FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Mary Gibbs, Lee County Community Development Department
              (239) 479-8345

LEE PERMITTING BACK ON RECORD PACE/ALREADY $700 MILLION AHEAD OF 2003

FORT MYERS, Fla. (December 8, 2004) - Lee County's Community Development Department issued 662 single-family home permits in the month of November - the second-highest monthly total ever and a 63 percent increase over November 2003.

The county, through November, had permitted $2.69 billion of construction - nearly $700 million more than all of 2003's $2 billion, which itself was a $500 million increase from 2002.

Lee County's Community Development Department released its November 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 662 single-family home permits issued in November is $130.8 million. The county also issued permits for 184 duplex units and 267 multi-family units.

Single-family permitting for the last 20 months is:

2003

April - 403
May - 445
June - 365
July - 400
Aug. - 571
Sept. - 423
Oct. - 474
Nov. - 406
Dec. - 419

2004

Jan. - 547
Feb. - 466
Mar. - 570
April - 632
May - 660
June - 666
July - 638
Aug. - 463
Sep. - 510
Oct. - 641
Nov. - 662

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 2005 operating budget of $23.4 million.

To learn more about the department and its services, visit http://www.lee-county.com/dcd/.