TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Senate moved ahead with a invoice that may ban the development of golf programs, pickleball courts, and hotel-style lodges in state parks. This motion follows bipartisan criticism of the earlier “Nice Open air Initiative” proposal.
The Senate Surroundings and Pure Sources Committee permitted invoice SB 80, sponsored by Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, with unanimous help.
“Our state parks are so distinctive, and we need to be sure that they’re there for the enjoyment and the conservation of our pure assets in our state of Florida,” Harrell mentioned.
Final 12 months, there was important controversy surrounding the Florida Division of Environmental Safety‘s announcement of the “Nice Open air Initiative” This included a information launch and social media posts highlighting plans for 9 parks.
One of the contentious features of the initiative was the proposal so as to add three golf programs at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County, which falls inside Harrell’s district. Different components of the initiative that confronted appreciable backlash concerned plans to assemble lodges with as much as 350 rooms at each Anastasia State Park in St. Johns County and Topsail Hill Protect State Park in Walton County..
Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration has paused the proposal following public outcry. In response, Consultant Harrell and Consultant John Snyder (R-Stuart) have launched payments aimed toward stopping related developments sooner or later. These payments are set to be thought of in the course of the legislative session that begins on March 4.
The invoice would allow the development of cabins at state parks, with a most capability of six folks every. Whereas environmental teams supported the invoice on Tuesday, some advocated for revisions to make sure it addresses different potential kinds of growth.
