Removing the properties will allow staff "to do a deep dive into that location," Planning Manager Bob Pederson said.
Cape Coral City Council voted Monday to remove the controversial Four Corners site from a large zoning ordinance, effectively postponing the discussion about the future of southeast Cape properties.
Planning Manager Bob Pederson asked council to remove the roughly 21 acres of properties from an ordinance affecting the zoning of nearly 10,000 acres in the city because of "a new appreciation for the complexity of the issues surrounding the Four Corners site." Removing the properties will allow staff "to do a deep dive into that location," he said.
The zoning of Four Corners — located at Agualinda Boulevard and Beach Parkway — will now be addressed in a public hearing before the city's hearing examiner. Following a recommendation from the hearing examiner, it will come back to city council for another public hearing, Pederson said.
Removing the site from the larger zoning ordinance means the city must post signs about the rezoning on the vacant Four Corners site, place a legal ad in the paper, and send mailers to property owners within 500 feet of the Four Corners site boundaries, Pederson said.
Residents packed city hall last week to air their grievances about a proposed land-use change that would allow for more multifamily housing on the properties, which sit among single-family homes in southeast Cape.
Council members approved the land-use ordinance but instructed city staff to limit the density to 264 homes through zoning. That's the same number of homes currently allowed on the properties.
While land-use amendments are for broad policy matters that fit into the city's larger plans, site-specific issues are handled through zoning.