By the USA Today Network – Florida Opinion Group
Floridians have spoken.
They’ve been vocal about protecting their state parks since news leaked last August of a Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) plan to allow golf courses, pickleball courts and swanky hotels to be built amid the tranquil natural wonders of Anastasia, Topsail Hill Preserve, Jonathan Dickinson and six other prominent state parks.
The groundswell of opposition resonated throughout the state, prompting the department to withdraw the Great Outdoors Initiative plan and Gov. Ron DeSantis to first feign ignorance then blow it all off as a left-wing conspiracy.
Floridians didn’t stop there. They also made their intentions known during the Florida State Parks Preservation Opinion Project, a collaboration by 17 Gannett-owned newspapers in the state of Florida to rally support behind Senate Bill 80/House Bill 209, legislation to preserve and protect our state parks. From Jupiter to Jacksonville, from Pensacola to Panacea, it was clear that the shared outrage at the idea that their state government would so easily commercialize state parks ran wide and deep.
State lawmakers have apparently gotten the memo. Senate Bill 80, along with its House companion, HB 209, have sailed through their respective committee stops, earning bipartisan and unanimous votes along the way.
The Florida House took the final step, approving its version of the legislation earlier this month in a 115-0 floor vote. After sailing through the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee on Tuesday, it’s time for the full Senate to follow suit with its own timely floor vote that will reconcile its bill with the House and move the legislation to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.
While the current Senate bill is a good start, the House version has more unambiguous language that makes it clear that no development that threatens Florida’s state parks means just that — no. Florida deserves the strongest bill it can get out of the legislature, and state senators should make sure they get it.
DEP debacle becomes opportunity to protect Florida’s parks
For a state agency that is supposed to protect Florida’s environment, it seems almost unthinkable that DEP would come up with such an antithetical policy as the Great Outdoors Initiative. Initially, the proposal was scheduled to be aired last August in an hour-long simultaneous statewide public hearing. But, the plan was leaked, resulting in a tidal wave of opposition from the public who feared commercial development would destroy the parks’ native habitat. Even residents’ whose “local” state park wasn’t on the list came out to protest.
One person who responded quickly and perhaps most effectively was state Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, whose own Jonathan Dickinson State Park was on the list of nine. Soon after the disclosure of the plan, the veteran state lawmaker promised to file a bill to prevent such development inside of state parks. And she came through.
SB 80, the “State Park Preservation Act,” requires public hearings for any land management plan and forces DEP to comply with specified provisions when granting certain privileges, leases, concessions and permits. The bottom line? The bill’s the first line of protection against any development proposals done outside of the public’s purview that would literally change the face and spoil the beauty of Florida’s state parks.
The fact that the bill birthed from public outrage made it through the legislative process so quickly is an accomplishment in itself. The bill’s supporters saw potential loopholes for development that slowed its momentum in the Senate, and threatened to derail it altogether. Kudos to Harrell for not backing down. There may be a need for wiggle room for future niche activities in select state parks, but the legislation headed to the Senate floor all but shuts the door on any major developments.
State lawmakers have heard the concerns from millions of their constituents calling for the protection of our beloved state parks, and they’ve responded, moving a legitimate fix through what could have been an excruciating process. The priority for Florida senators should now be clear: Give their constituents what they want — a strong bill that protects and preserves Florida’s state parks from the developer’s bulldozer.
This opinion piece was originally published by newspapers in the USA Today Network – Florida Opinion Group, which are media partners of The Invading Sea. Banner photo: The view from a hiking trail in Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, located near Destin (iStock image).
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