Estero Development Report

Volume 2, Number 1
Issued May 2002

Edited by ECCO--the Estero Concerned Citizens Organization

For further information, to provide information or to add names to our mailing list,
Email Don Eslick at doneslick@worldnet.att.net or call him at 949-4050

Estero Development Activities during May 2002

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

Date	Time	Event	Location
Friday, June 5^th	2 p.m.	Executive Regulatory Oversight Committee review of the Corkscrew Road Overlay Proposal	Community Development Building, 1st Floor, 1500 Monroe Street, Ft Myers
Monday, June 10^th	8:30 a.m.	Local Planning Agency review of the Corkscrew Road Overlay Proposal	Commission Chambers, 2120 Main Street, 2^nd Floor, Ft. Myers
Tuesday, June 11^th	5 p.m.	First BOCC Public Hearing on ECPP LDC Recommended Changes	Commission Chambers, 2120 Main Street, 2^nd Floor, Ft. Myers
Wednesday, June 12^th	9:30 a.m.	Fiscal 2003 County Budget Hearing-- Revenue Sharing Proposal Discussion	Commission Chambers, 2120 Main Street, 2^nd Floor, Ft. Myers
Monday, June 15^th	9:30 a.m.	Board of County Commissioners First Hearing of the Corkscrew Road Overlay Proposal	Commission Chambers, 2120 Main Street, 2^nd Floor, Ft. Myers
Thursday, June 20^th	6 p.m.	Estero Community Planning Panel Meeting	South County Regional Library, Three Oaks Blvd just north of Corkscrew
Tuesday, June 25^th	5 p.m.	Second BOCC Public Hearing on ECPP LDC Recommended Changes	Commission Chambers, 2120 Main Street, 2^nd Floor, Ft. Myers
Monday, June 29^th	9:30 a.m.	Board of County Commissioners Agency First Hearing of the Corkscrew Road Overlay Proposal	Commission Chambers, 2120 Main Street, 2^nd Floor, Ft. Myers

An Open Letter to Estero Development Report Readers

Urgent: To Estero Development Report Reader:

If Estero is to realize its potential to be a unique, outstanding community, increase our property values and quality of life, enhanced roadway landscaping must be installed on all of our major roadways.

Your Support Is Necessary To Make This Happen.

Consider: Under present County and State programs all 19 Estero roadway segments will have trees and grass, Lee County Core Landscaping, in the medians within the next five years; of those 19 segments 10 will be enhanced with flowering shrubs and bushes. The remaining nine (9) core level segments will require from $1.5 to $4 million for enhanced landscape installation plus $400,000 to $1.4 million annually for maintenance.

Since these are not "core" county services, current Lee County policy permits no county funding for these upgrades. In spite of the large and rapidly growing tax revenues that Estero provides the county each year, Estero is entitled only to the same "core" services as any other unincorporated area. Current County policy requires Estero to impose another local property tax on its taxpayers or to incorporate in order to enhance the landscaping on these roads.

Help Estero to begin to realize the vision of the Estero Community Plan. Please support ECCO's proposal that Lee County allocate a small portion of the revenues Estero annually produces for the County to the top priorities of our community as specified in the community plan, now a part of the Lee County Comprehensive Plan. In addition to roadway landscaping, Community Plan administrative costs and incentives for conforming older commercial properties to our new development standards are among the needs included in the community plan that will require county financial support.

Communities have incorporated for two primary reasons: 1) an inability to manage development within the community, and 2) inadequate county services relative to the County taxes being paid by "donor" communities. Over the last two years Lee County has helped the citizens of Estero address the first cause by adopting the Estero Community Plan and working with us on "in-process" land development code changes.

If additional County financial support for key community needs is not forthcoming Estero will probably follow the example of other donor communities like Sanibel, Ft. Myers Beach and Bonita Springs and incorporate. Between 1995 and 2000, when Ft. Myers Beach and Bonita Springs incorporated the County lost access to 18% of the countywide tax base while reducing the people it served by only 9%. Lee County must adopt policies that do not force communities to incorporate in order to achieve their potential.

