LABELLE — At a meeting of the Board of Hendry County Commissioners in May, a rezoning was requested to authorize the development of a residential community of 58 single-family detached homes to be built on the south side of Fort Denaud Road. Due to several concerns expressed by the board and the public, that rezoning was tabled until adjustments were made to the proposed plan.

At the regular meeting on Tuesday, July 28, it was once again brought back before the board for approval.

In May, Commissioner Mitchell Wills had a lot of questions and concerns regarding what was proposed for the stormwater management and how that would impact Fort Denaud Road and the surrounding residences that already experience some flooding.

At the meeting on Tuesday night, J.D. DeForge, a civil engineer for the project, explained that a berm, 3 feet in height, would be constructed around the perimeter of the development. This will create a bowl to catch all of the stormwater and direct it to the stormwater management system. Included in that will be some dry retention to further treat the water before it leaves the site.  He explained that there will be one discharge point along Fort Denaud right-of-way.

According to DeForge the pre-development discharge rate today is about 137 cfs (cubic feet per second) “A cubic foot is about the size of a basketball,” he said.  “So it would be like having a 137 basketballs rolling past your feet every second.” After the perimeter berm is constructed, the controlled structure will let the water off much slower at a rate closer to 5.36  cfs.

Another concern at the May meeting was regarding traffic. At the time the plan proposed using Murray Road for construction vehicles entering and exiting the development. Commissioner Wills was worried that the road would not be able to sustain the weight of heavy construction vehicles in its current condition.

The new proposal states that construction vehicles shall access the site through the shared connection to Fort Denaud Road .

The board voted and approved the ordinance to rezone the subject property with the conditions and modifications recommended by staff.