Council approves zoning deviations for proposed Bonita Springs waterfront restaurant after lengthy public hearing

Bonita Springs City Council voted to approve zoning deviations for a planned waterfront restaurant and two small retail buildings after a contested public hearing and detailed staff discussion. The motion passed by roll call with all council members voting in favor.

The project proponent and an applicant attorney told council the property has been the site of multiple abandoned proposals and that the family behind the project plans to invest a further $20 million to build a first-class waterfront restaurant and two small retail buildings. An applicant representative said the development would create “over a 150 jobs,” generate “over $1,000,000 in state and local sales tax collected,” and add “hundreds of thousands of dollars in property taxes” annually. The representative also said the plan provides 166 on-site parking spaces, of which about 105 would be allocated to the restaurant, and asked council to approve requested deviations rather than require additional studies or restrictions that the applicant said would make the project unaffordable.

Why it matters: The council’s decision clears the project to proceed to the next step — the local development order (LDO) and permitting phase — while imposing conditions intended to address…