Estero Development Report

Volume 2, Number 8
Issued December 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 December 2002

January Opportunities for Citizen Participation In ProtectingEstero's Quality of Life

Date	Time	Event	Location
Monday, Jan. 6^th	9:30 a. m.	BOCC Final Consideration of Zoning for the Corkscrew River Ranch and Miramar Design Center projects	County Commission Chambers, 2120 Main Street, 2^nd Floor, Ft. Myers
Tuesday, Jan. 7th	6 p.m.	Roadway Landscape Advisory Committee Meeting--begin consideration of 2002-03 roadway landscaping funding competition including Koreshan Boulevard	County Community Development Building, Conference Room 3A, 1500 Monroe Street, Ft. Myers
Monday, Jan 13^th	2 p.m.	Estero Civic Association Meeting	Corkscrew Woodlands Clubhouse
Monday, Jan. 13^th	6:00 p.m.	Estero Community Planning Panel Meeting	Marsh Landing Clubhouse
Friday, Jan. 17^th	2 p.m.	Estero Council of Community Leaders Meeting.	Marsh Landing Clubhouse
Thursday, Jan. 30^th	5:30 p.m.	Estero Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours	Wacovia Bank--corner of US 41 and Corkscrew Road
Thursday, Jan. 30th	1:30 p.m.	Hearing Examiner's Review of the Picaya Bay Medical Facility Zoning Case	County Community Development Building, 3^rd Floor, 1500 Monroe Street, Ft. Myers

Estero Incorporation Initiative Rejected

On December 16^th the Southwest Florida legislative delegation met to consider all local issues that citizens and groups wanted the delegation to sponsor during the Spring 2003 legislative session that begins in March. The Save Estero group presented their case for approval. The proposal was opposed by the Estero Civic Association, the Estero Chamber of Commerce, Estero Concerned Citizens Organization (ECCO) and the City of Bonita Springs. After hearing the presentation on both sides of the issue, none of the seven members of the delegation would propose moving forward with the initiative and thus the matter will not be introduced during the coming legislative session.

The Estero groups opposed the initiative on the basis that it was premature, would disrupt the excellent relations now enjoyed by Estero with Lee County and had not been adequately disclosed to or discussed by the citizens of Estero.

The City of Bonita Springs opposed the measure because it included property in the two mile buffer zone that Florida law provides to municipalities. The Formation of Municipalities Act (Chapter 165, Florida Statutes) provides that a charter for incorporation of a municipality shall be adopted only by a special act of the Legislature upon determination that the standards included in the law are satisfied. One of the five standards included in that Act states that the proposed municipality must have a minimum distance of any part of the area proposed for incorporation from the boundaries of an existing municipality within the county of at least 2 miles or have an extraordinary natural boundary which requires separate municipal government.

We have been told that this provision has frequently been waived by the Florida legislature, but not necessarily in the face of opposition from the affected municipality. In fact some people contend that it was waived by Ft. Myers Beach when Bonita Springs itself was incorporated three years ago. Another person testified that such a wavier was not necessary in that case because the two cities are separated by "an extraordinary natural boundary which requires a separate government"-- the boundary being New Pass.

The delegation debated this issue at some length before deciding to do nothing regarding Save Estero's request. Subsequent discussions with key members of the legislative delegation indicate that most members of the delegation believe the two mile standard is a major barrier to any Estero incorporation effort that includes property in the two mile area, at least until the City of Bonita Springs has had an opportunity to annex some or all of this area. Such annexations cannot be initiated until January 1, 2005 when the Estero area moratorium in the City's charter expires.

This decision provides the citizens and community organizations of Estero an opportunity to build upon our excellent relationship with Lee County in order to produce the kind of community that will appeal to all our present and future residents, but especially to those in the two mile buffer area, so that any annexation attempt initiated by the City of Bonita Springs would not obtain the necessary majority of votes cast on the proposition by residents of the area to be annexed. In addition it behooves all of us to communicate the Estero accomplishment story to all our Estero friends and neighbors. One way to do that is to circulate this publication each month to other Estero residents and to provide us with email addresses of other interested Esteroans.

Coconut Point (Formerly Simon Suncoast)
Town Center Progress Report

Ron Dillon of Oakbrook Properties, the owner of the 483 acres that will house this major Estero development, reports that Oakbrook and the Simon Corporation have been engaged in an ongoing dialog with Lee county staff in an effort to finalize a Development Agreement acceptable to both parties. Among other things the Development Agreement will specify when the developer must pay the county $14.8 million in impact and other road related fees and the priority projects for the use of these funds. The agreement between the developers and Estero's community groups seeks to have these funds applied to: the cost of a high quality, 4-lane Sandy Lane extending from Corkscrew Road through the Coconut Point site to the Bonita Springs border; the I-75 Corkscrew Road intersection improvements; and accelerated construction of Three Oaks Parkway. The developers hope to reach an agreement with the County staff so that the draft Development Agreement can be presented to the Estero Council of Community Leaders at their meeting in February. BOCC approval is targeted for March 2003.

