{"id":431509,"date":"2026-10-18T21:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T21:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/431509\/"},"modified":"2026-10-18T21:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T21:28:09","slug":"cereceda-answers-fort-myers-beach-observer-questions-on-london-bay-public-benefit-fort-myers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/431509\/","title":{"rendered":"Cereceda answers Fort Myers Beach Observer questions on London Bay, public benefit – FORT MYERS"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n
\n
\n \/Fort Myers Beach News
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n


\n \"article <\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Anita Cereceda speaks at a candidate forum at the Fort Myers Beach Library. Photo by Nathan Mayberg<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency Chair Anita Cereceda, who served multiple terms as mayor of the Town of Fort Myers Beach, is running for one of three open seats on the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council. Cereceda answered questions from the Fort Myers Beach Observer as part of a series of questions for all of the candidates:<\/p>\n

Name: Anita Cereceda<\/p>\n

Age: 65<\/p>\n

Place of birth: Tampa, Florida<\/p>\n

Education: Attended Florida State University, majoring in philosophy and theatre.<\/p>\n

Places lived before moving to Fort Myers Beach: Tampa, Orlando and Tallahassee<\/p>\n

When did you move to Fort Myers Beach? Permanently in 1988<\/p>\n

What is your current job, occupation or business? I own The Islander, Gift & Gallery Boutique in Santini Plaza<\/p>\n

What were your previous jobs and occupations? I\u2019ve done everything from bartending to selling cars! The Pier Peddler and Local Color were also my stores before Ian washed them away.<\/p>\n

Political experience: First Mayor of Fort Myers Beach after winning election to Town Council and being appointed as mayor by fellow councilmembers, Town of Fort Myers Beach Councilmember from 1996-2000, and again from 2014-2020, serving as mayor and councilmember between 2018-20, currently chair of the Local Planning Agency. Also served on the Lee County Charter Review board, and the Tourist Development Council.<\/p>\n

Community involvement: Fort Myers Beach Community Foundation and Fort Myers Beach Women\u2019s Club.<\/p>\n

Question:<\/p>\n

Can you comment on your opinion of the original London Bay project and what you think of their last proposal and use of the Live Local Act? How do you think the town staff should be responding to this Live Local Act proposal? Do you think it fits the town\u2019s comprehensive plan, and if not, what should the town do?<\/p>\n

Answer:<\/p>\n

My opinion of London Bay\u2019s project as presented to the LPA is part of the public record. I voted against it because it was inconsistent with the goals and objectives of our comprehensive plan. <\/p>\n

As to their Live Local plan, this is administrative in nature and it is not my place to comment. <\/p>\n

Generally speaking, I have commented previously about my opinion relative to Live Local projects saying that the it circumvents the public process of reviewing and approving a project. In my opinion, the entire concept of the Live Local Act, is ill conceived.<\/p>\n

Question:<\/p>\n

What do you think a public benefit should be for a developer, whether town council needs to define public benefit more clearly in the town\u2019s code, and whether you believe any project is entitled to deviations from town code if they can provide a public benefit, or if there should be limits to the amount and size of deviations for a project that proposes public benefit? What do you think the limits on deviations should be?<\/p>\n

Answer:<\/p>\n

The use of \u201cpublic benefits\u201d is a tool to allow a developer and the town to be able to negotiate mutual benefits. We can close this \u201cloophole\u201d by carefully defining the parameters. This will allow both parties to obtain something not provided for in the Land Development Code.<\/p>\n

Yes, the Town Council absolutely needs to adopt a definition and likely an ordinance to clarify \u201cpublic benefit.\u201d The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency will take up the issue again at their meeting on October 13 and hopefully forward a draft ordinance to the council for discussion and approval. It\u2019s essential that residents and developers of commercial property understand what the rules are and that they are clear, concise and reflect the community\u2019s needs. <\/p>\n

A \u201cpublic benefit\u201d also needs to be differentiated from an amenity. A restaurant or tiki bar for example are not \u201cpublic benefits\u201d but rather amenities included in a project. Public benefits should be perpetual in nature and proportionate to the request. A \u201cpublic benefit\u201d should serve a public purpose.<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \/Fort Myers Beach News …\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431510,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-431509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}