by SC Reporter Emilie Alfino
The Sanibel City Council conducted three additional hearings at its meeting on Monday, September 8, 2025, resulting in the passage of three ordinances.
Deadlines for Buildback. The code currently allows nonconforming uses and structures to be rebuilt if destroyed by a natural disaster within three years if the local emergency exceeds six months. Following Hurricane Ian, city staff proposed extending the deadline to December 15, 2026, if the local emergency persists beyond one year. Council passed this unanimously.
Traffic. City Council unanimously approved an amended penalty or fine structure for Bicycles, Micromobility Devices, Motorized Scooters, and Mopeds, as well as for violations of Electric Personal Assistive Mobility Devices. Council amended the penalty or fine for both Code sections by changing the civil penalty for violations from a maximum of $500 to a progressive or tiered approach. The tiered approach was based on the tiered fine structure as shown below.
• First offense = issued a written warning.
• Second offense = civil penalty of $100 plus $10 filing fees if paid within (formerly five) 15 days of issuance; if paid after five days of issuance, civil penalty of (formerly $150) $125 plus $10 filing fees.
• Third offense = civil penalty of $350 plus $10 filing fee.
• Fourth or subsequent offenses = civil penalty of $500 plus $10 filing fee
Multifamily Uses. The Planning Commission at its June 10, 2025, meeting approved a resolution recommending that the City Council allow the use of “multifamily building” on two nonconforming use properties, Gulf Beach Condominiums and Sandpiper Beach Condominiums.
City Council unanimously approved this resolution at its meeting on Monday to permit existing multifamily buildings to remain in the Upland Wetlands Zone. It applies to just two buildings.
Sandpiper Beach Condo at 1919 Olde Middle Gulf Drive (27 units in five buildings), constructed in 1979, was approved within the Upland Wetlands Zone without any documentation to explain the approval of the otherwise prohibited use.
Sandpiper was not substantially damaged and has been reconstructed.
Gulf Beach Condominium (one building with 14 units) is a nonconforming use – a multifamily building in a district where that use is prohibited. Previously, an allowance was made for Below Market Rate Housing at Woodhaven, 800 Casa Ybel Road.
Hurricane Ian substantially damaged the Gulf Beach Condo building, and it must be demolished. A permit was issued on May 16, 2023, but the building has not been razed. The property is currently for sale.
The option to “build back” the Gulf Beach Condo as one multifamily building with 14 units is expected to expire on December 15, 2026. The property is entitled to the same number of units, but the code requires either single-family homes or duplexes.
A cluster development of duplex and/or single-family residences could be approved up to 14 dwelling units (similar examples include Victoria Way, Colony Beach Estates, or Ferry Landing).
The property comprises approximately 124,320 square feet, or 2.85 acres, which could accommodate up to six single-family lots.
However, it is a question of what is legally permissible versus what is physically possible, Commissioners noted.
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