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Town council approves CPD rezoning to let Fort Myers Beach Women’s Club rebuild with conditions
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Summary
After hours of testimony from neighbors and dozens of club supporters, the Fort Myers Beach Town Council unanimously approved a commercially planned development (CPD) rezoning to allow the Women’s Club to rebuild at 175 Sterling Avenue, including consumption‑on‑premise across the property and design standards tied to submitted elevations.
The Fort Myers Beach Town Council voted unanimously on March 16 to approve a CPD rezoning that will allow the Fort Myers Beach Women’s Club to rebuild its clubhouse at 175 Sterling Avenue and seek on‑site alcohol service for events and the parking area. The vote followed lengthy testimony from club leaders, residents and neighborhood representatives.
The Women’s Club presented a history of longstanding service and emergency relief after Hurricane Ian, including a fundraising record and an expanded membership. "We are not going anywhere," Mary Torgerson, a club member, told the council, describing the group’s role in distributing emergency aid and fundraising for the rebuild. Architect Albert Jambros and project consultant Jim Inc. said the submitted master concept plan and elevations reflect the design the club intends to build.
The CPD rezoning allows the council to codify site‑specific uses and architectural standards. Staff explained the practical difference between remaining institutional and pursuing a CPD, saying CPD approval bundles site plan, architectural design and uses into a single entitlement the council can enforce. Town planner Jason Green told the council that CPDs give the town an opportunity to approve specific elevations and a concept rather than leave architectural approval to a later administrative step.
Neighbors said they supported the Women’s Club but sought protections in case the property changed hands in the future. Patrick Venas, speaking for several McPhee Park residents, urged the council to add narrow "guardrails" to prevent a potential sale from converting the site to a private country club or other use that would restrict public access. Venas offered three possible options for the council to consider, including annotating permitted uses to nonprofit organizations only or defining and excluding private‑club types in the CPD.
Applicants and many residents opposed adding nonprofit‑only language, arguing such restrictions could reduce the property’s collateral value and complicate financing. Jim Inc. emphasized standard conditions the applicant was willing to accept, including that "all state and local permits, including but not limited to right of way and stormwater permits, must be applied for and received prior to commencement of site development." He also asked the council to bind the development order to the submitted master concept plan and elevations.
Councilors balanced neighborhood concerns with the LPA’s unanimous recommendation and staff’s findings. Several council members said they had met with both sides; Councilor McLean moved to approve the CPD with the conditions listed in the staff report plus the inclusion of the master concept plan and elevations as binding exhibits. Councilor Link seconded the motion and the measure passed unanimously.
The council’s approval includes a schedule of uses limited to the membership organization principal use, administrative offices, consumption on premises, temporary uses, and commercial accessory uses, and it ties approval to the master concept plan and building elevations filed with the application. The motion also preserves standard permitting requirements and clarifies that failure to comply with conditions would render approvals null and void.
Next steps: the applicants said they will proceed to development order and building permit submittals required under the CPD; staff indicated those permits and related regulatory reviews remain required before any construction begins.
