Developers want to build a golf course near the northwestern corner of Picayune Strand State Forest, which is the first major tract of land rehabilitated earlier this year in the multi-decadal, multi-billion dollar Everglades Restoration.
Jon Rubinton of SWJR Naples LLC, previously proposed a 423-home residential community on the former citrus grove in January. Collier County commissioners weren’t sold on that plan and advised Rubinton to find a less-intensive alternative for the nearly 170-acre tract.
Rubinton did. The Collier County Planning Commission last month backed that plan, a golf course with cottages that would require land-use changes.
The golf course complex is up for consideration by the Collier County commissioners on Tuesday.
Now one of the region’s most active environmental groups is opposed to the golf course, which would be more than a mile from Collier Boulevard.
It “contains a mosaic of public conservation lands and low-density residential, agricultural, and conservation,” the Conservancy of Southwest Florida wrote in a letter to commissioners. “This is an inappropriate use for this area and the request should be denied.”
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
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