Jaycee Park will now be a stop on the Cape Coral Ghost Tour in addition to the Yacht Club.
The Cape Coral City Council on Wednesday approved a $16 million to $18 million redevelopment plan for the waterfront park at the end of Beach Parkway through a public-private partnership.
After a lengthy public consultation period, approval was given by 6 votes to 2. Council members Jessica Cosden and Richard Carr voted against. Carr stated that he agreed with the concept, but not with the final plan presented.
The decision now paves the way for another major remodel, a nearly complete clearing of an older park site, including the removal of decades-old Australian pines along the Caloosahatchee. The redesign will include planting numerous new shade trees, creating walkways, a boardwalk, boat docks, a bandstand and a food truck area with a bar through a concession agreement with a local company that will invest about $1.37 million to create the food court.
Cape Town residents, who define parks as green spaces with free or low-cost amenities and improvements, are not alone in their fear.
Nor does it represent the philosophy of the Council majority – namely that parks should take advantage of each other’s unique characteristics and minimize facility costs through partnerships with the private sector, and that parks should, yes, bring in some money to offset maintenance and other costs.
As Cape Town residents lined up again to plead for pine trees and quiet outside the city council on Wednesday evening, news sites across the state reported similar demands.
On Monday, the state Department of Environmental Protection announced its 2024-25 Great Outdoors Plan, a “Initiative to improve public access, recreation and lodging options in Florida State Parks.”
The initiative “ensures that Florida’s protected areas can be used by Floridians today and tomorrow,” The last-minute notice of the public meetings sent by the FDEP to the media states:
How?
Well, looking at the proposed plans for Jonathan Dickinson State Park, it means adding two 18-hole and one 9-hole golf courses to a park that is currently mostly preserved as natural habitat. It means a clubhouse and outbuildings. It means removing the Hobe Mountain observation tower, one of the state’s most popular scenic spots. It means hotels, the additional “Accommodation.” It means a pickleball complex.
In other parks – nine are planned in total – it means much more than the natural coastline, hiking trails, campgrounds and original Florida in all its preserved glory for which Florida’s 175 state parks, trails and historic sites are famous and which attracted some 30 million visitors last year alone.
Representatives of the FDEP cited the positive aspects and pointed out that the “traditional” Amenities are being expanded, along with those that attract visitors who want more — a “Goal,” to use the touchstone polished by city officials and staff when they announced the near-total demolition and more extensive reconstruction of Jaycee Park and the Yacht Club.
“In addition to increasing the number of campsites, cabins and lodges on park property, the initiative will also increase the number of outdoor recreation opportunities in Florida’s state parks, including pickleball, disc golf, golf and paddleboarding,” explained the FDEP.
With views of golf courses, hotels with 350 rooms – excuse me, “Lodges”, Protests immediately began in two of the state’s nature reserves, and a Change.org petition to protect Jonathan Dickinson State Park collected more than 10,000 signatures in just over a day.
Dissatisfied officials in whose communities the affected state parks are located say they were not informed about the state initiative.
Residents, meanwhile, reacted similarly to Cape residents who did not want food trucks, a bar, or designated adult beverage outlets. “Wet zone” in Jaycee Park, like those who vehemently opposed replacing the historic mid-century Yacht Club Ballroom with a two-story “Resort style” Community complex.
Two public-private partnerships, bringing in private funds, make the commercial components possible at Jaycee Park, the Yacht Club and the eight parks across the state.
Environmental groups say FDEP “has fooled someone”, with an initiative that will destroy “Large portions of eight state parks in Florida are to be used to build golf courses, resort-style hotels and pickleball courts” are outraged.
So the same issues, the same arguments for and against, but on a national level.
Let’s call it the gap between preservation and progress: where some focus on preserving history and nature, others see it as progress and opportunity.
Can we have both?
At the state level, let’s be blunt and clear: The 2024–25 Great Outdoors Plan would be better called the 2024–25 Great Resorts Plan.
This would undo decades of conservation and preservation efforts in Florida’s parks that have made them popular with locals and visitors alike.
Here at the Cape?
“Destinations” The development of buildings designed on relatively small plots of land with restricted access and egress in developed residential areas and intended to encourage intensive use of any kind can be problematic at best and a traffic and noise nightmare at worst.
Now that two deals are in place, elected officials and community leaders must be held accountable and responsible for damage control should problems arise at Jaycee Park or the Yacht Club.
However, we believe that public-private partnerships can and do have their place in public spaces, particularly when a P3 enables the provision of services consistent with the uniqueness of the park without imposing any cost to the public and when it also generates some cash in the bargain.
The 178 acres of the old golf course and Festival Park immediately come to mind.
Let’s briefly reflect on a Master Gardener phrase that is often quoted here in Florida: “Right plan, right place.”
It is the responsibility of our elected officials and administration staff to ensure proper planning and placement when planning public parks and properties.
And it remains our responsibility to ensure that the right plan in the right place is a priority at all levels of government.
Editorial by Breeze
Editor’s note: This editorial has been corrected. The number of parks in the rollout is nine, not eight.
The FDEP announced on Friday, X, that its scheduled public meetings have been cancelled and will be rescheduled for dates to be determined.
“Due to overwhelming interest in the 2024-25 Great Outdoors Initiative, DEP is seeking new venues to accommodate the public.
“We want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to get involved. Public participation is critical to DEP’s decision-making. To collect feedback on your favorite state parks, we have created a dedicated webpage for additional suggestions: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7983173/Great-Outdoors-Initiative.
“New meeting dates will be announced shortly. Meetings are expected to take place during the week of September 2, 2024.”
FDEP had public comments for the nine affected parks at eight simultaneous one-hour “public gatherings” scheduled for Tuesday, August 27, 3:00 p.m.
The nine parks stretch across the state from the Panhandle to Miami-Dade.
