Estero Development
Report
Volume 1, Number 8
Issued December 2001
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 December 2001
January Opportunities for Citizen
Participation In Protecting Estero's Quality of Life
|
Date |
Time |
Event |
Location |
|
Wednesday, Jan 9 |
7 p.m. |
Estero Bonita Community Park Design Hearing |
South Lee Regional Library |
|
Thursday, Jan 10 |
9:30 a.m. |
Estero Community Plan Approval Vote by Board of County
Commissioners |
Board Chambers 2nd Floor, 2115 2nd
Street, Ft Myers |
|
Monday, Jan 14 |
6:00 p.m. |
Estero Community Plan Panel Meeting |
South Lee Regional Library |
|
Thursday, Jan 17 |
9:30 a.m. |
Coconut Point Mall Project Approval Vote by the Regional
Planning Commission |
Lee County Electrical Cooperative Building, 4980 Bayline
Drive, N. Ft Myers |
(located midway between Williams Road and Corkscrew Road just
east of the railroad tracks)
the first public meeting on the design of the remaining 55
acres of this 65 acre park
will be held on
Wednesday, January 9, 2002 at 7 p.m.
in the South Lee Regional Library.
This first meeting is strictly a
"listen to the public" meeting--it is your opportunity to help
create the kind of park you want for Estero. Please plan to attend
and tell the CountyParks and Recreation Department
and their consultants about the kind of park you think the community
needs.
From your comments at this meeting
the park consultants will develop a conceptual plan for the park.
That plan will be presented to the Estero community at the second
hearing to be held in February.
Please keep in mind the following
policy 19.6.4 in the
Estero Community Plan regarding the Park:
"Lee County will work with the
community to ensure that the development of the Estero Bonita
Springs Community Park is integrated into the surrounding
development and open space areas. The concept would be for the park
to act as a hub, connected to the other open space/recreational
opportunities through pedestrian or bicycle linkages, either along
public rights of way or through adjacent developments."
In addition policy 19.1.4 of the
Community Plan encourages the establishment of a public meeting
facility and that the park might be an appropriate location for it.
Final approval of the
Community Plan by the Board of County
Commissioners has been scheduled
for the morning of January 10 at 9:30 in the Board Chambers.
On December 4th the
Estero Community Planning Panel met to continue development of the
Land Development Code changes necessary to put teeth into the
Community Plan. At the December 4th meeting the Panel:
·
Elected Carl Hoke, the
new President of the Estero Civic Association, to replace Eddie Perri, the former President who has resigned;
·
Elected Neal Noethlich
as Chairman of the Panel;
·
Voted to ask the County
to make three important, clarifying changes in the Community Plan
prior to its adoption;
·
Voted to recommend to
Vanasse and Daylor, the community's planning consultants, specific
recommendations for action in each of the two cycles for amending
the Land Development Code in 2002. Recommendations for the Spring
amendment cycle are:
1--Create
a Corkscrew Road Overlay District including all properties on both
sides of the street with frontage on
Corkscrew Roadbetween U. S. 41
and the eastern boundary of the
Wildcat Run development. Develop a
comprehensive package of project appearance requirements that would
include, but not be limited to:
·
signage,
·
building setback
requirements,
·
parking location,
shading and buffering,
·
architectural
guidelines and procedures,
·
building height and
color,
·
berming and
landscaping,
·
property transportation
interconnects,
·
location of utility
lines,
·
lighting height,
shading and intensity,
·
noise protection,
·
sidewalks,
streetscaping and bike paths,
·
encouragement of mixed
use developments,
·
consistency of
appearance among all outlots in projects with two or more users,
·
prohibited or undesired
uses
·
roadway landscaping and
lighting, etc
2--Specific community wide standards for buffering various kinds of
commercial uses from adjacent residential properties. Such standards
should take into account all of the sources that may diminish the
quality of life for those current or prospective residents of these
adjacent residential communities.
3--If
knowledgeable legal counsel so advises, also incorporate into the
Land Development Code the one-acre maximum outdoor display
limitation now in the
Estero Community Plan.
The Panel's consultant is expected
to present their draft recommendations for implementing these
changes at the Panel's meeting in January.
(on the east side of 41 from Williams Road to Coconut Road )
Another step toward approval of
this
major project was taken on December 13th when the Board
of County Commissioners voted to transmit to the Florida Department
of Community Affairs (DCA) an amendment to the Lee County
Comprehensive Plan the would reclassify the Future Land Use of this
483 acre site from "Rural" to "Urban Community" and to approve a
policy to be included in the County Plan that would allow
consideration of a Regional Commercial Center on the site.
