Fort Myers Beach residents angry over Margaritaville legal delays
After legal action filed by one Fort Myers Beach resident, the island’s first major development in a decade could now be facing more than a year in delay.
And, it’s a blow to those who were eager to see revitalization in Fort Myers Beach’s commercial area.
“I’m very angry. It’s hard for me to understand how they can take something we have so many hours on, and people are so excited about it, and decide to throw it over,” said resident Miffie Greer. “It seems to me it’s the chance for the island to get a new face and a new spurt of growth that will do nothing but help us.”
Ray Murphy, who was one of the town’s first members of council, said that looking forward to Margaritaville was a little “good news” in a summer that’s been full of bad news. And with the potential delays, even that good news has turned bad.
“With everything that’s going bad right now, it would have been nice to see some activity, spark a little interest here,” Murphy said. “And now, it looks like it’s not going to happen right now.”
Primo Drive resident Chris Patton filed two lawsuits against the Town of Fort Myers Beach for its approval of Margaritaville.
TPI Hospitality Developer Tom Torgerson said that with the current water quality issues, red tide and blue green algae, make this delay in island improvement even worse.
“It’s a let-down for the community,” he said. “Look at the blue green algae, red tide, and then whamo, this on top. It’s hitting them when they’re down.”
John Gucciardo, the community spokesman for Margaritaville, said the project was something people were looking forward to in the near future.
“It was a bright thing people could look forward to,” he said. “It hurts.”
It will hurt the town in more ways than one – since the town’s main source of revenue is property taxes, Fort Myers Beach property owners will help pay for the town’s legal battle against Patton. Patton’s also requested reimbursement of her own fees.
“That’s money we as taxpayers are paying, and that’s very unfair. Especially if most of us don’t agree,” Greer said.
Of course, the delay for TPI Hospitality isn’t cheap, either. Torgerson wouldn’t give a specific number, but said TPI is looking “well into eight-digit numbers.”
“You go to the financial first. From a cost standpoint, it’s pretty horrific,” Torgerson said.
TPI Hospitality’s project, now branded with Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, was approved May 29 – in a 5-0 vote by the Fort Myers Beach Town Council, which was followed immediately by cheers, hugs and even victorious tears from beach residents who ardently supported the 254-room resort complex.
The bulk of the hotel will sit on what’s now the Helmerich Plaza. It will be a maximum of 52 feet tall, from the ground up. The first level will accommodate a majority of the hotel’s required parking, with the use of mechanical stackers to stack valet vehicles, with three stories on top. A pedestrian bridge over Estero Boulevard will be open to the public and also connect the resort to the other side of the road with the objective of eliminating pedestrian-vehicle traffic conflicts.
The development includes a restaurant that will be open to the public, a beach access, an aquatic venue for resort guests and up to 325 public users a day, and a new paid parking lot for the town.
The development had to ask for deviations from the town’s Land Development Code to allow an additional story and increased density; based on the public benefits the project proffered in return, the council agreed: TPI is transferring the Ocean Jewels property to the town, increasing the view corridor to the beach, and giving the town the new parking lot.
When it’s built, it will be the first new development on Fort Myers Beach since DiamondHead.
During one of the development’s public hearings, Patton said during public comment that TPI-FMB, as it was branded at the time, would be worse than DiamondHead.
Patton’s two lawsuits are throwing a wrench into a redevelopment project that’s been more than three years in the making.
Patton filed both a certiorari and a zoning appeal against the town, two separate processes with similar content. The certiorari challenges the process of Margaritaville’s approval. Torgerson said this kind of lawsuit averages around six months, as a judge will review the record and make a determination.
But the real problem is the zoning appeal: it’s a full-length civil law suit requiring a trial. Torgerson said his law team has estimated that process will take at least a year – and probably longer.
Although the two suits are against the town, Margaritaville is an affected party. It is in the process of joining both of the suits last week so it will be a party in the proceedings.
Until the legal matters are resolved, moving into the building phase isn’t happening. But Torgerson said TPI Hospitality will be moving forward with the behind-the-scenes work, like the project design, permitting and more. The Local Planning Agency has moved forward on the plat vacations, and recommended approval. The design team is working on the “License to Chill” patio, which Torgerson said will be a huge space for resort guests to hang out outside.
“The project is getting better,” he said. “We don’t want to lose that energy.”
Walking away from the project is the only alternative TPI Hospitality has – and it’s not an option, Torgerson said. The Margaritaville team is also standing strong. TPI Hospitality owns the resort, and Margaritaville has been contracted for the branding and design.
Torgerson speculated that by the time the legal matters were over, Patton would probably have the market-trend large house built across her street, and wouldn’t see Margaritaville, anyway.
“We’re not going to walk away,” he said. “We’ll get it down. It will be beautiful.”
As part of the approval, TPI agreed to tear down the Ocean Jewels building, which is currently home to the Chamber of Commerce, by Sept. 30. Torgerson said that plan is still on track, but any other demo work will be delayed. Originally, all the tenants of the current buildings were going to have to move out by December, but for now, Torgerson said his team has offered those who haven’t already found new homes to stay on until the legal matters are resolved.
Patton’s argument is that the town council didn’t follow its own Land Development Code and Comprehensive Plan when approving the development – although, the town’s documents allow deviations when the deviations are equivalent to the public benefit given in return. The documents’ author, Bill Spikowski, also thoroughly reviewed the TPI application.
Residents in support of the project think it’s “unbelievable” that the town broke its own rules with the approval.
“Obviously this project has been the most scrutinized project in the history of Fort Myers Beach, if not Lee County,” Murphy said. “For everything it’s been put through, ground out and spat back, all the scrutiny it’s received, it’s almost unbelievable that someone could think the town didn’t follow their own rules. Almost laughable.”
Greer, and many others, sat through hours upon hours of meetings held for the Margaritaville project. For the last few months, she said she thinks about how welcoming the project will be as she drives over the Matanzas Pass Bridge, and how “lovely” it would be to have a bright new place on the beach.
“The project is an amazing project. The council worked really hard to be sure they were doing what’s best for the town,” Greer said. “The overall reaction was so positive, an upbeat feelign wherever you went. Now to have them stall it like this is criminal.”
Supporters are brainstorming on how they can help show their support. Ellen Vaughan is ready to rally the troops. She said she didn’t know to what extent she and other residents could help, since it’s a legal matter, but that she wants to show how many residents are in full support of Margaritaville.
“We are eminently frustrated,” she said. “We want to let it be know that those who have chosen to file suit are a vocal minority.”
Attempts to contact Patton before deadline for this story were unsuccessful.