London Bay seeks to bypass Town Council with new plans featuring hotel, large-scale workforce housing and condo project for Outrigger
London Bay CEO cites 2023 state law in bid to get new plans approved, one week before hearing was planned
Just one week before they were scheduled to go in front of the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council for a hearing on their plans to redevelop the Outrigger Beach Resort, London Bay has filed a new application for a development order seeking to bypass the Council altogether for their beachfront project.
Citing the Live Local Act, a sweeping affordable housing law passed by the state legislature in 2023 and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the London Bay Development Group and other investors under the entity 6200 Estero Blvd Investments LLC are proposing to build a more dense project with many more multi-family units.
The proposal requests to construct two 15-story buildings over a shared podium with 255 multi-family units (153 condominiums and 102 workforce apartments), a hotel (104 rooms), approximately 3,600 square feet of retail space, and a 16,230-square-foot beach club, hotel restaurants, associated amenity areas, garage parking, a surface water management system, supporting drainage infrastructure, and potable and sanitary utilities on approximately 3.56 acres, according to plans submitted by JR Evans Engineering on behalf of 6200 Estero Blvd Investments LLC.
While a letter from London Bay President and CEO Mark Wilson to the town indicates he believes he is entitled to build a project of this scope by right while citing the Live Local Act, that may not be the case.
The Live Local Act states that projects must still meet the Comprehensive Plan and land use regulations of a municipality.
The new request for a development order far exceeds what London Bay Development Group was seeking under a Comprehensive Plan Amendment that had been rejected by the Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency (LPA) in May. Those plans involved 150 hotel and condo units and 46 workforce units, in addition to a restaurant, tiki hut and bar. The LPA voted 5-2 in May to deny the 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 at 6200 Estero Boulevard.
The Live Local Act states that a proposed development in which at least 40 percent of the residential units in a proposed multifamily rental development are, for a period of at least 30 years affordable as defined by state statute, must be administratively approved and no further action by the governing body of the municipality is required if the development satisfies the municipality’s land development regulations for multifamily developments in areas zoned for such use and is otherwise consistent with the comprehensive plan. with the exception of provisions establishing allowable densities, height, and land use. At least 65 percent of the total square footage must be used for residential purposes in mixed-use developments such as this.
The town can not restrict the density of a proposed development authorized below the highest allowed density on any land in the municipality where residential development is allowed.
The town can also not restrict a development that meets the affordable housing criteria below the currently allowed height for a commercial or residential development located in its jurisdiction within one mile of the proposed development or three stories, whichever is higher.
With the proposed height of the buildings at 166 feet measured from grade, and 158 feet from the base flood elevation at 15 stories, that would put the project at odds with the town’s land development code which restricts height to three stories over floor of parking on the beach side of the island. That is one of the reasons the project required a comprehensive plan amendment. While the Live Local Act prohibits municipalities from requiring a Comprehensive Plan Amendment, variances or special exceptions for projects that meet the affordable housing requirements, the law doesn’t say they can be allowed if they don’t meet a municipality’s land development regulations for multifamily developments or if it is not consistent with the town’s comprehensive plan. All developments must also comply with all local laws.
London Bay Development Group has sought a Comprehensive Plan Amendment for a 15-story-high building reaching 195-feet-high and a 12-story-high building for hotel rooms and condo units, and a restaurant, along with other buildings. 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 under the company’s proposals.
The project brought significant community opposition from neighbors over the course of two LPA meetings. The Naples-based developers then reduced the height of the tallest building by one floor, lowering the height from 195 feet to 158 feet, while adding a floor to the other building.
Board members cited the project’s height and density, along with the concerns of neighbors, in rejecting the plans by a vote of 5-2. London Bay representatives had threatened at the LPA hearing to pursue a Live Local Act development order, though they said they preferred not to.
In a letter sent Tuesday by London Bay Development Group President and CEO Mark Wilson to Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers and the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council requesting a cancellation of the Aug. 5 scheduled hearing, Wilson wrote “It has become clear to us that the current entitlement review process no longer aligns with the project’s economics, and under current conditions, we do not see a path to getting an economically feasible project approved through that process. Given that reality, we have decided to pursue development of the property under the Live Local Act, which allows us to move forward within our existing legal entitlements while avoiding further delay to a project the Town needs.”
