Panel blocks broker's vision for remaining land

Renay Montague had hoped a small, nonretail commercial development west of U.S. 41 on Coconut Road would pass muster Monday night with the Estero Community Planning Panel.

It didn't.

Panel members said the 2.25-acre parcel west of Spring Creek Road and adjacent to El Dorado Acres would be better used if it were combined with another 8.5-acre neighboring parcel and developed as single-family homes or a larger, nonretail commercial development.

None of the panel members favored a small, low-impact commercial development, such as an office building, that Montague suggested would result from the rezoning she is seeking from the county. Montague is broker/owner of Remax Sundance Realty 2.

"My general disposition is not to see commercial there. It's surrounded by residential," said Don Eslick, an ECPP member.

Eslick added he has a conflict of interest because he is a resident of a neighboring community, The Colony at Pelican Landing.

If the land must be zoned commercial, the building would have to be very low with substantial buffering, he said. Having "a whole bunch of little, itsy bitsy" developments would not fit in well in the neighborhood, especially because that segment of Coconut Road cannot handle the increased traffic, he said.

Montague said the Lee County Department of Community Development advised her during a meeting that a nonretail commercial zoning would be the best use for the property.

The 2.25-acre parcel is owned by six members of the Johnson family. The Johnsons were early settlers of the area who owned much of the land on western Coconut, along with the Smith and Weeks families. The land is the inheritance of the Johnsons, Montague said.

The owner of the 8.5-acre parcel, Judy Doyle, was interested in combining the land several years ago, Montague said. Doyle has not yet responded to a recent inquiry about joining forces, but Montague said she will keep trying.

The 8.5-acre parcel is zoned for single-family residential use, she said. Under current zoning, the 2.25-acre Johnson land can only support 10 condominiums, she said.

"I have to figure out the highest and best use for my clients," she said.

Montague plans to submit the rezoning application to the county within the next few months, she said.

The ECPP also voted unanimously Monday night to accept Gerald Simons, an architect and resident of The Villages at Country Creek, as a new member to the Estero Design Review Committee, an arm of the ECPP.

The planning panel and the design review group provide public venues for presentations about developments planned for Estero. The ECPP tackles the projects pre-zoning and during the planning stages. The EDRC reviews plans to see if they meet landscaping, architectural and other standards.