Bonita Springs council discusses legislative priorities: Bonita Beach maintenance, utilities undergrounding and gateway projects

City staff and the city’s lobbyist briefed council on legislative outreach plans and asked for direction on priorities to present to the Lee County delegation and Senator Martin’s office.

Arlene (city staff) said the mayor, the assistant city manager and staff will meet with Senator Martin’s office before the Lee County delegation meeting and asked council to finalize priorities by the first council meeting in October so staff can assemble a package for the delegation. The delegation meeting is scheduled for Oct. 28; the city’s meeting with Senator Martin is set for Sept. 24.

Council members urged that Bonita Beach maintenance be a top priority. A council member noted that while the city secured a critical-erosion designation, sections of Bonita Beach remain damaged: "Portions of Bonita Beach right now are pretty dangerous because we have what's happened is water has cut ditches into the beach, and you're gonna get people hurt," a council member said. Staff and consultants explained that renourishment projects typically require permanent easements from adjacent property owners; the transcript references roughly 140 property owners without permanent easements along the corridor, which complicates an immediate renourishment project and could delay work for years without a focused approach.

Participants discussed possible legislative asks beyond direct funding: a state-supported strategy to engage holdout property owners, a targeted study with a fiscal ask to make the priority tangible to legislators, and DEP coordination. Staff recommended developing a more granular request (for example, funding for a study or for easement negotiation assistance) because broad requests without a specific fiscal or project scope are less likely to result in appropriation.

Council members also supported including undergrounding Florida Power & Light (FP&L) utilities along Bonita Beach Road from U.S. 41 to the beach as a storm-hardening priority, and mentioned potential sites for beautification, such as the Old 41/Bonita Beach Road intersection and the Barney soccer fields. Representatives discussed coordination with Representative Adam Botana and noted the city could pursue a mixed package of policy proposals and capital requests.

Staff will prepare draft write-ups of prioritized projects and policy asks for council review at the next meeting. The city’s lobbyist and staff said they would engage DEP, FDOT and the Lee County delegation as appropriate.