City of Cape Coral could restrict when you can have hurricane shutters

Cape Coral could make hurricane shutters illegal unless there’s a threat. The City of Cape Coral wants to restrict when you can have them up. But Cape Coral leaders say this is all about your health.

Homes with hurricane shutters aren’t everywhere. But they’re on enough home, even currently, as we’re months away from the start of hurricane season.

Tom Hayden is a Cape Coral City Councilman. “I think our fire chief and our fire departments have faced situations where they’ve come to a house that might be on fire,” said Hayden. “There might be issues, and they weren’t able to get in because of the shutters that were still up, and not only did that present a risk for them, but it also presents a risk for people home.”

Councilman Hayden said that the city is ready to pass an ordinance that would force homeowners to take their hurricane shutters down except, of course, when a storm is bearing down on Southwest Florida.

“I’ve been out with the city manager, I’ve been out with the fire chief and been talking about this. I’ve seen the houses that have this up. So their concerns were being heard, and we need to act on this,” Councilman Hayden said.

Hayden is aware that this isn’t what seasonal residents want to hear, but safety does come first.

The proposed ordinance would permit shutters to go up only five days before a storm, and they’d have to come down two weeks after the storm has passed. If the homeowners refuse to comply after a few warnings, they could face a fine.

On Wednesday, Cape Coral city leaders will begin debating about the hurricane shutters ordinance.