Estero Council of Community Leaders

Estero Community Improvement Foundation

The Estero Community Improvement Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the improvement, enhancement and maintenance of the distinct quality of life found in Estero, Florida. This organization raises funds for projects such as the High School Landscaping Project.

Estero Community Improvement Foundation (ECIF) Gets a $10,000 Grant To Help Fund Updating the Estero Community Plan

May 2012 EDR

This month, the Estero Community Improvement Foundation has been awarded a grant in the amount of $10,000 from the Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation which will be used to help fund the ongoing update of the Estero Community Plan.  The Foundation is interested in Florida’s environmental issues, particularly those that address comprehensive planning and growth management. The ECPP has contracted with DeLisi Fitzgerald, Inc. to accomplish the plan update with the help of several specialized sub-contractors.

Estero is a unique, unincorporated community that has led the way for community planning in Lee County for many years. The first Estero community plan was submitted by the community and approved by the BOCC in 2002.

Our community’s current planning effort addresses many issues that were unforeseen when the existing plan was initially approved by the BOCC.

Some of these are:

·         Improving bike/pedestrian access on collector streets,

·         Improving water access to the Estero River and Estero Bay through public and private lands,

·         Introducing the concept of neighborhood parks and ensuring connectivity to their local schools and Estero’s county park,

·         Providing guidance for the redevelopment of commercial developments in place before the original community plan was adopted,

·         Exploring incentives for the development of zoned but vacant commercial sites satisfying Estero’s high appearance standards,

·         Considering the potential of sharing an existing Seminole railroad right of way for public recreational uses, and

·         Addressing issues of architectural style, historic district overlays, signage requirements and other concerns

The Estero Community Plan component of the Lee County Comprehensive Plan (Lee Plan) is scheduled to be amended in 2013 by the Board of County Commissioners. Our goals are to implement these changes in Goal 19 of the Lee Plan which addresses Estero specifically, and to the Estero section of Lee County’s Land Development Code contained in Chapter 33. The planning ideas have been generated through a series of community workshops.

The budget for this project is $100,000. Recently, a Community Planning Grant of $50,000 was approved by Lee County with the stipulation that these funds must be matched by the Estero Community through donations and in-kind services. Many volunteers as well as residents of Estero’s communities have been assisting with the required fundraising efforts.

ECIF Seeking Financial Support for Comprehensive Planning and Growth Management in Estero

March 2012 - Estero is a unique, unincorporated community in South Lee County that has led the way for community planning in the county for many years.  The first Estero community plan was submitted by the community and approved in 2002. 

Our community’s current planning effort addresses many issues that were unforeseen when the existing plan was initially approved by the Lee County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC).  Some of these are:

·         Improving bike/pedestrian access on collector streets,

·         Improving water access to the Estero River and Estero Bay through public and  private lands,

·         Introducing the concept of neighborhood parks and ensuring connectivity to their local schools and Estero’s county park,

·         Providing guidance for the redevelopment of commercial developments in place before the original community plan was adopted,

·         Exploring incentives for the development of zoned but vacant commercial sites satisfying Estero’s high appearance standards,

·         Considering the potential of sharing an existing Seminole railroad right of way for public recreational uses, and

·         Addressing issues of architectural style, historic district overlays, signage requirements and other concerns

The Estero Community Plan component of the Lee County Comprehensive Plan (Lee Plan) is scheduled to be amended in 2013 by the Board of County Commissioners.  Our goals are to implement these changes in Goal 19 of the Lee Plan which addresses Estero specifically, and to the Estero section of Lee County’s Land Development Code contained in Chapter 33. These planning ideas have been generated through a series of community workshops. 

The budget for this project is $100,000.  Recently, a Community Planning Grant of $50,000 was received from Lee County with the stipulation that these funds must be matched by the Estero Community through donations and in-kind services.  Many volunteers as well as residents of Estero’s communities have been assisting with the required fundraising efforts.

In March, the Estero Community Improvement Foundation, Inc., partnering with the Estero Council of Community Leaders, submitted a grant proposal in the amount of $25,000 to the Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation to assist us as well.  This Foundation is interested in Florida’s environmental issues, especially comprehensive planning and growth management.  We expect to hear in June regarding the results of this application.

The ECPP has contracted with DeLisi Fitzgerald, Inc. to accomplish the many tasks required with the help of several specialized sub-contractors. This project is a unique opportunity forour community to come together and address how we want to grow in the future while celebrating our history as an old Florida community.

Landscaping of Estero High School Perimeter Complete - Read the EDR Article

The Estero High School streetscape landscaping committee members include, from left: Dan Dronkers, Estero Community Improvement Foundation; George Clover, principal, Estero High School; Don Eslick, chair, Estero Council of Community Leaders; Stephen O'Donnell, O'Donnell Landscaping, Inc., and Howard Wendland, assistant principal, Estero High School.

ECIF Awards Adjacent Octave

License Plate Holders

Dunn Grant DRGR Study

Bill Spikowski, the Land Use Planner that the Estero Community Improvement Foundation (ECIF) hired to study recent Rural Land Planning efforts by other Florida Counties to see how Lee County could do the best possible job planning the future use of the Density Reduction/ Groundwater Resource (DR/GR) area just east of I-75, has completed that work and it has been forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners for their use.

Read an Executive Summary of the Report at http://www.spikowski.com/GreenerLee.htm.

This study will give you a much better understanding of the DR/GR and how the issues that surround it will affect our future quality of life here in Estero. Please share it with your friends and neighbors….the more people who understand this area, its threats and the tools, policies and plans necessary to manage it the more effective we will be in preserving our water supply, preventing flooding of our rivers and streams, keeping our roads safe and clean and generally preserving the high quality community we have been developing.

Finances

Officers

The President, Secretary and Treasurer offices are filled by the President, Secretary and Treasurer officers, respectively, of the ECCL.