The Village Council is asking residents to join them in attending the Lee County Board of County Commissioners’ public hearing at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 19. The Board will be considering the adoption of proposed amendments to the Lee County Comprehensive Land Use Plan that will eliminate the current controls on limerock mining.
The Village has received numerous complaints and calls of concern from residents regarding expanded mining east of I-75 on Corkscrew Road. Earlier this year, the Village hired Bill Spikowski, an experienced local planning consultant, to conduct a peer review of two recent mining studies that disagreed about the need for additional limerock mines.
Spikowski has stated, among other things, that the proposed mining amendments would significantly reduce the protections that are now in place for natural resources in Southeast Lee County and future mines would be able to obtain rezoning without demonstrating a need for additional mines.
The Village Council has postponed their regularly scheduled meeting in order to attend this hearing in the Board Chambers on the second floor at 2120 Main Street in downtown Fort Myers.
Estero residents are also encouraged to attend this meeting to voice their concerns about the impacts mining has on our water supply, water quality, wildlife and overall quality of life. Those who are not comfortable with speaking are invited to attend to show their opposition to the amendments just by their presence.
While Commissioners voted 3-1 in favor of these amendments at their initial meeting, Council believes it’s imperative for the record to show that Estero residents stood up to be counted as opposed to these changes.
The next Council meeting will be conducted at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 26, 2019.