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Emergency & Disaster
EMERGENCY & DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Office: Lee County Emergency Management – (239) 533-0622 | leegov.com/publicworks/em
Alert System: Lee County Alert; Florida FDEM; CodeRED; NOAA Weather Radio
Shelter Info: Multiple shelter locations; Lee County Civic Center; leegov.com for current info; Red Cross Southwest Florida
FEMA Region: Region 4
Notes: Southwest Florida Gulf Coast county; Fort Myers is county seat; EXTREME hurricane risk – Hurricane Ian (September 28, 2022 – Category 4 at landfall directly on the Lee County coast near Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island; the most destructive hurricane in Florida history for a single county; Lee County bore the brunt of Ian’s catastrophic storm surge (12-15+ feet in Fort Myers Beach; 10-12 feet in Cape Coral and Fort Myers); over 130 deaths in Lee County alone; Fort Myers Beach was essentially destroyed; the Matlacha fishing village was devastated; the Sanibel Causeway was destroyed and the island was cut off; approximately $100 billion in damage across the region); prior significant hurricanes: Donna 1960, Charley 2004, Irma 2017; coastal flooding; the Caloosahatchee River estuary; Pine Island Sound; Charlotte Harbor; the county is one of the fastest-growing in the US
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
County Roads: Lee County DOT – (239) 533-8100
Transit: LeeTran – (239) 533-8726 | rideleetran.com (bus service; significantly disrupted by Ian and being rebuilt/reorganized); primarily auto-dependent
Airport: Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW – American, Delta, Southwest, United, JetBlue, Spirit service; one of the busiest airports in Florida; severely damaged by Ian and rebuilt; opens on a new location after storm)
Notes: I-75 (north-south – the primary Southwest Florida interstate; exits for Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs); US-41 (the Tamiami Trail – coastal route); Cape Coral Parkway and other bridges crossing the Caloosahatchee River (several bridges connect Fort Myers to Cape Coral; the Midpoint Memorial Bridge and Cape Coral Bridge are primary crossings); SR-82 (east toward Immokalee); the Sanibel Causeway (SR-867 – the only road access to Sanibel and Captiva Islands; destroyed by Ian; rebuilt and reopened); Fort Myers Beach is on Estero Island accessed via San Carlos Boulevard (the primary bridge was severely damaged by Ian; rebuilt); the county’s extensive barrier island geography creates bridge-dependent transportation
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Lee County Division of Community Development – (239) 533-8329 | leegov.com
Services: County permits; Fort Myers (separate – active), Cape Coral (separate – one of the largest planned canal cities in the world; extremely active residential development), Sanibel (separate – carefully regulated), Captiva, Fort Myers Beach (separate – massive post-Ian rebuilding), Estero, Bonita Springs, Lehigh Acres (unincorporated, large), Pine Island, Matlacha, North Fort Myers (unincorporated) separate
Notes: Lee County is experiencing one of the most dramatic post-hurricane rebuilding efforts in US history; Fort Myers Beach is largely being rebuilt from scratch; Cape Coral (one of the largest canal cities in the world by area – 400 miles of canals – is an enormous, still-growing community); Lehigh Acres (a vast unincorporated suburb) is among the fastest-growing communities in Florida; the post-Ian rebuilding permits and the ongoing growth make Lee County among the nation’s most active building counties
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Lee County Veterans Services – (239) 533-5570 | leegov.com/veterans
VA Medical: Bay Pines VA Healthcare System (St. Petersburg – about 140 miles north; (727) 398-6661); Cape Coral VA CBOC – (239) 652-5190 (critical local outpatient access for the large veteran population); Fort Myers VA CBOC
Services: Full range outpatient via CBOCs; Bay Pines for hospital; large veteran retiree community
Notes: Lee County has one of Florida’s largest veteran populations – Cape Coral and Fort Myers attract enormous numbers of military retirees; Cape Coral and Fort Myers CBOCs provide important local access; post-Ian veteran recovery services were significant (many veteran homeowners were severely affected); Bay Pines VAMC is the hospital of record
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Lee County Library System – (239) 533-4700 | leegov.com/library; 14 branches; one of Florida’s finer county library systems
Branches: Bonita Springs, Cape Coral (multiple branches – reflecting Cape Coral’s size), Estero, Fort Myers (multiple branches including main), Lehigh Acres, North Fort Myers, Sanibel (the Sanibel Public Library – operated by the Sanibel Public Library Foundation – a separate excellent institution beloved by island residents), Matlacha, Pine Island
Services: Books, e-books, public computers, Wi-Fi, genealogy (excellent Southwest Florida history), maker spaces, children’s programs; Edison and Ford heritage collections; Charlotte Harbor maritime heritage; island community heritage
