How Volunteers Guide Estero’s Future

During the last decade Estero, an unincorporated Lee County community, has grown from 15,000 to 49,000 residents while adding nearly four million square feet of commercial development.  Three volunteer community organizations have successfully managed this growth.

The Estero Council of Community Leaders (ECCL) is an all-volunteer civic association that was formed in 2001 to:

• Coordinate the community response to residential community “outside the gates” concerns,
• Make sure public resources and infrastructure keep up with Estero’s rapid private sector growth,
• Interface with all governmental bodies whose policies impact Estero  -- including the County Board, the South Florida Water Management District, the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Airport Authority to name a few.

ECCL’s membership consists of representatives from each of Estero’s 30 residential communities and from most community-wide organizations like the Estero Fire Rescue Board, the Estero Historical Society, Estero Kiwanis and many others.

Over the years ECCL has been instrumental in accomplishing the following results for the Estero community:

• Greatly expanding the road network that serves the community.  The following roadways have been widened or built during this period increasing our north-south lanes from 8 to 20 in most areas: US 41, I-75, Via Coconut Point, Three Oaks Parkway and Ben Hill Griffin. The final leg of US 41 will be six-laned beginning in 2011.
• Obtaining commitments for landscaping the medians of all our major roadways.  Three Oaks Parkway north of Corkscrew and the Estero Parkway flyover will be landscaped in 2011.
• Influencing County Parks and Recreation on the design of the Estero Community Park.  ECCL encouraged the State and County to obtain the 100 acre Boomer property, doubling the size of the Koreshan State Site.
• Working for five years with Lee Memorial, NCH and the City of Bonita Springs to accelerate easy access to emergency medical services for south Lee County and ultimately obtain a hospital constructed on land owned by Lee Memorial in Coconut Point.
• Forming a coalition that persuaded the Lee Board of County Commissioners to adopt a new plan for the Density Reduction/Groundwater Resource (DR/GR) area to the east in order to ensure Estero’s future water supply, prevent flooding of its rivers and streams and reduce pollution in Estero Bay.
• Encouraging the development of arts facilities like the Community Park Pavilion and Great Oval and community involvement in the arts through major arts fairs and events.

The ECCL is committed to continuing to work on these and other emerging community needs as well as those that are brought up by its member organizations.

The Estero Community Planning Panel (ECPP) is a not-for-profit corporation also staffed with volunteers.  It was established for the primary purposes of:

• Creating an Estero Vision and Community Plan in order to guide the community’s future development. 
• Proposing Estero-specific County Plan & Land Development Code (LDC) amendments to the County Board. 
• Providing opportunities for citizen involvement and participation in all planning and zoning decisions prior to County consideration. 
• Consulting with developers and county staff regarding proposed developments within the Estero community planning area.

ECPP functions primarily as a recommending body to Lee County and the development community.  The ECPP has no independent approval powers over the Lee Plan, LDC amendments, zoning or development orders.  The panel is composed of representatives from the Estero Council of Community Leaders, the Estero Civic Association, the Estero Chamber of Commerce, and the local development community.

ECPP sponsors public presentations in the community by all developers seeking zoning changes and works closely with private sector planning firms and consultants, the Lee County Department of Community Development (DCD) and with developers, landowners and other representatives of the development industry in accomplishing its tasks.

ECPP conducts regular public meetings at the Estero Community Park Center, and facilitates developer’s presentations to the Estero community on their plans for zoning of property within the Estero planning area.  Citizen interest and participation in these meetings is high.  Recommendations, concerns and proposed solutions are then summarized and included with the developer’s zoning request submission package to Lee County DCD.

The Estero Design Review Committee (EDRC) is an all-volunteer subcommittee of the ECPP and provides for professional review of developer projects at the Development Order stage through public hearings prior to their submittal to the County. These public reviews, which are also conducted at the Estero Community Park Center, include architectural, landscaping, signage and other aspects of Estero-specific LDC requirements for the Estero planning community.  The EDRC is composed of local professionals in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, development, planning, and business. Recommendations and concerns are summarized and forwarded in parallel with the developer’s Development Order request submission package to Lee County Development Order Services Department.

The three organizations will be working closely together throughout 2001 to renew the Estero Community Plan and the Estero specific Land Development Code provisions.  

Committee Members

All ECCL members are required to join at least one Committee. the Chairman of each committee must be a duly appointed member of the ECCL. However, membership in any committee is open to any resident of Estero. To volunteer now, fill out the online volunteer form on the ECCL Committees page.