by SC Reporter Emilie Alfino
FISH of Sanibel Captiva Inc. applied for both a Conditional Use Permit to allow its institutional use within the Town Center Limited Commercial District (2422 Periwinkle Way) and a variance to allow a greater maximum floor area ratio in its new building. The Planning Commission voted 5-2 on both items.
FISH obtained a Conditional Use Permit in 2014 for the rear portion of the building at 2430 Periwinkle Way. The front of the building was a restaurant. After Hurricane Ian, FISH acquired ownership of the entire building at 2430 Periwinkle Way and the former Gene’s Bookstore at 2422 Periwinkle Way. The Lee County Property Appraiser combined the two parcels.
Ultimately, FISH decided to design a new resilient building with redesigned access, parking, stormwater management, and vegetation buffers. The reconfiguration will consolidate vehicular access into one ingress/egress instead of two separate driveways onto Periwinkle Way. The reconfigured site will also include a new bicycle and pedestrian accessway to the shared use path.
Planning Commission support was not unanimous.
“The west end looks monolithic. Will that be obscured from public view?” asked Commissioner Larry Schopp.
“This doesn’t fit in with the Town Center feel,” said Commissioner Kate Sergeant. “It’s supposed to be retail, restaurants versus institutional uses. It does serve a wide variety of people in the community. Is this really the minimum necessary? It doesn’t seem to me like they need this extra space. It looks like a really big building in what is supposed to be a quiet Town Center.”
“It is a large increase in floor area,” said Commissioner Lyman Welch. “I’m concerned: is this really the minimum design necessary?”
“I do have a problem with the size of the building,” added Commissioner Ken Coulter. “I’m concerned that we’re doing this again. All our residents have to comply, all our businesses have to comply. I totally can’t support the increase in size.”
“We’re not challenging the good work of FISH,” explained Sergeant. “The question we’re grappling with is: does the building need to be that big?”
Ultimately, the vote came down in favor 5-2, with Ken Coulter and Kate Sergeant voting against.
The new 12,309-square-foot elevated structure is funded by a $6,990,294 Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR). The CDBG-DR award is federal reimbursement funding administered locally through the City of Sanibel, with FISH serving as the subrecipient. FISH must follow federal and local requirements for eligible project expenses and documentation before the City reimburses approved costs.
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