See Smart Growth Brochure.

Why does Lee County have a smart growth initiative. Well, let's look at the numbers.

Lee County is 1212 square miles, of which 804 is of land, and the remainder being the County’s broad system of coastal and inland waters. Lee County has been this size since its boundaries were last changed in 1922. By 1950, the County population had risen to 23,401, and the combined total of the four counties surrounding Lee (Charlotte to the north, Collier to the South, and Glades to the Northeast and Hendry to the East) was about the same.

Growth continued rapidly. By 1970 the population was 105,216, but land use decisions had been made that would increase County population to 1.5 million. This is demonstrated by the growth that continued-205,266 in 1980, and 440,888 in 2000. Surrounding County population kept pace, so that today, Lee County is the center of a 5 county region with a population of approximately 1 million people.

And it will not stop. Population estimates for 2020 are for the County to have approximately 650,000 persons. Stated a different way, the increase in population of the last 20 years is forecasted to continue for the next 20.

Yet most of this growth that has occurred and is forecasted to occur is based upon land use decisions that were made when the County was a rural community, with one city, Fort Myers.

Lee County now has five incorporated areas now- the Cities of Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Sanibel, and Bonita Springs, and the Town of Fort Myers Beach. The last four have been created since 1970 from unincorporated growth centers. Yet over half of the County population is still in the unincorporated County. And this population lives in dozens and scores of neighborhoods or districts that have their own sense of identity.

Much of the forecasted growth will be "add ons" to these existing population centers. Yet in almost every case, these centers have been developed by "catch as catch can" decision making. The result has been "dowdy growth." And the concern is that if these areas don’t receive attention, they will become urban problem areas, and new development following new development principles will go elsewhere or try to wall themselves off from the existing communities.

And why is it important that we do not continue going on the way we were?

In 1950, the population of the county was 29 per square mile.

By 1980 the population was 255 per square mile.

Today, it exceeds 560 per square mile.

At approved development levels, it will exceed 1600 per square mile.

Making change will never be easier than it is today, because change is easier while we have room!

The attached Power Point walks a viewer through some of the issues and tools regarding Smart Growth. Originally developed for transportation presentations, it is named "Smart Growth Initiative."