While the application to the Town of Fort Myers Beach Community Development office states that 102 of the units are for workforce housing, the Live Local Act makes no mention of workforce housing. The Live Local Act refers to affordable housing, which is defined as up to 120 percent of the median annual adjusted gross income for households within the state, or 120 percent of the median annual adjusted gross income for households within the county in which the person or family resides, whichever is greater. Under state statute, affordable housing means that monthly rents or monthly mortgage payments including taxes, insurance, and utilities do not exceed 30 percent of the median adjusted gross annual income for the households who qualify.
Questions emailed to Wilson regarding the latest proposal, and what the income requirements would be for the affordable housing units, were forwarded to Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster, a public relations professional with Gravina, Smith, Matte and Arnold. Buzzacco-Foerster said “income requirements are determined by the area’s median income. Additional details are not available at this time.”
The Live Local Act was passed unanimously by the State Senate in 2023 and 103-6 in the State House. All of Lee County’s delegation voted in of the law, including Rep. Adam Botana (whose district covers Fort Myers Beach).
The Live Local Act seeks to advance affordable housing projects throughout the state by limiting their review by the boards of local municipalities and counties. The law also offers developers of affordable housing projects property tax credits, sales tax credits and exemptions from local property taxes, which the development group could potentially be in line for on the affordable housing units. Wilson did not respond to questions submitted through Buzzacco-Foerster as to whether London Bay would be seeking any property tax exemptions or other tax credits.
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers responded to the latest filing for the Outrigger Beach Resort, by saying “I have always welcomed those who want to invest in Fort Myers Beach, whether through commercial or residential development. Investment is an important part of our continued recovery and future success. I look forward to seeing the Outrigger property redeveloped and wish the applicants nothing but the best as they move through the process.”
Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay did not respond to questions emailed today regarding how the project would be reviewed going forward.”
Fort Myers Beach Public Information Officer Abigail Eberhart said “The Town of Fort Myers Beach has been informed that the applicant for the proposed Outrigger redevelopment intends to pursue development under Florida’s Live Local Act rather than continue through the Town’s Comprehensive Plan amendment process. The Live Local Act is a state law that provides an alternative approval process for qualifying workforce housing developments. Projects that satisfy the requirements established in state law are not subject to review by the Local Planning Agency or approval by the Town Council.”
Eberhart said that “Because the project would no longer proceed through the Comprehensive Plan amendment process, the public benefits previously proposed as part of that application, including public beach access and other negotiated amenities, would no longer be required unless voluntarily provided by the applicant. The Town is required to administer and apply Florida law as enacted by the Florida Legislature.”
In response to follow-up questions from the Fort Myers Beach Observer, Eberhart said “the Live Local Act created a significant exception for qualifying affordable and workforce housing projects.
If a project meets the law’s requirements, Florida preempts portions of local land-use authority.
That means the developer may receive higher residential density, greater building height, residential uses in commercial or mixed-use districts even if local zoning would otherwise prohibit those aspects. The law limits how much discretion a local government has over qualifying projects.”
In response to questions from the Fort Myers Beach Observer if that interpretation was the official town position, Eberhart provided links to the legislation and a link on the town’s website providing an interpretation and synopsis of the Live Local Act. The overview of the Live Local Act on the town’s website gives no credit for where the source of the information is from, who put it together or compiled it. The website page does provide an information to chat with Finn, the town’s new artificial intelligence chat bot.
Emails sent to Town of Fort Myers Beach Attorney Becky Vose were not responded to.
Under their latest filing for the Outrigger project London Bay President and CEP Mark Wilson and London Bay Executive Vice President Stephen Wilson are listed with Eijk van Otterloo as representing 50% of the ownership of 6200 Estero Blvd Investments LLC. The other shares of the Naples-based limited liability company proposing the new project, are split between van Otterloo’s Massachusetts-based LB EVO Holdings, LLC, which is a Delaware limited liability company, and Illinois-based Kenneth Callero, Successor Trustee of the Davies Master Trust. The beneficiaries of that trust are listed as Linda A Callero, Joseph P Davies and Nancy Davies Mersch.
Fort Myers Beach Observer Editor Nathan Mayberg can be reached at NMayberg@breezenewspapers.com