Applicant seeks rezoning back to residential for two Country Club Boulevard parcels; planning staff recommends denial

Blue Water Trust LLC asked the hearing examiner on March 4 to rezone 1224 and 1306 Country Club Boulevard from Professional (P) to Residential Multifamily Low (RML). The applicant said the properties were purchased with an expectation of residential use and argued that the professional zoning had left the parcels undeveloped for years.

Leslie Spade, the applicant’s representative, argued zoning back to RML would align the parcels with surrounding duplexes and multifamily properties and would facilitate residential development the owner originally intended. Owner Andrew George said he bought the property nearly 27 years ago to build duplexes for retirement income and that professional zoning had made the property difficult to sell.

Justin Heller, senior planner with the Cape Coral Planning Division, reviewed the six LDC rezoning criteria and said staff found the request did not meet the fourth standard: whether the proposed district would serve a community need or broader public purpose. Heller cited the city's documented deficiency in commercial lands and noted that the combined site area is close to an acre with utilities and access on a major street, making it suitable for office use. Staff recommended denial and asked the examiner to forward that recommendation to city council.

The hearing examiner closed public comment and said the record will be taken under advisement; the case will go to the City Council for final action. No final rezoning decision was made at the hearing.