Estero Development Report

Volume 7, Number 7
Issued October 2007

Edited by ECCL--the Estero Council of Community Leaders
For More Information about Estero Go To www.esterofl.org

This Report is available on the Estero Community website at www.esterofl.org

  November Opportunities for Citizen Participation In Protecting Estero's Quality of Life

Date	Time	Event	Location
Wednesday, November 7th	1:30 p.m.	ECCL Environmental Committee with presentations by the Sierra Club –Calusa Group on the Fertilizer Ordinance and the Conservancy on the Agripartners Ditch and other South Lee public policy efforts.	Estero Community Park, located on the south side of Corkscrew Road midway between Sandy Lane and River Ranch
Monday, November 12th	6 p.m.	Estero Community Planning Panel meeting. The agenda includes presentations on the following developments:  See the full agenda at:: http://esterofl.org/ecpp/ecpp_meetings.htm	Estero Community Park, located on the south side of Corkscrew Road midway between Sandy Lane and River Ranch
Tuesday, November 13th	5:05 p.m.	Final Public Hearing on the DRGR Permit Moratorium Ordinance and the Wellfield Protection Ordinance	Second Floor Hearing Room, 1500 Monroe Street in downtown Ft. Myers
Tuesday, November 13th	5 p.m.	Monthly Meeting of the Estero Fire Rescue District	Estero Community Park, located on the south side of Corkscrew Road midway between Sandy Lane and River Ranch
Wednesday, November 14th	5 p.m.	Estero Design Review Committee review of the following projects: See the full agenda at http://esterofl.org/edrc/agenda.asp.	Estero Community Park, located on the south side of Corkscrew Road midway between Sandy Lane and River Ranch
Friday, November 16th	1 p.m.	Estero Council of Community Leaders Monthly Meeting . …Open to the Public…for the full agenda see http://esterofl.org/eccl/minutes/	Estero Community Park, located on the south side of Corkscrew Road midway between Sandy Lane and River Ranch
Friday, November 16th	1:30 p.m.	Southwest Florida Expressway Authority Meeting	Bonita Springs City Hall on the south side of Bonita Beach Road just east of US 41.
Wednesday, November 28th	4:00 p.m.	ARTS ESTERO monthly meeting is open to the public.	Estero Community Park, located on the south side of Corkscrew Road midway between Sandy Lane and River Ranch
Thursday, November 29th	1 p.m.	Annual Southwest Florida Legislative Delegation Hearing on issues for consideration for the 2008 Legislative Session	Room S-117, Edison Community College on Summerlin Avenue just south of College Parkway.
Friday,  November 30th	9 a.m.	Joint ECCL—City of Bonita Springs Workshop…this meeting is open to the public and on television.	Bonita Springs City Hall on the south side of Bonita Beach Road just east of US 41.

Index

Page	Subject
1	Calendar
2	Estero Community Website
2	I-75 Widening Progress Report
2	The FDOT Six-laning Project
3	Expressway Authority Actions & Plans
5	Estero Parkway Flyover Groundbreaking Ceremony
5	DR/GR - Density Reduction Groundwater Resource Area
6	Density Reduction/Groundwater Resource (DRGR) Planning Update
6	The Proposed Moratoriums
7	Implementing the DR/GR Action Plan
7	Estero Community Improvement Foundation Rural Land Use Study
8	Update on Mining Along East Corkscrew Road
8	The Estero Group Mine Application Hearing
9	Harper Mine Rezoning
9	Corkscrew Plantation Land Use Proposal
9	FDOT Strategic Aggregate Study and Lee County’s Authority Over Mining
11	Permitted Commercial Building Value Slows in September
12	Estero’s Housing Permits Continue Slow

Estero Community Website

During the first nine months of 2007 an estimated 52,600 persons visited this site to learn about Estero. During the same period last year we had only about two-thirds as many visitors, about 32,400, thus 2007 have seen an increase of nearly 62% from year to year.
 
The community groups sponsoring the site are:
 
Estero Community Planning Panel (ECPP)
Estero Civic Association (ECA)
Estero Design Review Committee (EDRC)
Estero Council of Community Leaders (ECCL)
Greater Estero Cultural Arts Council (Arts Estero)
 
www.esterofl.org

I-75 Widening Progress Report

The FDOT Six-laning Project…

On October 26th Governor Crist and many other State, Federal and local officials participated in a Groundbreaking Celebration for the commencement of the I-75 six-laning project extending for 30 miles throughout most of Lee and Collier Counties. Two days later construction began on this $430 million contract. 

