Land off Burnt Store Road that is being developed as a luxury RV resort has been temporarily turned into a place for families displaced by Hurricane Ian. The Federal Emergency Management Agency opened Tranquility Lakes last week. About a third of the available trailers are already occupied, with the expectation of the park being close to full in the coming week. CJ HADDAD

Land off Burnt Store Road that is set to be a luxury RV resort has been temporarily turned into a place for families displaced by Hurricane Ian.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency opened Tranquility Lakes last week. About a third of the available trailers are already occupied, with the expectation of the park being close to full in the coming week.

Keith Jones, senior spokesperson for FEMA, said FEMA has been placing families in the units. There are 38 eligible households already licensed in as of Thursday.

“We have five more coming Friday and 48 more pending background checks required by owners, and we’re trying to identify 14 more applicants,” Jones said. “The units are there and being installed. Once the utilities are installed and deemed ready, we can start putting people in.”

Tranquility Lakes is a commercial park. FEMA leased all 105 pads so they can put travel trailers on them to provide housing for those in need of temporary housing until they can get back into homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Ian.

The location opened on Feb. 9, even though it was planned to open as an RV resort next year. FEMA worked with county and city officials to be able to use the location.

All the trailers are there now, Jones said. FEMA communities are set up for 18 months from the start of a disaster. With the state of emergency being declared on Sept. 28, 2022, that means the assistance expires on March 28, 2024 before needing an extension.

If families still haven’t found housing and if an extension is granted, families will then have to pay rent at market rate to remain there. The hope is their permanent homes are fixed up long before then.

The families have to update their status monthly since they are supposed to be making repairs or determining their long-term housing solution.

“The trailers are only part of the solution. We have people in hotels and apartments that we find for them and pay for while we look for more direct housing,” Jones said. “We have travel trailers, mobile homes and have contracts with some apartment complexes.”

The families are as close to home, work and schools as possible. They are trying to get their home fixed and maybe even try to sell it and move, Jones said.

Jones said FEMA wants to give these families as safe and secure a place to stay as they can while they make their decision. This is why the prospective families are vetted.

“We don’t want to put our survivors at any more risk than they’ve already been in. We’ve had problems in the past, but we’ve changed and adapted our practices,” Jones said. “We don’t want bad neighbors.”

A second site that FEMA is looking at near Cape Coral City Hall was considered Wednesday during the regular city council meeting. The site, which would house 18 homes, is in an exploratory phase.

FEMA would have to do environmental and impact studies and the council voted 6-2 to allow FEMA to do that.

Mayor John Gunter, who voted against the project along with Councilmember Robert Welsh, was concerned about the potential impact to the residents there.

“They were small parcels and houses surrounded it. I got e-mails regarding that and saw some residents express displeasure on the news,” Gunter said. “We need to make sure we’ve vetted all our parcels. It’s something we need, but I’m not sure it’s needed at that location.”