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Forum Notes

April 28, 2010

South County Regional Library

Estero

 

Future Community Vision:

• Quality of Life
  • Preservation of open space, habitat
  • Establish, preserve, maintain unique characteristics
  • Clean water
    • Concern for receiving waters
      • Estero Bay
      • Rivers
      • Waterways
• Community Character
  • Economic Development
    • Cluster development to allow for economic feasibility
  • Cultural/Social Development and Resources
    • Suburban not urban
  • Environmental
    • Increased open space
  • Land/Community Development
    • Distinct boundary between rural and urban
    • Well planned master-planned communities
• Community Features
  • Features:
    • Multimodal transportation, provision to integrate into daily life
    • FGCU, health care, etc can be urban cores for new development
  • Connectivity between businesses and institutions
  • Economic engines:
    • Tourism
    • Education
      • FGCU
      • Edison
    • Agriculture
      • Algenol-type bio-fuel
    • Business
      • Health care
      • Aviation
• Lifestyles
  • Green space/open space mixed into urban areas
  • More emphasis on cultural activities
  • Improve sense of place/community
  • More countywide activities
  • Broad mix of housing types and neighborhood densities
  • Sustainable:
    • Economy
    • Ecology
    • Community
      • Social aspect
      • Civic infrastructure

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Land Use/Development:

• Development Pattern/Style
  • Who really wants to go urban?
  • Do not emphasize urban, allow variety
  • Infrastructure first
  • Mixed uses
  • There is a desire not to have to drive
  • Find balance of urban/open space
    • In zoning
    • In applied development
• Prominent features
  • Incorporate corridors into planning
• Design characteristics
  • Coordinate density around transit
  • Parking to support transit park-&-ride
• Development Practices
  • Acquire, consolidate, repackage platted lands
    • Use 20/20 money to acquire platted lands
    • Leverage state money
    • Get legislative support
  • Concentrate density around activity centers with transport hubs
  • Redevelop abandoned shopping centers and residential developments: rebuild as schools or government centers.  Partner with school board for school centers.
  • Buy foreclosed units
  • Utilize railroad for transit, community character
  • Promote wide range of housing types, options
  • Transfer of Development Right
• Urban form / rural character
  • Maintenance of rural areas, agriculture
  • TOD as #1 form of development
  • Mixed uses for all TODs along corridors
  • Rural preservation:
    • Create Urban development boundary and hold to that line
    • Water availability tied to new development

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Parks/Conservation:

• Parks and public spaces
  • How much acquisition is enough
  • Happy with park system
  • Great job on regional and community parks, continue those standards
  • Neighborhood parks in urban areas
  • Find a good place for ATVs
  • Re-evaluate types of parks: Neighborhood, community, regional
    • What is missing in current park amenities
    • Where will we spend impact fees
  • Build on recent work
    • For DRGR, apply it more broadly/widely
    • Plan for greenways-implement/expand greenways master plan
• Conservation areas
  • Weeks Fish Camp – develop a plan
  • Restoration activities in Lehigh
  • Avoid level of services that can not be maintained
  • Conservation must be ecologically viable
  • Habitat protection
  • Need public access to 20/20
  • Don’t unnecessarily diminish taxable land base
  • Greater O.S. requirements
  • “Take advantage of what you buy.”
  • 20/20 great program however:
    • Maintenance is expensive
    • Clean up invasives
    • Keep cost down:
      • Grazing
      • Use conservation easements
      • Contract with agriculture folks, neighboring agencies and property owners
• Open space areas
• Access and location
  • Connectivity
  • Corridors