The project will begin at the south end and move north over the years. The 30 mile project will include improving the Immokalee Road interchange and is planned for completion in December 2010, about 3 and one-third years from now. The two added lanes will be constructed in the median between the existing lanes. The project design of the was started in May 2007. For continuing information on this project and its progress see the following website http://www.i-75dbf.org/ .

Expressway Authority Actions and Plans…

On October 19th  the Expressway Authority heard a presentation by Wilbur Smith Associates (WSA) outlining the Criteria for Evaluation of their four major entities for implementing the I-75 ten-laning project and the schedule for selecting that option. At the October meeting the Board approved the eleven criteria that they and the consultant will use to evaluate the three entities along with the approval process to be followed over the next several months.
 
The three ten laning options to be considered by the Board are:

• The Authority financing and implementing the 10 laning project on its own;
• Partnering with the Florida Turnpike Enterprise, the authority that owns and operates many tollways in Florida; and
• Partnering with a private enterprise partner as has been done in several other states and countries.
• A combination (hybrid) of the three prior entities.

The schedule approved by the Board to implement the selection process includes the following steps:

• Staff will meet with each Board member prior to the November meeting to discuss the weighting factors that need to be applied to the selection criteria;
• The Authority shall decide the weighting factors at their November meeting;
• WSA will assign a tentative ranking for each selection criteria for each of the four entities for presentation to the Board at their December meeting;
• The Authority will approve or amend the scores for each option and select the best entity at their December meeting.

For further information on this planning and decision-making process see the minutes of the October 19th meeting of the Authority when the November meeting agenda is added at http://swfea.net/SWFEA_Home/agendas.html .
 
During January the Authority Chairman will meet with the Collier County Board to report on the Authority’s 10 laning approach and to seek the County’s participation in that ten laning effort.
 
The Authority’s consultants have determined that the following shorter segments of the ten-laning project are “financially feasible” i. e. could be built and operated by tolling lanes five and six from the time they are opened in 2010:

• From Immokalee Road to the proposed Airport Access Road to be constructed just north of Alico Road (this would require Collier County participation), or
• From the Collier/Lee County line to Daniels Parkway (this would not require Collier County participation and would also include six laning the segment from Colonial Parkway to State Route 80, about 5 miles).

Neither project includes improvements to the I-75 Interchanges at Bonita Beach Road or Corkscrew Road at this time. 

Background

The Expressway Authority Board approved (WSA) as their General Engineering Consultant (GEC) at the August 17, 2007 Board meeting. Amy Davies of the Lee DOT staff joined WSA on October 8th and will assist the Authority with this project.
 
At the September 21st meeting of the Expressway Authority Board WSA received approval of the final version of the Executive Summary of its Traffic and Revenue Study. For further information on this important study see pages 12 through 22 at the following website http://www.swfea.net/SWFEA_Home/agendas/swfea_agenda_070921.pdf .
 
It is this report that demonstrates the need for 10 lanes on I-75 as early as 2010, when the 6-laning project is completed, and preliminary forecasts indicate an increase in I-75 traffic from about 86,000 vehicles per day in 2005 to more than 225,000 vehicles per day in 2030. The segment with the heaviest traffic is between the airport and Immokalee Road. As the following table shows ten lanes on I-75 are forecast to take about 40,000 vehicles per day off the adjacent north-south roadways between Corkscrew Road and Bonita Beach Road.

For further background on the plans of the Expressway Authority see our April 2007 Report .

Estero Parkway Flyover Groundbreaking Ceremony

On October 22nd several members of the BOCC and local Estero and San Carlos Park organizations participated in the official groundbreaking ceremony for this one-mile extension of Estero Parkway from Three Oaks Parkway over I-75 to Ben Hill Griffin Parkway. The ceremony took place where Estero will connect with Ben Hill Griffin. From there one could see that the entire right-of-way has been cleared and is ready for the underground utility work to commence.
 
