Fort Myers Beach Council Sends Revised DiamondHead Resort Expansion Back to the Planning Agency

The DiamondHead Beach Resort expansion did not get a final yes or no from Fort Myers Beach Town Council on Monday. Instead, council voted to send it back to the town's Local Planning Agency, the volunteer board that reviews land use requests before they reach council, according to reporting by Fort Myers Beach Talk published October 5, 2026.

The vote to remand was 2-1. Councilmembers Rebecca Link and John McLean voted to send the plan back, and Councilmember John King voted against the delay. Mayor Dan Allers and Vice Mayor Scott Safford did not vote, having filed conflict of interest forms ahead of the meeting, according to the same report.

The Local Planning Agency is now scheduled to hear the revised plan on November 10. After that, the request returns to council for a decision. Until then, nothing about the resort's request has been approved or denied on Fort Myers Beach.

The short answer is that the plan in front of council on Monday was not the plan the planning board had reviewed. The Local Planning Agency voted against recommending the original proposal in September, after neighbors objected that a new building on the site would block their views. In the days before Monday's hearing, the resort changed the design.

Fort Myers Beach Talk reported that McLean said the project should go back to the planning board because of the updated renderings and drawings, along with objections the neighboring condominium raised in the week after the changes were presented. Link said she was still receiving emails from neighbors that morning and that, at a minimum, town staff needed more time to review the changes.

That is a common outcome when a land use request changes late in the process. Sending it back lets the board that reviews these requests look at the version that would actually be built, rather than asking council to rule on drawings the board has not seen.

When I wrote about this request on October 2, ahead of the hearing, the resort had said its plan had been modified but had not described how. You can read that earlier report on the DiamondHead expansion and the September planning board vote for the background.

The changes are now public. According to Fort Myers Beach Talk, the revised plan drops the proposed new tower entirely. Instead, the resort would attach its added rooms to the east and west sides of the existing building. The outlet reports the revised plan adds 55 rooms, bringing the resort at 2000 Estero Boulevard from 121 rooms to 176. Earlier reporting on the original filing described a slightly larger request, so the room count itself has come down a little along with the change in layout.

The reporting did not describe the heights of the revised additions, or whether parking or the proposed second pool and deck have changed. Those are the details worth reading in the agenda packet before the November hearing, because height was the most significant deviation in the original request.

DiamondHead general manager Neil Hopgood said in a statement last week that the resort had taken "a fresh look" at its plans in response to feedback from the planning board, timeshare owners and the surrounding community. He described the updated plan as a meaningful step forward that addresses the concerns raised while allowing the resort to keep investing in the property and stay competitive.

One detail in the reporting is worth noting for anyone following island land use decisions. Fort Myers Beach Talk reported that the Local Planning Agency's chair, Anita Cereceda, and board member Ed Schoonover are both running for Town Council in the November 3 election, so the board that hears the plan on November 10 could look different. Council will also have a new makeup after the election, since King and McLean are not running again, according to the same report.

In other words, the people who make the final call on DiamondHead may not be the people who sat through Monday's hearing. That is not a prediction about the outcome in either direction. It simply means the November and later hearings are the ones to watch, not Monday's.

Nobody can honestly put a number on what one resort expansion does to the value of any particular home or condo, and I would be wary of anyone who claims to. What this process decides is more concrete: how much building is allowed along this stretch of Estero Boulevard, and in what shape.

The change from a separate new tower to additions on the existing building is exactly the kind of detail that matters to neighbors. If you are looking at beachfront condos on Fort Myers Beach, the view you are buying depends on the zoning of the lots around you, and a revised site plan can change which units are affected and how. Before you buy near a site with an active request, it is worth looking at the latest drawings yourself.

For anyone weighing a second home on Fort Myers Beach or an investment property on the island, hotel room counts shape how many visitors the island is built to hold and how short-term lodging competes with private rentals. And if you follow new construction on Fort Myers Beach, how the town handles requests for extra height and density as the island rebuilds after Hurricane Ian says a lot about what is likely to get built next.

Three things are worth following:

• The revised drawings. Look for the updated plans and the staff review in the Local Planning Agency packet ahead of November 10. Heights and setbacks matter more than the room count.
• The November 10 recommendation. The planning board only recommends, but its view of the revised design will shape what council hears next.
• The return to council. After the election, a council with new members will take up the request. It can approve, deny, attach conditions, or continue the hearing again.

If you own on this part of Estero Boulevard, or you are deciding where on the island to buy, I am happy to walk through what a project like this could mean for a specific building or street. You can see how I guide buyers through the home buying process, or reach out to me directly.

Kris Asquith, Broker Associate at Premiere Plus Realty, (239) 300-1427.