Collier County commissioners approve development of villages  

Collier County commissioners voted 4-1 on Tuesday to approve resolutions designating a total of nearly 2,000 acres within the Rural Lands Stewardship Area zoning overlay district east of Golden Gate Estates as stewardship receiving areas known as Bellmar Village and Longwater Village. Together, the villages will allow the development of a maximum total of 5,350 residential units, of which 15% will be affordable housing units, a minimum of 10% will be multi-family dwelling units, 10% will be single-family detached units and 10% will be single-family attached or villas. Additional development includes 133,750 to 165,000 square feet of commercial or office space; a minimum of 53,500 square feet of civic, governmental and institutional uses; and about 33 acres for amenity centers. The board agreed that the petition by Naples-based developer Collier Enterprises allows controlled growth within the environmentally sensitive rural area. Commissioner Penny Taylor was the lone dissenter, saying the proposal puts an unnecessary burden on taxpayers. “I don’t believe this village creates the economic opportunity to decrease transportation on our roads that we have already built,” she says. “I think that this increases the demand on our roads, therefore, it’s costly to our taxpayers.”