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| Estero mine owners sue
county over blasting law By News-press.com Original article posted on July 24, 2006 Owners of an Estero limestone mine are suing the county for more than $18.3 million because of the anti-blasting ordinance approved in 2002. Attorneys for Schwab Materials say the 637-acre property the company owns on Corkscrew Road was rendered virtually useless when the county outlawed blasting. Schwab, then known as Schoenbrun Farms Corp., bought the property in 1999 for $4.9 million. It applied in February 2001 for a permit to mine for sand, but after studying county regulations about the practice, decided a sand mine was not economically viable. Instead, it applied in April that year for a permit to dig more than 100 feet into the ground and start mining more limestone. In March 2002, the state Fire Marshall issued a blasting permit for the property. But Lee County Commissioners voted in August 2005 to deny a zone change to allow the mining and, at the same time, adopted a new rule banning blasting limerock near low-density housing. Schwab filed a lawsuit in circuit court Friday afternoon against the county demanding $18,320,100, plus interest since the zoning denial. The suit said that amount is the same as the fair market loss of value on the property caused by the anti-blasting law.
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