Cape Coral hearing examines request to rezone two NE 27th Terrace lots from commercial to single-family

A Jan. 13, 2026 hearing in Cape Coral heard competing arguments over a rezoning request that would change two parcels at 21 and 25 Northeast 27th Terrace from commercial (C) to single-family residential (R1). Applicant representative Joe Mazurkiewicz said approving the rezoning would allow the two lots to be developed as single-family homes and would correct a prior land-use mismatch that has left nearby houses nonconforming.

"We're requesting a rezoning of both parcels from the existing C Commercial to R1, single family," Mazurkiewicz said, asking the hearing examiner to recommend approval. He told the examiner the two parcels total about one-half acre and that rezoning would make existing and future homes consistent with the city's future land use map and historical development patterns.

City staff, represented by senior planner Anthony Santora, recommended denial. Santora told the hearing the request conflicts with multiple rezoning criteria because the parcels abut commercially zoned land and do not provide the separation the Land Development Code prescribes for immediate commercial–residential adjacencies.

"Staff has found that the request is inconsistent with criteria number 4," Santora said in summarizing staff analysis, and later read the staff recommendation that the application be denied. He emphasized the city's broader need to retain limited commercial capacity — noting that roughly 20% of Cape Coral's land is designated for nonresidential uses, and only about 10% of the city's land is explicitly commercial.

Staff's analysis acknowledged some consistencies (parcel size and physical characteristics make single-family development feasible) but concluded that potential future commercial uses nearby could produce noise, light, traffic and other impacts that buffering and site controls might not fully mitigate. Santora also noted that the area was part of a 2019 reclassification and a 2023 future land-use recalibration that shaped the current map.

Mazurkiewicz disputed staff's conclusions, arguing that fragmented ownership, narrow lot frontages and the presence of existing single-family homes around the city parking lot make commercial assemblage impractical. He asked that the examiner direct staff to rezone the rest of Block 2300 B so the 29 parcels there — and nine pre-existing homes he said were hurt by prior changes — would be consistent.

"This is an absolute travesty that the city has changed its position based on political whims and not good planning," Mazurkiewicz said, attributing the change to shifting priorities at the council level.

Santora responded that the inconsistency between future land use and zoning predated the applicants' purchase and that owners who want development now could pursue a future land-use amendment if council denies a direct rezoning.

The hearing examiner asked staff whether the proposal constituted spot zoning; Santora said no, given adjacency to existing R1 zoning to the southeast, and clarified that denying the rezoning would leave the owners unable to develop under current zoning without a land-use amendment.

No members of the public spoke. The hearing closed at 10:23 a.m. with no final decision issued; the examiner said she would review both presentations and provide further thoughts to the record. The next hearings were announced for Feb. 10, 2026, at 9 a.m.

Procedural note: staff formally recommended denial on the record; any council action or formal rezoning decision will be determined at later proceedings.