FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Hurricane Ian task force, known as Resilient Lee, had its final workshop before moving forward with putting an official rebuilding plan together.
In the final workshop, leaders discussed housing and concerns the community has as we are nine months since the hurricane.
"Well I think the biggest concern for housing is A: we don’t have enough and B: it’s expensive," said Jennifer Hagan, a member of the planning and capacity branch for Resilient Lee.
The concerns come as the task force works to put together a plan for the $1.1 billion given to the county from the federal government.
"I think one of the things that we’re really noticing is the need to look at some of our solutions," Hagan said.
Gary Griffin, the housing branch director of Resilient Lee, says one of the biggest issues he has seen is not enough middle income help.
"Young professionals are falling in a hole and we need to help fill that hole," he said.
A hole that leaders feel could be filled with potential solutions heard at the final task force meeting.
"Changing some of the permitting rules. Not to lower quality, but to make it less expensive," Griffin said. "Finding ways to increase the density so you can build more housing units on a given piece of land."
But density, like building more apartments rather than homes, has been a contested issue.
Opponents say it'll create more traffic and more people. However, supporters say with more housing closer to employers, it'll ease pressure on our roads.
"Housing is where jobs go to sleep, so let’s figure out how far is that distance and how can we reduce that distant and strategically use our land," Hagan explained. "No solution is off the table."
The next step in this process is to come up with a draft plan, which will be presented to the public for feedback in September. Once a final draft is complete, the task force will bring it to Lee County commissioners on Dec. 5 where they will vote on the plan.