As indicated elsewhere in this Report:

the developers have hired consultants to work with FDOT to incorporate the turn lanes needed by the development into the 6-lane widening plans being implemented by FDOT between now and 2004, and
Oakbrook has contracted with the Estero Fire Rescue district for the land it needs for a new south Estero fire station. Construction of the fire station is planned for mid -- 2003 with completion late this year.

Estero Design Review Committee
(EDRC) Holds First Public Meeting

On December 10^th the EDRC held its first public meeting to review the proposed architectural, landscaping and site plans for two projects.

The EDRC is a group of professional planners, architects, landscape architects and Estero citizens authorized by the Lee County Land Development Code and appointed by the ECPP to review all Estero projects that are seeking a development order from the county. County law requires developers to obtain a development order before construction can begin on any part of a planned development previously zoned by the county.

Most projects have not been designed when they are zoned, thus the ECPP and the citizens of Estero typically do not review this aspect of a project when the ECPP holds it's zoning review meetings. Now, under recent changes in the Lee Land Development Code initiated by the ECPP, the EDRC is responsible for conducting public meetings in Estero at this later stage in the development process when the designs have been completed but not yet approved by county staff. Previously and elsewhere in unincorporated Lee County there was no opportunity for public participation in the design review process; it was performed exclusively by county staff. As with the ECPP the EDRC findings are advisory to the county, the county still makes the final decision.

The two projects reviewed by the EDRC on December 10^th were Corkscrew Palms (located on the south side of Corkscrew Road about 1/2 miles west of River Ranch Road) and an Eckerd Drug store to be located just southwest of the intersection of Ben Hill Griffin and Corkscrew Road.

The Corkscrew Palms project was recently presented to the ECPP asking for a variation from the 45 foot maximum building height limitations in our Corkscrew Road Zoning Overlay. Thus it was referred to the EDRC for consideration of this variation when the three story building designs became available. The EDRC suggested that the developer revise the plans to show the actual dimensions of the each elevation; the location of the mechanical equipment; views from all four sides of the building and revise the appearance of the entrance so that it looks less like a fire escape. In addition the EDRC suggested that the pedestrian linkages be revised to make it more pedestrian friendly and that a sidewalk be added to the courtyard. Finally they suggested that the planters in the courtyard area be listed on the plan.

The EDRC suggested that the Eckerd's store landscaping blend with the adjacent Miramar and Stoneybrook landscaping; that the buffer mirror the Stoneybrook buffer; that bicycle racks be added; that monument signs be used instead of pole signs; that the arches be tiled or scored so that they would be more noticeable; and that pavers be installed at the entranceways.

Estero Fire Rescue Service Expansion Report

Two New Fire Stations Opening Soon

Estero Fire Rescue (EFR) continues to deliver quality service by improving response time to the Coconut Road corridor and the eastern end of the district.

The Stoneybrook Fire/Rescue Station is completed and is in the process of obtaining a certificate of occupancy and certificate of compliance. Once it is turned over, EFR will need to install some features and furnish the facility. The station will go into service on February 3 and be publicly dedicated in late March.

The station will initially support an engine and a ladder truck manned by three paramedic/firefighters at all times. The Stoneybrook Station will service district's area east of I-75 including the following communities: Grandezza, the Miromar Outlet Mall, Stoneybrook, Wildcat Run, and properties further east.

In February, property for the Coconut Point Fire/Rescue Station will be purchased from Oakbrook Properties. Design is underway with construction anticipated to begin by the third quarter of 2003. The station should be placed into service by the end of the first quarter of 2004 and will be staffed round the clock by three paramedic/firefighters and an engine and a ladder truck.

Located across US41 from the entrance to the Fountain Lakes community, the Coconut Point Station will serve the southwest part of the Fire District including the Coconut Road corridor from Spring Run and a portion of Shadowwood on the east to Coconut Shores, Meadowbrook, El Dorado Acres, the Hyatt, the northern part of Pelican Landing, including The Colony on the west. The station will also serve the US 41 communities of Marsh Landing, Fountain Lakes, the Bonita Area Health Center and the Walden Center Office Park.

