HOW TO PRINT FREE VARIANCE REPORTS

HOW TO PRINT FREE

VARIANCE REPORTS

A walk-though guide for finding and downloading your variance report for free.

INDEX

 Page(s) 4-9: How to create a single variance report and download report files.

 Page(s) 10-12: How to create a variance report for a portion of a parcel using

GeoView.

 Page(s) 13-14: How to convert your CSV file and print labels from GeoView.

 Page(s) 15-16: How to create a multi-subject variance report.

INTRODUCTION

 Before walking you through the steps of how to print a variance report, you should

first understand what a variance report is and how this tool works.

 The Variance Report is a tool that creates the documents required to notify property

owners when changes are being made to how a property is used. Each county

jurisdiction has rules regarding the kinds of allowable changes as well as the affected

area that requires notification. This tool selects parcels based on the requirements of

each jurisdiction and creates a map showing the affected parcels, a listing of owners,

and a PDF file of addresses designed for Avery 5161 mailing labels.

 It is important to understand that a variance does not change the allowable use of the

property, building, or structures, or change procedural requirements or definitions.

 For more information about Unincorporated Lee County variance reports see the

following link: https://

www.leegov.com/dcd/zoning/var

 For information concerning all other jurisdictions please contact their Planning

Departments.

STEP 1: VISIT OUR WEBSITE

 The first step to finding your property‘s

variance report is to visit the Lee County

Property Appraiser’s website.

 This can be found by searching for Lee County

Property Appraiser online (see image) and

clicking on the first website, OR by using the

provided link to our website.

((https://www.leepa.org/

)

STEP 2: DATABASE SEARCH

 After clicking the link, you will be taken

to our homepage. From here you have

access to a wide range of tools and

information which can help you learn

about deeds, exemptions, and much

more.

 On the left side of the page, you will find

a column with titles such as “Welcome”

and “Database Search”. Please click on

the words “Database Search”.

STEP 3: ENTER PROPERTY DETAILS

 After clicking on “Database Search” you will be

navigated to the page titled “Real Property

Search”. From this page you can use one of the

methods listed below to locate your property.

1. Enter your Parcel (STRAP) Number

2. Enter your Folio ID

3. Enter your Address

 After entering your information click “Search”

STEP 4: SELECT VARIANCE REPORT

 After clicking search, you will either be directed to the next

page listing properties matching your search criteria or an

error message will appear in red stating the following

message.

“No matches found for given criteria or search result is exempt

from public disclosure per Florida Statute §119.071.”

 If this message appears then you will need to check and make

sure you entered your information correctly.

 If your information is correct, then it may also mean that

the property you are searching for is statutorily exempt

from public disclosure. See information for this on our

homepage under “Taxpayer Services” and its sub

category “Exempt from Public Records” or using the

following link:

https://

www.leepa.org/DisclosureExemption/DisclosureE

xemptionInfo.aspx

 If this message does not appear then you will be navigated

to the next page showing a list of properties as shown on

the right. Please click the words “Variance Report”.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: BUFFER DISTANCE

 PLEASE NOTE. Every municipality/jurisdiction has

their own default buffer distance for variance

reports.

*For any buffer distance over 2,500 ft. please contact the Lee County

Property Appraiser’s office.

Buffer values:

 Upon selecting your property, the appropriate

buffer is applied automatically. If the report fails to

find 10 or more unique owners within that set buffer

area it will automatically increase the buffer to 750

ft. Please bear in mind the buffer can be modified

and the report rerun. (See image.)

 PLEASE NOTE. Parcels Exempt from Disclosure per

Florida Statute 119.071 will be excluded from

variance reports.

 Village of Estero – 500 ft

 Town of Fort Myers Beach – 500 ft

 Unincorporated Lee County– 500 ft

 City of Fort Myers – 300 ft

 City of Sanibel – 300 ft

 City of Cape Coral – 300 ft

 Bonita Springs – 375 ft, 500 ft, & 1000 ft

STEP 5: VERIFY AND DOWNLOAD

 For this final step, simply verify that

the highlighted parcel (shown in the

image) is the one you are looking for.

Then, click the blue hyperlink

(outlined on the right) to download

and save the map image, mailing

labels (Avery 5161), and CSV

formatted information.

 Now that you have these files, you

can print from home or businesses

like Staples or Fed-Ex should be able

to print your labels for you. For label

type/size use Avery 5161 or its

equivalent generic brand.

* A secondary method is to print directly by right clicking on the screen

and selecting print as shown in the image above.

GENERATING A REPORT FOR PORTION OF A PARCEL

Please follow the guided instructions on pages 4-6

to navigate our webpage and locate your property

on the Real Property Search page before

continuing.

Step 1: Using the Real Property Search Page

 You should now be on the Real Property Search

page. Click search to see a matching result

based on the property data you entered. If you

are not on this page, please go to the start of

this guide and follow the instructions on pages

4-6 before continuing.

Step 2: Click Aerial Viewer to open GeoView

 After opening GeoView a popup may appear.

