Rural village proposal on Immokalee Road draws concerns

Developers of a potential rural village off Immokalee Road in Collier are asking the county to change a portion of a rural growth plan, drawing concerns from environmental groups and those opposed to development in the area.

The county’s planning commission unanimously voted Thursday to agree to the changes. The amendments will now be sent to the board of county commissioners for approval, a process known as transmittal.

Edwin Fryer, chairman of the planning commission, said after voting that he will, at a later date, drill down on issues he sees so the public can understand what is going on.

“I’m going to vote in favor of this because there has been sufficient public speaking against certain aspects of it so it will have to be considered by the board of county commissioners, not on the consent agenda but there will have to be a hearing,” Fryer said.

The proposal outlines a potential village containing up to 4,000 residences with areas set aside for commercial and civil development. The area to be developed would be just west of Everglades Boulevard on Immokalee Road.

Richard Yovanovich, representing the developer, said the changes are needed for any type of village to occur.

“We are coming through with certain tweaks because in order for a village to occur there needs to be tweaks. Otherwise it makes no economic sense,” he said.

The developer is a partnership linked to Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene.

The proposed area for development is under the county’s Rural Fringe Mixed-Use Development plan, originally created to discourage urban sprawl and protect wetlands and wildlife. The plan uses a credit system designed to protect certain areas from development while allowing developers to exercise their rights.

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And:Collier planning commission delays vote on town concept near Golden Gate Estates

The area, called the Immokalee Road Rural Village Overlay, has been in the works for about two years, Yovanovich said.

“Candidly, if we don’t get transmittal we just need to stop and not spend anymore,” he said. “We started this about two years ago and are at a point where we need to know if these tweaks will be supported by the Board of Collier Commissioners.”

Local environmental advocate groups have been in talks with the developer in hopes of having wildlife crossings put in and certain habitats created.

The boundaries of the proposed area contain both primary and secondary Florida panther habitat. Meredith Budd of the Florida Wildlife Federation said it’s apparent that panthers are being struck and killed by cars just west of the proposed village on Immokalee Road.

“That’s not only an issue for wildlife, but there are human safety issues as well,” Budd said. “It’s a relatively high-speed road and hitting a bear at that speed is certainly a human safety concern. A large crossing, preferably two, really need to be considered and planned along this segment of the roadway.”

More:Collier Enterprises reintroduces plan for town in rural Collier County

The area is surrounded by already preserved lands to the north and west, so wildlife will persist in those areas. Budd said it’s critical that the internal roadways of a potential village also include traffic calming measures such as reduced speeds and speed bumps.

Planning commissioner Joe Schmitt asked representatives of the developer if wildlife crossings would just bring large mammals into residential areas.

Environmental consultant for the applicant, Andy Woodruff, said the lands panthers used in the area have already been chopped up because of development activity around the proposed site, so it’s basically a dead end for them.

Woodruff said there’s a concern that crossings would funnel panthers into the Golden Gate Estates just east of the proposed development site, but the developer will continue working with local groups on the matter.

Another concern of local groups was the request for bonus credits. Developers can receive credits for various activities such as preserving environmentally important lands. The changes made for the rural village would enable the developer to get bonus credits on top of what the existing growth plan allow.

Brad Cornell, representing both Audubon Florida and Audubon of the Western Everglades, said this could be the developer trying to solve the problem of what’s called a conveyance credit.

Previously:Rivergrass lawsuit filing, internal county memo raise conflict of interest questions

More:Collier commissioners approve proposed changes to rural growth plan

These credits are awarded for land given to an appropriate land management group to preserve forever. Cornell said, and representatives of the applicant agreed, that these are difficult to obtain.

“There are better solutions,” Cornell said. “We need to work on getting that true conveyance. The county needs to solve the conveyance bonus credit problem, and this is not the way to do it.”

Another environment group, as well as some nearby residents, are outright opposed to the area being developed altogether.

Matthew Schwartz, executive director of the South Florida Wildlands Association, said building a development off that rural portion of Immokalee Road will greatly change the area.

“What they are building is dense suburbia,” he said. “It will affect the whole area.”

The potential development will be putting another strain on the water there, he said, pointing to the loss of wetlands and wood stork nesting grounds due to documented drainage problems.

“These things won’t get stopped without the support of the people of Collier County,” Schwartz said. “There will be all kinds of spillover from putting 4,000 residents there.”

At the meeting, he said there is zero demand for this project and recommended the developer stop putting money into the project.

“I want no development on this project; I want nothing,” he said. “It produces nothing but wealth for the developer.”

One Golden Gate Estates resident, Marcella Zurita, said the potential development would be at the end of her street.

Zurita lives on 68th Avenue and said she is considering starting a petition to present to the county over her concerns.

“We chose this way of life,” she said. “We know we’re far away from the city and this is a way of living that we chose. We love nature and like our privacy. Personally, I love the wildlife and how closely we live with them.”

She said her concerns also center on the effects on wildlife. From panthers to wood storks, she’s worried of further destruction of the habitats.

“What are we doing? This is not just a concern for the ones who live around here, but all citizens of Florida,” Zurita said.

During public comment Thursday, a couple of Golden Gate Estates residents brought up concerns over a lack of infrastructure. They were concerned about bringing more traffic into the area when the roadways already don’t support the population.

Yavonovich said he and the applicant have been very involved with the community. Further along in the process, he said they will be addressing transportation concerns as well as any mitigation requirements over environmental issues.

“I can assure you we are always respectful,” he said “We may not make every objection go away, but we’ll try to address all reasonable concerns.”

Karl Schneider is an environment reporter. Send tips and comments to kschneider@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @karlstartswithk