After a bipartisan uproar last year about a proposal dubbed the “Great Outdoors Initiative,” the Florida Senate on Tuesday began moving forward with a bill that would prevent building such things as golf courses, pickleball courts and hotel-style lodges in state parks.
The Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved the bill (SB 80), sponsored by Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart.
“Our state parks are so unique, and we want to make sure that they are there for the enjoyment and the conservation of our natural resources in our state of Florida,” Harrell said.
The uproar came last year after the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a news release about the “Great Outdoors Initiative” and later used social media posts to briefly outline plans for nine parks.
Perhaps the biggest target of opponents was a proposal to add three golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County, which is in Harrell’s district. Other parts of the initiative that drew heavy criticism included proposals to construct lodges with up to 350 rooms at Anastasia State Park in St. Johns County and Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Walton County.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration paused the proposal after the uproar, but Harrell and Rep. John Snyder, R-Stuart, filed bills to try to block the possibility of such development in the future. The bills are filed for the legislative session that will start March 4.
“I think we were all dismayed last summer when suddenly out of nowhere these plans were revealed to pave over our state parks with pickleball courts and golf courses and hotels and lodges,” Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, said during Tuesday’s committee meeting. “You (Harrell) are right when you say that is not the purpose of our state parks.”
The bill would allow construction of cabins with maximum capacities of six people at state parks.
Environmental groups backed the bill Tuesday, but some urged revisions to make sure the measure would cover other potential types of development. For example, Gil Smart, policy director of Friends of the Everglades, raised a concern that the bill could leave open the possibility of building a large marina in a state park.
“We just don’t want to be back here again next year, the year after, fighting the same battle,” Eugene Kelly, president of the Florida Natural Plant Society, told the Senate committee. “We just suggest that there should be a much clearer statement on prohibitions of incompatible uses.”
