Burnt Store Road District Plan discussion to continue
With much debate and confusion as to what properties should be included and eliminated from the Burnt Store Road District Wednesday evening, Cape Coral City Council moved further discussion to an upcoming meeting, rather than transmitting the plan for review by the state.
Council, in a 6-1 vote, approved further discussion at a Feb. 12 workshop, followed by the natter being placed on the March 5 meeting agenda for consideration.
Councilmember Keith Long voted against the motion and Councilmember Laurie Lehmann was not present at the time of the vote.
Planning Team Coordinator Wyatt Daltry said the city initiated a future land use amendment that involves 1,141 acres in northwest Cape Coral along Burnt Store Road north of Van Buren Parkway. He said Council directed staff to move forward with a new district identified as the future economic corridor.
The district would not allow new standalone residential, nor certain projects such as self-storage facilities.
The back-and-forth discussion revolved around such areas as Gator Slough and properties in Westchester Estates.
Joe Mazurkiewicz, BJM Consulting president, said Acorn, Gator Slough and the property making up just under 87 acres in the northwest corner of BURST have existing conditions and entitlements — CAC land use. He said the BURST takes away one important land use — multifamily homes.
“If you make this change on both of these properties, you have taken away a significant entitlement. You may have taken away the ability to develop as originally intended by CAC land use,” Mazurkiewicz said. “Developers don’t come in and build what they want — it’s what the market supports, absorbs.”
The Burnt Store Road District was initially transmitted in 2023 with the Gator Slough piece removed.
“This particular item came before council,” Mayor John Gunter said. “Staff made a recommendation and council directed staff to take certain properties out and leave certain properties in. When it went up to transmittal, unfortunately what council gave did not match. Once they determined they made a mistake, they pulled that back and started the process again.”
Long said when they started the discussion, the BURST corridor was identified as the last commercial corridor in Cape Coral. He said the culmination of some errors made on Del Prado Boulevard and Pine Island Road were taken into account.
Long said if they remove this piece or that piece it would take away from a large commercial tract in the area that could maintain the desire they have.
“The goal is to move forward. There is no meat on the bone left if we remove it all,” he said.
Long said his continued vision is to make sure that they develop the commercial district in a way that is not going to be a huge concentrated area of standalone multifamily.