Collier approves luxury golf course on former citrus grove

A developer’s plans for an upscale golf course designed to achieve Audubon International Gold certification on a failing 169-acre citrus grove in East Naples were finally approved after nine months — but without 10 luxury cottages for visiting members and guests. 

The unanimous Sept. 22 decision by the Collier County Board of County Commissioners followed a roughly four-hour hearing in which more than two dozen residents and environmentalists — including representatives of Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Audubon Florida, Audubon Western Everglades and South Florida Wildlands — opposed developing 341 Sabal Palm Road. Forty people signed up to speak, with some ceding time to the 29 who spoke in opposition, citing overdevelopment, flooding and panther concerns. 

As a result, land-use attorney Rich Yovanovich made concessions, agreeing not to build the 10 cottages with up to four bedrooms, adding a deed restriction limiting the property to golf course uses and restricting the clubhouse to 10,000 square feet — after Vice Chair Bill McDaniel Jr. expressed a desire to avoid a “Taj Mahal.” 

Yovanovich also said developer Jon Rubinton would agree to provide neighbors with written notices about prescribed burns on wooded land, install drainage culverts along Sabal Palm Road and work with the developer of the nearby Tamarindo community to help alleviate flooding issues. 

“They didn’t blink,” Yovanovich said of Tamarindo’s developer agreeing to pay roughly $500,000 for the golf course to take on its water. 

The vote came a month after the county Planning Commission recommended rezoning the agricultural property and amending the county Growth Management Plan to allow the 18-hole golf course. The approval also allows a driving range, putting greens and practice facilities, as well as possible maintenance, recreation and administrative buildings, gazebos, nature trails, picnic areas and boardwalks. 

The agricultural designation had restricted building to one home per 40 acres because the property is in the Rural Fringe Mixed-Use District, which has protected environmental status. It’s in a sending area that restricts development. Plans now go to the Florida Department of Commerce for review and approval. 

Failed citrus grove 

South Naples Citrus Grove had operated on the land since 1979, but due to citrus greening, the grove was no longer productive, and the Smits family and in-law Henry Jacobs, who were all over retirement age, wanted to sell. The produce stand, which also sells juice, marmalade and orange soft-serve ice cream, still operates under Jacobs but is closed until season. 

In January, initial plans by Rubinton, as SWJR Naples I LLC, called for 423 homes, including affordable units, but they were withdrawn after an outcry by residents. Rather than voting to deny the proposal, commissioners urged the developer, landowners and residents to work toward a more palatable solution — including a possible purchase by Conservation Collier. 

However, the roughly $8 million offer, based on recent appraisals, was turned down by the landowners because it was less than half what they’d hoped for. “We couldn’t buy the property because the seller wasn’t willing to cooperate,” Commissioner Chris Hall noted. 

The land is about 1.4 miles east of Collier Boulevard, near Picayune Strand State Forest and the Verona Walk and Tamarindo communities. The course will be similar to Calusa Pines Golf Club in Golden Gate Estates and Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, which hosts the Masters Tournament. Among Naples courses certified Gold by Audubon International are Old Collier Golf Club, Tuscany Reserve Golf Club and Hammock Bay Golf Club. 

Audubon International, which is not affiliated with the National Audubon Society, is a nonprofit that promotes sustainable practices. The 10 cottages could have been used for stays of up to 30 days. 

Conservationists warned of the impact on Picayune Strand and the Florida Wildlife Corridor, while others wondered when development would stop. 

“What is the point of a growth management plan or a land development code if every time a developer asks for an amendment to it, the commission grants it?” asked Dylan Scott, a prescribed fire specialist and conservationist for the Everglades ecosystem. 

Christine Briggs, who started a Change.org petition that garnered 3,045 signatures, thanked commissioners for listening and praised Commissioner Rick LoCastro, who came to Verona Walk to discuss the issues with residents. But she pointed out that the second-ranked concern cited by more than 250,000 residents in the Collier County Community Assessment was managing growth and development, followed by protecting the environment. 

Avoiding future growth 

Commission Chair Dan Kowal, citing photos of panthers casually walking through the area, said a golf course would benefit wildlife and provide environmental benefits that include alleviating flooding and restoring the flow way, the natural movement of water across the property. 

But commissioners noted that approving cottages would constitute a commercial use, which County Attorney Jeff Klatzkow advised could have led to more intense development rights under the state’s Live Local Act. McDaniel also cited concern over Senate Bill 686, which became law in July. 

Planning and Zoning Director Mike Bosi said the law would give an agricultural zoning district abutting a residential development entitlement to that density, based on the neighboring planned unit development, Hacienda Lakes. As a result, he said, the 169 acres could be developed into 131 homes by right — without approval or public hearings. 

“If you don’t approve this, maybe I have 131 homes on this piece of property. I think that’s what he just said,” Yovanovich told commissioners. 

That’s what swayed Commissioner Burt Saunders to change his nay vote after McDaniel made a motion. Although Saunders wanted to uphold the county Growth Management Plan, he said increased intensity must be avoided — and the vote became unanimous.