The Lee Communities Coalition (TLCC) \u2014 a coalition of civic and community groups in Lee County \u2014 has launched a new resource to help residents navigate proposed sweeping changes to the Lee County Comprehensive Plan (Lee Plan) and the Lee County Land Development Code (LDC).<\/p>\n
TLCC reported LeeCommunities.com is a website dedicated to helping educate the community about the proposed changes and their potential impacts.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Aug. 25, Lee County hosted its first and only public information meeting focused on changes to the Lee Plan and LDC,\u201d said TLCC Coordinator and Greater Pine Island Civic Association Vice President Nadine Slimak. \u201cThese documents and revisions are hundreds of pages long \u2014 that\u2019s a lot for a non-expert to take in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to have a place where residents could see side-by-side comparisons of revisions for each community and offer a resource to help them get involved in the conversation about these changes,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
In addition to comparisons, the website also offers talking points to help residents put together their own remarks for Lee County Commission meetings, as well as contact information so they can email the county commissioners and let them know what they think of the proposed changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Board of Commissioners is scheduled to take up this issue on Oct. 7 \u2014 that\u2019s not much time for the public to review hundreds and hundreds of pages of technical language,\u201d Slimak said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bottom line is that the county is proposing the wholesale elimination of Community Plans and the removal of the requirement for developers to inform local communities of their plans,\u201d she added. \u201cIn addition to throwing away thousands of hours of effort that communities put into developing their plans, this move also reduces opportunities for the public to have a say in how their communities grow. That\u2019s just plain wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
TLCC noted it also questions the speed at which the changes are proposed to occur.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe county staff had more than 500 days to review and change the documents,\u201d Slimak said. \u201cThe public \u2014 the taxpayers who will have to live with these plans \u2014 have had less than 30 days. Plans that were thoughtfully created over decades shouldn\u2019t just disappear overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n
To view the new resource, visit online at LeeCommunities.com.<\/p>\n
The Lee Communities Coalition is an alliance of civic and community organizations working together to preserve meaningful citizen participation and community-specific planning in unincorporated Lee County.<\/p>\n
\u201cLee County\u2019s communities may be different, but our local voices deserve to remain involved in all of the decisions that shape them,\u201d TLCC reported.<\/p>\n
The coalition members include Alva Inc., the Buckingham Community Association Inc., Captiva Civic Association, Captiva Community Panel, Concerned Citizens of Bayshore Community Inc., Greater Pine Island Civic Association, Greater Pine Island Water Association and Matlacha Civic Association.<\/p>\n