Over the years the new road will take between 10,500 to 13,000 vehicles per day off of Corkscrew Road where it intersects with I-75, a major relief for nearby Estero residents and the thousands of shoppers who travel there every day.

Background

On August 7th the BOCC voted unanimously to approve a $35.1 million contract with ZEP Construction for the construction of a four lane roadway and two two-lane bridges over I-75 on Estero Parkway between Three Oaks Parkway and Ben Hill Griffin Boulevard. The contact calls for ZEP to complete the project within 540 days, early 2009.
 
The vote also authorized an $18.1 million loan from the County’s General Fund to assist in the financing of the project during the present fiscal year rather than delaying it another year and adding further to the cost. When the project was first considered several years ago the estimated cost was about $17 million.

DR/GR - Density Reduction Groundwater Resource Area

Lee County, while growing rapidly, in 1989 set aside about 150 square miles (over 90,000 acres) in the southeastern area of the county for low density and groundwater resource protection. Half of Estero, its eastern end, is located within the DR/GR. For a map of the DR/GR area see http://esterofl.org/EsteroLife/environment.htm#DRGR .

The Estero Council of Community Leaders (ECCL) in 2005 committed itself to seeking County approval of a research program that would provide the County with the information that it needs to properly plan the area and protect the natural resources within it.
 
Development pressures on the DR/GR have grown rapidly during the last decade and they continue to mount. Some pending threats to the DRGR are:

•  An attempt to construct an interchange at Coconut Road and I-75 in order to open up the land to the east for development,
• A plan to build a four-mile canal along the east side of I-75 in order to drain all or a major part of 4,000 acres of mostly high quality wetlands,
• Five, and maybe more, pending applications for new dirt and aggregate mines along Corkscrew Road east of I-75, and
• A County comprehensive plan change application that would authorize a 2,800 acre mixed use development south of the intersection of Daniels Road and County Road 82, the northern boundary of the DRGR.

Another matter that has some potential for improving the availability of clean drinking water is a pending amendment to the County’s Wellfield Protection Ordinance, a statute adopted by the County in 1989 but largely unaltered since that time.
 
The following sections detail some of the recent activities associated with these threats and actions.

Density Reduction/Groundwater Resource (DRGR) Planning Update

The Proposed Moratoriums

On October 23rd the BOCC conducted their first public hearing on the two moratorium ordinances that were tentatively adopted on September 18th… one affecting changes in the Lee County Comprehensive Plan for properties within the DR/GR and the second impacting DR/GR rezoning applications, mainly for new mines. Much testimony was heard on both sides of the issues. The Board took no action on either matter but some of their comments indicated that they might consider strengthening the Comp Plan moratorium to include the one application that they had previously excluded. The second and final Hearing on these ordinances has been scheduled for November 13th. If you are concerned about the truck traffic all these mines would bring to Estero’s roadways you should attend and speak out.

Background

On September 18th the BOCC voted unanimously to approve the following rezoning moratorium for a period of one year: “Do not accept new rezoning applications and do not process the ones that are already submitted but insufficient”.
 
There are three pending mine applications in the County’s files that are sufficient. They are:

• The Estero Group (see status below)
• Ft. Myers Harper Mine, and
• The Ginn proposal.

Six additional rezoning applications for mining are insufficient and therefore will be delayed for one year. According to Tim Jones, County Land Use attorney, such moratoriums could exceed one year for mining applications that don’t seek authority to mine aggregate products, rock and sand.
 
In addition the BOCC voted to limit the Comprehensive Plan moratorium to one year and exclude “The Fountains” project from the moratorium. The Board would consider extending this moratorium after one year, except as it relates to aggregate mining, should that be necessary.
 
For more background on this process see the following website…

Implementing the DR/GR Action Plan

On October 26th the Lee County Contracts Department posted a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a “Comprehensive Study for the Lee County Southeastern Density Reduction/ Groundwater Resource (DR/GR) Area.” The Department’s website indicates that the RFQ is for:
 
“SCOPE OF WORK:   The Lee County Florida Board of County Commissioners is soliciting Requests for Qualifications from a qualified consultant to conduct a Comprehensive Study for a portion of the unincorporated county known as the Southeastern Lee County Density Reduction/Groundwater Resource (DR/GR) Area.  The Lee County Commission desires a comprehensive plan that will properly manage the numerous resources and adequately address conflicts between the allowable uses in the area.”
 
