DeFuckstick's Big Plans For 9 Pristine FL State Parks Include Golf Courses, Hotels, Pickleball Courts, No Public Input

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration wants to build hotels, golf courses, pickleball courts and other “amenities” at state parks prized for their pristine habitats — a plan that has sparked outrage and concern across the aisle. The “Great Outdoors Initiative” announced Monday calls for building three golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, a stretch of undeveloped land north of Palm Beach popular for its trails and birding.

New lodges with space for hundreds of guests would be constructed at Anastasia State Park near St. Augustine and Topsail Hill Preserve in the Panhandle. The latter has sand dunes that the state park service describes as “especially remarkable because they are untouched by development.” “The park’s beaches are among the best in the world,” the state park website says. “Clean white sand and clear blue water as far as the eye can see.”

The DeSantis administration’s plan promises to “take the visitor experience to the next level” with the additional sports and lodging opportunities. The Department of Environmental Protection wrote on X that the goal is to “increase public access, recreation & lodging” The division said the changes could be done in a way to “minimize habitat impacts,” and that the lodges wouldn’t be unlike others at major national parks.

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The plan must be approved by the Acquisition and Restoration Council, a committee of 10 people that includes four appointees of the governor. Meetings to gather input are scheduled for Tuesday in six cities across the state that will happen at the same time and last only an hour, with no opportunities to participate virtually. State Rep. Toby Overdorf (R) said that an “overwhelming number of people” had reached out to voice their concerns about the plans for Jonathan Dickinson State Park, where three golf courses would cover more than 500 acres. He said he would request that the Department of Environmental Protection reschedule the meetings to larger venues during evening hours so more people could participate. “Your voices and concerns deserve to be heard,” Overdorf said in a tweet.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/08/22/desantis-florida-parks-pickleball-lodges/