Saturday, Nov. 20 has been selected for Lehigh residents to get an opportunity to see what county planning officials have done with the information gathered from the people of Lehigh at various meetings for a future plan for the community that will be adopted into the county’s overall comprehensive plan that has already been accepted. The plan is known as New Horizon 2035.

The Lehigh Acres Planning Corp. got a glimpse at the plan presented by Lee County Planner Jerry Murphy, who was at the meeting on Oct. 13 representing Kathie Ebaugh, who has been working with the LACPC in putting together the Lehigh Plan.

The Nov. 20 meeting will be at the East County Regional Library and it will begin at 9 a.m. In the past, more than 100 people have jammed the room to ask questions and make suggestions. Those ideas and other put forth by study groups in Lehigh are coming to completion and residents are strongly urged to see the final plans before they go before the Lee County Commission, Murphy said. The public will have an opportunity to ask questions and to offer remarks.

Barely enough people on the LACPC attended to make up a quorum at the last meeting. Several had excuses and only a handful of people attended the presentation. The county did not issue a notice for the local media to alert the public of the meeting which had been scheduled at 6 p.m., just before the 6:30 LACPC meeting. Since nobody showed at 6 p.m., planners gave their presentation to the LACPC and the few people who attended.

Those from the planning department included Pete Blackwell, Brandon Dunn in addition to Murphy.

At the LACPC meeting, the seven members who attended voted to OK Resolution 10-1-2001 which in essence changes the name and the mission of the Lehigh Acres Community Planning Corporation to the Lehigh Acres community Planning Panel Inc.

The LACPC was formed to come up with a Lehigh Plan which was adopted by the Lee County Board of County Commissioners on March 2010.

The LACPC resolution changes Article 2.1 of the articles of incorporation to read:

“To support the management and implementation of the Lehigh Acres Community Plan, Lee County Ordinance 10-16, by working with the citizens of Lehigh Acres, county staff, and individuals and organizations to address land development, redevelopment, infrastructure and service issues. After it was passed by the LACPC, it was signed by Edd Weiner, president and Mike Bonacolta, secretary.

The next meeting of the group will be Wednesday, Nov. 10 at Veterans Park in the community meeting room.

Those who are interested in the New Horizons 2035 plan may go online at: www3.leegov.com/dcd/ComprehensivePlanning/EAR/EAR2011.htm. Other sites in Lee County are also listed for different areas that are also implementing changes in the overall county plan.