As we get further and further away from September 28, 2022, property owners on Fort Myers Beach want to see more of their neighbors cleaning up their properties. What is the town government doing about it?
Shortly after Hurricane Ian, the Town of Fort Myers Beach was not putting too much pressure on property owners to clean up their lots or knock down their broken structures. The reality was, nearly every structure on Fort Myers Beach was damaged or destroyed by the storm and getting the island habitable was phase one, and that took a long time.
Now, with Ian nearly 3 years in the rearview mirror, many property owners want to see the cleanup process accelerated. If they live on a street where many of their neighbors are back to beautifying the block, they’d like to know why other properties remain untouched since the big storm.
Property owners have gone to Town Council meetings to speak at public comment about structures next door to their homes. They describe dangerous debris flying around, unfenced mold filled pools, rats and monster lizards, and overgrown lawns.
It was in June of 2024 that we reported on the first 10 properties the town targeted for takedown, including The Dolphin Inn (they did their own demo) , The Neptune Resort (they are rebuilding after taking their building down), The old Hoosiers Building (they have permits in to repair the structure) and several others (see that list here). That was about 18 months after Ian and shortly after the town staff made sure it was on legal ground to pursue dilapidated properties. People do have property rights after all.
Publicizing the list back in June seemed to have an impact. Of the original 13, not one of them had to be demolished by the town. This past Sunday, we asked Mayor Dan Allers if there was a new list and how many structures were on it. He brought the current list with him and also informed us that the town did demolish its first residential structure back in May. 4903 Estero was a single family home (picture below) that the town went after and eventually had to take down. The cost to taxpayers was $18,720 which will be added to the property owners tax bill so the town gets reimbursed.
There are currently 13 structures at the top of the town’s take down list with two of those structures “nearly ready” to be demolished, according to town documents. The two at the top of the list are 145 Chapel Street and 3111 Shell Mound (pictured).
The 11 other structures are:
476 Estero Boulevard
963 Estero Boulevard
2100 Ester Boulevard
7954 Estero Boulevard
113-119 Fairweather
127/129 Fairweather
6081 Gulf Road
106 Lovers Lane
136/138 Madison Court
185 Old San Carlos
191 Primo Drive
Recently the town posted instructions on how to file a code complaint. Keep in mind that it’s a state law that complaints can not be made anonymous. All information is available to the public.
I remember when the current mayor of the city of Detroit went after derelict properties and took them down after they had sat there for decades. Sad that I am comparing FMB to Detroit!
Neighbors LOL, there is no neighborhood anymore, without a school on the beach and no community on FMB. People are selling their homes and 80% of my street are rentals.
The blue buildings on Fairweather (pictured) are remodeled and renting.
That’s interesting! Wonder how the town is listing them for demolition by the town! Hopefully they permitted their work and met the fema rules!
Sadly the last list had someone on it that had permits and was repairing and had to get an apology as their property and name went out there!
I am glad they are doing something but 13 houses a yr is going to take yrs to get thru!