The bipartisan blowback toward a plan to build golf courses and 350-room lodges on state park land grew into a roar on Thursday as a growing list of powerful Republicans came out against the proposals.
In an extraordinary show of unified opposition, elected officials in the state Legislature, Cabinet and Congress all said they were against the plans, which would make expansive changes to nine Florida state parks — including the construction of cabins, pickleball courts and disc golf courses.
Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, who championed expanding conservation land in the Legislature, said the state has worked hard to protect and enhance state parks.
“Our vision did not contemplate the addition of golf courses and hotels, which in my view are not in-line with the peaceful and quiet enjoyment of nature,” she said in a statement. “From what I know at this time, the proposal should not move forward in its current form.”
Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, a Republican from Trilby, said that he’d only heard about the state park development plans from media reports, but he has “serious concerns.”
“(We) have to be really careful when we talk about building infrastructure on state parks,” he said in a statement. “Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz wrote on social media that “We do NOT need to commercialize our state parks” and that “we should keep them natural, thriving and beautiful.” Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, also a Republican, told the website Florida Politics that the proposals are a “slippery slope.”
In response to the mounting pressure, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has only doubled down.
In a series of social media posts and in statements to the Tampa Bay Times Wednesday night, the agency defended the proposal. It said the new amenities were needed because of increased demand for park space from residents. The construction of a golf course on vulnerable scrub habitat will be done in a way to “minimize habitat impacts,” the agency wrote.
That hasn’t quelled the uproar.
Next week, the state will be holding near-simultaneous public meetings around the state about the plans, including for Hillsborough River State Park and Pinellas’ Honeymoon Island, which are each slated to get pickleball courts. Several protests are planned across the state.
But after those are completed, the proposals also have to be approved by the Acquisition and Restoration Council, a 10-member group with representatives from several state agencies.
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In a Facebook comment, Simpson went further than his public statement, saying that he would exert pressure on that council against the plans.
“I have 1 appointee on this board that I will advise to vote no to most of these projects,” he wrote.
Some state lawmakers are also starting to revolt. Although legislative approval isn’t needed for the plans to move forward, it is possible lawmakers would have to approve funding for the projects in the state budget.
State Sen. Jay Trumbull, who represents a ruby-red Panhandle district in Panama City, wrote on the social media platform X that he stands in “strong opposition” and urged his fellow lawmakers to do the same. Three of the affected parks are in his district.
“Our state parks should not be in the business of competing with private enterprise to provide lodging or other commercial amenities,” he wrote. “Our state parks are a treasure and they should remain focused on their primary mission: offering a refuge for those who seek to experience Florida’s natural beauty in its purest form.”
Republican Sens. Joe Gruters, Jennifer Bradley and Jason Brodeur all commented on the post and said they agreed.
Rep. Adam Anderson, R-Palm Harbor, called out the proposal for Honeymoon Island as “not just foolhardy — it’s wrong.”
“These acts could aggravate ongoing environmental challenges, harm our vulnerable coastlines and estuaries, and increase the likelihood of red tide events along the Gulf,” he said in a statement.
Jeremy Redfern, a spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis, defended the plans Thursday.
“Teddy Roosevelt believed that public parks were for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, and we agree with him,” he said. “No administration has done more than we have to conserve Florida’s natural resources, grow conservation lands, and keep our environment pristine. But it’s high time we made public lands more accessible to the public.”
Still, Redfern said the state would be listening to public input, and “the proposals vary and may not all be approved.”
This clash could develop into a power struggle with DeSantis at the center.
DeSantis, known as an avid golfer, oversees the Department of Environmental Protection, which is proposing the changes. DeSantis also has increased sway over the agency compared to past governors. In 2021 he unilaterally appointed its secretary without the approval of the rest of the Florida Cabinet, a break from precedent that critics said violated state law.
Several of the vocal opponents of the plan have rocky relationships with the governor or have clashed with him in the past, including Simpson and Gruters.
After more than two days of not responding to Tampa Bay Times’ questions about the proposals, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection replied after 9 p.m. Wednesday in defense of the plans and how they’ve been rolled out.
The spokesperson said agency officials “don’t appreciate the insinuation” that the agency may be sidestepping the law with their proposals.
“Contrary to the current narrative surrounding these proposals, everything is being done in Sunshine,” agency spokesperson Alex Kuchta wrote in an email to the Times.
But former park officials reiterated to the Times that it appears the agency is skirting parts of the law designed to involve public participation. Albert Gregory, the former state chief of park planning and a state park system employee for more than three decades, said key steps in the proposal process are being overlooked.
“We’d normally have a public meeting right off the bat and ask the people what they think we should do,” Gregory, who is now retired, told the Times. “The state is hop-scotching some important steps in the normal park planning process.”
The environmental agency knew the plans would be controversial and cause an uproar, Gregory said.
“So they’re trying to ramrod it through,” he said. “And that’s the problem.”
In 2011, lawmakers drafted legislation that would have let famed golfer Jack Nicklaus build golf courses in state parks. The effort was quickly dropped after public outcry. In a statement to the Times, Nicklaus Companies and Nicklaus Design said they have no involvement in any current proposals.
In a late night, 11-post social media thread, the state environmental agency issued a “fact check” about its proposal that confirmed Times reporting and verified important details about possible development plans, including at Jonathan Dickinson State Park on the Atlantic coast.
“At Jonathan Dickinson State Park, we are considering the addition of golf — one of our nation’s most popular sports — in a way that will minimize habitat impacts and leverage already-disturbed areas,” the department wrote online.
That answer didn’t go over well.
“This is deranged garbage messaging from (the agency),” author and Florida environmentalist Jeff VanderMeer wrote on social media. “We need to stop this in its tracks.”
Below are the locations for each state park proposal meeting scheduled for Aug. 27 between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
- Hillsborough River State Park, Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library, 2902 W. Bearss Ave., Tampa, Community Room D
- Honeymoon Island State Park, The District, 11141 U.S. 19 N., Suite 204, Clearwater
- Oleta River State Park, Florida International University, Biscayne Bay campus, Kovens Conference Center, Room 114, 3000 NE 151 Street North, Miami.
- Jonathan Dickinson State Park, The Flagler of Stuart, 201 SW Flagler Ave., River Room, Stuart
- Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park, Downtown Event Center, 416 NE First St., Fort Lauderdale, Lecture Hall, Building C, second floor (Enter at Main Entrance B — clearly marked on the outside of the building.)
- Anastasia State Park, First Coast Technical College, The Character Counts Conference Center, Building C, 2980 Collins Ave., St. Augustine
- Camp Helen State Park, Lyndell Conference Center, 423 Lyndell Lane, Panama City Beach
- Topsail Hill Preserve State Park and Grayton Beach State Park, The Lakehouse at the Watercolor Inn, 238 Watercolor Blvd. West, Santa Rosa Beach
