Senate panel approves bill designed to protect state parks from development

A proposal to block further development on Florida state park land is heading to the floor of the Senate after the Fiscal Policy Committee signed off on the measure.

The bill (SB 80) is the result of a massive move against additions, such as golf courses, hotels and pickleball courts, on state park land. Those proposals prompted widespread protests by residents last Summer when the Gov. Ron DeSantis administration pitched increasing development on protected park land.

The plans were scrapped after the rising intensity of protests across the state.

Sen. Gayle Harrell, a Stuart Republican, sponsored the bill, called “The State Preservation Act.” It would require “public hearings for all updated conservation and nonconservation land management plans; requiring the Division of Recreation and Parks of the Department of Environmental Protection to comply with specified provisions when granting certain privileges, leases, concessions, and permits.”

Harrell said the sizable protests to the plans from DeSantis last year proved that there’s no leeway when it comes to protecting some 175 state parks.

“We had many demonstrations across the state when there was an endeavor to really commercialize our state parks,” Harrell said. She added her measure is designed to honor those protests and “to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Sen. Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican, did propose a substitute for an amendment to the measure that would open up reviews of any plans to add development to parks. That proposed amendment wasn’t filed until Monday and suggested that some new amenities could be added. But it would have to be proven that they don’t “cause substantial harm” to the parks or the environment within those facilities.

Gruters said he didn’t want the amendment to augment developments such as hotels and golf courses, but there may be some need for additional amenities at some parks in the future. He said his main concern was for rehabilitation, upgrades and maintenance on existing facilities. He added his amendment still required a “high hurdle” before anything could be added to state parks.

The proposed amendment fell flat and drew sharp criticism.

Travis Moore of the Friends of the Everglades said the amendment is not what those who were opposed to state park development would even entertain.

“I don’t think the public (last) Summer was interested in setting a high hurdle,” Moore said. “I think there’s clarity from the outpouring that we saw (last) Summer that golf courses not be allowed. The ‘substantial harm’ is subjective. The subjectivity is a concern.”

Committee members agreed and rejected the Gruters proposed amendment.

The Senate bill is identical to a House measure (HB 209) by Rep. John Snyder, a Stuart Republican, that was approved on the floor of that chamber earlier this month.