Questions residents ask
Answers name the recorded instrument they came from and the month it was read. The citation sits in the sentence, not in a badge.
Is Spanish Wells gated?
Yes — Lee County records list it as a gated community.
What evacuation zone is Spanish Wells in?
Zone B, per Lee County Emergency Management (checked August 2026). Always confirm your exact address on the county's official lookup before a storm. Check your address ↗
What day is trash pickup in Spanish Wells?
Thursday, per the county's collection map (checked August 2026).
What county commission district represents Spanish Wells?
District 3 — Commissioner David Mulicka, per Lee County GIS (checked August 2026).
What kind of community is Spanish Wells?
Spanish Wells is a gated golf community of about 805 single-family homes (plus condominium neighborhoods) on roughly 600 acres in Bonita Springs, developed from the mid-1990s — its community association was incorporated in 1994. It's built around the semi-private Spanish Wells Golf & Country Club, whose 27 holes were laid out by Gordon Lewis (North and South) and Bruce Howard (East); club membership is optional and separate from owning a home. Notably, there is no community development district — the sampled 2025 tax bill carries no CDD line (Lee County GIS, the club's own materials, and the sampled tax bill, checked August 2026).
Is Spanish Wells a 55+ community?
No. The Third Amended and Restated Declaration of Protective Covenants for Spanish Wells, with its Articles and Bylaws (Lee County Instrument 2020000173663) and the 2024 amendment (Instrument 2024000113977), contains no age restriction — no 55+, housing-for-older-persons or HOPA provision. The only age references anywhere are board rules about contractor crews, children fishing and golf-cart drivers. Spanish Wells is an all-ages community under its master documents (reviewed August 2026); the eight neighborhoods and their roughly two dozen sub-associations each have their own documents, which were not part of this read.
Can a home in Spanish Wells be rented out?
Yes, on a written lease of at least thirty consecutive days or one calendar month, to a person (not a company), for the whole home only — no room rentals, subletting or assignment — and a new lease can't start until thirty days after the previous one began (Declaration §9.1, Instrument 2020000173663). The master documents set no cap on leases per year, but neighborhood associations may be stricter and approve leases first; tenants on stays of thirty days or less don't get a gate barcode (SWCA Tenant Guidelines 2026, reviewed August 2026).
What are the pet rules in Spanish Wells?
The recorded master declaration is silent on pets; the rules come from the board's Rules & Regulations of June 16, 2025: pets must be leashed and under control off your own property, waste picked up, no chaining or leaving a pet in a yard or lanai with nobody home, no pets on the golf course, and a dog barking for five minutes or more counts as a sound disturbance subject to fines. Breed, size and number limits, where they exist, are set by the neighborhood associations (reviewed August 2026).
Can you keep an RV, boat or work truck at a home in Spanish Wells?
Not outside a garage. The board's Rules & Regulations of June 16, 2025 bar boats, trailers, RVs, motor homes, campers, covered vehicles and anything in disrepair or with expired plates from being parked or stored on any driveway, street or lot; a motor home or boat may sit in your own driveway for up to 48 hours to load or unload, at most six times a year. No street parking between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., no vehicles advertising a business, and golf carts must be registered with SWCA and, on the streets, driven by someone 18 or older or a younger driver holding a learner's permit or license. These are board rules rather than recorded covenants, so check the current version (reviewed August 2026).
Can you put up a fence or change the outside of a home in Spanish Wells?
That's decided by your neighborhood association, not the master: the declaration gives each neighborhood association jurisdiction over changes to the appearance of homes and lots (Declaration §7.2, Instrument 2020000173663). The master association keeps the lake, culvert and lawn rules — no plantings or docks in the lakes, no plantings within four feet of perimeter walls without Landscaping Committee approval, lawns under six inches, no artificial turf, gravel or asphalt driveways (Rules & Regulations of June 16, 2025, reviewed August 2026).
Are there extra costs when buying a home in Spanish Wells?
Yes. The buyer pays a resale capital contribution to the master association — $4,800 per transaction since July 1, 2024, an amount the board now sets with each year's budget after the 2024 amendment removed the old cap (Declaration §3.14 as amended by Instrument 2024000113977) — plus a $299 SWCA estoppel ($119 more for rush) and a separate estoppel and any contribution your neighborhood association charges. Transfers on death, to a spouse or in foreclosure are exempt (reviewed August 2026).
Do Spanish Wells homeowners have to join the country club?
Not under the master documents. The community association itself owns the club, and the declaration lets it charge user fees for access rather than granting owners a right to use it (Declaration §§1.10, 2.1 and 2.8, Instrument 2020000173663). The club's own FAQ says only buyers in the Cordova neighborhood must hold a membership — a Cordova sub-association requirement, not a master covenant. The golf course is semi-private and memberships are open to non-residents (reviewed August 2026).
Is Spanish Wells in a flood zone?
The county's flood map layer doesn't provide zone labels for this area, so we don't publish a breakdown. Check your address on FEMA's official flood map. Flood-zone status is not a flood determination for insurance or lending purposes.