Notes: Lee County Library System is excellent; the Sanibel Public Library (operated independently) is beloved – Sanibel’s literary culture is reflected in a library of unusually high quality; Edison’s Fort Myers winter home is documented in excellent historical collections; post-Ian library recovery (some branches were damaged and required rebuilding); Cape Coral’s multiple branches serve the enormous planned city
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
State Parks: Cayo Costa State Park (Cayo Costa Island – accessible only by boat; one of Florida’s most pristine Gulf barrier islands; 9 miles of undeveloped beach; primitive camping; exceptional shelling; loggerhead sea turtle nesting; the island’s character is similar to Sanibel/Captiva 50+ years ago; one of the finest barrier island experiences in Florida); Fakahatchee Strand adjacent (Collier County – accessible); Koreshan State Park (Estero – a fascinating historical oddity: the site of the Koreshan Unity cult community (1894-1940s) – the Koreshans believed the Earth was hollow and that we lived on the inside of a hollow sphere; they built an elaborate community here that still has original buildings preserved; one of Florida’s most unusual historical sites)
Federal: J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Sanibel Island – one of the finest wildlife refuges in the eastern US; the largest undeveloped mangrove ecosystem in the US; outstanding wildlife drive (Wildlife Drive – a one-way road through mangroves that allows extraordinary close encounters with roseate spoonbills, great blue herons, snowy egrets, American alligators, sea turtles (anhingas, cormorants, and dozens of other species); the refuge is named for Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling – a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist and Franklin Roosevelt’s first director of the US Biological Survey (predecessor to US Fish and Wildlife Service) who essentially created the Federal Duck Stamp program that has conserved millions of acres of wetland habitat)
Regional: Sanibel and Captiva Islands (two of the world’s finest shelling beaches; Sanibel’s east-west orientation traps shells exceptionally well; the “Sanibel Stoop” is the name for the hunched posture of shell-seekers on the beach; lightning whelk, horse conch, junonia (very rare and exciting to find), tulip shell, and hundreds of species wash up; Sanibel has been a beloved island getaway since the early 20th century; severely damaged by Ian but recovering); Fort Myers Beach (the pre-Ian “funky beach town” is being rebuilt as a more upscale destination – a transformation that some original residents lament); Cape Coral (the world’s largest canal city outside the Netherlands – 400 miles of canals; dolphin, manatee, and sea turtle sightings from canal-front properties are routine; Cape Coral’s extensive boating culture); Thomas Edison and Henry Ford Winter Estates (Fort Myers – the adjacent winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford (and Harvey Firestone) on the Caloosahatchee River; one of Florida’s most significant historic sites; Edison’s laboratory where he developed synthetic rubber from goldenrod (for tires) during WWI is preserved; Ford’s home “The Mangoes”; the estates are a National Historic Landmark; the banyan trees planted by Edison are some of the largest in the US)
Notes: Lee County has an extraordinary combination of natural and historical assets; Sanibel Island’s shelling reputation (the world’s finest easily accessible shelling beaches outside Australia) is genuine – the island’s shape causes shells to wash up in unusual concentration and diversity; the “Sanibel Stoop” is a real phenomenon; Ding Darling NWR’s Wildlife Drive is one of the most accessible and extraordinary wildlife experiences in Florida – the Wildlife Drive’s roseate spoonbills (neon pink wading birds) and close alligator encounters make it family-friendly and extraordinary; Edison’s Fort Myers laboratory (preserved exactly as it was when he died in 1931) is genuinely fascinating – Edison worked on synthetic rubber from goldenrod here in his final years; Ian’s destruction of Fort Myers Beach (the storm essentially flattened the island community) is one of the most dramatic single-event community losses in modern Florida history
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Lee County GIS – leegov.com/gis (active; one of Florida’s better county GIS systems); Ian storm surge and damage mapping (one of the most extensively documented storm impacts in Florida); Caloosahatchee River algal bloom monitoring; Cape Coral canal system maps; Sanibel Causeway damage and repair tracking; Charlotte Harbor watershed maps
Notes: Ian storm damage mapping was critical – the county invested in comprehensive drone and satellite damage assessment; the damage maps informed insurance claims, rebuilding permits, and federal disaster assistance; Cape Coral’s 400-mile canal system requires extensive GIS management; the Caloosahatchee River water quality monitoring maps (tracking algal bloom movement and toxicity) are essential for public health
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Shelter: Lee County Domestic Animal Services – (239) 533-7387 | leegov.com/das; Lee County Humane Society; Suncoast Humane Society (Bonita Springs)