Lee County Planning staff had
recommended that consideration of the site as a Regional Commercial
Center should be subject to the following conditions:
- prior to
development the developer consigns at least one acre for use as
a fire station, reimbursable from the developer's impact fees;
and
- the
developer consigns at least 5 acres prior to development to the
School District of Lee County for use as a public school site,
reimbursable from the developers impact fees; and
- the County
will later initiate a change in the Future Land Use Map to
designate the donated properties as Public Facilities.
The developer's representative
objected to these conditions and thereby provoked an extensive
discussion of the issues associated with them. Subsequently the
Board voted to exclude them but to notify the State that the issues
are unresolved, that they will be dealt with during the DRI Zoning
process and that direction had been given to staff to resolve them.
The State is expected to complete its review of these changes by
early March 2002, whereupon the County has 60 days to resolve any
differences and adopt or reject the amendment.
The Southwest Florida Regional
Planning Council will consider the DRI (Development of Regional
Impact) assessment report at its meeting on January 17, 2002.This is another important step in the project's approval process
and one of the first where individuals and groups can testify.
Written testimony must be submitted prior to
January 4, 2002.
The RPC assessment report will become available to the public on
January 9, 2002. Persons interested in participating in this hearing
should advise us no later than January 8, 2001.
If Three Oaks Parkway is to become an
effective four lane reliever for 41 and I-75 the segment south of
Coconut Road needs to be completed before the proposed
Coconut Point
Mall is opened for business, now scheduled for late 2004. Thus it is
good news that the Board of County Commissioners on December 18th
approved the selection of Johnson Engineering as the design
consultant for this segment of Three Oaks, subject to approval by
the Bonita Springs City Council and successful negotiation of a
contract with the firm.
One of the first duties of the
consultant is to study the routing of the southern end of the
segment and to make a recommendation to the Bonita City Council. The
recommendation is expected to be considered by the Council in
February.
According to Nicole Maxey, County
DOT Project Director, Johnson Engineering, if contract negotiations
are successful, will be responsible for the design and permitting of
the road up to the start of construction. Tasks they must complete
under the contract are: Public Involvement, Engineering and Land
Surveys, Geotechnical Services, Environmental Inventory and Impact
Summary, Traffic Data, Roadway and Bridge Plans, Utility Relocation
Plans, Right-of-Way Plans, Signalization and Street Lighting Plans,
Signing and Pavement Marking Plans, Permits, Final Bidding and
Contract Documents, Advisory Services During Bidding, Construction
Contract Administration and inspection Services, Miscellaneous
Services - Landscape, Watershed Studies for Secondary Systems.
The County's Request for Proposals
asked that this phase be completed in 18 months, with construction
to follow for another 18 months. If this schedule is met this Three
Oaks segment would be completed by the end of 2004--about the same
time as the proposed Coconut Point Mall is planned to open.
Residential
units permitted in Estero during November recovered smartly from the
post-September 11th slowdown with an assist from the rush
by developers to avoid paying school impact fees that are being
imposed on all building permits applied for after December 1, 2001.
Two hundred seven (207) housing units were permitted in Estero
during November, up from 128 units in September and 115 in October.
For the first eleven months of
the year, 2,070 housing units were permitted for Estero, up 6% from
the same period last year (1,956). The building value of these units
increased by 16%, from $275 million to over $318 million. Thus, not
only is Estero seeing more housing units but the value of those
units has increased considerably as well.
Estero is clearly the fastest
growing area in Lee County. Year to date Estero produced 29% of the
total value of all residential units permitted by Lee County for all
of unincorporated Lee County or 41.6% of the unincorporated area
excluding Estero.
The value of housing units
permitted in Estero during the first eleven months of 2001 was more
than twice the value (217%) of comparable units in Bonita Springs.
On the other hand the value of commercial building permits in Bonita
Springs during this period exceeded $62 million as compared to $40
million for Estero. Overall the value of all buildings permitted
during this period in Estero was nearly double (171%) Bonita's
value.
The Brooks continues to be
Estero's hottest residential development. During the first 11 months
this year The Brooks permitted over 880 units compared to about 685
units during all of 2000. Thus The Brooks share of new residential
units in Estero increased from 33% in 2000 to about 43% this year.
The second hottest area is east
of I-75 along Corkscrew Road consisting of
Stoneybrook,
Wildcat Run
and Grandezza. During the first 11 months of the year these projects
produced 20% of the permitted housing units in Estero, up from 17%
last year. With Grandezza just getting started this year, this trend
is likely to continue for several years.
The other big change has been the
large decline in housing units permitted in
Pelican Sound and the
West Bay Club. These developments permitted over 700 housing units
in 2000 but only about 410 thus far this year. This is largely due
to the maturity of the Pelican Sound development which is likely to
be nearly sold out in 2002.