Firms responding to the County must submit their proposal by 2 p.m. on Friday, November 16, 2007. The Selection Committee will then meet on November 26th and conduct telephone interviews on November 29th. For a summary of the RFQ see http://lee-county.com/contracts/projdetail_T12_R328.htm .

Background

On September 11th the BOCC approved an “Action Plan” for the DRGR presented by the County Planning and Smart Growth staffs in response to a request of the Board at their August 9th meeting. The “Action Plan” contains fourteen steps ranging from voluntary private sector actions, enforcement mechanisms, land planning components, scientific research steps, policy alternative evaluations, steering committee appointments to moratoriums on comprehensive plan amendments and rezoning applications. To review the “Action Plan” see the following website.

Estero Community Improvement Foundation (ECIF) Rural Land Use Study

The ECIF’s Rural Land Planning Study, financed by a grant from the Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation, will be completed in November rather than the original completion date of December due to the County’s new-found sense of urgency about the need for planning the DR/GR.
 
Bill Spikowski, the ECIF’s planning consultant has met with the ECIF review committee and is now making some minor changes. The final draft, its Executive Summary and Appendices will be completed in early to mid-November. Lee County staff and Commissioners have been informed about this acceleration and hopefully will find it to be informative as well as timely. Clearly it will be available to the County prior to their contacting with their DR/GR consultant and likely prior to the screening committee interviews mentioned above.
 
The County is expected to create an Advisory Committee to work with the planning consultant called for by the Action plan and sought through the RFQ process described above. It is important that the Estero community and organizations concerned about the natural resource impacts of the future development in the DR/GR are fairly represented.

Update on Mining Along East Corkscrew Road

The Estero Group Mine Application Hearing

On October 9th the Hearing Examiner adjourned the Estero Group Hearing after 13 days of testimony. She indicated that she would issue her decision in January 2008. Thereafter the zoning application will be scheduled for a final decision by the BOCC.
 
One of the latest changes in the case was an agreement by the applicant and the County to add a condition that would provide for some additional traffic controls on Corkscrew Road. The attorney for the opponents of the mine raised the following questions about this condition:

• Why is the condition on truck traffic limited to funding an off-duty Sheriff’s deputy to patrol Corkscrew Road east of the Alico intersection for four hours per day, for four days per week?
• Why is the agreement by its terms cancelable by either party with 30 days notice?
• Why does it only apply to patrols east of Alico Road?
• Why is the agreement not specific as to hours so that the public is assured that the peak truck/school hours are covered?

The attorney for the opponents of the mine made the following arguments in his closing statement:

• Natural resource extraction is only a "permissible" use in the subject area and that, if permitted, it must be compatible with the residents who were there first, which in this case, it is not.
• Highlighted the County Commissioner's written findings in the earlier Schwab case which expressly stated that the truck traffic through the residential areas along Corkscrew Road was not compatible with those residential uses.
• Highlighted that the county staff is not yet prepared to carefully and diligently police mining activities as to potential for contamination of groundwater from mining operations, or as to protection of surrounding wetlands and wildlife.
• Pointed out that most of the conditions offered by applicant and staff which deal with these subjects say that the applicant and staff will address the specifics of these important controls at the Development Order approval time, an approval process that excludes public participation or knowledge.

For a map showing Lee County’s existing and permitted mines and those that are at some point in the planning process see http://www.corkscrewroad.org/images/mine-apps-map107.jpg .
____________________________________________________________________
 
Over the years the East Corkscrew Residents have raised and spent nearly $200,000 resisting the industrialization of Corkscrew Road. Since all Estero residents will benefit from their efforts, it is only fair that they be assisted in this financial burden by all who benefit. If you care to help please send a check to:
 
Thomas Hart Trust Fund
P.O. Box 2449
Ft. Myers, FL 33902
Please mark checks on the bottom left line “Estero Group IPD”
 
For more background on this case see the July and September editions of the Report.

Harper Mine Rezoning

Rezoning of the Harper Mine includes a provision for “dewatering” during the reconfiguring of some of the property. Many experts express concerns that dewatering will lower the water level in the surrounding aquifers, thus reducing our water supply. Lee County staff has recommended denial of this application. The Hearing Examiner’s consideration of this matter has been delayed until January 2008.

