handle people coming in for a short
short amount of time just to pick up food right that prevent them from parking on Chapel and all all over the place right so to address that concern we thought and tried to figure out how
this operational component could work and it's similar in our vision to if you're shortterm uh picking up somebody at the airport so yes if you get your ticket you go in if you're there for perhaps we haven't made that decision
yet but if it's a half hour 15 minutes and you leave it would be either free or very reduced and then it would be appropriately priced based on the amount of time as you leave uh and your ticket identified as your leaving or could be
electronically through your phone or some sort of system like that so would be manage that that way councilor Stafford thank you counc Woodson when you say as soon as
possible what realistically what does that mean yeah so I haven't had the luxury of going through the development Order review process at the Town um but I
would let's let's let's say six months for that process and then I would imagine another year to build the project but it could go the intent is luckily uh the hakas are contractors and
they have been doing a very good job with getting their contractors around to build their home so they have a lot of connection so that could hopefully go a lot lot sooner less than a year and a half is our our guests
okay thanks if I could ask just getting into the business model just a moment your ideal customer is that is that someone who comes to the beach uh maybe has breakfast and then goes and hangs out at
the beach during the day and then comes back and has lunch you get the parking Revenue they hopefully support your patrons there what's what's what's your IDE what's your when you think about your business model is it off the street people walking off the street I know it's a combination but what's your ideal
business customer and where's what's your ideal Revenue sources if you don't mind me asking no no I've been trying to put it together um because we compared a lot of different models I think one of the Dan Myers sorry for the record um one of
the the things we liked about this business model there are seven different Avenues of income we have our parking income which renter we were Property Owners so we treat that similar to a rental um the the food
truck uh will be tenants so they'll pay rents monthly rents that that's another form um we're new to the the refreshment Stand Bar side in the ice cream shop um so there are two other avenues of income um so so compared to other models we
have diversity uh in our income streams which we liked um our ideal customer is vacationers the feasibility studies we did with previous projects um there was a lot more you know airbnbs on this side of the town and a lot more
Walkers especially when when we spend a lot of time at that house when we live there or when Jamie and Debbie live there um so a lot of foot traffic so we're hoping to revamp that foot traffic um as you did your research did you get
a sense that that that the majority of your business will come from people who are utilizing the beach or not necessarily well the the previous studies weren't aren't pertinent after Ian they they've totally changed yep um but just as you've been noodling it over
the last year what what are you wear I'm hoping the people that are sitting in traffic for two hours they just pull in and decide you know what I'll have dinner here and then I'll move on you know once traffic dies down that's that's my thought other than that walk and there's still a lot of walkers but I hope as someone mentioned before it's a
pit stop as you're moving up and down the island or the bicycle they can stop use the restroom fill their water bottle um and keep on their way the uh and and and Fred didn't get a chance to get to these slides but they're in our packets you get a real sense of the
proximity of the of some of these newer homes that are hoping to be built near your property as well as the quarter of Pelican uh condo not the interrupt you but just you know these aren't the right ones right the ones we got in our packet the renderings I'm assuming are not the
right ones no those are are the old on these are changed completely but this map is still true the map is true but I saw you looking at those I just wanted to make sure that the building has changed the sales aren't there anymore for the ones we have we don't have the ones he had up here I got you but let's
just referencing the ones we just saw then um the proximity to the Amplified music uh certainly has raised a number of concerns and I think legitimately so I I I'm I'm big live music fan myself so
I'm not trying to be a prud or anything but I I just it seems like seven days a week uh if I lived nearby I would be concerned obviously it's going to be just from noon to 8:00 pm but if it was going to be constant seven days a week I
think that would give me pause obviously you're going to have to hire uh the entertainment which comes out of your profits in your business model how much is that live music critical to supporting the draw is the food the draw is it the bathrooms and
the location to the beach the draw is it the live music or and I I'm guessing you're going to say all of the above but how critical is that Amplified live music to your to the success of your business model it really depends um backing up
real quick when we first started this concept we had an internal talk of of are we going to go down this battle with music is that does that really pertinent important to us um based on feedback and what we're hearing in the conditions we
keep putting on to ourselves in limiting and pulling back and reducing um I don't think it's a great P I don't think it's it's a main piece at all of this business model I I think the parking the centralized food now the ice cream a place to stop I think that
matters more than the music however I still need to maintain some sort of operational flexibility so that you know should it be season or um as these events come you know Fort Myers Beach the shrimp fest you know coming up uh that we do have opportunities and
options to partake in the music I think the regulations we're putting on ourselves um we're doing the best we can with the neighbors you know trying to accommodate everybody but no I don't feel that we are not going to have music eight hours a day seven days a week by any means um and so I guess Dan and I
don't want to when you say you're putting these on yourself you're really you're you're you're working with your neighbors to try to find a mle find a compromise we're pulling back pulling back and so as we listen today to public comment if they've got additional suggestions for restrictions so we want
to be able to have venues my idea of Life music is not a club we're not building a club we don't want is not a club we're not building a club we don't want the the club atmosphere we want something you can talk over dinner something like that we've tried to protect the neighbors as much as we can
by turning putting inside it doesn't go up it doesn't go out towards them it all all goes out to a stero I don't think we'll have it any more than twice a week but I don't want to tie my hands if I if I need to make money we're going to do whatever it takes to to bring the people
to the island and that's the big concern the summertime uh once again we talked about Sunset that people are coming and they may want to eat dinner about the time that the sunsets and we can't close at 9: but we could stop our music earlier than that and I I just don't
want to be so restrictive that we can't operate and I I don't see it happening in fact I don't know that we'll even ever have live music at all I I don't know that if it's successful without it we're not going to pay I know the permits are crazy for for that I know
the cost is crazy that you know thousands of dollars a night just to have that yeah that's that's the challenge obviously for the for the Neighbors if they if if it's so open ended that that it it it gives them pause and obviously you want as much flexibility as you can as a business
person and I think and and I all I would ask is that you listen to the public comment today to see if there's some additional compromises that can still be reasonable from your perspective but also give them some peace that it's not going to be seven days a week from noon
to 8 o'l I I I just think that's that's that's that's what I'm looking for is to try to see if we can find that see that and and I actually hear them I mean I lived in that neighborhood and it is a peaceful neighborhood and I and I want it to remain a peaceful neighborhood and I guess if they knew me personally
they'd know that I don't like loud music I mean I enjoy music and uh you know we've restricted no drums we went to Duets we went to our amplification system so it can't be the the band turning it up we tried to do everything we can to protect him uh and we'll
listen I I just don't know what else we could do without tying our hands to where you you know we can't operate and I don't want to be in that position but I do want to make them feel comfortable that that we are good neighbors and we will try and do everything we can to protect the reputation of the
neighborhood and that's that's all I can say so hopefully that's enough King why this concept and why now I want to put a parking lot he doesn't uh I've talked to a lot
of the food truck vendors and as I said we eat out every meal my my wife and I so we talk to them and you know a couple of them start to get kicked off when they develop the lands they're going to get kicked off so we thought well we'll put this food truck thing in and we talked temporary well just a couple years to go through the the phase and
it's kind of a thing to the community then we found out that that the town didn't like it they wanted something more permanent more permanent building so now we're going to make2 to$ three million do investment in a building we can't afford to make it temporary
uh that's the best I could say I I think the food truck idea is a good idea I think looking at some of the other ones that we've visited it looks like it it it is somewhat successful and it does attract people uh I look at right now I
look at the Mango Street Lot which is a block away from us it's sitting empty and I don't know if that's a product of everybody parking on the free parking on everybody's lot that they're not supposed to be on or if it's a product that it just doesn't draw anybody to that section of the island hopefully
that we will have people that will come and visit the Food Truck Park and stay for the day I also think by charging for parking that it encourages local residents to to to ride bicycles and drive there I think that that's what we're trying to do we want more bike
traffic we're putting in the water stations for them we're putting in plenty of bike racks uh but once again I think it's a good model I think that from what I've seen if it's managed right it's a nice it's not a carnival type atmosphere it's a nice clean facility and and I think people would be
proud to have it on the island I really feel that way in my heart so I'd like to touch on that real quick John um pre November of 2020 uh before we came to the town with the FEC I came up with a half a dozen models of different concepts we went from
everywhere from studio apartments to condos to Workforce housing to a uh four-story parking garage I mean we we really try to see what we could fit on this lot um we we did the restaurant and and without going into too much detail
it was like a 3% return to have some sort of affordable rent to still build in order these new building standards we have and cost and land value it take 25 years to get her money back building a brick and mortar restaurant it just it didn't make sense unless you're selling $120 hamburgers and you know $30 tacos
it really didn't make sense um so we were really trying to find a balance between an investment something good we think for for the island and for still maintain still be affordable you can still have a you know hopefully A5 or $6 beer and you know not a $14 beer um but
we we looked into a lot of options so this is what we landed on and he still wants the parking lot I think so here we are thank you thank you uh just just a couple you know for me the in big the conversations I had with the neighbors
obviously music was one thing I but it looks as though you've tried to make it so that the music will go the direction it should go the buffers was a big thing you know youve got a s and a half fot buffer on the one side and one the reason I was talking about the
parking is you've got a surplus of parking over what is required is there any interest to potentially looking at eliminating some of that parking to be able to increase the buffer that would be between say the pool and the residents that are directly abiding the building I threw something at Ken about
six days ago and we have that coming for you for the next meeting we're going to try to keep on listening so the more we listen the more we learn the more we will change and what I feel is improve yeah well we we've looked at that it parking it doesn't work it just
doesn't work with the I really wanted to get it away orientate the park away from this the corner where we're at but then we don't even meet the par the way clal construction line works too it doesn't yeah just didn't we we researched that well okay so you you've answered my question you're you're willing to it
sounds like you're already moving forward to we'll come back to something what I feel is even better than what we have now nothing no big changes will be made but we're going to keep on tweaking it as we've done this whole time okay good we maybe get to 30 conditions then no
please any other questions for me no that's it thanks Dan thank you okay where we at now we did interveners interveners okay so is there a motion to approve the well
let's how many how many do you have sir come on not in myself got come on up I we gotta come up here so we can hear you and Nancy I'll ask you in a second how many do you have that you're representing I've got Pelican watch Tom and de Danford and Ed French so the same
three as the previous hearing correct but we've also we also have three three experts and myself so seven people okay and then is there anyone show a hands is there anyone that wants to be that isn't represented by him that
wants to be an intervener for this one similar to the last one no okay okay so it's just just wanted to see if there there was I wanted to see if we could do it under one Motion versus having to have two separate okay there there's nobody else
so we'll just deal with his request is there a motion to what's your name again sir I'm sorry I wrote it down but I no problem David moso okay is there a motion to allow David uh and his three residents as well as three uh experts
intervener status so for a period of five minutes five minutes each mayor can we get in the record um the basis for their intervention or why they're they feel they're affected party
absolutely um same as the previous request um all of the parties that were um seeking to have as um intervenor status are either directly AG grieved parties or experts that they have hired to come here and
and provide you with information that I think adds context to their arguments or oppositions as uh as as AG grieved parties these are all directly AB budding uh Property Owners including Pelican watch Tom and de Danford as well as Ed
French okay and then if Mr Davies has any comments thank you I I I've got to make the same objection I made last time but we're happy to oblige with whatever Council wants to do um one other point I'd like to make on the experts if you'd
like me to do that now or later Nancy go ahead so um this happened at LPA I know you all saw that I I just wanted to make the same point that I made at LPA with respect to appraisal testimony um technically you're you're you're only
supposed to hear evidence that goes or consider evidence guess is the Nuance that goes specifically to your reone criteria um I think valuation testimony is not specifically addressed in your reone criteria and therefore you shouldn't hear it if you're going to go
ahead and hear that as expert testimony um I would suggest that it be given uh the appropriate weight uh and and limit it to no weight because you're Guided by those resoning criteria and there's no resoning criteria that talks
about valuation impact Nancy would you agree with that assessment I I do and um however also for the record I'm B on the record here um you mentioned that you have four experts excuse me I've got three experts three experts Tom Deb Danford Ed French
and then uh representative from Pelican was so the basis for their expertise I don't think that's been placed into the record sure oh oh for them to qualify them as experts yeah and and similar to um our presentation at LPA we submitted their resumés uh along uh and I think
you all have copies of their resumés you should have in any case have received copies of their resumés um and and so I'm happy to have them come up here and and read and sort of explain to you what their qualifications are I certainly don't want to um Short change them of
that as as expt experts um and I I certainly don't think that I could do it as well as they could so if that would please you I I I could have them come up here um and and qualify themselves before you and then on just really quickly I would say with regards to
property valuation um reports I do think they they go to the uh Public Safety Public Welfare um criteria I I think if you're going to evaluate the welfare of the public and especially evaluate them as grieved parties you certainly have to look at how this impacts um not just the
tax revenues of the city but also the tax revenues um of the area and and and the taxes that they pay as compared to their property value so um if would you like for me to call them up the experts it's not necessary for me because they're in here unless Nancy you think it's something that we should do I think
we should have their name and what their area of expertise is just for the record um in the event that there is a future appeal or something sure sure I'll have them come up here and introduce themselves just the experts go ahead sir good afternoon Max
forgi uh doing business as forgi planning LLC uh 236 Southeast 45th Street uh Cape Coral Florida uh I am a 32ye member in good standing of the
American Institute of certified planners uh I've been uh planning and Community Development director in Charlotte County and uh have worked in Southwest Florida and the State of the State of Florida in
general um for more than 35 years uh and I've have rep uh represented clients uh not as an attorney as an expert in something like 30 jurisdictions in Florida and have
presented hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of Landes cases as a planning director thank you sir thank you hello there my name is Mosen Sal that's M
oen last name Sol s a l eh H I live in Fort Myers 4786 Harbor K Boulevard Fort Myers and uh I feel I'm no stranger to Fort Myers
Beach because I was involved in comp plan development and uh uh been doing consulting traffic consultant for a number of municipalities in the area including B
Springs Estero Pine Island and Fort Mars Beach uh and uh I'm a member of American ins of certified planners and also a fellow of Institute
of Transportation engineers and let's see what else the rest the details are in my report if you're interested uh but uh other than that that's uh
pretty much it thank you good afternoon Matt Simmons I'm managing partner at Maxwell Hendry in Simmons we are primarily um a real estate appraisal and consulting firm um
do a limited amount of brokerage work as well well um but a lot of what we do and what I do personally is connected devaluation issues um things like what I've done in this um case value impact study um various Market studies we do economic
impact studies so it's not just appraisal related essentially we have solutions for um as many things as possible related to real estate values you know as you can hopefully imagine um and so that's what we do I'm a um
licensed real estate appraiser um a broker in the State of Florida um governor Scott appointed me to uh the Florida real estate appraisal board and I believe it was 2012 or 2013 um and so um yeah have a lot of
background been recognized as an expert um around the state both in appraisal related issues do a lot of litigation support work um but ALS also in the land use realm um and that's an area that we started
working on uh back in 2013 and so a lot of the work that I do is on issues such as this value impacts related to land use decisions res zonings comp plan changes um so that's who I am that's what I do that's why I'm
here right thanks man Mr Mayor I move that we accept them as experts I'll second okay motion by Mr mayor I'm I'm going to make a motion uh to to accept their testimony today but and Council tell me if this would upset
you uh I think we heard from all three of them at the LPA correct that's correct yeah so I wonder if if you would mind if we limit the experts to three minutes and then the residents and the owners here to five minutes so just in the interest of time collectively yeah and I I I the only reason I would take
um issue with that is our um experts have taken undertaken significant effort to amend their presentations to be specific to today's hearing and there have been a number of changes as the applicant mentioned there have been a number of changes that occurred um not only at LPA
but prior to LPA that we were not uh made privy to and I think it's significantly impacted their testimony um I I've accounted for a little bit over an hour maybe an hour and 10 minutes at Max for all of our uh parties together so I would ask for that hour
and 10 minutes and with that we will um be very efficient I think we'll come in under that hour and 10 minutes um but I I I would uh ask for for that as a collective period of time that's that's kind of the time that we've been working in our minds with um you know in the lead up to to today's So when you say an
hour and 10 minutes are you talking about all the people that are here to speak as part of public comment as well no I I I have no control over that but I'm talking about all of the parties that are here which is seven seven folks um but it's seven at five minutes 35 minutes that's only 35 minutes right no
I know I'm aware I'm I'm I just don't think that five minutes is is I think closer to seven minutes is GNA is going to be enough for them for example for um our experts to present their um their pieces I think that the danfords have also um come in in around seven minutes
I can be brief I can be relativ yeah was hoping to be consistent with the first hearing we had everybody had five and I certainly don't want to take away from the residence time um but I think an hour and 10 minutes is going to be especially since there's a lot of folks here just speak during public
comment who are impacted as well yeah if we can just keep it with to five minutes between each of the groups and again if if somebody wants to yield their time to someone else that that's fine too sure or you know if they only want to speak two minutes and yield their three minutes that's fine too okay I just want you to feel like you're treated fairly
well I I would I would prefer to at least have that hour and and the re and the reason for that is you know at at at LPA um we had we our kind of our the way our presentation went was kind of disjointed we were kind of did uh rushed in the front end to go to a a lunch break and then we came back and it kind
of threw our testimony into into into a couple of pieces so for the for the sake of um of of being fluent in our presentation if we're going to be limited to um you know 45 50 minutes I would at least ask that we don't have any any any um intermissions in between
our presentations so that we don't go break to lunch and come back an hour and a half later the motion would be consistent with the first uh hearing we just had prior to this that each one be allowed five minutes okay and it would also guarantee your intervener status if that's okay because I want to be consistent with what we did the first
time around thank you and again if somebody doesn't use their full five minutes if they want to yield the the remaining two minutes to someone like they do in Congress okay you you can do that too I I I appreciate that thank you very much and I can assure you we won't take a break in the middle of year I appreciate that we'll get through we'll
get through your thank you thank you so much we got we got a motion for five minutes a piece um with a total of seven people is that your correct yes sir and we got a second by Woodson any further discussion uh viol hi coun Woodson I
counc Safford i counc k i and n and as well that motion carries unanimously great go ahead U I'm I'm just going to turn it over to the experts uh and and and then I'll come back to it again you got m s for the record M if you wouldn't
mind just talk closer to the mic the lp hearing was very hard to hear you better perfect thank you uh I'm going to date myself here but back in the 90s late 90s when we were working on the comp plan the first thing that caught our
attention was obviously the traffic and back then County was consistently counting traffic to Fort Myers Beach first of all because the stero Remains the county
maintained Road and we had good enough data to be able to you know develop our comp plan especially Transportation element that I was responsible for among the rest of the items here and
there and uh what we noticed was that which is not atypical of beach communities uh but we had this uh uh we didn't have the peak and Valley which is
a typical of uh traffic profile for a lot of communities what we have here is basically a peak and then a plateau that last for something in the uh profiles we
reviewed for a number of years was from basically 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. that's that's 8 hours and that's been pretty much and pretty cons consistently since
then and uh but what has happened there are still some fluctuations from year to GE and depending on events like hurricane or what have you as the case is right now that we reached at some point over uh
1,300 uh 40 and then it went down again uh to to 1200 something for a number of uh years and then back up again so there were some ups and downs but generally we
