Fort Myers Beach leaders seek direction on comprehensive plan, land‑development code amid state deadline

Fort Myers Beach Town Council and the Local Planning Agency met June 26 to review a proposed update to the town's comprehensive plan and a parallel rewrite of the land development code, with consultants urging elected officials to confirm a vision so staff can finish regulatory drafts ahead of a state second‑reading deadline.

The meeting centered on results from public workshops and an online survey, implementation tools in the code, and policy tradeoffs affecting building height, coastal flood resilience, small‑lot redevelopment and the local economy — all themes council members said must be balanced in the final plan.

Consultant Eddie Nang of the Coronado Group summarized outreach and timing: the project team held two library workshops, staffed an island concert and ran an online survey that drew 118 responses. Nang said the town secured an extension with state reviewers but that extension has lapsed and “we are on a very much a ticking time clock right now.” He told council staff would aim to incorporate technical comments, including vulnerability‑assessment findings, by mid‑August so the town could return for a second reading in September and meet the state process before a new deadline on Dec. 1.

Most frequent public comments, Nang said, favored low‑scale, human‑scale multifamily rather than high rises; protecting natural resources and water quality; better circulation for getting on and off the island; more health‑care services; and parking solutions. Residents repeatedly asked that the town “stick to” any height and use limits that the council adopts, the consultant reported.

Council discussion parsed where policy belongs: the…