Communities all over Southwest Florida are submitting requests for a piece of the $1.2 Billion Lee County was awarded from HUD to help recover from Hurricane Ian. While Sanibel was very specific in their ask, Fort Myers Beach was quite vague.
The Town of Fort Myers Beach is asking Lee County for $1.745 million. The town says it is requesting the money “to support critically necessary island-wide recovery and resilience planning initiatives. The Town seeks to fill a need to modernize comprehensive and actionable recovery plans to guide the town’s implementation of its recovery strategy, fully considering unmet needs, mitigation best practices, and sustainability.”
By comparison, Sanibel has asked for $702,000 for three specific projects:
Sanibel Plan Update ($250,000)
One of the strategic goals and objectives that City Council adopted on August 16, 2022 was to develop a plan to review all elements of the Sanibel Plan (the city’s comprehensive plan) and present an updated plan to Council. The Sanibel Plan was last revised in 2013.
Sanibel Transportation Master Plan ($200,000)
A comprehensive master plan will be developed to include the evaluation of roads for climate related risks, parking and transportation alternatives, and traffic management to improve level of service along roadways (mitigate congestion).
Sanibel Broadband Feasibility Study ($252,000)
This study will determine the feasibility of underground and aerial installation of infrastructure for fiberoptic-based high-speed symmetrical internet network connectivity to end users (households, businesses, etc.) within the city limits of Sanibel.
The majority of the $1.2 Billion Lee County was awarded must be used for low to moderate income housing needs throughout Lee County.
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