Hearing examiner leaves record open on Amavida request to allow outdoor alcohol for residents

A Lee County hearing examiner left the record open after a staff recommendation to approve a special exception that would allow limited outdoor alcohol consumption at the Amavida at Lakes Park senior living community.

At a hearing April 23 on case SEZ 2025-00009, applicant counsel Alexis Mason told Hearing Examiner Donna Marie Collins the proposal would extend existing indoor alcohol service to specified outdoor courtyards and poolside areas for members and guests under an 11C private‑club license. "What we're hoping to do is extend the existing alcohol use at the community... to allow outdoor consumption," Mason said.

Cam Muhammad, a planner in Lee County Community Development's zoning section, presented the staff report and recommended approval with conditions tied to a site plan. Muhammad said staff concluded "the special exception as conditioned will not be injurious to the neighborhood or detrimental to public welfare and will be compatible with surrounding uses." Staff recommended limiting outdoor consumption to areas shown on a site plan, restricting service hours to 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, and prohibiting outdoor amplified music consistent with the county noise ordinance.

The hearing focused on whether the proposed outdoor areas would affect nearby Lakes Park. Collins emphasized that the special exception is required because parts of the property lie within 500 feet of the park and asked the applicant to show exact distances and the relationship between proposed service areas and park property. "I cannot approve it without a site map," Collins said, instructing the applicant to submit a colored or outlined plan that clearly delineates the outdoor consumption areas.

Staff described the property (addresses given in the record as 7661–7794 Callisto Loop and 7778 Gladiolus Drive) as roughly 33 acres in the central urban and wetlands future‑land‑use categories and said the requested outdoor consumption would occur within already developed footprints and would not impact environmentally critical areas. Staff also noted prior approvals and conditions (including administrative amendment ADD2025-00110 and prior resolutions) that allowed indoor consumption but require outdoor areas to be approved by special exception.

Applicant counsel agreed to provide a clearer site plan and suggested combining submitted diagrams to show proximity to the lake and enclosing buildings. The examiner set May 8 as the deadline to submit the clarified site plan to county staff and said the record would remain open until that date. Collins also stated she expects to issue her decision "within a week to 10 days at the most" after reviewing the materials.

Next steps: the applicant must submit the clarified site plan to staff by May 8; staff will review and, if needed, prepare a joint memorandum with the applicant describing any additional conditions. The examiner will then incorporate the site plan into proposed conditions and issue a final written decision.