Kathie Ebaugh

A meeting in Lehigh on Saturday, July 24 could be one of the most important gatherings ever in Lehigh. Those living in the community who want to see improvements are encouraged to come to the meeting which will be held from noon to 2 p.m. at the East County Regional Library at 881 Gunnery Rd.

The purpose of the meeting will be for county planners to provide an overview to the public about the current conditions in Lehigh and the process of writing land development codes and to ask for skilled volunteers to serve on a five-member panel to advise the county through t he process.

In addition, the meeting is called important because it is planned to gather public input for the work that will serve as a guiding outline for the process of implementing the Lehigh Plan which becomes a part of the county’s Comprehensive Plan.

The Lehigh Community Plan, a vision for growth and development in the 97-square mile mostly residential community, was approved by Lee County commissioners in March of this year. County officials said today with that plan in place, the Lee County Planning division begins a two-year effort to update the county’s land development code to implement the plan.

Members of the Lehigh Acres Community Planning Corp. are expected to be on hand along with Lee County Principal Planner Kathie Ebaugh.

Paul Oconnor

“We’re not visioning anymore,” she said. “We know the kind of community we want Lehigh Acres to be. Now we have to create the development tools that implement how we are going to get there,” she said in a prepared statement for The Lehigh Acres Citizen.

The sole purpose of the LACPC for the past few years has been to work toward getting a land use study plan prepared and the county spent $500,000 to have it done by professionals.

Now to put the plan into practice, the county needs a set of codes that specify how developers, builders and property owners can develop in Lehigh Acres.

“Those codes begin with general concepts, such as where residential, commercial mixed-use developments should be built, and they continue to specific implementation through parking, signage, landscaping and architectural design,” said Lisa Hines, senior planner for the Lee Zoning Division.

In a statement to The Citizen, she said an example would be the Land Development Code (LDC) could not only govern where duplex development could occur, but might also specify the size of duplex lots and the units themselves, how their parking would be designed and whether landscape buffering would be required around duplex communities.

Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann of Alva, who represents Lehigh on the County Commission, says he will attend and he and county staff will present maps and other information to illustrate the current conditions in Lehigh which should be addressed.

Mann has attended many of the LACPC meeting over the past few years while the board worked with the study group from the west coast of the state.

Paul O’Connor, director of the Lee Planning Division, said that chief among those conditions in Lehigh is the number of platted residential lots in Lehigh and the resulting limited options for developing commercial and recreational land uses.

In the statement, O’Connor said Lehigh needs to be more than residential.

“Amending the codes will provide the guidelines to move from the current residential form to more innovative forms, where areas of mixed uses are designed to control traffic, enhance recreation and show walkability and enjoyment of the natural environment.

O’Conor did point out however that existing development in Lehigh will mostly remain unchanged.

“But what’s to come will enhance the quality of life and economic opportunity in the community. And, the Lehigh Acres LDS will ensure that transitions between the current and future form will improve the community,” he said.

Planners are asking for those residents in Lehigh who have planning, engineering, architectural, landscape architectural, real estate, legal or other technical skills to volunteer for a five-member board that will consult with county staff through the two-year process.

In his statement O’Connor said there will be opportunities for input from the entire community “to let us know that we are going in the right direction through this process.”

“We are looking for additional voices, and Commissioner Mann has encouraged us to keep the community well informed on our progress,” he said.

Edd Weiner, chairman of the 14-member Lehigh Acres Community Planning Corporation, which meets on the second Wednesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. the Veterans Park Community Center, said he hopes to see a large turnout.

“This is vitally important to the people of Lehigh. They should mark their calendars for July 24 and come and give us all the input they can,” Weiner said.

Others on the LACPC are also urging their neighbors and residents of Lehigh to attend the meeting.

Since the land use plan was completed and sent to Tallahassee where it was approved and back to Lee County for approval, a lengthy process, the LACPC has continued to meet, but has become more of an advisory board to developers who come to the group to seek approval of their plans before they go to planning and zoning officials in Fort Myers.

Some on the board have privately suggested that the LACPC has done its job and now may be the time for it to be dissolved. There may be some on the board who have the experience and expertise to serve on the new five-member board being planned by Ebaugh and O’Connor.