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"Annual Residents'
Letter" |
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"Annual Residents'
Letter" |
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Dear Oakes Estates Property Owner(s), We continue to maintain relationships with key county officials such as our County Commissioner Tom Henning, members of the Planning Commission, along with staff in the Planning, Transportation, and Parks Departments of Collier County.The consistent message we have heard since our inception is that growth and change are inevitable and that the “not in my back yard” viewpoint simply holds no weight. Every change that occurs is in someone’s back yard. Over the years we have adopted a strategy which we believe you will find practical:
Can you imagine how much time it takes to evaluate and respond to each proposed change in a responsible manner? Then to discuss and define a coordinated strategy on how best to deal with the change? Then to execute the strategy which generally involves many phone calls, many meetings, and several iterations of documented negotiations over a period of months or even years? It is daunting, and it is all done by a small group of volunteers on your Oakes Estates Advisory board. As you are undoubtedly busy in your daily life, it is easier to take these efforts for granted, but I would suggest you avoid this temptation because the stakes for your way of life and property values are simply too high. Therefore, we invite you to come and learn first hand about the issues we face, voice your opinions, and get involved if you get the sense, as we have, that our lives will be directly impacted by how we address changes coming our way. As a final note, last year we suspended collection of voluntary dues. We’d like to again begin collecting funds because we have several upcoming projects where cash reserves may be utilized. Your board must have sufficient funds available to possibility retain costly legal counsel or consulting as we work through contentious and complicated issues. We are forever mindful that these funds belong to our community and that we must be careful stewards of this asset. We only make any expenditure following board discussion and approval during an regularly scheduled meeting. Please fill out the attached form with current information, send in your contribution, and come to learn more at our annual meeting on Tuesday, March 4th at 7PM. Sincerely, Karl Fry, President, Oakes Estates Advisory Board Our Mission Our Mission remains to provide a unified voice to preserve the residential and tranquil nature of our neighborhood, by fighting traffic, noise, crime, speeding, commercialization, and the four-laning of Oakes Blvd. Our strategy remains to build quality relationships with key county officials, and to work as partners in balancing our interests with the inevitable changes that result from growth. Current Updates Standing Oakes PUD 54 acres zoned agricultural. Allen Concrete purchased the former Snake Farm and applied to re-zone this land into a 216-unit PUD. We were arguing for a reduction in density when 13 acres was then sold to the Florida Dept. of Transportation for water retention/equipment storage for the I-75 6-laning project. Remaining 41 acres are to become 164 units if zoning change is approved, accessible via Shady Oaks and Standing Oaks Lanes. We are told by county officials that this re-zone would be extremely difficult to defeat because it is a natural transition and only practical use of this land right beside the freeway. We have successfully negotiated for buffering enhancements and several hundred thousand dollars worth of traffic calming in return for our cooperation. (Come to the annual meeting to see pictures.) This does not preclude individual homeowners from fighting against this re-zone. It will come before the planning commission in February and the County Commission in March. (Get on the email list for scheduling updates.) Logan Blvd The new segment from Vanderbilt Beach to Immokalee Road opened on October 2nd. We have no traffic counts yet but virtually every car you see driving down Logan would have been on Oakes Blvd. We know residents at the east end of our streets are not excited. Many years ago the county wanted to build this road with financial assistance from GL Homes (Saturnia Lakes’ developer). We were told it was inevitable and could not be stopped so the OEA negotiated for 2-lanes initially instead of the 4-lanes planned, plus assurance that none of our streets would be connected. We also began negotiating for landscape buffering which lags road building substantially. This effort is on the list for 2008. Immokalee Road 6-Laning / Removal of light at Oakes Blvd. This project is a complicated issue which does provide negatives and positives to our neighborhood. 6-laning is due to be completed this spring from I-75 to Collier Blvd. Once completed, county officials have told us the light at Immokalee and Oakes will be removed in order to provide better spacing between traffic lights and thus, improved traffic flow. The median on Immokalee will extend through the Oakes intersection, leaving right-in/right-out only traffic movement. (Come to the annual meeting to see pictures.) A future “jog” is planned… a quick right turn at Autumn Oakes and immediate left turn up to the light at Valewood which will allow traffic turns in all directions. Much of the land needed by the county for this “jog” will be provided by the First Congregational Church in return for our support. We are working to expedite the loss of the light at Immokalee and opening of the jog from Valewood to Oakes. Completion of our Neighborhood Vision This is the first time we can actually say that achievement of our vision is within the realm of possibility, through seizing each upcoming inevitable change to add another piece to the jigsaw puzzle. Perhaps you might also see how this all fits together… Our neighborhood park is underway. SuperTarget and other stores provide close proximity to groceries and other services without leaving our neighborhood. Completion of Logan Blvd, future traffic calming from the Standing Oaks PUD, and removal of the light at Immokalee and Oakes will combine to make our neighborhood very unattractive as a cut-through. Traffic calming, by the way, involves a few medians on Oakes with plantings that will restrict vision from one end to the other, meaning that Oakes Blvd will no longer look like a 2-mile straight-away. Reduced traffic and lower speeds on Oakes will bolster our case to re-classify our street as a residential street with reduced speed limit to 35 MPH. Possible entry signs at each end of Oakes Blvd will hopefully announce our area as a family neighborhood. All in all, this paints a vision of a quiet residential neighborhood which should add value to our properties and quality of life to our daily routines. We request your dues and participation in 2008. We need your financial partnership in order to remain viable and capable of executing on the needs of our neighborhood such as:
This year our board voted that additional funds are vital to our ability to defend ourselves and to invest in neighborhood improvements. We need every individual who values the job we are doing to act on one or more of the following options. 1. BECOME A 2008 MEMBER. Fill out the form below and mail it back with a check or bring it to the Annual Meeting or general meeting with your check. 2. GET ON OUR EMAIL LIST OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL. Go to our website at www.oakesadvisory.com and submit the online form. As we can only send letters annually, the email list is the ONLY way to ensure up-to-the-minute updates and notices on Oakes Estates issues. 3. Attend our Annual Meeting and monthly Board meetings. Always the first Tuesday of each month at 7PM at North Naples Baptist Church (1811 Oakes Blvd Oakes
Estates Advisory – Membership and Email Update Form
Provide an email address if you are interested in urgent announcements and
the most
frequent updates on Oakes issues! Email Address: ___________________________________ Print in all caps Owners Name(s): ___________________________________ (Required) Property Address: ___________________________________ (Required!) Naples FL, 34119 Mailing Address: We mail to the mailing address on record with the Collier County tax collector for your property address. Check your info at www.collierappraiser.com
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