Details of the proposal are outlined at the end of this Report.

County staff and the Board of County Commissioners have just begun to consider the proposal and will continue to debate it throughout their budget process that concludes on July 10th. There are many unanswered questions that must be answered before the BOCC can act. Among them are: what are the best criteria for community eligibility; what communities will benefit and to what extent; what funding limits should be imposed; how much will it cost; how would it be financed; how much would the county benefit from the proposal, how will it be administered; etc. County staff has indicated that they want to work with us to find answers to these and other questions that the Commissioners will be asking.

A major policy change like this will not be enacted without the support of Estero's residents and businesses. The leadership of the Estero Civic Association and the Estero Chamber of Commerce support this effort. Join us now by writing, faxing or emailing the five County Commissioners to express your support. Then email a copy of your communication to us for entry into the public record. Contacts should be made before the first budget hearing to be held at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 12th, in the Commission Chambers, 2120 Main Street, 2nd Floor in Ft. Myers. Your attendance at this meeting will be a great show of support. This proposal has a great bearing on Estero's future. Your participation is essential to our success!!!

The Editors

Write the County Commissioners at:
Post Office Box 398
Ft. Myers, Florida 33902-0398

Commissioner Fax Number Email
John Albion 335-2143 Dist5@leegov.com
Andy Coy 335-2143 Dist4@leegov.com
Bob Janes 335-2143 Dist1@leegov.com
Ray Judah 335-2143 Dist3@leegov.com
Doug St.Cerny 335-2143 Dist2@leegov.com

Estero Community Plan and Related Land Development Code Amendment Status

During May the Estero Community Planning Panel (ECPP) continued to negotiate its proposed Land Development Code changes with County Community Development staff. These discussions have led to many improvements in the draft county ordinance and a few areas of major disagreement. Further negotiations will occur as soon as staff has had an opportunity to complete its analysis of other sections of the ECPP proposal. At present it would appear that the ECPP and county staff will reach agreement on the vast majority of provisions in the proposal. If the two parties cannot reach agreement on one or more major issues, county staff plans to present some alternative provisions to the BOCC for its decision.

Because County staff had not completed their review of the proposal the County's Land Development Code Advisory Committee (LDCAC) adopted a resolution supporting the general direction of the proposal but encouraging resolution of deficiencies they perceived to exist in the draft proposal. The tightness of the hearing schedule for this cycle of LDC changes may prevent the LDCAC from further considering the ECPP proposal.

On May 20th Mary Gibbs, the Lee County Community Development Director, and Matt Noble, Principal County Planner, discussed their reservations about the establishment and operating procedures of the Community Appearance Committee (CAC) that would be established by the ECPP proposal. Under the ECPP proposal the CAC, consisting of seven persons, a majority of whom shall be architectural and other development professionals and Estero residents would review all development orders in Estero Overlay Districts to confirm that they satisfy the appearance guidelines also included in the LDC recommendations. County staff is concerned that many other unincorporated communities will want to establish a CDC if Estero establishes one.

The CAC approach is new to southwest Florida, although it is fairly common on the east coast of Florida and elsewhere. Instead of the traditional LDC approach that establishes minimum appearance and the development standards that developers must satisfy, the CDC approach employs flexible guidelines that are negotiated with the developer by the CAC and county staff. Under the traditional approach the minimum standard too often becomes the maximum that some developers will implement.

The difference is demonstrated by the following example from the proposed guidelines for the Corkscrew Overlay which provides "The preferred architectural style… is Mediterranean, with Old Florida where appropriate, and other styles of architecture that are deemed by the CAC and county review staff as being compatible with these styles". The next section requires as follows: "All proposed buildings must blend with and complement existing architectural features of adjacent structures constructed under these standards".

Clearly these two provisions cannot be implemented without considerable discretion and negotiation between the professionals representing the CAC, county staff and the developer. The traditional approach does not permit the public reviewers the discretion to negotiate "other compatible styles of architecture" nor to determine what architecture blends and is compatible with surrounding structures. The ECPP believes that appearance guideline/CAC approach will yield far more beautiful and compatible commercial corridors than the traditional methodology.

