Pace of Lee home permits remains slow
SPECIAL TO FLORIDA WEEKLY

During September, Lee County Community Development issued 76 permits for single-family homes to be built in unincorporated Lee County, Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach.

Residential permits were valued at $28.4 million. There were 63 permits issued in August and 458 issued in September 2006.

About one-third of the single-family home permits were for construction in Lehigh Acres.

There were 24 multi-family units permitted in September, compared to 150 in August and 222 in September 2006.

Permits were issued for 14 new commercial buildings valued at $7.1 million in September, compared to $19.4 million in August and $17.1 million in September 2006.

In the first three quarters of this year, Lee County issued 23,541 building permits of all kinds, valued at approximately $2 billion. At this time last year, the county had issued 35,486 building permits valued at approximately $3.2 billion.

Lee County Community Development oversees planning, zoning, development, and building services, environmental review, building inspection and code enforcement for the unincorporated areas of the county, and permitting services for Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach.

To learn more about the department and its services, visit http://www.lee-county. com/dcd