Corkscrew Plantation Land Use Proposal

Corkscrew Plantation is a 6,000 acre piece of land on both sides of Corkscrew Road about 12 miles east of I-75. It is presently being used primarily as an orange grove. The owners have been exploring alternative uses for the property for several years. They and their consultants recently met with representatives of several environmental organizations and some public landowners of adjacent properties.
 
Their latest proposal includes another 2,000 acres for mining to depths of up to 200 feet. None of the existing mines in Lee County are authorized to mine anywhere near that depth. Such a proposal raises serious questions about its impact on the underlying aquifers and our future water supply.
 
If the DR/GR zoning permit moratorium (discussed elsewhere in this report) is approve this proposal would not be accepted for review and approval by the County until September 2008.

FDOT Strategic Aggregate Study and Lee County’s Authority Over Mining

Apparently in response to a Federal Court decision having some potential for limiting aggregate mining in the Lake Belt mining area of Miami-Dade County, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) hired some geological consultants to study the current and future supply of aggregate for road-building and other purposes throughout the state of Florida. The consultants submitted their report to the Department in March 2007.
 
This report became the rallying cry for the Florida legislature to consider legislation that would have transferred most approvals for aggregate mining from Counties and Municipalities to the State. This version of the legislation failed but the legislature did pass legislation, approved by Gov. Crist, that limits all local government moratoriums on aggregate mining to one year and established a Strategic Aggregates Task Force to study the issue and make a recommendation to the State prior to the 2008 legislative session.
 
The following summary of the report’s assessment of the Lee County aggregate supply was distributed to the County Commissioners in time for the October 23rd Hearing on the pending Moratorium Ordinances:
 
“The Strategic Aggregates Study completed by the natural resource consulting firm, Lampl Herbert Consultants, for FDOT in March 2007 is consistently cited as the reason why the Florida Legislature should enact legislation limiting the ability of local governments throughout Florida to authorize and regulate rock mining within their boundaries.  
 
While this report paid scant attention to natural resource and environmental protection….the reasons why communities and local governments closely reviewed all rock mining applications, the geologically certified study provides considerable evidence that Lee and Collier Counties are not the long-term answer to FDOT’s aggregate needs should Lake Belt aggregate production be reduced.
 
In this regard the studies found:

• Except for the Rinker Mining Complex on Alico Road the other Lee County mines do not produce the high quality “certified aggregate” that FDOT and other road builders need.
   
  “With the exceptions of a few mines 40 miles north of Tampa and one in Fort Myers, rock found in most mines throughout the rest of Florida is too soft or otherwise unsuitable for aggregate applications.”
   
  “The Rinker Mine is significant for this area because it is able to produce certified aggregates for FDOT use while other mines produce limerock and some commercial aggregates. The original planners for the Rinker Mine located it in an area of unusually hard rock within the Tamiami Limestone. For the most part, the Tamiami Limestone is soft throughout its range, and the only crushed stone materials that can be made from this resource are limerock and fill.”
• They further state that for the most part Tamiami Limestone….that which is in Lee and Collier Counties… is soft throughout its range…thus is only good for limerock and fill.
   
  “The limestone resources in Collier and Lee Counties are in the Tamiami Limestone which is generally softer and less durable than the Miami Limestone found in the Lake Belt. Hard and durable resources have been found and exploited in both counties; however, but the available reserves are dwindling and mine sites may be expected to be restricted by land use and environmental plans. “

Thus Lee and Collier Counties are not the answer to FDOT’s problems, if indeed; the Lake Belt mines cannot continue to produce at their planned levels.
 
On the other hand two central and northern Florida Limerock “Resource Areas” contain areas of hard limerock that, if developed into megamines, could, over time, replace any lost FDOT quality aggregate production in the Lake Belt area.

Hernando, Sumter and Citrus County Resource Areas

“The Hernando, Sumter, and Citrus County area has reserves of durable rock from the Suwannee, Ocala and Avon Park Limestone formations…
 
“Several regional supply mines are operating in this area with truck hauling to the Orlando and Tampa markets. However, with rail improvements, highly efficient mega-mines could be developed in the next several decades.”