The ECPP and county staff also differ on how the CAC and county review staff will coordinate their activities so that project approval is not needlessly delayed. Finally, county staff is concerned how the CAC's expenses will be financed. Since other unincorporated communities do not have a CAC, these costs are not considered to be "core" costs routinely paid from County MSTU taxes. These costs are not likely to be substantial, but are estimated to range from $300 to $900 per month. The ECPP and county planning staff are committed to continuing to negotiate these and other differences in the hope that both can support a single set of LDC recommendations to the BOCC when they take this matter up in late June or early July.

Simon Suncoast (now "Coconut Point") Mall and Mixed Use Development

(on the east side of US 41 from Williams Road to Coconut Road)

The most important decisions affecting this project and the kind of community Estero will become shall be made by the Board of County Commissioners during the next several months. When all the hearings are over the Board will vote:

To amend the county comprehensive plan to change the authorized use of the land so that it may be used for a regional shopping center etc.
To adopt a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) Development Order that will specify how the regional impacts, including transportation, must be addressed and how the project must contribute to their financing.
To adopt a zoning ordinance that will specify how the property may be used; many aspects of the development's layout and appearance and the conditions under which the development may proceed.

After six days of hearings the Hearing Officer gave the parties until April 5, 2002 to submit written information on each of the outstanding issues. His report has been delayed by the large backlog of pending zoning cases and a backup in the return of transcripts of the hearing. His report should be issued quite soon. Next month's Estero Development Report will summarize the Hearing Officer's recommendations on the issues most important to the citizens of Estero.

There are many important conditions for project approval in the County zoning staff's project report that are not contested by the developer, and therefore are likely to be included in the Hearing Officer's recommendations. They are:

• "The development of the subject property must include…all developed with a common architectural theme throughout the project. The architectural theme, landscaping and graphic design theme must be reviewed and approved by the Lee County Department of Community Development prior to the issuance of any local development order for the property."

• "This development, including the proposed regional shopping center must incorporate a common architectural theme on all sides of the commercial buildings which are visible from the U.S. 41, coconut Road, Williams Road and Sandy Lane Extension right-of-ways to ensure an equally attractive architectural elevation for all facets of the development. The common architectural theme must include streetscape landscaping and enhanced building architectural features. The condition is applicable to the commercial portion of the development including any proposed outparcels within the MPD. A plan reflecting the design standards required by this condition must be submitted for review and approval by the Lee County Department of Community Development prior to the issuance of any local development order for property within the MPD."

• "Any property abutting the Sandy Lane extension must provide a 15 foot wide street tree planting area along Sandy Lane. Residential developments must provide five live oak trees per 100 linear feet which must be planted in the street planting area. Commercial developments must provide five live oak trees per 100 linear feet and a double staggered hedge within the tree planting area."

• "A minimum of one acre of the property must be provided or set aside as an Estero District fire station. The location of the fire station property must be mutually agreed upon by the developer/property owner and representatives of the Estero Fire District."

• "A minimum of five acres of the property, or an equivalent amount of property in this general location must be provided or set aside for use as a Lee County public school. The location of the public school property must be mutually agreed upon by the developer/property owner and the representatives of the Lee County School District."

• "The development must provide separate pedestrian connections (i.e. sidewalks or pedestrian paths) between the commercial and residential tracts within the development.. A generalized pedestrian circulation plan for the entire property must be submitted to the County for Administrative Approval prior to the approval of the first local development order for the project."

