Pine Lakes community continue their fight against neighboring development

Reporter: Michelle Alvarez Writer: Matthew Seaver
Published: Updated:
Upset Pine Lakes resident. (Credit: WINK News)

Residents in the Pine Lakes Country Club oppose the development of hundreds of homes on an 82-acre site near their community.

Some are worried the new development would be a hazard to people who live in the existing community.

MORE: Pine Lakes residents pleading their case against connecting new community to theirs

The people of Pine Lakes say they bought their homes because of the amenities. Now, the owner of their community wants to have as many as 400 new people share those perks.

They would also share many roads, which people say will create a safety issue. People in Pine Lakes Country Club are mad and won’t give up the fight to protect their homes.

Pine Lakes Country Club residents disagree with the Lee County Commissioners’ decision to allow the development of hundreds of homes alongside their neighborhood.

“The bottom line is that we don’t want to combine the two properties, they can build up there, and put in all the amenities and things for the manufactured home park, nobody has a problem with that. What we have a problem, is using our roads because of the safety and welfare and everything with the community,” said Pine Lakes Country Club resident Ronald Thoreson.

Thoreson drove WINK News reporter Michelle Alvarez around in his golf cart and showed her the proposed access roads.

Development proposal for the new community with Pine Lakes connections highlighted in yellow.
(Credit: Google Maps)

The roads are still in contention regarding who owns them, which is another concern for residents.

“We showed evidence with our attorney that the estates meaning we own our land on the road, from Pine Lakes Boulevard to Eagle Trace, part of phase three, it’s on the plant drawing. We showed the evidence at the commissioner hearing. We brought up safety issues as well,” said Pine Lakes Country Club resident Matthew Heier.

The county gave the go-ahead on one condition; that the new neighborhood have its own access road to US-41. That will be the responsibility of the Department of Transportation.

WINK News reached out to Equity Lifestyle Properties, the people who own Pine Lakes, about their plans and neighbors’ complaints but have not heard back.

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