On Wednesday, June 19, Lee County Commissioners will issue a final vote whether to adopt amendments to Lee County’s Comprehensive Plan that will eliminate the current policies on lime rock mining. The public is encouraged to participate in the public comment portion of the meeting at 9:30 a.m. at the Lee County Board of County Commissioners in Commission Chambers at the Old Courthouse, 2120 Main St. in Fort Myers. This will be the public’s last chance to speak on this topic before the commissioners vote.
The proposed changes under consideration would amend Lee Plan Goals 1, 9, 10, 33, 47, and 114, Chapter XIII, and Map 14 to:
- Eliminate the Alico Road site location rule calling for mines to be located on the “traditional Alico Road corridor”
- Remove the requirements for a lime rock supply inventory and demand analysis that no new mines be opened until the demand for new resources outstrips available supply as evidenced by a supply and demand study
The proposed amendment has been strongly and uniformly opposed by a wide range of community groups during public hearings. Among the groups and organizations that spoke or wrote letters with concerns about the proposal are the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Sakata Seed America, the Village of Estero, the Estero Council of Community Leaders (ECCL), the Audubon Society, the People of Lee County, the Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife, the Sierra Club, the Florida Wildlife Federation and the Eyes on Conservation 20/20 Coalition.
Lee County has denied multiple requests for a series of workshops to be conducted to communicate the County’s objectives and to solicit adequate public input on how best to address the objectives while maintaining the integrity of the DR/GR and the overall plan.
For more information, visit http://nomineon82.com/.
