Lee Civic, Community Groups Join Forces to Fight Comp Plan Changes
Groups from Alva to Bayshore to Captiva Unite Under The Lee Communities Coalition Banner
Sept. 1, 2026 — Lee County community and civic groups have banded together in response to sweeping changes proposed for the Lee County Development Plan (Lee Plan) and the Lee County Land Development Code (LDC) that will be the subject of a public hearing before the Local Planning Agency on Monday (tomorrow), Aug. 31. The Lee Communities Coalition (TLCC) is requesting a continuance of the hearing in order to provide the public more time to review the proposed changes and provide input to county staff and elected officials about the changes.
The Lee Communities Coalition was created by civic and community groups working together to preserve meaningful citizen participation and community-specific planning in unincorporated Lee County. Members of the Coalition, which is being spearheaded by the Greater Pine Island Civic Association (GPICA), also include:
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Matlacha Civic Association
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Buckingham Community Association, Inc.
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President, Alva, Inc.
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Captiva Civic Association
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Captiva Community Panel
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Concerned Citizens of Bayshore Community, Inc.
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Greater Pine Island Water Association
The changes to the Lee Plan and the LDC propose to do away with Community Plans — the specific development guidelines for 17 Lee County communities. TLCC organizations have spent decades working to develop these Plans in order to preserve the character of their communities, beginning with the Pine Island Plan that was initiated in 1978 and followed by the plans of 16 other Lee County communities.
Collectively, these Community Plans are the result of a historic investment in Lee County’s diverse communities, and represent thousands of county staff and community volunteer hours, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars of private funding and taxpayer dollars.
TLCC believes that it is unacceptable that long-established policies and development planning philosophies that were once embraced by Lee County leaders are today being proposed for wholesale deletion — especially without specific notice to or consultation with the communities themselves. This major change in community planning philosophy requires — in fact, demands — a careful and measured review by the residents that Lee County serves.
Lee County’s communities may be different, but our local voices deserve to remain involved in all of the decisions that shape them.
of civic and community organizations working together.
Members of The Lee Communities Coalition spoke against changes to the Lee Plan and LDC during the Aug. 31 meeting of Lee County’s Local Planning Agency.
