WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that a controversial plan to build hotels, pickleball courts, and other developments at Florida state parks was “half-baked” and not “ready for prime time.”
DeSantis said the plan was not approved by him and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FLDEP), which announced the “Great Outdoors Initiative” on Aug. 19, will go “back to the drawing board.”
“I never saw that,” he added.
Wednesday was the first time DeSantis addressed the plan that has sparked multiple protests across the state.
“Here’s the thing, I’d rather not spend any money on this, right? I mean, if people don’t want improvements, then don’t do it,” DeSantis said during an unrelated news conference with law enforcement officials.
DeSantis said information about the plan was “leaked out to a left-wing group to try to create a narrative” but the FLDEP news release about the initiative said the plan was to “increase outdoor activities and provide new lodging options across Florida’s state parks.” Additionally, descriptions of the proposed plans were posted on the public FLDEP website on Aug. 20 and maps were posted the following day.
“In addition to increasing the number of campsites, cabins and lodges on park property, the initiative will increase the number of outdoor recreation opportunities available at Florida’s state parks, including pickleball, disc golf, golf and paddling,” the Aug. 19 news release from FLDEP said. “Today’s announcement reinforces the DeSantis Administration’s record support for conserving our natural landscapes and commitment to ensuring every Floridian can visit and recreate at Florida’s state parks.”
In St. Augustine, the proposal called for a 350-room lodge, pickleball courts and a disc golf course at Anastasia State Park. The plans caused an uproar in the community, with many calling the development plan “unnecessary” and “misguided.”
Almost a dozen state leaders, including Republican state lawmakers and several mayors, publicly opposed the “Great Outdoors Initiative” at a news conference on Wednesday with the state park as their backdrop.
They said they were blindsided by the governor and FLDEP’s “Great Outdoors Initiative.”
“This is a wake-up call. There needs to be additional legislation ultimately. Sometimes that means constitutional amendments,” Florida Rep. Cyndi Stevenson said.
READ: Conceptual plans for Anastasia State Park
DeSantis said if the state does make improvements to state parks, it won’t take away any green space.
“This was done intentionally, given to a very left-wing group to try to create a narrative that somehow, you know, the state park is going to become a big parking lot or something like that. That’s obviously a phony narrative and was never true to begin with, but nothing has been approved, and they are going to go back and listen to folks. And as I said, as governor, I am totally fine to just do nothing and do no improvements, if that’s what the general public wants, and that’s fine with me,” DeSantis said.
In a social media post on Friday, FLDEP appeared to defend the plan for Anastasia State Park, saying building a new park lodge “will provide a new community space, and offer an opportunity to rehabilitate a borrow pit left over from a former road construction project before the park was acquired.”
FLDEP also made comparisons to other parks with lodges like the much larger Zion National Park in Utah and Yosemite National Park in California.
The Republican governor’s Department of Environmental Protection had planned a single hour of public hearings near the nine affected parks. Amid growing outcry, a golf course proposal at one park was abandoned, and the agency delayed hearings until at least next week — if they happen at all.
“After eight days of public outrage, DeSantis was forced to back off plans to develop nine Florida state parks — a huge credit to all the people who united in opposition. That said, we won’t rest easy until the so-called Great Outdoors Initiative is completely dead,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. “We will remain vigilant in defense of Florida’s natural lands, water and wildlife.”