It’s an issue Fort Myers Beach Town Councilman John King wants the full Town Council to look into, and they will at a future Management and Planning meeting.
King says, annexing San Carlos Island would give San Carlos Island residents greater say in local government. They could vote in Fort Myers Beach elections and become Town Council candidates. “With the Fort Myers Beach charter review coming up, any change would need to be included there. Many consider it to be Fort Myers Beach and as our “front door” I’d like to have a say in what that front door looks like.”
Even though San Carlos Island is in the 33931 Zip code it’s considered unincorporated Lee County. When Fort Myers Beach incorporated it was from The Matanzas Pass Bridge to the Big Carlos Pass Bridge and the main reason for incorporation was to control the height of buildings on the island. San Carlos Island residents pay property taxes to Lee County but pay Fort Myers Beach Fire Department and Library taxes.
According to Homes.com there are a little over 1,000 residents on San Carlos Island, which also includes all the restaurants and businesses under the Matanzas Pass Bridge, along Main Street and San Carlos Boulevard. King is suggesting Fort Myers Beach look into annexing up to Hurricane Pass Bridge.
Lee County Commissioner David Mulicka, who represents Fort Myers Beach and San Carlos island, said he was surprised to hear about the idea from King. “It will be interesting to see how the residents react to this discussion when the reasons are presented.”
Long-time San Carlos Island resident Joanne Semmer said annexing San Carlos Island is a bad idea and there would be no benefit to residents and property owners. “San Carlos Island is the Lee County working waterfront with marine industrial uses, three large marinas, a shrimp fleet and commercial fishing docks and land support, mobile home and RV communities, ship and boat yards, US Coast Guard military base, barge landings, marine industrial constriction yards, Key West Express and more. These uses are not compatible with the goals and objectives of the Town of Fort Myers Beach. I don’t believe the town has any knowledge or interest in protecting these uses. In the past the town outlawed commercial fishing docks from Estero Island. Most of the residents on San Carlos Island choose to live here because of the working people not the white sandy beaches. The San Carlos Island residents and property owners I have talked with do not want to become part of the government of Fort Myers Beach. Taxes would go up there would be an additional layer of government in permitting.”
According to Zipdatamaps.com the 33931 zip code includes property all the way past Walmart to CR869 (Summerlin Rd). To the south 33931 includes properties over the Big Carlos Pass Bridge to the Lovers Key area.
In Florida, there are four ways in which an annexation may take place: by special act of the legislature, a voluntary annexation, an involuntary annexation or an interlocal agreement with the county. Florida statute 171 states: “Any municipality may annex contiguous, compact, unincorporated territory.” It’s unclear if the body of water separating Fort Myers Beach and San Carlos Island negates the two areas being contiguous.
The easiest way to annex property would be for property owners, in this case San Carlos Island, to petition the Fort Myers Beach Town Council to be annexed into the town. The Fort Myers Beach Town Council would then need to pass an ordinance annexing San Carlos Island. That’s the voluntary annexation option.
There is also an involuntary annexation. If that’s the route a municipality chooses, they must approve an ordinance calling for the annexation and hold 2 public hearings. Fort Myers Beach would need to produce a feasibility study that details services that would be provided to San Carlos Island by the beach. The majority of San Carlos Island voters would then need to vote in favor of being annexed. Fort Myers Beach can also decide to ask beach voters to vote on the annexation. If a majority of either group votes against annexation the issue fails and cannot be brought up again for 2 years.
According to The Florida League of Cities, current law requires that if more than 70% of the land in the area proposed to be annexed is owned by individuals, corporations or legal entities that are not registered electors of the area, the area cannot be annexed without the approval of at least 50% of the owners.
Town Attorney Nancy Stuprich will be gathering information on annexing San Carlos Island for the Town Council to look over at an M&P meeting.
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