Cape Coral to discuss loosening storm shutter regulations

Reporter: Asha Patel Writer: Joey Pellegrino
Published:
Storm shutters on a Cape Coral home. Credit: WINK News

We are now 49 days away from the official start of hurricane season, and the rules for keeping up your storm shutters may be determined by whether you are a seasonal resident or a full-time one. City leaders in Cape Coral are meeting Wednesday to discuss new regulations.

The new proposed ordinance would allow shutters to be kept up when a home is unoccupied for 72 hours, vacant, unoccupied when the city is under a tornado watch, or to protect a broken window for 30 straight days.

With hurricane season just around the corner, people will begin putting those storm shutters up on homes throughout Cape Coral, even though there’s no storm coming yet. The new proposal would be beneficial for snowbirds like Bill Kapes, who can keep his storm shutters up while he goes back home to Minnesota.

“Very much in favor of being allowed to have hurricane shutters while we are up north, it would be a huge benefit,” Kapes said. “It gives me peace of mind during the hurricane season. Hurricane does get through? We don’t have to worry about problems.”

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