Here’s when and how you can push back on plans to develop Florida State Parks

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection went on damage control Thursday to defend its decision to only give the public six days to prepare to give public comment about the DeSantis administration’s plan to consider developing nine state parks.

The developments announced Wednesday in the “2024-25 Great Outdoors Initiative” include up to four pickleball courts and a disc golf course at Hillsborough River State Park, and up to four pickleball courts at Honeymoon Island State Park.

Elsewhere in Florida, the proposed development is even more drastic. In part, the state has proposed:

• A 350-room hotel, pickleball courts and disc golf at Anastasia State Park in St. Johns County
• Cabins or glamping at Camp Helen State Park near Panama City Beach
• Pickleball courts at Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park in Hollywood
• The removal of the iconic observation tower at Martin County’s Jonathan Dickinson State Park, where the state also wants to build three golf courses
• A disc golf course and four pickleball courts, plus cabins and “glamping” at Miami-Dade County’s Oleta River State Park
• A 350-room “lodge” along with four pickleball courts and a disc golf course at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, plus cabins, four pickleball courts and a disc golf course at Grayton Beach State Park in Walton County

The Florida Springs Council has pushed back on the state giving citizens just a week’s notice ahead of DEP meetings across the state set for Tuesday, Aug. 27.

What’s more, the meetings — listed at the bottom of this post — are all happening at the same time on the same day.

A former director of Florida’s state parks even told reporters Max Chesnes and Romy Ellenbogen that the DEP might be operating outside of the legal process and the park systems’ own manual as it moves to update park management plans. “This appears to be something that has been planned in secret,” added Eric Draper, who ran the parks between 2017-2021.

Although it’s not clear how much these developments would cost or who would win the contracts to develop Florida’s state parks, the grassroots organization VoteWater has questioned whether or not developers are whispering in the governor’s ear.

As Craig Pittman noted, DeSantis’ communications director, Bryan Griffin, wouldn’t answer reporters’ questions about the rushed public input process and only went to Twitter to call the plans “an exciting new initiative.”

Florida Master Naturalist and activist Ryan Worthington went on his Instagram page (@the_fl_excursionist) to share the dates, times and locations of each meeting, listed below.

The in-person-only meetings to discuss proposed development at Florida’s state parks are all on Tuesday, Aug. 27, from 3 to 4 p.m. local time. (Some of the parks are in the Panhandle.)

The Springs Council has encouraged anyone who cannot making a meeting to send an email to their state representative, urging them “to take a strong position and to show up and stand with their communities at the DEP meetings.”

Public meeting details:

• Hillsborough River State Park Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library, 2902 W. Bearss Ave., Tampa
• Honeymoon Island The District, 11141 U.S. Hwy 9 N, Suite 204, Clearwater
• Anastasia State Park First Coast Technical College, The Character Counts Conference Center, Building C, 2980 Collins Ave., St. Augustine
• Camp Helen State Park Lyndell Conference Center, 423 Lyndell Lane, Panama City Beach
• Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park Lecture Hall at Downtown Event Center, 416 NE First St., Fort Lauderdale (Building C—2nd Floor, enter at Main Entrance B – clearly marked on outside of building)
  Jonathan Dickinson State Park The Flagler of Stuart, 201 SW Flagler Ave., River Room, Stuart
• Oleta River State Park Florida International University, Biscayne Bay Campus, Kovens Conference Center, Room 114, 3000 NE 151 St., North Miami
• Topsail Hill Preserve State Park and Grayton Beach State Park Watercolor Inn & Resort 34 Goldenrod Circle, Santa Rosa Beach

This story first appeared in our sister publication Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

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