Rezoning and Land Use Planning in Lee County

Lee County's Hearing Examiner system is the most important procedural fact about entitlements here, and it is routinely misunderstood by consultants from outside the region. The Hearing Examiner is an independent office, staffed by attorneys board-certified in city, county and local government law, deliberately separated from the County Attorney and County Manager. Hearings are quasi-judicial and court-like, ex parte communication is prohibited, and the record based on expert testimony is what decides the case. A presentation that would satisfy a citizen board will not satisfy this forum.

 

Where that matters most is the split in authority. The Hearing Examiner issues final decisions on conventional rezonings, special exceptions, and variances. On planned development rezonings — which is most significant development in this county — the Hearing Examiner only recommends, and the Board of County Commissioners holds a second hearing to decide. At that second hearing new evidence is prohibited and public comment is limited to those who spoke before the Hearing Examiner. Everything you will need in front of the Board has to be in the record before the first hearing closes. 

 

Lee County also requires community meetings in specific communities — Boca Grande, Captiva, Fort Myers Shores, Lehigh Acres, Matlacha, North Fort Myers, Page Park, Pine Island, Upper Captiva, and Olga — and in those places the neighborhood process is a code requirement, not a courtesy.