Naples Grande water park opponents face new procedural hurdle

Opponents of a proposed water park-style amenity at Naples Grande Beach Resort must clear another procedural hurdle, as county officials reinforced March 24.

On March 20, the group received an official interpretation rejecting claims that the hotel co-owners’ plans lacked sufficient setbacks and parking and did not fit the surrounding environment. Planning and Zoning Director Mike Bosi upheld all three points, noting the owners’ preplanning documents are not final and that the finished design might not be “injurious to the neighborhood, or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare.”

Then March 24, neighbors were stopped from speaking about the issue during public comment at a Collier County Board of Commissioners meeting. Patrick Wack, president of Seagate Property Owners Association, had spoken for less than a minute before Commission Chair Dan Kowal interrupted to clarify whether the matter would come before the board.

If it does, Kowal said, comments would be taken at that future hearing, not the March 24 meeting. Before that can happen, opponents must file a petition challenging Bosi’s interpretation.

“If there’s no petition, then we don’t have a crystal ball,” Kowal said.

Commissioner Chris Hall told residents the board will not decide whether to approve or reject the proposed amenity.

“It won’t come to us for approval or rejection. It never has. It never will. What’s going to come for us, if you appeal the original interpretation, it’s going to come back to us as the board of zoning appeals,” he said. “And at that time, we’re still not going to make a ruling on whether we approve the water park or reject the water park.

“That’s never going to come to us. We would be making a decision on what the true stance of the original intent was.”

Any ruling would likely factor into a potential court case to resolve the dispute.

Neighbors have objected to the hotel’s proposed 3.3-acre amenity, arguing it conflicts with the area’s intentionally quiet character. Concerns include increased traffic on a road that already serves a school, a church and the main access point to Clam Pass Park, as well as noise from water slides estimated at 21 to 25 feet tall, a splash pool, a lazy river and ground-level speakers. Residents also cited potential cooking odors from a planned cafe.

Hall said he has responded to 500 protesters and understands the opposition.

“It’s loud and clear,” he said. “And if it ever does come to a public petition in some sort of way, that’ll be a different story. And we’ll have your back on that.”

For now, opponents must file an appeal within 30 days of Bosi’s March 20 determination. Bosi would receive the petition and forward it to the county attorney, who would prepare an executive summary for commissioners. Commissioners would then decide whether the matter proceeds to the Hearing Examiners, an independent board that does not include county employees, or the Board of Zoning Appeals.

The process remains complex, and confusion surfaced during the March 24 meeting when Hall explained the appeal would not come before commissioners in their typical role but as the Board of Zoning Appeals. There was frustration from the audience of nearly 100 from Pelican Bay neighborhoods and Seagate adjacent to Naples Grande.

“Am I making myself clear?” Hall asked at one point. The audience responded, “No!”

Wack agreed to hold comments for now, but he said residents remain opposed.

“It’s not a water amenity,” said Wack, also a founding member of the No Waterpark Coalition. “When Joe Public buys a day pass, he’s not going to say to the kids, oh, we’re going to the Naples Grande water amenity. They’re going to the water park.”

In a statement distributed after the meeting, Wack said the group plans to appeal.

“To date, we have collected nearly 5,000 signatures opposing the project,” the statement read. “We have raised nearly $150k to fight this ill-conceived project. We have the will, the time and the resources to continue this battle.”