Architectural Review Board: These are the members of the new architectural review board which serves under the umbrella of the Lehigh Acres Community Planning Panel. It only consists so far of two LACPP members and two professionals in the area of architecture and planning. They are from left to right, Edd Weiner, chairman of the LACPP and professional Architect; Matthew Gordon, also a member of the board and a Civil Cad designer; and two appointees, Gregory J. Diserio and Inke Baker. Photo by Mel Toadvine

The Lehigh Acres Community Planning Panel (LACPP), formerly the Lehigh Acres Community Planning Corp. (LACPC) has named the first two members of its new Architectural Review Board. Also appointed were two members of the LACPP to sit in with the architectural group.

The two were named at a meeting of the LACPP on Wednesday, Jan. 12.

Appointed to the architectural board under the leadership of the LACPP were Gregory J. Diserio of Lehigh, who has been a registered landscape architect in South Florida for more than 28 years. He has been with the firm of David M. Jones Jr. and Associates Inc. since 1990 and is vice president.

His experience is called upon to lead the team of employees, sub-consultants, and clients toward successful financial and developmental completion of both public and private projects.

He has been involved as the lead landscape architect and project manager on the Veterans Park Community Center and adjoin park. He will be working on the Boston Red Sox Spring Training Complex and was associated with the landscape work at Minnesota Twins Spring Training complex.

He has also served as lead landscape architect on several urban design projects including the Lee County Public Works Center, the Lee County Justice Center expansion, the Lee County Justice Center parking garage and Hendry Street streetscape improvements.

The second person to become associated with the architectural review board is Inke Baker, the executive assistant of the Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce.

Baker owned her own Drafting Team Inc. between 2002 and 2008 and brings the experience as a development manager as a drafter.

Originally from Germany, she has vast experience in several fields and can speak four languages.

She listed on a resume 19 years of solid experience in consultative outside and inside selling, promoting, concept marketing and computer aided design.

She said she is competent in planning, organizing and creating strategic plans with customers and distributors and feels comfortable with negotiating agreements with “win/win” outcomes.

The two members of the LACPP who will also serve on the architectural board are Matthew Gordon, who himself is a civil cad designer. He works at designing and drawing plans for sewer, water and waste water systems including site development, plant design and system piping.

Weiner, the chairman of the LACPP is an architect and also the executive director of the Lehigh Acres Economic Development Board.

He works to bring jobs and new businesses to Lehigh.

This was the first meeting that the board met as the planning panel. It voted to authorize the changes in bylaws that have been accepted by the State of Florida.

“We have not dissolved ourselves, but we have renamed our board,” said Richard Georgian, a member who drew up the changes to the bylaws.

There was some misunderstanding with a few of the board members as to whether or not the new board was a new entity.

“We’re still the same board but now with a different name and with a different purpose,” Georgian said.

That board had spent nearly an hour in December trying to get the changes to the bylaws worded to their liking. Finally, last week, the group voted to accept the bylaws and officially become the Lehigh Acres Community Planning Panel. It will meet every month on the second Wednesday night at the Veterans Park Community Center at 6:30 p.m.

As taken from Article 4.1 in the revised bylaws, it states:

“The Lehigh Acres Community Planning Panel functions primarily as a recommending body to Lee County government, in support of the Lehigh Acres Community Plan. A Board of Directors (BoD) shall be composed of not less than five members. The BoD shall all be legal adults and residents of Lehigh Acres.

The group had finished its mission, Georgian said, when a land use plan was completed, submitted to the state and county and was approved to become a part of the county land use plan.

Now members of the board want to continue to implement the plan in Lehigh and have patterned the board much like one in Estero where an architectural board is an important group in that community.

“They are able to make sure new developers and builders come in and come up with architectural designs that the community wants,” said Edd Weiner. He said that is the way the Lehigh group will work, giving the county its approval or non approval of certain planned projects.

He also said that when the architectural board begins to meet, it will name its own chairman and report back to the LACPP which will approve or disapprove actions taken by the architectural review group.

The LACPP meets again on Feb. 9 and board members are inviting any resident of Lehigh who may be a professional engineer, a professional planner, a developer or contractor to bring a resume to the meeting if she or he would like to serve.

Those positions on the architectural board are needed, Weiner said.

It was also mentioned by board member Tami Baker that on Saturday, Feb. 26, there is a meeting planned at the East County Regional Library from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. for the first draft codes that the county will be bringing back to the people of Lehigh. Baker said if the location is changed, it would be announced.

Frank LaRosa, a member of the LACPP, told Weiner and fellow members that he would appreciate it if there were better communications before a board meeting so he would understand what is being brought up. He also said he felt it was wrong for anyone on the LACPP to meet with officials or developers about any planned development in Lehigh without first getting permission from the board to do so.

As for the final details on how the architectural review board will work, member Richard Georgian said the details would be discussed by the group using policy and procedures. No date was suggested as to when the architectural review board will hold its first meeting, waiting probably for more professionals to join the group.