Take it off island

Landowners on Pine Island in Lee County may be sitting on some easy money.

The island, connected to Cape Coral by a two-lane road, may benefit from a new county program that allows landowners to sell development rights to builders off the island. “The idea is to reduce density on Pine Island,” says Michael Jacob, Lee County's managing assistant county attorney.

Landowners who sell development rights get to retain ownership of their property and maintain the rural character of Pine Island, Jacob told a gathering of the Real Estate Investment Society in Fort Myers recently.