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Environmental board weighs living-shoreline options, requests FGCU and permit references
Summary
Board members discussed using living-shoreline approaches, coordinating with FGCU and local nonprofits, considering mangrove planters and when to use tiles versus full seawall replacements; members asked staff to compile studies and site references before recommending action to City Council.
After Kind Designs’ presentation, board members discussed local living-shoreline strategies and how they might fit Fort Myers’ river-front context. Members emphasized preserving existing mangroves, studying where mangrove loss has occurred, and reviewing examples of communities that have adopted similar products.
One board member urged outreach to FGCU and local nonprofits for ecological data; another recommended assembling user-end references from municipalities that have implemented the product. The board agreed to collect information — including permitting examples, grant pathways and ecological studies — to inform a potential recommendation at a future meeting rather than making a recommendation at this session.
Members also discussed mitigation financing and whether FEMA or resilient-Florida grants could cover seawall work. Staff said HMGP and other hazard-mitigation grant projects are under review but did not provide updated award decisions at the meeting.
