Following strong political and popular opposition, plans to build hotels, golf courses, and pickleball courts in at least nine Florida state parks have been shelved.
The decision was made in response to the announcement of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s “Great Outdoors Initiative” last week, which included plans for nine state parks, including Oleta River State Park and Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park in Dania Beach, to add new pickleball courts, campgrounds, cabins, hotels, and golf courses.
At a news conference in Winter Haven on Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed the matter for the first time in public and disassociated himself from the ideas, saying they were leaked too soon and that he had not approved them.
“I’d rather not spend any money on this,” DeSantis stated. “If people don’t want improvements, then don’t do it.”
Days of demonstrations by members of the public, environmentalists, and officials from both parties culminated in the decision. The Ocean Conservancy program in Florida is overseen by Maggie Winchester-Weiler.
“I am absolutely breathing a sigh of relief,” Winchiester-Weiler stated. “Its great to hear those plans have been tabled for now. Those mangrove ecosystems are incredibly fragile and that type of disruption is going to have an impact on those types of ecosystems and the animals and wildlife that depend on them.”
The Florida Democratic Party leader, Nikki Fried, echoed the bipartisan opposition to overdevelopment in the state’s parks and denounced the plan of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as “ridiculous.”
“Floridians of all political opinions can agree on one thing: we have to protect our state’s natural beauty from overdevelopment,” Fried stated.
Read Also: Convicted Killer of College Student in 1994 to Be Executed in Florida
During the press conference on Wednesday, DeSantis reaffirmed that the designers of the proposal will review the plans and stress the importance of public feedback.
He acknowledged that the ideas were “half-baked” and “not ready for prime time,” but yet declared, “They’re not doing anything this year—they’re gonna go back and basically listen to folks.”