In order to meet national standards EFR's goal is to respond to at least 90 percent of all incidents which occur within the district in less than 4 minutes. For incidents that require multiple vehicles, such as structure fires, a full response assignment of 14 firefighters and officers must arrive at the fire within eight minutes. These two new stations will reduce EFR's response time to the station's service area and simultaneously increase EFR’s ability to achieve its response time goal when multiple vehicles are required.

Both stations have been built and equipped using impact fees generated by the rapid growth of the Estero community. Operational costs and the cost of staffing the stations are being financed by property tax dollars produced without an increase in the district's area low tax rate of 1.79 mills. The Bonita Springs rate is 2.30 mils and the San Carlos Park rate is 2.50 mils.

FIRE ADMINISTRATION/COMMUNITY FACILITY

In the first quarter of 2003, EFR will also begin to rezone property it has purchased next to its Three Oaks Fire Rescue Station for construction of a new administrative facility. The 30,000 sq. ft. building will replace several rented properties and concentrate the entire district's administration at a single location. The building is being designed to include a large training/community room that will seat approximately 200 people and room for future expansion. Constructed primarily with impact fee revenues EFR plans to rent the early excess capacity of the building in order to also defray the cost of construction.

FIRE IMPACT FEES

EFR, in cooperation with Lee County, is updating its fire impact fee scheduled. The new fees are as follows:

Unit Type	Old Fee	Proposed Fee
Single Family	$524	$495
Multi-Family	$252	$312
Mobile Home/RV	$288	$312
Hotel/ Motel	$288	$505
Retail *	$514	$634
Office*	$555	$297
Public/Institutional*	$514	$634
Industrial*	$194	$149
Warehouse*	$115	$79
* per 1,000 sq. ft.

The two required public hearings on these changes are scheduled before the Board of County Commissioners on January 14, and January 28, 2003, at 5:05 p.m.

Accelerating Construction of Three Oaks Parkway

In late October County DOT published a report on Three Oaks Parkway, the third major north-south road corridor connecting Naples and Ft. Myers. The DOT Report summarized "the status of all the segments of the Three Oaks/Imperial/Livingston projects from Daniels Parkway to the Collier County line, providing a realistic estimate of the production schedules of each phase)… . As demonstrated in the attachments, however, the advancement of the Three Oaks South construction phase is not really a matter of money – it is limited by production constraints." (Underline added for emphasis).

As we reported in October the Report projected a gloomy picture regarding completion dates for the Three Oaks segments important to Estero, most of it due to the long permitting periods included in the forecast.

The report's forecast for the four segments in our area:

Daniels to Alico---completion expected in June, 2008, 68 months from the date the report was issued. 34 months or 50% of the total time was expected to be required for permitting alone; this segment has been pushed back three years from the department's prior estimate.
Alico to Corkscrew -- completion expected in June, 2006, 44 months from the date the report was issued. 26 months or 59% of the total time was expected to be required for permitting alone; this segment has been pushed back one year from the department's prior estimate.
The Brooks to Terry Street -- completion expected in June, 2007, 56 months from the date the report was issued. 24 to 26 months or about 46% of the total time was expected to be required for permitting alone; this segment has been pushed back two years from the department's prior estimate.
Terry to Bonita Beach Road -- completion expected in June, 2006, 44 months from the date the report was issued. 26 months or 59% of the total time was expected to be required for permitting alone.

The County Report suggested one way these dates might be accelerated. Since then meetings with County DOT, County Commissioners and local developers have generated two additional ideas for accelerating these critical road projects.

Area Wide Mitigation Strategy

For some time the County has been pursuing an area wide mitigation strategy with the Federal environmental permitting agencies to define an overall mitigation scheme to meet the that would satisfy the needs for all the roads in our the county Capital Improvement Plan and ultimately in their long range plan. Once this has been accomplished each road project would be required to do its share of the overall mitigation scheme. If approved this approach is expected to make the roadway permitting process much shorter.

County Financing of U. S. Corp of Engineers Project Permitting Reviewer

Federal law, the Water Resource Development Act (WRDA), authorizes local governments to fund U. S. Corp of Engineer (COE) staff positions whose sole responsibility is to review that government's selected public projects requiring COE permits. The program has been used by several Pacific Northwest governments with great success and is supported by Lee County Transportation staff.

Unquestionably the Federal government should be providing these services in a timely manner at their expense. Just as surely they have consistently failed to do so and the Federal budget now under consideration by Congress does not contain funding for additional COE reviewer positions.

