City of Fort Myers Building, Permitting & Inspections (BPI)

BPI lists six areas of the Florida Building Code that plan review covers: accessibility, energy efficiency, flood zone requirements, hurricane provisions, life safety and structural integrity.

In practice that means a drawing set for a Fort Myers addition or remodel should carry labeled room uses, door schedules, egress, the wind design data, and the flood information from the survey or elevation certificate. The city's building checklist for new work, alterations and additions also asks commercial projects to show fire-rated assemblies and fire extinguisher locations.

The city's FEMA Improvements/Repair Application Packet applies when a home or business is below the base flood elevation and the owner is adding on, renovating, remodeling or rebuilding after a storm.

It defines substantial damage as damage whose repair would equal or exceed 50% of the market value or replacement cost of the structure before the damage, and substantial improvement as work costing 50% or more of the market value before construction starts.

The city's packet sets no multi-year look-back. Its owner and contractor affidavits cover all work under the permit and swear that no other work will be done during the pendency of the permit.

That fits section 163.31795, Florida Statutes (s. 2, ch. 2025-190), which bars Florida NFIP communities from enforcing a cumulative substantial-improvement period. If a reviewer asks you to add earlier, closed Fort Myers permits to your total, ask which rule is being applied.

The city uses the Property Appraiser's assessed value of the structure, excluding land.

If you disagree, you can hire a State of Florida licensed appraiser for a comparable appraisal. The cost side is stricter than many owners expect. The packet requires a detailed, complete estimate for all the work, prepared and signed by a licensed general contractor, plus an affidavit that it covers all damage or all improvements, not just the structural items, and the signed contract. Owner-builders must document the estimate themselves, including subcontractor bids.

An elevation certificate is needed to find the lowest floor. Garages and carports are not counted as the lowest floor.

If the lowest floor is below base flood elevation, the building must be raised to or above it, together with electrical and mechanical equipment, bathrooms and laundry rooms. In V zones, and for floodproofed non-residential buildings, the city asks for plans certified by an engineer or architect. At that point the remodel usually needs engineering input.

The city's packet says incomplete application packets will be returned, and it asks the permit application's work description to outline the full scope.

A cost estimate and a drawing set that describe different jobs invite questions in review, so we try to build both from the same scope. Every room, wall and system that appears on our structural and architectural sheets is a line the licensed contractor prices in the packet, and the drawings are organized around the six plan review areas BPI lists: accessibility, energy efficiency, flood zone, hurricane, life safety and structural integrity.