still have that you know Plateau that uh stays for something like hours on especially on season and uh what I was going to go over with you
was uh first of all the fact that uh if you look at the concurrency report the latest one for 2024 you notice that uh Estero boulevart
has been divided into four segments and uh the segment that we particularly concerned about because it's been showing a level of service F which is basically failure or
when volume is more than the capacity and in this case uh uh the segment is from uh uh palore uh
to Center Street this is the failing segment okay uh and uh basically uh level of service has been f for
this and uh the ti that was done for this particular site back in 2008 had some serious problem first of
all they came up with something like 27 peak hour trips and they added that to uh a segment just to the South which means from uh uh
uh just south of uh the project side to to Vorhees and uh applying that to that took advantage of the fact that the only segment that's failing is from uh you know palmshore up
to Center Street I from palmshore to uh bores is an acceptable level of service de uh so you know that was one error the other one was the fact that
uh uh they basically uh came up with some other than this error they came up with this idea that uh
uh the traffic since I mean taking advantage of this really that since aable to constrain facilities so we can basically do whatever we want because it can't get any worse thank you thank you
m your five minutes are up it went fast five minutes five minutes it took five minutes yeah I'm here to answer questions if you have any questions details once we get through we'll we'll if we have questions we'll we'll bring you back up thank you
sir Max forgi I've been sworn I've also given you my address and vitals uh you've received my um uh report already I specifically refer you to findings 245
and8 uh as compelling reasons for uh denying this case and I want to talk about three particularly compelling reasons based upon the testimony that you've received uh at now the third
hearing on this case um the first is the comprehensive plans definition of Boulevard quote to obtain approval for new and expanded commercial activities proposals must be sensitive to nearby residential uses complement any
adjoining commercial uses contribute to the public realm as described in the comprehensive plan that's policy uh 4 B8 this is a new commercial activity not previously allowed that's why they are
asking for this amendment there is no persuasive evidence that this use will contribute to the existing commercial uses nearby it will introduce the availability and outdoor consumption of alcoholic beverages along the Boulevard
in an indoor bar or restaurant the monitoring of consumption is the responsibility of the entire staff who maintain the premises that is not the case when there are five trucks uh with one or two employees each
trying to collect money take orders make food and um and oversee a common area at the same time it's not going to work the public realm will not be enhanced in a small site with commercial parking five
mobile food trucks outdoor consumption of food food and alcoholic beverages and a tempting shortcut to the beach that runs through and past existing residential units this does not describe a public realm this is more like a mini
um uh permanent Farmers Market the second is the lack of the traffic study which Mosen has raised uh and I refer you to his comments H adding that this will negatively contribute to the Town's
evacuation challenge the third and this is the core of our case is incompatibility as Florida law defines it uh in uh chapter 163 3164 for9 of the
proposed use with the existing uses uh the LPA heard compelling testimony about these impacts from Pat and Dick OAS from Kim and P Pam stick from Rick Bruner and
others uh I refer you to their comments other impacts will include windborne garbage rodents and antisocial Behavior as well as the traffic impacts which were mentioned earlier these impacts
deserve serious consideration at the LPA hearing there was a debate as to whether a commercial use on this property would be more intense if the commercial activity took the form of five trucks instead of one
or two brick and mortar commercial establishments uh M sarasa the LPA chair observed that the proposed uses may not be more intense but they would certainly be more intrusive I agree with her
halfway I think they are would both be more intense and more intrusive that council members is the uh the core of the case for our opposition The Neighbors at Pelican watch will experience an enhanced level of
intrusion into their daily lives beginning with the door slamming from 48 parking spaces I understand that's changed that number the noises of revelers enjoying their Alfresco dining and drinking and the antics of people
who are short-term Pike parking and the inevitable nuisance of persons taking the shortest paths to the picnic tables uh from the picnic tables to the beach those uses are intrusive to say the least they would create a situation of
incompatibility as defined in Florida Statutes to which you have uh received competent substantial abundant and persuasive evidence the fourth uh point that I want to make is
uh something that we've discussed a little bit and that is the lack of a regulatory framework for decision making you should adopt you have time adopt it you're the ones who can adopt an ordinance that
regulates this important use thank you thanks ma good afternoon again Matt Simmons for the record um I want to be as brief as possible obviously we've all been here a long time um I've already introduced myself
um in short I think the introduction of this use at this location giving the surrounding residential uses will have a negative impact um on the property values associated with those residential uses so there's the the takeaway
essentially of the study um that we completed but I want to talk a little bit about why um I also want to mention I I do think there are components um within your criteria if you look at 4
B5 um within the future land use element and 4 C3 there's specific references to proposed New Uses needing to be sensitive to existing residential uses what does that mean if it if it
doesn't mean that you know consideration of impacts um of a variety of kind um could be applicable um but let let me tell you a little bit about what we typically do on these studies in a perfect world what we
what we do is we isolate okay here's the proposed use here's an adjacent um say set of Residential Properties in another area and we look over time to see if there's an impact to Value we is simply isolate the variable control it to try
to apply it to our situation I'll tell you in this case and I've run into this in a few situations that type of methodology isn't something we're actually even able to do and the reason is that we can't identify a single Food Truck Park um and
we look well beyond Southwest Florida that is this close um to adjacent residential uses so I brought this up at the LPA if it's out there I'd love to take a look at it if anybody you know is aware of anything but we couldn't actually find what we
prefer to do which is an identical scenario so that we can isolate the variable so what we then do is we look at okay what are some of the concerns noises um smoke coming off if there's cooking going on you know you can't
control in an open air environment um some of these impacts that we're talking about that have been discussed already several times there's no reason to go back over them it's part of the nature of a food truck Park I love these
Concepts I'm actually an investor in a food truck Park elsewhere in Southwest Florida um I think they're fantastic it's just a matter of you know what they are by Nature it's difficult to contain that in in an open air
environment so let me tell you one thing specifically though uh within the world work that we did that we um were able to look at the only academic study that I was able to locate that's been completed on this that's directly on point uh was
done in Oregon back in 2017 and it's been cited and relied upon in the report that we have um but it was specifically analyzing the impact to Residential Properties of a directly adjacent Food Truck Park um now that Park did not have a live music component but that was
about as good a proxy as you're going to come up with there were direct negative impacts that were found as a result of that study peer-reviewed study again I've cited it within our report so I've also relied upon you know the findings within that report as they relate to the situation
that we have here in a nutshell Pelican watch has 48 units um what we are anticipating is that the impacts looking at the units as a whole would likely be in the 8 to 10% territory of value
diminution now the E stack of the building is the stack that's on the northwest corner that is most exposed to the park so you would expect to have a higher level of impact there obviously on the other side of the building you know you'd have lower impacts the impact
isn't is significant now we all know when you're in a project and there's sales taking place that you know comps kind of co-mingle a little bit and so to a certain extent everyone gets p into it but that's what we're projecting for Pelican watch so if you take 48 units
and you know you take the midpoint of that 9% the median price for units that have sold there over the past 18 months is about $800,000 to 9% off of that for 48 units it's about $3.5 million of value
diminution across the building that's for the condo the single family homes particularly the ones that are directly adjacent and that are beachfront across Cottage I would anticipate a higher degree of value dimition um so in short I you know heard
a lot of efforts that have been made that certainly sound like they're in good faith to mitigate um the project and its impacts but I have I'm afraid the only evidence from valuation standpoint suggests that that um those impacts are difficult to mitigate hold
on man before you walk away just make sure nobody has any questions for your experts if you're okay with that sure just want to make sure there's Scott do you have any questions for any of the three experts was this argument made about Coconut Point years and years ago in a
stero that would it would devalue the the neighboring Properties or is this way different I'll answer that from what I yeah from what I recall when that was being approved that did come up the residential units that are there were
part of the project design if we're talking about the impact of the residential condos that are on this you know second floor and up you're making a choice to purchase within a planned and designed Incorporated mixed use
development um so I I think some of those concerns ended up kind of falling on De your frankly that that for me from a value impact standpoint I don't think that even um is a concern and ultimately the approvals that they got I think are
consistent with that finding as well I I certainly not familiar with the record but I remember the conflict over that okay thank you John you mentioned sales what was the time frame of those sales again um over the past 18 months I believe was
what um I'd looked at and I think we had maybe two sales the median between them was around the $800,000 Mark and there's some listings in the building that were also in line with that as well what is the did you look at at the
valuation of uh properties after I and then yes to to make sure to not drag in you know markets change all the time and so when we do these
studies that's obviously a Nuance Factor you know the applicant shouldn't be penalized in a study of ours as a result of you know values that are declining because a market that's changed so I the sales we were using were certainly all post Ian okay um the the other thing I would I
would add to that is we also consider the fact that there's an existing CPD on the other parcel so when we do an analysis like this it's not as if well what if you at a food truck Park and the alternative is you've got just open
space that's not fair to the property either there's a CPD and so we try to reflect that in the work that we're doing and the only other thing I I would say as part of that is um it's anecdotal but we are aware of
and have records of and I believe they've been submitted for three listings within Pelican watch unit 508 and um unit I believe 104 the Brokers there have said specifically they have had buyers walking away and and these
are this is in writing um and their prospective buyers were citing ah we don't want to be adjacent to that we've got concerns over what's going on there again that's anecdotal but again that that is directly consistent with um our
my professional opinion I think we've all seen the the property valuations go down because of Ian correct um and then now the county assessor has said they're starting to bounce back do you see that or yes that's actually and Matt called
Wells of council um with my firm uh one of my best friends you know know forever and done a lot of work together we've talked about that as well we didn't get as much into for this analysis the assessment side we do that type of work
projecting Ador taxes for proposed projects or projecting them even for existing projects for things like this we didn't get into that I I've been in projects similar to this before working on either side where you're either trying to project taxes positively or
negatively you know if that can be a hard thing to to weigh you know what relevance it has but um the assessments are always lagging because they're based on the prior years data
and the way that chapter 193 in statute works for assessment purposes they also the criteria that's used for them is unique um and because projects some projects the improvements are off the
roles right now it skews the models on the islands so I would say yes the numbers are bouncing back but they always lag a little bit if that gives you some context you looking for I just found that interesting
because I thought earlier the person representing Pelican watch talked about uh ADV valorium and how it would negatively impact it but you just kind of said that it you can't judge that or well I I I was talking about the island more more broadly I think the reference
before was about if sales if property values decline that's a result of sales that are declining and sales that are declining translate into assessments and the revenue that comes from them I believe that was the context
okay thank you yeah appreciate thanks vice mayor just just a thought did you do any analysis there's a brand new fire department going in right across the street from these properties would that have a a positive or A negative impact given the fact that
Sirens could be going off at all hours or just just your from your professional experience um I've not looked at yeah i' I've not looked at the at the site plan for that well enough to know how it's set up on the on the top site right yeah right right in the front yeah and I I've
looked at that issue before for different municipalities um and for institutional users medical who have that Dynamic when they proposing new projects um admittedly I've not looked at the site plan though and in what ways that may be mitigated so I I would
probably hesitate to say much more okay just curious that's all I've got okay I've been listening I'm good I just want to piggyback on what the vice mayor said because that was going to be the question I asked so you haven't looked at potentially what could go at where
mom's is or where chap by the sea or the Old Town Hall any impacts that could potentially have staying vacant versus what I'm trying to get as is you looked at this specific property but you didn't look at anything surrounding it what potentially could go there and is it
your testimony that it may potentially cause a a diminish in value but have you looked at long term you just said that every year is different and you can't predict market so was this just a specific initial um analysis or did you
look at five 10 years well yeah I the study that was done in in Oregon um it was done over a period of at at least two to three years I know I don't know that it went out five years um part of the challenge of doing anything with
long-term view on food truck Parks is that they're still a relatively New Concept to be able to digest 10 20 years of data you know um to look at it's not my opinion that it's a shortterm like H there's an initial I I think the way
that food truck Parks operate and you know outdoor consumption and the noise and those things are you know that doesn't change and so it's not you know my opinion that that's something that will happen in short term but then will wash itself out in the
market um and I really try to separate Market condition like if if the market itself just went down 10% or went up 10% that is separate from what I'm describing I'm I'm trying to isolate purely the influence of this proposed
use and I would say as it relates to other properties the reasonable anticipation about what may be built um is done the way for buyers that I think you know anyone does if the site's vacant they're looking at the
existing entitlements and they're kind of going okay well here's what can be done here's what can't be done um if if somebody were to propose something you know different on those sites then that maybe changes the game in a way that we're trying to look at here but I would
say the sales activity that that's there um a knowledgeable you know buyer and seller talking about market value they would be looking at um the underlying zoning and comp plan and anticipate pay
whatever goes there is going to be consistent with those okay thanks Matt thank you just for my own curiosity when you mentioned Oregon was that Portland OR uh it was not Portland okay um can't bring it top of line but I I gave give you citation it's interesting reading um
it's heavy but it was extremely well done and um yeah thank you city thank you mayor if the applicant um if Mr Davies wants to ask questions or cross-examine any of the
experts no thank you no okay thank you welcome back well again I'm Gary Fields I'll spray you my personal history uh and I'll see I'll be brief SE whatever time I have left to wherever our attorney directs um you've you've seen you've got written evidence of the
decline in property value big economic picture there's going to be at least a $3 million loss to Pro to Pelican watch owners there's additional owners that will also receive a loss there's a net gain to one person who's developing this
property there's a modest expense to the rest of the taxpayers in Le County and uh and the town that's the big economic picture so we're we're going to sub we'll be subject to a major loss um
there's there's no question about that and you you you've received written testimony about it and we actually also have new written testimony about buyers walking away from our property um the developers sound great they sound like
they want to be good neighbors I can tell you that we we have already proposed live music restrictions and were turned down um you'd have to ask if a good neighbor puts a public bathroom within 20 ft of your swimming pool that's that let's get past the rhetoric
and and and look at what's proposed um my final comment is if there are 30 conditions proposed on a project and I commend staff for trying to do their best to turn this into something that's
eliable to the neighborhood but when you get 30 conditions that is a huge red flag that's an unheard of number of conditions on any project so um once again I encourage you to either turn this down or severely restrict it uh
because it's this is just the wrong place for this and I've got nothing against live music I'm a performer myself I played in Snug Harbor a half a dozen times this last month this is the wrong place for live music and I encourage you to give this some thought
thank you for your time before you run off real quick I just got a question for you how many units do you have in Pelican watch 4 and how many of those are full-time resident how many are short or are seasonal residents the the majority are are majority yeah can I ask
a quick question uh if I could apart from no Amplified music from the applicant what would be the compromise that you would suggest uh as as as we we you've actually received uh We've submitted some written conditions about
limiting the number of hours and the number of days per week related to your very good question is also the enforcement because I actually for $20 you can buy a sound deal meter I walked through Time Square because I wanted to know what the town's limits really
functionally felt like and they were exceeded uh I think it was 70 DB was the limit uh it exceeded I went through right in front of the aura it was 75 to 80 on a consistent basis so enforcement is a serious issue as well and and I'd
like to know who when if this happens who do we call the town do we call the Lee County Sheriff who do we call if there is a problem back to my question if it's in the documentation I I apologize but just just for the record what would be your ask the applicants
right here what's your ask on no Amplified music is it like Sunday through Wednesday what what is your what's your uh formal position as a hold on I've got it right here that's okay I brought it with me uh we ask for music uh two days per week between 2 and 8:00
p.m. and only for three hours per day uh that's what we asked for we were turn up okay two days per week two days per week between 2 and 8800 p.m. 2 and 8 uh and only for three hours per day and then and those two day two days
per week would be up to the owner we didn't we didn't we didn't want to tie their hands but that but that's the formal position of your condo at this point that's what we submit yes thank you thank you apprciate consider thank you is Pelican watch undergone its Milestone inspection jet
or we I'm glad you asked that we actually had before the Milestone was even passed the legislation we had actually after Sunrise we actually hired an engineer to go through our building they modified it for the legislation we've actually completed Milestone one
there were some suggested improvements we've already completed those okay and we've completed Milestone two congratulations now what about uh your reserves have you met that too or well um we've done the reserve study you know to this part of our rebuild we get we drained our reserves and now we're
rebuilding them as as required so would that mean special assessments then coming up to do that or um we built it into our budget to rebuild it so assessment is taking into consideration what we need and we're working on it but
it's it's been a long haul congratulations yeah I understand if you walk by today you'll see water going into our swimming pool it's been a two and a half year wait for that yeah we're there too now so appreciate it thank you thank you for yours hello again welcome back Ed French
2548 Cottage Avenue and 2550 Cottage Avenue I sure hate to beat a dead horse like that boy it's so dry I don't know how you have the patience for all the information you're collect and Mr safford's making the attempt to see us from a long way
away that's what he wears glasses for sorry sorry so that's what he wears the glasses for yeah oh you're right so the six deviations in the are we up to 30 constraints or was that 29
still at 29 we're still at 29 okay we just hoping to have the applicant um oops not be heard or you guys not hear me
um the Zoning for the property has it's schedule we just want the applicant to operate within that zoning schedule um certainly the live music is a little bur in my saddle I don't know how you could shoehorn a a business like that into a
neighborhood especially the whitee heads Neil Lins and expect them to not bark about live music um now that they have a little more polished I was almost going to say it doesn't fit in our neighborhood but uh
now that the we've had a lot of they've answered a lot of our requests it's getting look more like it should instead of a a small carnival or or a state fair uh still doesn't seem right the
values as I see the values up going up in the on the island I think things are going to change and you know what that happens when uh things are a little more expensive people expect a little bit more out of out of the island and uh maybe the food truck thing isn't
something i' do I I would really try for Brick and Mortar but it's getting closer um so appreciate everybody's lpa's comments and and your comments and your being questioning how they're doing
business we're just asking for uh the respect of the quality of our time and the our property investment I think uh we just heard the experts speak um you you've heard a lot of experts and since you've been on the council um boy what a crapshoot on if
it's going to affect certain things I know for sure that I could be an expert on the traffic through my property it's pretty tough um I think this is going to add a little bit more pressure to it maybe it can be controlled Maybe not maybe the
constraints uh for the conditions can help some of that um you know after the hurricane um I did hear the mayor say thank you very much for telling us that uh we're our mission is to get back on track and
save the island that we do have and uh wow what uh tall words but who knew what a heavy lift that was going to be and I appreciate everybody that uh is participating and help us getting them getting back on track reason I bring
that up is that's why kept coming back we've uh be 57 years now on that Cottage Avenue and a lot of great memories I know the change is inevitable uh what's the constant most constant thing in the world change right
so here we go more change and uh I think we can just uh live with just about anything but we just want to be uh the quality of our time and our property respected that's
all I have for you thanks for uh stopping by the property again looking forward to meeting there excuse me Mr French uh couple things uh first of all is it fair to say the previous spec uh speaker kind of reflects the concerns of
the condominium and and you're you're more in the you're an individual homeowner in that area obviously very close to the property and are there any differences and concerns between the condo and the homeowners are you all on the same page I think we're all on the same there's probably some
