Residents of the Lakewood community in East Naples continue to push back against STARability Foundation’s plans to build a 30,000-square-foot building at the site of the closed clubhouse of Lakewood Country Club at Lakewood Boulevard and Boca Ciega Drive.
At a Collier County Board of Commissioners meeting Feb. 27, commissioners, acting as the Board of Zoning Appeals, voted 3-2 to adopt a narrower view of the definition of a neighborhood. An appeal was made about county Planning and Zoning Director Mike Bosi’s official interpretation made in August 2023 of what denotes a neighborhood, specifically in the instance of a neighborhood fitness and community center.
Bosi interpreted the term as something that serves the broader community rather than a specific geographical area.
Naples attorney Anthony Pires, who represents Lakewood, made the case that the use of the word neighborhood should limit any function to serve those in the nearby area. In 2017, the county adopted the golf course conversion process and expanded the list of permitted and conditional uses of the golf course zoning district, which includes a neighborhood fitness and community center use.
“[Bosi’s interpretation] is more than just the neighborhood. It’s the neighborhood and the community, and so we take issue with that. That’s why we’re here today,” Pires said. “We believe that words have meaning.”
Although the hearing was not meant to single out Lakewood and affects all nine golf course communities in the county, land-use attorney Rich Yovanovich, representing STARability, said the foundation’s project was the elephant in the room. STARability, a local nonprofit that offers inclusive programs for people with developmental disabilities, made its case for the project based on the neighborhood fitness and community center conditional use.
Bosi said the use of a community center should reach beyond an individual neighborhood and is an appropriate fit for land zoned golf courses, as golf courses draw in people from outside the community.
After 90 minutes of debate between both sides, Commissioner Rick LoCastro said he trusted Bosi’s interpretation and expertise. Commissioner William McDaniel agreed and said there is no reason to change the definition when developers must go in front of the board for a conditional-use request, a rule that protects property owners.
“I personally believe the conditional use request process allows for all of the conditions for a property owner to have the right to ask,” McDaniel said.
Commissioner Dan Kowal was in favor of narrowing the definition to protect golfing communities from unwanted development near their homes. It was Kowal who requested the nonprofit’s project go through the full submittal and approval process through the county rather than bypassing the process through a conditional-use amendment.
Commissioner Chris Hall agreed with the need to show the Collier residents their properties are protected.
It is unclear what STARability’s next step will be moving forward under the new definition. Bosi said this does not stop the organization from applying for the project.
“If it’s not serving that neighborhood, then staff is going to recommend denial because it doesn’t fit the criteria that’s been established by the Board of County Commissioners,” Bosi said.
In the 3-2 vote to approve the zoning appeal, McDaniel and LoCastro cast the dissenting votes.
