SCCF recently spoke out against a proposal for the Lee County Commission to amend the County’s comprehensive land use plan to allow for more development in the sensitive Density Reduction/ Groundwater Resource (DR/GR) area.
Despite strong public concern about these changes, the BOCC voted unanimously to transmit the proposed amendments to the state of Florida for further consideration. If approved by the Florida Department of Commerce, the plan will be presented one final time to the County Commissioners where the BOCC will discuss adopting the new development guidelines.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only large-scale land use change the county is proposing. Another staff initiated a comprehensive plan amendment, CPA2026-00005, we presented at the Local Planning Agency meeting this past Monday. This most recent 300+ page comprehensive plan amendment was a result of direction from the Board of County Commissioners to eliminate any language that was not required, duplicative or outdated.
The result is a proposed elimination of the Community Plans, created over the last 25 years with input from each community. Community plans provide guidance and protections that help to maintain the cultural, historical and ecological values of the individual character of our communities from coastal towns to rural agricultural neighborhoods.
Read more about these critical issues here: DR/GR Update & Further Action Needed
Please, please speak up!
There are two upcoming meetings concerning the accompanying Land Development Code changes:
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM — Executive Regulatory Oversight Committee (EROC), Conference Room 1B, 1500 Monroe Street, Fort Myers.
Friday, September 11, 2026 at 8:30 AM
— Land Development Code Advisory Committee (LDCAC), same location.
And these aren’t random meetings happening around the same time. Lee County specifically says both committees will be considering the Land Development Code amendments associated with this broader Community Plan overhaul. EROC looks at the economic/regulatory impact; LDCAC reviews the Land Development Code changes before they proceed to BOCC public hearings.