Fort Myers Beach LPA unanimously recommends rezoning to rebuild Salty Crab with conditions

The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency unanimously recommended approval May 13 of a Commercial Planned Development (CPD) rezoning for 1154 Estero Boulevard to allow rebuilding of the Salty Crab restaurant and a Sweet Willy's ice cream shop after Hurricane Ian.

The recommendation to town council would allow five deviations from the Land Development Code, including an increase in floor-area ratio (FAR) from the CPD standard to 1.96, zero-foot street and side setbacks where the commercial-resort standard requires larger setbacks, a 100% reduction in required parking (from 64 required spaces to 0 on-site), and increased sign area. The LPA recommendation included four staff conditions, among them a requirement to install cantilevered shade structures over the Estero Boulevard sidewalk and to comply with all state and federal permits.

Nut graf: The rezoning would permit a two-story replacement of the beachfront restaurant that operated at the site before Hurricane Ian. The applicant said the design responds to state and FEMA flood rules that require building habitable areas above ground level; that requirement drives the FAR request because more building area will be under roof than at the pre‑storm structure.

Staff and applicant presentation

Judith…