LACPC gives nod to new retail center

Stacy Ellis Hewitt, director of planning for Banks Engineering of Fort Myers, gives a presentation for a new retail development to the Lehigh Acres Communityy Planning Corp. Photo by Mel Toadvine
A new retail development for Lehigh Acres is expected to get the final go-ahead when it comes up before the Lee County Commission either this week or next week. That was the word from Commissioner Frank Mann on Wednesday, June 10, when he attended the monthly meeting of the Lehigh Acres Community Planning Corporation (LACPC).
Stacy Ellis Hewitt, director of planning with Banks Engineering in Fort Myers, gave a presentation to LACPC members showing what is close to being a final site plan. Members of the Lehigh planning group made some suggestions, such as having islands in a parking lot behind the building which is 40,000 square feet under roof.
The site is located along Joel Blvd. and David Avenue, just south of a site that the Lee County School District has purchased for a future school.
The retail project is composed of 14 1/2 acres with 142 feet on David Ave., and 223 feet along Joel Blvd. It’s on the site of the old driving range, close to the Tyler Business Center, and not far from where the old Admiral Hotel complex once stood.
Its front entrance is directly across Country Club Parkway and there are two entrances and exits along David Ave., Hewitt told the board.
The owners are Landmark Partners LLC of Fort Myers.
Currently the project is still in the zoning stages and when it was taken before the Lee County Commission for acceptance, Mann said there were some concerns about the buildings being too close to Joel Blvd. They suggested they be moved back with less parking in front and more in the rear and sent Hewitt to the LACPC for its comments and hopefully, a resolution for approval.
Having most of the parking in the rear of projects is what Edd Weiner, the vice president of the ECWCD, has fought for each time in the past when a developer has brought a project to the board for its approval. He and other members of the board want buildings closer to the roadway with parking in the rear and with trees such as oaks rather than palms to give shade to the parking areas.
Hewitt told the LACPC that at the rear of the property where it touches part of a small lake that there will be a large gazebo meeting area and that the entire back would be landscaped with tall hedges. LACPC members opted for a small restaurant where diners could have a nice meal overlooking that area of the lake. Hewitt said she would take that information back to the developers.
Richard Georgian, a member of the LACPC, again as he has before when builders look at Lehigh projects, said Lehigh needs an arts center and hoped that some of the clients in the complex would include entertainment and arts.
Generally, the LACPC liked the project and and could have voted on a resolution, but their policy calls for the resolution to be voted on a month later and be sent to the county commissioners, acting as a zoning board. But in this case, Hewett said the plan was going back to the Commission either this week or next. So the LACPC was unable to offer a resolution in support to meet the deadline, but it gave its vocal approval.
Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann, who attended the meeting held at Veterans Park Community Center, told the LACPC he understood their likes and dislikes and he was sure the Commission would go along with their suggestions.
“I can take that back to the Commission and I think it will go through. We are all very happy to get a developer into Lehigh Acres and this is a good one and it’s a win-win situation,” he said.
Mann said once the Commission gives its final zoning approval, the project would then move to the the permitting process. It may take two years before the complex is built.
Hewitt also explained that the project contained wide corridors as walkways from the rear of the building to the front, something LACPC members seemed to like. She said the process of getting the complex through the required processes was slowed down in 2007 because of the time developers spent talking to nearby neighbors who came to favor the project.
“This is a great opportunity for Lehigh Acres,” Mann said. “I am looking to see this project coming here and I’m sure you all are, too.”
After the discussion of the new retail shopping complex, John Miller of Lehigh, came before the board to ask them for help in finding a location for residents of Lehigh who owns large trucks they use for their businesses and livelihood. He said he hoped they would look to setting aside land somewhere in Lehigh where truckers could park their vehicles at night without upsetting nearby residents.
More than a year ago, truckers paid to park behind an animal grooming business on Homestead Rd., but residents of adjacent Bethany Trace objected, they said, because of the loud noise and fumes from the trucks early in the mornings when the workers started their trucks for a day of work. The owner of the property said the loss of that business would have a negative effect on his income, but the owners of Bethany Trace won out and the gates were closed and truck owners were told to find another place to park their trucks.
Miller said that is the problem now. He said some are parking them on lots next to their homes and some are parking in their backyards. Miller said these are people who depend on their vehicles to make a living and they deserved some help from the board.
Miller, who is a member of Lehigh Clean Sweep, said he came to the LACPC as a private citizen. He once was a member of the group.