Single ZIP code for Estero finally could happen; bill filed in Congress

Estero Village Hall, where the Village Council meets.

Barry Freedman can’t visit the U.S. Post Office on Three Oaks Parkway in Estero when he misses a package at his home in the Estero Country Club at The Vines.

To get any missed packages, Freedman said, he has to travel north to a Fort Myers distribution center.

It’s due to ZIP codes. Although Freedman is an Estero resident, his 33967 ZIP code is associated with Fort Myers.

That could change under a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, and co-sponsored by Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Naples. The bill, H.R. 6113, would set in motion a process to establish a single, unique ZIP code for Estero and unique ZIP codes for six other communities in Florida, Nevada and New York by Sept. 30, 2019.

"It would be a lot more convenient for everybody if we had one ZIP code for the entire village," Freedman said. 

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ZIP stands for Zoning Improvement Plan. The ZIP code program was established by the U.S. Postal Service in 1963 and divided the country into the numerical codes. 

ZIP codes are not intended to determine towns or cities and do not always fit municipal boundaries, said U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Enola C. Rice.

Estero has five ZIP codes, according to the Postal Service. They are: 33928, 33929, 33967, 34134 and 34135.

The part of the village north of Estero Parkway falls within Fort Myers ZIP code 33967. The southern portion of the south Lee County community is in Bonita Springs ZIP codes 34134, which covers The Colony at Pelican Landing, and 34135, which covers a group of gated communities known as The Brooks.

For years, Estero residents have advocated to put the village under a single ZIP code, said Estero Councilman Nick Batos, who lives in Bonita Springs ZIP code 34135 and represents several Estero communities in that ZIP code.

In December 2015, the Postal Service allowed Estero residents who fell under the different ZIP codes to write “Estero” on their letters and packages. But mail still is routed through Fort Myers and Bonita Springs post offices for residents in those ZIP codes.

That was the closest Estero could get to one village ZIP code, Batos said.

“It didn’t resolve the problem because the people who lived in The Brooks and the north side of Estero Parkway are in the village of Estero and they would like to be known as being in Estero,” Batos said.

Diaz-Balart’s bill does not indicate what ZIP code Estero would be given if the bill passes, nor does it say whether the ZIP code would be one of the five now  associated with Estero.

In a statement, Rooney said he co-sponsored the bill to “address unresolved unique ZIP code creations in the Village of Estero.”

Rooney said the lack of a unique ZIP code for Estero after the village’s incorporation in 2014 has caused problems with mail delivery.

Rooney’s office has received messages from Estero residents describing troubles with package deliveries due to different ZIP codes in the village.

Rice said Postal Service records do not show delivery problems in Estero due to ZIP codes.

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Batos said he appreciates Rooney’s efforts to help Estero get its own ZIP code, but the councilman knows the bill does not mean a new ZIP code is guaranteed.

“It still has to go through the whole process,” Batos said.

Estero Councilman Jon McLain represents District 3 in the northern part of the village. It's split between ZIP codes 33928 and 33967, which is associated with Fort Myers.

McLain said he is pleased to hear there could be movement toward a unique ZIP code for Estero. It has been something Estero residents in the 33967 ZIP code have been trying to work toward, he said.  

“We would really welcome the ability to go to a neighborhood post office, as opposed to having to go to a regional post office,” McLain said. “It would be very positive to have a single ZIP code.”