FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:            Wayne Daltry, Lee County Smart Growth
                         (941) 335-2840

FIRST OF SEVERAL DAY-LONG SMART GROWTH WORKSHOPS BEGINS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24: TRANSPORTATION UP FIRST

FORT MYERS, Fla. (January 13, 2003) – The first of several workshops to begin fashioning Smart Growth “Recommendations” will be Jan. 24 at Terry Park in Fort Myers.

The workshops are intended to brainstorm ideas and solutions in five main areas: transportation, community character, land use, water supply and environmental quality.  Recommendations from the sessions will be forwarded to the citizen-led Smart Growth Advisory Committee for further action.

The Jan. 24 workshop will deal with transportation issues.

It begins at 9 a.m. in the Extension Services meeting room at Terry Park, 3410 Palm Beach Boulevard in Fort Myers.  The daylong session will include general and breakout sessions.

Participants will include Smart Growth Advisory Committee Members and interested parties such as the Regional Planning Council, Metropolitan Planning Organization and Southwest Florida Transportation Initiative.

The Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council already has put a participant’s booklet together.  To register for the session and obtain a copy of the booklet, call the RPC at 656-7720.  Seating is limited.

 A transportation subcommittee of the Smart Growth Advisory Committee already has met several times and will give an update of its work to date.  With input from the workshop, it will finalize preliminary recommendations for review by the entire Smart Growth Advisory Committee.  From that, final recommendations will be forwarded to the Board of Lee County Commissioners.

 Smart Growth is looking for ways to achieve a balance between the economy, the environment and community character.  The county created its Smart Growth Department in 2002 and a County Commission-appointed Advisory Committee was established to help fashion recommendations by 2004.  The committee has been meeting since April.

 To learn more about the county’s Smart Growth effort, visit www.smartgrowthlee.com.