The Fort Myers Beach Town Council on Oct. 6 approved county plans to rebuild the beach’s fishing pier and to repair boardwalks at Bowditch Park, while removing the town’s blanket prohibition on construction during sea turtle nesting season and instead requiring state permits and monitoring.

Senior planner Jason Smolley told the council the county is proposing a roughly 1,000-foot pier about 12 feet wide (roughly 16,000 square feet) with three shade structures, lighting and a fish-cleaning station. Assistant Lee County Manager Robert Cody said the pier “was never considered not to be rebuilt” and that the Lee County Board of County Commissioners approved the project and the recommended funding approach.

Both county projects were before the council because parts of the work fall within the town’s EC (estuarine/coastal) zoning and seaward of the 1978 coastal construction control line (CCCL). At the Local Planning Agency hearings the county had asked staff’s recommended conditions be revised to remove a prohibition on working during turtle season. Councilors approved the county requests — including removal of the town’s turtle-season prohibition — while maintaining that the county and its contractors must obtain all required state permits and conduct daily monitoring in coordination with the town’s environmental manager.

Council members discussed who made the decision to rebuild the pier and how it was funded; Cody said the Lee County commissioners approved the final design and that funding is a mix of FEMA reimbursement, Tourist Development Council contributions and county funds. The council also heard that the county will be responsible for daily monitoring and dune restoration work required by state permits.

The council voted unanimously to approve the county’s special-exception requests for the pier and for the Bowditch Park repairs after motions to approve were amended to remove the town’s prohibition on construction during turtle season and specify that the state’s monitoring requirements must be followed.