Please read this information if you are

unfamiliar with how to use GeoView.

 This window can be re-opened by clicking the

search icon in the bottom left corner of

GeoView and selecting the “?” icon that

appears on the bottom left side of your screen.

GENERATING A REPORT FOR A PORTION OF A PARCEL

Step 3: Open the Toolbox and select both the

Binoculars and Pencil icons.

 The tool box is located in the upper left corner of

GeoView.

Step 4: Use the menu option “Find Parcels by

Buffer Shape” and the Graphics Tool(s) to create

a shape and buffer.

 Click the drop-down menu in the Find Parcels tool

and change the menu option to Buffer Shape.

 Enter a buffer distance and use the line or polygon

graphics tool to outline a portion of the parcel(s).

Double-click to finish drawing.

 If the Graphics Tools menu isn’t visible, select the

pencil icon. If you are unsure what each tool is, you

can hover your cursor over each tool to view its short

description.

* If you need to select multiple parcels, skip to

page 15

*The image above used the line tool to outline a

portion of county land and shows a 500ft buffer.*

GENERATING A REPORT FOR A PORTION OF A PARCEL

Step 5: Select your graphic and click Run

Buffer.

 After you have outlined the portion of land

you need, click Run Buffer and then select

your line or polygon. Parcels within your

buffer will be selected and grouped at the

bottom of your page.

Step 6: Click any of the “i” icons and then

“Save this table to CSV”.

 All parcels within your buffer will be saved

in the downloaded file.

 Please keep in mind that this file contains

more parcel information than necessary for

a variance report. When using the mail

merge step on the last page you will be able

to select the specific fields needed to

create your labels.

CONVERTING FILES FROM GEOVIEW FOR LABEL PRINTING

Step 7: Convert file from CSV (.csv)

to Excel (.xls)

 When you open the saved file in

Excel there may be a warning

about a potential loss of data. To

prevent this please do the

following:

1. Click File.

2. Click Save As.

3. Change file type from CSV

(Comma delimited) (*.csv)

to Excel Workbook (*.xlsx)

4. Click Save.

CREATE, FORMAT, AND PRINT LABELS FROM GEOVIEW

Step 8: Use Microsoft Word Mail Merge to create and print labels

 Open a new Word document, select Mailings  Start Mail Merge  Labels

 Set Avery US Letter as Label Vendor

 Set Product number as 5161 Address Labels  Click OK

 From the Mailings tab click Select Recipients

 Use an Existing List

 Find your saved Excel file, then click Open

 From the Mailings tab, click Insert Merge Field and select the fields for your labels.

 Column K contains Owner Name

 Columns L-R contain current owner information: Address1 (Owner mailing address), City, State, Country, and Zip

 Columns F-J contain site address information: Street Number, Street Name, Site Unit, Site City, Site Zip

 Format these fields to your personal specifications and then click Preview Results to see how your labels will look when

printed.

 It is recommended that you use the Check for Errors function (located next to the preview function) to ensure that there are

no errors with your merge before printing.

 Print labels by clicking Finish & Merge and follow the steps to print your labels.

CREATING A MULTI-SUBJECT VARIANCE REPORT

Please follow the guided instructions on pages 4-6 to

navigate our webpage and locate your property on the

Real Property Search page before continuing.

*Important Note: Only parcels which are adjacent or in

close proximity of each other are allowed.

Multi-Parcel Steps:

 Step 1: Use the Real Property Search Page

 You should now be on the Real Property Search page.

Click search to see a matching result based on the

property data you entered. If you are not on this page,

please go to the start of this guide and follow the

instructions on pages 4-6 before continuing.

 Step 2: Select “Aerial Viewer” to navigate to the

GeoView webpage and view your parcel.

 Step 3: Open the Toolbox (upper left corner) and

select both the Binoculars and Pencil icons.

 This will open the Find Parcels tool and Graphics Tools.

(See upper-right corner of image)

* The Line tool is used in the image above with one line per parcel.

MULTI-SUBJECT REPORT CONTINUED

Step 4: Use Find Parcels by Location and to select your

parcels.

 Change the Find parcel(s) by: menu to show “Find parcel(s) by:

location” and then use the line tool to draw a line through

each parcel you wish to include in the report.

 When you have finished placing your lines, double-click your

left mouse button to close the tool.

Step 5: Create Variance Report for the selected parcels.

 Your parcels are now selected and a table should have

appeared at the bottom of your page. (See image)

 Click “i” and then “variance report” for any one of the parcels

in the table that is now visible at the bottom of your screen.

Step 6: Verify Buffer and save data.

 You will now be on the report page. Adjust the buffer distance

(if necessary), and click Rerun if any adjustment are made.

 For this final step, simply verify that the highlighted parcel is

the one you are looking for. Then, click the blue hyperlink to

download and save the map image, mailing labels (Avery

5161), and CSV formatted information.

* Selected parcel(s) are outlined in blue and shown in bottom

table.