Lowe's land deal meets resistance

By JEREMY COX, Staff Writer October 25, 2003

Lowe's officials might not be able to build their planned warehouse-style store on Bonita Beach Road unless they convince Lee County officials to swap a strip of land that bisects the proposed development.

Such trades have become increasingly common as the number of large parcels with no strings attached have dwindled in Bonita Springs, county officials say. The proposed deal appears relatively routine, they say.

But some feel the transaction would be anything but.

The 60-foot-wide property holds a swale that is used to drain stormwater off Bonita Beach Road into Oak Creek, an Imperial River tributary that skirts the north edge of the retailer's project. Lowe's officials propose eliminating the swale and piping the water directly into Oak Creek.

The current drainage system shouldn't be altered, environmentalists and some local elected leaders say.

"You're not allowed to degrade the water quality of an Outstanding Florida Waterway," said Cullum Hasty, a longtime Bonita Springs environmentalist, referring to Oak Creek. "I think we have to start paying more attention to these things."

Pipes don't filter harmful pollutants from stormwater as well as earthen swales, Councilman Ben Nelson said.

"You want the water to percolate to filter out the bad things that come off the road. You don't want pipes dumping into water. That's something we've always tried to avoid unless they try to run it through a detention area," said Nelson, whose district includes the proposed Lowe's location.

The home improvement giant wants to construct the store on 26 acres on the north side of Bonita Beach Road just east of Old 41. Right now, the area is a wooded lot. The store would be less than a mile from Lowe's biggest competitor: Home Depot, which has a store on Bonita Beach Road about a block west of Interstate 75.

Matt Uhle, the Fort Myers land-use attorney representing Lowe's, outlined the deal to county officials in a letter dated Oct. 3.

"The County's interests in these parcels present, to say the least, a significant impediment to the development of the parcels to the east and west of the property, which are otherwise extremely well-suited for a large-scale commercial project pursuant to the Bonita Springs Comprehensive Plan," the letter states.

Uhle didn't return calls seeking comment.

Lowe's is drawing up an application to rezone the property to allow the commercial planned development but can't submit the paperwork unless the company acquires the 60-foot-wide property and a 10-foot-wide easement along the western border, also owned by Lee County, according to Uhle's letter.

The county appears to have little reason to turn down the deal, said County Attorney John Fredyma.

"What they've asked to do is, would the county consider exchanging the location," he said. "It looks like something the county is willing to accommodate. What Matt Uhle proposes doesn't seem to be a detriment."

Before the County Commission can weigh in, the deal will be reviewed by the transportation and the natural resources departments, Fredyma said.

In return for the land, Uhle is offering the county a 30-foot-wide strip of land to be used as right of way for future highway improvements along Bonita Beach Road.

As for the loss of the 6,150 cubic feet of water storage the swale provides, Uhle proposes directing the water into pipes that will spill into Oak Creek. Excess water would be held in on-site detention areas, he told the county.

If built, the Lowe's would be the first in south Lee County. The North Carolina company counts stores in Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Naples among its 900 stores in 45 states nationwide.

(Contact Staff Writer Jeremy Cox at 213-6041 or jgcox@naplesnews.com