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Fort Myers CRA endorses Cleveland Avenue expansion and extends plan to 2050
Summary
The Community Redevelopment Agency recommended adding parcels (including a Twisted Acres property) to the Cleveland Avenue CRA, found the area slum and blighted under Florida law and approved a resolution extending the plan’s timeframe from 2040 to 2050. Council action is scheduled for May 16.
The Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Fort Myers voted to recommend that the City Council adopt amendments to the Cleveland Avenue community redevelopment plan and to extend the plan’s horizon from 2040 to 2050.
Dr. Melanie Long, who presented the update for staff and consultant Brinley Peters & Associates, said the plan reflects input from four public workshops and proposes adding a small number of adjacent parcels — including the Twisted Acres site — to the CRA boundary. “We are extending the time frame of the Cleveland Avenue from 2040 to 2050 so it's being extended by 10 years,” Long said during the presentation.
Attorney Ryan Knight read Resolution No. 2025-67, which the agency approved as a finding that portions of the Cleveland Avenue area meet the statutory criteria for slum and blighted designation under Chapter 163, Part III, Florida Statutes. Commissioners discussed whether to list the four specific statutory findings directly in the resolution or include them as Exhibit A; staff said the detail appears in the attached report. The board then voted to move the ordinance and the adopting resolution forward for City Council consideration.
The ordinance (No. 4044) amends City Code provisions tying the subarea into Community Development regulations, and a separate resolution (No. 2025-68) formally adopts the plan and provides the 10-year extension. Agency members approved the measures by voice vote and recommended the package to the City Council for action on May 16. The agency also noted ongoing coordination with Lee Health and the school board on land-use and connectivity recommendations in the plan.
