ESTERO COMMUNITY PLANNING PANEL

Minutes of Public Meeting #133 – November 21, 2011

Estero Community Park, Estero, Florida

Panel Members Present:  Jack Lienesch, Chairman, Estero Community Association; Neal Noethlich, Emeritus Chairman; Greg Toth, Founding Member; Ned Dewhirst, Estero Development Community; Jeff Maas, Estero Chamber of Commerce; John Goodrich, ECCL; Erik Dickens, ECCL; Judy Beach, Recording Secretary, ECCL; and Treasurer, Bev MacNellis.  Absent: Paul Roberts, Southland Development.

Also present, Kathie Ebaugh, Division of Planning, Lee County Department of Community Development

Public Notice:  Beach reported that the meeting notice was posted at the South County Regional Library, Realty World of Estero, the BB&T and Fifth Third Banks and the ECPP website.

Approval of Minutes:   Maas: Motion to approve the minutes of the October 17, 2011 meeting minutes with the following addition/correction.  Lienesch: Motion to donate $50 to the Estero Historical Society in memory of Bill Brown.  Noethlich: Seconded.   Accepted unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report:  Treasurer MacNellis reported a balance of $2,057.67.  The increase of $100 this month was the fee paid by Goodwill Industries for their presentation to the Estero Design Review Committee. Goodrich: Motion to accept the report. Maas: Seconded.   Accepted unanimously.

INTRODUCTION:  Panel members familiar with Josh Evans offered input as to his welcomed addition to EDRC.   Toth: Motion to endorse Evans as new member of EDRC.  Dewhirst: Seconded.   Accepted unanimously.

PRESENTATIONS

Midtown Estero East: Ray Blacksmith and Joe Cameratta of Cameratta Companies, under contract to acquire Midtown Estero East, made a presentation of revised plans for the future development of this property.  The major change from prior approved zoning was a reduction in density by changing from multiple- to single-family units. The revision requires an Administrative Amendment to the County.  Dewhirst advised that the Brooks CDD is working with SFWMD to change the cross-sectional area of the drainage easement located along the east side of Three Oaks Parkway in order to increase drainage flows into the south branch of the Estero River. The Panel supports the Administrative Amendment to County.

Corkscrew Woods:  An informational discussion led by Joe Cameratta brought the Panel up to date on the status of Corkscrew Woods located just to the east of Bella Terra on Corkscrew Road. Although there is some infrastructure already in place, this project is in a very early stage of development. No action by the panel is necessary at this time.  The panel cautioned the presenters that the environmental issues of building 800 residential units in a DR/GR zoned area will require a lot of county review and discussion.  The panel is looking forward to seeing this project develop going forward.

ECPP

Update on LDC Signage Improvements.  Greg Toth and Bill Prysi continue to work on revising the LDC language in Chapter 33 regarding signage.  They will report at December’s meeting.

Plan Progress Update.  After much discussion, it was agreed that Noethlich and Lienesch will search various local avenues for a Planning Consultant for our project instead of advertising. Needs may determine if multiple Consultants/Specialists will be required.   A Project Manager to coordinate all the activities was discussed and agreed upon.

Consulting Assistance.  Several sources were identified that may be able to assist and allow the funds identified for this project to be spread further -- i.e., local firms, FGCU planning students under Margaret Banyon; USF, Tampa, planning students as well as in-kind time/talent donations.

OTHER ITEMS:

WCI Pelican Landing DRI rezone status: They are proposing several changes to their DRI, the primary one being extending the build out date to 2026.  The City of Bonita Springs is also involved, as most of the property (Pelican Landing) is within city limits.

Chase Bank Lighting.  Lights have been turned off, unclear as to next steps by Chase and code enforcement.

Storage Space for ECPP, EDRC and ECCL files:  Extra Storage is offering space. Suggestion was made to accept the largest space available because there is past, current and future documents for all three of these committees.

Announcements:

December 7, Dickens Piano Recital Fundraiser, 5:30pm to 8:00pm: Erik stated they are opening their home to award winning FGCU pianists’ performances. Refreshments will be served. FGCU music scholarships receive 100% of the donations. RSVP 293-273-2119

December 16, Holiday Lunch at the Park, Noon to 2 pm: Sponsored by Estero Historical Society, Donation $20, Lunch and live music by Brooks Brothers on the new deck of the Historical houses in Estero Community Park.   Reservations/tickets: Bev MacNellis, 498-0678.

ADJOURNMENT

Goodrich: Motion to adjourn meeting. Mass: Seconded. Accepted unanimously.

Panel was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.

NEXT REGULAR MEETING: 

Monday, December 19, 2011, 6 p.m., Estero Community Park.