Beach Theater plans get council review Monday
The new plans for the Beach Theater will be up for review in front of the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council on Monday when the council meets at the DiamondHead Beach Resort at 9 a.m. The plans were recommended for approval by the Local Planning Agency last month.
Under the new proposal, the former movie theater at 6425 Estero Blvd. will be converted into a steakhouse and bar on the second floor, with a second ground-level restaurant and live entertainment indoors and outdoors.
The project requires several variances and special exceptions. The special exceptions include allowing for the consumption on Premises outdoors within 500 feet of dwelling units, new outdoor entertainment in the Commercial Boulevard (CB) zoning district, new live entertainment in the CB zoning district and new outdoor seating that is open after sunset in the CB zoning district.
A variance is required to lower the number of required parking spaces from 115 to 33.
The theater fronts Estero Boulevard. Behind the property is a residential neighborhood and canal. Residents behind the property at Curlew St. and Egret St. have previously expressed concern for increased boat traffic due to the dock proposed to be built for four boat slips at the property.
Under the conditions of approval proposed through the Local Planning Agency, the Beach Theater would operate from 7 a.m. to midnight. At the ground-level restaurant, no food or drink service could be served until 10 a.m. Amplified music would be restricted from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. Live entertainment would be limited to single or duo acts. No bands or drums would be permitted unless approved through the town’s special permitting process.
The town’s planning staff had recommended denial of the outdoor entertainment proposal due to nuisance impacts on the neighbors. Town planner Judith Frankel said the outdoor entertainment would be an intrusion into the nearby residential neighborhood.
LPA member John McClean was the lone vote against the deviation allowing a variance from the town’s Local Development Code to allow the outdoor live entertainment.
The applicants are also proposing a deck with a shade structure for restaurant seating on the first level above flood that extends toward Estero Blvd. by 15 feet, a wall along the rear of the building on the first floor to block sounds and light from the bar and entertainment area and a buffer with a fence.
In a letter to the town, Curlew St. resident Phyllis Campbell said “This project is very injurious to our ability to reside in our home.” Campbell said the Local Planning Agency “did not sufficiently address our noise or parking concerns.” Campbell said she was seeking further limits on the hours and number of days of noise intrusion to neighbors.
Campbell said music events that have occurred much farther away from the Beach Theater can be heard at her property. “This will be directly next to us. This is not a weekly rental street,” Campbell said. “We support development but at this location the development should be indoors and only limited outdoor use,” Campbell said. “These developers made no effort to discuss their plans with us, the neighbors or even consider how we use our home. We purchased here to be in a quiet neighborhood not a downtown district.”
Under the new plans, there would be no plans to regularly show films anymore. The theater hasn’t shown movies since 2022, when it was purchased by Steve Boge and a group of investors known as 4148 LLC based in Naples. The group purchased the theater as well as the Gulfview Manor across the street in a $19 million deal which valued the theater at $4 million.
Patrick Vanasse, of The Neighborhood Group, said the new owners could occasionally show an old film on a projector against the wall but would no longer use the four screens in the theater to show movies.
The new ownership group has also faced scrutiny in the community for the illegal removal of mangroves at the site in a canal behind the theater in 2023. The owners installed 249 linear feet of seawall there earlier this spring. The town approved the construction of a docking facility with dredging, a seawall and new mangroves in December. The mangroves were a source of concern for neighbors who rely on the mangroves for protection during a hurricane.
Following the removal of the mangroves, the town issued citations to Estero 4148 LLC and Remove it Pros for irreparable, irreversible violations of the town code for removing the mangroves and excavating saltwater forested wetlands. Estero 4148 LLC and Remove it Pros were ordered to pay a $5,000 fine plus a $250 administrative fee. The order also threatened fines of $250 a day if the violations weren’t corrected or mitigated by obtaining mangrove alteration permitting from the DEP and purchasing saltwater credits. The town didn’t ultimately pursue such additional fines, deferring to the DEP for formal enforcement.
According to the DEP, the agency is still pursuing formal enforcement and a consent order with the owner. The DEP sent out warning letters to Remove it Pros and Estero 4148 LLC in care of Candace and Kory Nanke in 2023 over the removal of the mangroves.
“Regarding the mangrove removal, DEP is still pursuing formal enforcement. A restoration plan is currently in development, and once finalized and approved, the Consent Order can be issued,” DEP spokesperson Brooke Keck said.
According to DEP records, 273 square feet of unauthorized mangrove removal occurred at the site in February of 2023. Red and black mangroves were removed without a permit, violating state statutes. The mangrove removal included some that were on the property of the Town of Fort Myers Beach.
Vanasse said the owners now have a permit to do work on the docks and will replant mangroves and will maintain them at 36 inches.
Despite the ongoing consent order, a permit was issued by the DEP last year authorizing the construction of a 160-foot and 36-foot wooden marginal dock at the former Beach Theater property to allow four temporary wet boat slips. Overnight docking would be prohibited. Under the agreement with the DEP, all vessels would be required to operate with no wake and idle speed in the immediate vicinity of the dock.
“DEP has not received any new permit applications for additional development at the site. While the enforcement action does not prohibit separate upland construction, depending on the scope of work, the property owner may be required to obtain additional permits, such as for stormwater,” Keck said.
Mangroves are a major source of concern for neighbors who count on them for protection during storm, like after Hurricane Ian.
In regards to the removal of the mangroves, Vanasse said there was a “bit of a snafu” with the mangroves, which needed a local development order. Vanasse, who was not involved in the project at the time the mangroves were removed, said there was “miscommunication” between an environmental consultant and the ownership group that led to the mangroves being illegally removed.