The Taylor and Dixie County Resource Area

“This area has high potential as a limestone resource area because of the presence of hard rock and the rural and undeveloped character of the area.”…
 
“The Florida Geological Survey, Department of Environmental Protection, in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey will be mapping this area over the next two years.”…
 
“If the reserves are present in this area, then a “Lake Belt North” scenario could be developed to include several mega-mines.”
 
“Taylor County is one of the few places in Florida with mineral resources that are potentially of comparable quality to the Lake Belt and has deposits with characteristics making them viable for large scale, highly efficient production.”
 
We would urge Lee County and other local officials to urge FDOT and the Governor’s Aggregate Task Force to focus on planning for the areas of the state with great potential for high quality aggregate and on upgrading our port and rail facilities so that more quality aggregate can be imported rather than usurping the responsibility of all Florida’s local governments regarding this product.
 
Thus we urge you to approve the moratorium tentatively adopted by the BOCC on September 18th.”

Permitted Commercial Building Value Slows in September

September building permits of all types continued but at the slowest pace in the last seven years.
 
The value of commercial buildings permitted in Estero during September totaled only $1.1 million. Nonetheless during the first nine months of 2007 Estero’s total commercial permits are valued at $145.2 million. Estero’s commercial permits during all of 2006 totaled $184.7 million. (All figures are exclusive of the underlying land). With three months to go 2007 could set another record for the value of commercial development permits in Estero.
 
The major projects that contributed to the eight month total are:
 
$44.2 million in the Coconut Point Town Center;
$24.2 million for the WCI Headquarters building on west Coconut Road
$6.8 million for the Argonaut Chevrolet Dealership at I-75 and Corkscrew
$3.1 million of the Estero Ridge Shopping Center at US 41 and Estero Parkway
$2.9 million for the renovation of the Villages of Country Creek Clubhouse
$1.8 million for the Animal Hospital of Estero on Corkscrew Road
$3.8 million for Broadway Shoppes on US 41 near Broadway
$2.3 million for Corkscrew Palms on the south side of Corkscrew
$2.2 million for commercial buildings at Coconut Trace on US 41
$4.8 million for the renovation of the Country Creek Clubhouse
$2.9 million for Empire Builders office complex at the Galleria on Corkscrew
$4 million for the Estero Fire Rescue Headquarters on Three Oaks Parkway
$8.8 million for retail stores at Estero Interstate Commerce Park
$7.5 million for Miromar Outlets expansion
$3.02 million for Paradise Shoppes projects on US 41
$1.3 million for the Copperleaf Golf Club improvements
$1.08 million for the Park Circle development on the north side of Corkscrew
$840,000 for the Estero Medical Center on the north side of Corkscrew
$640,000 at the International Design Center
$850,000 for the Lee County Utilities facility on east Corkscrew Road
$760,000 for the Win Dixie store at Coconut Road and Three Oaks Parkway
$512,000 for Estero Park Commons projects
The permits issued thus far in 2007 are widely distributed throughout Estero unlike 2006 when most of the commercial construction activity was at Coconut Point.
 
REMINDER: The building values understate the cost of each residence or commercial building because it excludes the value of the underlying land.

Estero’s Housing Permits Continue Slow

During September only 2 housing units with a value of $1.08 million were permitted in Estero. Year to date 407 housing units with a value, exclusive of land, of $113.9 million have been issued. This slowdown in construction of new homes should help reduce the inventory of unsold new homes constructed in Estero in 2005 and 2006.
 
Housing units permitted during the first nine months of the year were by far the lowest in the 8 years that the County’s system has tracked Estero’s permits. This result reflects the declining trend that began in early 2006. The County permitting information used in this report may be found at http://www.lee-county.com/dcd/Reports/EsteroReports.htm.    
The following table shows how the first nine months of 2007 compares with the same period during the prior seven years:

Not only are the 2007 total housing units below all prior years, it is only 36% of the total during the first eight months of 2002, the season immediately following the tragedy of 9/11/2001 and the second lowest year.  

In spite of the decline in the number of housing units permitted, the average building value, excluding the land beneath it, continues to increase, up 9% from the prior high set last year and more than double (up 103%) the average in 2000, in spite of a slight decline in the share of more expensive single family homes.