(in front
of Fountain Lakes just south of Williams Road on the west side of
41)
As a result of
neighbor and community concerns about noise, lighting and poor
landscaping, Lee County Development Services has withheld
issuance of the store's permanent certificate of occupancy until a
wall next to the loading dock is extended; additional shielding is
added to the lights and more trees are planted. ECCO has been
seeking upgraded landscaping for the store so that it will conform
to The Community Plan. Thanks to the County's responsiveness we will
finally got Albertson's attention.
(on east side of 41 midway
between Corkscrew Road and Broadway)
On December 19th Lee County Hearing Examiner Sal Territo
heard testimony regarding rezoning this small parcel (1.139 acre
site) from commercial (C1-A) to Commercial Planned Development (CPD)
to permit a maximum of 21,000 square feet of commercial
retail/office uses including an animal clinic and kennel (without
outdoor runs) not to exceed 35 feet in height. County zoning staff
recommended approval with a requirement that Estero Court, a dirt
road leading to the rear of the property, be paved prior to the
construction of the project, among others.
At the Hearing ECCO presented
testimony concerning the following features of the application:
- By seeking
45 uses, thirteen of which are themselves broad use categories,
the plan constitutes a small parcel "bubble plan",
- Unlike many
planned developments the master concept plan for the site
contains no building locations; no berming or landscaping along
41 beyond minimum code requirements; no signage or lighting
controls above minimum county standards; no appearance
provisions above minimum county standards and no roadway
interconnect provisions with adjacent commercial properties.
Although the County staff analysis
did consider some of the provisions of the "in process"
Estero
Community Plan it did not consider those that require future Land
Development Code changes. It is these provisions that address
"limitations on strip commercial uses… signage… design
guidelines…landscaping…architectural standards, and unified access
points." If our "in process" Land Development Code changes were now
in effect the staff report would have been much different.
ECCO's testimony and that of the
representatives of the Estero United Methodist Church noted that
this property is one of only two small properties along the east
side of 41 between Broadway and Corkscrew Road that would not be
part of a large development or be developed by the
Estero Fire
Rescue District. The Church now owns virtually all the property from
Broadway south to the Cope site. South of the site the
College of
Life (formerly Koreshan
Foundation) owns all the land between Corkscrew Road and County
Road. Next to that large parcel a new fire station is now under
construction just north of County Road -- one parcel removed from
the rezoning site. Thus this stretch of 41 has the potential for
greatly improved appearance. However the small parcels in the
middle, including the Cope property, must be developed and/or
redeveloped to conform with the goals of The Community Plan.
The Hearing Examiner's report is
expected sometime in January.
After the hearing, ECCO met with
Dr. Cope's representatives to see if it would be possible to modify
the rezoning request to eliminate some of our concerns. They
indicated, as did Dr. Cope at a subsequent meeting, that their plans
for the site primarily consisted of an animal clinic of 3 to 4,000
square feet and a lesser amount of space for one or two related
enterprises like an animal grooming shop, a pet food store or a
facility serving food and refreshments to persons waiting for their
pets. They further indicated that they are committed to attractive
buildings with good architecture, landscaping and buffering.
Importantly, their vision for the use of the property differs
greatly from what their zoning request would permit, and is much
more acceptable to the community.
Throughout the discussions, ECCO
stressed that Dr. Cope's planned uses for the property could be
fully supported and would be consistent with The Community Plan.
Our concern is that the rezoning request goes far beyond his plans.
Should Dr. Cope not implement his plan for the property and sell the
property, under the proposed zoning the new owner could implement a
very intense project that would virtually consist of nothing but
building and parking lot. That is of concern to the community. Dr.
Cope listened to our suggestions, accepted our contact information,
but did not indicate any interest in negotiating changes in the
zoning request. ECCO will continue to communicate with Dr. Cope on
this project.
On December 17th
the Board of County Commissioners approved the Hospital's request to
add a 155 bed skilled nursing facility as a permitted use on a 9.6
acre site located at 3850 Williams Road, about 350 west of the
intersection of 41 and Williams with buildings not to exceed 65 feet
in height.
As reported last month the
applicant has already received a Certificate of Need from the State
of Florida and has indicated their intent to begin construction soon
now that they have been approved by the Board of County
Commissioners.
(On
south side of Koreshan Boulevard between 41 and Three Oaks)
On December 4th
the Board of County Commissioners voted to accept the developer's
petition to rehear this residential zoning case. The staff report
recommending approval of the petition for rehearing was based upon
the applicant offering new evidence that the Board did not
previously consider. That new evidence is the letter of agreement
between the developer and ECCO supporting 4.0 units per acres
subject to the following commitments made by the developer to ECCO:
·
The development will
provide at least a 30 foot wide berm along Koreshan Boulevard with
extensive plantings at least equal to the County's highest
landscaping standard (Type F).
