Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency rejects London Bay plans for Outrigger site

The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency voted 5-2 today to deny a proposed comprehensive plan amendment proposed by London Bay Development Group to construct a multi-tower hotel and condo project on the site of the former Outrigger Beach Resort. The project brought significant community opposition from neighbors. Board members cited the project’s height and density, along with the concerns of neighbors, in rejecting the plans. The developers are expected to still seek approval from the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council.

After three hearings in which a large majority of residents spoke out against plans for the former Outrigger Beach Resort, the Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency concurred and voted 5-2 on Tuesday to deny a comprehensive plan text amendment proposed by London Bay Development Group to construct a multi-tower hotel and condo project on the site of the popular former resort.

Board members cited the project’s height and density, along with the concerns of neighbors, in rejecting the plans. The developers are expected to still seek approval from the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council.

Voting to deny the proposal was Local Planning Agency Chair Anita Cereceda, Vice Chair Jane Plummer, James Boan, Doug Eckmann and Don Sudduth. Board members James Dunlap and Edward Schoonover voted in the minority to approve London Bay’s plans.

The original plans had been presented with a 15-story-high building reaching 195-feet-high, and a 12-story-high building for hotel rooms and condo units, along with other buildings.

The Naples-based developers last week reduced the height of the tallest building from 195 feet to 158 feet, while adding a floor to the other building.

The change in height was not enough to sway board members, who had concerns about the overall consistency to town’s comprehensive plan and the opposition from neighbors who lived close by.

Cereceda referred to comments made by the town’s former Marine and Environmental Resources Chair Steve Johnson at a public hearing on Friday, in which he referred to the town’s comprehensive plan as a covenant.

Cereceda said that covenant in the creation of the comprehensive plan which was created after the town’s incorporation in the 1990’s, was important to her vote on Tuesday.

The comprehensive plan, Cereceda said, “is a covenant for the people who created it for this community.” Cereceda asked London Bay Development Group’s CEO Mark Wilson “What makes you an exception?”

Cereceda said she doesn’t think the renderings and plans put forth by London Bay been sufficient in detail in showing how the project would interface with Estero Boulevard. She said there should be 3-D modeling so the community can “see and feel it.”

Cereceda said the project was lacking “the meat and potatoes” of detail in the plans. Cereceda said she wouldn’t support a project that is more than 2.5 in floor area ratio.

Town code limits height for buildings to three stories over one floor of parking on the beach side of Estero Boulevard. There would be 150 condo and hotel units, and 46 multi-family units, along with a 200-seat restaurant, tiki hut bar and a rooftop bar.

The former Outrigger Beach Resort, at 6200 Estero Boulevard, was damaged by Hurricane Ian and then demolished by London Bay after they acquired the property, and Charley’s Boat House and Grill, across the street for $38.2 million. The Outrigger Beach Resort, an old Florida style resort, was one of the oldest and continuous hospitality hotels on Fort Myers Beach.

The review of the project by the town’s planning consultants was delayed due to changes made by London Bay Development Group over the past week. Town planners said they hadn’t had a chance to review all of the changes in time for the LPA’s hearings on Friday and this past Tuesday.

Sudduth, who had said at a previous hearing that he was not bothered by the height of the project, said on Tuesday he believes the main issue of opposition has seemed to be height and he had sought to find a compromised height that would fit the neighborhood. “158 feet is how tall the adjacent buildings are on the south end,” Sudduth said. A number of residents had argued that the project would actually be much higher than buildings surrounding the site, with taller buildings further down the road. No buildings of more than 100 feet have been constructed on the southern beach side of Fort Myers Beach in more than 25 years since the town approved a new comprehensive plan.

“We’re trying to put a town back together, put an island back together, spark the economy, we need a spark bad, we need a couple sparks on this island. I think real estate is kind of flat right now. I think some development would be great, some large development,” Sudduth said.

At the same time, Sudduth said “I do think part of my role is the people, and listening to the people” and said he was struggling with his decision.

Sudduth said “I think a significant amount of people, including the adjacent property owners, are having problems with this.”

Sudduth said he thinks London Bay is a solid developer but was unsure if they could meet the concerns of residents.

One of the most closest sources of opposition came from neighbors at the adjacent property, Gulfside Twelve. Residents at Gulfside Twelve, a luxury condo development that was constructed last year at four stories, objected to the proximity of a proposed cheekie hut, to their community pool, as well as how far out onto the beach it would be constructed.

Marcia O’Brien, who lives next door at the luxury condo development Gulfside Twelve, expressed concern at the proposed location of a bar, which she said will be 50 feet from their community pool.

