FORT MYERS, Fla. - Lee County Commissioners axe a proposal by Resource Conservation Holdings to put a rock mine along Corkscrew Road. People who live there spent hours fighting against the idea.

One by one, officials, environmental experts and neighbors near the proposed mine told Commissioners... not here!

“It's absolutely incompatible with the rural residential character of Corkscrew Road,” Jack Meeker told Commissioners.

“It’s going to undoubtedly, it isn’t a could, it will lead to deaths of panthers and wood storks,” Phillip Douglass said.

 A D.O.T. representative said under the recommendation, trucks would be allowed 2,400 trips per day, meaning they potentially could have been driving by every 15 seconds. Aside from the noise, people worried about truck crashes, flooding, lighting at night, and losing their quality of life. The Hearing Examiner previously approved the proposal, saying it would not affect home sales or ruin quality of life. Commissioners decided the plan was not worth the risks.     

“The applicant failed to provide clear competent substantial evidence that the mining operation would not have an adverse impact on not only water supplies, indigenous species' habitat, but the surrounding residents in the area,” Commissioner Ray Judah said.

Resource Conservation Holdings’ attorney Bill Moore said little during testimonies and after the final decision. “We have to wait and see the resolution and see how it's crafted so we are going to withhold comment,” Moore said.