like being in beer and wine get a lot of fun a good Gathering Place for the that up and down St I've had a lot of fun doing that myself certainly One Day end oner of
chaos shrim Festival Memorial Day Weekend 4th of July a Memorial Day Memorial Day yes absolutely so would you like to see those those festivals Quantified in a in
a in in the in the in the variance or in the in the CPD that certainly C limited I guess to those particular festivals I would say that the maximum I would hate for that to turn into a Festival Park yeah um I
think every all neighbors have to put up with some stuff anyway so we shouldn't be any different do you mind if I ask you if apart from a complete band on Amplified music which I know would be ideal you have in your mind uh uh some
compromised language that would it would be an Ask of the applicant with respect to amp Amplified music kind of watch has are you comfortable with their conditions yeah I think that's a good start I think they said two days
per week up to the owner uh from anytime from 2: to 8:00 P.M uh within that range but only three hour session on those two days is that consistent with what you you would look at or would you have a different take on that being in the beer and wine business I get the Fridays and
Saturdays y maybe there can be some latitude there but I'd hate for to spill over on our properties so so Fridays and Saturdays and then uh sometime between and eight that's that's your preference yeah only
3 hours three hours per session yeah somewhere in that range you is where and that would that give you some peace if that had those limits in it I think we can put up with it for that long i' just got my Medicare card in October I don't know I'm not one going to be one of
those hanging from the chandelier anymore but I don't sure change yourself well you are on the beer and wine sales you said yeah why am I just now finding this out you're my new best friend right we used to be we did unfortunately sell
our family business in fact that's uh I've always wanted to be a resident to take advantage of the savings um paying 54,000 a year or 53,000 a year on my properties for taxes it' be a whole lot better if I was a resident but the Indiana made me be a resident to keep my
wholesalers license so it's now that we've sold that and things are settling down the Indiana requires me to be a resident for two years after that as well well and keep our business open or at least the entity open so uh they can find us if there was some some kind of
problem so and and and Mr French you own two lots right behind the parking lot of the proposed correct right next door to the Pelican watch to which you kind of would think that's the north side but it's really the west side thank you for your testimony nope thank you very much
for I have 57 years thanks for your commitment to this island oh it's well worth it the Island's given back 10 times more just a quick question for you before you because it was brought up about contemplation you ever contemplated rebuilding the two properties that you had there
abely down I had a little hiccup with my contractor you can't find very good Subs uh I bought a condo at Ocean Harbor just so I had a place to hang my hat when we do start building I have another piece of property on tropical Shores that's
that's going to be the first one get rid of the condo after I move in there and then take a stab at this on the beach love the island I've thought about moving several times uh since the hurricane and the food truck for challenged me but
I'm I'm here for another 20 maybe the last five I'm on meds but I'm here well hopefully you saved a secret stash of your uh former business that would get you through had had my share of beer in fact that was my worst customer after uh
my dad got got Alzheimer's didn't want end up on the front page so yeah um got some making up to do for sure thank you thank you thank you appreciate the time hold on danfords hi
again uh hi I'm dford owner 2520 or 2522 Cottage Avenue for the record I agree with endorsed experts positions expressed today in their presentations and reports the comprehensive plan in future land use map provide rules and
guidelines we must follow enforce and use a in decision making to achieve the town small town Vision as we all know compliance with uh comprehensive plan is required by every and it's a town council's job to
enforcing being pressured into making decisions that do not comply with the comprehensive and possibly in the guise of rebuilding the island makes your job everyone's job harder it creates confusion frustration dissension among
everyone as you've heard there are no official plans or rules in place for aood Truck Park on shouldn't those rules have been established first however the LPA chose to use this applicant's proposal as more or less a
guinea pig to develop the rules as they went alone they use other nearby food trucks as models makes sense right however they obviously chose to ignore the area surrounding location as not one of their models used
in is located right next to a residential neighborhood why because those folks understand they don't belong there I hate to be redundant but any approval of this this proposal will unfairly and unjustly Nega
neighboring property values and the marketability I know you guys keep hearing it but we've got evidence of it pan uh watch has three properties listed for sale once buyers found out about the nearby food truck proposal they walked away you've all been provided
documentation from the various reers as evidence of this including the letter from reor Dennis boach of boack really before the record he wrote I had a client walk away from sale on unit 104 they heard about food truck park proposal on the property and extorted if
this proposal is approved it will reduce the value of the units in the building and overall value of the property causing all the unit owners a significant loss in the value of their units that they will not be compensated for folks this is evidence of what we're
saying I want to take the opportunity though Now to respond to to a couple comments made the applicat presentation help they stay consistent with the comprehensive plan absolutely not and it's not compliant in many areas if You'
heard and red saying so doesn't make it so stimulate development of the island how is another paid parking lot by the way we already have one just a street over on Mango and more food trucks on the island going to stimulate
development what evidence is there to support this claim again saying so doesn't make it so set the bar high for other mobile vending projects on the island really is this the vision we we have for the future of the of the island more food
trucks we need brick and mor guys they referenc uh Rooftop at Riverside and stated a catalyst help that Corridor redevelop and Thrive this is no comparison at all I don't know if you guys have seen this but the Rooftop at Riverside in Bonita Springs is a
large twostory and mor building with a few food trucks parked on their large lot and yet again it is not located near a residential neighborhood it is surrounded by other commercial businesses I could go on here but I have I don't have so much time I do have
concerns not only about this development but their future plans including but not limited to the their request to lease the property for special Advance like a carnival or a fesal seriously a carnival fol youve been to our neighborhood and seen the
applicant's property this is not an appropriate location for these kind of events never mind being highly insensitive at lease option would be a constant burden for neighbors and the Town Council never knowing what we would have to be uh doing with
next building and feema Code Compliance we've all seen the applicants rendering of a permanent ground level building to house a stage a buil built-in bar and ice cream shop which I assume would also include large Refrigeration
units wouldn't this permanent building be required to comply with the building codes and FEMA rules if so according to FEMA's flood zone maps this property is in an AE el12 flood zone for FEMA rules and uh
f&b building codes that are mandated by Florida building Cod this building would need to be elevated 13 ft if we were rendering if it were rendered following the building codes and FEMA rules it would significant change its design and ease of
access thank you you want to wrap up in case we got some questions for you Scott any questions no not at this time come on Scott I was hoping for some questions I've got nothing currently May uh it's interesting I was I was actually
went to visit is at the Rooftop at at Riverside on Saturday and you're absolutely correct it's surrounded by commercial property yes and the one thing I did notice and they have a stage for music but they didn't have music playing at the time but the restaurant about a block away had live music and it was
really uh you can really hear it it's annoying and and so so uh on the music piece uh if you were going to I I'm guessing you prefer a complete band and Amplified music but if you were to look for some
kind of an in between compromise are you comfortable with the the compromise that your the previous speakers have put forth I I think if you cut it down to you know like I said uh two days a week or something like that um between hours of two and eight uh I think it would be
fine I I think from my standpoint I'm concerned about uh the control of it you know how things get they get out of control somebody you know they you know they get loud with crowd noise be turn up the music I can't hear it and then next thing you know the music is getting
louder and louder um it's control it's the control because what do we do when it's loud if they say they'll manage it are they going to be there every day of the week I don't know maybe but otherwise we've got to report it we've got to wait and personally I don't like
to sound like I'm just a complainer uh I like to try to get along with everybody uh but I don't want to be a thorn in their side it's approved I really don't I I just want us to coexist but I don't really think this kind of a development with you know outdoor entertaining I
mean kind of Amplified is going to easily coexist in this area if if we were to put a limit on the festivals the the the the those five festivals those those five events that Mr French and I discussed does that seem reasonable for you I do not hear
all what he agreed to basically just just what we were just talking but but Shrimp Festival 4th of July St Patrick's Day Labor Day Memorial Day limit the festivals to those five festivals does that give you additional piece or or no I you know I'm concerned course about
uh traffic the crowd noise and everything else how long would this event be uh would it be a weekend event would it be a day I I guess you know I would have to know more about the parameters surrounding uh this then to make that kind of a judgment okay thank
you I'm good thank you guys before we run off I just want to there was there was obviously some talk about he's talking about music I'm talking about buffers and increasing potential buffers is that something that you would welcome I would assume you would welcome a greater
buffers between property lines and the potential Improvement of the development absolutely okay I mean when we stand up and was a retal question came up in our property but I know uh that John dead I mean you you stand up there and you're
overlooking this I mean we're right on top of it uh I don't know how you could buffer it I'll be honest with you I just don't know that anything that you're going to do to buffer the noise and the crowd noise and traffic you know there noises from traffic and everything is going to be able to be buffered just
purely because of the height it's not because of their lack of attempt it's just it it's very difficult to do so a bigger wider buffer maybe to you know would help yeah between our property and you know where where their uh
development would be you had mentioned that when we had our walk around that you Airbnb your house before is that your intent on the new one when you build it back we yeah I'll be honest with you it with what's going on with this proposal it's going to affect it if we
decide to do it I know it will uh the people that we had we we live in there too I mean but we also rent it out periodically when we're not there because we Trav back and um I I know the majority of our of our uh the people
that rented wanted to rent our place was because of its location they they didn't want Time Square in their face every every hour of the day you know they wanted a quiet place they they enjoyed sitting on the deck and watching the sunset and
enjoying the peace that is in this area as even with the hot mov to it's a nice area it's quiet we enjoy that you know that's beneficial for not only just us as homeowners but if we should decide that we want to rent out you know uh we
need to be able to offer them that they can walk as a Time Square from our location you know it's a short walk it really isn't that far um so if they want that they can walk down there and get it and they can come back here for some peace you know so and that's the way we
feel I mean that's the way we treat it all right thank you sure thank you hello do I need to restate my name and all right and also uh I believe uh Gary and Ed seated their remaining time which
was around three minutes but I'll try to be brief Tom Danford 2520 and 25 22 Cottage Avenue for the record I do endorse our experts positions comprehensive plan perhaps a common sense approach there um it states
the concept of avoiding commercial intrusions into residential areas will be maintained Town shall protect residential neighborhoods from intrusive commercial activities the intense commercial activities at Time Square need not and should not extend in continuous linear
development down this sto Avenue goes on that say new and expanded commercial activities must be sensitive to nearby residential use complement ajoining commercial use contribute to the public realm and meet the designs in the comprehensive plan and Land Development
code quoting Anita the LPA hearing less intensive but more intrusive how is that sensitive to the nearby residential use on that Criterion this project fails complement adjoining commercial uses the adjoining commercial or the
adjoining properties are overwhelmingly residential and the only commercial use adjoining this property is a food truck operating on a temporary permit moms the elimination of temporary status of food trucks in this area represents a significant departure from the sole
existing commercial use the town has taken a clear stance on food trucks in this area they are intended to exist as temporary use only not to complement to the extensive and available existing uses it fails on that
criteria contribute to the public realm little if anything has been offered indicating even a minimal positive impact applicant believes the Comfort station which is necessary for their patrons serves a public realm yet it will only be used by the applicants
patrons none of the residents in the neighborhood will use it maintain a small town character does this proposal accomplish this really five food trucks a beer garden live entertainment all overcrowding a space too small to handle
all this boarding parking spaces sending traffic down a stero to a destination we're trying to promote bike and pedestrian path traffic it fails this criteria meet the comprehensive plan and Land Development code AS LPA States
there's no code on this Criterion the project fails it fails every measure of 4 B5 town can town can insist on the protection of its private Realms and the enhancement of its public Realms when evaluating
proposals that's such an impactful statement it relates to the commercial development in the heart of the island please respect the private realm the fiscal impacts are monstrous property devaluation in the millions Town faces loss of FEMA support
and related insurance discounts townwide the resulting impact the neighborhood's residential rental activities will yield potential tax revenue reductions for property taxes tourism taxes and sales taxes the LPA recommendation with a
narrow 4 to3 vote six deviations in nearly 30 conditions must be a record it's evident this project in this location is inappropriate it's an attempt to codify Food Truck parks and Commercial paid parking lots the carts before the horse codification should be
first permit second I do commend the LPA staff in their attempt to codify this application but it was a mistake to do so in reviewing their report they say mobile vendor food truck parts are growing in popularity and this use is
not directly addressed in the LDC again codification is needed staff States the proposed use is less intensive fact remains it's still intensive the request is compatible with the surrounding land uses the potential for nuisance is minimized through
provided buffers as well as several staff recommended conditions approximately 30 staff never contacted Deb me or our neighbors regarding our feelings none of us share staff's position their staff's response to 4v5 the proposal is sensitive to their
surrounding residential uses as an impacted neighbor I emphatically disagree this is impactful and intrusive staff States the proposed use comply with this chapter and with the town ordinances and code except in regard to the
deviations essentially they're saying it's okay except where it's not not once did staff summarize the benefits to the neighborhood or the town as a whole in fact at today's hearing Judith Frankle said not much I have to say I feel that
is spoton Town Council it's your responsibility to correct the lpa's errors based on the many concerning points elaborated today this project truly does not fit this location please consider the impact this will have on our residential neighborhood please
consider our rights to a quiet peaceful enjoyment of our property respect the public realm please consider how we all want Fort Meers Beach to rebuild from the devastation of Hurrican in an approval of the application will send a very clear message to the town of the
path you wish to go down in the heart of the island while your denial sends a clear message to those of us res developers who have or are considering invested millions of dollars that you support our efforts of rebuilding the island with a small town character in
mind it tells us folks you have our backs I'm going to stop there I have several other points but I will stop there to try and respect your time Scott any questions no thank you okay thanks so much just very quickly the folders that
uh you see me carrying are just uh physical submissions of the materials that were provided to you for um today's agenda so I'm going to leave these here with you all just as a matter of a procedure just to actually submit a physical copy I thought you were giving
the vice mayor run for his money I see that I'll by now he is well informed um just a couple of quick points that I wanted to make um you know the the applicant has made the point that this
is a a familyfriendly um proposal a familyfriendly business or rather a business that is intended to be familyfriendly but at the same time says there there aren't enough families to support a 10 Pin bowling operation so it's just seems kind of to conflict
right there either are enough families to support a family-friendly operation or there aren't enough families to support a familyfriendly operation but doesn't seem like you can really have um both of those be true uh and then the second point is with regard to valuation whatever modest value
um or or taxable value increase there is as a result of approving this plan I think it's far outweighed by the loss in housing stock uh and and the and the the value depreciation that the city is inevitably going to see in terms of of
tax uh Revenue so um just just two really quick points that I wanted to make um you know there's a very clear policy policy 455 that Tom Danford uh referenced that has a clear criteria for evaluating whether new uh commercial
uses are appropriate in the boulevard zoning and and I'm just going to read it into the record very quickly and I know Dan did but uh Tom did so I'm going to I'm just going to going to do it really quickly because I think it's very important to obtain approval for new or expanded commercial activities proposals
must be sensitive to nearby residential uses complement any adjoining commercial uses contribute to the public realm as described in this comprehensive plan and meet the Design Concepts of the of the plan of this plan and the Land Development code so I think you know we've been pretty clear in you know the
near by residential uses those folks don't feel like this is complimentary um and whether it is or it isn't obviously is a question for you all to decide but I think we have a very very strong showing of The the users of those um adjoining uh Residential Properties and
and they're very adamant in that this is not complimentary um secondly with regard to existing commercial uses there's really only one right now and it seems to be that food truck that's kind of across the street and that was given a temporary permit and part of the reason um that that I call that out is
you know to to deviate from the temporal nature of that food truck is is a significant step a significant measure and and part of the reason why it was given a a a temporary permit is because food trucks are never contemplated to be
a permanent a permanent um business for for for these these zoning properties for this zoning designation then lastly as it as it relates to the public realm I think we we've had a conversation about a comfort station there are a number of concerns that we expressed at
LPA that we will uh continue to express today regarding the the Comfort station as a you know on one end a station that's open to the public on another end because of its open Nature to the public being something that uh promotes vagrancy or a point a vagrancy Point um
and that's something that we certainly would express to you and and ask you to consider um but collectively looking at those those three points I think it makes the case for why the the appropriate Avenue to take here is to deny this application and for the city
to have its own proper opportunity to look at food trucks as a whole food truck Parks more specifically as a whole and say what are the absolute minimum conditions and can we build in an opportunity for folks who do want to open up a food truck Park to
come before us so that we can make it site specific but provide an absolute minimum for all food truck Parks I mean to do to to to go sort of outside of that process is to kind of create a very specific Niche for this property but it also allows other folks to come back
before you and say hey well you know in this issue this is what you guys did and we're going to just trying to copy what you are have already approved but it it's just not appropriate for a a one-sized fitall I think the the point that um uh counselor Woodson made which
is this is a a really unusual application in that it has so many deviations really goes to that point that the the appropriate Avenue here is is through an ordinance um and and not through looking at this specific application to create a precedent for Food Truck Park so I would just ask you
to please uh take that into consideration when when making your decision and then lastly you know we have a a specific list of of conditions that we've um asked the the applicant to take into account and I think they've done an okay job of looking at them but
it's guarantees that we're looking at I think you can say that you're going to be a family friendly um operation but you have to make certain guarantees in order in order for that to be the case and and and for cl the opportunity of this being for example a temporary event venue SL Food Truck Park because you have no limitation on special events Pelican
watch's position is that there be a a complete ban on on special events of course um you know Ed French and the danfords have have proposed a limitation on those on that number of special events and and and I think that is a significant um consideration that you
all should take into account so that we don't you know tread the line given that you know we're already kind of doing this in a peace meal way um we don't tread the line of food truck Court special event venue with unlimited live open music um I think I think the
suggestions that have been made here are uh reasonable to to to an extent but I would ask for those suggestions to be codified not only um with regard to the applicant but run with the land so that a new applicant doesn't come in open up a food truck court and then uh has to kind of go through relitigate this
entire process all over again um and so with that I'll close I'll ask you all to please consider the you know the the impact to their property values the impact to the city's tax revenue the fact that this prop the property the use that's being contemplated it's not fit
because of the fact that it's intrusive and there aren't enough guarantees for the property owner safety their welfare their investment backed expectations and more importantly the just the the use and enjoyment of their piece of having a beach front property in Fort Meers Beach
I think is a unique Jewel and and to preserve that quality of life and promote that quality but I think is a a benefit to the city and and and and I'll conclude with that thank you thank you any questions Scott any questions
for I do not John no no all right thank you Judith do you quickly want to ask Mr Davies his cross examination good okay thank you can leave with
right thank you we all got a box right are you finishing up Judith yes because wouldn't folks who aren't part of the uh intervenor still have a chance for public comment yeah so she finishes up then we'll go to public comment gotcha just like we did before good okay so what I'm going to do is I'm going to go
through the findings and conclusions like we did with for the first ordinance all of those criteria um and then I'm going to get to the recommendation which is going to include the conditions recommended condition for approval so when I get there if you are anticipating
changes to those conditions we can add those or we can add them you know whenever you like but so I have not I know you've made some suggestions the applicant has made some suggestions here I haven't made those in my notes yet okay bindings and
