Estero-San Carlos Park: Resident says Broadway Village needs help

The 70-year-old resident of Broadway Village remembers a quiet neighborhood where she bought a parcel of land about 20 years ago. Yet since she and her husband moved into a mobile home on the property four years ago, she said the atmosphere has changed.

The neighborhood is noisy. Many residents leave trash outside and park multiple cars in the yards. These are the code problems Bliss cannot resolve.

"We can't have it," she said. "We can't even move. There's got to be something that can be done."

Dan VerVaecke, chairman of the community's Neighborhood Watch program, agreed Broadway Village is in need of help.

"We've got commercial vehicles parked here, tractor trailers," he said. "We've got people with four or five families living in one house."

During the summer, VerVaecke said, he submitted a list of possible code violations to the Lee County Code Enforcement office, but he hasn't seen any improvements.

Broadway Village is a small, horseshoe-shaped community just off Broadway in Estero. Luettich and Sherrill lanes are the only two streets that form the loop around the neighborhood of mainly manufactured homes.

Most yards are neatly mowed, but many are spotted with worn patio furniture, entangled bikes and even a boat elevated by cinder blocks.

The two streets and Groveline Court, also located off Broadway, are the most cited streets in Estero, according to a county code enforcement report.

Rick Roberts, chief code enforcement officer, said each time a resident calls with a complaint, code enforcement staff log the complaint into the computer system and an officer reports to the neighborhood.

If code enforcers find a violation, they leave a warning notice and require the resident to remedy the problem within 30 days.

Bliss called code enforcers twice on Monday to complain and said she saw them out in the neighborhood.

VerVaecke tries to call regularly as well.

"I mean, we call them every week," he said.

Yet slow progress has prompted VerVaecke to think of other ways to address the code problems, he said.

Recently Estero residents part of the community's voluntary Council of Community Leaders decided to form a code enforcement committee to work with the county to identify problems.

In the past, residents have talked about illegal signs and the possibility of some businesses evading the county's Land Development Code regulations.

VerVaecke said he wants to contact members of the committee once part-time residents return to the neighborhood.

Don Eslick, a member of Estero's Community Planning Panel, said he had not heard of any big code problems in the area off of Broadway.

"That doesn't mean it doesn't exist," he said. "The only thing I've really heard is a lot of signs on the major thoroughfares."

VerVaecke said residents are going to have to get involved to see change.

"If you see something, call. Don't hesitate," he said. "We all have to call. It can't be just one person calling all the time."

Contact Staff Writer Christina Holder at 213-6039 or clholder@naplesnews.com