La Ola appeal remains pending as town warns noncompliant structure could risk FEMA probation, bridge access

A pending circuit-court appeal and a town warning about FEMA probation were the central topics at the May 16 Fort Myers Beach Special Magistrate hearing for 1035 Estero Boulevard, the site of La Ola restaurant.

Nancy Stupridge, town attorney for Fort Myers Beach, told Special Magistrate John Van Laningham that the property remains noncompliant and that the town was presenting the hearing only as a status update because an appeal is pending in circuit court. “The current status is noncompliant. However, there is an appeal pending in the circuit court. We are not asking for any action to be taken by you today,” Stupridge said.

Attorneys for the owner and tenant said they are preparing engineered site plans, structural drawings and a development-order (DO) pre-application so they can submit for building permits and rebuild the restaurant. Amy Tuggett, representing the property owner and the tenant, displayed three renderings and said the parties are expediting pre-construction work so they can break ground when permits are approved. “Everything leading up to being able to break ground is being expedited,” Tuggett said.

Stupridge warned, however, that the town has two core concerns while the noncompliant structure remains on the site. First, the trailer sits near the foot of the Matanzas Bridge — one of two entries to the island — and could block traffic or emergency access if displaced during a storm. Second, the town received a letter from FEMA indicating the town’s removal from probation will be conditioned on documentation that noncompliant structures have been removed. Stupridge said FEMA will conduct a community assessment visit before Aug. 31 and that continued noncompliance on this and other properties could put the town at risk of renewed probation.

On the legal timeline, Tuggett said her side filed an initial brief about three-and-a-half weeks earlier; Stupridge said the town’s answer brief is due next Friday and the owner will have 15 days to file a reply. Van Laningham noted there was no court-ordered stay in the record and that absent a stay, the town could take enforcement actions based on the final order while the appeal proceeds.

The magistrate did not take enforcement action at the hearing and recorded the status update for the file. The town said it will continue to press for removal of remaining noncompliant structures ahead of FEMA’s visit.