Votes at a glance: City Council actions Oct. 15, 2025

The Naples City Council took multiple formal actions during its Oct. 15 meeting. This roundup lists each motion, outcome and the immediate follow‑up required by staff or the petitioner.

Key votes and outcomes

- Vacate public utility easement at 20 Tenth Street North (APNI 4 LLC): Resolution to vacate a 20‑foot public utility easement and related legal description approved unanimously. (Motion by Vice Mayor; staff reported letters of no objection from FPL, TECO, CenturyLink/Lumen and Comcast.)

- Perpetual public access easement at Stella Naples Condominium (82 Ninth Street South): Council approved access easement allowing public use of a private sidewalk, authorizing city manager to execute documents; passage was 5–1 (Mayor Heitman voted no). Project was administratively approved and the easement formalizes public access.

- Port Royal Club: Council amended conditional‑use approval to permit seawall elevation to +8 NAVD, move pool lift for ADA compliance, convert gates to sliding gates and increase underground stormwater vault capacity from ~85 to ~162 units; approved unanimously (see separate article).

- Old Naples Building (1148 Third Street South) — off‑site parking and outdoor dining petitions: Continued to a date‑certain of Dec. 10 at city attorney’s request so staff and applicant can resolve legal issues; petitioner did not object.

- Variance at 1209 Forest Avenue (V‑4): Council granted variance to allow driveway to encroach (driveway located 26 ft. 6 in. from intersection instead of the required 50 ft.) to preserve a city‑managed ficus shade tree; approval included condition to preserve the city tree — passed unanimously.

- Lake/Pond fills (2200 and 2340 Gordon Drive): Two companion petitions to fill privately held ponds were approved 5–1 (Mayor Heitman voted no). Both approvals require abandonment/capping of artesian wells per SFWMD and installation of on‑site stormwater systems to meet the city’s 2021 code.

- Live entertainment six‑month reviews (multiple venues): Staff reported no complaints or violations for several live‑entertainment permits; council confirmed the permits for the following venues by unanimous vote: Key Wathens (Key Wathens), London Club dining room at Claw Bar, AC Marriott Hotel, Saluna restaurant. (These were routine six‑month reviews required by code.)

- Competitive/piggyback/sole‑source purchasing resolutions: Council approved four related purchasing‑authority resolutions covering cooperative purchasing lists, piggyback agreements and single/sole‑source exemptions for FY 2025–26; council approved the four resolutions in sequence (mixed 5–1 votes where noted). Staff provided a supplemental memo summarizing prior year encumbrances and FY2026 requests.

- Public art partnership (First Avenue South garage / Gulfshore Playhouse): Council approved a joint public‑art partnership to pool escrowed public‑art contributions from the garage developer and the Gulfshore Playhouse to commission a single piece of art on city property; a five‑member selection panel (3 city appointees; 2 playhouse appointees) will recommend an artist and design; council must approve final selection.

- Board and commission appointments (Code Enforcement Board, Community Services Advisory Board, Design Review Board alternate): Council made several appointments at the Oct. 15 meeting (Henry Johnson to Code Enforcement Board alternate, Suzanne Klin to Community Services Advisory Board alternate, and James Nappo to Design Review Board alternate). Terms and appointments were recorded in the minutes.

- Ordinance and code changes: Council adopted on second reading an omnibus set of code updates affecting boards and commissions (with the design‑review board provisions set aside for separate handling). Council also adopted an amendment to the city’s firearms‑discharge code as a second‑reading ordinance.

Follow up and next steps

- Dec. 10: Old Naples Building petitions will return; staff and applicants must resolve outstanding legal questions before re‑hearing. - Permit and inspections: Port Royal Club and Gordon Drive permittees must secure required state and local permits (FDEP CCCL where applicable; SFWMD well abandonment for Gordon Drive) and file final engineered plans with the building department before shoreline or final site work. - Purchasing: Finance and procurement will schedule the FY2026 cooperative and sole‑source agreements approved by council and manage encumbrance levels reported in staff’s supplemental spreadsheet.

Votes at a glance (selected tally summary)

- Utility easement vacation (20 Tenth St.): approved 6–0 (one member absent). - Stella Naples perpetual access easement: approved 5–1 (Mayor Heitman NO). - Port Royal Club conditional use amendment: approved 6–0. - Old Naples Building (11b/11c): continued to Dec. 10 (6–0 continuance). - 1209 Forest Ave variance (V‑4): approved 6–0 with conditions to preserve city tree. - Lake fills (2200 & 2340 Gordon Drive): each approved 5–1 (Mayor Heitman NO). - Live entertainment confirmations (Key Wathens, London Club, AC Marriott, Saluna): approved 6–0 (each confirmation). - Purchasing resolutions (four items): approved (motions passed; some measures 5–1 on individual votes per agenda record). - Public art partnership: approved 6–0. - Board appointments (multiple): approved 6–0 (recorded in minutes). - Ordinances on boards/commissions (second reading, with DRB section removed): approved 6–0.

If you need a full list of every roll‑call vote and the exact language of each motion, staff can provide the formal vote register and a downloadable spreadsheet of agenda actions from the clerk’s office.