There are still two other mine zoning applications in process. Keep your eye on the "Hearing Watch" box on the right side of this page for status updates. Join the mailing list to stay up to date via email.

Don't forget to vote today!

Click here to find your voting location.

The hearing examiner's office was contacted this morning and we have confirmed with them that there will be no hearing tomorrow. No future date has been requested or scheduled at this time.

Note: "Neighbors" & "Friends" mailing lists are fixed.

What to Expect in the Hearing Examiner Process - a helpful document based on a conversation between Chip Block, Senior Planner in Community Development and Peggy Apgar’Schmidt, a former resident of Corkscrew.

While Corkscrew and Estero residents are disappointed by the County's recommendation, it's important to remember that the hearing examiner must consider all testimony prior to making a recommendation to the BOCC. Residents will provide extensive testimony about adverse impacts of the proposed mining operation at the Public Hearing on November 8th & 9th.

You can download the Lee DCD Staff Report here. (large file warning - 1.4MB PDF)

A Pre-Hearing meeting for friends and neighbors opposed to the mines will be held at 7PM Monday, October 30th at the South Regional Library on Three Oaks Parkway.

Estero Group IPD Zoning - Lee County DCD posts signs announcing the upcoming public hearing scheduled for November 8th at 9:00 AM.

The Lee County Department of Community Development provides a very helpful guide that describes the hearing examiner process, and how the public participates in the proceedings. It includes the address of the hearing, layout of the hearing room, and rules about how cases such as ours are handled. Please take a few minutes to read the guide here.

Bonita land seizure contested - Ex-owner of farm says water district underpaid for 121.7 acres he wanted to mine. The former owner of a farm that was condemned by the South Florida Water Management District said the agency owes him more money for seizing the land where he wanted to conduct a mining project.
Article by Denes Husty III - Ft. Myers News-Press - Monday, October 2, 2006

I've sent a letter to the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) in support of the NWF/FWF requests. Please consider taking a few minutes to write a letter of your own. Even if it's just a few lines that say "I agree", the FWS needs to hear from us directly that we care about how they are protecting our area from loss of habitat critical to the panther and other wildlife.
 

Panther land stands in way of new mines - Florida Wildlife Federation claims companies will be in violation of the Endangered Species Act if plans go through.
Article by Julio Ochoa - BonitaNews.com - Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Southeast Lee County mining map updated - Updated map shows the three pending mine applications, adds Cypress Bay which intends to mine, and adds Schwab 640 which is suing Lee County under the Bert Harris Act. Also included on the map are the large landholdings of Corkscrew Plantation, and the northern portion of Six-L's Farms. Generalized boundaries of lands already permitted for mining along with excavations of these properties up to 2005 are shown.

• Click here for a high-quality PDF (394 KB)
• Click here for a lower quality JPG (125 KB)

The three proposed Corkscrew mines, if approved, would cumulatively eliminate 1800 acres of panther habitat, and increase industrial truck traffic on east Corkscrew Road by 400%.

Corkscrew residents and friends are invited to write the US Fish & Wildlife Service to add your own observations about mining compatibility and habitat conservation for panthers and other endangered species in the Corkscrew area. You can use the address provided in the letter. Click on the title above to read the letter and associated map (300KB PDF) .

Charlotte Deputies Crack Down on Speeding Truckers - Speeding truckers are putting local children at risk. Deputies with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office are launching a major crackdown aimed at keeping impatient truckers from slamming into school buses packed with children. Article and video from NBC-2.com.

Another new mine on Corkscrew? At the bottom of the sidebar in the above article is this quote from Gary Tasman, real estate advisor with VIP Commercial in Fort Myers who works with Six L's Farms:

"If anyone thinks it's going to be a massive, sprawling community, that's not what it's going to be. We're not really concerned (about the new commission) because it's going to be a fill-dirt operation that provides material for roads."

• Please help us get the word out to the community. Print a flyer for your neighbor who may not have email or web access.
• For some additional background, read the Lee County Staff Report for the 2001 Bayshore Community Comprehensive Plan Amendment.

Yet Another Truck Wreck on Corkscrew

Neighbor Mark Hansen heard the crash from his home and captured photos. The photos show diesel fuel, hydraulic fluid, coolant, engine oil, and concrete were spilled at the site. Lee County DOT has been contacted at least twice to clean up the accident site, however they have not responded to the requests to date.

• Story from Naplesnews.com
• Story from NBC-2.com
• Story from News-Press.com

Photo courtesy myfwc.com
(not actual panther from story)
 

DR/GR land should figure into county commission race - What to do about the so-called DR/GR may be one of the most important issues immediately facing Lee County commissioners. Article by Charlie Whitehead - naplesnews.com - Monday, May 8, 2006

Miners suing Lee for $18M - Schwab Materials Inc. says county’s anti-blasting ordinance cost them millions. Article by Jamie Henline - naplesnews.com - Tuesday, July 25, 2006

• Read more details in an open letter to Corkscrew Neighbors.
• Print a flyer for your neighbor who may not have email or web access.

Benzene probe creates a fissure - In a mystery chemical contamination, county agencies clashed over one possible suspect, an explosive containing benzene used in rock-mining operations.

What is Benzene?

Articles by Curtis Morgan - Miami-Herald - Posted on Sun, Aug. 06, 2006

Editor's note:
The article provides mostly accurate information, but fails the “fair & balanced” test from our perspective. The columnist acknowledges "potential" environmental impacts of mining as well as traffic and noise impacts to our friends in Estero, yet he clearly avoids any mention of impacts to those nearest the proposed mines - the rural residents of East Corkscrew Road. Our concerns are excluded from the story as if we don't exist, or there aren’t enough of us to matter in the grand scheme of things. Unfortunately, this is a common bias among some urban planners who consider rural residents guilty of “residential encroachment” upon "valuable rock resources".

Will Lee County government yield to pressure from mining interests and ignore objections from long established rural residents? Will they silence us by approving new large-scale long-term mining developments on Corkscrew Road? Will the industrial land-use study being commissioned by the Horizon Council identify our rural community as the next Alico mining corridor? Will mining & development interests influence Lee County Smart Growth to recommend expanded mining on Corkscrew Road? The answers will be determined by those who participate in the County's planning governance process. The miners and developers are already at the table. We need to do the same. The future of Corkscrew hangs in the balance.

Lee County land-use study goes industrial - A new study on land use could affect commercial and industrial development for years to come. Article by Frank D'alessandro - from The News-Press July 30, 2006

• Read the Lake Belt Mining Decision by Judge William Hoeveler in its entirety - all 90 pages of it! (700 KB PDF) Very interesting reading if you have the time. More condensed background information about the case is available here, and here, and here, and here, and lots more here.

Frantic growth drives water-supply crisis - Population boom comes amidst dry wells and dropping water tables. (Note: article is from last year.)
Article by Wendy Fullerton & Pamela Smith Hayford, The News-Press - March 27, 2005

• Where we get our water - Supporting graphic for above article by D. Hartman - The News-Press (900 KB PDF)

Final Frontier - Growth is coming to Florida’s heartland. Who gets to say where it goes and how? - In February, longtime Orlando lawyer J. Charles Gray, representing a consortium of rural landowners, sketched a suggested route for a new highway onto a road map and faxed it over to Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise, the agency that builds and runs the state’s toll roads.

Article by Cynthia Barnett, Florida Trend Magazine, July 2006

June 18, 2006

Protection sought against mining - Request to join west-based community panel gets sticky.
Article by Denise L. Scott - The News-Press

Article by Denise L. Scott - Fort Myers News-Press

Article by Jamie Henline, Bonita Daily News