Advisory board asks staff for detailed Brownfields map and ordinance review

The City of Fort Myers Advisory Board asked staff on May 6 to prepare a detailed Brownfields briefing, including maps and a review of the city ordinance that governs redevelopment incentives and cleanup.

Board members paused the scheduled report when staff said no materials had been prepared; members said they want clarity on what the board should study — environmental cleanup priorities, economic redevelopment incentives through the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), or both. One member described the scale of the problem, saying “it’s a huge amount of area in the city of Fort Myers that is still considered a brownfield.” (Speaker 4).

Environmental Compliance Manager Justin Mahone told the board the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) leads identification and remediation orders and that the city’s ordinance ties back to DEP language. Mahone offered to circulate map layers and the ordinance text for board review and proposed inviting a CRA representative if members want an economic-development perspective.

Members asked for a map legend, site examples and clarification about sites that have received DEP “no further action” letters. They cited legacy contaminants — lime sludge, petroleum, dry‑cleaner releases — and the possible future need to address PFAS. The board voted to make Brownfields and mangrove trimming/preservation topics for the next meeting and asked staff to provide the ordinance text and the requested maps in advance.

The request is procedural: no new policy was adopted. The board’s action asks staff to prepare materials and return with recommendations and technical details, including which sites are still designated brownfields and which have achieved closure.