Full slate, full day ahead for Cape council workshop

Sep 13, 2022 By CHUCK BALLARO 4 min read

City Manager Rob Hernandez warned Cape Coral City Council that the first workshop meeting of the fall (and possibly the rest of the year) would be a long one.

Wednesday’s 9 a.m. session will have no less than 10 items up for discussion and possible an 11th if the current boil water notice comes as an addendum.

Among the items up for discussion include a draft ordinance brought up by Councilmember Gloria Tate regarding temporary signs on vacant lots.

Topping the list is a discussion regarding temporary signs, including campaign signs; illegal mooring of boats in Cape Coral waterways and another look at regulations for food trucks.

In a memo from Development Services Director Vince Cautero, the city manager was reminded of changes made in the Land Development Code in 2019 regarding signs in response to the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Reed vs. The Town of Gilbert case.

The decision removed the distinction between election signs, real estate signs, and other signs that are temporary in nature.

“Staff is concerned there may not be a complete understanding of the breadth of the impact of this proposed amendment,” Cautero wrote. “Because we have a content neutral sign ordinance, the Temporary Sign section of the code applies to all temporary signs and most of these types of signs fall under ‘All Other Temporary Signs.'”

These include, but are not limited to election signs; real estate signs; construction signs; “coming soon” signs; open house signs; garage sale signs and others.

Exempting certain types of signs that are not identified within the code is not an option since they cannot regulate content. Therefore, “All Other Temporary Signs” would be regulated the same way, requiring property owner authorization. A registration process would need to be developed and maintained to track all temporary signs, Cautero said.

In other business:

• The city will discuss regulation on contractors and construction.

The Florida Legislature during its last session adopted a bill, HB 735, which pre-empted all occupational licensing to the state, with any local licenses issued to expire on July 1, 2023.

The city has regulated contractor licensing since the 1970s. The intent was to recognize not only state-licensed contractors, but to also allow for local licensing (certification of competency) for contractors that don’t possess one of the state licenses.

The ordinance created the Cape Coral Construction Regulation Board or CRB, to determine whether to grant local licenses, in addition to hearing and deciding complaints against contractors

The staff recommendation is to mirror Lee County’s ordinances and phase out local contractor licensing and the CRB consistent with HB 735 effective July 1, 2023.

• Councilmember Keith Long has brought forward an ordinance about waterway navigation preservation, specifically, the illegal mooring of boats in waterways. The ordinance would not apply to mooring fields established by the city.

• Once again, a proposed mobile food vendor ordinance is up for discussion. An updated code was redrafted at the April 13 workshop meeting. This new code will treat mobile food vendors alike (except ice cream trucks).

As proposed, Mobile food vendors would need to stay mobile, leaving a job site at night and removing any gear. Seating areas, tented or not, would not be allowed. This code is intended to eliminate “food truck based outdoor restaurants.”

Also on tap are updates on the EnerGov permitting system and the $60 million Parks GO Bond and capital improvements.

There will also be reports on the Office of Economic & Business Development, grants management and the status of Fiscal Year 2022 budget initiatives.

Cape Coral City Council meets in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1015 Cultural Park Boulevard. Workshop meetings are open to the public.

To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com