conclusions we're going to look at three parts of the code um Land Development code section 34-8 5 b um section c of that same chapter and 34-
2162 okay so the first one 34- 85b considerations in reaching its decision the Town Council shall consider the following whenever applicable one there exists no there exists an error or ambiguity which must be corrected no
errors or ambiguities exist two whether there exists change or changing conditions which make approval of the request appropriate the site was vacant prior to Hurricane Ian uh the Redevelopment of the site makes the request appropriate at this time mobile vendor food truck parks are growing in
popularity and this use has not directly been addressed by the Land Development code which makes the CPD process appropriate to resolve any potential conflicts with this new use three the impact of a proposed change on the intent of this chapter uh
no impact on the intent of this chapter will occur although the LPA and Town Council may desire to consider additional regulation to govern this use in the future four the testimony of any applicant which you have heard the recommendation of staff and the local
planning agency uh the testimony of the public which you will hear after me um seven whether the request is consistent with the goals objectives policies and intent and with the densities intenses and General Uses as as set forth in the
fort Meers Beach Comprehensive plan the density and intensity requests are consistent with the town of Fort Meers Beach Comprehensive plan the proposed mobile vendor Food Truck Park will program a space that has been vacant for many years preceding hurricane Ian It Is by its scale
pedestrian oriented for the existing neighbors and the several newly approved development projects in nearby locations as addressed in goal seven of the comp plan also the location is accessible from lran service and a reasonable distance from the downtown Town zoning
District on bicycle mobile vendors food truck operators in general are small business owners who may add to Fort Meers Beach small town character as addressed in goal four the outdoor nature of the proposed development lends itself to
integration with the public realm as addressed in policy 4 A2 the following policies are addressed um by the applicant in the project narrative I'm going to list those um and go into to one specifically because it's been um brought up just
now um addressed by the applicant policy 4 C3 policies 4 B5 and 4 C3 policy 4c4 policy 4 C8 policy 4 E1 the proposed Redevelopment of the property will be
well below the allowed intensity which is an F 1.0 as approved uh and resolution 0728 prior to the natural disaster of hurricane Ian and policy 7 D3 alternate travel mode um because this has come up
several times um in the last hour or so I did want to go over policy 4 B5 which sets forth the guidelines for the boulevard uh future land use uh District um it is intended as a mixed use District along portions of a
stero Boulevard including less intense commercial commercial areas historic cottages and mixed housing types this category is not intended to allow commercial uses on all properties its mixed use nature is intended to remain
permanently for new residential development the maximum density is six dwelling units per acre except where platted otherwise to obtain approval for new or expanded commercial activities proposals must be sensitive to nearby residential uses so
this is the part where if you believe that the proposed development is insensitive or not appropriately sensitive to the nearby uh residential uses where you could take um uh you know a differing opinion on what's being
presented to you so as some of the um presenters explained proposed I'm going to read it again proposals must be sensitive to nearby residential uses they must complement any adjoining commercial uses so it's a different language when referring to the
residential uses as opposed to the nearby commercial uses generally when we're thinking about commercial uses we're thinking about what it's zoned for what its potential is even if the property is sitting vacant at the moment so this location is surrounded by
properties that are intended for commercial development as well as institutional on the other side of uh EST stero Boulevard so complimentary to the adjoining commercial uses contribute to the public realm as described in this comprehensive the plan and meet the
Design Concepts of the plan and the Land Development code these qualities and overall consistency with the comprehensive plan shall be evaluated by the town through plan development resoning process which is why we're here today non-residential uses including
motels and churches now comprise and this is now is 1999 when the comp plan was adopted 46.9% of the land in this category so we have not done an evaluation about the percentages but if you can think about what's happening in
this location along a stero Boulevard uh I don't think we're anywhere near that 46.9% of commercial uses in this category and then it further says and this percentage shall not exceed 70% which tells me that the comp plan is
anticipating a growth and Commercial uses in this area so that's what the comp plan say on the topic okay back to the criteria okay number eight whether the request meets or exceeds all performance
standards and locational standards set forth for the proposed use the proposed development will be required to meet performance standards set forth in Land Development code section 34-20 31 and 34-20 32 nine whether Urban
services are or will be available and adequate to serve a proposed land use change Urban services exist in this location 10 whether the request will protect conserve or preserve environmentally critical areas and natural resources the request will have no impact on designated environmentally
critical areas and natural resources the request does not include any revision to the environmentally critical areas 11 whether the request will be compatible with existing or planned uses and not cause damage Hazard nuisance or other detriment to persons or property staff
finds the request compatible with the surrounding land uses uh again this is an area where you may differ in opinion the potential for nuisance is minimized through the provided buffers as well as several staff recommended conditions for approval these suggested
conditions include Limited hours of operation to reduce the potential for noise nuisance to the surrounding properties 12 whether the location of the request places an undue burden upon existing Transportation or other services and facilities and will be
served by streets with the capacity to traffic generated by the development the current request is less intense than the previously approved mCP Master concept plan and should not place an undue burden on Transportation Services although there is a condition when we
get to the conditions in reference to this for Planned Redevelopment zoning C 34-26 for additional considerations and I'll get there okay uh Land Development code section 34- 85c before granting any
resoning the Town Council shall find that the requested zoning district complies with the fort Meers Beach Comprehensive plan staff finds that the proposed uses and requested deviations for the CPD comply with the comprehensive plan to this chapter the
proposed uses comply with this chapter except in regards to the six deviations noted three any other applicable Town ordinance or codes staff finds the proposed request complies with the town ordinances and codes except again in regards to the
deviations and four for plan development resoning c34 to16 of this chapter okay Land Development code section 34-26 B2 the recommendation made to the Town Council must be supported by the guidelines set forth that you've just
heard of this chapter in addition the findings must address whether the following criteria can be satis can be satisfied the proposed osed use or mix of uses is appropriate at the subject location the proposed mix of uses is appropriate in this location as it is in
the boulevard future land use uh category the expanded boundary area under separate ordinance um additions to the schedule of uses and the master concept plan are appropriate the mobile vendor Food Truck Park concept with commercial parking area is not directly
anticipated in the comprehensive plan or the Land Development code but it is not in conflict with either regulation B sufficient safeguards to the public interest are provided by the recommended special conditions to the concept plan or by other applicable
regulation staff finds that sufficient safeguards are provided for the public interest through the required buffering of the property boundaries additionally staff has suggested several conditions to further Safeguard the public C all recommended special conditions are reasonably related to the impacts on the
Public's interest created by or expected from the proposed development all conditions are related to the impact on the public interest D the proposed use meets all specific requirements of the con comprehensive plan that are relevant
to the required plan development such as the following going to list them now policy 4 B4 and 4 C3 on Commercial uses in the mixed residential category not applicable policy 4 B5 and 4 C3 on
commercial resoning the boulevard category um I addressed that a little bit earlier um but further staff finds the mobile vendor Food Truck Park contributes to The Pedestrian character of the town and the boulevard future land use category The Proposal is
sensitive to the surrounding residential uses policy 4c4 on building Heights taller than the standard height limit no additional height is requested policy 4 C8 on density transfers that is not applicable policy 4 e one on pre-
disaster build back also not applicable policy 7 J2 on traffic impact analysis and potential design improvements that could offset traffic impacts uh we do not anticipate adverse traffic impacts although there are conditions in the
recommended conditions of approval to address this as well findings for deviation requests this is specific just to the six deviations uh per section 34- 2164 four all deviations must be approved approved
with modifications or rejected based on the finding that a each item enhances the achievement of the objectives of the plan development uh staff finds that requested deviations are related to an efficient functioning of the master concept Plan B the general intent of
this chapter to protect the public health safety and Welfare be PR preserved and promoted the prop proposed deviations preserve Public Health each deviation operates to the benefit or at least not to the detriment of the public interest staff finds the deviations are
not a detriment to the public interest although additional conditions are recommended for the master concept plan each deviation is consistent with the fort Meers Beach Comprehensive plan staff finds deviations are consistent with the comprehensive plan okay so that's finding findings and
conclusions recommendation staff finds that the CPD with deviations meets the criteria set forth in section 34- 85b and c and 34- 2162 of the Land Development code if the Town Council finds that the applicant proposed
parking calculations is appropriate staff recommends approval with conditions of DCI 2024 0137 the recommended conditions are listed as follows and are intended to reduce the potential for nuisance to the
neighboring residential parcels okay so now we're at the conditions list so I'm going to start going through these if you want me to stop at any point because you're ready to uh amend it um we can also amend it after you've
heard all of the public comments so either way you want to do it but I just have not amended it since what you've seen in your packets Judith could we could we go ahead and hear that public comment finish that public com before we get to the conditions just so it's not redundant there you go absolutely
all right public comment I have I have a few all right go first one is Suzanne Todd and Suzanne will be followed by Vince Todd my pens are running out think here my last one okay what happens hello
Suzanne Todd uh Pelican watch 606 also resident of Indianapolis Indiana my husband and I came to Fort Meyers Beach and bought property here in 1981 and we have remained at Pelican
watch since that time our children grew up here during their vacations and now we have 10 grandchildren who also have visited and loved the beach just as much as we do when when we were here
I walk the beach I've walked every inch of fort fort Meers Beach over the years when I walk I always carry a bag with me because I love the beach but I don't love the trash one of my concerns here
is that people will be coming off the beach they'll buy food at the food trucks they'll take it back to the beach and that will uh end up as more trash the second thing I'm concerned about is
the birds uh if you remember the birds down at uh town uh the downtown with all the outdoor eating places it was hard to navigate the outdoor eating places
because of all the string they had to put up to try to keep the birds off the tables and I believe this open air food trucks will just bring in more of those dirty diseased black birds with their
droppings and their noise the droppings are a public health hazard I'm a nurse I was an operating room nurse I know about germs and I know what causes a lot of chronic diseases and birds are some of
them thank you thank you uh Vince Todd after Vince will be Jan house afternoon I think we all missed lunch didn't we Vince Tod well can watch
606 since 1981 I was the first one to close on my condominium there and uh so I feel like I've been a charter member of the beach anyway uh we feel it's rather
unfair to the residents of of the island here since 1981 who have helped sustain the island we keep coming back how many hurricanes have we had since 81 several more than you can count on
one hand here we are once again rebuilding and putting it back together uh fortunately Pelican watch is one of the few that's up and down that Seven Mile Island that's backed together and
as G said earlier we're putting water in the pool so get ready for another pool party there we uh and somebody mentioned earlier that we've had three rejections of offers for units in the
building once they found out about the forcoming proposal they backed away so we've lost three sales and I that's an indication of what the future is like how long is that going to last so three
four five 10 how many are we going to have thank you very much are you a butler gr say again are you a butler grad yes very good congratulations excellent thank you great school basketball will be back good we're
waiting Jan Krauss after Jan is Kirk banerian I'm sorry if I cut that wrong hello my name is Jan crw Jan cruy I live at 2532 Pelican watch um
honorable mayor committee members um my family had were original owners like he was and we love this place my big concern is the boundary line by our pool
I used to own at Pelican or at sterile Beach Club and as you know that pool is right on the golf and time and time again we'd have people climb over our fence they were in our pool we had garbage we had sex going on we had we
had all kinds of things happening and I'm concerned with this beer garden beside us that when people drink and get a little liquid courage you don't know what they're going to do and I'm a grandmother now and I'd like to appeal to you as a grandmother and a mother um
just looking off our balconies and looking down what type of promiscuous Behavior are our children going to see profanity I'm going to have to explain to my granddaughter you know what they're talking about so please I appeal to you consider us there at pel watch
and the others around us thank you thank you Logan uh Kirk banerian uh Pelican watch president of Fort Meers Beach permanent resident for the last 10 years um Can what I said previously be incorporated uh so I don't have to repeat all the stuff because these are
two separate cases or do you need me to go through the whole thing about what I said earlier um I I heard an attorney say that I I used the attorney word so yeah we'll we'll try to incorporate it by reference because I understand you your comments made from during PRI
they're very similar except I think the food Park thing would be even worse than just the commercial one extra lot anyway so again real quickly um so one of the things that I saw was
this deviation um on that 30t Chapel Street um where instead of 250 ft from a sterile uh the entrance would be 100 and I understand that's the only way they can do it however I it's not approved
yet and if you do approve that I I I would keep in mind the reason why they have so many feet away from a sterile Boulevard is because traffic variably can back up and when it backs up somebody's trying to turn on a sterile
Boulevard and then it it does affect the sterile Boulevard and also keep in mind that the new fire station is going right there so I I understand it can't do 200 or 250 ft whatever the thing is but you are going to Grant the deviation which I
believe would have an effect on traffic on stero Boulevard across from the fire station uh uh I heard somebody say um from the proposer side we have no intent to take away from brick and mortar
establishments um I you know I support the brick and mortar establishments here and it's just logical to me that if somebody is investing in building a brick and mortar business for restaurant
that having somebody who has little investment and five different restaurants so to speak is going to take away from the the people that are investing in brick and mortar restaurants and then
um and then you know finally um do we really want food trucks as part of our uh land usage on this beautiful beach in the future
especially adjacent to residential areas is that the way we want Fort Meers Beach to look food trucks thank you for your time and I have a great deal of respect for everybody here I can't believe how long you guys are this is crazy
um great job thank you crazy that's all I have signed up all right anyone come on up like I'm 100 years old right now okay way too long all that planting this
weekend yeah planting but sitting too um Amy Lowry full-time resident here at Fort Meers Beach for almost 25 years now um first off did y'all get my email that I sent so I don't repeat myself when did you send it Friday I don't remembering okay I did
you did I did I think I responded to you okay all right well then maybe I'll read what I wrote up and stuff so all right um I'm a full-time resident here I'd like to thank each of you for everything that you guys do wouldn't want to be in your position any day of the week so thank you um for being up there we first
met the highas about 15 years ago when Rick and I own distinctive Beach Rentals they came to us to discuss renting their home they purchased at 258 they loveed the older original buildings they loved Fort Meers Beach for what it was and they wanted to preserve that I understand the concerns
of the owners at Pelican watch condos and the neighbors who may say not in my backyard I be one of those people I admit it um I'm not going to lie I've always stood up for not in my backyard either however if given the choice of living across the street from the fire department or a food truck Court I would
take a food truck Court any day of the week than the fire department um I look back to what was here when we moved in 2001 in that area the homes house was there The Reef was right across the street anybody ever go to The Reef the
music was so loud in there it was louder than the cottage or the lighthouse you any day of the week you could hear it over there Pelican watch buildings um condos were built in 1981 the homes house The Reef all of those establishments were there in 2001
when we moved here I don't know what was there between 85 and 2001 so I can't speak to that we talk about intensity though I've heard that a lot today and how that is going to impact them um we talk about the this is a residential Community a residential area I should
say on the island I tend to differ with that you had Town Hall previously Bank of America when I moved here I don't know what it was before that we had Tops Grocery Store Casey's alley the laundromat some of the worst areas that anybody even I didn't go in there so um
you had a lot of things that are up there Chapel By the Sea The Reef the homes house um was it really and is it really a residential neighborhood per se or is it more of axed a mixed commercial use area um I tend to look at it that
that way uh the homes house seated over 200 people that's a lot of people that were right there in front of where Pelican watch is that's a big restaurant 200 people to be seating how much traffic was there um The Reef I I couldn't tell you how many people at sat
to be honest with you so um food trucks are very popular these days Jim I was there on Sunday the one at Riverside Park we went down for the art festival you and Brenda probably did too walked over to see it and all um I've eaten at that food truck before I enjoy food trucks so I'm going to be one of the few
people that are going to be patronizing the high CU if this goes through for them but um but uh the um there was residential on both side streets on either block you are correct the main drag of Old 41 is all commercial we parked at the library which is almost
right behind the Food Truck Park and as you walk down either side street because you come up one side and then went back down the other to our car those are residential homes that are there so um you guys have a big decision ahead of you but I would ask that you move forward with this to me it's a win-win
for the island thank you who else see one uh I just want to finish up with a say your name again though uh Derek Olan uh as I'm the the most adjacent to it I've just noticed that all you guys
are bargaining with the uh the appli and I'm okay with the bargaining thing I like it but I would like to emphasize the boundaries the music and the PO but if he's going to concede I would
and I've seen this in the past and in my experience that before you would uh concede to what they're putting in that any thing that he's conceding to the neighborhood and the neighbors
if be set in stone have a comp a comprehensive plan give us your end product so we can make a good decision okay thank you
okay someone else's hand hello um I've been to a lot of these never spoke so not good at public speaking but I gotta say your name though Erica Raz um I'm here today to show my support for the proposed food truck access 26 as a young Fort Meers
Beach resident and a business owner on island pre and post Ian I believe these types of businesses and or attractions can bring a positive draw and tourism back into our community which is much needed I understand the neighboring residents argument but as a business
owner here we need to thrive to survive and that counts on tourism allowing a concept like this on island keeps everything inhouse as opposed to pushing tourists and locals off Island to find diverse food and entertainment we have to stop sending people away this project
will support small businesses and local vendors create a Vibrant Community space and bring a positive change to our Island I look forward to its approval for the future of Fort Meers Beach and uh to follow up Rooftop at Riverside has residential homes less than .1 miles
away thank you thank you anyone else see no one else we'll close public comment Judith come up oh I'm sorry missed you come on up I'm L gr ficon watch um sorry what
was your name ly GR I'm opposed to the opposed food court it's not going to affect me as much as some of the other residents ARL and I is on the beach side but we park underneath the building so our access but we can drive underneath the building and go out
a different entrance what I'm a little surprised at in in some of the research here I found that there is a code it's code 34264 which is which is talks about
alcohol assumption in relationship to a place of worship okay within 500 ft I know the church is no longer there but I believe the church still owns the property and in the world we're living in these days do we want alcohol served
or we want people to worship Our God and Lord and I think that that needs to be a consideration that person finds out exactly what's happening with that property before you allow a place that serves alcohol directly across the
street from it so that would be you know my concern that God comes first comes first in my life I hope he comes first in your decisions thank you thank you all right now we'll close public comment go over there recommended
conditions for approval so stop me at any time stop should I leave uh the development number one the development of option A as approved and condition in resolution 0728 will no
longer be valid with the approval of this master concept plan and schedule AB uses two at the time of development order approval the applicant must provide the following buffers a along Chapel Street the West
property line a 10ft wide buffer with a minimum of four trees per 100 linear feet which is about six trees and a 3ot high hedge planted in a double staggered Road b along the east property line that extends from a stero Boulevard a minimum
7 and a2t wide buffer with a minimum of 10 trees per 100 linear feet and three foot high hedge planted in a double staggered row um this is where the applicant suggested maybe um certain Heights at time of
planting see along the south and east property lines adjacent to 2553 and 2563 Cottage Avenue a minimum 10 foot wide buffer with a 6 foot high Opa fence were applicable with a minimum of eight trees
per 100 linear feet and a 3 High hedge planted in a double staggered row and planted on the outside of the fence D along Cottage Street the South property line a minimum 10 foot wide buffer with a minimum of eight trees per
100 linear feet and a 3ot high hedge planted in a double staggered row um applicant also suggested a 4 foot high decorative fence in this area that's not what you have before you but um I agree with the applicant that having deorative
fence there would prevent people from um Crossing diagonally through the property and onto the residential street instead of taking them back out um where the the entrance to the uh parking lot is so something to consider there Judith
