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New Horizon 2035 is a comprehensive review of the Lee Plan through the year 2035.  The Lee Plan sets standards for land use planning and zoning in unincorporated Lee County.  New Horizon 2035 began with the state-required Evaluation and Appraisal Report of the plan, which is done every seven years and is due in February 2011.  Community Development, with support from the Board of County Commissioners, will go beyond the minimum requirements of the state review and may continue this effort with revisions to both the plan and the Land Development Code, which implements the Lee Plan.  The ultimate goal is a 21st-century document for a sustainable, self-sufficient community.

DCA Issues Memorandum of Understanding

Florida’s Department of Community Affairs has received the first outline of Lee County’s Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR): The Issues and Opportunities Report. It identifies the themes and recommendations that emerged from public and inter-agency workshops for the evaluation and appraisal process.  In response, DCA has issued a Memorandum of Understanding, a signal to Lee County planners to continue to develop these ideas into planning strategies.  Commissioners accepted the Issues and Opportunities Report in June.  There will be additional opportunities for the public to review the report before it is submitted finally to DCA in February 2011.

 Workshop Refined Strategy

The most recent workshop to gather input for New Horizon 2035 was held June 29 and 30 with more than 20 representatives of Lee County departments and divisions, and other agencies.  They met to refine the Issues and Opportunities Report and lay the final groundwork for planning strategies. Participants discussed transportation infrastructure, parks and recreation, transit, natural resource management, water and sewer utilities, waste management, and other topics.  This intensive workshop followed a series of three meetings in March and April with broader representatives of state and local agencies, and nine public workshops which involved scores of Lee County residents and business owners.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get Involved!!

Learn More!!!

A Comprehensive Review of the Lee Plan		  

What issues are most important to growth and land use planning in unincorporated Lee County?  Does the Lee Plan adequately address those issues?  Would you like to change the plan to better direct the development of our county through the comprehensive plan?

Those questions are being answered by Lee County planners as they updating the Comprehensive Plan for unincorporated Lee County, The Lee Plan. The effort will refine the community’s vision of what unincorporated Lee County should look like through growth and land use planning.  The update to the Lee Plan will begin with the state-required Evaluation and Appraisal Report process, but it will encompass a broader visioning effort through 2035. We call it Lee County – New Horizon 2035.  Your contribution will help create this vision of the future.  The result is intended to help create sustainable, self-sufficient communities.

During March, the Planning Division held meetings with state, regional and local government agencies, including our own Lee County departments, to gather their suggestions about updating the Lee Plan.  For the ideas discussed at the three government scoping meetings held in March 2010, click on the links below: 

Public Safety Agencies, March 10
Intergovernmental Agencies, March 24
Lee County Agencies, March 31

Through April and May, small-group workshops were held with residents and business owners to learn what issues and topics they would like to address in the Lee Plan.  Citizens will continue to have input into this process.  Check out your options to participate in the Get Involved section of this Web site.

To review the ideas discussed at the nine community meetings held from April 15 to May 13, 2010, click on the links below:

Kick off meeting at Lee County Community Development/Public Works Building, April 15
Fort Myers Shores, April 20
Pine Island, April 21
North Fort Myers, April 27
Estero, April 28
 South Fort Myers, May 4
Lehigh Acres, May 5
Boca Grande, May 11
Captiva, May 13

An Issues and Opportunities Report was drafted and submitted to the Florida Department of Community Affairs to outline the themes and recommendations that emerged from the first phase of this planning effort.  DCA responded with a Memorandum of Understanding for Lee County planners to proceed.

On June 28 and 29, the Lee Planning Division held a workshop for about 20 Lee County staff and other agency representatives.  They helped refine the refine the Issues and Opportunities Report and lay the final groundwork for New Horizon 2035.

Workshop Photographs

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The Planning Division staff continues to draft policy strategies for the Evaluation and Appraisal Report, which will be delivered to DCA in February 2011.

For additional information, please contact the Planning Division at (239) 533-8585.

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