Fort Myers Beach LPA tables then approves Delmare Avenue variance after neighbor discussions

The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency on May 12 handled a quasi‑judicial variance application for a single‑family property at 63 Delmare Avenue that was prompted by construction errors.

Staff told the board that a prior variance had been approved for the property and that construction revealed the house had been shifted forward when piles were mis‑laid by the surveyor. The applicant — represented by Cara Stewart — explained the house sits forward roughly three feet of the originally permitted footprint and that the staircase and some deck elements now encroach on an adjacent neighbor’s privacy and setbacks.

“I think the discovery didn’t take place until much further along in the process,” Stewart told the board, describing how the contractor stopped work and returned to the LPA seeking a remedy. Stewart said the piles were set incorrectly and that “the structure meets the setback; the staircase does not.” She also said the contractor would be willing to relocate and narrow the exterior staircase to restore a previously approved 4‑foot side setback to roughly 3‑foot‑6 inches, and declined to build a full privacy wall requested by the neighbor.

After receiving a previously submitted neighbor letter and hearing comments from LPA members, the board voted to table the application briefly so staff and the applicant could review the neighbor’s proposed conditions. When the case returned to the board the applicant agreed to modify the staircase to reduce the impact, and the LPA approved the variance with the applicant’s acceptance of the staircase relocation and the recommended staff conditions. The motion carried unanimously.

What the board recorded: the variance replaces a previously approved resolution and recognizes the as‑built condition while imposing conditions intended to address neighbor privacy and code compliance. The decision includes a written record of the applicant’s commitment to relocate and narrow the staircase and to comply with any administrative adjustments to accommodate the new configuration.

Next steps: Staff will prepare the final resolution and conditions; the decision is subject to appeal or to a town council review per the town code timeframe.

Key quote: “During construction…the piles were laid out incorrectly by the surveyor and shifted the house forward approximately 3 feet.” — Cara Stewart, applicant representative.

(Reporting from the LPA meeting, May 12.)