on these all these setback things there was discussion about potentially trying to shift that over and shortening the one set back along R twisted around chap the chap well yeah to because the 7 and2
foot from the pool to bring it more bring bring it more over and then there was talk about they said they're working on something potentially to bring back if this gets moved to the second hearing to we haven't seen anything so I curious to see what their proposal would be or
what they're working on okay so to minimize some of the parking spaces to be able to increase the buffering okay so we will look into that before second reading about increasing the buffer specifically on Chapel and cottage and on on all three sides yeah they said
they're working on something but I'm not exactly sure what it was uh number three a maximum of five mobile vendor transient Merchant pads in addition to a permanent service structure maximum of 2500 square ft is permitted any additional mobile vendor
pads or structures not shown on the master concept plan shall require prior Town approval so that would come back to you as an amendment to the CPD four all mobile vendors will be associated with either food or merchandise there shall be no cannabis or smoke Vape related merchandise
vendors allowed five consumption on the premises will be limited to beer and wine only six hours of operation for the mobile vendor transient Merchant and outdoor seating area will be 7: a.m. 7
7: a.m. to to 900 p.m 7 days a week these hours do not include waste removal deliveries or service to the facility which may occur outside of the hours of operation seven the parking lot will be available for use the same hours as the
mobile vending Park 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. 7 days a week camping or sleeping in vehicles is prohibited eight and this again the applicant had a a suggested alteration to this but I'm going to read it as it is here Amplified live music and or
Amplified live entertainment is only permitted within the main Park support structure provided the structure is fully roofed with three enclosing walls uh until 8:00 p.m. Amplified live music and or Amplified live entertainment will
be restricted to only Solo or Duo performers no bands three or more performers or drums percussion unless approved through the town special event permitting process if the town through the co- compliance enforcement process determines sound to be in violation
coming from the site the owner operator may lose the ability to have Amplified live music Andor live Amplified entertainment per the agreed upon ocp which is number 29 so we'll get there
number nine all sound generated would now be the time to propose something sure on the live music issue the live Amplified music y uh I I believe the uh the condo association and one of the homeowners again I think in their perfect world they prefer no Amplified
music but I think they came up with a compromise R of Amplified music two days per week uh that that which night that would be would be up to the owner sometime within the range of 2 to8 for only three hours per session so that would get probably two dinner hours from
5: to 8 and uh and that would not preclude non-amplified music uh if you wanted to do it during the week uh but that for Amplified music that would be the uh that would that that was the Compromise that was requested so just to ask a a
question so what we have here is referring to Amplified live music yes Amplified live music that's they would this not apply to Simply ambient music uh that that's correct and it would not apply to uh non-amplified live music number nine all sound that that's
subject to discussion by my colleagues obviously yeah um okay so I'll just make a note of that and you'll let me know how you want to proceed okay number nine all sound generated on site will be in compliance with the Fort Myers Beach
noise uh Control Ordinance Article 2 chapter 14 10 a publicly accessible Comfort station consisting of restrooms outdoor shower Footprints handwashing and water fountain will either be integrated within the
proposed main Park support structure or as a standalone structure on site they're reserving the right to do either or um access to the Comfort station will only be during the same hours of facility operation 7:00 a.m. to 9:00
p.m. for the mobile vending Park water service to the exterior showers and foot washing stations must be shut off and all restroom access locked to the public outside of the hours of operation that was added by the LPA most recently
11 per deviation number five the applicant May utilize a stabilized gravel Lime Rock Crush shell parking surface if that option is chos chosen the applicant is required to use a grid semi-pervious paper system to increase permeability and Aid in retaining
materials on site in the parking lot area 12 mobile vendors outside outdoor seating restrooms in any storage space must be located on an approved stabilized nonous or semi- perious
Surface 13 a temporary use permit must be obtained for any special event where additional vendors of any type and or increased visitor numbers are expected including but not limited to Festival political rally holiday celebration or
Carnival um I think that's where the vice mayor was talking about liting that number I think a suggestion was also made to limit the quote quote festivals to the Shrimp Festival 4th of July St Patrick's Day Labor Day and Memorial
Day subject to discussion wouldn't it be make more sense to if you want to limit something to limit it to the the number of special events versus specific dates that's fine that's fine yeah why don't you just do
like six per year okay number 14 mobile vendors must provide evidence that all require permits inspections lure or other approvals as needed by either County state or federal agencies prior to operating within the town that goes back
to what we talked about there is a state um license they would have to procure each individual vendor along with you know if it's a restaurant they need a um the certification 15 liquid waste or grease must be disposed of at an approved
location and may not be placed in tree pits storm drains or sanitary sewers or onto sidewalks streets or other public private space 16 all mobile vendors should be required to connect to on-site utilities including electrical water and sanitary sewer generator use is only
allowed when electrical service is disrupted or temporarily non-available due to Des ated disaster related events the exercising of portable generators associated with mobile vendors for regular maintenance is prohibited on
site 17 all mobile vendors and park facilities must comply with FEMA regulations no temporary storage containers are permitted all mobile vendors will be required to evacuate the property and the site secured when evacuation orders are issued by Lee
County Emergency Management or the town of Fort Meers Beach the ver removal of vendor vehicles in securing the site is the responsibility of the property owner vendors may not return until authorized by the town and Lee County Sheriff's Office 18 restroom facilities must be
provided based on maximum occupancy of the total seating area in conformance with the Florida building code 19 all alcohol sales must be in conformance with state regulations 20 a local development order is required prior to any development of the site in
accordance with this plan development approval and consistent with the approved Master concept plan 21 all state and local permits including but not limited to right of way and storm water permits must be applied for and received prior to site development 22
all signage and Landscaping must meet the vehicle visibility intersection requirements found in section 34 3131 so I will point out that the last one two three four five are General regulations that they would be made to comply with
whether or not we listed them specifically here so when thinking about the number of conditions those are General regulations that they would have to comply with regardless 23 access to and from the property for mobile vendors only via the
Estero Boulevard access point will not be allowed during typical peak season traffic times which are 8: a.m. to 11: a.m. and 400 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. that's access by the actual vendors they will have to arrive um before or after those
times 24 at the time of local development order approval directional and restrictive vehicle access signage EG know through traffic will be provided at the primary AIS and along Chapel Street and Cottage Avenue um again the applicant has
suggested uh ESS onto Chapel will be right turn only 25 at the time of local development order approval on Street RightWay buffer Landscaping plannings no parking signage and infrastructure EG decorative post and
rope chain will be provided to help eliminate illegally parked vehicles within Chapel Street and Cottage Avenue rways AB budding the subject property the on Street RightWay buffer landscape areas will vary in width based on the roadway configuration and consist of
shrubs and trees complimentary to the adjacent on-site Landscaping be maintained less than 36 in high for shrubs and will not violate vehicle visibility requirements 26 Outdoor Lighting in no
case may the illumination exceed 0.2 foot candles measured at the property line the amount of Illumination projected onto residentially zoned property or use from another property may not exceed 0.0 foot candles measured
at 10 ft from the property line onto the adjacent residential property no current regulations allow for A5 foot candles measured at the property line and2 foot candles 10 ft from the property onto residential
property so they're agreeing to greater than normal or greater what that the code requires restrictions on the lighting so the lighting does not intrude onto the neighbors 27 proper site management including site cleanliness and proper
waste removal is the responsibility of the property owner manager and any violations will be issued to the site owners ship for remediation and not to individual vendors um staff specifically asked for this so that we could just site the property as a whole and not have to worry about whether the trash
came from this vendor or that vendor if the situation arises 28 a trip generation study must be provided at time of development order approval to evaluate that the proposed development does not further impact the surrounding Transportation Network than
was what was approved under the 2008 traffic impact statement um this second sentence Additionally the applicant should consider a right turn only Direction signed at the parking lot egis point to direct customers back to aera Boulevard um we may now incorporate
that into number 24 I don't know it matters a whole lot where you put that um 29 now this was talked about a lot at the second LPA meeting um the applicant must prepare an operational compliance plan which is what I referenced earlier
we're talking about music and noise um this compliance plan is to be approved by the town manager or design at the time of development order the plan should include the requirement to provide a quarterly compliance report submitted by the property owner
management for review by Town staff and as needed to meet with Town staff to ensure compliance with the comprehensive plan development conditions and applicable code for the first two years of operation so this suggested at the
LPA in order to be allow the town to be even more proactive than normal um because they heard so many of what you've heard about worries about noise um and trash and and things like that
um it doesn't supplant our already robust Code Compliance uh operations but it adds to it and provides another layer of um review for the town this and watching that I understood
where they were trying to go with it but there's really no report compliance report what are they reporting on what what are the detailed what are the bullet points that they're going to report on I think that should be worked out if that's going to be a condition it if you have suggestions on what you
would like to see there what we in in talking with the town attorney um what we were suggesting is that when it before they get An approved development order that they would have to sit down with Town management um with the community development director and
figure out what that plan looks like this is new for us um but we would set up the plan at that time so that management would have time to figure out what exactly that would look like and what you know Target they would want to
hit but it puts the burden on the um the the property manager to keep track of any kind of complaints that they're getting and then report to us okay well we've got this notice of violation we addressed it you know immediately that day and we haven't had
another violation of that type you know in x amount of time um but it doesn't set forth that here so if you have suggestions on what you would like to see in that um you can add that well based on what you just said I'm kind of even more confused so is it a report
basically if someone was to call in a C compliance issue is that what you're looking for is a report of how you fix it or are you looking at C truck a is going to be here at 6:45 between 6:45 and 7:15 I'm trying to figure out what the report is that
there're supposed to be yes so what I understood from what the the what happened at LPA is that um what would occur is so somebody would make a complaint that's typically the process you have to make a complaint and then co- compliance would go out and if they
see the complaint they would issue a notice of violation per their usual procedures and then it would need to be addressed this would not interfere with that timeline this plan it's just a review period so like at the at a
quarterly so um the site opens at the four Monon Mark the property manager would have to meet with somebody on staff to say you know like we've looked at it you've got 10 code violations yeah you're addressing them but maybe we need to do something else maybe it needs to
be addressed further and it gives the town the ability to check in and have that uh review process before going to something like a special magistrate or or furthering um that was my understanding
of what the LPA was asking for to kind of put another layer of review and not just because sometimes when you have to wait for something to go with a special magistrate you know it takes time so essentially based on what you're saying if there's been no co- compliance issues there's really nothing to meet
about essentially yeah I mean then it's just like a we check a box you know we haven't seen any reports there's nothing to report on okay but it almost sounds like it's a department of redundant redundancy and
uh pretty much Overkill and a burden on our our not only the applicant but also staff if we've already got a code compliance Department that's doing exceptional work which what made you s which is what you sounded like you said then why are we burdening staff with
more of the same can I interject something too no I think if you want the definition of government heavy that's what this is yeah I I just I don't I think we're I understand why it was brought up at LPA
but I I I'm I'm afraid to take that horse down on that trail I mean we're it's just it seems like a lot both both for the applicant and for our staff yeah I totally agree I think it's overstepping completely with business
management they know what the code compliance is they know what they have to do okay my opinion yeah I think I understand what you know Jim and and the and the LPA were attempting to do and to me it
almost sounded like what because we've heard from the applicants you know how do we know we're going to get exactly what at least in my meetings with them it was how do we know exactly what's being proposed is what we're actually going to see and you know what code enforcement is Code Enforcement you've got an issue you call them code
enforcement um but I and I don't want to speak for Jim or the LPA but to me it sounded like they were trying to say what what can we do let's say after the first six months there's 50 code compliance issues that deemed to be code compliant issues that that were opened
up what ramifications do the residents have the surrounding re residents have as repercussions is what it sounded like to me was trying to get across but I I may I may be wrong I I don't want to speak for him but I'm I'm kind of along the same line as Karen and Scott when it
comes to this is and what did you say I don't want to you said it so eloquently redundancy redundant the department of redundant redundance yeah what he said and and then if we take it one step further you know you said that there was five or six of these conditions that they have to do
anyways why why why do we make the why do we make conditions of stuff they have to do anyways so sometimes in this case we we do that for clarity sake for everybody who's reviewing this because everybody is not necessarily aware of
all of the regulations so we list them out specifically to let everyone know that they're going to be reviewed so the ones that I was talking about like 18 restaurant facilities must be provided based on maximum occupancy that's required by the Florida building code
you have to for the number of of seats you have you there's a calculation for the number of bathrooms you know you have to provide um but we list that here specifically because it doesn't tell you on the master concept how what the bathroom specifically is going to look like well so we're telling you it's
going to be compliant with the Florida building code so if we didn't write it down they would still have to be compliant with the Florida building code there's no way around that but we're just alerting you that we don't know that information but it's going to be code compliant um the same thing with alcohol sales must be in conformance
with State regulation well yes that's we don't really have to write that down here but we're you know letting everybody know um that we will have to be in compliance with the state regulation and part of that is when we when they goes back to their their evolution of the master concept plan is
that we were made aware that you cannot sell alcohol from a mobile vehicle you have to have a permanent site and so having this the permanent support structure enables them to do that so maybe just highlighting or put an asterisk next to the ones that aren't
truly conditions their requirements what I would like to if we are moving to a second reading is to reorg because we've just kind of like added on and I with your permission organize like the Landscaping ones together and the things related to operations together just for
the people who are going to enforce later on to have that kind of clarity and break we've just kind of added on numbers and the automatically required ones we put those first and then break it out from there so that we're not really looking at 29 or 28 we're really
looking at I don't know what it is 15 or 20 I don't know what yeah yeah I mean the same is true with the fee of requirements whether we write it down or not you still have to comply with those but we're letting everybody know that we are going to be looking for that and that's you know part of the development process it it might be in a section
labeled noes you know the list and then noes and then the cross referencing I don't know I would just like to know what's demanded and what's what have we agreed to okay any other changes any other
comments Scott on the conditions no I I've got some things to discuss a little bit down the road but there it's not a condition okay down the road today yeah down down in a few it's not about this but it's
something that came up during uh and I guess I'm not sure where if you want to address it or how but the concern was that the building itself on the ground floor would not is not U FEMA
compliant so what you see in their concept plan is not a it's not construction documents right so it will have to the building will have to be FEMA compliant the where they have their Building located is not in a ve Zone correct it's in the coastal a zone so
they can drrive flood proof that building um and there's it's that ground level is is not going to be uh just like the Marty the bathrooms that done okay thank you well yeah Ken Ken can answer
that question better but it is couple questions for Ken because of the dry flood who ring and where it's located it has different um regulations flood okay thank you I think we're good for now
Judith closing comments rebuttal Ken a lot of stickies post not my poor man's tabs um I think one uh one condition and Judith I pardon me if it wasn't stated
but I think what what I went over during our presentation were some of the things when we had worked with the neighbors make sure those were integrated like the fence was one of them I don't recall if uh about the Amplified sound
being controlled by the management or the operator rather than the uh performer Etc we we want to agree to that what
something condition that the neighbors brought up I'm fine with this so if you if you if that meets with your approval if you want to see that at second reading you know I'll add that I didn't want to add that without your direction well they're
they're bringing it up as yeah as as an addition offering yeah they're going to do that and the other one was uh ambient music and the deciel level limit for the ambient music as measured in accordance with the town's noise
ordinance um I think that's oh and the consideration for the hours of operation to 10 p.m. as we originally had it we would like to see that maintained at 10 p.m. not 900 p.m. again based on sometimes during the year
Sunset is later in the day people will be coming back through and we want to be able to you had a question about that you know if the hours of operation for the parking lot are going to coincide with the hours of operation if someone is there Sunset that happens they're
getting out of there by 9:00 is what happens if they get locked in their car gets towed but I think we would still operationally let they just can't come into the market I think that's all and we based on some of the
conversation I think we just want to be able to we hope this moves to Second reading you will be able to evaluate and respond appropriately based on the changes that you've heard or recommendations I guess you've heard
yes Scott questions for yeah let let me bring this up now if we do get to a second hearing I i' I'd much I'd like to see a little bit better plan than we'll figure it out with regards to the shortterm I'm I'm
parking for just a minute parking for 15 minutes um because I I I think that to be good neighbors in that neighborhood especially given what's going on there and what happened in the past is you guys got to have some semblance of a plan of how you're going to keep prevent
people from from parking on those side streets I don't want to make it a condition but I'd like to hear what your plan's going to be and I'm not codifying or anything but I I i' I'd like you take I know everybody's thrown different things at you but I I think this is this
is crucial for this thing to work is how how you know how you're going to do the In-N-Out especially for the shortterm people I know we all want everybody to to to ride their bikes and do everything else but you know somebody might be on there you know like we were talking
about somebody might be stuck in traffic you just want to pull in and you know wait for traffic to die down but or hey I I want to pick up a sandwich real quick but we just got have to figure out kind of a vision what that traffic's that that shortterm 15minute parking is
going to look like and in addition of that if you guys do door Dash You're going to have door Dash drivers where do they Park how how long can they how long do they Park I mean so so that short-term parking that really short-term parking solution I I I really
like to see guys dig a little bit deeper on that I bet we will that all you got Scott that's all I have count okay um just one I guess um I know you went away from these sale canopy kind of things um
I'm just wondering and I don't know what the costs are and the wear and The Tear but to me that would almost be a good visual um to block I mean I'd rather look at something like that than a parking lot or so that would be a good
visual for the Neighbors instead of just looking at a parking lot and a good buffer I guess and it might also uh help buffer the sound I don't know but it it just it just uh it occurred to me so that's why I'm saying so just further evaluate the
opportunity to use the sales for Aesthetics yes thank you Aesthetics nice work and Shade that's why you make the big money yeah yeah especially parking that would if you're going to have your car there all
day just the thought well I I know you want some time to digest uh this live music uh additional restriction live Amplified music restriction and I appreciate that uh if
you can see to that I think that's a substantive concession uh you would literally be going from the potential of 56 hours per week of live Amplified music down to six hours so that's
substantial that to me is a substantial concession to the neighborhood uh and I also appreciate your willingness to consider limiting the number of festivals uh and so that I think to me helps me at least keep the disc
discussion going uh appreciate you continuing to listen to the neighbors and uh and I think that that that certainly helps me get to second reading um assuming you guys that we end up you know keeping these concessions and I think to the neighbors Comfort we
codify them into the proposal um I think I I appreciate your willingness to at least consider these uh I I think this live music thing is a significant concession on your part and I think it could be very helpful uh to some uh as we go down the
road yeah I I too was with John on on doing um shade sales and things because I was up on the sixth floor of Pelican watch and looking down and if you're looking at Colorful sh colorful shade sales versus I know hard to say that one
now um if you're looking at that versus radio picnic tables and that typ of thing um shade some shade sales thank you something to look into my other question that has come up a couple of times is the deviation and I I'm just
trying to get this clear in my head the deviation from the 250 ft to the 110 I think it was 110 120 I 120 where is that actually where is that applying
