The Estero Planning, Zoning and Design Board recommended approval for the rezoning of Miromar Design Center to Village Council on Tuesday.
The 400,000-square-foot design center on the southeast quadrant of Interstate 75 and Corkscrew Road was zoned as Miromar Square, a commercial planned development in 2007, but is requesting a rezone to allow the use of office spaces.
Since its opening, the intent was an upscale design center where people could make appointments for different household furnishings. However, it hasn’t had as much success as anticipated and is now hoping to increase occupancy by expanding its use.
Originally part of the Stoneybrook development of regional impact, the rezoning also calls for changes to the DRI.
“We’re not proposing any modifications to the building itself, just to the use internally,” land use planner Dan DeLisi said. “All of the amended zoning conditions and DRI amendments have to do either with just updating the DRI to reflect that the village is now the entity, not Lee County, or adding those specific uses to the schedule of uses.”
The rezoning request also includes the need to meet parking requirements. However, no changes to parking are needed since an additional 100 parking spots were created when the design center was originally built.
The board recommended approval with two absentees.
The 19-acre proposed rezoning of village-owned property at Golf Coast Driving Range on the north side of Williams Road and south of Estero Community Park consists of two parcels, with the east currently zoned for commercial planned development and the west zoned for agricultural.
Village staff recommends rezoning to Estero’s planned development since the west parcel has remained vacant and the east parcel is limited to uses of the driving range or a place of worship.
No concrete site plans were given at last month’s public information meeting for the request, with the site plan presented on Tuesday met with a need for more concise plans by all board members.
“If we’re expecting the private sector to come in with one set of standards and application package with details, I think we need to hold the village to that same standard,” board member Barry Jones said. 
The site plan provided included facilities for indoor and outdoor recreational uses, with no specifics.
Community Development Director Mary Gibbs said the village intends to use the land for recreation and sports-related uses, with the intention to add outdoor pickleball facilities to the site.
The addition of outdoor pickleball is one many residents spoke in favor of considering Estero currently offers no outdoor pickleball courts.
Other residents spoke about wanting to see a golf putting green, miniature golf and a rugby field on the site.
At last month’s public information meeting, board member Jim Wallace brought up the village’s commitment to preserving trees, raising concern about the vacant west parcel.
The village has since completed an environmental test through remote visual inspection, finding that there are majestic oaks on the west parcel, which will be taken into consideration when planning the site.
After an hour of discussion and comment, the board voted to continue the public hearing to Feb. 21, allowing the village to have more time to solidify its site plan for the 19 acres.