Each Corp permit review position costs the sponsoring local government about $135,000 per year. On the other hand the roadway construction delays caused by the Federal permitting process are annually costing Lee County millions of dollars. Recently COE permits delayed the construction of Alico Road by two or more years. As a result of the delay the cost of this road segment increased by $1 million. During 2002 the cost of the Bonita Springs segment of Three Oaks Parkway between Terry Street and Coconut Road increased by $10 million. Some of this increase was caused by the City's decision to change the alignment of the road, but a substantial part resulted from the increased right-of-way and construction costs brought about by the two year delay caused by the City of Bonita Springs taking over the alignment decision from the County after incorporation. We have been told that one Corp reviewer typically processes six projects per year. With land values in south Lee County escalating rapidly, county funding of one COE position is likely to save the county several million dollars per year at a cost of less than $150,000.

In spite of these facts the BOCC has twice failed to support the issues related to this proposal. Commissioners Albion and Judah have been consistently supportive while Commissioners Coy and St Cerny have been consistently opposed on philosophical grounds. Commissioner Janes apparently opposed the proposal the first time it was considered and procedural rules prevented him from supporting it the second time. We are hopeful that he will sponsor the proposal and bring it back to the BOCC in the near future. We urge our readers to communicate their support of the proposal with all the commissioners during the next couple of weeks.

County Representation in Washington

Commissioner Janes is a strong advocate of Lee County having representation in Washington on both policy and Federal funding purposes. According to the National Association of Counties (NACo) more and more county governments are being represented in our nation's capital each year.

The Federal government is a major source of funding for many county functions including transportation, housing, health care, education, beach renourishment, immigration and pubic safety to name a few. If the county hopes to satisfy any Federal funding needs in 2003, it must contract with a Washington representative no later than the end of February when proposals have to be submitted to key Congressional appropriators.

2003 offers two important opportunities for Federal support of county funding needs:

1. The nation's transportation funding legislation is extended every five years -- 2003 is one of those years, and

2. The homeland security legislation recently approved by Congress authorizes several billion dollars for local governments to improve their public safety and anti-terrorist programs.

Discussions with several experienced Washington representatives of county governments suggests that county staff needs to review and prioritize its Federal government policy and funding needs before selecting and contracting with a Washington representative. Once these priorities have been determined the Estero community would, no doubt, be able to identify how some of its needs could be satisfied by the county's representative.

The Lee County Port Authority Board has been represented in Washington by the law firm of Hogan & Hartson for about 8 years. Some advantages or efficiencies may be realized by the county if it were to use the same firm.

Estero Roadway Median Landscaping Update

At present six Estero roadway landscaping projects have been funded and are in process of being designed or installed. Three of them -- Corkscrew Road, Three Oakes Parkway and the University Overlay -- will be completed in 2003, one in 2004 and the third in early 2005. Upon completion of these projects over 50% of Estero's major roadways will have large canopy trees in their medians.

University Overlay Landscaping of Ben Hill Griffin

from Alico Road to Corkscrew Road and corkscrew Road from Ben Hill Griffin to I-75

Recently this project has been bid and the final contract value assigned for each category of work. The project is scheduled for approval by the BOCC at their first meeting in January. Following Board approval the project manager will issue subcontract agreements and begin construction. Thus installation of the irrigation lines is expected to start in about one month (at the end of January).

Three Oaks Parkway in The Brooks

from Coconut Road to the Bonita Springs Border

The Bonita Bay Group is now constructing this half mile segment of road that will link up to the Bonita Springs segment that has recently been delayed for two years due to anticipated Federal permitting delays. Construction is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2003 at which time the road will be landscaped in the beautiful Brooks style.

US 41 from Old 41 to Corkscrew Road

Wilson Miller has been selected by the county to design the "core" level roadway landscaping for this 3.5 mile segment including.7 mile in Bonita Springs. The City of Bonita Springs recently agreed to participate in the landscaping design contract. Consequently the County is now renegotiating the Wilson Miller contract to add the Bonita segment to the design project. Upon completion of this amendment Wilson Miller will commence designing the landscaping for this segment. Simultaneously the Simon Group and Oakbrook Properties are working with Florida DOT to revise the roadway design so that the turn lanes needed for the Coconut Point project can be constructed during the six laning project. This is timely since these changes will impact the landscape design. In addition FDOT has recently adopted new "Clear Zone" rules that will not permit large trees (with trunks over 4 inches in diameter at maturity) to be planted in this road at this time. We anticipate that these trees may be added once Coconut Point is up and operating.

Corkscrew Road

from Sandy Lane to Corkscrew Woodlands

The County Roadway Landscape Advisory Committee (RLAC) approved the preliminary detailed plans (60%) for "intensified" landscaping of this road segment at their meeting on December 3^rd. "Intensified" landscaping approximately doubles the number of trees planted along the roadway from the number typically installed under the county "core" landscaping program.