to yeah I can there was two of there was one for side street one for a stero is it in the packet do we know if this can I get the presentation yeah sorry for to show to show you
so deviation one and this is again I don't know if that was reiterated this is a carryover from the existing CPD and that is the 250 ft from the center line of the local Street such as
Chapel to allow distance 150 100 ft from the sterile Boulevard so that I think our is should be marked on the mCP with a
with a number one TR I'm sorry I just don't see yeah on Chapel you see where the entrance is on Chapel from there's a double arrow this right there yes right here okay that was approved in that location under the previous
CPD okay so that's been in place for and that though when you say Judith when you say initial CPD that so that that's the 2000 I don't know if this is on 2007 so it's been in place for a long time because
what the code says is that you should have 250 ft separation between um either another driveway or uh an intersection on a stero so where that is on a stero and Chapel you should have 250 ft like
south from a stero before you allow a driveway but the Block's not long enough to permit that um so they they a deviation for that but that was approved but that's been since 2007 well yes except we're replacing that with this new version so they have to ask for it again but yeah all right I'm good thank
you thank you jul got there I got there I don't have anything additional to add okay that I could think of think youbody cover most of everything uh yep come on up final comments quickly not going to
repeat our arguments um or go through every single item of rebuttal I I I think we'll just leave you with our remarks that um we're happy to take a a good hard look um at the additional
conditions and to opposing council's point about guarantees I think there was some discussions of guarantees I mean we we want there to be the level of precision in these conditions that worked very hard on and then to further clarify um on
hours um and anything else that was mentioned that that will come back prepared at second reading to address that specifically I I think we've got a clear understanding of of what that is we've got our homework on that um that
said I think you've got plenty of substantial competent evidence that you heard today to move this forward to Second reading if there are additional questions for applican team we're here happy to answer that thank you Mr Mayor thank you okay I will now close the public hearing and request a discussion or a
motion from Town Council to approve approve with conditions or deny with reasons a continu or a continuance to a Time certain is there a discussion or a motion I will move since there's no discussion I guess I will move to
U approve moving on to a second reading for ordinance 25-01 DCI 20241 1372 mobile vending Food Truck Park CPD
amendment to on date April 7 at 9:00 a at 9:00 a.m. thank you long a motion is there a second I'll second second SC Scott okay motion by Mary
seconded by councelor Safford further discussion mayor I would just briefly say we've obviously been at this for a long time I the number one concern I heard from the neighbors was the live Amplified music or the potential for live amp Amplified music uh from 12 to
8:00 7even days a week and that obviously send a real chill down a number of people's spines understandably so so this particular concession on the live Amplified music is significant to me and I I'll condition my yes vote
today uh hoping that stays in because that seemed to be the number one concern I know there were a Litany of concerns but that was the number one concern of the neighborhood so my my yes vote today will be conditioned on it staying in The Proposal uh for second reading subject
to mod minor modifications if there's practical considerations that have to be heard any other discussion go ahead as well I I'm doing this to move this forward but I I think the number two concern in that neighborhood was was
the Overflow parking or or potential for that so um I really need to see some some progress on that part and I'll note something different and that will be um the buffers from the
pool I mean I have grappled with this as you know hotas how this is a difficult one for me um but I have gone through everything and Jud this Judas comments through the
whole thing it's it's it's not you know this is in compliance this is in compliance this is in compliance so if I take my own personal view of a few truck out of it and hearing everything that is in compliance
um but what I want to say see is those buffers by the pool somehow being a able to increase those buffers so that we can move things around a little bit possibly to get
larger buffers by that pool and away from Pelican watch there and the homes there um I would really love to see that anything else John uh I think everybody's pretty much covered it all right we got a motion by
mayor all second by councelor Safford there's no further discussion I'm an i councelor Safford hi counc K hi Vice May hi and c i motion carries unanimously five minutes rest okay we'll
take a brief break to get a drink there's Pizza in my office is that what it was it's probably you now e e e
e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e all the meeting back to order uh Scott you ready looks like you're ready okay it is uh 408 we are on to our next item C this is a resolution of the Town
Council of the town of Fort Meers Beach Florida approving improving with conditions or denying variance v22 4233 one a variance to remove required parking associated with the use of the Lots at 25 unit hotel/motel and two a
variant to remove the site design requirements such as providing lighting for vehicle and pedestrian uses turnaround areas sufficient to allow 90° parking at the end of the row right of the way the ability to turn around and exit the lot in a forward orientation stacking requires additional drainage
and parking lot landscape requirements as described in section 10- 416c three a variance to remove requirements which limit driveway widths to a maximum of 25 ft and for a variance to allow internal aisle width for
two-way traffic be no less than 22 ft in width for the property located at 1479 the stero Boulevard and providing for an effective date if any Town Council Members had any expart communication to dispose please let us know the subject discussed in the identity of the person
group or entity with whom the communication took place any correspondence that you received or observations made of the site I've had none in the LA since the last meeting none I have had none since the
last meeting ccor King none that I recall and vice mayor same okay Jason SMY has been qualified as an expert already by his time Town Council B of This Town Council based on his education and experience and has been
accepted as an expert witness in the field of land use planning and development in the town of Fort Myers Beach are there any other individuals who would like to be qualified as an expert witness on behalf of the applicant at this time that hasn't already okay don't me all that go ahead
Jason good afternoon Town Council staff getting close to it isn't it my name is Jason SMY I'm with your planning and zoning department um in an effort to keep this moving along and because this has been before you before um I will go ahead and run through what is being requested today if there are any
questions or if you need any clarification during that please stop me and I'll do my best to give that to you uh before you today as was mentioned by the mayor is a packet of uh four variance requests this uh this goes hand inand with a special exception that you
will be hearing afterwards but the request before you today is meant to um effectively frees a lot in in the state that it's in today uh as of as of a previously approved LD uh the applicant
has requested to do away with um many of the site design requirements and that's uh that's what's before you today uh all of these sections constitute a vast majority of the site design for a for a lot in particular for parking um I'd
like to go ahead and stop here right now there's been discussion after the last last meeting um all of us were sent back to take a look at whether or not some alternative plans would be available uh rather than asking for blanket uh
variances I'd like to just explain briefly what the applicant has brought back to us so the applicant uh and I believe it's in your package here has brought us a alternative landscape plan and they have brought us a tentative
lighting plan uh all of these would have to go through through further uh review so what you see before you is not the endall Beall of what would be required of them but it is an effort to show that they are bringing the site uh more into
compliance than what existed pre- storm and prior to today's uh requests uh I would like to point out that uh the applicant uh is requesting a variance to effectively have zero
parking requirements uh the applic and staff have both agreed at this point that uh the hotel use requires 20 parking spaces that is 1.2 spaces for the 25 units that they have on the site
and then also applying the 33% discount for parking in the downtown area so the grand number that they would be required to have would be 20 parking spaces to serve the 25 units so it's 25 * time
1.2 and then a 33% discount to that number so takes it from 30 spaces down to 20 spaces that would be the number of spaces that would be minimally required to serve the hotel use that leaves them with an additional 23 parking spaces that could be utilized for their own
uses including for commercial parking um staff and the applicant have both agreed that uh with this understanding of how many parking spaces are available to them that the request to zero out the parking
requirement is Moot and not relevant at this point mayor did you have a question on that one nope okay no that makes sense uh moving on to the next request uh is a uh request to do away with the requirements of 34-20 one5 this is a
fairly long section that includes a lot of individual aspects and that's why you see in there talking about uh lighting turn around area stacking drainage this all comes from the same section uh they had requested a blanket uh removal of those
requirements staff would like to point out that uh with the submission of the uh of the planting plan and the lighting plan they are already uh acceding to those requirements so therefore asking that they be blanket taken away is is
moved uh they have provided us both plans for that uh what is left in that section 2015 that has not been um contemplated in the plans that they have that they have submitted is a compliant
drainage plan um as part of this process uh staff staff recognizes that the amount of work that they are doing on that site would not rise to the level of requiring a full drainage plant um so I just want to put out there
that during this process if they get approval for this they would not be required to to come up with a brand new drainage plant uh that was considered under the previous ldo that was approved a few years ago I do want to point out though that in the future if they decide
for instance to expand the building's footprint that they would still be they would be required to come in and do a complete uh relook at the site which would include drainage so the request before you today uh they are requesting
that the section 2015 the requirement for this plan to include drainage be waved um staff again wants to point out that if that if that is approved that that variance is approved to wave the
drainage requirements that should the building become more intense I.E through an increase in uh the number of rooms or increase in footprint they would still be required to come in and do a new devel velopment order which will include full drainage
review um as I mentioned before the rest of the section is fairly moot because they are providing a sufficient lighting plan um the turnaround areas are there uh based on the last ldo approval they
removed a few of the uh of the parallel parking spaces at the end of their parking lot so they've already come into compliance with that requirement to provide adequate turnaround area um and then vehicle stacking vehicle
stacking would be um would be con we're concerned with the vehicle stacking and we put a condition of approval in there that sort of addresses the issue of where they first uh meet with their guests during the during the
intermission the applicant uh brought up to us that they do not intend to have anybody waiting at the parking at the uh the end entrance to the lot stopping people that their standard operating procedure is one where they uh have the person Park and then their attendant
will actually go to meet the person once they've parked so they are requesting the removal of that condition of approval that requires that they not actually U interact with the with the guest or anybody parking in there um
anything less than 40t into the property so they're they're pushing back on that one and and asking that that one be removed uh the last two the last two variants requests uh 34-26 subsection 1 uh we believe this is
still relevant and still needed for this site and we agree that uh this is a DI Minimus relatively di Minimus ask and that if uh if you see your way to approval that that should be part of the approval is approving the
34-26 subsection 1 same thing for uh 34-23 uh that deals with the driveway widths these are all things that exist on the site they were uh they cannot be easily changed we can't have them go back and expand their their driveway
without either losing parking or requiring that they do um they reduce curb cuts which may or may not be allowed by the county um the the width of the driveways uh that is a port that is a part of of
our code requiring 22t aisle widths uh that can be reduced based on the review by the fire department depending on what the fire department needs to access that site they can sometimes approve something less than 22 feet so staff
understands and supports the request to wave that requirement with the understanding that at the end of the day the fire department will be reviewing all of their plans and if the fire department determines that they need the full 22 ft or something less that will
be up to them to come into compliance um as I mentioned before the uh the conditions of approval on here um most of them are boilerplate uh the section or the
U uh the recommendation in C is uh staff still recommends that you that you approve the or if you approve the the uh variances that you include c as part of their uh conditions of
approval um we are removing d one from the conditions of approval that's just restating C so that's uh that's just a minor issue to to change and then D4 in conditions of approval which calls for all of their
sites to come together as a as a plan holistically uh they have the applicant has decided that they do not want to do everything at one time they are instead asserting that they should only have to deal with 1479 which was the um the lot that was
brought up as during the noov or the notice of of violation and they are asking that that requirment uh be taken out as well staff agrees that if they want to just deal with this lot since this was the entire point of the
noov that uh they could make that request and that their uh their alternative Landscaping plan and their alternative parking plan could stand on its own for just this site 1479 rather than requiring them to look
at all four of their possible parking areas I know we've gone over a lot of ground here are there any questions or concerns so far in what we've gone over John nothing currently Scott nothing currently just briefly
Jason are are you comfortable with the resolution of this matter there's some feedback for you that's it um I'm ba based on the uh removal of the um request to zero out
the site I am far more I am far more comfortable with this plan that we have an understanding of how many parking spaces are available to them and it's written down so yes thank you okay I'm good at this point think we're good the applicant and the
representative are here if you'd like to speak tonight the record attorney barant good afternoon I think Jason summed it up pretty well he's been a pleasure to deal with first of all I want to point out that this has been an operation as a
public parking lot since before the town was incorporated so it's technically a legal non-conforming use we in my opinion they don't have to do anything but to make the town happy and in cooperation with Jason we went ahead and pulled the code made the application and
I refer to the code which was written after but it's 34-21 subsection C Surplus spaces in some single-purpose parking lots may be rented to the general public during Peak periods is provided by 34-29 a of this chapter
this hotel had excess spaces as Jason just told you so technically I don't even know that we had to go for the spe of exception but talking to Frankie and and staff we decided they decided to move forward so and then when we met with Frankie we
said specifically we don't want to spend a ton of money especially after the hurricane tearing up the driveways putting in new drains Landscaping lighting Etc and so forth reconfiguring the parking lot losing Park
spes so we came back anyway and said I understand you wanted a landscaping plan and lighting PL so we created one we gave it to Frankie and I think Frankie's approved it at least from his State point of view so our asking is to wave these other requirements no
reconfiguring the parking lot this parking lot's been existence for what uh 35 40 years we've never had a problem with turnarounds or backing up or the width of the aisles um everything's gone fairly smooth but I do agree with
everything that so far that Jason said and this you know we understand that this only applies to this building at this time if they decide to build a new building add onto the building change the footprint we know that all this goes out the window there there's no question about that Bob and we know that we have
to apply for electrical permits and Landscaping permits so the lighting will have to comply with the turtle people and landscape will have to comply with whatever the city's requirements are but we have submitted all that and I'd ask for the approval I'd ask for the special
exception Bob do you have any plans for live Amplified music at the parking lot I told Frank we were going to change this to application for Food Truck Park and he said no I couldn't do that but no live music no non-li no no
Amplified music I I don't think he had any speakers you might have a drunk occasionally say is he goes about about Scott any questions for the applicant not at this time John no Jim
no no I appreciate you making these changes thank you all right public comment and youone here we did them all she's here for the fight all right then we'll close public
comment uh I'm assuming you Bob you don't have any rebuttal statements from all the public comment I'll now close the public hearing and requesting a discussion or a motion from Town Council to approve approve with conditions or deny with
reasons or a continuance to a Time certain I'll make a motion to approve with the conditions outline the changes that everyone went through that staff is in agreement with all right had a motion by councelor
Woodson seconded by Vice May ad any discussion all right Council Woodson hi mayor hi King HIC Stafford I I'm an i as well motion carries unanimously nice
this is worth the wait right well you're not done yet nice try all right this is a resolution of the Town Council of the town of Fort Meers Beach Florida approving or approving with condition or denying a special exception secz 202
4186 for use of an existing lot to provide commercial parking spaces in the downtown zoning District of the town of Fort Myers Beach Land Development code for property located at 1479 is there a Boulevard providing for scrier erors severability and an effective date if
any Town Council Members had any expart communication to disclose please let us know the subject discuss and the identity of the person group or entity with whom the communication took place any correspondence that you received or observation made to the site counc Woodson none may none since the lastek
counc K I recall none CC Stafford none since the last meeting I have not had any since the last meeting either uh Jason SMY has been qualified as as an expert by his This Town Council based on his education and experience has been accepted as an expert in the field of land use planning and development in the
town of Fort Meers Beach are there any other individuals who'd like to be qualified as an expert witness on behalf of the applicant sh not okay go ahead Jason good afternoon Jason SMY with your planning and zoning department uh as was mentioned a moment ago the for you right now is a request for a special exception
to allow for the use of 1479 uh for 23 parking spaces for commercial use um in accordance with the recently approved variance package uh if you have any questions or concerns for
staff or would like any more clarity on what's before you I'm here for you otherwise the applicant representative are here okay any questions Scott for Jason on this one not at this time none mayor no thanks Jason thank
you I don't have any additional comment none okay you know Scott any questions for Bob called somebody even called me a lawyer once I'm sorry how low will they go yeah that's what I said I'm sorry Scott I
didn't hear what you said I I do not this time John no Jim no no all right didn't mean to make you stand up for nothing oh public comment is there anyone here that would like to speak in public comment still a no okay and I will close
public comment I'll now close the public close the public hearing and request a discussion or a motion from Town Council to approve approve with conditions or deny with reason or a continu to a Time certain I'll make a motion to approve
again with conditions outlined in from the town okay joh staff got a motion by Council Woodson I'll second any further discussion CC Woodson I I'm an i VI I
King hi and C Stafford I motion carries unanimously thanks for sticking it out this one's real all right brings us to our last public hearing this is the first reading and I don't need this right this is the first reading and
public hearing of an ordinance entitled an ordinance of the town of Fort Meers Beach Florida amending article 3 Beach bicycle and vehicle safety of chapter 28 traffic and vehicles of the code of ordinances of Fort Meers Beach Florida to allow the operation of electric bicycles on sidewalks
establishing safety regulations EST establishing a maximum speed and passing procedures requiring operation with the flow of traffic establishing responsible parties and penalties establishing additional regulations for the safe operation of a bicycles on sidewalks
providing for codification severability conflicts of Law and an effective date we'll now open the first public hearing so council members um this is uh the work product that I think you all have have been waiting for um as a result of
direction that you gave to us um at some prior uh M&P meetings the substance of the ordinance um was basically to oh and we also had a draft copy of what the Public Safety Committee um had discussed
A draft copy of their minutes so we went ahead and and put those items in there for feedback from you uh just to try to expedite um the biggest policy issue is whether or not the um ebikes should be allowed to be on the public sidewalk um
on a stero Boulevard um during today's meeting we did check we did not find where there was any prohibition um in Lee County ordinances regarding use of their sidewalk U for electric bikes so logically if it's not
prohibited it would be permitted um however between between first and second reading of this ordinance we will make sure that the county is crystal clear and okay with um with what the town is proposing so the substance of changes um
begin roughly on page um 649 um beginning with the definition of electric bike which is basically par paraphrased from um Florida Statutes 316 um and then condition s concerning
um the operation of these bikes in paragraph C um I am now on page 650 of your materials and this is the um the list of the various um restrictions on the use
of these U bicycles on uh the sidewalk I think your numbers are different than mine when I go to 650 I'm I'm into the administrative agend oh really I'm on 650 and I have this one okay let let's try by section number
do you have access to the code um so I'm looking at changes to section 28- 84 um the title of that was assisted bicycles and we added and okay so if you go a little bit further down um sub
paragraph C is where the various um restrictions are again it's first reading for um discussion um number one I'll just for the benefit of the public um electric bikes would not be operated on a sidewalk if doing
so would endanger the safety of pedestrians um number two anyone operating an electric bike has to comply with the regulations under Florida law applicable to bicycles and operators number three electric bikes are
restricted to a maximum speed at 15 mph when operating on a public sidewalk number four operators of electric bikes must yield to the rideway of any pedestrian and give audible signal before overtaking and passing The
Pedestrian number five when passing a pedestrian the operator shall reduce the speed of the bike to idle speed meaning the lowest speed at which the electric bike can operate and maintain steering control um um and generally this is 1 to
three miles per hour The Operators of electric bikes must exercise due care to avoid collision with pedestrians or human powerered vehicles um including the reduction of speed giving an audible warning when necessary especially when approaching
children pets or individuals um and if the sidewalk is on both sides of the roadway a person operating an electric bike should only use the side sidewalk on the right side of the roadway and travel in the same direction as
traffic um if you go down to section 2- 87 also on page 650 um talking about the penalties the first penalty is for a code enforcement officer who May issue a
citation so that one is um permissive we probably need to change the wording a little bit on paragraph two but it also provides for the issuance of a warning rather than the immediate um issuance of the
citation so I think that that is a overview of the substantive um proposed changes to this ordinance and I can answer questions all right questions or comments on some of the substantive
