London Bay hearing on Outrigger continued by LPA
The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency (LPA) voted on Friday 4-2 to continue the hearing on the London Bay Development Group’s proposed comprehensive plan text amendment to redevelop the former Outrigger Beach Resort, to a meeting on Tuesday at the request of London Bay’s representatives.
The decision occurred following a public hearing in which most speakers expressed opposition to London Bay’s project. Speakers opposed to the plans argued that the project was not compatible with the town’s comprehensive plan and would compound existing traffic and infrastructure issues in the town.
London Bay sought the extension due to the absence of LPA member Doug Eckmann, who was not in attendance. London Bay representatives want a full board before presenting the update to their plans, which is expected to lower the maximum height of the project from 195 feet to 158 for the tallest building.
The original plans called for multiple buildings on the beachfront property, with the tallest building at 15 stories. Another tower would reach 12 stories high. Town code limits height for buildings to three stories over one floor of parking. 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.
Town planning consultants said on Friday that they hadn’t been able to fully review changes proposed by London Bay Development Group that were made since last month’s LPA meeting. That meeting had been continued to Friday’s special meeting.
Planning consultant Jason Green said staff “will try to review as much as possible” before Tuesday’s meetings but may not have enough time to recalculate the impacts in time based on the changes recently submitted by the developers .
London Bay’s attorney Richard Yovanovich said the developers would not be presenting their updated plans until all LPA members are present for a meeting.
“I don’t know how we can guarantee that,” LPA member Don Sudduth said.
On Tuesday, Sudduth expanded his comments to say 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 have 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.
Board member Doug Eckmann said “one way or another the property is going to be developed.” Schoonover said they could build the hotel that was there previously “which was not that attractive to me.”
Eckmann said that while he understood the height issue, London Bay took of a height from the tallest building and added floors to other buildings. He said he liked the original plans better but said “it looks like a quality project.”
Vice Chair Jane Plummer said height was still a major issue for her on the project, as well as the floor area ratio of the development.
Her other concern was the location of the tiki bar.
Board member James 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.
Some town residents who spoke said they flew back into town just to speak on the proposal.
At the public hearing, the public’s opinion of London Bay’s plans were largely tilted in opposition.
Dave Nusbuam, Island Winds condo board president, was one of the few supporters of the Outrigger redevelopment proposal. “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.
Marcia O’Brien, who lives next door at the luxury condo development Gulfside Twelve, expressed concern at the proposed locatio of a tiki 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.
O’Brien said owners could suffer a loss of privacy due to the location of the tiki bar and rooftop bar.
O’Brien expressed concern for traffic impacts. “It will become increasingly difficult to make a left turn” onto Estero Boulevard, she said. She objected to their plans to use golf carts from Fish-Tale Marina to bring visitors by boat. She is also opposed to a seawall that London Bay has floated for the former Outrigger site.
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.
Barbara Hill said the project is too dense and in an “established neighborhood of single-family residences. That alone should have stopped the LPA in its tracks in considering this project.”
Voting in favor of continuing the hearing to Tuesday were LPA members James Boan, Jim Dunlap, Don Sudduth and Edward Schoonover.
Board Chair Anita Cereceda voted against the continuance along with Vice Chair Jane Plummer. Plummet argued that the board had a quorum to hear the proposal and vote.
Dunlap had suggested the LPA shouldn’t discuss the proposal without Eckmann present. Cereceda asked if that meant that every time an LPA member was absent, that the board should not be able to discuss a project.
Dunlap said “this is not a normal meeting.”
Dunlap also suggested that if the plans of London Bay were rejected they could build workforce housing with not as much input from the LPA. Dunlap requested that London Bay present at the next meeting what type of workforce housing could be built on the site.
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.
Board member Edward Schoonover said he liked the original proposal. “There is always going to be people for projects, against project, I still haven’t made up my mind,” Schoonover said.
Schoonover said he wants to vote on 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.”
On Tuesday, at a continuation of the hearing, Lori 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.
Town of Fort Myers Beach Attorney Nancy Stuparich noted that she and town planning consultant Jason Green have not had an opportunity to review some of the new submissions of details for the project by London Bay Development Group, on the Live Local Act.
Boan called the project “way out of character” for the town. “It’s too high, too dense, and too intense.”
In her comments, Board Chair Anita Cereceda referred to comments made by Steve Johnson, in which he referred to the comprehensive plan as “a covenant.”
Cereceda said the comprehensive plan “is a covenant for the people who created it to this community. What makes you an exception?”
Cereceda said she doesn’t think the renderings and plans have 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.
Cereceda said the reduction in height from 195 to 158 feet was not enough to sway her vote.
Vote on denying comprehensive plan amendment, 5-2, with James Dunlap and Ed Schoonover opposed.