Town council approves new building for Meli’s Ice Cream

The Town of Fort Myers Beach Council approved a development agreement with the owners of Meli’s Ice Cream to construct a new building at Times Square where Kilwins Ice Cream stood before it was destroyed by Hurricane Ian in 2022.

The building will be constructed by Meli’s Ice Cream owner Carlos Chavez, who owns Bella Mozzarella Pizza & Grill next door. Meli’s Ice Cream currently operates out of a trailer on the property.

The zoned height of the structure will be three stories and a maximum of 30 feet from the minimum DEP required elevation (lowest horizontal structural member) mid-point of sloped roof, as permitted along the pedestrian plaza in Times

Square, and an actual building height of approximately 47 feet as measured from grade to the highest peak of roof.

The mixed-use structure will include an open area on the ground floor for a mobile vendor, food service use (including but not limited to an ice cream shop) and the second floor and third floors will be a one-bedroom residence.

Before the Town Council approved the construction, though, they wanted assurances from the owners that they will pay a proportionate share of the cost of a wave mitigation wall for Times Square that the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council is considering constructing. The town has so far paid a consultant more than $70,000 to study placing a wave mitigation wall on the beach.

Chavez was represented at Monday’s council meeting by planner Patrick Vanasse of The Neighborhood Company.

Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers, said to Vannase “We’re talking a lot about the mitigation wall. I am curious if your applicants would be OK with adding any kind of language that says should we get to the point where we do it that they would be willing to participate whatever that may be per owner of the land there to contribute to that mitigation wall?”

Vanasse said Chavez would be a willing participant.

Councilmember Scott Safford asked if the town council should add that into the development agreement.

Richard Akin, an attorney for Chavez, said there was language in the development agreement that already covered that. Akin referred to a portion of the agreement which says “in the event new or additional facilities are needed to serve the project the developer will bear its proportionate cost of such facilities.”

Akin said that if there was a wave mitigation wall, Chavez would support being a part of that plan.

Town Attorney Nancy Stuparich asked the Town Council if it wants to add in “including, but not limited to a wave mitigation wall.”

Stuparich said the intent was to include a wave mitigation wall.

Akin said Mr. Chavez has no problem bearing his proportionate share for a wave mitigation wall, but said a wave mitigation wall was not needed to approve the project he is proposing.

Akin wanted to ensure that the construction of a wave mitigation wall was not a prerequisite to Chavez receiving approval for his building. “What I don’t want is for there to be some later time, somebody says ‘you got to build that.’

Akin said the wall shouldn’t be tied to the construction of the building because “it’s not required.”

Safford said there should be some language in the agreement that the owner should participate in covering the cost of the wall. “It’s going to benefit you,” Safford said.

Allers asked the town’s attorney if Chavez could back out of paying for the mitigation wall if it wasn’t required in the agreement.

Stuparich said once the project is built, they may not need to pay for the mitigation wall. Stuparich suggested some language “to memorialize the town council’s concerns.”

Akin said the agreement notes that if a mitigation wall was constructed, the owner of the building could convert the ground floor structure into an enclosed retail establishment.

Allers asked that if a mitigation wall is built, is there a way to put legal language into the agreement that would trigger the owner paying a proportionate share of the wall.

Akin ultimately agreed on new language in the agreement that if the town enacts a municipal taxing unit, the developer will cover their proportionate share of a wave mitigation wall.

The project required three deviations from the town for the project, including a deviation from the rear setback from 10 feet to allow a zero setback. The second deviation will increase the floor-area ratio from 1.8 to 2.5. The third deviation would allow the owners to have no plantings on the edge of the parcel.

During a planning board meeting last month in which the project was given a recommendation of approval, LPA Chair Anita Cereceda said the new building would make it visible from over the Matanzas Pass Bridge though she welcomes the new addition to Times Square. At Monday’s Town Council meeting, there was no discussion about how the building would impact the view of the Gulf from the bridge.