changes that ncy was referring to Karen so I thought that we had talked about this morning with the Safety Committee that uh 15 miles per hour on the sidewalk was probably too fast
and in their recommendation they said less than 10 10 or less um I don't know if we want to put that in single digits but less than 10 would be a single digit nine okay yeah I agree I think team is too fast
yeah um the average person three miles an hour two to three two to three so I mean even if you know but again enforcing this you know you can tell if 15 is too fast but how do you
how do you know whether they're going eight or nine or 10 you know the the sheriff's office told me they have no ability to judge speed limit of a bike no it you know it does offer some guidance right but it's certainly not
enforceable right um the other thing that the Safety Committee had brought up was uh in a lot of foot traffic to be
making it totally walkable from Avenue SE to Time Square I don't know that's something that we've ever discussed or we want to discuss that or Karen I think that's a great question and I think that's a Nancy question
because Nancy helped me I understand that the State of Florida has preempted localities and they have required that traditional bikes are allowed on the sidewalk is that correct and if we made them walk their bike from that particular section that Karen just
referenced would that only be applicable Toc electric bikes and not traditional bikes no I think it would be applicable to traditional bikes as well because the electric bike is basically a subset of the traditional bike so that that state
preemption for traditional bikes that does have some flexibility I think so okay I think so the end goal that you're trying to achieve is to with your question well I'm I'm trying to understand how yeah can we do it because this the
state preemption that requires bikes on sidewalks traditional bikes on sidewalks that that doesn't give us any discretion I thought that it that they were allowing it yeah it allows for it allows it to be on the sidewalk for
municipalities and there's no prohibition that's what we we found this morning from the county but I thought the state said You Can't Ban bikes from sidewalks in the State of Florida I thought you told us that a few months ago the state has AE there's a somehow
the at some point the legislature intervened and preempted localities from Banning bikes on sidewalks that may have been in regards to assisted um vehicles for ADA Compliant typ stuff okay I I have to go
back and double check okay anything else well then I had brought up like making it one way you know all pedestrians on one side and all bicycles on the other but I didn't get a resounding yay on that I think I think
Kieran was pretty spot on when he talked about practical versus practicals is that practically ever going to happen is someone going to move walk across the street I I don't see that happen probably won't but it's more important I think that they're moving in the right direction of traffic which is going
against traffic and I think we added that that's in there it is in there it's number seven I think I'm good then vice mayor well I'm just just for clarification purposes is the is the separation of the sidewalks
in this ordinance to the divide the division of the sidewalk on both sides um not both sides but yeah on both sides of the street have like a dividing the line with the sign yes no that is not in here you want that well no I'm just I'm just just trying to understand what's in
here and and and can we do that with the county is that something you have to get permission from the county to do that we would have to discuss with the county yes and I'm guessing that would only be from Red Coconut down to the area where you have to walk your you could designate an area that would prohibit um
bicycle riding um on the sidewalk where you would have to walk your bicycle right and then and then we so Essence would go from the south end till you get to Red Coconut and you could ride on the sidewalk traditional or uh electric bike and then when you get to Red Coconut
you'd either take the dividing line and I think they instructed it over to the right which is interesting uh and then at least according to the social media I thought I saw that you were there Dan did they want them to go right I think the bikes yeah yeah I I just think I
don't to me it's we could certainly ask the county but I don't think the County's going to do it they were very push they very much push back about putting any kind of stamping on the on the sidewalk but you know where the line's going to be does it make more sense to just have
something that's like a shared use path you know you you've seen places that have a picture of a pedestrian and a picture of a bike um you know that's just that indicating that it's a shared use and and in the document that the public safety on the shared pathway they've got the
bikes uh they want you the pass they wanted the bikes to be closest to the property line as opposed to the road right and and in their little sign here they've got the bike on the left and The Pedestrian on the right which I thought so we have to kind of figure that out I
think yeah I had sent Nancy you I had sent you some language a couple months ago from a constituent who'd really kind of Wordsmith nicely the sort of the courtesy language if you will when you pass a pedestrian and how slow the bike should come I'd sent that to you and
Becky probably two months ago it's beautifully apologize I mean this one has been pending for a while we did have to kind of try to resurrect it it's okay I just was such beautiful I i' not because Karen had raised I originally going to have people come to a stop and then Karen had raised some legitimate
concerns about that so then then this constituent had written some beautiful language about how to how to pass without stopping but in a way that potentially could be enforcable that just codifies common courtesy which most people employ but some don't um but I
thought that language was really really helpful but I'll go back I was just looking on my phone I couldn't find it but I I think I sent it to both you and Becky but it was probably two or three months ago I I have I think that 15 miles an hour is
particularly from Red Coconut to Time Square much too fast unless you're on the road that's fine if you're on the road um Good Luck cars going that fast well that's right that's right uh my My Philosophy in all this is is I would
normally this would I'm my wife calls me Mr Safety I would normally not be a big fan of this because of the pedestrians on the sidewalk but the traffic is so horrific uh desperate times require Desperate Measures and I think we should should at least give this a try and as
much as we could codify the you can't legislate morality and you can't legislate common courtesy but as much as we can use it as an educational tool to get people to do the right thing and be kind to their fellow citizens I uh I would like to have that language be
helpful I think there's a situation now where people will literally yell at someone either on a bike or electric bike if you see them on the sidewalk because I think people think that that's illegal and we have an education hurdle there because many of these folks are
coming from out of town and I've talked to Bicycle Riders who literally get yelled at just for being on this side back no matter no matter how courteously they're performing their bike because people just think you shouldn't be on the sidewalk and there's some kind of a law or an ordinance against it and generally that's folks from out of town
but that creates a lot of confusion as well so that's where I think the signage comes in too yeah signage is really going to be helpful yeah John I was glad to see that um we can have quote enforcement officers uh issue citations uh I think that's a big
plus um I guess I'm still uh maybe with Jim on this a little concerned about the safety issue I'd like to at least do this along the lines of a trial and gather the data and come back and visit it say within a year or
so okay so when you're saying data you mean if there were any accidents or true because it sounds like um you know from Kieran this morning sounded like lco either didn't have anything or couldn't provide something I know in the past Mr Mayor you've talked
to the fire department about incidents involving bikes and You' brought that up previously I think and there were none in the last five years or something like that or yeah there was no again reported yeah that I think that's what they said there was nothing that they responded to that was reported doesn't mean that
there wasn't some sort of incident but there like somebody hitting you when you're at a park at his top sign yeah that well it hurt them more than hurt that's for sure but yeah yeah there's not a ton
of there was not hardly any maybe one I think there was one not that long ago there was an incident of someone got by a car they were from out of town and um they had rented the bikes for the day and the lady wasn't too sure on the
controls and just hit the curb and wiped out that way has code enforcement not been enforcing these things earlier they didn't have the authority to do that or it's been kind of a a hands off type of thing if they seen somebody egregiously acting
they would try to catch up to that person and alert them saying hey you cannot do this you you have to kind of slow it down or move it over into onto the street I guess I'd like to see that as part of the tracking going forward sure thank you yeah I think the last thing we want is our code enforcement
chasing them down the sidewalk in a buggy that's not a good they do say Rangers now don't they or right in the range and being strange anything else John that you see in there glaring you would like to adjust for potential did we decide to take the
speed limits out or just put some in for just guidance purposes we could have different speed limits on different parts of a stero uh the area that's most sensitive we could have the you know either walk your bik or five nothing more than 5 miles an hour and then you
know 10 miles an hour and that that the co Red Coconut section and then maybe 15 for the rest of the is I mean I'm just saying again those aren't enforceable but they do give guidance to people but I don't know I would say 10 I'll I'll
I'd be okay with 10 I think 15's too fast on the sidewalk i' okay with that Scott but I think 15 on the road yeah if they were on the road in the bike lane they could be 15 but other than that um under
10 I don't I don't think we should go as far as you know stopping and having to get off and W I mean that's no I I found some language Scott that that that that help that that causes you to slow down to to the point
where your bike still has momentum but you've you've you you've done the best you can to to slow your bike when you're passing it was very well written and and if if Nancy could find that I think that'll address your concern because Karen had raised that concern as well and it's good it's good thought but I do think there's ways to come when you're
passing somebody to really slow down not just ring your bell and continue it you know 10 miles an hour zipping by them I think people really need to slow down when they're passing because people have pets they got little kids and plus it startles people and it just it's again just common courtesy type stuff and well
they kind of have that in number five when passing a pedestrian the operate of an electrical bicycle shall reduce the speed of the electric bike to idle speed meaning the lowest speed at which the electric bike can operate and maintain steering control generally this would be between one and three miles per hour so
basically a pedal speed yeah I I guess if we're not going to are we going to differentiate between an electric bike and a traditional bike because this this language I had would cover both both a traditional bike and an electric bike because I think I think the traditional bikes ought to ought to have the same kind of courtesy that the electric bike
should maybe just eliminate the word electric on that okay go go back and look at that language though because it's it's it's really good stuff I can't remember exactly how he phrased it but um Amy's located it so I'll have it look good job share it I think you should
yeah share it share it that'd be great okay thank you I like John's idea of uh of of taking a look at it in a year as well or sooner I mean if you see us next season anything else
Scott no I'm good when you pause like that I think you get Frozen well so I I guess the one thing is what is the fine going to be because we've had I've had this discussion with with several people and I I
I think the Bad actors should get fine and it sends a message to other people hey you know we're serious about this you know how much is the ticket GNA be I I think the higher the ticket
is the better this whole thing will work any recommendations Frankie no they're going but today I I I think when you start getting into doing ultimate enforcement right
off the get-go I mean we all ride a stero we all ride a stero at at at this time of day and you can see a handful of the same people on ebikes and regular bikes going both ways either coming from a place of business downtown going home
or vice versa people that are working on the island somewhere here and they're on their ebikes and they're heading towards the the bridge um those are aren't the people that you're really worrying about those are the people that are here every day they're riding those bikes they're they're halfway responsible I think the
the issue comes from people that either bring an ebike here rent an ebike here um are vacationing here and just out for a good time and then it goes back to how are we able to actively enforce that I mean yes coach
can stop somebody that's recklessly driving and um you can say Hey you know whatever the the Act was that you caught him in but are you going to give him a warning first or are you going to hit him with a ticket right away if somebody's involved in a pedestrian accident then then that's different but
we don't have that judgment to make that call that would have to be lcso and so there's there's a little tricky area there Frankie the the the language that uh that Amy just sent us around that I
had sent earlier it says past pedestrians that only is speed that allows you to maintain control and forward motion of the bike so if somebody's passing at 10 miles an hour would that and I forget the mileage just at a very SP fast speed would that would
your enforcement people have the discretion to stop somebody and give them a warning if they Zip by somebody without most definitely because you're you're acting not in the the best interest of Public Safety yeah yeah you know I mean it's it goes down to what you said about enforcing common sense or or morality that's something that you
should know already regardless of if you're in a hurry or not you don't go zipping by your miss Sally and her two little twins um you know at 10 miles an hour you you want to air on the side of caution and and you always want to be again it's a six foot wide sidewalk so
you have to be using your head a little bit Scott what would be your recommendation you brought it up what would be your recommended fine for not following the ordinance uh what What's the what would be the
fine now 50 100 75 I think it says it says the same as parking well I think but in two it says written warning shall res in a fine not to exceed $50 in addition to
independently that may be imposed under state law is what is in number two is the last line again $50 doesn't seem very high to me so that was the existing language do we currently what is the
fine for Drive getting caught in the beach what is the find for for that I have no idea so it say it's two $250 for the first offense on on the beach driving an arm driving but I mean do you want do you
want to find a happy medium somewhere in there and say $100 is that going to stop somebody from acting like a fool I think too uh we we ought to think about what we're finding for and how
we're finding in the sense that if it's August and there's not a sole on the sidewalk on the south end and somebody's going 15 miles an hour that to me seems less egregious than passing you know a couple older folks with their poodle at 10 miles an hour you know during season
uh you know terrifying them and the dog uh so I think we have to I don't know how you build all that in but I guess maybe that's where enforcement uses common sense right Common Sense goes both ways yeah so so the code officers or the Rangers that are that are going to be doing this would have to one make
sure that it it was violating Public Safety so some something was at risk either the bicycle rider was going to fast for conditions or there were other people in that ride away that could have been hurt if there was a terrorist act involved um and and two how can we
so again has to go to training it has to go to proper perspective on the on the part of the Rangers code officers yeah I think Jim's right so maybe it's a reckless reckless endangerment or reckless driving I I mean I I'm the same way I don't I don't
want to H be hitting on people you know giving exorbitant fines for going 12 miles an hour but Jim's right if you're if you're not a safe driver and you know you're we're giving we're giving you a privilege to to ride your ebike on the
sidewalk so you can be safe because it's it's less safe to ride on on the street and seas them we we know that especially between the Red Coconut and downtown but for that privilege you shouldn't be a knucklehead as as Jim calls them
so I don't know how we wordcraft it but I I think that by us letting these ebikes the big fear is people are going to get hurt or just do stupid things so I think if there's some enforcement or some T you know there there's got to be
a way for us to educate the public but you know the Bad actors need to be they need to be fined in my opinion I mean I I'm the speed's not the thing it's just the The Reckless when they're
passing people agree I agree with that Scot in my opinion unless you're going 35 or 40 miles an hour and you get full blast right but I I think it's more endangering other people do you want to try to differentiate
between the the fines for the different one through seven items that you have the first being endangering the safety of pedestrians to have that be um higher amount I would think I would think so I
I think by our conversation right now I don't I don't think it's the one or two miles an hour over I think it's just you know the recklessness that's what we're trying to avoid and you know gonna be subjective anyway the guy the person going 12 miles
an hour probably is not going to get in an accident where the guy's driving like a crazy guy around people that's where all the accidents happen I think that makes sense ncy because if if nobody's on the sidewalk in August and you know you're going 15
miles an hour not endangering anyone that's different than when you're zipping by somebody and endangering a pedestrian safety or your own safety so are we saying anything at all about um firsttime offenders would just be a warning or are we just going to go
to The Reckless and then there's the fine branky do you think your your team has has the discretion to because if somebody's really doing something crazy and putting somebody's life in danger I hate to just give them a warning right you you can train
discretion you can't train common sense and and it would I would hope that the people that we have on staff uh could differentiate between the two and see if it was a reckless uh Behavior type situation or endangerment of another
person that they could discern that and make that either a or a ticketable f I didn't mean could they I mean is does it make sense for them to to totally you know in talking with Lee County Sheriff's Office about some of this you know it's kind of that if they don't see it and by the time you're
going to get there that person's going to be long gone exactly right so we're kind of dragging things through the weeds here I think when it comes to I mean obviously if you see something egregious hopefully they will get stopped and you implement whatever were
fine has been discussed to to make sure that they don't do it again I mean I've always been proponent of giving someone a warning if it's someone that isn't from here they may not know that they're not allowed to be on the sidewalk but you know
yeah it's all battling again are you getting all this Nancy I'm I'm developing a list and then I think for second reading we'll come back and try to address some of these things with some language changes
yeah but I I think the signage is key that we need to get that out right away as quickly as we can possibly get signage agreed upon and made because otherwise people don't know well the issue we've seen in the past from the
Public Safety Committee with signs is usually the signs are about this big we need someone making signs just need a regular we need you need well do we need permission from the county to put signs on their polls or on the ground I think you probably do but I don't know that
that's going to require a change to your code so we could probably talk with the county and see if we can't make that happen quick and we do have run away there too you know you look at these signs I mean it's kind of the the white one
keeps keep left keep right seems pretty pretty easy and straightforward I I don't see the county let paint anything on the sidewalks but I could be wrong it's different Administration yep I was just making sure there was no other comments before
we Noe I won't forget I won't forget all right you got anything else to add Scott if not we're going to go to public comment no I'm good thank you all right public comment oops that's you
there two of you is it evening now or afternoon still it's 5 o' somewhere right here some comments but I would like to um first thank everyone in the bike I and there was a jogger running towards me down in the bike L I
go so I mean you know it's I don't know I think the signage goes back to that we really do need signage um and that would definitely help us there um and I would hope too that the um regulations would
allow e bikes to ride on the sidewalks everywhere not I even where there are bik because that as I just pointed out there could be dangerous when you've got obstacles you got the motors that pull over
traffic is stopped so they want to see what's going on you know gotes you got the that being able toide I think it's help people to learn know what they
can I don't think the lines down the sidewalks are going to work I even if the allows that I think it's going to still have sidewalk range because I think people AR going to know that
people are walking over where the lines are issues um I I hope that the signage uh the painting themselves can be because um you know they're this one is a worn out but
they're they're wearing out um and I think people could be the reason why they're riding the wrong direction down the the bike Lanes you know they have the lane ands know way so I would hope that that would help one thing I noticed was done by um I
think I WR wrong my email but done by and it's green with white and it really stands out more I mean even what about just the section where you put the the bike symbol and the
white bike symbol and the Green Arrow thats um who had the Le asked about uh you know if you're trying to tell people which if you put it in the regulations which side of the site want to be on I
think that um a recomendation for Reas would be better if the biker was on the street side because there's often you've got your dips and things like that because of um driveways and your Wheelchairs and and
like it's really difficult so I think those it would be better for pedestrians and wheelchair people and Walkers to be you know on the property site Anders to drive right there same pass it's seems common sense when you're
driving a vehicle pass the car you know and so you should be doing that if you can again tell the pedestrians on your know on your left they step up you can't really put that in it's
commense just need you to wrap up your comment one more thing two actions that really help I think befor to um there's like I was saying there's a lot there sections of the sideb and B have piles of be nice that that could be cleared
away um and missing SE of the sidewalk would be great um down on the especially I noticed um oh another another good thing that maybe to help people out it was aure that I found um
inform ballya pocket guide which is pretty concise maybe the bike ret companies handles out or have them available maybe they post whatever decided here on their webs so when bicycles in matter are I think education
that any way we can educate people and on the website f. website to put rules there could see that um and the Rangers educa not only you know handing out finds and doing things like that but
friendly thank you it's got microphone working on I don't think so maybe is this one still working overwhelmed I'm do my best my Isam I am a generation sterile Islander I off
Island now but I am a Josh mics aren't working I am a bicycle Rider my whole life continue to ride sponsored by a bike shop bike route Fort Myers
and I've always followed the rules of the road on my bike and that is ride on the road because the sidewalks are pedestrians and in this environment here
where we have um families walking people walking in groups it's hard to get by on a sidewalk on a bicycle but it's also hard to be on the
road because the rules of the road on the road and the cars stop we have to stop you cannot pass a stop car on the right side so there's a lot a lot going
on here because yesterday on my bicycle I walked it over the bridge and then I rode it on the road and coming home I rode it on the sidewalk because it was easier going south on the road but when I was
sidewalk and I'm pedaling slow I couldn't really pass anybody because there was groups of people so I could steady my bike sometimes I had a stop but I can't see a ebike coming up behind anybody at any
speed because even two three miles hour is enough to um scare somebody I mean they can't really stop and balance themselves because the bikes are heavier they can't
