City staff and residents told the commission at a town-hall meeting that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will not move forward with a full road transfer for West Beach Drive and has constrained the roadway's right-of-way in ways that significantly reduce earlier multiuse path concepts. Speakers described prior work on the project, the constraints FDOT communicated and the potential need to rework designs if the city chooses to proceed.

The city manager said the project has already incurred about $1 million in costs and that FDOT has reimbursed roughly $750,000 of that amount. Commissioners and several residents said sketches FDOT reviewed would produce a narrower, "skinny" path in constrained sections, and asked staff to seek written confirmation from FDOT that a reduced design would be permitted before authorizing new design work.

Residents urged another public concept meeting so the community can see designs that reflect FDOT's limitations. One resident who had met with FDOT staff reported that right-of-way widths in the corridor can be as narrow as about 45 feet, leaving minimal space for a separated multiuse path in places. Commissioners said that, without FDOT's written concurrence, the city should not spend additional design funds because the agency's constraints could make prior concepts infeasible.

City staff said they have provided high-level concepts to FDOT and are waiting for formal responses. The manager said any redesign task order would come back to the commission for approval and that the city will not proceed with comprehensive redesign work until it receives clearer, written guidance from FDOT on what is permissible in the agency's right-of-way.

Residents and commissioners also noted that the project history includes multiple years of public outreach and prior approvals, and they asked staff to publish the FDOT correspondence and any new design sketches before asking the commission for additional project funds. The commission agreed to seek documentation and to avoid new expenditures on redesign without FDOT confirmation.