Collier panel backs 1,299-home plan near Fiddler’s Creek

County planning commissioners unanimously approved a growth-management plan amendment to allow up to 1,299 single- and multifamily homes, including affordable housing, on nearly 230 acres near Fiddler’s Creek in eastern Collier County. 

The Oct. 16 vote by the Planning Commission came after the state Department of Commerce approved an amendment by planning commissioners and county commissioners. The recent vote also will be sent to the state after the Board of County Commissioners weighs in; a supermajority vote, four of five commissioners, will be required to move forward. 

“The advent of the number of 260 affordable housing units for sale … is a significant contribution to the need within the community,” County Planning & Zoning Director Mike Bosi told planning commissioners. 

The vote amends the county’s Future Land-Use Element, allowing up to 1,299 single- and multifamily homes, including 260 affordable houses that Habitat for Humanity of Collier County will sell to people who earn at or below 80% of the county’s area median income, $113,600. The vote also included a reduction from 30% to 10% in the littoral shelf, a shallow, sloping area along a lake shoreline that’s crucial for healthy aquatic ecosystems because it filters pollutants and provides a wildlife habitat. 

Developer David Torres will build the 1,039 market-rate homes while Habitat will construct the affordable housing on the 229-acre property. Habitat, which purchased its land years ago, has partnered with Torres for years. Property records show Torres, as Greenway Fritchey LLC, purchased six properties in 2021 for $13.1 million. 

The project will offer separate developments with homeowner associations, and the traditional Habitat formula will be used. Low- and very low-income families would purchase Habitat homes, help build them and sign a 30-year mortgage. If a homeowner sells, the home would be returned to Habitat’s stock. 

Land-use attorney Rich Yovanovich told planning commissioners that under the county’s growth management plan, the developer could request up to 12.2 units per acre, if affordable housing is provided, but is only asking for 5.72 units per acre. The developer also will make intersection improvements at Greenway Road and U.S. 41, as well as add turning lanes. 

No residents opposed the plans at the public hearing, and county staff said they will speak with a neighbor who cited concerns over stormwater flow, which the developers will address.