Lee commissioners OK wetlands plan, new shops on Corkscrew

Lee County Commissioners approved policy changes for development on wetlands and cleared the way for a shopping plaza on an environmentally sensitive area of the Corkscrew Road corridor in separate votes Wednesday.

A state permit is still required for wetlands to be impacted by development while the county has jurisdiction over what can be built and what the developer must do to offset the impact.

The new development rules for building on wetlands are seen by some as a way to protect them.

Amendments to the county land development code must now be drafted to implement the new policy.

The plan commissioners endorsed provides an incentive to developers to buy out the right to develop on wetland parcels which are then left in their natural state.

The development rights may then be bought or sold for cash, bartered or traded to be used on projects on urban land or sites near highway interchanges.