No surprise. The laundry list of new requirements for rebuilding on Fort Myers Beach is both daunting and costly for any and all properties not making the numbers cut under FEMA's "50% rule":
-- Setback requirements from the Gulf shoreline and / or from Estero Blvd have essentially shrunk the buildable area of waterfront lots on FMB; likewise for the Town's apparent new fondness for the creation of "view corridors".
-- Town code height limits in new construction (maximum 3 stories above ground level parking; 4 total), is mandated by the town's own Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted after FMB separated from the city of Fort Myers to become its' own municipality in 1995, specifically to
prevent future high-rise construction on FMB after the DiamondHead high rise was built. Ironically, this height restriction is apparently only being "selectively" enforced post-Ian; a new commercial project on FMB called SeaGate is close to receiving final town approval at
17 stories high. Estero Island Beach Club (a timeshare on FMB) proposed to rebuild to 8 stories, but that proposal was rejected by the Town Council. I have no insight or explanation regarding how or why FMB height maximum rules are being forcefully applied to a privately owned timeshare property (EIBC), but not to the big commercial (SeaGate) project with its' deep corporate pockets; speculate for yourself on the possible reason(s) behind that incongruity.
-- FEMA elevation requirements for new construction in designated flood zones is an additional hurdle (and obvious huge cost) for properties that cannot be repaired within the cost calculations under FEMA's "50% rule" and consequently must be rebuilt to current elevation code requirements.
Owners at Royal Beach Club may have been much more enthusiastic a year ago about rebuilding;
before fully understanding the hurdles (and cost) to rebuild. I am inclined to believe that a very similar story may be on the horizon for the (similarly destroyed and subsequently demolished) Estero Island Beach Club on FMB and its’ prospects for rebuilding, but I would be happy to be mistaken in that belief.
P.S. I do not own at EIBC and never did. It's a situation I've just watched with interest after Hurricane Ian and the subsequent demolition of EIBC, as well as the “handling” of various other post-Ian matters by the LPA (Local Planning Agency) and the 5 member Town Council on Fort Myers Beach, where family owns some timeshare weeks.
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