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According to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Florida, seven million additional acres will be converted from Rural to urban uses. This is the equivalent to the size of the state of Vermont. Right here in Alva/North Olga aggressive developers are turning a blind eye to the need to preserve habitat for the over 50 endangered and threatened species who live in our own back yards. Local recent sightings include Florida Panther, Gopher Tortoises, Spoonbills, Bald Eagles Caracara, and Alligators. The Gopher Tortoise and the regions Alligators and considered Keystone species as they share their burrows with 350 other species. Developers as well as our own County Commissioner and large land holder, have overruled the original plans of one house per one acre to high density lots of only 30 foot road frontage and in addition will include big box stores and commercial businesses. This is predicted to triple the human population of our area, while greatly reducing the wildlife population through the reduction of the Florida Wildlife corridor.
With the advent of high density housing and population growth, (Our community will nearly triple in numbers), comes an enormous strain on the current infrastructure. The Wilson Piggott Drawbridge is a small two- lane bridge that opens for boat traffic daily. The bridge serves as the major route into and from Fort Myers and dates back to its opening in 1960 with a design life of 50- years, well overdue for replacement. The Florida Department of Transportation is the entity who is responsible for improving the SR31 and SR80 and SR78 (Bayshore Rd) corridors and are years away from any meaningful widening and safety improvements, making our commute very dangerous, frustrating, and slow. Our State and local government need to invest in infrastructure BEFORE increasing density and promoting further development.
Alva Florida is an historical landmark situated on the Caloosahatchee River. Its population was 2,725 per the 2020 census. With the proposed high density expansion our population will nearly triple, turning the quaint agricultural landscape into suburban sprawl. No longer will children here ride their horses and tend to their cattle, join 4-H and learn the lessons one can only learn by living a homegrown existence. Preservationists such as Bob Janes, and Frank Mann have long fought for Northeast Lee County and the Alva area to remain rural and a one-of-a-kind location in Southwest Florida. It is our time to stand up and fight for the continued preservation of the land and the last remaining corner of Lee County not slated for development. Rural land in Florida is disappearing with nearly 3 million acres of existing agricultural lands and 2.7 million acres of nature habitat will be claimed by roads, shopping center and high density housing. From providing education to supporting health care initiatives, Alva Strong offers a range of programs to support communities in need. Learn more about our work.
Our water and sewer capabilities are at a breaking point. We don’t currently have the sanitary sewer treatment capacity to handle the planned subdivisions and “build outs” in pre-platted communities like Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres and North Fort Myers, yet greedy developers, our county staff and county leadership continue to rezone and push for further development and density increases. This issue is also present with our freshwater and groundwater supplies. Wells throughout Lee County continue to “go dry” as new developments are green lighted and introduced. It is imperative that we hold our county representatives to task and ensure we have the resources needed to support what has already been rezoned for future development and stand up against increased density.
Our embattled Caloosahatchee River and our Coastal Estuaries are at a breaking point environmentally. We are continuing to pollute the river with “treated” effluent wastewater and fertilizers all related to the current population density. We must stop increasing density for future development as it will only exacerbate the polluted waterway. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection recently completed a study showing the dire news about pollution levels and fecal colloform. We must stand Alva Strong to protect further destruction of our environment and natural resources.
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