In this post: Collier commissioners to consider a moratorium on some Growth Management Plan amendments, School Board rejects invocations, CCPS remains an “A” district, Naples Planning Board approves NCH Heart Institute, and more.
Board of County Commissioners
Resources to Ensure Safety; Resolution Against Hate
On Oct. 24, Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution spearheaded by Commissioner Burt Saunders to provide law enforcement with extra resources to keep residents, schools, and places of worship safe if a local terrorism threat surfaces as a result of the Israel-Hamas war.
Sheriff Kevin Rambosk told commissioners, speaking remotely, that his department is not currently aware of any direct threat to the community. However, that could change as the situation in Israel evolves.
Read more at Naples Daily News.
One-Cent Sales Surtax Renewal Rejected
As I wrote previously, the one-cent sales surtax Collier County has been charging since 2019 will end on Dec. 31, 2023.
On Dec. 12, commissioners discussed and rejected the possibility of instituting another infrastructure sales surtax in 2026. (Agenda Items 9.D. and 11.A.)
“Right now, I think it’s a waste of staff time to even think about a renewal of the sales tax,” Saunders said, “because I’m not going to support it. And I don’t expect anybody else on the board to support it. That may change in a couple of years,” he acknowledged. “But otherwise, we’re just wasting staff’s time and misleading the public.”
Read more at Naples Daily News.
Golden Gate Golf Course Redevelopment
Affordable Housing
On Oct. 24, commissioners unanimously approved measures to allocate nearly $21 million from various county and state sources, including $4.8 million in land costs, to start an affordable housing project on the former Golden Gate Golf Course property.
County leaders called it the largest workforce housing site to date.
Renaissance Hall at Old Course calls for 252 rental units for workforce housing for essential workers such as first responders, teachers, and healthcare workers. Another 100 to 120 units would be for seniors and veterans.
Read more at Gulfshore Business and Naples Daily News.
VA Nursing Home
On Nov. 14, commissioners approved an amended Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the State which officially swapped out the previous 12.7-acre parcel at the northwest corner of the Golden Gate Golf Course property with 20 acres of property at the northeast side of the course along Collier Boulevard (SR 951).
In addition to extra space for outpatient services facilities, the larger parcel will allow green space and water features to surround the campus.
Read more at Saunders’ November and December newsletters.
9-Hole Public Golf Course
On Dec. 12, commissioners unanimously approved an unsolicited proposal by Arthrex to build a nine-hole golf course, driving range, restaurant, and First Tee facility as part of plans to redevelop its Golden Gate Golf Course property.
County staff will proceed with an invitation to negotiate for other developers to show interest in the project within the next 45 days. If no other groups propose a design, the county will proceed with Arthrex’s design.
Read more at Gulfshore Business and Naples Daily News.
Traffic Along Immokalee and Vanderbilt Beach Roads
On Dec. 12, commissioners discussed a proposal by Saunders to consider a moratorium on Growth Management Plan (GMP) amendment applications for properties along Immokalee and Vanderbilt Beach Roads east of I-75.
“The number one problem I hear from constituents is traffic,” Saunders said, and the top two hotspots are Immokalee Road and Vanderbilt Beach Road.
The purpose of the moratorium would be “to tell developers and investors that on these two roadways, we’re going to take a break and spend a year trying to determine how best to handle transportation and new development” on them, he said.
Saunders said there’s also another reason for the moratorium. The Comprehensive Plan protects residential property. “But what developers have figured out is that all they have to do is [get approval of] a site-specific land use change and all of a sudden, they can get [greater density] zoning. And they’re doing this over and over again.”
Commissioner Bill McDaniel sees no need for a moratorium or even a hearing about one. “I think we have the processes in place now to manage the growth and not take away the right of a property owner to ask for a change,” he said. “They have that right currently and should continue to have that right.”
But he supports having a public meeting to hear staff recommendations for better managing the growth and development along those roads.
Commissioner Chris Hall said “I want the public to know [that a moratorium is] not going to solve anything. You still have the traffic, you still have the congestion, you still have the issues that you’re hoping that this is going to solve.”
“I don’t have a problem with listening and putting it out there,” Commissioner Dan Kowal said. But he, like McDaniel, said he doesn’t want to take away developers’ right to request a zoning change.
In addition, he said, developers pay impact fees. “If you diminish the impact fees coming in in the future, that makes it that much harder to catch up on how far behind we are already now with the traffic issues we have on these two major roads.”
With a vote of 3 to 2, the board voted to hold a public hearing in January to consider a moratorium on certain GMP amendments and other staff suggestions for addressing the traffic problems on Immokalee Road and Vanderbilt Beach Road. Commissioners McDaniel and Hall voted no.
Read more at Gulfshore Business.
American Library Association Membership Canceled
At their Oct. 10 meeting, commissioners voted unanimously to “immediately terminate membership and affiliation” with the American Library Association and related entities (ALA) because of political and other concerns.
Read more at WGCU.
McDaniel Sued for Failure to Release Emails; County to Pay Legal Fees
Naples Golf Development has sued Commissioner McDaniel for allegedly attempting to hide public records kept in his personal email accounts.
At its meeting on Nov. 15, the board unanimously authorized the county attorney to help select and retain outside counsel at County expense to represent him in the case.
