TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s Department of Environment faced bipartisan opposition over a proposal to develop a golf course, pickleball courts and hotel in a state park. Now, one Republican lawmaker is making sure to crush those ideas for good.
Sen. Gail Harrell introduced a bill Wednesday that would focus recreation on trails rather than courts and cabins instead of hotels in state parks. The bill would also require more public awareness and the ability to comment on park projects, after the Department of Environmental Protection quietly moved forward with plans for the Great Outdoors Initiative in August. .
The department had scheduled an hour-long public hearing near the nine affected parks. Opposition to the initiative crosses partisan lines, as Republican legislative leaders and lawmakers, including Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, along with Democrats and environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the Creo Institute, have raised questions. Ta.
Mr. Harrell’s bill would ban golf courses, tennis courts, pickleball courts, baseball fields, and similar sports facilities in state parks, and would ban golf courses, tennis courts, pickleball courts, baseball fields, and similar sports facilities in state parks, and would prohibit “wilderness protection” such as hiking, boating, camping, swimming, kayaking, and bird watching. “Public outdoor recreational uses” based on
The construction of accommodation facilities larger than huts that can accommodate six people will also be prohibited.
DeSantis ultimately withdrew the park development plan.
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