Delay gives Fort Myers redevelopment opponents relief

FORT MYERS, Fla. Residents opposed to a controversial redevelopment plan were breathing easier Tuesday.

City Council voted 7-0 Monday night to put off until August a decision on whether to allow more high-rises and density downtown and in an area to its south. Dozens of residents spoke in opposition to the idea during a City Council meeting that lasted nearly five hours.

“Let’s slow down, let’s have some workshops, let’s get some citizen input, let’s do this the right way,” Dean Park neighborhood resident Ann Martindale said.

The plan, based off a density study released in January, would call for sweeping changes downtown and in an area from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard south to Edison Avenue and from U.S. 41 east to Fowler Street. It sped toward a vote until the council applied the brakes Monday.

“There were so many questions, and we didn’t have all the answers,” council member Michael Flanders said. “We’ve got to take a little more time to let the citizens understand and for us to be a little more clear about what’s going on.”

City officials hope the redevelopment would attract millennials, bring more affordable housing and ultimately create more revenue for the city. Martindale and others expressed concern that cramming more people and buildings into the area would come at the cost of the city’s charm.

“I moved here to get away from density,” Fort Myers resident Terry Nelson said Monday. “A lot of us moved here to get away from density.”

City Council will pick up the issue Aug. 7. It would require state approval if it passes.