When commercial development project applications go through the site plan review process both City Council and the public may or may not have visibility to those projects. This depends upon whether there are requests by the petitioner to deviate from code or if interpretations of the project’s compliance with the codes are applied.
In 2008 , City Council amended this site plan review process which resulted in less public visibility of major commercial projects. The effect was less transparency for residents who were increasingly concerned about overly intense commercial development. The current City Council, elected in 2020, made changes to improve visibility, and last year Ordinance 2023-15048 was passed to bring more projects before the public. This restored the right of citizens to have notice and input to major commercial development.
Last week City Council requested 3-D modeling of large-scale commercial projects to inform residents more effectively about the building scale, massing, and relationship to the surrounding neighborhoods. Seeking to clarify roles and authorities, City Council discussed improvements to the processes followed by the Design Review Board (DRB) and the Planning and Advisory Board (PAB) Those changes would bring more projects in front of City Council and the public, as well as provide additional transparency and resident engagement in the development process
Keeping our Citizens Safe:
We have the benefit of a safe community in the City of Naples. Even though faced with a very tight labor market, prior City Council budgets did not prioritize competitive wage and benefit increases for our police and EMS professionals. This led to higher staff vacancies and the need for the current City Council to play ‘catch-up’ and to accelerate wage increases, benefit packages and pension funding.
The adopted 2023-24 police budget reflects a 21% increase, $3.2 million , compared to the 2021-22 police budget. Approximately 80% of that increase is salary and pension benefit increases. Police staff vacancies are down substantially, retention up, moral up.
Two weeks ago, Mayor Heitmann and council welcomed the appointment of new Police Chief, Ciro Dominguez, a 38-year career law enforcement professional to lead the department. With this key position filled, with other vacancies filled, and with a pay program to attract the best candidates City Council has prioritized safety, corrected the problems of the past and delivered on the promise to keep our citizens safe.
The Season Started with Continued Attention to the Environment:
Our citizens health and welfare, as well as our economy depend upon the protection of a fragile environment. The adopted City budget reflects high level funding to complete the Stormwater Management and Outfall Pipe project and to continue first phase of the long-term lake remediation program. Stormwater programs and policies have been strengthened considerably to address our challenges and attend to projects left unfunded for over a decade.
The increase in the Mill rate to advance the priorities of the residents represents $20 (twenty dollars) per $1Million in property value. When asked about the newly approved City budget CEO and Assistant Manager Gary Young said: “The 2023-24 Budget is something this Council should be proud of” To see the twenty-minute presentation of the budget by Mr. Young open the hyperlink here: Naples CFO Gary Young explains the City Budget
When asked about the priorities of City Council, Mayor Heitmann commented that “The voters elected us in 2020 to make change. Residents were clear that over-development and protecting our environment are most important to them. I am proud of what we have accomplished to respond to the residents and ensure a robust business community at the same time. There is nothing more important than equitable balance between resident and commercial interests and the projection of our environment. We can have it all and this Council is demonstrating that.”