State Administrative Judge John Van Laningham has ruled in favor of the Town of Fort Myers Beach regarding the removal of temporary structures after FEMA demanded the town start getting these structures out of the flood zone.
Patricia Smith was issued a Temporary Use Permit back on June 5, 2024 to operate a bike rental business at 81 Miramar Street. The permit had an expiration date of September of 2025.
Before Hurricane Ian trailers were not permitted on Fort Myers Beach. As a way to help businesses get back on their feet, the Town Council changed the rules to allow trailers. Business trailer permits were issued for 180 days before they needed to be renewed.
In July of 2024 FEMA started coming down on Fort Myers Beach, letting the town know these types of temporary use permits should never have been allowed and they needed to go immediately. It didn’t matter that season was starting. It didn’t matter hurricane season was ending. It didn’t matter businesses had suffered 2 years of severe financial losses. It was time the town started getting these structures, which could include trailers or storage boxes, anything that could do damage to life or property if another storm came through, off the island. If the town did not come into compliance they were risking not only losing the 25% flood insurance discount, there were threats they could be kicked out of the program completely (which means no big black trucks for debris removal when the next big storm hits).
On October 2, 2024 the town issued Smith a Notice of Violation stating the “sheds failed to meet the required Base Flood Elevation of 13 feet for structures in a Special Flood Hazard Area. Their lack of proper anchoring and flood openings significantly increased risks during flood events. These risks include structural displacement that could damage neighboring properties, obstruction of evacuation routes, and hazardous debris in floodwaters that compromise public safety.”
Then, on December 16th the Town Council passed a resolution revoking all Temporary Use Permits and had started to issue code violations to anyone who housed a structure FEMA wanted gone. An out of town magistrate was hired to hear the code cases and Quicky Bike Rental was one of the first businesses to appear before the judge on January 7th. The town of Fort Myers Beach was now pitted against the businesses it was trying to help.
After hearing the case, it took Judge Van Laningham only 3 days to rule in the town’s favor. Smith has until March 1st to remove the trailers or face a daily fine of $250. Smith can appeal the ruling to the Circuit Court of Lee County no later than February 10th. A status report will be given at the March 4th DOAH hearing. If Smith has not removed the trailers by the status hearing the town has been given permission by the judge to remove them and charge Smith the expenses to do the work. Smith must also pay $250 in court costs.
In his ruling, Van Laningham said he recognizes the challenge of balancing FEMA’s strict compliance demands with the hardships faced by affected businesses and the Fort Myers Beach community. “The Town’s actions are driven by its commitment to protecting residents’ interests while adhering to federal requirements to maintain participation in the NFIP. By following FEMA’s directives, the Town aims to ensure that residents retain access to affordable flood insurance and critical federal disaster assistance, which safeguard both individual property owners and the community at large.”
We reached out to Smith’s attorney and asked if she planned to appeal or remove the trailers. We have not heard back. As of Thursday, the trailers were still on the property renting bikes.
After allowing these trailers by changing their rules, in addition to other issues FEMA had with the town’s post-Ian recovery, FEMA took away the town’s 25% discount in the National Flood Insurance Program. The town is now on probation for 2 years and hopes to get everyone into compliance and get the discount back as soon as possible.
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