FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mary Gibbs, Lee County Community Development
(239) 479-8345
PERMITTING IN LEE SHOWS DECLINE, BUT STILL STRONG DESPITE HURRICANE
FORT MYERS, FL (September 8, 2004) - Lee County's Community Development Department issued 463 single-family home permits in the month of August - not another record but still strong despite Hurricane Charley and a five-day moratorium on new construction permits while the county recovered.
The 400 monthly permits mark was broken only for the first time in April 2003; 500 for the first time in August 2003; and 600 for the first time in April 2004. An all-time record of 666 home permits was issued in June, followed in July by an only slightly lower 638 permits.
Lee County's Community Development Department released its August statistics today. The totals are for unincorporated Lee County, City of Bonita Springs and Town of Fort Myers Beach. Both Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach contract with the county to do their permitting services.
The value of the 463 single-family home permits issued in August is $103.1 million. So far this year, the county has permitted $1.9 billion of construction. Permitting value in Lee County in all of 2003 was $2 billion and annual permits value in 2002 was $1.48 billion.
In August, the county also issued permits for 112 duplex units and 304 multi-family units.
Single-family permitting for the last 17 months is:
2003
2004
Lee County Community Development oversees planning, zoning, and development services such as permitting, development review, code enforcement and building inspections in the unincorporated areas of the county and for Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach. It employs 205 people and has a fiscal year 2004 operating budget of $21 million.
To learn more about the department and its services, visit http://www.lee-county.com/dcd/.