Neighbors disagree over whether Liki Tiki should have live outdoor music
Liki Tiki, a popular bar and restaurant on Fort Myers Beach, was denied live outdoor music by town council on June 3. There will be another hearing on Aug. 5 regarding this matter.
Craig Stevens lives next door to Liki Tiki and says that he is for the business having live music.
“When I would sit on my back porch and music was playing outside, I could hear it. It didn’t bother me at all,” said Stevens. “By the same token, if I ever want to sell my house, it might bother someone else.”
“They’ve got live music now but it’s inside, so I can’t even hear it from the house so that’s no problem at all. The people that run the place are really nice people and they’ve done a great job at fixing the place up. We don’t want this business to go anywhere,” said Stevens.
There are other neighbors who are less keen on allowing live outdoor music at the bar.
Lovell Larkin is in the process of building a beach cottage near Liki Tiki. She described the live music as sounding like it was “in her backyard” when she came to the property in December. She plans to live on Fort Myers Beach full time.
“I am going to build this wonderful home that I want to entertain in and enjoy the beach. Then, the thought of music blaring every single night sort of ruined my idea of all of that,” said Larkin. “I’m very concerned about this passing.”
“If they want to do something inside, that’s fine, but I don’t think that it should be amplified,” said Larkin.
“If this Council lifts this condition, island wide businesses adjacent to residential neighborhoods will be coming to Council wanting the same condition lifted,” said Tracey Gore, a former mayor of Fort Myers Beach. “This is an island-wide issue, and everyone island-wide should be paying attention because your neighborhood may be next.”
Liki Tiki is still following the resolution that was put in place in 1996, for a different business at the same location. The staff report in 1996 concluded that the outdoor seating is okay only because of the condition prohibiting outdoor music, thus protecting the surrounding residential areas. Liki Tiki declined to comment.