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Fort Myers launches 18-month comprehensive plan update with public engagement push
Summary
City staff and consultants told the City Council they are six months into an 18‑month update of Fort Myers' comprehensive plan and are emphasizing public engagement, data collection and later coordination with the Land Development Code.
Fort Myers City Council heard an update Monday on the city's 18‑month comprehensive plan update, which consultants said is six months underway and focused on new data collection and public engagement.
The consulting team said the work so far has gathered updated information on population, housing, parks, transportation and utilities and has involved interviews with staff, meetings with a seven‑member steering committee and a Planning Board review of the plan's elements. "We're 6 months into an 18 month process to update the comprehensive plan," consultant Louie Serna of Calvin Giordano and Associates told council. "The last 6 months have been involved in a lot of data collection ... and public engagement activities." (Louie Serna, consultant)
City staff and the consultant emphasized outreach: two of four scheduled community meetings have been held, paper and online surveys are available, and individual council member meetings are being scheduled. The consultant said the planning board has been reviewing the plan element‑by‑element and the steering committee has been commenting on deliverables.
Council members pressed for specifics about how the comprehensive plan will tie into the city's Land Development Code and when code updates would follow. Steve Belding, Community Development Director, said the next step after the plan is to identify which parts of the Land Development Code need revision, but that the timing and scope of those code changes will depend on the plan's final recommendations. "Once we get a little bit further in this process, I'll be able to give you a better idea," Belding said.
Council members also asked how the planning process treats quality of life issues such as open space and environmental protection; Belding said those topics are integrated across multiple elements, including future land use, recreation and utilities. Several members urged stronger engagement of younger residents and broader outreach methods, and asked consultants to bring examples of how other communities have embedded local values into goals, objectives and policies while keeping Fort Myers's character central.
The consultant and staff said they are monitoring state legislative activity that could affect local land‑use authority and will try to make the plan consistent with Florida statutes. City staff requested council members who have not met the consultant to schedule individual sessions soon so council feedback can be incorporated.
The update did not include any formal Council votes. Staff said the plan is on track to be completed by the end of the year or early next year and that further public engagement activities will be announced as the process continues.
