Cape Coral moves to require 2‑hour firewall for new commercial shell buildings to reduce tenant retrofits

Cape Coral staff told the Committee of the Whole on Oct. 15, 2025, that multiple recent projects required substantial tenant retrofits after the initial permit and construction because the city’s baseline firewall rating for new commercial shell buildings typically allowed only a 1‑hour partition. Staff recommended requiring a 2‑hour firewall assembly for new commercial multi‑tenant buildings; council members generally supported pursuing a local code change if the state fire marshal does not adopt the change statewide.

Deputy city staff and the fire department explained the operational problem: many strip centers are designed and permitted as a single occupancy (often business/mercantile), which allows a 1‑hour partition. When a later tenant wants a different use — a restaurant, light industrial or other mercantile use — the building must be brought to the more stringent firewall rating, often a 2‑hour assembly, which includes extra layers of Type‑X drywall, specialized doors and additional sealing of penetrations. That retrofit can substantially increase cost and delay occupancy.

Fire Department and staff analysis showed that roughly 94% of common tenant scenarios in Cape Coral would require a 2‑hour separation once tenant types are considered, making the initial 1‑hour design a frequent precursor to rework. The staff estimate used example labor and material pricing for a 100‑foot partition to illustrate relative costs, and the fire marshal noted a two‑layer Type‑X drywall solution is commonly used for 2‑hour assemblies.

Assistant City Manager Mark Mason and fire staff recommended either (1) petitioning the state fire marshal to change the model fire code, or (2) adopting a local ordinance when the city adopts the triennial fire code; staff favored option (2) to implement the change more quickly, with some grant or fee relief options for developers under discussion. “Let’s build it right. Let’s change the future, and let’s be business friendly,” Mason said during the discussion.

Council members generally supported the second option — adopting a local requirement for a 2‑hour firewall on new commercial shell buildings — noting it would reduce repeated plan review and reinspection, speed tenant move‑ins and avoid late, high‑cost retrofits that can frustrate new businesses. Council member Steinke said, “I’m in full favor of going of using the option that says, we just make that a local ordinance and that’s where we go.”

Staff noted tradeoffs: requiring 2‑hour assemblies increases initial construction cost and may slightly lengthen initial construction time, but it reduces the likelihood of later, more expensive retrofit work and reduces customer complaints and repeated permit traffic. Staff also said mandatory sprinklers — the gold standard — was a more protective but significantly costlier option, and therefore not the preferred approach at this time.

Next steps

Council gave staff direction to pursue the local amendment pathway (seek state fire code adoption, and if not adopted, adopt local language when the city adopts the triennial fire code) and to return with ordinance language and an implementation plan, including a cost/benefit analysis and possible incentive options for developers.