Cape Coral Council to Vote on $800,000 in Tourist Tax Money for Beach Expansion

City officials will vote on using tourist funds for an $800,000 upgrade at the Yacht Club's beach, which hasn't seen visitors since Ian struck in 2022. The decision centers on shifting Lee County tourist tax grants toward beach work and base repairs.

Since the storm hit, no major fixes have touched Cape Coral's sole public beach. The project is ready—just one Army Corps permit and final blueprints stand in the way.

"Get it done. This is the only public park with the beach that families can go to," said Lisa Nesser, a neighbor of the Cape Coral Yacht Club, to Fox 4 News.

The pier remains untouched, with a construction start date no earlier than October. Plans call for new spots to sit and play by the water.

Locals grow more impatient as weeks turn to months. "A lot of the people like myself, we're aging and, you know, we are starting to wonder, will we ever see it done in our lifetime?" said Camera Haugland, another neighbor of the Cape Coral Yacht Club, to Fox 4 News.

The tax money use sits well with some who live nearby. "It's probably an okay thing, you know, because the tourists use it probably more than the locals," Haugland told Fox 4 News.

A council meeting to discuss the vote was held on April 2, 2025, allowing the public to participate with e-comments until noon on the same day.