LPA backs Arches Bayfront Resort; recommends companion future‑land‑use change after weeks of debate

The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency voted unanimously on April 8 to recommend approval of the Arches Bayfront Resort commercial planned development (CPD) and a companion small‑scale comprehensive‑plan map amendment to change about 4.53 acres from marina / mixed residential to pedestrian commercial. The decision follows hours of testimony from the applicant, town staff and more than two dozen residents and business owners who spoke at the hearing.

City planners and the project team told the LPA the proposal replaces a damaged marina site with a mixed‑use resort anchored by a bayfront promenade, expanded marina slips, hotel lodging, restaurants, a small market, an event chapel, and a linear public park. “I truly believe in my heart that this is the most significant project before us post hurricane,” planner Patrick Venas told the agency during the applicant’s presentation, calling the project a potential catalyst to revitalize downtown and boost visitor spending.

Why it matters: the land‑use change being recommended would allow a denser, mixed‑use redevelopment at the edge of downtown that the applicants say will restore waterfront access, add public space and generate tax and job benefits. Town staff and some neighbors warned that the proposal also raises risks for adjacent single‑family neighborhoods — principally noise, traffic and the loss of the lower‑intensity marina buffer that existed before the storm. Staff recommended denial of the plan change unless the CPD’s design and mitigation commitments were strengthened; the LPA ultimately recommended approval on condition the council adopt a package of limits and enforceable commitments.

The proposal and public concerns: The applicant is seeking a CPD with several deviations from the land‑development code, including a requested increase in maximum floor‑area ratio (FAR), a conversion factor to allow lodging unit equivalency, and a taller…