Rubio, Scott call rush of Florida state park golf plan ‘crazy’

In a scathing letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis Friday, Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott joined local officials to criticize the fast-track approach of the state’s plans to develop golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park on the Atlantic coast. of Florida.

Officials called the scheduled one-hour hearing at 3pm Tuesday for the public to take in the “absolute madness,” and added that “not one” member of the national committee is responsible for to vote on the plan who will go to the meeting to hear the public’s concerns.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection plans holding near-simultaneous meetings around the county Tuesday afternoon for public input on plans to add golf courses, 350-room dormitories, pickleball courts, golf courses and nine others. After these meetings, a national committee called the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Council would have decided whether to move forward or not.

“We believe that every voting member of the (Acceptance and Rehabilitation Council) must attend a public hearing before taking any action on the proposal,” the letter read. An hour-long meeting in the afternoon in the afternoon when most people are at work will not be enough.”

Hours after the letter was released, the department announced on social media that it would postpone all public meetings regarding the state’s park plans.

“Due to the great interest in the 2024-25 Great Outdoors Initiative, (the Department of Environmental Protection) is looking for new places to host the public,” the organization wrote in X. It said that new meeting dates will be announced soon, most likely the week of September 2nd.

The letter from Scott, Rubio and other officials focused more on the process of allowing the public to review Jonathan Dickinson’s proposal rather than on broader comments about the DeSantis administration’s plans for the services. in all nine gardens. Since they were unveiled earlier this week, the plans have drawn a swift and devastating wave of bipartisan blowback.

While the DeSantis administration has doubled down on the proposal, it said Friday that officials will ensure better opportunities for community participation. Its social media release included a link to a website where Floridians can submit suggestions about the plans.

Jonathan Dickinson is home to the largest number of scrub-jay sanctuaries in southeast Florida. The Department of Environmental Protection said it would “minimize” the impact on sensitive habitats. Posted on the internet on Friday that one of the pickleball courts of Dr. Broward County’s Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park will be built on what is now a parking lot.

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In the Tampa Bay area, Hillsborough River State Park and Pinellas’ Honeymoon Island are also slated to get pickleball courts.

Jeremy Redfern, a spokesman for DeSantis, said the additional services will make the parks “more accessible to the public.”

This is not the first brush with Sen. Scott with public outrage over the matter. In 2011, when Scott was governor, he spearheaded a similar plan to build golf courses in state parks, the Tampa Bay Times reported at the time. The proposed rule reportedly came about after discussions between golfer Jack Nicklaus and Scott, Nicklaus’ representative said.

In a statement to the Times, Nicklaus Companies and Nicklaus Design said they are not involved in any of the current proposals.

The letter called for two meetings, one with Stuart and the other with Jupiter, “for as long as is necessary to hear all the trouble.” It proposed to hold them after Thanksgiving, when many temporary residents will be in Florida for the winter, to give the process “loyalty”.

US Rep. Brian Mast, R-Stuart, who represents the district that includes Jonathan Dickinson State Park, also signed the letter. Earlier this week, Mast encouraged members of the construction and rehabilitation council to attend a public meeting to be held on Tuesday to confront residents affected by the development. In a phone interview Friday, Mast said he had not heard back from a single council member.

“They’re going to try to produce something without disrupting it? What if they don’t disrupt it,” Mast said.

In addition to Scott, Rubio and Mast, 12 other Treasure Coast officials signed the letter, including Sen. Gayle Harrell, Reps. Toby Overdorf and John Snyder, and county commissioners from Martin and Palm Beach counties.