The Board started their meeting confirming Marlene Naratil as Vice-Chair of the Planning, Zoning & Design Board.

South Fork Grille/El Nido Modern Mexican Restaurant

The Board conducted a public hearing for South Fork Grille/El Nido Modern Mexican Restaurant which was requesting an expansion of outdoor alcoholic beverage services at their restaurants in Coconut Point.

South Fork recently expanded, adding a second restaurant called El Nido.  The outdoor area now totals 3,285 square feet, more than double the original outdoor area.   Hours of service are 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM Sunday through Thursday, and 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM Friday and Saturday for indoor and outdoor seating.

The Board approved this application with six conditions.

Public Information Meetings

AT&T Cell Tower

AT&T is requesting a special exception to allow for the construction of a 100 ft. wireless telecommunications facility at 3231 Coconut Road adjacent to the Bonita Springs-Estero Elks Lodge.  The proposed monopole is 99 ft. tall with a 1 ft. tall lightning rod and is able to host 12 antennas.

The applicant stated the new cell tower is required for coverage and to improve capacity in this area.  They will be conducting a balloon test in early August, raising a balloon to the height of the proposed tower to demonstrate a true line of sight.

Public Comment: 4 residents spoke against this proposal; 6 residents spoke in favor of the proposal and 7 eComment cards were placed into the record.

No voting occurs during public information meetings.

Culver’s Coconut Point

Culver’s is planning to construct a 4,052 sq. ft. fast food restaurant at 8400 Murano Del Lago Drive off of Pelican Colony Blvd., and north of the Extra Space Storage.  In addition, they are looking for a tenant for the southern portion of their property due to the size of the site.

They are proposing a building with a seating capacity for 59 patrons and drive-thru, a hip roof with towers, clay tile roof and horizontal banding along the entire building.

No voting occurs during public information meetings.

Public Hearings

Estero Town Center Wawa

Representatives for Wawa were requesting to amend the Estero Town Center zoning along with deviations to allow for a Wawa Convenience Food and Beverage Store with Gas on the Ruby Tuesday lot.

The applicant stated they also need approval to include a fast food restaurant in order to go forward with this proposal.  The fast food restaurant would be located on a different lot in the Estero Town Center.

The Board recommended the applicant make some changes to the gas station canopy.

The Board voted to recommend Council approve this application with a number of conditions.

Ordinance 2022-09 – Planning, Zoning & Design Board membership qualifications

The ordinance includes several changes to the membership qualifications including:

  • The Board members must include at least one member from the following Florida state-registered professions: civil engineering, architecture, and landscape architecture
  • A designated member shall be permitted to represent a client at a Public Information Meeting, but shall not represent a client before the Board, participate in discussion or vote on the client’s application at any other meeting. Notwithstanding, other members of the designated member’s firm may represent the firm client before the Board at any meeting.

The Board voted to recommend Council approve this ordinance.

Residents may view the archived meeting by going to the Village website https://estero-fl.gov/agendas/

The next Planning Zoning & Design Board meeting will be held at 4:30 p.m., August 9, 2022.