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‘A city flowing with possibilities:’ Cape looks ahead as growth advances buildout projections

By CHUCK BALLARO - | May 20, 2022

John Gunter, mayor

A city with a broad mix of housing options, improved medical care and a place for residents to go to college, places where many people can gather for major events, pedestrian and bike friendly transportation and a downtown with a strong arts and cultural market.

That is the vision for the city of Cape Coral according to an organization tasked in crafting a direction for a unique city that is growing so quickly that the idea of a 50-year plan seems way too far off since build out could happen in as little as 11 years.

The Urban Land Institute gave a formal presentation to city council Friday during a special meeting to help shape the future of the community so people can embrace everything the city has to offer.

City Manager Rob Hernandez said he didn’t want to just have urban planners or architects and have a one-sided view of where they wanted to be in the future.

“We reached out to ULI and wanted to know if they could craft that vision for our future,” said Hernandez, who is a member of the ULI, along with a few staff members.

The ULI team, which was supposed to start the process two years ago until COVID got in the way, spent several months meeting with stakeholders on the political and business front to get their input.

From there, ULI crafted that vision and its recommendations in making that vision come to fruition. Several of those people were present and gave pieces of the presentation.

Daniel Conway provided council with raw data and said growth is coming faster than people realize, with the potential for as many as 2,500 homes being built per year in the city and as much growth in non-residential development, especially hotels, where there is a definite need.

“Growth is happening faster than in the past and you need to be prepared for it. There are 40,000 unimproved single-family lots in Cape Coral with the possibility for as many as 4,000 new homes built per year. Those will be absorbed in as little as 11 to 18 years.” Conway said.

The increase in population will require a continuum of housing with greater variety, improved medical care, broadened secondary education, modern industrial and business parks, increased supply of resort and hotels, enhanced cultural offerings, and the embrace of what Cape Coral has to offer.

Challenges include the lack of public access to the water, which is why people love the Yacht Club and Jaycee Park. There are also no regional parks or a teen center, though the Parks GO Bond is working on that; a void in culture, with not enough in the way of performing arts; and one hospital to serve 200,000 people.

Perhaps most important is resiliency. With the city being on the water, flooding and algal blooms are common. Building the city to be resilient would be big investment/ big reward with every dollar invested in adaptations resulting in multi-dollar returns, which could also further reduce flood and homeowner insurance costs, officials said.

ULI recommends the city hire someone to oversee the city’s resilience plan, spearhead grant applications, develop resiliency guidelines and collaborate with community stakeholders and city departments.

Council members reacted positively to the recommendations, especially the part about resiliency and agreed there should be more meetings, perhaps even monthly, regarding the progress of the plan.

“We live in the sunshine and out and about and we need to take or pens and pencils and figure it out,” Councilmember Gloria Tate said. “As far as resiliency, flood insurance is a passion of mine and it is costing the building industry. But it’s good to see that what we put in, we get back much more.”

Mayor John Gunter had a lot of thoughts and saw the need to get a plan started is now. The city needs to consider zoning more commercial and having different kinds of housing for mixed use townhouses and the like.

“We can sit here and talk about things, but if we don’t have a plan, none of these things will ever happen. The growth of the city has us at buildout in 11 to 18 years, not 50. That tells me there’s a sense of urgency,” Gunter said. “There is no luxury of time to have a plan moving forward.”

Councilmember Dan Sheppard said he would like to see the non-profit sector become more involved, as it did with the street median program.

Hernandez said he looks forward to being able to continue the conversations with council, staff and community as they continue to work on the visioning.

“We have a new tag line we’ve adopted. You’ve heard loud and clear what they think of this city and that’s we’re a city flowing with possibilities,” Hernandez said.

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