LEE COUNTY, Fla. — East Lee County is one of the fastest growing areas in Southwest Florida.
Both Mike Greenwell and Amanda Cochran are longtime residents here, but they don't agree on how to manage the growth.
Fox 4's Lehigh and Buckingham Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades spoke with both candidates ahead of Thursday's town hall at the Lee County Mosquito Control, so voters can hear their perspectives.
Commissioner Greenwell, who's running for reelection, says development comes hand-in-hand with growth.
"Legally, we have no way to stop it, but what we can do is try to get ahead of it and that's what I'm doing," Greenwell said.
He lives on land in Alva and understands why people want to conserve and preserve, but he says it's not always an option.
Greenwell mentioned, the state will take close to 17 acres of his property when they expand State Road 31. He says he closely understands the community's desire to conserve land in the area.
"There's been a lot of thought to keep as much rural as we've been able to keep rural, but we cant buy every piece of land," he said. "We can't control every piece of land; landowners have rights."
That's a reason why Amanda Cochran wants his job. She believes property developers impact their neighbors too much.
As a Alva resident, she says, development hurts the community's rural way of life and public safety.
"Development has seem to outpace infrastructure and it's diminishing the quality of life for residents," Cochran said. "Slow the growth. Not stop it, but grow it in a responsible way that we maintain that rural atmosphere."
The two candidates do agree on one thing: honesty and transparency for the district's future.
But, two different futures for two different candidates.
At Thursday's town hall, Cochran mentioned a lawsuit she's involved in with Lee County regarding a property Commissioner Greenwell owns. She says the lawsuit is moving to oral arguments in the fall.
Voters will decide the path forward in the August 20 primary.
