Public hearing: owners of Big Hickory present plan to rebuild waterfront restaurant; neighbors raise traffic, noise and environmental concerns

The City of Bonita Springs held a combined first reading and public hearing on Sept. 3 for a proposed comprehensive plan amendment and rezoning that would allow a commercial plan development (CPD) containing a waterfront restaurant, retail uses and up to six multifamily units on roughly 5.07 acres along Bonita Beach Road.

Applicants Tracy and Mike Kautzman (Bayside Holdings on Hickory / Big Hickory Waterfront Grill) and their planning and consultant team presented the project and said the application includes two parts: a small‑scale comprehensive plan amendment to change two western parcels from medium‑density multifamily residential to general commercial, and a rezoning to a commercial plan development (CPD) for the full site. The applicants said the project would include a waterfront restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, a gift/retail area, ancillary retail and office uses and transient boat slips. They presented a master plan showing a restaurant with roughly 325 seats, two mixed‑use…