In addition there are many provisions in the draft DRI Development Order prepared by county staff that is not disputed by the developer. These provisions are also quite likely to be included among the Hearing Officer's recommendations. They are:

"A bicycle/pedestrian system connecting all land uses, to be place along arterial and collector roads within the project and also along Sandy Lane."
"Bicycle racks or storage facilities in recreational, commercial and multi-family residential areas."
"Bus stops, shelters and other passenger and system accommodations for a transit system to service the project area."
"Planting native shade trees to provide reasonable shade for all recreational areas, street and parking areas. Planting shade trees for each residential unit."
"The developer must submit a draft Development Agreement to Lee County within 6 months of the adoption of the original DRI Development Order or prior to submittal of any local development order application for the Regional Retail Center or the Community Commercial Retail. The Development Agreement must be executed prior to issuance of a local development order for vertical construction anywhere on the site, excepting public uses mandated by this development order."
"The developer will provide the Lee County Sheriff's Department with finished shell space in the main regional mall complex (Regional Retail Center) for use as Sheriff's substation to facilitate law enforcement activities. This space will be provided at nominal cost to the Sheriff's Department."
"The Developer will conduct a comprehensive security study and evaluation during the design and construction of each retail development phase. The purpose of this study is to design and implement site specific security measures. The plan must provide for review on a quarterly basis by regional security audits."
"Developer will use reasonable efforts to prevent the project's construction traffic from using Williams Road east of the railroad tracks."
"Commencement of substantial physical development of the project must occur no later than December 31, 2004. Further development must occur in accordance with the development parameters and phasing schedule…"

Estero Community Park Progress Report

The principal county officials responsible for the design and construction of this 65 acre park provided the Estero Community Planning Panel with a status report on the park's development on May 20th. The County's consultants are now working on the "master plan" for the park. This master plan will be presented to the community within the next 60 to 90 days. Once the master plan is finalized it will be presented to the BOCC for their final approval before construction begins on the park.

Although the park will be constructed in phases as additional community park impact fees are collected, the first major project will be the construction of a recreation center building that may be as large as 37,000 square feet, more than twice the size of the largest existing county park recreation building. At an estimated cost of $145 per square foot, a building of this size will cost $4.35 million, more than the $4 million now available for the park. Ground breaking for this building, or its first phase, is expected to occur about January 2003 with completion expected about nine months later.

Permitted Estero Housing Units Begins to Rebound in April--- After seven below normal months housing units permitted in Estero during April returned to their pre-September 11th level. During April 161 housing units were permitted in Estero, up from 159 last year. Year to date permitted housing units still trail the first four months of 2001 by 743 to 453; the total during this same period in 2000 was 733 housing units.

The building value of housing units permitted in Estero between January and April this year was $78 million, 22% of the total for unincorporated Lee County. Estero's share has been increasing throughout the spring, up from 19% and 18% in January and February to 25% in March and 28% in April.

The building value of housing units permitted in Estero during the first four months was 80% greater than that of Bonita Springs. Here again a positive trend is underway. During January and February Estero exceeded Bonita by 42% and 50%. By March the excess had risen to 72% and by April to more than double at 103%. As in earlier periods the building value of commercial development in Bonita Springs greatly exceeds that of Estero. As a result the value of all buildings permitted in Estero during the first four months of the year exceeded that of Bonita Springs by only 19%.

The Communities in The Brooks continue to be Estero's most rapidly growing area. During the first four months of 2002 The Brooks sought 47.5% of all housing units permitted in Estero; up from 43.7% in 2002 and 32.9% in 2000. As in 2001 The Stoneybrook-Grandezza-Wildcat Run area continues to hold second place. Between January and April these developments had 26.7% of all Estero housing units permitted, up from 20.1 % in 2001 and 17.7% in 2000.

The third area that is expanding it share of housing units permitted is west of US 41 between Bonita Springs and Williams Road. Residential developments in this area include The Colony, Meadowbrook, Coconut Shores, Marsh Landing and Fountain Lakes. During the first four months of the year these developments contributed 15.5% of all Estero housing units permitted, up from 12.4% in 2001 and 10.7% in 2000. The only area that has a declining share of housing units permitted is Pelican Sound and the West Bay Club.

Estero Road
Improvement Progress

Imperial River Bridge Funding Approved by the Florida Legislature

The Florida legislature approved $4 million for construction of the Imperial River Bridge on US 41 just north of Bonita Beach Road. Although this is less than half of the estimated cost of the project Mike Rippe, regional director of Florida DOT, indicated that he would work with the Metropolitan Planning Organization and Bonita Springs to find the needed money to move ahead on this important project. Construction is now expected to begin on the segment of US 41 between Bonita Beach road and the north end of Old 41 in 2004.

