Beach future discussed at Vision workshop
Roughly 100 people turned in surveys and participated in the first part of a Community Visioning Workshop hosted by officials of the Town of Fort Myers Beach and Larue Planning & Management Services inside Bay Oaks Gymnasium Thursday evening.
The workshop provided information for evaluation and improvement to the Town’s Comprehensive Plan –a blueprint for how development will occur in the future and what the Beach community may look like in the next 10 to 25 years.
Town Manager Terry Stewart opened up the event by stating, “This is one of the most important things you are going to do” to the attendees. He quickly passed the torch to Community Development Director Walter Fluegel, whose responsibilities include land use, planning, zoning, building, permits and code enforcement issues.
“What we are looking at tonight is what is our vision for 5 to 20 years down the road, and what is the legacy we will leave our children and grandchildren,” said Fluegel. “As we go forward as staff, we will start to work on our Comprehensive Plan. It’s based upon your input. You are the foundation of this process.”
Planning Consultant Jim Larue acted as an unbiased, independent facilitator at the workshop. His company will translate the results of the evening’s collective work back to Town staff.
The second part of the visioning exercise will take place at Bay Oaks at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20. That workshop will focus on the preliminary results of the public input surveys and develop the outcome in the different areas of importance.
“The vision is something you want to be in the future. You start to see a change in something in five years, but it’s 10 to 20 years before you really start to see an outcome,” said Larue. “With that are the values you start to look at certain things.”
Using a pyramid chart, Larue showed the hierarchy of importance for changing the local dynamics of the town. The steps involve Mission, Vision, Values, Goals, Objectives, Action Plans and Activities.
After conducting the overview in a conference room, Larue asked the attendees to participate in “breakout groups” inside the gymnasium.
The sessions centered on four areas of concern:
n 1) Transportation, traffic, bicycle and pedestrian mobility;
n 2) Community character: land use, downtown and FEMA regulations, commercial intrusion and short term rental;
n 3) Natural resources and preservation;
n 4) Infrastructure: water, sewer, drainage, recreation, transportation.
Each “breakout group” created a list of concerns on each topic on separate easels. The group members then consolidated the list into 4-5 issues, before ranking those issues for high priority. Each group chose a spokesperson to share the results of each session, and the entire group evaluated the choices for consensus.
The ranking results of the workshop for each of the four issue topics were as follows:
n 1) Transportation, traffic, bicycle and pedestrian mobility:
a) seasonal traffic, congestion in Times Square, control of pedestrians and keeping cars moving;
b) intrusions in Right-Of-Way and widen Estero Boulevard
c) Estero Boulevard full length traffic and pedestrian and bicycle safety
d) public parking and where located
e) trolley and tram services
n 2) Community character: land use, downtown and FEMA regulations, commercial intrusion and short term rental:
a) keep it funky (individualism without being architecturally significant)
b) protect the view
c) protect residential
d) mobile carts/ Time Square land use
e) consolidate at public facilities
n 3) Natural resources and preservation:
a) improve water quality and health of Gulf, Estero Bay and Aquatic Preserve including conservation of wildlife and wildlife areas
b) preservation and management of green space with emphasis on public access of bay for passive use
c) wise beach management
d) improve air quality by reducing traffic and light pollution with dark sky adherence
e) preservation of historical and cultural resources
n 4) Infrastructure: water, sewer, drainage, recreation, transportation
a) bridge widening
b) drainage
c) transportation improvements: parking, landscape, alternative transportation
d) sewer and water improvements
e) recreation and arts facilities
“That vision is where you want to be in the future,” said Larue. “Eventually, we will changing your comp plan based on the outcomes that you want to have.”
Workshop officials are still urging people to fill out the public input survey, which can be found online by clicking on the “Vision Our Town” release on the home page of the Town’s website at www.fortmyersbeachfl.gov or by picking one up at Town Hall.
Results of the survey will be posted on the same website in the near future.