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Monday, April 17, 2006

Residents gear up again to fight mining

By Jessie L. Bonner, Bonita News (Contact) Original article here.

The life of a mining operation can span several decades. At age 54, Bill Lytell doesn't have that kind of time. But his grandchildren will.

They'll inherit the 15 acres the family owns east of Interstate 75. They'll be in constant view of the dusty piles of crushed rock. They'll drive on the south Lee County roads laden with dump trucks.

This is the future Lytell hopes to curtail for his family as he gears up for another fight in the ongoing battle between mining interests and the rural communities off East Corkscrew Road in a county that is home to the second largest stone reserve in Florida.

The group of South Lee County residents who fought to keep a proposed 640-acre mine off of Corkscrew Road four years ago will mobilize once again as plans for three separate mining operations on the roadway have been submitted for county approval.

"It looks to me like they're going to industrialize this whole Corkscrew area," said Lytell, who pastors the Gospel Baptist Church in Bonita Springs.

Lytell and his brother Jim, 63, bought property on Glades Farm Road several years ago. Their homes sit south of Corkscrew Road on land that falls within Lee County's Density Reduction/Groundwater Resource (DRGR) area, a designation created in the late 1980s as a way to prevent urban sprawl and protect groundwater aquifers.

Development within the 96,000 acres was capped at extremely low density, no more than one unit per every 10 acres. Farming and mining are among the few land uses permitted.

The brothers built their haven miles away from the traffic and noise they had found while living in other parts of Southwest Florida. Lytell tends his goats and wild pigs. His brother points out the mail boxes were installed in front of their homes last week and they no longer have to drive out to Six Ls Farm Road to pick up their mail.

"It's quiet. It's out in the country. It's nice out here," Jim Lytell said. "At night you can see the stars like crazy."

The Lytells knew they would live in the vicinity of mines, but most of the noise and dump truck traffic was kept farther south toward Alico Road, they said.

Mining operations have been part of the Lee County landscape since the 1950s, but it wasn't until the past several years ago that residents who live off East Corkscrew Road began to protest them as a threat to their serenity.

"I used to like to sit on my back porch in the mornings and have a cup of coffee," said Kevin Hill, 44, who has lived on Corkscrew Road for 18 years. "Now in the morning, as I sit out there I hear the drag lines and listen to the backup beepers as they load their trucks."

Residents took action four years ago when the Schwab Materials company submitted a proposal to mine limestone on a 640-acre tract south of Corkscrew Road. Residents spent $50,000 to hire a lawyer and various experts to testify that the operation could not co-exist with residences in the area.

Lee County commissioners later voted unanimously against the project.

The following year, residents protested a request from the Westwind Mine company to rezone 456 acres of a 600-acre parcel to allow more mining and heavier uses like concrete block-making plants. The company later withdrew its request.

"We've basically beat two of them back," Hill said. "Now we've got three of them waiting in the wings."

Hill now maintains a Web site to keep residents informed about developments that could have an impact on their Corkscrew Road neighborhood. The Lytells have sent out notices of the mining applications now before the county.

Proposals include a plan from Estero Group Limited to mine a 318-acre site to a depth of 95 feet. Youngquist Brothers Excavation in Fort Myers has a 25 percent share in a proposal to mine a 1,365-acre site to a depth of 20 feet and transport fill materials from the site.

The operation is allowable under Lee County codes and would be less intense than a full-blown rock mining outfit. If approved, the mine's life would span no longer than 10 years, said Richard Friday, chief financial officer for Youngquist Brothers.

"A rock mine is much more intensive and it's a much longer project," Friday said. "This is a fill pit. It will not involve any blasting at all on the property."

Residents say the project will produce still more dump truck traffic on Corkscrew Road. A traffic impact analysis submitted in the proposal estimates the operation would put 862 trucks on the road during a typical day.

"I can understand their fear. That truck traffic is fairly intense on Corkscrew and Alico Road because there's so many large mines out there," said Paul O'Connor, director of planning for Lee County.

While the mining operations create inconveniences for residents who live nearby, the reality is that they are critical to the Southwest Florida economy, O'Connor said.

"One of Lee County's main economic engines is construction," he said. "These mines are an integral part of that."

While commissioners have voted against mining operations in the past, they also face retribution from mine companies who could sue under the Bert Harris Act, a unique Florida law that allows property owners to collect damages if government action steals a property's value.

"If the county were to pass regulations to stop mining," O'Connor said, "they'd have a very large liability to property owners."

 

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