Lee residents to vote on Bonita annexation

A swath of Lee County land on Bonita's eastern border is one step closer to becoming annexed into the city.

Tori Polonitza, a resident in the 600 acres of land proposed to be annexed, spurred the annexation proposal shortly after the city incorporated. Polonitza said she didn't realize she wasn't a Bonita resident until she went to vote in a city election, but was turned away from the polls for living outside city boundaries.

The land is zoned Density Reduction Groundwater Resource and Wetlands, and was recommended by staff for approval of annexation.

The Bonita Springs City Council agreed today to send the issue to voters in the unincorporated area. The special election will be arranged with Lee County Supervisor of Elections Sharon Harrington within the next few months.

Should the referendum fail, homeowners in the unincorporated area will have to wait two years before proposing annexation again, according to City Attorney Audrey Vance.

The council has to annex the land through referendum because some property owners had balked at the idea of annexation. The city doesn't annex patchwork properties, only a concurrent block of land. Polonitza said there are nine property owners in section 29.