Join SCCF at the Final Appeal to Oppose Eden Oak on April 5
SCCF has received a notice this week from the county, as many of you have, that the applicant for the Eden Oak project has requested that the Board of County Commissioners remand the final Eden Oak zoning vote, scheduled for Wednesday, April 5, back to the Hearing Examiner.
This request from the Eden Oak applicant is based upon a recent recommendation made by the Hearing Examiner in another case that potentially redefines how the county will view wetlands within the Coastal High Hazard areas of Lee County in favor of increased development. Click HERE for a copy of the remand request.
SCCF has retained legal counsel to assist with the culmination of our almost 7-year opposition of this ill-placed rezoning request. SCCF remains supportive of the county staff and Hearing Examiner’s numerous recommendations to deny this project. It is inconsistent with the Lee Plan’s goals, objectives, and policies to protect and conserve the natural functions of wetlands, the protection of wildlife habitat, the limitation of public expenditures within the Coastal High Hazard Areas, the protection of life and property, and current and future development within the coastal planning areas established by the Lee Plan.
CALL TO ACTION
We encourage those that are eligible to testify at this scheduled final hearing to please do so. The County Commission Zoning hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the second-floor Commission Chambers of the old courthouse located at 2120 Main Street, Fort Myers, FL 33901. SCCF has been told that the Eden Oak case will be heard first on the agenda.
Because of local laws prohibiting ex-parte communication on zoning matters, unless you have previously spoken at the Hearing Examiner (HeX) level, you will not be allowed to address the commissioners on this item. However, members of the public that did not attend the original HeX meetings are still invited to attend the final hearing to show their support for the denial.
For those that will be speaking, there is a list of talking points on our SCCF Eden Oak webpage for your consideration. It is always helpful for the Commissioners to hear personal accounts of how this rezoning request will impact you and your neighborhood — especially in light of the experience we’ve gained with flooding and storm surge from Hurricane Ian.
The wetlands that we have protected in Lee County protected us during the storm and the commissioners need to be aware that this is the wrong project in the wrong place at the wrong time for our community.
SCCF remains strongly committed to opposing this zoning request and will do so at every future opportunity, which will include during permit applications to the South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
There is no stronger protection for our citizens, our property, and our wildlife than the mangroves and wetlands nature has provided.
Thank you for your continued partnership in opposing the destruction of our natural environment.