In a related matter, the county is being sued by Naples Golf Development related to a new regulatory process for golf course conversions by which it claimed it had been “inordinately burdened.”
Read more at BCC Executive Summary , Naples Daily News , and Florida Center for Government Accountability.
LoCastro Subject of Domestic Violence Complaint
In November, the Naples Police Department (NPD) received a domestic violence complaint involving Commissioner Rick LoCastro. According to NPD, information from the investigation has been sent to the State Attorney’s Office for further decision.
LoCastro’s lawyer told WINK News he is confident that when the report is done, there “won’t be any issues.”
Read more at NBC2 News and WINK News.
Building and Development
Collier Rod and Gun Club (eastern Collier County)
Commissioners unanimously approved the Collier Rod and Gun Club at the Preserve. It will be a seasonal, nature-inspired retreat, with no more than 225 single-family homes, or “cabins,” on about 260 acres, with a main entrance off State Road 29.
Read more at Naples Daily News and Gulfshore Business.
Kalea Bay (North Naples)
In October, Commissioners unanimously approved the addition of three floors and ten condo units to Kalea Bay’s fifth tower in exchange for $1 million and more land to build additional marina parking.
Read more at Naples Daily News.
Rock Road Residential PUD (near Naples Airport)
In October, the county planning commission unanimously approved a luxury community with 15 single-family homes and 12 private boat docks on 11.4 acres along Rock Creek.
Read more at Gulfshore Business and Naples Daily News.
Ascend Naples (Golden Gate Estates)
In October, commissioners voted 4 to 1 to approve a 208-unit luxury apartment complex with 71 units (34%) set aside as workforce housing along Vanderbilt Beach Road east of Logan Boulevard. Saunders voted no.
Read more at Gulfshore Business and Naples Daily News.
Collier Schools
An A-Rated District for the Seventh Straight Year
Continuing a streak dating back to 2017, the Collier County Public School (CCPS) District earned an “A” rating from the state of Florida for the 2022-23 school year.
“There are only five districts [out of 67] in the state that out-performed us in the total number of points,” Superintendent Leslie Ricciardelli said, “and none of them compare to us in diversity or in size. This is the work of our teachers, our administrators, our support staff, all the people that work with those kids every day.
View details at FDOE Informational Baseline District Grades (Excel).
94% of Collier Schools Earned A or B Rating
In addition to the district grade, individual school grades for the 2022-23 school year were released this month.
Of note:
- Forty-seven of 50 (94%) of CCPS traditional public schools earned an “A” or a “B” rating, including all 31 traditional elementary schools.
- None of its traditional public schools earned a grade of D or F.
See details by school here.
Collier County School Board
Invocations at School Board Meetings
On Dec. 12, the school board considered a proposed process for holding an invocation “which may include a prayer or brief solemnizing remarks” before board meetings and a process for selecting individuals who would be invited to offer it.
See my post Invocations, Not Ideologies, on Monday’s School Board Agenda for some background.
“This has taken a considerable amount of time for something that’s not part of our mission for our students,” board vice chair Stephanie Lucarelli said. “At the end of the day, I believe this is misguided,” she said. “And I really fear that it’s virtue-signaling.”
Board member Tim Moshier noted that they were meeting in the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Building. He said there should be “a couple-minute prayer for him” before the school board meeting “to honor the man that sacrificed his life.”
Board member Jerry Rutherford, who sponsored the invocation effort, said, “I want to see [prayers] in our schools and in our nation because if we get attacked by the other nations, you will have prayers. I guarantee you.”
Board member Erick Carter was concerned that the invocation would occur at 4:25 PM, just before the opening of the regular business meeting. He recommended holding it at 4:15 PM. “That way, if somebody doesn’t want to be involved in the invocation, they can wait outside,” he said.
“I don’t think there has been anything else that we have talked about more than this invocation,” board chair Kelly Lichter said. “And that’s really disappointing, considering our board created five clear policies right out the gate of what we want to do, what our focus is, and [our intention] to stick to that to those priorities.” “I just can’t get behind it,” she said.
She suggested that board members who want to hold an invocation before a board meeting do so at the flagpole in the front of the building.
Read Lichter’s newsletter in which she explains her vote here.
By a vote of 3 to 2, the board decided not to move ahead with an invocation at school board meetings. Moshier and Rutherford voted no.
City of Naples
DID YOU KNOW?
Only about 5 percent of Collier County residents live in the City of Naples, according to the U.S. Census.
NCH Heart Institute
After a marathon 10-hour meeting on Dec. 13, the Naples Planning Advisory Board (PAB) approved plans for NCH’s proposed five-story R.M. Schulze Family Cardiovascular and Stroke Critical Care Center to be built at the current site of the Telford Education Center on the hospital’s downtown Naples campus.
The next steps for NCH are two public hearings in front of City Council aimed for January before a final decision on whether construction can begin.
Read more at Naples Daily News and Gulfshore Business.
Naples Airport Relocation Study
Recently, the NAA hired a consultant to look into the feasibility of relocating the airport to another site compared with the possibility of maintaining it at its current location, given community needs and future growth expectations.
Read more at Naples Daily News.
Thank you for wanting to be a more informed Collier voter!