Buckingham residents battle density boost request from River Hall developer

A group of Buckingham residents again has mobilized to prevent a housing density boost near their rural neighborhoods east of Fort Myers. 

The residents plan to wear red shirts as a show of solidarity, they said. 

At 9:30 a.m. Feb. 7 at the Old Lee County Courthouse, Lee County commissioners will consider allowing Pinnacle Development Group to build 259 homes on 130 acres instead of the currently permitted total of 160, according to the county. 

The 130 acres are bordered by Orange Grove Boulevard to the north, Staley Road to the west and Homestead Lane to the south, all of which are two-lane roads. The land also connects to the headwaters of Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve. 

Barraco and Associates is an engineering firm working for Pinnacle. Pinnacle and Barraco could not be reached for further comment. 

Terri Lodge has lived in Buckingham since 1987 and works as a real estate agent. Even though more housing means more money for her and her business, she has been battling against this density increase for the past three years. 

“I’m a small-town girl,” Lodge said. “And living in Buckingham, that’s my lifestyle. I don’t like seeing that changed.” 

Buckingham Preserve formed as part of the Lee Comprehensive Land use plan in 1988, said longtime resident John Wilkes. It became official in 1991, county records show. 

Wilkes said he also had environmental concerns over the density boost. 

“We’ve only got so much fresh water in the ground,” Wilkes said. “What are we going to do when we run out of water? These wetlands out here, they’re saying they’re drying up.” 

Pinnacle, with help from Lennar Homes and Pulte Homes, developed River Hall near Riverdale. That development received zoning for 2,695 homes on 712 acres, averaging 3.7 homes per acre, county records show. 

Pinnacle purchased the 130 Buckingham acres for $1.23 million in 2014, property records show. 

The density boost would help the developer absorb costs of about $3,000 per home, or $4,749 per lot instead of $7,687 per lot. 

Nancy Hutto, a longtime Buckingham resident, also plans on speaking at the hearing. 

“People have no idea what’s going on here,” Hutto said. “They put their heads in the sand. And then all of a sudden, when you have a problem, they want you to solve it. 

“We’ve been doing this for almost three years. It’s been a hard fight. And we want to be sure and win on this. Because we don’t want this in a rural area. 

“We know there’s going to be development. But we don’t want cookie cutter homes here. Horse Creek is beautiful. River Grove is beautiful. We wouldn’t mind that at 1 acre.”