Design Contract Awarded for Three Oaks Four Laning from Corkscrew North to Alico Road-- On May 15th the Board of County Commissioners approved a $1.35 million contract with David Douglas Associates for the design phase associated with this important 4.5 mile 4-lane widening project. In addition to the design of the road the consultants will: prepare an environmental inventory; right of way maps; traffic data; cost estimates; bid and contract documents; and all government permit applications.

The consultant is also required by the contract to maintain a mailing list that includes members of the public interested in the project; to prepare a newsletter with general information about the project and to participate in a preconstruction meeting after inviting all interested parties.

Williams Road from Three Oaks to River Ranch Road--Upon opening on Thursday, May 30th this two lane road will be the second new Estero roadway segment to open for use in two months. The road is important because it will permit faster fire service to the following large residential communities: West Bay, Fountain Lakes and Marsh Landing -- from the new Three Oaks Parkway station. In Addition it will provide another route to and from Estero High School and some relief for Corkscrew and Coconut Roads.

Estero Median Roadway
Landscaping and Lighting Update

During May progress was made on six (6) of Estero's 19 roadway landscaping projects. Median landscape installation is expected to begin on three of these projects during the next nine months. The following is a brief summary:

• The Alico to Corkscrew Segment of Three Oaks Parkway-- The design contract for this roadway segment also includes the conceptual design of the "core" median roadway landscaping to be installed on the road as it constructed. The public can learn about the landscaping plan by attending meeting of the Lee County Roadway Landscape Advisory Committee when they review the plans at the 60% plan design stage. Funding for this part of the contract totals $46,222.

• Corkscrew Road-- the County has found the low bidder and his sub-contractors capable of installing "core" level (canopy trees and sod) median landscaping along Corkscrew Road between Sandy Lane and Corkscrew Woodlands. Now the contract must be approved by the Board of County Commissioners, probably sometime in June. Installation is expected to start in July and be completed in September or October.

• Three Oaks Parkway--the County has contracted with Vanasse & Daylor to design the "core" landscaping for the segment between Corkscrew Road and Williams Road. At present the contractor is performing the base study that precedes the design. The design work is expected to be completed by August with construction documents being completed in September. Bidding, contractor selection and contract negotiation will take place during the last quarter of the year. Construction is expected to begin early in 2003.

• University Overlay-- Water quality problems were encountered with the first test wells drilled for this major project that spans almost 5 miles of Ben Hill Griffin Boulevard from Alico Road to Corkscrew Road plus that portion of Corkscrew between Ben Hill Griffin and I-75. The County now expects the permits for the seven wells that are needed for the road's landscape irrigation system to be issued by early August. Well construction will then commence to be followed by plant installation in October or November of this year.

• Koreshan Boulevard--a fifth major landowner along Koreshan between Three Oaks and US 41 has committed to a partnering contract with Lee County that will permit this road to compete successfully later this year for some of the $500,000 set aside each year by Lee County for "core" median landscaping of existing roads. A draft agreement is being prepared by Lee County DOT for review and approval by the landowners and the community. The contract needs to be executed by the parties by this fall when the County begins its next ranks all competing roadways.

• US 41 from Bonita Springs to Corkscrew Road-- ECCO, Lee County DOT and Florida DOT met this month to begin the process of funding the landscaping design phase of this major roadway resurfacing and widening project scheduled to start this fall. Lee County has pledged to advance the money necessary for the landscape design inasmuch as the state money for landscaping this segment is not now scheduled to be available for several years. In furtherance of this effort the County has written FDOT asking them to prepare the necessary agreement permitting the county to be reimbursed for these expenses as soon as the state money becomes available. The county also requested that the landscape installation funds be accelerated so that the landscaping can be installed as the road is completed in early 2004.

Lee County Website Improvements

The County's website www.lee-county.com continues to make it easier for citizens to monitor what the BOCC are doing and to participate in county zoning matters. The website has long provided the agenda for each Tuesday BOCC meeting. Recently, however, the County has added the capability for interested citizens to download and print-out the key documents associated with each agenda item. You will find a link to BOCC agendas and minutes on the site's homepage.

