Lee County hearing examiner hears debate over marina redevelopment, proposed 135-foot boat-storage tower in North Fort Myers

Donna Marie Collins, the hearing examiner presiding over Lee County’s Dec. 10 zoning hearing, heard several hours of testimony on a proposed amendment to a Commercial Plan Development (CPD) on Hancock Bridge Parkway in North Fort Myers that would reconfigure an approved marina and add a dry-stack boat-storage building and related accessory uses.

The applicant and technical witnesses described the request as a reduction in overall land-side intensity compared with prior entitlements and argued the project would reinvigorate boating access in a part of the county they said is underserved. “This is where we live, and a lot of people move here for that reason,” project planner Cindy Lehi Briseuilla said, summarizing the proposed master concept plan. The application seeks to reduce the number of dry storage slips and increase wet slips, allow boat sales and a small open‑air food and beverage area, and raise a maximum building height from 50 feet to 135 feet.

Staff presentation: why the changes passed initial review

Adam Mendez, principal planner in Lee County’s Community Development Zoning section, told the hearing the property lies in the LEAP plan’s intensive development category and in a water‑dependent overlay that anticipates marina uses. Staff highlighted two notable net changes in the filing: a reduction in entitled boat slip capacity (the staff summary showed a net decrease of roughly 166 slips) and an increase in the proposed maximum structure height from 50 to 135 feet. Mendez said staff’s analysis found the revised mix of uses consistent with relevant LEAP policies and county code when conditioned to mitigate off‑site impacts, and he signaled staff would refine recommended conditions in response to public concerns.

Project details and technical testimony

Brian Smith, the applicant’s project planner, and Hans Wilson, a marine engineer, described site specifics and environmental and operational safeguards. Christian Casey, the environmental consultant, said a November 2023 protected‑species survey found no listed species onsite, and the South Florida Water Management District issued a wetlands determination identifying about 2.05 acres of wetlands. Smith described stormwater controls that keep water on site and noted Lee County Utilities had provided a letter of availability for potable water and sewer connections.

On operational details, Wilson said the applicant proposes a modern dry‑stack system (gantry/conveyor) and that many boat maintenance operations — including pressure‑washing and cleaning — would be conducted inside the storage building. “These new systems work… boat wash, etc., are done inside the building,” Brian Smith said when describing maintenance arrangements.

Deviations and public‑safety questions

The application includes four requested deviations from the Lee County Land Development Code: a reduction in the county’s indigenous open‑space percentage, a waiver of a vehicular interconnect requirement (because the west side abuts conservation land), reduced driveway spacing to align with an existing full median opening on Hancock Bridge Parkway, and an exception to the usual 500‑foot separation for consumption‑on‑premises (COP) areas to allow a 1,500‑square‑foot COP area about 340 feet from the nearest condominium property line.

Yuri Baikau of TR Transportation Consultants presented the traffic study and said the rezoning proposal reduces the site’s trip generation compared with prior entitlements. “There’s a reduction in traffic… mainly due to a significant reduction in number of dry slips,” he said. He also testified the proposed driveway uses an existing full median opening and that access and any further roadway improvements would be reviewed at the development‑order stage.

Residents urge denial or stricter conditions

Parkway Condominium Association, represented by attorney Amber Williams, formally objected on behalf of about 72 unit owners. Williams told the hearing the proposal amounted to a “substantial transformation” into a high‑intensity commercial and entertainment destination adjacent to an established residential community and asked the hearing examiner to recommend denial or, at minimum, to reject deviation number 3 (the reduced COP separation). Williams said the proposed hours — midnight on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends for amplified sound at the open‑air bar — and the combination of early morning marina operations could create a 16–18 hour disturbance window for residents.

Multiple residents echoed those concerns, citing visibility of a 135‑foot structure from condo windows, amplified sound over water, potential lighting intrusion, and safety or parking impacts if vehicular interconnects altered the condominium parking area. Mike Pamper, a resident, asked whether boat movement would rely on noisy forklifts; the applicant responded the proposed system is an automated gantry conveyor and that backup‑beeper impacts are addressed by staff conditions.

Staff commitments and record left open

In response to public concerns, staff and the applicant agreed to refine conditions. Mendez said staff would split conditions for live entertainment and piped/ambient music to create clearer operational limits and enforceable standards. The hearing examiner left the written record open for a limited period: revised schedule‑of‑uses language and a codified set of conditions may be submitted to her office by 4 p.m. on Dec. 19 for inclusion in the recommendation to the Lee County Board.

What happens next

The hearing examiner will prepare a written recommendation to the Lee County Board of County Commissioners; the board will hold a later public hearing and make the final decision. Collins said she would re‑visit the site after hearing public testimony before finalizing her recommendation.

Authorities and permitting noted in the hearing

Speakers repeatedly referenced the Lee County Land Development Code (various LDC sections cited in testimony), the Lee County Comprehensive/LEAP plan review policies for intense and water‑dependent uses, the South Florida Water Management District wetlands determination, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permitting and Clean Water Act certification processes, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) elevation requirements for habitable structures.

Ending

The hearing record closed except for the conditional materials requested by the examiner; no final action was taken at the hearing. The hearing examiner will issue a recommendation to the board after reviewing the supplemental materials and re‑inspecting the site.