House votes unanimously to protect state parks from development

A proposal that would limit development in state parks and ensure maximum public scrutiny of changes to their management was approved unanimously in the Florida House of Representatives on Wednesday, 115-0.

The measure, called the State Park Preservation Act, (HB 209) follows outrage felt across the board last summer after the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) proposed to construct lodges, golf courses, pickleball courts, and disc golf courses in nine state parks.

South Florida Republican Peggy Gossett-Seidman, who co-sponsored the measure with Southeast Florida Republican John Snyder, said she received more than 1,500 emails from an angry public the week after reports about the proposal made news headlines up and down Florida last August.

The bill says that state parks must be managed to provide the greatest benefit to the state, with plans for managed areas larger than 1,000 acres required to provide an analysis.

The bill also requires the DEP to provide a report to the governor and Legislature regarding the status and operation of state parks. Additionally, the bill revises notice requirements for public meetings. It says that the Division of State Lands shall make available to the public an electronic copy of each land management plan at least 30 days before the public hearing required for parcels that exceed 160 acres in size and for parcels located within a state park.

When the development proposal was released last summer, it drew scorn from lawmakers from both political parties, including Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and former Chief Financial Officer and now U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis.

“Public lands should be enjoyed and protected,” Simpson said on X at the time. “We have to be really careful when we talk about building infrastructure in state parks.”

“I think we were all shocked what they were going to do for our precious state parks,” said Broward County Democratic Rep. Robin Bartleman on Wednesday.  

“And this is in direct response to that plan and a direct response to what our constituents wanted us to do. They spoke loud and clear and told us that these are our treasures and that we’re not going to construct pickleball courts and golf courses and hotels, that we’re going to do what’s right. I feel really good today because we can turn to them and say, we’ve heard you and we acted.”

‘Treasured places’

Following passage of the bill, the Sierra Club issued a statement thanking the House.

“On behalf of Sierra Club Florida’s 38,000 members and 150,000 supporters, thank you for listening to the outcry of thousands of Floridians who rallied last summer and again in recent weeks to defend these treasured places. This is a tremendous victory for our environment, and all who call our state home,” said Susannah Randolph, of Sierra Club Florida.

The Senate version, sponsored by Southeast Florida Republican Gayle Harrell (SB 80) has passed unanimously in its two previous committees and has one more stop before the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee before reaching the floor.