By selecting the Lee County Community Development Department on the Homepage you will find "What's New --Zoning Cases". Selecting this link will provide you with a list of pending Zoning cases organized by Planning Community. Unfortunately, Estero's two pending Zoning cases are listed under the San Carlos Planning Community.

College of Life "Riverplace" Property
Rejected for Conservation 2020 Funding

The eighteen acre parcel on the northeast corner of US 41 and Corkscrew Road owned by the College of Life (formerly Koreshan Foundation) was rejected for purchase by the Lee County Conservation Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee, the decision-making body for the County's Conservation 2020 program. The Committee's reasons included insufficient critical environmental areas, limited wetlands, lack of unique habitat and the maintenance cost associated with the historic structures on the site. Later, Charles Dauray, chairman of the College of Life Foundation, indicated that they had approached the Florida Parks and Recreation Department to determine if they have any interest in purchasing the property. The Florida Forever program, another likely funding source, recently had their budget cut back significantly due to the state's financial problems.

Hyatt Coconut Plantation

Sales and construction recently started at this 339 unit time-share resort located just north of the Raptor Bay Golf Course adjacent to Hyatt Coconut Point Resort and Conference Center at the west end of Coconut Road in Estero. In addition to the timeshare units the Plantation will contain four pools and a lazy river pool, outdoor spa tubs, sauna, steam room, outdoor barbeque pits, bars, gazebos, volleyball and basketball courts, shuffle board, media and game rooms, fitness facility and a grocery store. Owners will become members of Hyatt's Vacation Club and through it have access to many other vacation venues. Information concerning the project is available at the Resort's sales office located on the drive leading up to the Raptor Bay Clubhouse.

Present plans call for a clubhouse, other amenities and two of the thirteen (13) twenty-four unit timeshare buildings to be completed by the summer of 2003. The remaining eleven (11) timeshare buildings will be constructed over the following four years.

Detailed Proposal For County Financial Support
for Estero's Priority Community Needs

The Need for Additional County Roadway Landscaping Financial Support

For several months now we have been reporting about efforts to implement upgraded roadway landscaping on all of Estero's major roadways. As noted in past Estero Development Reports and in the Roadway Landscaping Update in this Report, considerable progress has been made. At this time it would appear that all of Estero's 19 major roadway segments are likely to have landscaped medians-- only three do not currently have commitments for "core" landscaping, consisting of easily maintained canopy trees and ground cover. Ten (10) of these 19 segments will have upgraded median landscaping-- adding flowering bushes and shrubs and/or accent or flowering trees to the "core" trees. Three of these segments are in The Brooks; three in the University Overlay/Ben Hill Griffin corridor; two proposed as part of the Simon Coconut Point Town Center project and one financed by WCI and the Hyatt.

As our community plan has been developed Estero residents have consistently advocated roadway beautification. Consequently the first policy (19.1.1) in the Plan states: "By the end of 2002, The Estero Community will draft and submit regulations or policies for Lee County to review, amend or establish as Land development Code regulations that provide for enhanced landscaping along roadway corridors…". Thus a primary Estero community goal is to obtain enhanced roadway landscaping for the nine (9) segments not now scheduled for upgraded roadway landscaping. Achieving this goal under present county roadway landscape policies will be difficult, if not impossible.

The relatively new County roadway landscaping program requires the county to install "core" roadway landscaping (trees and grass) in the medians of all new and widened county roadways and to maintain those plantings in perpetuity. Any installation of enhanced landscaping on these roadways must be paid for privately plus perpetual maintenance of the upgrades must be privately financed. Present County policy requires the community and/or the property owners to establish a Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) -- an additional property tax on the benefiting taxpayers -- to finance the perpetual maintenance of the upgraded landscaping before they will permit it to be installed.

