Homeowners fight to protect their community from new neighbor

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—Residents of Pine Lakes continue to fight development plans that would bring more than 300 homes to land adjacent to their community.

For the past four years, residents of Pine Lakes, off U.S. 41, have opposed a proposal to use their roads to access the new development. Scott Hintz, a Pine Lakes resident, drove to WINK Listens in Arcadia seeking answers about the project's status.

"This is a very sore spot with us, very sore spot," Hintz said. "We have a very nice thing, and we want to keep it."

The proposed development would add approximately 330 homes on land next to Pine Lakes, with traffic routed through the existing community's roads. Residents say those roads are currently used for walking dogs, golf carts, and bikes.

"We use those roads for walking the dogs, our golf carts, our bikes, everything," Hintz said. "And all of a sudden, oh, now you have all these cars for 330 more cars coming in."

WINK News has covered this issue before, showing Pine Lakes residents attending meeting after meeting in 2022 and 2023, hoping to get Lee County to protect their roads and amenities. 

"And we're fighting them on it because they're just wrong, just the traffic, the problems with people getting hurt, the congestion it's going to cause," Hintz said. "We really don't have a problem with what they want to do if they want to put down 330 homes. But it's not part of us. That cannot be part of us yet. That's what they're forcing us to do."

The site remains undeveloped, and residents say they've received conflicting information about whether construction will move forward. Hintz said some people claim the project is approved and ready to proceed, while others suggest it lacks necessary permits.

"I hear it's a done deal," Hintz said. "They've got all their they had all their permits. They can do it, and we're finding out they don't. And we don't know what to believe, what not to believe."

WINK News checked Lee County development maps, which show the site is now closed or abandoned. A county spokesperson confirmed the project, as originally submitted, will not move forward.

The county has not received a response to an insufficiency letter issued in 2023. Any renewal of an effort to develop the property would require an applicant to start the process over by submitting a new development order, according to the spokesperson.

WINK News reached out to Equity Lifestyles Properties, the landowner, to inquire about future development plans. After several emails and texts, the company has not provided any updates.

"I mean, it doesn't fit into what we are," Hintz said.

The lack of definitive answers means Hintz and other Pine Lakes residents will continue their fight to preserve their community. 

For now, they remain committed to protecting the peaceful place they call home.

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