Neighbors push back on Naples Grande water park plan

The owners of Naples Grande Beach Resort think a stretched, landscaped pool, several high-rise slides and a lazy river ride will make a delightful amenity for its hotel guests.

Neighbors think that idea is all wet.

The owners of the beach area hotel at 475 Seagate Drive have submitted pre-application plans to Collier County’s Growth Management and Community Development Department that would turn its seven east side tennis courts into a water playground. It would include a forest-fringed lazy river current ride, two tall turbo-type water slides and a children’s pool with some 19 water-toy structures or features. Adjacent to that, on the east side, would be a food area with its own kitchen.

In a town hall meeting describing the plans, an official called it an amenity. When Collier County Commissioner Chris Hall talked about it in a discussion with Pelican Bay residents on another topic, he called it a water park.

Patrick Wack, president of the homeowners association for Seagate, one of the neighborhoods closest to the proposed development, has another term: “I call it an amusement park,” he said.

Their own decision

Opposition to the concept has galvanized neighborhoods bordering Naples Grande: Seagate, Naples Cay and three Pelican Bay neighborhoods closest to those tennis courts — Bay Villas, Tierra Mar and Bridge-Way Villas.

The final decision may rest with the board of Pelican Bay Foundation, the master governing board for the last three communities. Because the water playground is within an area already zoned for commercial use, Collier County may be limited to restrictions set by its commercial building codes.

According to a response from the County Planning & Zoning Division, Naples Grande has only gone so far as requesting a pre-application amendment to its site development plan. But no meeting has been set to review the new plan, so the division could not answer questions.

However, the Naples Grande property is within Pelican Bay, a planned unit development with requirements and covenants for both commercial and residential property owners in every subdevelopment inside its boundaries. All of them must be approved by the Pelican Bay Foundation board of directors.

This is a situation that could put the foundation at odds with members either way it decides, concedes Tom Polke, Foundation president. As a property owner, Naples Grande holds membership in the Foundation just as residents do.

“I think the hope of the board is that we can work together with the owners of Naples Grande to come up with a solution that'll be palatable to them and to the surrounding neighbors,” Polke said.

“That's what we're working toward, and we think we've had productive discussions, and I think we've had good insights. And the owners of Naples Grande and their representatives have been very willing to be responsive to some of the requests,” he continued.

“Nothing formal has been submitted. So, we'll ... continue to gain, you know, gather the feedback of the community and we'll act accordingly.”

A public relations representative for the Naples Grande said it had no comment because no plans have been finalized and emphasized the same point: “Everything is still in discussion,” she said.

To read a longer version of this story in The Naples Press, click here.