“We will no longer be able to see stars at night due to the lights at the resort,” O’Brien said. She also objected to a loss of privacy due to the height of the proposed structure and rooftop bar.

Boan was bothered that the town was being asked to grant a comprehensive plan amendment for a single developer. His concerns were neighborhood compatibility and the concerns of neighbors. He felt the buildings were too high for the neighborhood.

He found the suggested public benefits of a restaurant and tiki bar to actually be benefits to the developer. He saw the suggested linear park actually being part of the setbacks on the property.

Boan said the intensity and density of the project was too high for him, comparing it to Miami and St. Petersburg developments.

The amenities on the project would not be ready until 2030 or 2031 at the earliest, which Boan found not to be convincing enough to approve the project. Supporters, such as Dave Nusbaum of Island Winds and others at Grandview at Bay Beach, have cited the need for more restaurants on the south end of Fort Myers Beach.

At a public hearing Friday, support for the proposal came from Dave Nusbuam, Island Winds condo board president, and the current chair of the Fort Myers Beach Marine and Environmental Resources Task Force.

“Time is a merciless thief,” Nusbaum said. “For the last three and a half years, we have had our lives stolen.”

Since Hurricane Ian, Nusbaum said “We don’t have enough bars, we don’t have enough restaurants, we don’t have enough people.”

He lamented that many projects that were approved in town have not yet started construction.

“We need progress,” Nusbaum said. “The longer we wait, the more time steals from us.”

London Bay’s CEO Mark Wilson has said the earliest construction could be completed on the resort would be 2030 or 2031.

Lori Webster said “This town incorporated to prevent large-scale development from crushing our island.” Webster said the town’s zoning “wasn’t done randomly,” but was done strategically.

“Rules were put in place to protect the island from overdevelopment. A lot of time and money were put in,” Webster said.

“This proposal makes so little sense that they need to rewrite the comprehensive plan to accommodate it. They can’t accomplish what they want from variances alone. They need their own classification. That is not responsible development. That is arrogance and greed. Despite what some residents believe, bad development is not better than no development,” Webster said.

Beth Ann Burwinkel, a longtime resident, called the plans “an insult to the neighbors” and said “Their ROI (return on investment) is not our problem.”

Ellie Bunting said an approval for London Bay would set a bad precedent. “We are not Naples or Miami Beach,” Bunting said.

Cindy Johnson said that changing the comprehensive plan to suit London Bay’s interests would be detrimental to the area.

She raised specific concerns about impacts to the stormwater infrastructure in the town, and how much stormwater from the site would ultimately be carried out to local canals off residential streets that have been struggling with plumbing since Hurricane Ian.

“They need to make some space on their property to deal with stormwater,” Johnson said.

Johnson also expressed concern for how far onto the beach the project may encroach.

Dunlap suggested that if the plans of London Bay were rejected they could build workforce housing with not as much input from the LPA.

Boan said he didn’t think workforce housing would be financially feasible for the developers.

On Tuesday, Wilson said he would prefer a mixture of hotel rooms and condo units, though he said they could also build affordable workforce housing. Wilson also read from letters of support from condo association residents at Island Winds, the Sandarac, as well as businesses such as the Beach Bar and HM Restaurant Group.

Schoonover said he liked the original proposal. “If this does go to the council, which it will, I am afraid London Bay is going to have to sharpen their pencil a little more,” he said.

On Tuesday, at a continuation of the hearing, Webster said she felt like she was “put in a blender” by the introduction of new information by London Bay which she and other residents felt they didn’t have any time to prepare for.

“There was so much information brought to this meeting that nobody knew ahead of time and that’s wrong,” Webster said. “The lack of respect for the rules is just mind-blowing. From day one, everything has been ‘no, we are going to do it this way. I know what your rules say. I don’t care.’ What does that mean for our future with a project like this if from the beginning they don’t respect the rules? What are we going to end up with? A big development that doesn’t care about our rules, doesn’t care about our people, doesn’t care about the island character. I live right there. This is in my backyard and I am not OK with that,” she said.

Boan called the project “way out of character” for the town. “It’s too high, too dense, and too intense.”

Following the failure of the comprehensive plan text amendment to pass, board member Doug Eckmann put forward a second proposal which would put the height of the tallest building at 175 feet but would lower the floor area ratio. That project failed on a 4-3 vote, with Eckmann joined by Dunlap and Schoonover in support.

Second vote by Doug Eckmann to lower height to 175 feet high and 2.5 FAR.

This story will be updated.