According to the County's Roadway Landscaping Manual the estimated cost of installing median roadway landscaping on these nine (9) segments at the county's "2nd level" -- adding flowering shrubs to the canopy trees and groundcover--would be about $1,425,000. In addition the cost of maintaining Level 2 upgraded landscaping on these segments is estimated to cost about $439,000 per year.

To reach the County's third level of enhanced landscaping -- very nice but still not The Brooks -- would cost an estimated $4 million to install plus estimated annual maintenance costs of $1.07 million.

Numerous meetings with area landowners and developers have indicated that neither of these objectives can be achieved without additional county support. Estero's private sector is generally willing to make a substantial contribution toward the installation costs of the landscaping but cannot also finance the perpetual maintenance cost.

Other Community Financing Needs--- As discussed in the Community Plan Update section, the County is seeking to have the residents of Estero pay the cost of the Community Appearance Committee advocated by the Estero Community Planning Panel (ECPP) because other unincorporated communities do not also receive this service. It is the County's policy to use the County Municipal Services Taxes that we all pay to provide "core" municipal services throughout unincorporated Lee County. No matter how much a community like Estero is paying the County in these taxes, any county services above "core" services must be locally financed by additional property taxes.

In addition the Estero Community Plan calls for incentives for older businesses in our commercial corridors to upgrade to the new, higher standards that soon will apply to all future development along these roadways. The cost of these incentives is not likely to be a "core" municipal service and thus would have to be financed by additional property taxes on Estero residents.

County Municipal Services Tax (MSTU)
Revenue Sharing Proposal

To provide an immediate, and potentially permanent, solution to this problem, a number of Estero community leaders have worked with Commissioner Ray Judah to develop a county revenue sharing proposal that will be considered by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) during its annual budget hearings on June 12th and July 10th.

BOCC approval of the proposal will not be easy. The County's Budget Department has reviewed the proposal and concluded with the following recommendation: "For those areas that desire a higher than county core levels of service, establishing a MSBU or an MSTU (Municipal Services Benefit or Taxing Unit) or incorporating are options which provide communities with the ability to design their own desired levels and types of services." Substantial public support will be necessary if we are to overcome this kind of resistance.

Subsequent meetings have indicated that County staff is willing to work with us to explore the alternative ways that our needs may be financed. We are flexible as to the means so long as our goals are accomplished.

Therefore if you support the proposal, after reading the following, please contact each of our County Commissioners by mail, fax and/or email and express your support.

Then send us a copy of your communication by return email so that we may put it in the record at the Public Hearings.

The proposal suggests that it makes good financial sense for Lee County to assist "donor" communities like Estero by allocating a small portion of the taxes that Estero residents pay the County each year to fund locally determined needs, rather than lose all the taxes that Estero taxpayers pay the County through incorporation. Nothing in the proposal would prohibit Estero from incorporating but rather it would greatly reduce the need for Estero to incorporate.

The typical full-time Estero resident's property tax value is over 2.5 times that of the average full time resident of unincorporated Lee County. As a result each full time Estero resident paid $205 in County MSTU taxes last year while the average resident of unincorporated Lee County paid $79. Thus in 2001 nearly $1.2 of Estero's $1.94 million in County MSTU taxes were "extraordinary" County MSTU property taxes. As commercial development in Estero becomes a more significant part of the community's growth, Estero's "extraordinary" County MSTU taxes will increase dramatically.

Recent History Demonstrates the Need for Revenue Sharing

The last three areas in Lee County to incorporate -- Sanibel, Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Springs -- were among the "wealthiest" -- highest per capita property value -- unincorporated areas of the county prior to their becoming cities. Estero -- as defined by the Estero Fire District boundaries -- is already wealthier than Bonita Springs and is fast approaching Fort Myers Beach's property tax wealth.

If the County wants to stop losing its wealthiest areas to municipal incorporation it must establish a revenue sharing policy that returns a sizable share of the "extraordinary" MSTU taxes paid to it by each eligible "donor" community for uses to be determined by the community through public hearings conducted by the County Budget Department.

Since the county also receives state revenue sharing funds, all hazards taxes, half cent sales tax and local option gas tax revenues on behalf of the community plus park and road impact fees produced by the community, returning at least 50% of the "extraordinary" County MSTU taxes to the community for locally determined uses would greatly reduce the need for municipal incorporation in order for areas to achieve their unique needs from existing taxes.

