Lee County hearing examiner leaves record open on Pavestone Fort Myers IPD rezoning after staff, applicant agree on conditions

Donna Marie Collins, the hearing examiner presiding over the Lee County zoning case DCI 2023‑000037, heard a request from Best Block/Pavestone to rezone and expand an existing concrete block plant and add a paver operation at 16790–1680 Gator Road.

Katherine Coyle, director of planning with Bogs Engineering, told the examiner the project would expand the site to about 14.95 acres and increase permitted industrial floor area from 47,986 square feet to a maximum of 95,250 square feet, with maximum building heights in the 35‑ to 75‑foot range depending on silos. The proposal includes a new paver (PA) plant, reconfigured driveways and parking (including additional ADA spaces), expanded stormwater ponds, and internal circulation to reduce driveway conflicts on Gator Road.

Coyle said the plan would plant 120 trees focused around enlarged ponds and provide 15.45% open space, an increase from an earlier submission though less than the 20% the code generally requires. "They're actually going to remediate that. They're going to clean that up," Coyle said, referring to soil contamination left by a former pool‑chemical use on the southern parcel.

Beth Workman, principal planner in Lee County's zoning section, presented the staff case and described the recommended conditions and deviations. Staff flagged several specific code deviations the applicant requested: reduced perimeter setbacks (one building at 24 feet with a condition to restore 25 feet if rebuilt), a five‑foot setback for two existing above‑ground tanks, zero‑foot setbacks for new raw‑material open bins along the southwest property line, a reduction in required general trees from 186 to 120, and a requested relief from the 60‑foot driveway separation requirement where the existing geometry measures about 35.28 feet. Workman said staff had revised some deviation callouts for clarity and would require the applicant to submit a corrected master concept plan that shows the exact deviation locations.

Staff also noted utilities and environmental conditions. Lee County Utilities asked the applicant at development order to demonstrate the project will not exceed 5,000 gallons per day of wastewater at buildout; if it does, the applicant must make sewer improvements and connect. Workman said the site lies in an industrial area and is about 0.3 miles from the nearest residential area; Lee County Department of Transportation found no level‑of‑service study was required because traffic generation falls below the 100‑trips‑per‑hour threshold.

Coyle and Workman discussed an advisory Port Authority letter dated March 5 that prompted a reminder about airport notifications. Coyle said the site is about 3.91 miles from the runway end and therefore outside the three‑mile restriction; she and staff agreed to add a crane/temporary‑structure notification condition to the development review. The application limits overall heights to 75 feet and would require separate notice and review for any temporary cranes or structures that could penetrate airport notification planes.

On silos and phase two work, staff and the applicant discussed a condition tying demolition of existing silos to future construction of open bins; staff proposed conditioning removal prior to issuance of a certificate of compliance for new raw‑material containers and open bins, or specifying that removal occur in phase two if that is clearer for administration.

Workman said staff recommends approval with the stated conditions and clarified revisions; the hearing examiner left the written record open for a revised master concept plan and revised list of conditions and deviations. "The record is open until March 20th for a revised master concept plan and revised list of conditions and deviations," Collins said. The examiner said she will revisit the site before finalizing her recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.

Next steps: the applicant and staff will file the corrected master concept plan and a cleaned‑up conditions list by the March 20 deadline; the hearing examiner will incorporate those materials before preparing a recommendation to the Board.