Filling In a Dive Shop's Indoor Pool: A Change of Use
The request came in as one line: fill in the pool, add an overhead door.
The building was a former dive shop in Fort Myers, in unincorporated Lee County. One story, built in 1978, about 5,600 square feet, with an indoor commercial pool where the shop used to train divers. The owner's business needed offices, storage and an equipment warehouse. The request was to fill the pool and add a wide overhead door.
Read as a construction job, that is two items: a pool to fill and a wall to open. Read as a permit job, it is something else. The building was going from a retail shop to offices and an equipment warehouse. That is a change of occupancy, meaning a change in what the building is used for, and it brings the whole building into review, not only the parts you are building.
How the job went
We offered two ways to go: structural drawings only, for the pool fill-in and the door opening, or a full commercial permit set with building design, structural, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing for the new use. We said plainly that the change of use was the real issue. The builder chose the full set. Our office visited the building, photographed it and measured it, and we arranged a separate visit by the mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer on our team to check the existing systems.
The zoning question. Early on, the County's zoning staff had to decide what the business was. From the first description, they classed it with contractors and builders, a category that allows offices and indoor storage but no outdoor storage beyond parking cars. Trailers kept outside would have counted as open storage, meaning things stored outdoors instead of in a building, which that category does not allow. A County planner later wrote that the business sounded like cleaning and maintenance services, which is allowed on the property, with company vehicles and trailers parked on site. Her takeaway was that it takes asking the right questions.
The restroom question. The builder reported being told at the building department that an accessible restroom was not needed. On this change of use, Florida's accessibility rules applied, and at least one restroom had to be accessible. Without one the building had none, and a set without one would not be expected to pass plan review. If it slipped past, it could still come up at inspection or at the certificate of occupancy, the County's sign-off that a building can be used, and every round adds delay. The good news: the building already had more toilets and sinks than the plumbing code requires for this use, so no fixtures had to be added. An accessible restroom was required, and the set provides it.
The floor, the door and the flood zone. The builder asked for the old pool room to end up level with the rest of the building, with no step down, and a wide overhead door into it. On the plans that room is the equipment warehouse. The property is in flood zone AE, a FEMA flood zone with a mapped base flood level, so the elevation certificate, the surveyor's record of the floor height against the flood level, was part of the permit paperwork.
The owner's side approved the floor plan, the drawings were finished, and we delivered the signed and sealed permit set. The owner's team used a private provider, a licensed firm hired to do the plan review and inspections in place of the County's own reviewers. The provider returned the stamped plans with its plan review compliance affidavit, a signed statement that the plans were reviewed, for the County submittal. As of this writing, the permit is in review with the County.
What this means if you are buying or changing a commercial building
The work you plan does not decide the permit. The use does. Filling a pool and cutting a door are structural items. Turning a shop into offices and a warehouse is a change of occupancy, and that can pull in accessibility, life safety (the features that get people out safely in a fire), ventilation, plumbing fixture counts and fire protection for the whole building.
The second lesson is about words. How you describe your business to the zoning department decides which category you land in, and the category decides what you can do on the lot. "Contractor" and "cleaning and maintenance services" are different answers, with different rules about trailers and outdoor storage.
The third: a quick answer is not a plan review. Get the requirement in writing, or have your engineer check it against the code, before you design around it.
What to do
Write down the new use before you buy or sign a lease. What happens in each room, how many people, and what vehicles, equipment or materials are kept on site. Every later answer starts there.
Ask zoning first, and describe the business precisely. If the first classification does not fit, go back with a clearer description. Do it before you spend money on drawings.
Assume a change of use means the whole building gets looked at. Plan for accessibility, life safety and mechanical, electrical and plumbing, not only the construction item that started the project.
Ask early whether the change of use triggers an accessible restroom. On this job it did.
Pull the flood paperwork early. If the property is in a flood zone, get the elevation certificate and a current survey before the design starts.
Call an engineer before you call a contractor. We can tell you early whether you are looking at a simple structural permit or a full commercial set, and that shapes how much drawing work is ahead.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a change of occupancy?
Changing what a building is used for, in a way the building code treats differently. Retail to offices and storage, office to a school, a shop to a restaurant. The construction can be small; the change in use is what matters.
I am only filling in a pool and adding a door. Why would I need more than structural drawings?
If the use of the building stays the same, structural drawings may be all you need. If the use changes, the permit has to show the whole building meets the requirements for the new use. That is why we ask what the building will be used for before we say what drawings you need.
Do I have to add new bathrooms?
Not always. On this job the building already had more fixtures than the plumbing code requires for the new use. Accessibility is a separate question: at least one restroom had to be accessible, and the set provides it.
What is a private provider?
A licensed firm the owner hires to do the plan review and inspections for a permit instead of the building department's own staff. The provider's review and affidavit go to the County with the permit. It is the owner's choice.
Changing the use of a building in Fort Myers or anywhere in Southwest Florida? Contact us or call 239-292-7670.
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