·
The developer will join
a public-private partnership that, if approved by a majority of the
property owners, will work with LeeCounty to install and maintain
median landscaping along Koreshan Boulevard between 41 and Three
Oaks Boulevard. In addition the developer will assist
ECCO and the
County to recruit and organize the other property owners to join
this effort.
·
The developer will work
with ECCO to upgrade the buffering and landscaping along Sandy Lane
when it is built later this decade, and
·
The developer will
explore with the local sewer utility to determine how the project's
sewer system must be changed in order to permit sewer services to be
available to existing communities along Broadway should they want to
upgrade from their current septic systems.
The Board of County Commissioners
has tentatively scheduled final consideration the issues in the case
at its meeting on February 4, 2002.
In October
we reported that Estero's permanent population at year end, using
the methodology of the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR),
is expected to be 14,369; the total population, including
"snowbirds", is expected to be 22,916.
Over the years there have been
many press reports forecasting Estero's future population to be
40,000 to 50,000. Usually these statements have neither indicated
whether these estimates include "snowbirds", nor the date when the
estimate will be realized. Effective community planning requires
reasonably accurate population forecasts. Population growth drives
commercial and retail investment in the community; it creates the
need for roads and other public infrastructure and identifies the
need for funds necessary to finance this growth.
Summary of Results
Five years from now (12-31-06)
Estero's permanent population is likely to range from a low of
22,450 to a high of 26,700 persons. This is an increase of 56% to
86% from our estimate of Estero's present population. By that time
Estero's total population, including "snowbirds", will range from
35,800 to 42,550.
Background and Definitions
Toward this end we have worked
with the Estero Fire Rescue District and the Lee County Community
Development Department to develop information that will result in
reasonable population estimates for Estero. The estimates rely in
part on the 2000 Census information released to date; a housing
survey conducted by the Fire District in December 1999; the Estero
building permit reporting system developed by Lee County for the
Fire District and discussions with people knowledgeable about
development progress in Estero's residential communities.
First a reminder about the two
population concepts we need to understand. In Florida two measures
of population are important to communities:
- The
number of full time or permanent residents.This measure is important because: 1) many state and federal
funding programs use it to allocate funds; and 2) because it is
used to determine how much political representation an area
shall have. These are residents counted by the census or
comparable thereto.
- The
total population including seasonal residents or "snowbirds".This measure is important because most governmental services
must have the capacity to serve this larger population even
through those services are not needed year round.
There are three kinds of
residential communities in Estero. They are:
- Fully
developed communities
- Active
residential developments--those
that are currently under development, and
- Inactive
planned residential developments--those
that have been zoned but are not yet under development.
According to the 1999
Fire
District survey the number of fully developed communities
contained 3,120 housing units at that time.
Based upon building permits issued
by the County during 2000 and 2001 there have been 17 significant
active residential developments during this period. These
developments accounted for about 4,200 housing units permitted
during this period. About 100 additional housing units were
permitted in all other sections of Estero during this period. These
17 communities are authorized to build another 5,450 housing units.
Thus if construction in these communities continued at the current
rate, over 2000 permitted units per year, all Estero's active
residential developments would be fully built out in 2004. That
will not happen because some of them are just getting started while
others are nearing completion.
According to Lee County Community
Development information there are 16 inactive planned residential
developments in Estero with authority to build 9,689 housing
units. In addition there are two other large residential communities
--Indigo Isles and
Coconut Point (part of the
SimonMall development)--seeking
authority to build another 1,624 housing units.
Housing Units Developed During the
Next Five Years
Analysis of the status of each
residential community and the rate at which housing units are being
permitted in each community during the last two years indicates that
the most likely number of new housing units to be developed and
occupied in Estero during the next five years ending on December 31,
2006 is about 7,000 units. Of that total over 5,000 of the units
will be developed in active residential developments, with
the balance, nearly 2,000 units, to be developed in currently
inactive planned residential communities.
Thus at the end of 2006 only about
450 units in active residential communities are not expected
to be completed and occupied. On the other hand, over 9,000 of the
11,000 housing units in inactive planned residential developments
are not expected to be built and occupied until after 2006.
Many factors can cause this
estimate to be imprecise. Thus the range of likely outcomes extends
from 90% to 110% of the most likely outcome. Therefore, the forecast
new housing units to be built and occupied in Estero during the
period from January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2006 will probably
fall between 6,275 and 7,670 units.
Five Year Population Projections
The "Low Growth" (90%) scenario
will result in Estero having about 17,400 housing units, 22,450
permanent residents, 13,350 "snowbird" residents for a total
population of about 35,800 at the end of 2006. The "High Growth"
estimate will result in Estero having about 18,800 housing units,
26,700 permanent residents, 15,850 "snowbird" residents for a total
population of about 42,550 at the end of 2006. Thus, if these
projections are accurate Estero's population will increase by 56% to
86% over the next five years from our estimate of Estero's current
population.