really get off them and walk them so they really should be on the road and not on the sidewalks that's how I supposed to bead
pells helmet all right appreciate it thank you anybody got any questions for me no I think we got it I appreciate it thank you thank you no one else Chad you want to say a few words about bikes no you're good
okay and we'll close public comment and bring it back for a motion or more discussion so mayor if I may I can read the list yes pleas um so uh the language uh that was in the
email from vice mayor um on the courtesy passing that would be a change that we could add that to the ordinance the trial period that was brought up by council member king that's really a management um thing where they would bring it back um the discussion with the
county that can also be through management doesn't need to change in the ordinance uh a little bit more information on the preemption issue I can bring that back doesn't change the ordinance the speed reduction that would be a change into the the uh ordinance
and what I'm hearing is 10 miles hour so to change to make that change before second reading or less than 10 and then the last being the fine that would be an ordinance change um so um a
little bit higher penalty for any type of Reckless uh rioting or endangerment of of safety and that's again that's the ordinance so it would really only be three things that would be changing in your ordinance to Second reading I like
that language inding the safety of pedestrians I think that's what you mean but I think I think that's send a message something like that okay any more discussion or motion so if I may um we would be looking for a motion to um to move it to
Second reading with the three ordinance changes so move can we do second reading though still in March we have to do everything okay motion by councelor King all second any further
discussion C King hi I at this point Scott I I motion carries un animacy for the second reading thank you next is our administrative agenda first item is an
to approve of a waiver of enforcement of the town's open container and noise ordinance during the third annual red group bash to be held at Moss Marina on March 7th 2025 from 4M to 9:00 p.m on March 8th 2025 as requested by off-duty fishing series and subject to further
approval by the FMB Fire Control District in Lee County Sheriff's Office anyone Jeff no no we W even you don't read the agendas then how do you info on
it as far as the permitting goes I don't know who provided the agenda um this is something that Tracy would have brought Trac okay yeah I don't I mean it's it's to me I haven't seen the whole the whole permit but it seems kind of standard on
our special events but looks like it's the third annual so yeah yeah Mr May I'll move approval of special event a on the administrative agenda all right I got a motion by vice mayor aderholt a second second by
councelor Woodson any further discussion councelor vice mayor hi councelor Woodson hi councelor King hi counc Safford I I'm an i as well that motion
carries unanimously next is resolution 2583 a resolution of the Town Council of the town of Fort Meers Beach Florida approving and authorizing the town manager to execute a change order number two to uh to
contract it B-24 03- between the town of Fort Meers Beach and atam Marine and construction company LLC to add 14 days of contract time time to construct the sterile Island beach R nourishment and change
order number three to contract ib- 24-3 between the town of Fort Meers Beach and atam Marine and construction company LLC to repair erosion caused by hurricanes Helen and Milton by reconstructing the beach between Florida Department of Environmental Protection
range monuments r176 and R179 for a cost not to exceed $631,000 and providing for an effective date Chad father of a clash for a uh Soccer State
Soccer Champion indeed congratulations thank you to your son my son is that working should uh yeah Chad shoots town of Fort Meers Beach environmental staff um so we have two change orders here uh
the first one uh uh atet had asked for 16 days uh are uh Coastal engineer approved 14 of those days bringing it up to 38 days total uh that contract expired February 26 so
they are in uh liquidated damages um as of now um however I would still um offer my recommendation to approve these days that would be bring them up to the 26th um based on these uh weather events
that uh caus them to go offline so that's change order two do you all want to do these separately questions or they're together yeah they are together but what do you mean when you say they're in liquidated damages so we gave them 180 days to build the beach
uh that was till I think like the first or second week of January um we had the Hurrican so we added some 24 days with the first change order giving them extra time um this would be giving them some more days for those weather days um
which they're allowed in our contract um and then if they don't finish the job in time the contract provides for liquidated damages uh I believe it's a 3,000 some odd a day um they would be liveable for so any questions any other questions
on change order to Mr Mayor move approval of resolution I'll go so change sorry Chad they're combined correct yeah um so change order three is uh Trucking sand um I asked hatna if
they uh would be interested in doing this and provided that it would not sacrifice any production on the south end this would be to a subcontractor to truck in uh approximately 6,000 uh cubic yards uh basically
from um Kon Palm which is 600 a stero Boulevard North to uh 100 EST stero Boulevard along the sh line there's a a scour there uh and it widens becomes a bit Mucky um getting some
complaints um on that north end with that scour so we were going to bring in sand uh create a uh a positive gradient so you don't get that sitting water um in that
area this would be paid for uh because this is an engineered Beach uh we we have uh our Coastal Engineers did an assessment of uh the loss and according to FEMA calculation um we had about
11,000 uh cubic yards more or less of uh FEMA qualifying sand that they will pay for to be uh replaced um we used overwash sand in that engineered Beach area about 4,000 cubic yards leaving the
6,000 um cubic yards left that FEMA would be covered by FEMA uh 75% FEMA 12.5% hopefully from fdm and then the town would be responsible for the remaining 12.5% and uh we may come back with an
additional change order to uh fill out the rest of that scour if that 6,000 yards doesn't stretch and that would be funded by our lgf FR uh hotspot maintenance that's in our our sand permit that the state does a cost share TDC does a cost share and we're
approximately % of any remaining same so this money is to go to fix damage it's not necessarily for the be Tre nourishment itself correct so if you remember um we had progressed to about um Best Western uh when hel and Milton
hit and be repairing those damages on the already constructed um Beach got it any questions for Chad Scott no I'm good thanks CH John none none have any none okay move approval
resolution 2583 I'll second motion by vice mayor adal seconded by uh councelor Woodson any further discussion Vice May ad councelor Woodson hi counc King hi councelor Stafford hi and I'm an i as well that motion carries
unanimously next is resolution 2581 this is a resolution of the Town Council the town of Fort Myers Beach Florida approving the First Amendment to the emergency service provider agreement dated December 2nd 2024 with Florida marine Contracting and Recovery LLC which was previously ratified by the
Town Council on January 8th 2025 to now extend the term of the agreement retroactively for January 11 2025 to April 30th 2025 increase the not to exceed amount by $1,800,000 for a total of $2 million
and update prior terms and conditions as required by Florida and federal law to continue to remove debris from was waste waterways in the town on Fort Meers Beach caused by Hurricane Selena Milton and dispose of debris at an authorized Waste Management site and providing for an effective date Chad yep
so cleaning out Marine debris um I think everybody's for it uh we um you know they did a great job we did an assessment after that uh February 10th date which marked the end of the FEMA 100%
uh C category a being covered by female 100% so uh again we did an assessment there was still some um Reds which means navigation is impaired they're hitting something with their boat um so we want to get rid of that that's going to be the number one priority getting back out
there and then um they did soundings to see other debris uh in the canals as well as uh we need to take a look at the M field and see if anything's excuse me anything's left in there
so is this additional $1.8 million to actually get stuff out or just see if stuff is there uh get stuff out because it's a big jump from 200,000 to 2 million correct so um that is correct that's it was a
bigger job than we had anticipated so I I could add that up until February 10th everything was 100% paid by the state um that date we we did a pause with the contractor um as Chad said and we did a re-evaluation of
what's still out there um the reason why it was backdated and moved forward then April was to account for us getting our cost share from the state on the 75% we reached out to uh D on that one uh fdm I
I don't believe I've heard back from Eliza to see if they've confirmed if they're covering that 12.5% but it's it's expected but until you have it in you right and then the overall cost that you see there is just overall cost for the the pickup of both projects the very first one even though it's being funded
we still have to front that money um so that that's kind of where that's going from that's why Joe took it all the way out to April uh we looked at roughly about what three weeks three good strong weeks after we engag the contractor getting out there and getting those big red targets that are still there so but
this 1.8 million is not 100% refundable now because we're pass the February 10th deadline right so we potentially looking at 25% that was from the state everything is still now that we move into that now we can go into the FEA reimbursable approximately 1 million was 100% covered by FEMA and we're moving
into the second uh second half of that 2 million right now after February 10th so our liability if fdm um covers that 12.5% is approximately 125,000 or 12.5% of that last million
that's best case scenario that's the best case scenario yes sir and worst case would be 250,000 worst case would be FEMA dissolves and doesn't pay anything and we have to figure out that 2 million are you advocating that's not necessarily worst
case worst case though if you're asking is there yeah that thing in between yeah Mr bar we the harbor master came before the Anchorage advisory committee and showed us pictures of thousands of yards of waste that's been distracted already these guys are doing a great job people have been very
thankful I mean they've reached out do we have a list of canals that have been completed and still to be completed or yes sir and where would that be found I will get it over it was disseminated at the Anchorage advisory committee so you might I'm just saying could we put it on the website I guess what I'm alluding to
so you're saying you have it in that pile paper you might want to check with your your room my significant other Jim can you put your hands on that and I apologize Kurt and uh St Le deal yes of the contractor uh we're planning on being here just late timing
and make it so you get latey to answer your question briefly we did go through I don't want to say every single Canal but a majority of all the canals before that assessment was made um and the hot top hot spot top um targets that
were still remaining were ones that they could not get unless they were gotten at low tide at low tide these guys are actually getting in the water physically and and pulling a lot of these things out some of those larger red targets were too big for them to do with that process and that's again why we're
engaging them again I I'm just wanting the information shared with the public yep we will'll put all that out thank you okay thanks Chad you're welcome there a motion to approve resolution 25- 81 so Move Motion by councelor King second second by councelor Woodson any
further discussion counc King hi counc Woodson hi counc Safford I have an ey as well that motion carries unanimously last is uh resolution 25-60 this is a resolution of the Town Council
the town of Fort Mars Beach Florida approving the purchase of a value exerciser valve exerciser or a value whatever from eh wats watches utility products and authorizing the town manager to execute a purchase order in
the amount not to exceed $93,500 and providing for an effective dat yeah so this is basically when we have those big brakes um we did have one uh pre in it wasn't as nice as this one
but what it does is basically when there's a break right now they're having to go dig out the the valve turn it by hand and a lot of them have been stuck so it takes you know an extra two or three guys to come over uh to try to get it open some they like the one we just
had um it took them about I think 35 minutes to get the valve shut um just because it was stuck um really what what the we're supposed to do with this is every now and then we have a scheduled maintenance where you go you turn them um and so they're ready to go if there
is a break and then this this machine actually just drop it down it does it for you real quick uh we lost thousands of gallons of water on a uh well I saw the miror drive through a couple times um during these last couple big breaks that drained the entire tank and no
water to the island at least we could have shut off part of it and preserve some of that water in the tank um so this is this is something that I think actually most towns do um and have this equipment for for the ease of that and this will be paid for by
insurance proceeds uh some of them partly will be U insurance and part will be feema because we already had one so it'll be a replacement all right move approval resolution 25-60 I sense an urgency with you oh it
is it is six o'clock not quite got a motion by second Vice May ederal second B councelor King any further discussion Vice mayal hi counc kinge hi councelor Safford hi counc wson hi and I I as well that Mo cares unanimously final public
comment no one is here to manager items yes we have one uh main one um on February 26th we initiated a letter to a property owner here on Fort Myers Beach um that the former Fresh Catch Restaurant was
overdue as far as in violation of the red tag policy the town initiated um that property was originally posted on August 4th of 2024 um and going through the fin the the the appeals process um all the stays
that we can issue as Joe spec has been graciously trying to work with homeowners as best he can and Property Owners um nothing was brought to attention at that time for that particular property um that property owner stood in front of you and said
that they could take that building down at any time um the building official came to me we initiated this process um and sent them a courtesy note notice letting them know that um honor about the 5th of March that we would be uh
coming to take that down have you heard anything back um I I did receive an email um and the email is in reference to communication uh communication was by means of a certified letter and that's kind of where we're at
at the moment again this had really nothing to do with the two processes uh the one was making sure that they were clear of all code violations for the property that they maintained in the downtown area um
in reserve some of the real estate that that individual had here on the island um along with that cash deposit in case he failed uh through that process um he had met everything that we had asked him
to do up to that point um so when Council instructed us to kind of keep an eye on and let them know everything that was brought up to whether it was people illegal parking dumping sand it may have not been as quick as we'd like but he did respond um so trying to separate the
two um that was it uh they claimed that uh in email that I said everything was fine that was um talking about the parking lot area uh email I sent in Jan uh July of last summer um it was
actually red tagged August 4th for the first time the only time um signs did go up alerting the property owner of what was going to be transpiring in accordance with the letter that was issued all
right anything else I okay it was there it is I think I got it yep okay so I just wanted to provide an update on the town manager recruiting process so we are making progress and um
we are currently in our final stages of background screening and verifying professional references so once that's completed we'll have your down our Target is to have five qualified candidates to bring to
interviews for you on okay question toisa uh there seems to be some confusion as to whether the prospective candidate has to live on Fort Meers beach in terms of the job search you want to clarify that sure absolutely um
we have changed that requirement it's really negotiable depending on the candidate I think our biggest concern is that the person would be able to get on the island in a reasonable time frame um given emergencies you know even the
weekends there are things thats to beily available to react quickly so that's our biggest concern as long as the cand can meet that requ to but one could fairly say that's a goal a goal to live on the island but not necessarily A Hard requirement yeah
I I would say it's highly desirable but not a re Bas don't want on I understand thank you just Chang the batteries so yeah and
then I just want to give you a quick update about B Oaks um we just we met with the flooring guys last week and we're gonna we talked about before we're all going to do epoxy on the whole thing they can do some really cool designs um so we're just waiting on that they said
that maybe in late March late this month or early April they'll be able to do it it takes about two weeks he said to actually lay out down all the the flooring um once that's done all that's left is to put the toilets in on top of the epoxy and then uh we'll hopefully be
ready to open and and hopefully March sometime my understanding is the mic wasn't working so nobody heard what you said use Jeff yeah we know for sure this okay so I'll just repeat everything
I said thank you okay okay so we are currently in the process of um finalizing our candidates for the town manager search we are currently performing um an in-depth background screening and reference check for all qualified candidates and then
based on the results of that our Target is to narrow it down to five qualified candidates to bring um in front of council for interviews on March 25th we have established that uh that will be the day for interviews there will also be a special Town council meeting that
is scheduled that day and a uh public gathering will also be scheduled so that the public can come and and meet with um the potential candidates as well so once we have everything solidified we will be sending out Public Notices of that so everybody's aware and can make
arrangement thank you to can you just answer since I asked you that question Ahad what was the question oh yes so it is highly desirable that um the town manager would live on the island however given the current state of the island we
wanted to We Made It negotiable as our our major concern is we want to make sure that the town manager can get on the island within a reasonable time frame should there be an emergency or reason for them to you know need to react and be on the island um I think
our goal would be that ultimately with time they would uh you know reside on the island but it is not a requirement for initial placement at this time but to be in the Fort Meyers area right not to
be port or something like that yeah we didn't um we didn't clarify like a mile radius or anything like that but it would need to be within a reasonable time frame I mean I think Fort Meyers is reasonable obviously you know you get into Cape Coral with another bridge in
porda and it just it's it's you know things happen quickly and we really need somebody who can be on the island I mean within 30 minutes you know Max so yeah all right is that it yes for me
turny items so I just wanted to share with you that I've been working really closely with code and his team and um with Dr koher as well trying to come up with um some procedures and so we've really made a lot of progress um you
know we've done a lot of work on the front end so hopefully the back end when we actually start going to hearings it's going to go very smoothly and I just wanted to recognize Tom and you shared with me some good information do you want to share with everyone
put on well he made me very very happy it's concerning compliance issues we're coming along Thomas yazo complian and security manager for Myers Beach uh we had some
good news today we had six cases coming up tomorrow for DEA we did a reinspection today everyone is in compliance so we're moving forward to April uh uh for any other cases and we're seeing some movement for the April cases as well for compliance so we
probably are somewhere in the area of the first round that we did with this were somewhere in the area of about a 92 to 95% compliance rate for the first round on a sterile Boulevard and this is the removal of shipping containers um which
will bring us into compliance with FEMA um mandate so this is we have a followup with DOA tomorrow though regarding the first cases correct we do we have a status update status update yes um along those lines speaking for myself I would just hope that we would take into
consideration uh folks have a legal right to appeal we could start I guess assessing or finding them as of March 1st I hope we'll take into consideration the the legal legalities that they have and the opportunities and not jump on
the ship of start finding right away or something like that we'll keep that in consideration that's what I would hope so you saying the six that we're going to be on tomorrow is for an update have com a status update because they are um
either in compliance or have applied for permits in order to become in compliance and one of them uh in particular Sun and Fun hesto Boulevard was uh went through trial uh found in our favor uh we have not started fins we're not uh to my best
knowledge after speaking with uh Command Staff we are not going to be looking for fines as long as they came into compliance and they did as of this morning so to your point Mr King our goal is not to be punitive it's ultimately to come to compliance to help
us out with our problem with the FEMA uh issues that we came about because of uh process thank you but our work is not done so there's still more shipping containers out there but um again I just wanted to recognize uh your code team um
because they've done a really good job on Aero Boulevard so there'll be no actual DOA hearings tomorrow for new cases just the followup right just the followup there will be a hearing but it'll be the followup all right thank you and also after a stero Boulevard
then you're going to focus on side streets because obviously people are correct you're going to do things on the side streets so correct stero bouard was priority because it's closest to the ocean and then we're working on the Bayside and digging into as well right
hey Tom since you're here uh have we actually taken action to to demolish a property that's been red tagged are we at that point yet I'm GNA I'm sorry actually we had one all lined up um the wrecking ball
was at the front door so to speak um the owner of the property came out um code was dispatched along with our manager Thomas yazo uh along with Joe Speck our building official um he had talked to the property owner and gave them
another chance so to speak um and at that point um I believe that person is in the process of working with Joe to get the structure uh re-engineered and to come into compliance that way but those are things that you don't know until you get to that point uh when we
go out and when Joe goes out and looks at these things he's looking at habitable houses habitable structures can someone live in a house that has no roof no windows no doors uh can they live in a in in a house that has grass that's 4 feet high with no windows no doors and you don't know what has been
living in there for the last going on three years now um that that's kind of a not a judgment call because it's a structural call but when you get in there and somebody brings up the fact that hey I got an engineer I have SM block walls I can do I beams here I can
do this again that all comes as part of an educational tool and brings them into compliance the whole about red tagging was to get people to come to us and we were very successful in that so I think it was this almost a year ago that when we're over in Bay Oaks and um Mr Mayor
you're kind of getting impatient about what's happening what's happening with the red tag process and we let that thing fly um we've had pretty close to 99% come into compliance just coming in and getting their own permits you say 9 but just to be clear when you say 99%
99% of the people that you contacted not 99% of the people that are still out there waiting to be contacted correct and we still have a a new batch that's that's that's ready to go so I mean those are things that is ongoing and until every structure is deemed safe on this island is going to keep on going
but it's but it's never reached the point yet which is I think a I think that's close that's a credit to what you're doing but it's never reached the point where we've had to tear one down and and put a lean against our property all right very good so I just wanted to share that little bit of success that's
it that's it yep okay uh council member items counc Safford I want to thank you guys for uh giving me the opportunity to do this me remote today and that's all I have thank you do some king
cake get some king cake a little later sounds personal C counc mine were I taken care of just a minute ago all right vice mayor nothing additional thank you I have a list
kidding oh my God the look on your face say Jim's jaw just dropped I already missed my flight so we're good we're committed now yeah what's for dinner right there you go all right now I have
nothing motion to adjourn so move second motion by King second by councelor Woodson all those in favor signify saying I I iOS