Lee County talks comprehensive plan updates
It’s still in infantile stages, but Lee County is easing into a comprehensive plan update.
Lee County Planning Manager Mikki Rozdolski delivered a presentation to the Lee County Board of Commissioners Tuesday, Jan. 24, during their monthly workshop.
The presentation was focused on the amendments to the Lee Plan dealing with growth management, capital improvements and transportation.
The Lee Plan lists one of its goals as encouraging dense and intense development in appropriate areas and facilitate infill development and redevelopement. Staff wants the county to move toward encouraging mixed-use developments that provide better connectivity between residential and workplace space, with the goal of reducing the time it takes someone to drive somewhere.
Mixed Use could be implemented with an overlay, and the country could target “identified areas ripe for redevelopment.”
Rozdolski did not mention specifically which areas were being targeted, but areas with land use designations of Central Urban and Suburban would be top of the list. An example of an urban area would be Bell Tower in Fort Myers – areas where there are multiple uses and a mixture of transportation options.
“We are ensuring we are planning for and requiring the proper infrastructure,” she said.
San Carlos Island was not mentioned during the discussion of redevelopment, and Rozdolski said there were no changes to the land use map being proposed by staff.
But, San Carlos Island is in the county staff’s line of sight for development.
“The current vision for San Carlos Island in the comprehensive plan does anticipate additional growth on the island,” she said in an email.
It’s a vision that many on the island have spoken up against, opposing any increased density in an area with insufficient infrastructure to support it. The Bay Harbour Marina Village development sought to get a land use amendment which would allow a central urban designation on the 7.58-acre parcel on Oak Street and Main Street – which is some of the kind of growth the county staff is anticipating, and would prefer to see. In a previous interview with the Fort Myers Beach Observer, county principal planner Brandon Dunn said the planning staff has a “differing opinion” on what should be built on San Carlos Island, and thinks that central urban would be more compatible with the surrounding area than industrial, which it is currently zoned.
But the Bay Harbour project is currently pending as it was remanded back to staff, and no other developments for the area have made application.
“Each requested land use change would be considered based on its specific merits,” Rozdolski said.
Much of what her presentation was based on was projected areas of growth, most of which was calculated to occur in Cape Coral, along McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers, and east of the interstate.
That growth was also going to be connected to the county’s capital improvement policy, which is also under review for updating.
Commissioner Larry Kiker said the county was losing sight of its role when trying to control the market.
“I think we lose track that the market drives what’s going on. We need to get ahead of developers, they’ll do what you tell them,” he said. “I don’t think it’s our job to drive the market.”
Amendments to the Lee Plan go before the Local Planning Agency and two Board of County Commissioners meetings before adoption or rejection, and each meeting has time for public input. The county staff has not reached this stage; no amendments are slated for meetings yet.