Planning Commission approves applications for F.I.S.H., Sanibel Sprout
On Aug. 26, Dr. Phillip Marks presided over his first Sanibel Planning Commission meeting as its chairman. Marks took over the position from Michael Valiquette who stepped down from the commission earlier in August.
The first order of commission business was the election of a new vice chair. Commissioner Chris Heidrick was nominated for the post and was quickly selected by his fellow commissioners with a unanimous vote in his favor.
The commission then moved on to discuss and consider two applications.
The first application came from F.I.S.H. of Sanibel-Captiva, a designated United Way House that offers resources and services to area families and individuals in need. F.I.S.H. is looking to potentially purchase the commercial building at 2430 Periwinkle Way to expand and enhance their services, but city staff and the commission wanted to discuss a few conditions before their vote.
The primary concern was parking. Due to the unique nature of the building the front portion is a separately-operated restaurant and the rear area is a 3,500 square foot commercial space the city and commission wanted to ensure F.I.S.H. would only be open for operations during the day and the restaurant, Sangria Grill, would only be open at night.
Marks also suggested F.I.S.H., with a growing number of people relying on their food bank, prepare for future power outages with a backup generator.
“I know there has been an increased demand on the food bank say, from two, three years ago I don’t know if you are planning to have more refrigeration, more freezers, but you might want to consider getting a backup generator,” Marks told F.I.S.H. President John Morse. “If we have a storm or a loss of power…you could lose all of the food that’s refrigerated or frozen. It’s like a spare tire in your trunk. You might never need it, but if you do it will save you not only thousands of dollars of lost food, but also give you the ability to help those who really need it.”
Morse agreed that having a backup generator would be helpful in cases of extended power outages and would consider obtaining one.
The City of Sanibel Director of Planning Jimmy Jordan said staff approved of the application with the set conditions.
The commission, with commissioners Heidrick and John Talmage recusing themselves from the vote due to conflicts of interest, approved the application 4-0.
The second application came from the owners of Sanibel Sprout, the health food shop and juice bar currently located at 2330 Palm Ridge Road. Nikki and Edith Rood want to expand their business and move to a new, larger location within Bailey’s Center.
The Roods opened Sanibel Spout about two-and-a-half years ago and launched their juice bar a year ago. Now the mother-daughter business team wants expand even more.
“We would like to create a healthy and vibrant community hub where folks can gather to drink and eat fresh, organic juices and vegetarian/vegan food, shop for retail health and lifestyle gift items, while feeling comfortable and cared for in their pursuit of healthy alternative,” Nikki Rood wrote in a statement to the commission.
Their planned new location will also include room for 20 indoor seats for diners.
Commissioner Tom Krekel once again raised the issue of parking, but city planning staffer Ben Pople said a recent traffic report study revealed there will remain a surplus of parking spaces at Bailey’s Center even with the addition of the new Sanibel Sprout.
“The addition of the Sanibel Sprout to Bailey’s Center is very consistent with the vision of not only Bailey’s Center, but also the city of Sanibel,” said Richard Johnson of Bailey’s Center.
The commission voted to approve the application with a unanimous 6-0 vote.
Co-owner Edith Rood is very excited for their upcoming move and expects the new location to open with a soft launch around Oct. 1, then they plan to hold a grand opening party Nov. 1 which is also Edith’s birthday. Sanibel Sprout also plans to be open expanded hours once they move to Bailey’s Center.