Lee planners recommend rezoning for industrial center

Lee County planners recommended approval for a developer’s proposal to rezone 290 acres on Alico Road and pave the way for a massive industrial center.

But first they heard from residents who live next to the property that sits east of U.S. 41 in San Carlos Park and could hold up to nearly 2 million square feet of industrial development.

Jan Narduzzi, 48, was one of several residents who opposed the project as it went before the Lee County hearing examiner on Thursday.

Narduzzi said she bought her home 21 years ago, before her south Lee County neighborhood grew into an industrialized corridor defined by mining operations.

“I used to breed horses,” said Narduzzi, an insurance claims collector. “I had to get rid of them.”

While the project that went before the county Thursday will be built on property that once held a mining operation, Narduzzi said she was still concerned with the noise and traffic it could produce.

“It’s in my backyard,” she said. “If this goes through, I’ll sell. It’s enough.”

Attorney Thomas Hart spoke on behalf of the Fiddlesticks Country Club in Fort Myers, which will sit within 1,000 feet north of the proposed industrial center.

Carrying out landscaping improvements on the 12-foot buffer that separates the two properties would be key to making the project compatible with the nearby residential community, Hart said.

Lee County Planner Chip Block said the project fell within an industrial area outlined in the county’s comprehensive plan.

Block recommended the project be approved and said developers had agreed to carry out improvements to Gator Road, a privately owned roadway that is one of two that will be used to access the project.

“Gator Road will be upgraded as part of this project,” Block said.

Hearing Examiner Richard Gescheidt said he would take the concerns voiced by residents into consideration before making his recommendations to the Lee County Commission.

Gescheidt said he was concerned with the county’s recommendation to require improvements be carried out on Gator Road, which is owned by nearby residents who may not want to pitch in to help maintain upgrades to the roadway.

“Let me wrestle with that,” Gescheidt said. “I may modify it slightly.”

Tim Russell, a finance director for a Gator Road manufacturing business, spoke in support of the project because of the road improvements that came with it, upgrades his business would not mind helping pay for, Russell said.

The condition of Gator Road has proven bad for business, said Russell, director of finance and business development for Stevens Industries International, Inc.

“It affects our ability to hire and retain employees,” Russell said.

The property includes several lakes left over from the mining operation, said Dave Depew of Morris & Depew, which has engineered, planned and surveyed the site.

“It’s going to be really hard to do any damage to the site,” Depew said. “It’s been scraped over pretty badly.”

The bodies of water, which are several feet deep, will be filled with cement and replaced by 11 industrial lots. Buildings within the project will not exceed a height of 45 feet, Depew said.

“This area has been designated for some years for industrial-type development,” Depew said.

Gescheidt said the county’s recommendation could also require that the industrial center be allowed to operate only during daylight hours in order to address concerns voiced by residents who live nearby and complained that industrial projects now on Alico Road can be heard throughout the night.