Such a program would permit some of Estero's tax money -- and that of other eligible, wealthy unincorporated communities -- to be returned to the community for its highest priorities without the necessity and cost of another layer of government, while still contributing substantial revenues that the county can use to meet the municipal needs of poorer unincorporated areas of the county.

The Impact of Municipal Incorporation on County Municipal Services Tax Revenue

In 1999, the last year the taxpayers of Bonita Springs paid County MSTU taxes, Lee County received almost $4.025 million from Bonita Spring's taxpayers, or 21% of the total. In 2000 County MSTU tax receipts fell by almost $1.7 million due to Bonita Springs' incorporation. Last year County MSTU taxes were $4.96 million less than they would have been if Bonita had not become a city. The losses continue to mount because Bonita is growing faster than the overall unincorporated area of the County.

These are costly losses because Bonita Springs has a large property tax base relative to its population --roughly double that of the entire unincorporated area of the county. Bonita has 7% of the county's population but 13% of the county's property tax base.

Four years earlier, in December 1995, Fort Myers Beach became a City. Although far smaller in size, Fort Myers Beach had a substantial impact on County MSTU revenues because its per capita property tax base is four times the average of the unincorporated area of the county. Today the City of Fort Myers Beach has 1% of the county population and 5% of the county property tax base.

Thus in a five year period two municipal incorporations cost Lee County access to 18% of the countywide property tax base while giving up only 9% of the county's total population.

Estero's Contribution to County MSTU Revenues--- Last year Lee County collected about $19.4 million in County Municipal Services Tax revenue from taxpayers throughout unincorporated Lee County. Estero taxpayers paid $1.94 million, or 10% of that total, almost three times Estero's contribution of 3.4% five years earlier. In 2001 Estero generated nearly 23% of the growth in County MSTU taxes.

Estero's share of County MSTU taxes is projected to continue increasing dramatically over the next several years as Estero's commercial development growth accelerates due to the expansion of the Miromar Outlet Mall and adjacent properties surrounding I-75 and Corkscrew Road, the Hyatt Hotel & Resort and the 483 acre Simon Coconut Point Town Center development, among others.

If Estero becomes a municipality County MSTU taxes will suffer another large and growing revenue loss. At present the Estero Fire District contains 5% of the county tax base but only 2% of the county population. Thus the incorporation of Estero would result in the County losing access to 23% of the county property tax base in less than 10 years while giving up only 11% of the county population. These losses will increase as Estero and Bonita Springs continue to grow.

The Impact on Other County Taxes--- When municipalities incorporate the County also loses the state revenue sharing funds, all hazards taxes, half-cent sales taxes, local option gas taxes and road and park impact fees produced by the incorporating community. The amount of these revenues that the County receives each year is significantly influenced by the size of the county's unincorporated permanent population. Thus when growing unincorporated areas like Estero incorporate the County loses access to a large and growing revenue stream.

Between April 2000, when the 2000 census was taken, and December 31, 2001 Estero's full time population grew by about 4,500 persons, from 9,507 to an estimated 14,000. This growth will increase Lee County's access to several of these taxes.

During the last two years a total of 4,192 new housing units were permitted in Estero--1,845 single family homes and 2,347 multifamily units. At current road impact fee levels this residential development alone produced almost $8.5 million for the county. That is more than half the total road impact fees collected by the county in impact fee districts 3 and 4. These large districts extend from Ft. Myers to the Collier County line.

In Conclusion--- Recent evidence suggests that communities incorporate for two primary reasons:

They want more control over zoning and development decisions affecting their area, and
County government is not providing the community with the services they think they should be getting for the taxes they are paying to the county.

During the last two years Lee County has begun to address the first cause by helping communities like Estero develop and implement Community Plans that help manage future development so that it is consistent with the community's vision and goals.

This Revenue Sharing proposal suggests one way the County can address the second cause -- "inequitable allocation of county municipal services taxes".