Services: Stray intake (large volume – post-Ian was enormous as thousands of pets were displaced); adoptions, owner surrenders, spay/neuter; wildlife management (manatees in the Caloosahatchee River and canal system; sea turtles on Gulf beaches; alligators; gopher tortoises; Florida scrub jays; bald eagles; roseate spoonbills at Ding Darling)
Notes: Hurricane Ian created catastrophic animal services challenges – thousands of pets were displaced, injured, or orphaned; rescue organizations coordinated the largest pet rescue in Southwest Florida history; domestic animal services and rescue organizations worked around the clock; manatee management in the Caloosahatchee River (boat speed zones; cold weather congregation sites; Ian’s storm surge devastated manatee habitat in the estuary); sea turtle nesting on Lee County beaches (loggerhead and green turtle nesting at Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel); the Caloosahatchee’s toxic algal blooms have killed manatees and other wildlife
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Solid Waste: Lee County Solid Waste – (239) 533-8000; post-Ian debris removal was the largest in Florida history (estimated 25 million cubic yards of debris)
Recycling: Active programs; post-Ian rebuilding incorporates improved environmental standards
Environmental: Florida DEP; South Florida Water Management District; Caloosahatchee River (SFWMD manages the C-43 canal and water control structures); Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program (adjacent); USFWS (Ding Darling NWR); Army Corps of Engineers (Caloosahatchee locks and dams; beach renourishment)
Key Issues: Caloosahatchee River toxic algal blooms (Lake Okeechobee discharges of nutrient-rich water during high lake periods travel down the Caloosahatchee through Lee County to the Gulf; the blooms (primarily Microcystis cyanobacteria) produce microcystin toxins that kill fish, contaminate shellfish, create health advisories for swimming and boating, and devastate estuary ecosystems; the 2018 and 2023 blooms were particularly severe; the solution is Everglades Restoration – storing water south of the lake rather than releasing it to the coasts); Hurricane Ian’s environmental legacy (the storm surge deposited enormous amounts of contaminated debris in mangroves; the surge killed mangrove forests and seagrass beds; freshwater flooding from rainfall altered salinity; the recovery of the Charlotte Harbor and Caloosahatchee estuaries from Ian will take years; some marine habitat may be permanently altered); sea level rise (Lee County’s low-lying barrier islands and coastal areas are among the most vulnerable in Florida; Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach are essentially at sea level; the post-Ian rebuilding debate includes significant questions about whether rebuilding to pre-Ian standards is wise given sea level rise trajectories; some portions of Fort Myers Beach may be geographically unsustainable as sea level rises; these are among the most contentious policy debates in post-Ian Lee County)
Notes: Hurricane Ian’s impact on Lee County (130+ deaths; estimated $100+ billion in damage; Fort Myers Beach essentially destroyed; Sanibel cut off for weeks; the Caloosahatchee estuary devastated) represents the most destructive hurricane impact on a single US county in modern history; the rebuilding effort (permit activity through the roof; federal disaster assistance; FEMA individual assistance; flood insurance claims) is the largest in Southwest Florida’s history; the fundamental question of where and how to rebuild in the face of sea level rise and increasing hurricane intensity is being debated with unusual urgency in Lee County; Sanibel Island’s careful rebuilding (the island has historically had strict environmental standards and height limits) may serve as a model for resilient coastal rebuilding; the Caloosahatchee’s toxic algal bloom crisis has made Lee County a center of the water quality debate in South Florida; the state and federal government’s commitment to Everglades restoration projects that would reduce harmful lake discharges is critical for the Caloosahatchee’s long-term health
About Lee County
Lee County is one of Florida’s fastest-growing counties – adding nearly 115,000 residents between 2020 and 2025, a 15.1% increase driven by migration from higher-cost states, retirees seeking Florida’s warm climate and no income tax, and the ongoing development of Cape Coral (the largest city in the county by area, one of the fastest-growing cities in the country). Fort Myers is the county seat and the commercial hub of Southwest Florida. Sanibel and Captiva islands, along with Estero, Bonita Springs, and Marco Island’s northern fringe, define the county’s coastal character.
Hurricane Ian struck Lee County on September 28, 2022, as a Category 4 storm – one of the most destructive landfalls in Florida history, causing catastrophic damage particularly in Fort Myers Beach, Pine Island, and Sanibel. The county’s recovery and rebuild has driven both economic activity and significant property value reassessment discussions. Properties damaged or destroyed by Ian may have qualified for temporary assessment reductions – a process administered through the Lee County Property Appraiser’s office.
Lee County is governed by a five-member Board of County Commissioners, with elected offices including the Property Appraiser, Tax Collector, Clerk of Courts, Sheriff, Supervisor of Elections, and Supervisor of Courts.
