Estero Village Council voted unanimously last month to settle a lawsuit with Long Bay Partners LLC, Top-CR Associates LLC and PAC Estero Apartment, allowing the developers to build a four-story apartment complex with 154 units at the northwest corner of Three Oaks Parkway and Coconut Road.
“As part of the [settlement] agreement, it said the final plan approval, instead of being processed strictly by staff, would be reviewed by the Planning Zoning and Design Board so we can make it a more transparent process,” Community Development Director Mary Gibbs said.
The final plan approval for the Residences at the Brooks community was brought to the board Tuesday when it was approved 6-1, with board member Anthony Gargano being the one nay vote.
Final plan approval comes just before development order approval. Final plans are not as detailed as site plans, as the details are worked out throughout the development order process, which has not been filed yet.
The property was rezoned in 1997 by Lee County for mixed-use planned development, which allows the uses of commercial, multifamily and hotel.
“That runs with the land,” Gibbs said. “So, if somebody says, ‘I don’t want multifamily apartments,’ you can make that comment, but it’s not really relevant to what we’re talking about tonight. We’re talking more about the site plan.”
Since the village has no control of what can be built on the site due to the original zoning and approved uses, it is tasked with ensuring the proposed project fits with the village and the Brooks community as best it can.
The developer plans on demolishing the former Winn-Dixie grocery store and replacing it with a four-story multifamily building. The remaining part of the shopping center and the bank remain.
A traffic study demonstrates there will be a reduction of peak hour trips following the removal of the former grocery store and the addition of the multifamily development.
The building will be constructed with concrete blocks and be no more than 50 feet in height with three enclosed garage structures proposed. There also will be on-site maintenance, an outdoor lap pool and kitchen and a dog park.
The concept will share parking with existing commercial properties, which the developer will refresh with paint, monument signs and fixed light fixtures. In addition, paver block crosswalks will be constructed to provide pedestrian connectivity between the multifamily and commercial uses.
As for the anticipated demographics of the development, PAC Land Development Corp. President Tom Cavanaugh expects the average age of residents to be about 50.
There were three deviations along with the final plan approval, which pertained to a parking requirement reduction, elevation, and lighting.
The parking had an overall reduction of 21 spaces.
For elevation, the developer was requesting to maintain minimum pavement elevations consistent with on-site commercial. Staff recommended approval, since it would be inconsistent to require a portion of the parking lot to be elevated above the existing parking lot. Overall, the buildings will need to comply with elevations and building codes.
The lighting deviation, a request to maintain light poles on the commercial site at 20 feet, was made with caution from the land development code, which requires light poles within 100 feet of a residential development to have a maximum height of 15 feet.
Staff recommended approval of all deviations.
The applicant has not submitted a development order yet, as the final plan approval is just conceptual.
“When they do, we’ll have it. And if people are interested, they can contact me and come look at it,” Gibbs said. “This process will take a little while to go through. So, they’re welcome to contact me if they want to see any of the plans once we get them in.”
