Lee County's master plan overhaul sparks rural protection fears

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—Lee County is considering major changes to how it handles development, and some neighbors worry it could weaken protections for rural areas.

Around 200 people attended a community meeting in North Fort Myers. The county is considering changes to the Lee Plan, a master plan that guides development.

Signs on River Road reading "Keep Alva Rural" are hard to miss. So are the signs of change that some fear will increase if commissioners change Lee County's master plan for development.

"They're going to eliminate a lot, and we're just going to become another Miami," Cheryl Fischer of Buckingham said.

The county says it's getting rid of unnecessary regulations while protecting public health. It's creating a more streamlined Lee Plan that eliminates individual community plans and rolls them under one set of guidelines.

"There's just a lot of opportunity to make it a more predictable document," Mikki Rozdolski, director of community development for Lee County, said.

Some neighbors fear it favors developers. The changes would eliminate community-specific protections, including a requirement that all new commercial developments in Buckingham provide at least 30% open space.

"We're all done with this overdevelopment," Fischer said.

The county says it won't change the density or intensity of development. Rozdolski said the county has information and documents available online.

But with more than 100 pages of changes, some say they're scrambling to understand the new signs of change. "This couldn't be less clear," Michael Hannon of Matlacha said.

The changes will go before the Lee County Planning Agency on Monday. It will then go through several committees and public hearings before county commissioners eventually vote on it.