Cape Coral clears construction permit backlog

CAPE CORAL, Fla. — For the last week, Cape Coral city leaders have been playing catch up on the construction permit backlog that forced an immediate shutdown on Friday, April 8.

“Had we not shutdown operations then we wouldn’t have been able to be back up,” said Vince Cautero

As of Monday, officials said the once 6,000 plus backlog had been caught up on.

“Our crews worked very hard to get this done. Lots of overtime,” said Cautero.

When the doors opened to city hall Monday, John Espinoza was waiting in line.

“I’ve been trying to get an appointment for a while,” said Espinoza.

Espinoza is not a construction worker, but instead a homeowner who was looking to make improvements on his home.

“I want to build a lanai in my backyard. It will be enclosed, I have all the dimensions down to the inch and even the products being used. They want a lot of information for you to get approved so I came prepared,” said Espinoza.

Despite the massive amount of backlog that forced the pause in production for new construction permits, the amount of people wanting a permit in person on Monday was not as long as the city had anticipated.

“We were a little surprised this morning that there wasn’t a long line,” said Cautero.

The city says that after many hours of overtime from its employees, the backlog is no longer backed up.

“The official backlog I was told by my customer service team is zero,” said Cautero.

If you’re interested in applying for a construction permit you can apply by making an appointment at Cape Coral City Hall or by going here.