Former councilman reacts to Rowe variance decision
To the editor:
The Fort Myers Beach Town Council has lost sight of why the Town of Fort Myers Beach was incorporated.
At a hearing on June 6, Council gave a developer more density, more floors, more height and more living space than allowed by the Town’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code. Recommendations and objections by the Local Planning Agency and neighbors near the development were ignored.
In all, 12.4 percent more living area, a 50 percent increase in the number of dwelling units, an additional floor and 16.7 percent more height were given to the developer than is allowed by our LDC. These are not small variances. They are huge.
Is this how to solve our traffic problems or address a community that is over-built? Do we want Estero Boulevard to look like the tall and massive houses being built on Hickory Boulevard? That is not the intent of the Comprehensive Plan written following incorporation of our Town.
The biggest concern may be that the door is now open for 55 more properties in the same location to request similar treatment. How many other properties on the island will now be asking for more density, more size and more building height than is allowed by our LDC?
Lee County purchased downtown properties and built a park that will enhance the view corridor coming on the island. What would be the view if Town Council allowed development of over-sized buildings in that area? Building parks, controlling density, decreasing traffic congestion and encouraging reasonable redevelopment are critical elements of our Comprehensive Plan and must be followed.
Tom Babcock
Fort Myers Beach