How to tell Florida what you think about adding disc golf, pickleball to state parks
The DeSantis administration’s proposal to add recreational sports facilities like golf courses and pickleball courts to nine Florida state parks was met with plenty of pushback last week, from thousands of upset residents and even some Republican leaders of the state.
Environmental groups are seeking public support for efforts to derail the controversial proposals, which include relatively minor additions for two state parks in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Several local groups, including the Sierra Club, have planned a protest against the plan at Oleta River State Park for 10:30 Tuesday morning.
In response to what it called the “overwhelming interest,” Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection canceled previous plans to host nine simultaneous public meetings for the parks, which were supposed to have been Tuesday. The agency has instead opened a dedicated website for collecting comments and said it will announce new meeting dates for each of the parks soon.
The new round of meetings is expected to be held the week of Sept. 2.
But exactly what might be in the proposals could potentially change. Plans for one park have already been blown up in the backlash. On Sunday, the group that pushed a plan to add several golf courses to Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County formally withdrew its proposal under tremendous public pressure.
READ MORE: Group withdraws controversial plan to build golf courses in Florida state park
The Great Outdoors Initiative plan calls for adding pickleball courts and disc golf courses to several parks and 350-room hotels to two others. Under the proposed plan, Oleta River State Park in Miami-Dade would see an additional 10 cabins, a new disc golf course and up to four pickleball courts, along with new parking lots and restroom facilities. Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park in Broward could get new pickleball courts.
Environmental groups across the state have also encouraged residents to reach out to their elected officials and leave voicemails with their opinions on the park proposals.
For Mizell-Eula Johnson park, that includes House District 101, Rep Hillary Cassell and Senate District 37, Sen Jason Pizzo. For Oleta, that’s House District 106, Rep Fabian Basabe and Senate District 34, Sen Shevrin Jones.
Friends of the Everglades directed concerned residents straight to Gov. Ron Desantis, linking to his public email address and phone number, as well as linking to a pre-formatted email to state legislators.
“Tell him Florida’s state parks are no place for golf courses and giant lodges,” the group wrote.
This story was originally published August 26, 2024 at 12:40 PM.
