Fort Myers Beach considers changing rules protecting baby sea turtles

A clash between business and environmental concerns comes to a head Monday over condominium owners’ complaints about lighting regulations meant to protect sea turtle hatchlings on Fort Myers Beach.

Right now, there are more than 60 open investigations into the town’s sea turtle lighting ordinance. Fort Myers Beach leaders are considering putting a one-year moratorium on the current ordinance due to public outcry.

When it is time for baby sea turtles to leave the nest and make their life-or-death crawl to the ocean, they can get turned around by lights onshore. The current ordinance requires new and replacement windows to use glass with an inside-to-outside light transmittance value of 15% or less; the state requirement is 45%. The town’s marine resources task force says residences with windows that have 15% light transmittance would then not be required to close their blinds at night.

Several weeks ago, however, the task force made a recommendation to the Fort Myers Beach Town Council that it institute a moratorium after condo owners complained the glass was too dark, too costly and too hard to find. Others who live in the area, though, say they’re in support of anything that protects wildlife.

“Living on the beach for 13 years, I am in favor of anything that protects the wildlife, especially sea turtles,” said Will Sohner. “I see them on occasion coming up out of the water, out of the sand, not fully knowing what’s going on with it, but if there’s something out there that would help their safety, I guess I would be for it, being a resident here for 13 years.”

“Do you want yet another endangered species on the list, like we don’t have enough right now?” said Kat Kreag. “It’s sad that people care more about whatever than sea life that they get to look at every day, and that’s going to be taken away from them and then they’re going to go, ‘Hmmm, maybe we should’ve done something.'”

The town council meeting is set to start at 8:30 a.m.