Fort Myers neighbors work to stop parking lot

A city sees a warehouse just south of Palm Beach Boulevard as a spot they can use for a brand new parking lot, but the people who live in the neighborhood are telling the city to think twice.

On Tuesday, we met a group that is trying to put a hold on the plan.

We were told the lot will be used for city vehicles, but when we walked around the neighborhood on Tuesday, some of the people who live there said they thought this was supposed to be a park, and others weren’t aware anything was going to change.

Dean Park Historic District in Fort Myers is unsure what the future holds for the warehouse property.

“Basically, that 1.8 acres, what was designated to be a park, is going to be all parking. There is no way to really landscape it in,” said Donna Ellswick, president of the Dean Park Historic District.

It is currently used for city records storage and parks department offices, but in June, the city decided to use the property for more than 100 parking spots for city vehicles, making the historic district different and not in the way neighbors wanted to see it.

“It would just totally change the nature of our neighborhood, so that’s why we are really upset about this,” said Bob Andrews.

Andrews has lived in the historic district for nine years. He moved here for the beauty of the neighborhood but doesn’t feel he has a voice in the decision.

“Involved in the process, they say they value Dean Park and the community, and the neighborhoods are very important to Fort Myers, and now they are gonna do this to us. We just don’t think it’s the right thing to do, and we are gonna fight back any way we can,” Andrews said.

Andrews’s wife even made a mural of Dean Park because of how much it means to them.

“It just shows the interest people have in the character of the neighborhood rather than change everything. Whatever their whims are, they are trying to maintain the character of the neighborhood; that’s what we all value. It’s not just us. It’s everyone,” Andrews said.

There will be a meeting on Wednesday at the Riverside Community Center from 6-7 p.m., and if you can’t make it in person, you can attend over Zoom here.