Environmental Advisory Board urges living shorelines, water monitoring and clearer mangrove permitting

Dave Hempelman, chair of the Fort Myers Environmental Advisory Board, presented the board's 2025 annual report and told the City Council the advisory body provided substantial input on local environmental rules and priorities. "The year that is represented in this report is 2025," Hempelman said. He described four priorities: water-quality monitoring, stormwater resiliency, natural-resource protection including land-use ordinances, and public engagement.

Hempelman highlighted the board's role in advising staff and council on a recently adopted communication-tower environmental ordinance and said the panel preferred living shorelines and mangrove conservation over hard seawalls where feasible. "We came down on living shorelines as a preferred alternative to man made shorelines," he said, urging the city to examine alternatives that improve resiliency and habitat. He also noted the board's work on stormwater and groundwater sampling and on outreach with the Calusa Waterkeeper.

Councilmembers thanked the board for its work and asked follow-up questions about brownfields and permeable paving. Hempelman acknowledged additional technical or programmatic steps would depend on council objectives, but encouraged continued coordination with FGCU and other research partners. The board offered to review ordinances, code changes and outreach strategies, and asked staff to keep the advisory board engaged during related permit and policy updates.

The presentation did not include a formal council action; it was entered as the board's required annual report under the city's ordinance.