FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Karen Forsyth or Lynda
Riley, Lee County Lands Division
(941) 479-8505
COUNTY NEGOTIATING FOR 182 MORE ACRES OF CONSERVATION 2020 LAND
FORT MYERS, Fla. (January 8, 2002) – The Board of Lee County Commissioners today unanimously agreed to begin negotiating for 182 more acres of Conservation 2020 land – a purchase that would bring the total bought through the voter-approved program to 7,661 acres.
In 2001, the county bought more land through the program (4,630 acres) than in any previous year, and to date has spent $45.6 million to preserve environmentally sensitive lands for future generations (see year-by-year totals below).
The 182 acres is two parcels – a 171-acre tract in Alva and an 11-acre tract on Sanibel. The Alva parcel is located east of Joel Boulevard and south of Tuckahoe Road, at an asking price of $700,000. The Sanibel parcel is next to Bowman’s Beach and is surrounded by land owned by the county, City of Sanibel and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The asking price is $315,000. Sanibel has agreed to contribute $50,000 to the purchase.
Lee County voters approved Conservation 2020 in November 1996 through a referendum that increased property taxes for seven years by 50 cents for every $1,000 of taxable property value. The increase raises about $12 million a year to buy environmentally sensitive lands. In addition, 10 percent of the funds collected are set aside for land stewardship activities such as exotic pest plant control and provision of passive recreation facilities.
Last year, 4,630 acres at a cost of $23.5 million was purchased and set aside for long-term preservation. Totals purchased in other years are: 2000 (2,075 acres at $15 million), 1999 (696 acres at $6.3 million), 1998 (40 acres at $157,000), and 1997 (39 acres at $600,000).
The Conservation 2020 Program is a willing seller program, which means that only properties that are nominated by landowners are considered for acquisition. The county does not pursue acquiring properties by its legal power of Eminent Domain.
The Board of Lee County Commissioners appointed a 15-member citizen advisory committee – the Lee County Conservation Land Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee (CLASAC) – to recommend appropriate properties to be pursued for purchase. The committee has been meeting nearly monthly since February 1997.
A listing and map of the lands acquired to date and under review and negotiation can be viewed at the county’s web site at www.lee-county.com/countylands/Cons2020/cons2020.htm.