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Hearing examiner hears request to rezone two vacant lots on 4th Street to C2 commercial
Summary
At a Lee County hearing examiner session, staff recommended rezoning two vacant RS-1 parcels at 3306 and 3308 4th Street in Lehigh Acres to C2 commercial to align with adjacent uses and the LEAP plan; the examiner said she will issue a final approval-or-denial after the hearing.
Donna Marie Collins, the hearing examiner, presided over a Lee County zoning hearing on a conventional rezoning request for two vacant parcels behind a mechanic shop at 3305 Lee Boulevard and facing 4th Street. Attorney Mike Raider, representing applicant David Zangari, asked that the two RS-1 lots at 3306 and 3308 4th Street be rezoned to C2 commercial to match adjacent parcels and the mixed-use overlay, saying the Lehigh plan “not only encourage[s] this to be commercial, they almost require it because it’s in the mixed use overlay.”
Adam Mendez, principal planner in the county zoning section, told the hearing the site sits in the central urban future land use category, is served by existing water and sewer mains and a nearby Littran bus stop, and lies adjacent to an established corridor of C2 zoning and commercial uses including a Key Foods store. Mendez said staff examined the surrounding zoning fabric and found the C2 designation to be predominant, and that rezoning would avoid split zoning and allow the full suite of uses authorized in C2. “Staff did find that this was consistent with the LEAP plan,” he said, citing Goal 25 and mixed-use overlay policy 11.2 0.4 as supporting conventional rezoning.
An owner who spoke in support of the application described three decades of watching commercial development along Lee Boulevard, said he is planning to retire and would like the rear lots to be rezoned so the combined property would be marketable as approximately 1.25 acres of contiguous C2 land when sold. He said potential outcomes could include additional parking for the adjacent grocery or retail development and noted recent nearby commercial additions such as Aspen Dental and a new Chipotle.
No members of the public were present to contest the request. The hearing record includes staff exhibits and a PowerPoint presentation documenting utilities, sidewalks, and use comparisons showing that several uses allowed in C2 are not permitted by right in C1. The examiner said she had visited the site and had no further questions; she told participants she would prepare a written decision to approve or deny the conventional rezoning and hoped to issue it before the holiday.
The hearing produced no formal vote; the next step is the examiner’s written decision.