Also during December the County began to install the trees that had previously been ordered for the "core" landscaping of the road in accordance with the revised plan.

The landscape designers must submit their final (90%) plans to the county by January 8^th. Once these plans and the related irrigation plans have been approved by the county, the county and the contractor will negotiate an amendment to the existing installation contract. Then the "intensified" landscaping installation can begin.

The "intensified" landscaping design for Corkscrew Road not only contains many large trees in the medina but also many trees in the right-of-way along the north side of the road. It is not possible to plant trees in the south right-of-way due to utility lines and easements. This project is moving ahead speedily and will be the first county roadway landscaping project completed with "intensified core" landscaping made possible by the $2 million increase in this year's county budget for landscaping.

Three Oaks Parkway

from Williams Road to Corkscrew Road

the first draft of the "intensified" roadway landscape plan for this segment have just been submitted to the county and will be discussed at the RLAC meeting on January 7^th. Final design plans are scheduled for completion in March whereupon installation contract bidding can begin.

Koreshan Boulevard

from US 41 to Three Oaks Parkway

On Tuesday, December 3^rd, the County Roadway Landscape Advisory Committee chose this Koreshan Boulevard project and one other project (the two highest rated under their competitive rating system) to fund under the County's $500,000 program for landscaping existing county roadways. This recommendation will be transmitted to the Board of County Commissioners shortly for their approval. Once approved by the BOCC the County can contract for the landscape design work. The design of projects like this usually takes about four months. Then the County can solicit bids for the installation of the plantings and upon selection of the contractor installation can begin, probably in the fall of 2003.

This $282,000 investment by the County would not have been possible without the support of the five principal landowners along this stretch of Koreshan Boulevard who agreed to enter into a contract with Lee County to pay the cost of maintaining the landscaping for the first year after installation.

The contract between the county and the landowners provides that should the county decide to "intensify" the landscaping that the landowners will pay the increased cost of the first year's maintenance. The county recently indicated its willingness to "intensify" the landscaping along Koreshan. Thus by this time next year the county should be installing about $550,000 worth of trees in the median of this road. They will nicely complement the extensive landscaping now being installed along the south side of the road by Rookery Point and The Cascades. Toll Brothers has indicated it plans to install extensive frontage landscaping by its development when it is constructed on the north side of the road.

The property owners and developers that made this possible are:

Keystone Custom Homes, their affiliates and successors.
Levitt and Sons
James A. Bernet
Paul H. Freemen
Richard K. Bennett Trust

Estero Community Planning Panel (ECPP)

When the ECPP met on December 10^th Sean Weeks of SRW Engineering, Randy Wilkerson of Design Builders of Florida and David Jones of David Jones and Associates, presented plans for Estero Palms, a 10-acre site on the south side of Block Lane between River Ranch Road to the east and the site of the new Estero Community Park to the west. The site is just north of Estero High School. Developer Wilkerson proposes a gated community with two cul-de-sacs containing 32 upscale single-family homes situated on lots of approximately 75 x 100 feet. The proposal includes sewage, landscaping, sidewalk and roadway improvements on Block Lane. To be included in the project is a Block Road walkway to the new community park for the estimated 500 current and future residents of Block Lane. In addition to the zoning request the developer is seeking county approval for a development order for phase one of the project. Approval is expected in January at which time infrastructure improvements will be started on the eastern part of the site. If the rezoning is approved by April 2003 the entire infrastructure will be completed by November or December 2003.

Dan DeLisi, the ECPP's planner and an Estero resident, has left the firm of Vanasse & Daylor (V&D) and another V & D planner will be assigned to the ECPP account. Also during December the county's sign control staff met to adapt the ECPP proposed Land Development Code sign changes into language that county staff can effectively enforce. These changes are expected to become available to the ECPP in January.

Estero's 2002 Permitted Housing Unit Growth

During November, only 63 housing units were permitted in Estero, the lowest total since December 2001. Year to date 1,418 housing units have been permitted in Estero, about 30% less than last year's peak rate.

Even with the slowdown, thus far this year Estero has produced 26% of the residential building permit value, excluding land, for all of unincorporated Lee County. Estero's share of the building value of all permitted construction year to date is 22%.

The value of residential housing units permitted in Estero thus far this year is more than double that of Bonita Springs, $258 million to $124 million. Estero's year to date permitted commercial building value is only 42% as large as Bonita's. Overall the building value for all kinds of properties permitted in Estero during 2002 exceeds Bonita Springs by 45%.