LEHIGH ACRES — Heavy machinery and a quiet golf course community don’t mix.
Neighbors in Lehigh Acres have filed a complaint against the owner of a property in their area that they say has been turned into a construction site.
The property borders the Majestic Golf Course. It’s surrounded by hundreds of homes in a quiet community, but Mitch Long tells us his peace and quiet is being disrupted on a nightly basis by large work vehicles just beyond the golf course's fence.
Long said the problems started about a year ago when the property was sold.
“We have dust floating across the golf course. We have noise all hours of the night. We have unsightly piles of dirt, and construction equipment going in and out," said Long.
Long said all of that is happening right next to a golf course where people play every day. We checked on Zillow and found pictures of what the property used to look like when Long first moved into the area.
He said the transformation into what he calls a work site isn’t legal.
“It’s not zoned commercial, and he’s treating it as it is," aid Long.
We checked with Lee County, and it said the owner of the property is being cited for a code violation for parking heavy vehicles on the property. Long said he has started a petition to collect names of people affected by the noise.
“Just a clip board with names on it that are signing it for that complaint," said Long.
We went over to the property, but the owner wasn’t there. However, we spoke with a woman who said the work vehicles are just stored on the property, and no actual construction is being done there, but she also said they’re trying to get the zoning changed, and that’s Long’s biggest fear.
“If he were to get it rezoned and he were to operate legally, what noise is he going to make then?” said Long.
A hearing is set for April 5th. Long said he plans to be there, along with several of his neighbors who want to have their voices heard.
