Town deems London Bay’s Live Local Act submittals complete as staff review begins
Fort Myers Beach has until Jan. 26 to make determination on hotel, condo and workforce housing project
London Bay’s Live Local Act proposal for the Outrigger Beach Resort property is now on the clock.
The Town of Fort Myers Beach Community Development Department completed its completeness review for the Live Local Act Development Order application on Sept. 28, triggering a 120-day deadline by which the town has to make a decision on whether to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the application.
The letter of completeness review sent out by the town means the town has determined that the application contains the required information and supporting documentation necessary to proceed with technical review.
The calculated deadline for final action by the town is now Jan. 26.
The original plans of London Bay were rejected by the Town of Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency (LPA), whose members make a recommendation to the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council.
The LPA voted in May against a Comprehensive Plan text amendment, a rezoning request, and a Comprehensive Plan amendment to allow for the project’s proposed 150 hotel units 46 multi-family units in a 15-story tower. The plans also included a 200-room restaurant, tiki hut and bar.
In July, one week before London Bay’s representative were scheduled to go in front of the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council for a special meeting and hearing on their original proposal, London Bay scrapped their plans. The firm filed new plans for a development order under the Live Local Act, which is intended to bypass the Council’s review altogether for the expanded 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 more multi-family units.
The new proposal requests to construct a 15-story hotel and condo tower with 153 condos and 104 hotel rooms, a four-story multi-family complex with 102 workforce housing units, 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.
London Bay CEO Mark Wilson was not available for comment, but through a representative said nothing had changed from the original plans submitted over the summer.
The former Outrigger Beach Resort property across from the Town of Fort Myers Beach Town Hall, is where London bay wants to build a 15-story hotel and condo tower, along with 102 workforce housing units under a Live Local Act proposal that is bypassing the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council. Photo by Nathan Mayberg
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers said the council will have no decision-making authority over London Bay’s project. He said it is now in the hands of town staff.
“I expect town staff to thoroughly review the proposal, including the workforce housing requirements, and enforce all applicable regulations,” Allers said. “If it qualifies, approval is administrative, not a Council decision. While Council cannot override state law, we still have a responsibility to ensure the process is fair, transparent, and consistent with all applicable laws.”
Allers said he would have preferred that London Bay’s representatives went in front of the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council with their project.
“I would have preferred London Bay go through the traditional public approval process, but they have the legal right to pursue the Live Local Act, provided they qualify,” Allers said.
Local Planning Agency member Ed Schoonover, now running for a seat on the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council, was among a minority of members of the LPA who voted in favor of London Bay for both Comprehensive Plan amendment changes for the project and in favor of the rezoning request. Schoonover said in response to questions that he couldn’t comment on thei Live Local Act proposal.
“Due to the fact that London Bay may be coming back to the LPA or council I will not comment on their project or proposal,” Schoonover said. “The owner also owns other properties on the island that may soon come before our boards.”
Schoonover did say he feels “Live Local is an option that takes away more local control from towns and cities.” Schoonover said “In the interest of sunshine laws and an appearance of how I would view any proposal would be a poor ethical decision for me to make.”
Schoonover was the lone vote on the LPA in voting to approve the rezoning of the property for the original London Bay project proposal, though he was joined by board member Jim Dunlap in voting for a Comprehensive Plan text amendment that was denied by the LPA in a 5-2 vote. Schoonover, Dunlap and Doug Eckmann joined together in an attempt to approve a Comprehensive Plan amendment that would limit the floor area ratio figure though the height of the building would still have been 175 feet high and 15 stories. That vote failed 4-3.
Local Planning Agency Chair Anita Cereceda, who is also running for a seat on the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council voted with the majority in denying London Bay the zoning change and Comprehensive Plan changes.
Cereceda said this week that she “voted against it because it was inconsistent with the goals and objectives of our comprehensive plan.”
While not wishing to comment directly on London Bay’s Live Local Act proposal, Cereceda said Live Local Act projects “circumvents the public process of reviewing and approving a project. In my opinion, the entire concept of the Live Local Act, is ill conceived.”
London Bay President and CEO Mark Wilson, in a letter to the town over the summer, said he believes he is entitled to build the more intense project under the Live Local Act.
While the Live Local Act does give developers more latitude than normal if workforce housing is involved, the legislation also states that projects must still meet the Comprehensive Plan and land use regulations of a municipality.
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.
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.
In Fort Myers Beach, while there are buildings about tall as what London Bay is seeking to build, they were all built based on approvals in hand before the town completed its Comprehensive Plan in 2000 and the town’s zoning changed to restrict the height and intensity of projects. By right London Bay would only be allowed to build three stories over parking at the Outrigger site without deviations from town code. The Live Local Act proposal seeks to work around the height limitartions of the town’s land development code.
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.
The project brought significant community opposition from neighbors over the course of two LPA meetings. After initial opposition at a hearing, 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 another building.
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.
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 Republican state legislative delegation voted in favor of the law, including Rep. Adam Botana (whose district covers Fort Myers Beach) and State Senator Jonathan Martin (whose district includes Fort Myers Beach and most of Lee County).
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 potentially exemptions from local property taxes in certain cases.
The Outrigger Beach Resort before Hurricane Ian. File photo
Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay did not respond to questions emailed last week as to how the new Live Local Act project would be reviewed and who at the town staff level would have final say over its approval.
Over the summer, Town of Fort Myers Beach Public Information Officer Abigail Eberhart said “Town staff will determine whether a project qualifies based on the statutory eligibility criteria.”
Town of Fort Myers Beach Councilmember Rebecca Link, who is running in November to retain her seat, declined comment on the London Bay Live Local Act filing. “I have a responsibility to keep an open mind about matters that may come before me for a decision. Any decision I am called upon to make should follow a review of the evidence and applicable law,” Link said.
Protect FMB President Tom Brady, who is also running for a seat on the council, said “London Bay’s development proposal sought several variances that adjoining neighbors said would negatively affect their community without providing permanent, enforceable public benefits. Because this proposal could come before me in an official capacity, I will reserve further comment on its merits. The Live Local Act is an option developers may explore, and I support affordable housing. At the same time, the Town has legal rights of its own, and I expect it to fully defend those rights.”
Town of Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Scott Safford said he was withholding comment on the Live Local Act proposal from London Bay, saying they may return with the original plans. “They may come back to us with their original proposal, so I’d prefer to hold off comment because I may end up voting on it,” Safford said.
Fort Myers Beach Observer Editor Nathan Mayberg can be reached at NMayberg@breezenewspapers.com