NEAL COMMUNITIES REZONING APPLICATION PROCESS FOR DUKE/CARY/POVIA PROPERTY
(DCI2022-00067)
Dirk Danley, the Lee County Planner in the Lee County Community Development Department, is overseeing the rezoning application process by Neal Communities to rezone 788 acres from Ag-2 to Residential Planned Development (RPD) to allow for 1099 residential units with a proposal that includes a community design for compact clustered residential development. According to Mr. Danley, the process for the rezoning application moves on as follows:
PUBLIC EXAMINER HEARING: The Lee County Hearing Examiner is an independent reviewer of zoning applications who is under contract with the Board of County Commissioners. The Hearing Examiner will review the applicant’s materials and conduct public hearings to render decisions and make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners.
The public is permitted to speak at the Public Examiner Hearing for an unlimited amount of time regarding the applicant’s rezoning request. Please be mindful that this hearing will be long but it is important to register for public comment at this meeting in order to be permitted to speak at the hearing where the Board of County Commissioners votes on this action. The public is also permitted to provide visual aids (PowerPoint) to assist with their presentation.
The Public Examiner Hearing is scheduled for:
Wednesday, September 4 at 9:00am
Lee County Board of Commissioners CHAMBERS
(Second Floor)
2120 Main Street
Fort Myers, FL 33901
Mr. Danley stated, given the public interest in this particular rezoning application, the Lee County Community Development Department has also reserved Friday, September 6th for additional public comments should the meeting require more than one day.
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
It is TOP PRIORITY that the public SHOW UP and SPEAK UP for this process of the Neal Communities Rezoning Request Application.
If you would like to be added to the interested parties list regarding any action on this proposed rezoning request, you can make that request through Mr. Dirk Danley by calling his direct phone number at 239/533-8317 or email him at DDanley2@LeeGov.com
The Lee County Staff Report can be accessed at:
KwikTag Search – Lee County (leegov.com)
Type in DCI2022-00067 within the Search line.
HISTORY OF NEAL COMMUNITIES LAND USE ACTIONS IN ALVA
Neal Communities, a home building company based out of Lakewood Ranch, Florida, is proposing a new residential development along North River Road just east of State Road 31 in Alva, Florida.
In May of 2023, Neal Communities purchased the Owl Creek property consisting of 345 acres. The developer is currently under contract for the adjacent 788 acres of the Duke+Cary+Povia property.
The sale is pending purchase based on Lee County rezoning approvals from rural wetlands to Residential Planned Development (RPD) in order to increase the allowable density. The request made by Neal Communities for a Comprehensive Land Use Amendment for Lee County Utilities Future Water/Sewer Service area was unanimously approved by the commissioners this past January 2024 despite overwhelming opposition from the community.
In total, the proposed development on this agricultural and environmentally sensitive land will consist of almost 1,500 residential units in a clustered development format on 1,133 acres of land with the smallest proposed homesites containing 40 feet of road frontage.
Neal Community has stated that the goal is to develop a portion of the subject property into what the developer refers to as “attainable housing” to include the manufacturing of “budget conscious homes” with “cost efficient floorplans” and “simplified and value-engineered” product designs.(https://www.businessobserverfl.com/news/2023/sep/04/attainable-housing-homebuilder-plans-646-homes-to-start/)
If approved, this clustered-home development will triple the population of the north side of Alva with the construction of ONE residential community.
The already stressed infrastructure cannot support this massive development. Additionally, this proposed development would further threaten the environment in the Northeast section of Lee County which will have widespread consequences. Of the 1,133 total acres, there is over 190 acres of wetlands on this property, countless species, indigenous habitats, and historic archeological sites.
The proposed planned development is inconsistent and incompatible with the heritage and rural character as outlined in the Lee County Comprehensive Plan.
The Lee County Comprehensive Plan for Northeast Lee County Community Plan in Goal 27 states, “Maintain, enhance, and support the heritage and rural character, natural resources, and agricultural lands.” (Ord. No.11-14, 18-18). In addition, the Lee Plan for North Olga Community Plan in Goal29 states, “Promote and support the unique rural character, heritage, economy, quality of life, and natural resources in the North Olga Community Plan area.”(Ord. No. 11-21, 11-18)
It is the position of the majority of the community of Alva and the Northeast Lee County surrounding areas that this proposed development, not only fails to honor any of the long-established goals within the Lee County Comprehensive Plan, but also represents an irresponsible overdevelopment of the last rural corridor of Southwest Florida with far-reaching impacts to infrastructure, resources, the culture, and the environment.
Please help us to represent our community by attending and speaking up at this important public meeting.
For more information, please email info@AlvaStrong.org or call 239/872-2625.
Alva Strong Update-Post Comp Plan Amendment
As you are likely aware, The Lee County BOCC voted 5-0 to transmit the Neal Water & Sewer Map additions to the State of Florida for approval. This was done so with a tremendous amount of public input in opposition of the amendment to the plan. This was a disappointing result, but not completely unexpected. Prior to the Water/Sewer CPA meeting, our legal representative sent a letter to the County Attorney asking that Commissioner Greenwell recuse himself from the vote as this water sewer expansion has the potential to increase the value of his property. After the CPA meeting, our legal representative then sent an objection letter to the state after the ruling at the BOCC and we are awaiting a response.
We have several steps in the future with the Hearing Examiner and the eventual zoning hearing to halt this development and the increased density. Community involvement and speaking in opposition of the rezone at the Hearing Examiner (HEX) meeting will be critical as those who speak at the HEX meeting are the only ones able to speak at the zoning hearing in front of the BOCC.
The dates for these critical meetings have not been set, but it has been over 30 days since the Water/Sewer CPA was sent to the state for transmittal and we anticipate it will then be moved swiftly through the process back here in Lee County based on the behavior of the developer and the desire to reduce public involvement. We will be sending updates as those dates are defined and will need your help to keep pressure on the county leadership to do the right thing. We are focusing on public safety and the environment and the idea that a high pressure sewer main under the river in Olga is not good stewardship of our County, our river or our downstream estuaries.
We have had support from all over Lee County with a big thanks to the Buckingham, North Fort Myers, and even the Venice communities for coming out in support of Alva and our rural lands. We are seeing a great deal of community members speaking out in recent weeks over increased density and decisions made by the county that don’t seem to be in alignment with the wishes of the voters.
Also, more encouraging news is that the US Government has halted all wetland mitigation permits in Florida and will now be forcing the state and local governments to permit wetlands through the US Army Corps of Engineers at the Federal Level, which could save many of our wetlands and sensitive protected species and their environment. The developers are not pleased with the ruling and are rethinking a lot of land investments at this time. This ruling could help protect Alva and the Duke-Cary Property from further damaging permits.
Please stay tuned and look out for more information to be distributed as it becomes available. Thank-you for your continued support!