Council denies rezone request at 1213 Academy Boulevard, cites long-term planning goals

The Cape Coral City Council on Aug. 27 denied a privately initiated rezoning request for three undeveloped lots at 1213 Academy Boulevard, voting to maintain the current professional office zoning.

City planning staff recommended denial, saying the request would remove land set aside for nonresidential development under the city’s long-range planning strategy. Staff noted the property fronts a collector roadway, is adjacent to other office uses, and that the city remains deficient in mapped nonresidential land; planners cited Policy 8.5 of the future land-use element and the city’s land development code criteria in their analysis. Staff also referenced market data showing a near-30% citywide multifamily vacancy rate and a roughly 1.7% vacancy rate for professional office product, arguing that rezoning to residential would erode land reserved for future employment and commercial uses.

The applicant, identified in the hearing as Jonathan, who described himself as the property owner, told council he owns an adjoining parcel already zoned residential multifamily low and said combining the lots would allow development consistent with surrounding duplexes and fourplexes. Jonathan said he and neighbors have operated near the site for years and that, in his view, the site is a logical candidate for multifamily development because there are few businesses on Academy Boulevard.

A hearing examiner had recommended approval of the rezone; staff reiterated its recommendation for denial. Council members who supported denial said the city’s planning objectives—preserving nonresidential corridors to support employment and the tax base—outweighed the applicant’s arguments about immediate neighborhood compatibility and short-term vacancy or market shifts. Council members who spoke in favor of keeping the current zoning cited the municipal planning role of protecting corridors intended for office and professional services and the difficulty of assembling the larger parcels needed to support a viable office node.

The council’s motion to deny the rezoning carried with seven votes in favor and one opposed; the denial leaves the property mapped for professional office rather than RML.

Why it matters: The decision preserves a small but strategically located parcel in an area the city has designated for professional and office uses, maintaining the city’s stated balance between nonresidential and multifamily land uses.

Details: The rezoning application sought to change three lots at the southeast corner near Nicholas Parkway and Cultural Park Boulevard (listed as Lots 6–8, Block 1039, Unit 24). Staff reviewed the request under the six evaluation criteria in the land development code (sec. 3.4.0.6) and determined that while the site could physically support multifamily development, changing the zoning would reduce the city’s inventory of nonresidential land the city says will be needed to meet future employment and tax-base goals. Staff referenced the hearing examiner’s June 3, 2025 recommendation in favor of approval but recommended denial based on comprehensive-plan policy and land-supply concerns.

Quotes in context: The applicant said, “I’m not a transient landowner here in Cape Coral. I have a personal home here,” and described assembling the lots with neighboring parcels to build multifamily units. Staff summarized the city’s position that allowing the rezoning would make “it more difficult to achieve mapped nonresidential land needs” identified in long-range planning analysis.

Next steps: The ordinance was denied at first reading; the zoning map remains unchanged. Council members and staff indicated the decision is consistent with prior council actions on similar requests.