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Property Tax
Florida property tax is administered by the elected Lee County Property Appraiser at 2480 Thompson Street, 4th Floor, Fort Myers (239-533-6100). Assessment is at 100% of just value (market value) as of January 1 each year. Florida’s Save Our Homes (SOH) cap limits annual increases in assessed value for homesteaded properties to 3% or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower – a critical protection for long-term homestead owners that can create large gaps between assessed value and market value over time. When a homesteaded property sells, the SOH cap resets to full market value.
The TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice is mailed in August each year, showing the proposed assessment and estimated tax bill. This notice triggers the appeal window.
VAB petition deadline: The last day to file a petition with the Lee County Value Adjustment Board (VAB) is September 12 annually (confirm each year – deadline is set by statute as 25 days after TRIM mailing). Petitions may be filed online through the Lee County Clerk of Court’s website, in person at 2201 Second Street, 3rd Floor, Fort Myers, or by mail. Filing fee is $15 per petition for a single parcel. The VAB hears evidence through a Special Magistrate process. Florida law requires that if you file a VAB petition, you must pay the non-ad valorem taxes and the portion of ad valorem taxes you do not dispute before the delinquency date (April 1) to avoid dismissal.
Florida’s Homestead Exemption removes $25,000 from assessed value for all taxing purposes and an additional $25,000 for non-school taxing purposes on primary residences (total up to $50,000 in most cases). Apply by March 1. The Senior Exemption (additional $50,000 for qualifying homestead owners 65+ with income below the threshold) is available in Lee County – apply through the Property Appraiser’s office.
OWNWELL CTA: Lee County’s effective rate of 1.10% applies to one of Florida’s fastest-growing coastal markets. Hurricane Ian recovery may have affected your assessment. VAB petition deadline is September 12. Ownwell manages the full appeal process with no upfront cost.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
- Lee County Clerk of the Circuit Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above); holds marriage, divorce, probate, and land records.
- Lee County Recorder of Deeds, 2115 Second Street, Fort Myers, FL – recording services for official records, passport applications, marriage licenses, and property records.
- Fort Myers Regional Library, 2450 First Street, Fort Myers, FL 33901, (239) 533-4600 – houses the largest genealogy collection in Southwest Florida, with materials from all 50 states and 55 foreign countries; a designated Family History Library Affiliate.
Local societies
- Lee County Genealogical Society, Inc., P.O. Box 60732, Fort Myers, FL 33906, [email protected].
- Southwest Florida Historical Society, 10091-A McGregor Blvd., P.O. Box 1381, Fort Myers, FL 33902-1381, (239) 939-4044.
- Cape Coral Historical Society, 4707 SE Fifth Avenue, Cape Coral, FL 33904.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Lee County Clerk of the Circuit Court, Probate Division
Lee County Courthouse, 2075 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Fort Myers, FL 33901
(239) 533-5000
Lee County sits in Florida’s 20th Judicial Circuit.
IMPORTANT – a major statewide law change just took effect: Florida’s summary administration threshold DOUBLED from $75,000 to $150,000 effective July 1, 2026, under CS/HB 1337 (Chapter 2026-57, Laws of Florida). Confirm which threshold applies based on date of death when helping someone (see
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Health & Human Services
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Florida DOH in Lee County – (239) 332-9501 | lee.floridahealth.gov
Services: Comprehensive health department; immunizations; WIC; STI testing; behavioral health; environmental health; restaurant inspections; post-Ian trauma mental health; Caloosahatchee River water quality monitoring; algal bloom health monitoring
Hospital: Lee Health (the county’s dominant health system; Cape Coral Hospital; Lee Memorial Hospital (Fort Myers – Level II trauma); Gulf Coast Medical Center; Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida (Lee Health – excellent children’s hospital); all severely challenged by Ian and undergoing rebuilding/hardening); NCH Baker Hospital accessible from Collier County
Notes: Lee Health is a public health system owned by the county – a somewhat unusual arrangement; it operates four hospitals and is the dominant healthcare provider in Lee County; Ian severely challenged the hospital system (Lee Memorial and Gulf Coast Medical Center experienced storm surge flooding of lower floors; staff heroically continued operations); post-Ian mental health is a massive ongoing need; algal bloom health monitoring in the Caloosahatchee River is critical (the toxic cyanobacteria blooms from Lake Okeechobee discharges create public health warnings)
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
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Lee County is one of Florida’s fastest-growing counties – adding nearly 115,000 residents between 2020 and 2025, a 15.1% increase driven by migration from higher-cost states, retirees seeking Florida’s warm climate and no income tax, and the ongoing development of...
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Ownwell
Property tax appeal service for Lee County. Contingency fee — no savings, no charge.
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Send care packages to inmates in Lee County facilities via Amazon.
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